We're HUGE fans of Lu Fraser's books, especially The Littlest Yak. I love how through her beautiful, rhyming storytelling she can melt a single character to your heart and leave them there forever like a good friend. You are going to adore Doug. Doug knows all about one. He's on his own and wonders if he might be missing out. It's not long before there's another friend and another. So much fun can be had with more than one and it's not long before there's a caravan of camels! Yet this story has a lovely twist that after all of the frolicking fun, it's great being just one. This would make an ideal read-aloud book with repeated refrains where children can all join in with brilliant rhyming strings to have you guessing what the name of the next camel and number might be. It's so much more than just a counting book; the camels go up to five. However, each number is written in words and a maths Year 1 (England) expectation is for children to read and write numbers in their word form up to 20. Therefore this book would be useful to use if you are working on this aspect of maths. Introducing topics through story is always my preferred way. Often in a book one spread jumps out at me and is my favourite but there are just too many to choose from. My daughter (5) couldn't pick just one either. The gentle, warm tones used by Sarah with the pops of colour are magnificent. There is so much to spot. One page had us stopping and discussing for quite a while and that was the fancy dress page; brilliant camel humps. It's a must see! Another dream pairing of author and illustrator working in complete harmony together to bring us a stand out book for 2022. I'd recommend One Camel Called Doug for picture book lovers of any age. Both my daughter and I gave it 5 stars. Thank you #SimonAndSchuster and #NetGalley for letting us read and review this eARC #OneCamelCalledDoug

This may be a camel-filled counting book, but it's much more than that. It's pure fun. There's a camel called Brian, for starters. Another camel plays the harmonica. And one particular, especially-talented camel plays the TUBA - THE TUBA! What more could one want from a book?! Camels in fancy-dress? It's there. A cactus piñata? Done. Camels on a bobsleigh? Well, count yourself lucky...because THAT'S included TOO. It's a gloriously illustrated, wonderfully rhythmical, rhyming romp through the desert, to be enjoyed by extroverts and introverts alike. Top notch from the author and illustrator, as usual.

Doug is one of my favourite picture book characters. He is a camel who has a turquoise mane and forelock (do camels have forelocks?) and wears stripey legwarmers. He is also the master of silly expressions. Mostly he is happy living alone but he realises hide-and-seek, leapfrog, pass-the-parcel and fancy dress parties are all better with more. Enter Bruce, Rita and a host of camels with hilariously-coloured humps. It’s all great fun but by evening Doug is ‘all camelled out’ and retires to bed (hammock, fluffy blanket, book and teddy). The story is told in rhyme, teaches counting and the importance of being together and alone. What more could you possibly want?

Possibly my favourite children's book ever - and it features a cuddly camel toy, what more could you want?

If you are looking for a funny, attention holding book with counting, look no further! Lu and Sarah's book together is an absolute delight. Lu's rhyme bounces along effortlessly as Doug seeks out some friends but ends up discovering the joy of being one. Sarah's illustrations suit the story perfectly, with so many little details for the child reader to find. I read this story with the children at the local library for wriggly readers and it went down a treat! I would highly recommend this book.