I was rather excited to see a new book from Lisa Stickley arrive for us to review last week. We met Edith in her last book, Handstand, and she appears again in My New Room. Designer Lisa Stickley has a style that has already become instantly recognisable here and as soon as Little Miss C saw My New Room she went looking for our copy of Handstand to put with it on her bookcase. In My New Room, much as the title suggests, it is time for Edith to move into a new bedroom with a "Big Bed". It's a step that many children go through, and sometimes it can be a bit of a scary one, especially if the ... read more
Ollie’s Christmas Reindeer – Nicola Killen
I've been sat waiting to review Ollie's Christmas Reindeer since the publisher sent it out, but just couldn't bring myself to do so too early in the year. I've now seen the first house with a Christmas tree in the front window so I guess that means it's time to properly embrace Christmas! Ollie (who slightly confusingly, to me and Master C at least) is a little girl, that is woken from her sleep on Christmas Eve by a jingling noise. She follows the sound out into the snowy forest and is delighted to come across a lost reindeer. She climbs onto his back and together they set off on an ... read more
How To Save a Superhero – Caryl Hart & Ed Eaves
We first discovered Albie a couple of years ago when a copy of Plunge into the Pirate Pool arrived for us to review. At the time Little Miss C had just finished a learning theme at school on the subject of pirates and it fitted in perfectly with that. It disappeared off to school for a while, before coming back home and being one of those books that seemed to crop up quite regularly at bedtime. Since then LMC's reading has moved on a lot and Master C has become the Albie fan. The Pirate Pool is a book he asks for by name and has recently been a regular in the pile that he presents me with ... read more
Handstand – Lisa Stickley
There's been a flurry of children's books arriving chez C recently and it's been timed perfectly with Master C started at the school pre-school and a new rhythm to our days together. We have less than two hours at home together in an afternoon now before we have to head out again to pick up Little Miss C from school, and how to fill that time best has been a bit of a challenge. He needs a bit of down time and to zone out in front of the TV for a while, but I'm conscious that if I'm not careful the whole time can be spent like that, which isn't really what I want. Instead I'm trying to ... read more
Wide-awake Hedgehog – Rosie Wellesley
Is it totally wrong of me to say that I've got to the stage of the year where I'm actually starting to get a teeny bit excited about autumn coming around again? I guess I like every season really, but I also always seems to feel ready for the next one to roll around and there's something about autumn that I really enjoy. Walks in the crisp air. Leaves changing colour. Snuggling up under a blanket on the sofa on a dark evening. I also find that it's the time of year when we get some very cute children's books coming out and Wide-awake Hedgehog is a great example. Many children will have ... read more
Odd Dog Out – Rob Biddulph
Sometimes I find myself reading a book to the children at bedtime and just falling completely and utterly in love with it. With Odd Dog Out though, not only did I fall in love, but I also found myself shedding a small tear in the process. If only all books could get things as spot on as Rob Biddulph's managed here and the world would be a far better place in my opinion. As anyone who knows me in "real life" will know - I'm not exactly someone who always conforms and as a result there can be times when I don't exactly fit in with those around me. That can make the world a lonely place, ... read more
A Hungry Lion – Lucy Ruth Cummins
It's fair to say that we read a lot of books in this house. Whilst Little Miss C is now obsessed with reading herself, Master C still loves nothing more than curling up in an evening with a pile of picture books - and I'm pretty sure that's not just as an excuse to delay bedtime by 30 minutes or so. Some kids books can be a tad predictable and when I first picked up A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals I wondered if that was going to be the case here. Surely it was just going to be a cut and dry case of the hungry lion being the culprit and Miss Marple wouldn't even need to ... read more
Let’s go Shopping Peppa
Master C can be a bit funny when it comes to books. Certainly reading with him is so very different from what it was like with his sister at a similar age. He doesn't have quite the same concentration span and rather than want a huge range of books he often gets stuck in a rut of just wanting the same book over and over again (a bit dull when all it is is pictures of vehicles!) and then also sits and insists on turning the pages at speed meaning you're not really able to do much reading unless you've had opportunity to memorise the book first! All this seemed to change though when a review ... read more
The Good Little Bad Little Pig! – Margaret Wise Brown
We've reviewed a few Margaret Wise Brown books here on Being Mrs C over the last couple of years (The Diggers and Good Night Little One) and I still find myself amazed at just how many books she wrote. When I first discovered her classic Goodnight Moon it was only after searching on google in the middle of the night for books suitable for a baby as I was having one of those sleep deprived panics that I wasn't reading Little Miss C bedtime stories enough. How things have changed! The latest Margaret Wise Brown offering that has arrived to review from Parragon is The Good Little Bad ... read more
Introducing Glitterbelle
In so many ways Little Miss C is such a girly girl - a huge fan of princesses, pink and anything sparkly. It's funny in a way as I'm not sure I can remember having that sort of phase myself, but it's what really seems to make her happy right now. She was therefore delighted when the latest review book from Parragon turned up - Glitterbelle The Sparkliest Princess Ever! Glitterbelle lives in a palace at the top of a hill with her Mum, The Queen, and her Dad, The King. She's not exactly a fan of a typical fairy tale princess life though and Glitterbelle much prefers to whizz round on her ... read more