As part of Unicorn Day, I'm delighted to welcome to Being Mrs C Catherine Coe, author of the Unicorns of Blossom Wood series so that she can tell us about the amazing characters that she created for the series. When I first started writing the Unicorns of Blossom Wood, I knew I wanted a new cast of girl characters who had different personalities and backgrounds. In the Owls of Blossom Wood, the three main characters were best friends who were also next-door neighbours – Alex, Katie and Eva. In the Unicorns of Blossom Wood, I thought it would be nice to give the three girls a different ... read more
Unicorn Day: The Unicorns of Blossom Wood #UnicornDay
Sometimes an email pops into your inbox and you know that something is just going to be a perfect fit for your family and that's exactly what happened when I was asked to take part in Unicorn Day today. Unicorn Day is celebrating the release of the last two books in the Unicorns of Blossom Wood series by children's author Catherine Coe. Catherine has previously written the successful Owls of Blossom Wood series which was really well received by children aged 5 - 8 and this series is aimed at the same age group. Just over a year ago Little Miss C had what they formally call a "development ... read more
Topsy and Tim’s sister AND brother – an update
This week has been one of those weeks where a comment left on one of my blog posts actually made me squeal with excitement. Literally. It can be so easy at times to write about something that you're really excited about or interested in and then you just get tumbleweed in response. It's a post that you think loads of people will want to say something about, but you click publish and it's met with silence. I had feared that that might be what happened with the post I published about Topsy and Tim's sister Tansy. Having seen how many people happen across this blog after searching on Google ... 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
Topsy and Tim’s Sister?
Anyone who has read this blog before, or who follows me on Instagram, will know just how much I love vintage children's books. As well as collecting Ladybird books I'm also rather fond of old Topsy and Tim books. When I was a child I recall the small soft-back format that was published by Blackie and these are the ones that I look out for in charity shops and at car boot sales, although they are very hard to come by these days. Before these smaller format ones, Blackie actually published larger versions of the same books. With so many Topsy and Tim editions over the years I've always ... read more
Roo The Roaring Dinosaur: Best Playday Ever!
I think we first discovered Roo The Roaring Dinosaur when we were sent his first book to review last year. For some reason that review never got written up, but it really should have been as he's utterly delightful! I'm therefore determined that Best Playday Ever! will get the review it deserves. This time Roo is joined by his new friend Erik, a big, friendly and extremely clumsy polar bear explorer. Too shows Erik around his island and they have great fun together, even if clumsy Erik does get into a bit of a mess in doing so. When they get to the top of the old volcano they look out to ... read more
Happy Hooves, Yuk! – A. Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
If there's anything that my kids love, Master C in particular, then it has to be something disgusting. I'm wondering if that's why he is such a fan of Happy Hooves, Yuk! which we were recently sent to review. It's a lovely story of friendship, kindness and really disgusting food. In this funny story Pig realises he is hungry and thinks that it's highly likely that some of his friends will be hungry too. He decides to make a yummy spread for all on them on the farmyard and he sets about decorating everywhere and collecting together some delicious food to serve up. Only, what Pig thinks of as ... 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