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
Sleeping Beauty – a mid-century fairy tale
Sleeping Beauty has to be one of those Fairy Stories that everyone knows in some shape or form. It's been re-told in so many editions over the years and there have been film versions and even pantomimes of the tale too. What I wasn't expecting though was a 1950s meets sci-fi version, but that's exactly what you get with this new edition of Sleeping Beauty, re-told by David Roberts and Lynn Roberts-Maloney. Annabel lives with her two aunts Rosalind and Flora in the 1950s. As a child she loves science fiction books and often dreams about what the future might look like. What Annabel doesn't ... read more
Review: Shine-a-light books
I hate taking a long time to do reviews and for that reason I need to start this one with an apology. It was a long, long time ago that I was sent copies of the Shine-a-Light books On The Plane and On The Space Station to review and whilst Master C absolutely loved them I was struggling somewhat with how to review them. The thing is they're interactive books. Just writing about them didn't somehow seem sufficient, but I had a bit of a break from vlogging for one reason or another and it's only now that I've got round to actually talking about them properly. The magic of Shine-a-Light books ... 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
I Have an Orange Juicy Drink – Andrew Sanders
I was completely intrigued when I opened a parcel containing I Have An Orange Juicy Drink. What a wonderful title for a book. Especially so when you have a small boy like Master C who is always talking about his "apple-y juicy drink". The little boy in this story loves his orange juicy drink. So much so that when an alien, a dinosaur and an elephant try to take it away from him he squashes them. With a garden shed, an ocean liner and the moon. Obviously... But when the little boy's brother comes along and asks nicely for some he hands it over with a big hug. Because whilst he loves his ... read more
Autumn Fun with Superworm at Wendover Woods #weloveforests
Autumn has to be one of my favourite times of year. There's just something about the colours of the trees that I love so much and that always make me feel strangely emotional. I didn't therefore need much encouragement to head up to the gorgeous Wendover Woods with the family the other weekend to investigate the Superworm Trail that was there until the end of October. The Superworm book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffer is one that has strangely passed me by until now. I'd heard of it and seen in bookshops, but just not read it until now, although it seems both kids are very familiar ... read more
Norman the Slug Who Saved Christmas – Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet
Halloween is over so I'm now declaring that we're officially allowed to start talking about Christmas - one of my favourite times of the year. Despite the kids singing Jingle Bells since before Little Miss C's birthday in June, I kid you not, I'm actually really excited about this year. At three years old Master C really seems to get it this year, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him getting caught up in all the magic that goes with Christmas. It's a few weeks now since Norman the Slug Who Saved Christmas arrived through my letter box, but I was thrilled to see it as we are huge ... read more
There’s a Monster in my Fridge – Caryl Hart & Deborah Allwright
Halloween is has now been and gone (I know, bonkers isn't it! I'm sure it was only June a minute ago) and that was the perfect excuse, if one were needed, for a slightly scary children's book, and that's exactly what There's a Monster in My Fridge is. This rhyming story is hilarious and not only does it include a monster in the fridge, but also a witch behind a screen, a vampire in the cellar and two skeletons in the bath! I'm not exaggerating when I say that I laughed out loud when I read this to Master C for the first time. And as if the words were not funny enough, they are accompanied ... read more
Pom Pom the Champion – Sophy Henn
This was the first time that Master C and I had met Sophy Henn's adorable little panda creation Pom Pom, but I'm so glad we did. Pom Pom the Champion sees Pom Pom bored in the way that so many children always say they are when they don't know what to do. He has a house full of toys and games (which sounds very familiar) but he doesn't know what to do. After his mum suggests they play a game which Pom Pom wins he suddenly decides that winning is what he wants to do. He creates a load of challenges and races for himself which he managed to win and as you might expect he's rather buoyed up by ... 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