It's only the first Monday in November, but it seems that now that Halloween is out of the way everyone's attentions have now turned to Christmas. A certain supermarket chain even had a tree up just inside their entrance when I visited this morning! I personally love Christmas and it's exciting to see how Little Miss C is going to react to it all this year, now that she's that bit older and also now that she's got the whole build up to it at pre-school. I was intrigued to be asked if I wanted to receive a review copy of Christmas by Dick Bruna as it is a book ... read more
Wakey Wakey Big Brown Bear! – Tracey Corderoy and Rachel Swirles
Little Miss C's school recently celebrated literacy week with a week which involved the local fire brigade fetching a large egg down off the school roof! Watching a whole school's worth of pupils watching this unfold in the playground taught me so much about what an important role books play in our children's education. Stories can take them to new places and teach them so much about the world around them, as well as being great fun to read too. This week it was time for our next monthly review book to arrive from Parragon and LMC and I excitedly unwrapped a copy of Wakey ... read more
Amelie and Nanette Sparkly Shoes and Picnic Parties – Sophie Tilley
One thing that I really like about reviewing children's books on here with Little Miss C is that we've now been doing it for long enough that I'm starting to see second, or even third, books by the same author and therefore starting to get a feel for them and their work. It almost seems strange that up until only three years ago my only experience of children's books was what I remembered from my own childhood, and even then it's something of a hazy memory, especially when it comes to picture books. We were recently sent a copy of Sparkly Shoes and Picnic ... read more
Mine! – Sarah Hammon and Laura Hughes
When our review copy of Mine! arrived and I read the accompanying press release I found myself tutting a bit. Not a nice habit, but I was a bit concerned about the statement "Mine! is a hilariously true book about how little girls play." I'm sorry to say that in my usual way I was a bit frustrated to see what I initially saw as early gender stereotyping. As Little Miss C and I sat down to read the book together though I actually found myself reading something which almost accurately described a playdate that LMC has had just a couple of days earlier! Kitty is playing ... read more
Octupus’s Garden – Ringo Starr and Ben Cort
When I first heard that there was going to be a children's book version of the Beatles song Octopus's Garden I was a little bit sceptical as to quite how it was going to work. I mean, we all know the song, but just how would a child relate to the lyrics in printed form? It was back in 1968 when Ringo Starr first composed Octopus's Garden after the captain of Peter Sellers' yacht told him about how octopuses trawl the sea bed looking for shiny stones and other objects that they then put in front of their caves, like a front garden. The idea is rather cute ... read more
Dragon Loves Penguin – Debi Gliori
When I first looked at the copy of Dragon Loves Penguin that Bloomsbury had sent me both Little Miss C and I were completely drawn in by the adorable dragon on the cover, peering at something just coming out of an egg. But just what was it that dragon was nurturing, as it didn't exactly look like a baby dragon? The story is set up so that a little penguin called Bib asks his mummy for a bedtime story about dragons and his mummy obliges. When the dragons arrived in the penguins' home in the antarctic and started laying their eggs there one dragon sadly found herself with no ... read more
The School – Dick Bruna
There are some children's book authors and illustrators whose style you instantly recognise and has become completely iconic - and Dick Bruna is one such person. Most famous for his Miffy books, he has written a staggering 124 titles in total and it all started 60 years ago with The Apple . To mark this anniversary Tate have republished The Apple, along with two other titles: The School, which has been out of print until 1968, and a new title On My Scooter, which I am sure will appeal to all the children like Little Miss C that I see going round on scooters. We were sent a copy of ... read more
Spider Sandwiches – Claire Freedman and Sue Hendra
There are some big benefits to blogging and one has to be the lovely parcel of children's books for us to review that arrived from Bloomsbury Children's Books last week. Four books which were all very different, but all equally lovely, and each deserves its own separate review here on the blog. I've decided to start with Spider Sandwiches which has to be the most fantastically bonkers book of the lot! Illustrated by Sue Hendra, who also was responsible for Doug the bug that went Boing which we reviewed here last week, the artwork in Spider Sandwiches is ... read more
Doug the bug that went Boing! – Sue Hendra
Recently Little Miss C has been complaining that we don't curl up and read together in the daytime any more and sadly she's right. Sitting quietly and trying to read a book is a bit tricky when you've got a one year old trying to climb up on to your knee. It was therefore perfect timing that just the two of us are home this afternoon and my postman brought along a copy of Doug the Bug this morning to review. LMC loved the last Sue Hendra book that we were sent to review (Keith the cat with the magic hat) and Doug is no different in gaining her ... read more
Underpants Wonderpants – Peter Bently and Deborah Melmon
I am always amazed at the way in which some children's books just completely capture a child's imagination as soon as they read them. They may not look that special to an adult as we initially flick through them, but our children just become obsessed with them instantly. That's exactly what happened with Underpants Wonderpants and Little Miss C. Is it an eagle? Is it a plane? No - it's Underpants Wonderpants to the rescue again! Underpants Wonderpants is, quite simply, a superhero dog who comes to the rescue of everyone from homeless mice to a planet under ... read more