I remember as a child sitting down with my Dad to look up some facts about planets as part of my school science homework. In those days the only way to do so was to sit down with some books yet I'm pretty sure that when I have to do similar with Little Miss C and Master C we'll be using the Internet instead and I think I feel a bit sad about that. Yes Google is very useful, but there was a certain satisfaction in finding the answers there on my bookshelf. My choice for today's Ladybird Tuesday is a book that fact loving children would have jumped upon at the time - A second ... read more
Octonauts and the Undersea Eruption
Another CBeebies tie-in today, but rather than reading about Knights we've now moved to under the sea and the Octonauts. A slight difference here is that the Octonauts originated as characters in books before moving to the small screen. Following their TV success they're now ready to go on some new adventures in books. In The Octonauts and the Undersea Eruption the Octonauts have to deal with an emergency caused by a volcano at the bottom of the ocean that is erupting. Will they be able to get everyone out in time? In particular the three floating blobfish, Bob, Bob and ... ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries
There's absolutely no doubt that I was something of a geeky child. I had a chemistry set and also a selection of batteries, bulbs and electric wires. I also had a magnet set that I loved so much that when I saw the same one for sale on eBay last year (in new condition) I bought it instantly to put away for Little Miss C and her, then still a bump, baby brother. It's no wonder that I went on to study physics and chemistry at A-Level and engineering at university. I would have loved the Ladybird Junior Science Book Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries - in fact some of the projects look so ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning About Insects and Small Animals
If you look at all the Ladybird titles originally published what really stands out to me is the number of natural history books that there were. They were not all confined to Ladybird series 651 (Ladybird Natural History Books) but that series is where this particular book sits - Learning about Insects and Small Animals. First published in 1972 and written by Romola Showell this books concentrates on those smaller creatures that small children seem so fond of finding in their back gardens or whilst out and about. The level of detail in this books is vast and covers everything ... read more
New books
With baby's arrival a bit delay I've already managed to keep my promise to myself that I made last week and squeezed in a quick trip to the local bookshop and picked up a bit of reading material which is now helping me through the early morning pregnancy insomnia: The Little Village School by Gervase Phinn and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson. I've read plenty of Gervase Phinn before, but this is the first of his novels that I've tried. When it comes to Jeanette Winterson I have of course heard of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit but ... read more
Bookstart 20
I was completely shocked when I today read on twitter say that nearly 60% of families do not own a single baby book. I've seen statistics like this before about things like the average number of books in a UK household being just five, and previously I've never been able to get the facts to back up what I've read. This time though Beachy Books were able to point me in the direction of this article from The Bookseller. According to the research that has been done, 57% of families do not own a single baby book until they receive their Bookstart early reading packs. These packs are ... read more
Calvin Can’t Fly – Jennifer Berne
Calvin Can't Fly really is the perfect book for any little bookworm. Calvin is a starling. One with three brothers, four sisters and sixty-seven thousand four hundred and thirty-two cousins. What sets Calvin apart though is that fact that he's not interested in learning to fly like the rest of them are. Instead he spends all his time in the library with his nose beak inside a book. In exactly the same way as any book loving child does, he discovers a world that contains so much more than just flying and catching insects. The other starlings don't understand ... read more
Flowers on the Grass – Monica Dickens
Bearing in mind how many I have already read it's in some ways amazing that there are still some Monica Dickens books that I haven't read yet, but I'm delighted to say that there are. Flowers on the Grass has been sat on my bookcase for a while, but it was only when I picked up a second copy of it in a charity shop recently that I realised it was unread. This book is follows a young man called Daniel Brett as he wanders through life - never staying anywhere long - following the sudden tragic death of his wife in a household acident. The main focus though is not Daniel ... read more