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
Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout… Simple Electronics
Be warned - there's a full on geek alert for this week's Ladybird Tuesday. I have a degree in Electronic Engineering and my choice for this week is Simple Electronics from the Learnabout series (634). Having first been published in 1979 things in the world of electronic have moved on somewhat since then, but as the introduction to the book says, "some quite simple electronic circuits" are actually at the basis of many of the more complicated electronic devices that surround us. The only problem I have with this particular Ladybird book is the use of the word ... 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
Review : Post-it Super Sticky Notes
Did you know that Post-it notes were pretty much invented by accident? Someone working at 3M was trying to come up with a super-strong adhesive and instead invented a reusable, pressure -sensitive one instead. Not knowing what to do with his new invention, but sure that it did have a purpose, he just made sure he told lots of people in the company about it until one of them came up with the idea of using it to hold a piece of paper inside his book to mark the page, and the rest, as they say, is history. Nowadays Post-it notes are everywhere. I always have a stack on the kitchen counter next ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Bruno Cuddly Toy
In addition to being sent the Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform there was also this cute little guy in the parcel - Bruno! I mean how can you not fall completely in love with him? Bruno's got lovely textured fur, making him irresistible for little hands to play with. The mix of colours is also attractive to the eye and stimulating for younger children. He also rattles when you shake him. When we opened the box it was instantly declared that Bruno should be for Master C, but it seems like Little Miss C is also rather fond of him. She was particularly keen to show him our ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform
They always say that one of the biggest tests when reviewing something is asking the question "would I have bought this myself?" and that's a very easy question for me to answer here as we actually bought Little Miss C the Road and Rail Overhead Platform for her birthday earlier this year! That means we've actually had a good few months to review this properly and it's quite telling that when LMC saw it in the latest Play Patrol package from Bigjigs her response was "oh wow, another platform". Our train set building has had to slow down a bit lately as it's ... 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
Review: DC Super Friends Magazine
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my dislike of things being aimed at one gender over the other when the target audience is so young. It's something which seems to have struck a chord with many parents - both those with sons and daughters. I wasn't going to let whether or not my kids fit into the desired gender demographic stop me from reviewing something which I thought they were going to enjoy though so I was intrigued to see what Little Miss C would make of the DC Super Friends Magazine which I mentioned in my original post as being aimed at pre-school boys. Basically, ... read more
Review: Sudocrem Care & Protect
If anyone tries to tell you that teething nappies don't exist then they're lying. And if they want proof then they're very welcome to come round here and change a few for me! Master C's teething big style at the moment and it therefore seemed rather appropriate timing to receive an email asking if I wanted to review a new product from Sudocrem to help prevent nappy rash - Care & Protect. I think there are very few mums in this country who haven't used Sudocrem at some point on their children's bottoms - I know my mum certainly used it on mine - and the distinctive ... read more