I’m a strong believe that the things we fill our minds with, inform who we become. So if you fill your mind with rubbish, rubbish is what your mind is full of. If you fill it with good stuff, good stuff is what it is full of. This belief steers my parenting decisions a lot of the time, so that I really try to provide positive and uplifting resources along with the stories and make-believe and games in my girls’ lives. It’s because of this that I was quite excited to find a children’s story for the Suffragettes, especially with this year being the 100th anniversary of (some) women’s right to vote. When 8 year old Ameli started reading My Story Suffragette I was really thrilled that she read it because she wanted to, rather than because it was something I’d ‘set’ for her to read.
Tag: Book Review
Where’s The Easter Bunny? {Book Review}
If you’re looking for something that’s a little Easter themed, but not exclusive to the season of chocolate Eggs, there’s a fab new book out that fans of Where’s Waldo style books will just love. Where’s The Easter Bunny? – Around the World by Louis Shea is a superb ‘around the world’ themed book with over 500 things to spot.
Watabus Personalised Book Review
When I agreed to review the Watabus personalised book, I really had no idea how popular it would be. I decided to wrap it up and give it to my daughter for her 5th birthday, and her 7 year old sister loved it so much, she wants one for her next birthday too! I think that speaks for itself as to the quality of the book. 
Read more: Watabus Personalised Book Review
Before & After – Jean Jullien
About a year ago we reviewed a book by Jean Jullien called This is Not a Book – a book that’s still in use now, a year later. Jean Jullien has released a new book, this one called Before and After which is sure to be almost as loved as that one is.
My Mum is Fantastic – Nick Butterworth
Well, do you need any further motivation to read a book to your child, beyond a title of ‘My Mum is Fantastic’. It is, of course, based on a true story – *wink wink* But okay, I’ll tell you a bit more about this board book from Nick Butterworth.
“I love that this book tells the truth. Mama IS fantastic” – Ameli, Age 7
Targeted at those over 6 months, this is a sturdy board book with 13 strong board pages. The 26 page story isn’t just for babies though, but the single lines of large-font story are great for early readers too. As such it’s a lovely read for bed time, too, since it’s short but engaging.
My First Story Writing Book {Book Review}
If you’ve been inspired by National Storytelling Week or you’re simply hoping to encourage your little storyteller to grow in the craft, there are a number of books on the market that offer just that. We recently bought My First Story Writing Book from Usborne books to work through during the week and we loved it so much, I wanted to share it with you.
Can I Eat That {Book Review}
We love books in general, but interactive books are a double bonus. Can I Eat That by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Julia Rothman is one such a book.
Each page of Can I Eat That features different food stuff, with the reoccuring theme being ‘is that something I can eat?’
It’s a fantastic book for kids that like putting things in their mouths or up their noses!Read more: Can I Eat That {Book Review}
Growing Together {Book Review}
Taking a step back in time for a moment, back to books for little ones, we’re looking at the Growing Together series by Taro Gomi. These picture books feature different family members as they learn from one another.
A First Book of Animals {Review}
I’ve long been a fan of Petr Horacek’s illustrations, and will happily admit that it was knowing he was the illustrator on Nicola Davies’ A First Book of Animals that made me reach for this one. But in fairness to Nicola Davies, I’d best start with her.
A First Book of Animals is the second in Nicola Davies’ series, following on the success of A First Book of Nature . It contains over 50 different animals in five sections – big and small, colours and shapes, animal homes, animal babies and animals in action. Ms Davies actually graduated in zoology, but I imagine she would have done as well in a literature degree, because the book has a beautiful, dreamy quality to the text. I adore the use of poetry and descriptive writing which is bound to not only make children fall in love with it, but help them remember what could otherwise be dry facts.
This Is Not A Book – Book Review
We love books, and while they don’t rock the blogging world, they’re great fun for the kids and they keep our house overflowing with books shelves stocked. The most recent book in our collection is being released for sale today, and it’s called This Is Not A Book.
It really isn’t, by the definition of a book. I mean, it doesn’t have a story, or words, for that matter, but it has pages and it’s bound on one side, so you know… it is a book.
Anyway.
This Is Not A Book is probably the most unique book concept I’ve seen in a while. It has 32-pages but each image is a double page spread. There’s a picture of a monster, a piano, a laptop, butterfly, fridge, tent and so on, but the nature of it lends itself to interaction. It turns the book into a toy, which is rather awesome.
For example, give the children the book, and they immediately start tapping on the ‘laptop’ page, ‘working like Mommy!’.
Turn a few pages to the piano, and they’re banging out a tune. The butterfly went flitting around the room, the monster almost ate Aviya up in one huge gulp, the fridge turned into an (online!) restaurant order. My favourite page is the tent. Turn the book into a triangle shape, and you’re inside a tent.
I think that’s what “author” (illustrator? is it an author for a book with no words?) Jean Jullien was going for. He says about the book, “This Is Not A Book is a toy with many pages! Playfulness is something that I hold very dear as it encourages us to experiment and challenge our surroundings. This Is Not A Book is an invitation to do just that”
It so is that!
There’s just one thing about the book that bothers me. The tightrope walker. If you’re looking down on a tightrope walker, you’re not going to see the clouds. If you’re looking up at him, he’s not going to be hanging upside down. See?
But the children love this book. It’s meant to be for 2 – 4 year olds, but even my 6 year old is crazy about it.
This Is Not A Book is available today for £6.95 on Amazon.