Category Archives: Children’s books

What the Ladybird Heard

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Following on from our review of the Let’s Read! version of Room on the Broom, we have been discovering some more books in the series.  What the Ladybird Heard is another excellent Julia Donaldson story which has been redesigned into an early reader format.

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Let’s Read! What the Ladybird Heard, Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, paperback, £4.99, published by Macmillan

I love the concept of the Let’s Read! series – that you don’t need to alter the text of well-loved stories to make them more accessible to children who are learning to read.  Simply changing the font and redesigning the format can be enough to encourage children who are growing in reading confidence.

What the Ladybird Heard is the story of a farm full of noisy animals.  Two thieves come with a map and a key and a cunning plan to steal the fine prize cow, but a quiet ladybird saves the day.

When we had finished reading the story together Owl and Monkey took turns to read it themselves, and then the three older children drew some pictures.

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Thank you Macmillan, we really enjoyed this story!

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

A Hug for World Prematurity Day

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It’s World Prematurity Day this Sunday and this year’s theme is #GiveAHug.  Many of us take for granted that we can give our children a hug whenever we like, and hold our babies as soon as they are born.  But for many parents it is not that simple.  Around the world, 15 million babies a year are born prematurely, 60 000 of those in the UK.  In many cases, their parents cannot give them a hug for days, or even weeks.

To support Bliss in their #GiveAHug campaign, we have decided to share one of our favourite picture books, Hug, by Jez Aldborough.
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We read it together at bedtime while we were staying at Granny’s house.  Once the children were settled on the sofa in their pyjamas with an assortment of dolls and teddies and a blanket, Owl decided he would like to read it to the others.

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The story is simply told through eloquent pictures and very little text, which means you can’t just read the words, you have to talk about it.  This leads to some lovely conversations and an insight into the children’s point of view.

A little chimp has lost his mummy, and everywhere he looks he sees other animals sharing hugs.  An elephant takes pity on him, and tries to help him find his mummy.  They look everywhere but can’t find her.  He sits down and starts crying and the other animals look worried but they don’t know what to do.  Suddenly his mummy comes and finds him, and they share a joyful hug.  And then all the animals hug each other, and the little chimp hugs his friend, the elephant.

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It’s a heartwarming story, and it is very good for discussing emotions with children.  We look at the little chimp’s face in each scene and talk about what he is feeling.

On this occasion, as you can see in the photos above, when the children had finished reading the story, they all took turns to hug each other.  Only a couple of photos were usable as most of them were rather blurry (or silly!) but it was lovely to watch and it made me feel very lucky.

Wakey Wakey Big Brown Bear

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The weather is getting colder and it feels like Winter is on the way, but we haven’t quite had the last of Autumn yet.  We are still enjoying going out for walks, playing in the leaves and collecting Autumn treasures, but the children are also asking when we think it is likely to snow.  Parragon Books have sent us a book to review which perfectly encapsulates the simple outdoor pleasures of both seasons.

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Wakey Wakey Big Brown Bear! is written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Rachel Swirles.  It is published by Parragon Books and is priced at £5.99.

Big Brown Bear doesn’t want to go to bed, because he will miss Autumn, with its crunchy leaves and splashy puddles, and Winter, with its sparkly snow. His friends Little Grey Mouse, Snow Hare and Squirrel promise to wake him up, but they can’t so they have to find another way to make sure he doesn’t miss out on the fun.

It’s a story of friendship, and a celebration of the seasons of Autumn and Winter.  It is well written and enjoyable to read aloud, and beautifully illustrated too.  Our children all loved it, and they had fun drawing their own pictures – I was pleased that even Tiddler wanted to join in!

 

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We were sent the book for free for the purpose of writing a review.

Room on the Broom

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I was very pleased to be offered the chance to review Let’s Read! Room on the Broom for Macmillan, because we love Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.  The children already know and enjoy the story of Room on the Broom and we found it interesting to compare the Let’s Read version with the original.

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Let’s Read! Room on the Broom, paperback, £4.99, published by Macmillan

The Let’s Read series takes the complete original stories of popular picture books and re-designs them to support children who are growing in reading confidence.  I asked the children what they thought of the new version and they said that they liked it.  They noticed that the print was clearer, with a child-friendly font (no strange curly letters like “a” and “g”) and the enlarged capitals at the beginning of each page have been replaced with normal-sized ones.  The book itself is a suitable size for a child to hold.  It is also shaped like other books which might appeal to older children, so they will not associate it with a younger child’s picture book.  I think it is a really clever idea, to extend the life of some excellent stories which can appeal to children of all ages.

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The story is about a witch and her cat who fly happily over forests, rivers and mountains on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow and wand. They are retrieved by a dog, a bird and a frog, and each animal asks for a ride on the broom. They climb on, one after the next, until the broom is so heavy that it snaps in two!  They tumble into a bog and meet a greedy dragon who wants to eat the witch.  The story cleverly culminates in a perfectly satisfying denouement.

After reading the story, the children had fun drawing pictures of the cover image.

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All of the children really enjoyed the book.  The older boys could easily read either version, though I think the new one might appeal to them most.  Rabbit can’t read it all yet, but she definitely finds the new version more approachable and I think the series will be really useful to her as her reading skills develop.  And Tiddler was keen to read it too.  At first he had a look and said, “Hmm, I don’t know all the words…”, but then he decided not to let that stop him and sat happily reading the story to himself for several minutes.

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Thank you, Macmillan, for sending us this book to review – it is a great addition to the collection, and we are really excited about the Let’s Read series.

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Gruffalo Story Sack

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We have made story sacks before, but not for a long time and I’ve been meaning to do some more, so I was really pleased when I found this excellent resource pack while browsing on twinkl.  We love the Gruffalo, and have read it hundreds of times over the years.  It has stood the test of time, as it still appeals to all the children now, so I knew it would be a good one to get them all involved in.  Since Monkey has decided that Friday should be book day, we have set aside time on the last couple of Friday afternoons to make and play with our Gruffalo story sack.

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One day I might get round to making a beautiful drawstring bag for our story sack, but for now we are using a pillowcase!  I do, however, have a nice little bag for some of the smaller pieces – I can’t claim the credit as it was made by a friend and given to us years ago when Owl was very small.

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In our story sack, we have two copies of The Gruffalo, a board book and a much-loved, dog-eared paperback.  We also have a copy of The Gruffalo’s Child.  I have added some non-fiction books about owls and mice.  I thought we had one about snakes but I can’t find it, so maybe I was too ruthless in my clear-out in the summer holidays – on the other hand, it might turn up.  We have a lot of books in this house which is wonderful, but it can make it hard to find the one you want sometimes!

We also have some conkers in the picture, which is a bit random but they were on the table at the time and we thought they were quite appropriate for a woodland story and fun to play with.  We might keep a few in our story sack, and maybe add some acorns and nuts.

We have cut out and laminated the word mat and describing words, story scenes and characters, and also the animal masks, though we haven’t added elastic yet.  Owl made and laminated the names of the characters, and gave them to Rabbit and Monkey to match with the animals.

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Owl and Monkey played with the story scenes, and Monkey made a tree to add to one of them.  It’s a really lovely way of retelling and talking about the story, and I need to do it with Tiddler as well when he is in the mood, as he loves telling stories!

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The big three children then drew pictures and labelled them using the word mat.  This was obviously easy for the boys, but Rabbit really made use of it, working out how to write “owl ice-cream” and “mouse on bread” without any help, so it was perfect for her.

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We had also printed out the colouring pages, and the big three did one each.  Tiddler coloured in two (the mouse and the snake) and I was really pleased with his concentration and effort – he took it very seriously, especially the mouse’s tail for some reason!

We have really enjoyed making our story sack, and it has sparked off lots of creative ideas so I’m sure we’ll be adding to it.  Monkey made a brilliant model of a tree which somehow didn’t make it to the photos, so we might continue that and make some 3D story scenes.  It has also reminded Monkey that he really really wants a Gruffalo cuddly toy for Christmas.  He’s asked for one several times before, and now that we have made our story sack I think we might be getting one!

We were given a free subscription to twinkl premium for the purpose of reviewing this and other resources.

The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat – Review

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The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat

Written by Coral Rumble and illustrated by Charlotte Cooke

Published by Parragon, £5.99

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We received this book last week as part of the Parragon book buddy scheme, and it has been an immediate hit.  The older children read it themselves straight away, and then I read it to all of them together.  We enjoyed the imaginative illustrations and the simply, beautifully written rhyming text.

“The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea

In a box on the living room floor,

They sailed away for a year and a day

And these are the things that they saw…”

So begins the adventure of two curious children whose cardboard box boat takes them out to sea where they meet a “wiggly, squiggly eel”, a ” cheerful seal”, a “swordfish in a fight/ With a pirate late at night” and many other characters.  Eventually they arrive at a “cave on the shore/ With a green seaweed door…” before sailing home again where they fall asleep “by the light of the moon.”

It was bedtime when I read the story to the children, but it sparked off such an imaginative game that I let them stay up far too late.  It was the kind of deeply involved play that you just can’t interrupt!

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Two armchairs became a boat, a blue blanket the sea, and another blanket draped over chairs formed a cave.  Provisions and teddies (and cuddly broccoli!) were packed, and they set sail.

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After eating a picnic or two en route, they arrived at their destination and explored the cave, where they found a treasure box.  They carefully loaded it into the boat and sailed back home, fending off a pirate ship on the way.

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The little ones then spent some time playing with the treasure, while Monkey re-read the book, and then it really was time for bed.  We all gathered together to listen to Daddy reading the original version of The Owl and the Pussy-cat, by Edward Lear, which was a lovely way to finish off what had turned out to be a rather special evening.

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Poo! What IS That Smell? – Review

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We’ve been sent another great book to review by Macmillan – Poo! What is that Smell, written by Glenn Murphy and illustrated by Laura Murphy.  In fact, I’ll be honest, we were sent it a little while ago.  We started reading it, then lost it, then found it just as I was starting to panic and think I would have to get on and buy myself another copy.  Anyway, after that false start we are loving it.  The title is perfect for catching children’s attention, and the book doesn’t disappoint.  It is full of really detailed Scientific information, but very readable and entertaining.

Poo! What is that smell

The book has a chapter on each of the five senses, and so far we have been reading the first chapter which is about Sight.  I asked the children to recall one fact that they had found interesting from the chapter and draw a picture.  Owl and Monkey both chose to illustrate the reason why zebras have black-and-white stripes.  “It’s so they can hide among each other.  A herd of stripey zebras presents a confusing optical illusion to lions and hyenas.  The stripes disguise the outline of each animal in the herd, making it hard to tell where one zebra ends and another one begins, or which way they might be facing.  This makes it especially difficult for their predators to select a target, let alone predict which way they might run once the chase begins.”

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Don’t ask me why there are rabbits flying overhead, and animals holding up umbrellas to protect themselves from their droppings.  All I can say is that the boys found it very amusing, and I hope it helps them to remember this Science fact!

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Rabbit was interested in the fact that some animals can see different colours, or types of light, because they have more types of cone cells in their eyes.  “Many birds, for example, can see ultraviolet (UV) light.  This lets them see patterns of light on flowers, trees and grassy hillsides that are invisible to humans.  Snakes, meanwhile, have extra cone cells that can detect invisible, infrared (IR) light given off by warm objects.  With this special, snakey , super-vision, a pit viper can pick out the warm body of a quivering mouse in complete darkness.  Good news for the snake; bad news for mousey…”

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I am really enjoying reading this book to the children, and I’m learning a lot too!

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Rastamouse and Da Micespace Mystery

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Rastamouse and Da Micespace Mystery

By Michael De Souza and Genevieve Webster

Published 12th September 2013, Macmillan, £6.99

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My first impressions of Rastamouse and Da Micespace Mystery were that it was bright and colourful and I loved the illustrations.  The little ones certainly found it appealing too, and they enjoyed seeing the familiar characters from the excellent Rastamouse programmes on Cbeebies.

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I read the story to all four children together and we all enjoyed it, though I have to admit that my rendering of the Jamaican patois probably left a little bit to be desired.  It’s a funny story though, and cleverly written.  Rastamouse and the Easy Crew receive a call from the President because his bank account has been hacked and the Mouseland millions have been stolen.  Luckily Rastamouse has a plan to track down the geek-a-mouse who’s responsible – the gadget-loving Mister Flash. I liked the reference to “MiTube” as well as “Micespace”, and it made Owl laugh out loud.  In fact, on first reading I think he liked it the most, as he was quickest to understand the story.  With the others, I had a lot of explaining to do, with the help of the glossary and list of abbreviations at the back of the book – I needed it for “Criss” and “G2G”!

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After reading the story, the three older children drew pictures inspired by the excellent illustrations, and Monkey made a Rastamouse finger puppet!

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It’s a fun book, and even more so when daddy reads it out loud – his patois, though decidedly dodgy, is definitely better than mine!

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This book was sent to us for review by Macmillan Children’s Books.

I’m a Chicken, Get Me Out of Here

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One of the things I have enjoyed the most about receiving books to review is that it has made me read to the older children more.  Once they can read it is too easy to let them get on with it, while reading stories mainly to the little ones, but children of any age enjoy being read to, and I have loved doing more of it recently.

The latest book we have read together is I’m a Chicken, Get Me Out of Here by Anna Wilson.  Titch is a chicken who has been sent to Wilf’s house by mistake, and she is not happy about being there, especially not when she finds she is sharing a home with Brian, an extremely fussy guinea pig.  She is determined to escape into the big wild word and do something marvellous.

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The book is well-written and very funny – I often had to pause while reading it as the children were laughing so much!  It particularly appealed to the older boys, who are 9 and 7, and I think this is the age group it is aimed at.

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Rabbit’s review

What is the story about?  A chicken who wants to escape into the big wide world.

Do you like this book?  Why?  A bit, because I like the chicken.

Monkey’s review

What is the story about?  A hen that comes in a parcel and wins a poultry show.

Do you like this book?  Why?  I love it because it’s funny.

Owl’s review

What is the story about?  A chicken who gets sent from the chicken run to the Peasbodys’ house where she befriends a cat and a guinea pig.

Do you like this book?  Why?  Yes, I like the funny storyline.

Thank you Macmillan – another great hit!

The book was sent to us for free to review.

Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts

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We have been sent another lovely book to review by Macmillan and this one has inspired us so much that it was hard to know when to write this post as we have more ideas we would like to follow up.  However, we have had the book a while so I thought we should let you know what we think of it, and what we’ve been up to so far.

Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts by Emily Gravett is a picture book with a difference.  It is the follow up to the multi-award-winning Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears which was published in 2007.

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Little Mouse has found a book about the world’s most terrifying and ferocious beasts, but they are all a bit too scary for him.  So he changes the book to make it less frightening.

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He gives the lion some pretty mittens to cover up his sharp claws, and removes his loud roar.

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He removes part of the instructions for making an origami shark, and adds his own for making an origami mouse instead.

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The rhinoceros is given a selection of dainty shoes.

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The jellyfish is crossed out and replaced with a dish of jelly.

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And at the end, the mouse is cleverly transformed into a monster using parts he has torn from the previous pages.

When I first shared the book with the little ones (aged three and five) I think they were a bit bemused, and I felt I had to do a lot of explaining.  The older boys (aged seven and nine) liked it immediately, so I thought it might appeal more to this age group despite being a picture book.  However, the younger children did enjoy it and it definitely grew on them.  I liked it because it sparked off so many ideas for activities we could do together.

We talked about how it would be fun to draw our own pictures of animals with a difference and we decided to play heads, bodies and legs (like consequences but with pictures.)

Heads, Bodies and Legs

Then we decided to have a go at some origami.  First we made some origami planes using an excellent kit from Djeco.

Origami Planes

Then Rabbit and I tried out the much more fiddly Safari Origami kit from 4M.  We just about managed the butterflies and birds which are for beginners but quite hard.  We haven’t tried the rest of the animals yet but we will!

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The following day we had another go with the much easier Djeco origami animals kit.

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Next, Owl wants to try following the origami instructions in the book to see if they work.  Will they make a shark or a mouse or something else?!

And we are also planning to draw some animals and then change them in the way the Little Mouse has done.  That should suit all the children, as the older ones love drawing and the little ones love cutting and sticking!

So what else would you do?  Any more ideas gratefully received.  I have a feeling that this book is going to be keeping us busy for a while!

The book was given to us free to review.  The origami kits were our own but I have linked to Craft Merrily because that is where I would go to buy Djeco products.