A short break away...

A short break away...

...and some great Nosy Crow baby board books!

I hope everyone enjoyed the glorious summer we just had and made the most of the beautiful sunshine. Autumn is showing it's colours, this is my favourite time of year where I can start to wear jumpers and layer up, make stews and soup, and enjoy walks kicking leaves and collecting conkers and pine cones.

I've been rather quiet on this blog for a while as there's been a lot going on in my life these last few months and I've struggled to make time to review the lovely books that I've received. Aoife has just started school (how quick was that?), and now Erin is nearing her first birthday and is into everything. I also had a health scare and had a lot of hospital appointments throughout summer which are still on going but hopefully I'm reaching the end and can put it all behind me (fingers crossed).

Erin has reached a great age now where she is really showing a strong interest in the board books we have; she especially enjoys textures and large flaps. She hasn't quite got the hang of finger holes yet but I don't think it will be long. It's great to be able to pull out Aoife's old favourites and funny to see Aoife being quite protective of the books and will remove them if Erin is being a bit too rough with them.

Over the summer I was lucky to receive some more great board books from Nosy Crow. 

We received Animal and First Words which are part of The British Museum range; they are a great idea and a different take on first word books for little ones, aimed at ages 0-2. They feature interesting photographic imagery of items that can be found in the British Museum collection. An index at the back offers more information on the objects shown as well as a QR code to explore more. Though aimed at little ones, I think children from 3-4 could benefit by exploring and discussing objects you can find in a museum.

The Can you say it too? range have been a huge hit for both my little ones and Stomp Stomp is no different. The flaps are definitely big and easy for little fingers to lift. The illustrations are bright, colourful and fun and grabs the child's attention. The concept of the book is a hit and seems to work; aimed at children who are just talking, children will like the repetition and will rush to find who's hiding behind the next flap.

Look, there's a Helicopter/Tractor are from a range of books that uses finger holes to follow the story. With lots of items to point out and spot, these are great little adventures, perfect for sharing with little ones. Aimed at ages 0-2, with cute and colourful illustrations, these are sturdy little board books and a hit for any little boy or girl!

All books featured are available now, for more information click here.

Colours and Animals

Colours and Animals

Illustrations by Britta Teckentrup

Published by Templar Publishing

Templar Publishing have recently released a beautiful series of board books, featuring retro-styled illustrations by Britta Teckentrup. The series also includes Opposites, First Words, Animal 123 and Animal Spots and Stripes.

Colours includes gentle rhyming text which asks the child to spot a coloured item on the opposite page. The text page is the colour of the selected colour to spot and this 'colour' word is also printed larger and in bold. The opposite pages have a screen printed effect and large, evenly spread out illustrations on. Aimed at children, 2 years and up, they will be able to spot butterflies, teddy bears, fish, pencils, tractors and lizards all in a beautiful range of colours.

Animals is presented in a similar format with text on one side and screen printed illustrations on the opposite. Each page spread introduces a mummy animal and asks children to find her baby on the other side. The animals are beautifully illustrated and clear in what they are. I love the colour palettes for both books, which makes them stand out from other board books with similar themes. 

At the end of both books there is an additional question, which ask the child to either spot something that they've not seen before or which mummy has the most babies - this is a nice way to end the book on. 

A beautiful, colourful and bold, board book series featuring cute animal characters - what more is there not to love!!

Rainbow & Opposites

Rainbow & Opposites

Designed by Jane Cabrera

Published by Templar Publishing

Jane Cabrera's I Can See a Rainbow, is a beautiful and colourful die-cut board book that reflects the shape of a rainbow. Each page spread focuses on a colour of the rainbow and has sweet illustrations that are labelled for little ones to point out and name.

Jane Cabrera has a distinctive style creating cute characters that works well for this pretty board book. Each page features a range of creatures within each colour theme.  I love the rainbow shaped pages and they're also good for little fingers to turn the pages. A lovely book of colours.

Opposites is just as cute as Jane Cabrera's Rainbow but with a slight difference. This sweet board book has lift the flaps for children to see the opposite. I believe by allowing children to interact with the pages helps them take it in and have an early understanding of opposites or can be a good starting point.

Each page has different shaped flaps and some pages offer more than one. With a variety of illustrated backgrounds and animals included, there's some good talking points for adults and children to discuss. But its definitely another lovely board book for little ones to explore.

Skills for Starting school: Sharing is Caring + Please and Thank You

Skills for Starting school:
Sharing is Caring +
Please and Thank You

Published by DK Press

DK Press have a new fun and educational series: Get Ready for School, which offers a range of picture, board and activity books for your pre-school aged child. You can also find a free downloadable activity pack which introduces skills from numbers to colours here. They feature three friendly and educational characters: Bip, Bop and Boo, which you can find in Please and Thank You and Sharing is Caring, two board books within the series.

Please and Thank You features Bip, Bop and Boo at the park where they are having a picnic. Bip offers his friends a cookie each but they forget to say the all important magic words. A nice little book that offers discussion questions which will encourage children to take an active role in the story.  It can also open up a discussion with your child about manners and how the characters may be feeling. 

Sharing is Caring features Boo building a castle out of bricks when Bip asks to play with him, Boo says no but when his castle falls down he is ready to ask Boo and Bop for help, which results in them all agreeing that it's much more fun to share and play together. 

These are great little books for teaching social and personal skills and will be a great help in getting children ready for starting school.

 I read these with Aoife, who will be starting nursery school in June, so these were a great way to start talking about feelings and manners. Aoife did ask for a biscuit while reading Please and Thank You but remembered to say please so how could I say no.. Available late February.    

Follow the Trail... Minibeasts & Baby Dinosaurs

Follow the Trail...
Minibeasts & Baby Dinosaurs

Published by DK Press

DK will be releasing a lovely collection of board books aimed at ages 1 plus, later this month. The Follow the Trail range includes Trucks, Farm, Wild Animals, Baby Animals, Minibeasts and Baby Dinosaurs; a series that aims to make early learning fun and exciting for curious pre-schoolers.

These tactile books offer peepholes for little fingers, colourful and textured finger trails, big and colourful illustrations which are paired with simple facts. There are also trails that teach children about shapes, matching and sorting.

Follow the Trail Minibeasts focuses on four insects that can be found in your garden or in the park. I showed these two books to my daughter Aoife, who at 2 and a half, got stuck right in exploring the trails and pointing out what she could find. Aoife keeps returning to these books as there are lots of areas to talk about and explore.

Follow the Trail Baby Dinosaurs has a similar layout to Minibeasts and focusses on four different dinosaurs, it also offers the breakdown of the name which will help children and adults pronounce their names correctly. Children are asked to follow the trails to help the baby dinosaurs find their mummy or daddy.

Aoife was a big fan of the baby dinosaurs, so this book is definitely not just for boys. She enjoyed pointing out the shapes which had objects inside them such as an egg and a volcano which led to questions being asked. These were definitely a hit with her.

These are books that can be brought out again and again as your toddler grows more curious; from just looking at the bright pictures and feeling the textured surfaces to learning the shapes and instructions, and finding out more about the interesting subjects. These books can be explored over and over again.

For more info, click here.

Wilbur's Book of... Early learning series

Wilbur's Book of... Early learning series

By Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Published by Oxford University Press

It's day three of my special Halloween week, this is something for the very little ones - the new Wilbur toddler and baby board book series based on Winnie the Witch’s cat Wilbur. Winnie the Witch is the bestselling picture books by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul.

This series of 8 early learning books cover colours, first words, numbers, opposites, actions, feelings, dressing up and things that go. These are not your average first word books. You won’t find examples such as; A is for apple, or the big elephant or the small mouse. Instead you and your little ones will find a mix of magic and mischief. 

For example, in Wilbur’s book of colours, you’ll come across a red beastie, a black cauldron of white washing and maybe even some slimy green worms!

In Wilbur’s book of numbers, you’ll be counting broomsticks, monsters and even pumpkins.

These board books are humorous and witty and children will love following Wilbur throughout the books. These put fun into early learning. And what makes them even more sweet, is that at the end of each book there’s a message celebrating the fondness that Wilbur and his owner Winnie have for each other, a lovely way to end each book.

This delightful series, though different, are a great alternative from the traditional first word books. An ideal way for introducing magical creatures and other odd objects that they’ll soon be encountering in books, on TV around this spooky time of year!

All eight books in the series are available to buy in good bookshops and online at Oxford University Press Shop.