Showing posts with label lift the flap book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lift the flap book. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 October 2018

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.




Monday, 2 April 2018

Why it has been so long...

Why it has been so long...

I have already announced the following news through my Instagram account, but we welcomed another little girl into this world, last October; meet Erin, the newest member and little sister to Aoife. It feels like Erin has always been apart of our little family and Aoife adores her (I hope it lasts!). 
Adjusting to being a new mum of two has been hard work and I have struggled to get back into the swing of things when it comes to reviewing but now that I've sort of got the hang of things (it's all about routines), I'm hoping to crack on with this reviewing lark. I've been receiving some gems and can't wait to show you. 



Erin gives her seal of approval to another lovely addition to the range Can You Say It Too?  Stomp! Stomp! is by Sebastien Braun and published by Nosy Crow. A board back book with large flaps to lift which reveal a range of dinosaurs. Bright, colourful, and bold, it would be great for any little dinosaur fan. The Can You Say It Too? range, is ideal for children who are just starting to talk. 


I love seeing children reading and enjoying books!! But I especially love how Aoife is now enjoying revisiting her baby books and pointing out things to her little sister. Sister love x


Thursday, 22 June 2017

Walk This Wild World

Walk This Wild World

Illustrated by Sam Brewster
Written by Kate Baker
Published by Big Picture Press


Walk This Wild World is a stunningly illustrated, lift-the-flap board book. Each page spread explores a new habitat and country and offers a variety of animals, reptiles and insects, and even plant life. Flaps of different sizes are spread out and offer interesting facts.




Sam Brewster's graphic style is distinctive and works extremely well with this style of book. From Peccaries and Kangaroo rats in the Sonoran dessert, to the blue morpho, the largest butterfly in the Amazon. You'll discover a huge selection of creatures in a variety of countries such as the Serengeti, the Spanish wetlands, the windy coast of the Hebrides, a vast green Russian steppe, to the snowy Himalayan peaks among a few others. There is also a world map at the end to show the journey that you have taken.

Though Aoife may be too young to understand the facts, she is still enjoying this book, finding the flaps and trying to learn the animal names. It's one she likes to pick up daily.







It's a beautiful discovery book, that's high quality, that any young or old animal lover will enjoy exploring!

Thursday, 9 April 2015

You Are My Baby: Meadow

You Are My Baby: Meadow

By Lorena Siminovich
Published by Chronicle Books



You Are My Baby: Meadow is the latest title in this board book series. Previous titles include Safari, Farm, Garden, Ocean, Pets and Woodland. These two-in-one books, with a small book nestled within a bigger book, allows little ones to match the baby animals with their parents; a lovely early learning concept.

Meadow includes a bluebird, rabbit, sheep, mouse and hen, which are within the large book while their babies are within the little book. The little book also includes the repeated phrase of ‘You are my baby, little……’, while the larger book includes sentences such as ‘You discover new things’, ‘You grow so fast’ and ending on ‘You dream sweet dreams’ paired with a sleeping lamb.




I like the concept of this book and the series looks lovely. Aoife, my 10 month old daughter, loves turning the pages on the little book, but I don’t think I would leave her on her own with this book just yet, as I would be worried of it tearing.

The illustrations are super cute, with the pictures made up of a collage of patterns. As mentioned on the back of this book, Lorena Siminovich is the creator of Petit Collage, which is a line of modern wall decor and accessories. This comes across as the book series has an aesthetically appealing look.

A lovely little book to read with toddlers, exploring animals and their young in a fun and playful way. The You Are My Baby range can be found in all good book shops but also online here.

Saturday, 14 February 2015

The Tragic Tale of Dwayne the Eating Monster

The Tragic Tale of Dwayne the Eating Monster

By Valentina Mendicino 
Published by Top That! Publishing



Meet Dwayne the monster, he’s not very good at much except eating and boy does he have an appetite! This funny, lift-the-flap book, is Valentina Mendicino first published book, featuring a very greedy monster! Her second book, The Really Abominable Snowman is about another monster, which I reviewed earlier this year.



In The tragic tale of Dwayne the Eating Monster, we meet Dwayne and the only thing Dwayne loves to do is EAT! One day he decides to try eating new things, and to find out what you need to lift the flap over his tummy. You'll discover he'd eaten a cat followed by the next door neighbour’s dog. His neighbour isn't impressed - but it doesn’t stop him from feeling hungry. The more Dwayne eat the BIGGER he got. Dwayne grew so big that he couldn’t sleep in his bed or tie his shoelaces and couldn’t even fit through his front door any more. But Dwayne doesn’t care, he just wants to keep eating and grows bigger and BIGGER. There’s lots of flaps to lift up and discover whats in his tummy which is lots of fun. 




Unfortunately, as Dwayne gets bigger, so does his appetite, Dwayne starts to eat whole towns and cities! Nothing is safe from Dwayne, not even planet Earth and the Moon. Soon there is nothing left to eat and with a rumbling tummy, something happens that Dwayne thought would never happen - I don’t want to ruin this story, but lets just say there is always a bigger fish in the sea!




Valentina Mendicino’s illustrations are big and bright. Your eyes are drawn to the very pink Dwayne and the many items of food and things you wouldn’t consider food like an iron, a lamppost and even a ladder. 

The recommended age is 3 years and over and children will love lifting the flaps to discover what, or even whom, has become Dwayne’s latest meal. And even though Dwayne is a very greedy and naughty monster, you will feel slightly sorry for him at the end! All in all this is a very inventive story for use in a Lift-The-Flap Book, one that children will want to explore again and again. The tragic tale of Dwayne the Eating Monster is available to buy now at all good bookshops or direct from Top That! publishing online.

A huge thank you to Valentina for providing me this review copy. She even signed it for my 8 month old daughter, Aoife!