My Favourite Fairytales

My Favourite Fairytales

by Nina Filipek and illustrated by Bruno Merz
 Published by Milly & Flynn

 

Aoife and I were extremely lucky to receive the series of book, My Favourite Fairytales, from new childrens publishers Milly & Flynn.

 

The fairytale series includes; The Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Rapunzel, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Hansel and Gretel.

 

 

All are retold by Nina Filipek and illustrated by Bruno Merz. The books are recommended for children over three years due to the suggested activities and stickers that can be found at the back of each book. Please note that the books will be available from early July and will each be sold with 2 sticker sheets for a limited period of time.

These classic stories have traditional illustrated illustrations in watercolour and pencil, which makes a lovely continuity throughout the series.

 

 

For each book the story flows well and at the end includes activities to encourage the child to think about what has happened and to flick back into the book to help answer the questions. From a layout point of view, the use of type and for some books, the different fonts, all enhance the telling of the stories bringing these classics up to date.

With the lovely surprise of stickers at the end of each book, if you don’t want your little one sticking them to walls or furniture, they would be great to use for creative activities - such as encouraging your child to create artwork about the story using the stickers or making up their own stories about the characters.

…And even though Aoife is too young for these books, after reading this article on the Guardian; about US paediatricians now urging parents to read to children from their earliest days, it never really is too early to start reading to your little ones!

No bookshelf should be out these classic tales as they are stories that shape all of our childhoods and are true treasures to for future generations to enjoy.

For more information on the books visit the Milly & Flynn site.

Guinea Pig Party

Guinea Pig Party

By Holly Surplice
Published by Nosy Crow

"Count from ten and back again!"

I’m quite familiar with Holly Surplice’s illustrations and I especially adore her drawings of guinea pigs!

The Guinea Pig Party is no exception; a counting down hard back filled with such adorable cute little guinea pigs taking part in birthday party fun, though not everything goes to plan (as is often the case)! And as with all birthday parties the guinea pigs are a naughty bunch and even play pin the tail on the guinea pig!

This lovely pre-schooler book is a great way to introduce numbers and counting down from 10 to 1. It includes simple rhyming with each page spread ending with..and then there were… allowing children to know there is to be a new number or to guess themselves. I can also imagine children will have fun recognising the party antics within this cute little book.

Holly's illustrations are beautifully rendered in ink and watercolour, making the guinea pigs antics stand out on the plain white backgrounds. The typography flows on every page, with the number standing out in it's own stripey colour so a child can easily spot it.



This would even make a great gift for little ones who have their own guinea pigs… though hopefully Aoife won’t want a guinea pig of her own any time soon, we already have mischief from our two naughty little rabbits!

Guinea Pig Party is available to buy in bookshops and on the Nosy Crow website.

Baby News!

I have the pleasure of introducing our little baby girl, Aoife Marie, born on 20th May. I think we have been coping rather well as a new family of three; tackling those dirty nappy changes, midnight feeds and annoying colic pains. With a routine sort of in place, I shall be back on those reviews very soon!

Catherine x

Bizzy Bear: Happy Holiday

Bizzy Bear: Happy Holiday

By Benji Davies
 Published by Nosy Crow

There’s a total of 11 books within the Bizzy Bear series, published by Nosy Crow, and this little fun slider book, Bizzy Bear Happy Holiday is definitely for the vehicle mad toddlers.

Bizzy Bear is going on holiday and to do that Bizzy Bear has to travel by taxi, train and a plane. Along the way, there’s lots of other types of transport to spot within the bright and colourful illustrations. Benji Davies doesn't disappoint with his cute animal illustrations and his attention to detail on all modes of transportation - making each vehicle recognisable and even cute to look at!

Even if there weren’t any moving sliders, there’s so many things to look for within the pictures. Of course, the sliding and push and pull parts offer little ones more fun and enjoyment in making Bizzy Bear move. A great sturdy little book which could easily accompany any little one on their own travels.

Bizzy Bear: Happy Holiday is available to buy in bookshops and on the Nosy Crow website.

 

Noodle Loves to Eat

Noodle Loves to Eat

By Marion Billet
 Published by Nosy Crow

This little touch and feel book is very cute! Noodle Loves to Eat is for babies and young toddlers, and has little areas of different textures for little fingers to explore. 

What I like most about this book is that its a lovely way of trying to encourage children to identify food and objects they may find about the house but maybe a way to help little fussy eaters. 

Noodle is a baby panda who loves to eat and with each page we see Noodle enjoying a new food but I love how it ends; with a reflective mirror surface to reflect the child’s face, it reads; '...and just like Noodle, you love to eat!' This is a great way to start talking about food, asking what the child likes to eat and a nice way of introducing a new food to try.

There are 8 books within the Noodle touch and feel series by Marion Billet, all with lovely little topics, they would make great first time books for little ones.

Noodle Loves to Eat is available in bookshops and to buy on the Nosy Crow website.

Roar! Roar!

Roar! Roar!

By Sebastien Braun
 Published by Nosy Crow

 

Before I had even opened this hard back book, I loved the cover, with such bold and bright colours, it definitely would make any child want to pick it up.

As stated on the front and back cover, Roar! Roar! has sturdy big flaps to lift and asks the question 'Can You Say It Too?' - Its been specially designed for children who are just starting to talk and for any little one who enjoys making animal noises! Its part of the Can You Say It Too? range, all of which Sebastien Braun has illustrated for Nosy Crow.

Each page spread asks 'Who’s that…' and the child is encouraged to pull down the flap to reveal the animal hiding, with words on the back of each flap introducing the animal and what sound it makes. I think this book, and the whole range, makes a lovely way of encouraging children to try to talk, introducing what each animal looks like, their name and learning about the sounds they can make. A lovely first book for the very young, recommended age 9 months+.

Roar! Roar! is available to pre-order in bookshops and from the Nosy Crow website.

Books Always Everywhere

Books Always Everywhere

Text by Jane Blatt, Illustrations by Sarah Massini
 Published by Nosy Crow

 

Wow, isn’t time flying by, with less than a week to go until my due date, our baby could come any day now and we’re getting excited to finally meet him or her.

I can’t wait to encourage a love of books and especially with this book, Books Always Everywhere, published by Nosy Crow certainly made me day dream about reading to my little one.  And as written on the back…'it’s never too soon to share a good book with your little ones'.

This hardback book introduces to young children, that books can be anything - from a chair, or a tower to a hat - but the best thing they can be is a book. With such lovely delightful illustrations by Sarah Massini, each page holds lovely engaging illustrations that would allow you to talk and ask the child about whats happening on the pages from building a house out of books to reading in bed with books and easy to mimic what is happening. 

The words are few and very simple; Book big, book small, book tall etc. Though fewer words than your typical picture book, the words used are all first words that children are taught when they start school. This lovely little book makes a great way of introducing these simple, descriptive words and with such pretty illustrations, it will make it a delight to read to any young child.

Books Always Everywhere is available to buy in bookshops and from the Nosy Crow website.