365 Project Week #4 – “Books”

There are a lot of books in my life – I have every faith that this week is going to be reasonably simple…

MONDAY:

We all had a bit too much sunshine yesterday so this morning we had a lazy pyjama day inside, watched some CBeebies together and read lots of stories. This book was particularly popular with Tori today – Sailor Bear by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Virginia Austin. Luckily I quite like it too so I didn’t mind reading it over and over. There’s something charming about a bear in a boat that is endlessly appealing and the pictures are lovely to look at and talk about.

The day was nicely rounded off with pizza, Pimms & Port round a roaring fire. All in all a good start to the week.

TUESDAY:

Today was another work-on-the-flat day. We got a fair bit done and it’s starting to look really good yet I still found time to dip into one of my ‘happy new flat’ books that James bought me as I passed through the kitchen every now and then. It’s a beautiful book, I love the feel of the cover as well as the words and pictures inside it. (I Wrote This For You by pleasefindthis)

WEDNESDAY:

Another extra busy day at the flat today with lots of people coming over to lend a hand. I am endlessly amazed by people’s kindness at the moment – The painting is all but done, carpets are being laid, curtain rails and curtains going up, I have a fridge, an oven and a washing machine in and bits of furniture headed my way from various sources. My faith in humanity has been cemented and restored recently, it feels good.

Coming home I noticed the book my Mum is reading sat by the computer waiting to be picked back up (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman). Caius leant it to me after I confessed to never having read it despite it being such massive hit when we were in school. I loved it and passed it on to Mum. Book two is sat nearby for her to start on when she finishes.

THURSDAY:

Today’s book is currently my best friend. Full of scribbles about curtains and carpets and paint, shopping lists for tools, jobs that need doing, stuff I have forgotten – this trusty little VIOLENT PINK notebook is very rarely far from my hand. It is my ‘Flat Notebook’ that Caius bought for me shortly after I got the keys – it is a good job really else my flat and I would have drowned in post-it notes by now.

FRIDAY:

I rather fruitlessly tried to power through one of my May Reading books in a free moment this afternoon – as you can see by the page numbers I didn’t get very far. But it’s okay – I have resigned the book (Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins) to my June list so it will still get finished.

Whilst my reading wasn’t so successful today the flat is starting to look much better – the carpets are well on the way to being down, and curtains are going up. Fingers crossed my first night at the flat (on a mattress on the floor…) will be TOMORROW! Exciting times

SATURDAY:

Today was busy. We saw a Jubilee Vintage care parade, collected a microwave, went to my brother’s wedding rehearsal and then had pizza for tea and spent our first night in our new home!

SUNDAY:

I got this book back out today – I finally have my own kitchen again and I can start cooking proper dinners again. I can’t wait to start meal planning, how sad am I?

Listography: Top 5 Children’s Books

Children’s books are pretty much my favourite books. Picking just five for this week’s Listography is going to be tough. Very tough…

1.

Hairy Maclary

I think my entire family can recite this book we have all read it so often and loved it to death. Sing-song words, gorgeous illustrations and lots of woofwoofs. Awesomeness.

The entire series is brilliant. And the Slinky Malinky books too (the cat equivalent).

No bookshelf is complete without at least one of these books.

 

2.

Dear Zoo

Best lift-the-flap book ever written? Quite possibly.

 

3.

Huff The Hedgehog

I couldn’t find a picture of this one and that makes me sad because I have a horrible feeling you can’t get it any more.

Huff The Hedgehog is, I think, a school reading book. A very old one. Our copy has a green front cover and is stuck together with about 3 rolls of ancient sellotape. It is practically disintegrating from too much love.

Huff is a hedgehog. Huff is hungry. Huff wants his dinner.

I love Huff.

I wish he was still in print.

 

4.

Where’s My Teddy?

Eddie’s lost his teddy. Eddie’s teddy’s name is Freddy.

Another book I love to death. I can actually remember reading this with my Mum, over and over. It’s cute, it’s funny, its words are catchy and playful. And it’s about teddies and big bears. My Mum *loves* teddy bears so I suspect this book was possibly bought as much for her as it was for me but it is brilliant.

 

5.

Peter Rabbit

I had this book in many forms as a child and I loved them all. From the classic little hardback to the pop-up book to the sticker book, the colouring book – all of them. It’s exciting following Peter as he dices with the threat of rabbit pie on his mission for radishes.

 

What are your Top 5 kid’s books? Link up over at KateTakes5 and then check out all the other entries…and then maybe hit the library afterwards

Tori’s Choice: The Usborne Book Of Christmas Stories (Review)

The Usborne Book Of Christmas Stories by Russell Punter and Illustrated by Philip Webb

Yes, yes, I can hear you – ‘But it’s only November!’ – I know. But I thought I’d review this now so that you have time to go out and buy it as a present before Christmas really arrives!!

Tori recieved this stunning storybook last Christmas and I knew the instant I opened it that it was going to be a long-standing favourite.

The book is beautiful to look at before you even venture inside the cover. Bright colours, friendly looking writing and everything kids love about Christmas – Santa and his reindeer, present, snow, sledging, snowmen, pretty lights – adorn this large (but not too large for a child to handle) hardback volume. I say hardback, as it is, but it is almost padded to the touch rather than harsh – perfect for little fingers to grip when they’re sat on your lap for storytime.

Inside the book is no less beautiful, every page is full colour with big, bold pictures that compliment the stories. Philip Webb’s illustrations are clever and even had me chuckling as I noticed all the little details. They are bright and colourful and even last Christmas, when Tori was only 5 months old, she would point out things that caught her eye and grin broadly.

The book contains six different stories including:

‘The Fake Santa‘

Santa Claus is very confused to find parents shouting at him on his rounds and accusing him of upsetting all the children. Puzzled he continues on his rounds only to spot a sleigh very similar to his own following along below and goes down to investigate. Will Santa save the day and solve the mystery of the second sleigh?

‘The Elf and the Toymaker’

Alfie the Elf is not having a good time in Santa’s Toy Factory. He’s supposed to be in charge of sweeping the floors but it’s just so boring he keeps falling asleep! One day Alife dozes amongst the presents long after everyone else has packed up and gone home and when he wakes up he decides to have a closer look at the Toymaker. Alfie has always wanted to be in charge of the Toymaker but as he curiously peers down an interesting looking tube he loses his footing and falls in! Now he has to try get out without breaking everything or getting squished when they turn the machine on in the morning…

‘Freezy’s New Buttons’

Freezy the snowman is very sad – every other snowman on his street has lovely pebble buttons but he doesn’t have any at all. Then one day two men run past his garden and press three very shiny buttons onto his chest. Pleased, Freezy sets off to show his buttons to all his friends but when he spots a discarded newspaper with the headline JEWEL THIEVES STEAL DIGBY DIAMONDS he realises that his buttons are a little more precious than pebbles. Freezy really wants to help the police catch the thieves – but how can a snowman help catch crooks?

Each of the stories is charming and witty whilst still being short enough to keep even the most fidgety child entranced. Whether you are reading together in a quiet five minutes between presents and roast turkey on Christmas Day or curled up at bedtime in the run up to the big event this book is brilliant, if you read one story or two or even the whole book, you and your child will never grow tired of it. There’s always something to notice and plenty to talk about with Baby both about the stories and their morals and about the pictures and characters.

Tori loves this book and so do I – I have been looking forward to getting it out of the cupboard again ever since I grudgingly put it away last February!

Tori’s Choice Thursday #2

Tori’s favourite bed time books this last couple of weeks have been of the touchy-feely variety: That’s Not My Penguin and Playtime With Woof.

I got both of these before she was even born and have read them to her regularly, however she has only just discovered the real joy of the touchy bits and now it’s a challenge to get her to put them down!

That’s Not My Penguin is part of the Usborne ‘Touchy-Feely Books’ series (Titles include many other ‘That’s not my …’ to suit all tastes!) and is a sturdy board book with bold pictures.

Every page has at least one, and sometimes two, touchy-feely sections and the text describes it simply but in a way that’s still entertaining. Even the penguin on the front cover has a fuzzy tummy!

If, like me, you are an old hat at Usborne books and love to hunt for the little yellow duck then I am sorry to say he doesn’t feature in this particular story. There is a mouse to spot on every page instead though, so all is not lost. I must admit that I do miss the duck but that’s just me being silly and sentimental!

Playtime With Woof is part of the Bloomsbury Publishing PLC ‘Woof Touch-and-Feel’ series.

It follows Woof the dog as he spends a day playing outside. It has delightful rhyming text that’s easy to say and fun to listen it. Every page has something different to look at and touch – shiny water, sparkly, bumpy sandcastles and fluffy clouds.

Tori particularly likes the sandcastle and often turns back the page when I try to read on past it. She grins at the sight of the front cover and usually spends a minute or so squishing the spongy red ball on the front before we start reading.

Tori loves to sit and play with these books in her cot, opening and closing them and stroking the pages, always with a smile on her face. They are robust enough to survive her not-so-gentle handling and interactive without the risk of her tearing off flaps or ripping pop-up sections.

Tori’s Choice Thursday #1

Every other Thursday I am going to do a feature/review of what book(s) my daughter, Tori, currently favours either to read, listen to or both. This is partly to share what books are popular with her age group and partly for me to keep and share a record of her ‘reading’ loves. I know this is a bit of a diversion from my usual genre and audience but indulge me

This week Tori turned 11 months old and she has two books that she is constantly pulling off her bottom shelf in the living room all by herself. They are I love the farm from Priddy Books and Under The Sea from Igloo Books Ltd.

I Love The Farm

This board book is big, bright and bold – no doubt why Tori picks it out on the shelf from amongst the others there.

All 20 pages have bright backgrounds filled with clear and engaging photographs of animals, vehicles and foods that are found on and around farms – everything from cows and rats to combine harvesters and potatoes.

The text is bold and fun with words highlighted in different colours and in wavy lines as well as straight. Engaging and exciting for her to follow for, even though she can’t read, I have watched her trace the lines of text with her finger as if she is following a trail. Short, rhyming phrases inform without being dull and it is full of all the expected ‘Woof woof!’s and ‘Quack quack!’s so you can have fun making the noises as Baby points out the pictures and words.

An Easter present from my sister, I love the farm is a very welcome addition to Tori’s library and one I would strongly recommend to any Mum out there with a young child.

Under The Sea

Under The Sea is described on the cover as ‘A push-pull-turn and lift book!’ and I couldn’t describe it better myself.

Through a simple but charming story about the sea creatures planning a surprise birthday party for their friend, Whale, this bold board book encompasses everything from shapes and colours through to basic numbers and opposites. All with the added excitement of flaps to lift and chunky sliding sections on every page which although Tori is still to young to manage on her own, she loves to watch me move and reveal the new pictures. Indeed she often squeaks with joy as I repeatedly move the same slider up and down playing a mini game of peekaboo.

As she gets older this book will provide a fun way to learn her shapes etc and the sturdy structure of the ‘moving’ parts will ensure that the interactive element of the book and the joy that brings dos not diminish over time.

Under the Sea is another book I highly recommend to anyone with a young child – it brings my daughter endless joy and that, in my mind, is recommendation enough.