Making a pirate map, and some new pirate books

Like many children, Harry is fascinated by pirates at the moment. There are so many different crafts and activities that you can do on a pirate theme, and I decided to re-visit a craft that I remember loving as a child - making a pirate map.

We took a piece of plain white paper, and used a teabag dipped in a small bowl of water to paint on it to make it look old. When it was dry, I used a candle to burn around the edges of the paper. This makes it sound a lot easier than it was - it involved a lot of frantic blowing out of flames and a smoke filled kitchen. Harry's map also ended up with a somewhat larger hole than intended, after the paper continued to smoulder once blown out.

Then we decorated it with felt pens. I drew some things out for him to copy, we made mountains, beaches, trees, paths and of course an X marks the spot. Then we crumpled it up and flattened it out to make it look really battered. A truly authentic pirate treasure map!

To continue the pirate theme, we've also been sent two brand new pirate picture books to read.

The first is Plunge into the Pirate Pool by Caryl Hart, published by Simon and Schuster. Albie loves going swimming, but this time when he dives in to the pool he finds himself in the middle of an underwater adventure when he boards a shark submarine and makes friends with the cheerful pirate crew. There is plenty of detail in the illustrations, giving lots to talk about as we read the story. Definitely a story that your little pirates will enjoy.

The second is Tim, Ted and the Pirates by Ian Whybrow and Russell Ayto, published by Harper Collins. This story is about Tim and his Ted, and the pirate adventure that they have while their teacher is reading them a story. The story is written in rhyme, and it was a real pleasure to read aloud. The pirates in this story are up to no good at all, and so Tim and Ted battle the bad pirates and save the treasure. Another pirate book which I can fully recommend.

Both of these stories particularly appealed to Harry because they are about what is happening in the child's imagination rather than what is really going on, and he is fascinated by that idea at the moment.

I'm sure that we'll be returning to the pirate theme. Harry is currently enjoying Jake and the Neverland Pirates on television (somewhat to my dismay, he's starting to speak American) and so he has requested that we make some gold doubloons next!

If you have any pirate crafts to share I'd love to see them, please feel free to link them up in the comments!



We were sent the two pirate books to review, Amazon links are affiliate.

Review - Hoops and Crosses crisps from Walkers

We were recently sent a pack of the new Walkers Hoops and Crosses crisps to review. Research has shown that some children in the UK don't have enough wholegrain in their diet, and 27% have none at all. Hoops and Crosses contain 56% wholegrain, and the baked snacks are marketed as a perfect snack for parents to include in lunchboxes.

Our pack of Hoops and Crosses was Roast Beef flavour, and came packaged along with a lovely stuffed monkey which Harry instantly claimed! The other flavours available in the range are Salt & Vinegar and Prawn Cocktail.

Harry liked the monkey

Not surprisingly, the crisps are in the shape of hoops and crosses, and there were plenty in the pack. They were tasty, and would be a very satisfying snack. Because they are baked, they aren't greasy like some crisps. Although they are aimed at children, I'd probably be more likely to buy them as a snack for myself because they are fairly low in calories and filling.

Mia was more interested in the box

Thank you to Walkers for giving us the opportunity to try them out!

This is a sponsored review.

A penguin craft for "Ping Pong Are Best Friends (Mostly)" book review

We've been talking a lot about penguins lately. Mainly because we've been playing our walk to pre-school game, and because it's been so cold still the talk has turned towards Antartica. We also received the book Ping and Pong are Best Friends (mostly) by Tim Hopgood to review by Tim Hopgood, so I thought that I'd introduce a bit of a penguin theme.

The book is about Ping and Pong who are best penguin friends. But no matter what Ping does, Pong always does it better. So Ping becomes discouraged, until he finds out that there is one thing that Ping is the best at.

Harry loves being read to, but he is also starting to show an interest in reading for himself. He's a way off actually learning to read yet, and I'm not pushing him in any way, but I've found that if I read him a simple story a couple of times he can repeat it back to himself with surprising accuracy. This story was perfect for that because it is so easy to understand, with lovely clear illustrations. The story also has an important message about the importance of friendship.

After the success of our book inspired Lucy Ladybird craft the other week, I thought that this time we'd try a penguin picture. This time I let Harry do all the cutting out, which was really good scissor practice for him. Then he cut out lots of small squares in white and we used them to make an igloo, before sticking on cotton wool for the snow. Lovely!

 



 

 

We were sent the book to review, Amazon links are affiliate.

Review - Brabantia WallFix outdoor laundry dryer

Since we moved house last winter I've really missed our old outdoor washing line. I'm ashamed to say that when we moved we bought a tumble drier, and I've not dried laundry outside since. So when I was offered the opportunity to review the Brabantia Wallfix Wall Mounted Dryer I jumped at the chance.

The best thing about the Brabantia WallFix is how convenient it is. I've toyed with the idea of buying a rotary dryer, but I know that I would be too lazy to put it away properly. The Brabantia WallFix is fixed to the wall ready for use, the box opens with the touch of a button and the dryer folds out easily to hang the washing.

Neither of us are particularly handy with a drill, so fortunately my Dad stepped in and took care of actually fitting the WallFix to the wall for me. Included in the box is a cardboard drilling template (make sure to open the box all the way to find it) which makes positioning the holes for the screws easy. Detailed instructions are supplied, although Dad did find it a bit fiddly to install.

You need two people to install it, as someone needs to support the dryer arms while the other screws the mounting plate into place. Make sure when installing that the person who will actually be hanging the washing is present so that you don't end up with it too high! Also check that you are locating the dryer in a sunny spot to make the most of the drying potential.

There is a bit of a knack to the opening and closing, but once you've sorted it the WallFix is very easy to unfold and put away. We have a large capacity washing machine which I have a tendency to stuff full, so I was pleased to find that my entire load fitted easily on the dryer with extra room to spare. I even needed to go out and buy more clothes pegs! The total length of drying space is 24 metres, and the three outer lines are 120cm long. It wasn't quite wide enough for our super kingsize bedding, but then I'm not sure that I'd be able to find a dryer which is! It easily held the other single bedding that we have. The dryer feels very solid, and can definitely cope with the weight of all that wet washing.

We were also supplied with the sturdy WallFix storage protection box. The storage box looks smart and neat, and being wind and weather resistant offers sufficient protection for the WallFix. Installation is fairly straightforward as it clips on to the WallFix once it has been installed on the wall. The dryer arms fold neatly inside, and there are some ties to hold all the lines in place.

I love how it goes from this:

Brabantia WallFix folded in storage box

To this in just a few seconds, and with all that space for hanging clothes!

Brabantia WallFix open and read to use

Because the WallFix is so easy to pop open I can see me using it year round, for example if we've been doing some wet messy play and I want to dry something out a bit before my next load of washing. I'd really recommend it!

Brabantia WallFix hung with washing

I was provided with the Brabantia WallFix and storage box for review, links are affiliate links.

Book review and craft - Lucy Ladybird by Sharon King-Chai

Lucy Ladybird is the debut picture book from writer and designer Sharon King-Chai. The story follows Lucy Ladybird, who is different to the other ladybirds because she has no spots. She goes on a journey through different seasons, collecting some brightly coloured spots from her friends along the way. When she returns home, she is sad when she realises that she is still different to her ladybird friends with their black spots. But when the other ladybirds see her they like her new spots so much that they decide it's actually best to be different.

Lucy Ladybird is a firm favourite in this household already. The story is simple, and what really makes the book special are the gorgeous, bright illustrations. The final page is a fold-out surprise page - a marvellous spread of  cheerful ladybirds and other insects covered in their colourful spots. Once Harry discovered this he couldn't stop unfolding it to look at it, and Mia was captivated by the bright colours.

This is a book which immediately lent itself to a related craft activity. We cut out simple ladybird bodies from red card, then I cut out a head, face and lots of coloured spots. The little ones glued the spots onto the ladybird body, then we glued all the pieces together and drew on a face. I love books that you can do more with than just reading!

There is also a Lucy Ladybird website to enhance the ejnoyment of the book further, including some colouring pages to print. Lucy Ladybird will also soon be available as an interactive e-book. It's definitely a book that I can recommend!



We were sent a copy of Lucy Ladybird to review. Amazon links are affiliate links.

Review - Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular

At the weekend, we were lucky enough to be able to take Harry (aged 4) to watch Walking With Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular at Birmingham NIA. Originally we had intended to take Mia as well (nearly 2), but fortunately some willing babysitters meant that we were able to enjoy the show without worrying about a fidgety toddler!

I was still a little unsure about taking Harry. I was aware that the show could be quite intense, and I was a bit worried as to how he might react. Fortunately my misgivings were completely unfounded, and Harry absolutely loved it, as did Ram and I.

Walking With Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular is based upon the BBC television series. The arena show originated in Australia in 2007 and has played across the world since. An actor playing the part of a paleontologist takes the audience through a 200 million year history of the Earth, covering the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods. You are introduced to the different environments in each period, the climate, the vegetation, and of course the dinosaurs.

The show features ten large dinosaurs, five suit dinosaurs and five baby dinosaur puppets. The dinosaurs are life size, and some of them really are enormous. Having the narrator on stage at the same time really helps to show the scale.

I was absolutely amazed at the spectacular appearance of the dinosaurs. They roam around the stage in such a lifelike fashion. Although several do fight, there is very little real violence and it's usually more about posturing. There are also some touching moments of tenderness between mother and baby dinosaurs. The show is aimed at families, and even when the great T-Rex makes an appearance there is some humour there to dilute the dramatic tension.

The staging of the show really is fantastic. I loved watching the Pterodactyl swoop through the sky, and it was fascinating to watch the smaller suit dinosaurs darting about. The scenery, although simple, really brought the different periods to life - from stark rocky landscapes to lush vegetation. The narration was perfectly pitched, being both informative and yet still simple enough for children to understand. Harry loved learning some new facts about his favourite dinosaurs, and repeating them back to us. There was a fair amount of chatter in the audience, but that didn't impact upon the show (it was definitely loud enough to drown out any audience noise) and in my eyes was a reflection of just how much people were enjoying it.

I would say that as advertised the show is suitable for children aged three and up. It's not just that it's a bit noisy and intense (which it is!) but young children don't always have the attention span or the interest to keep them going for even the short periods between actually seeing the dinosaurs. There were plenty of children in the audience from around Harry's age, and they were all enjoying it. Free earplugs for children are available upon request.

The show is expensive to stage, and this is reflected in the ticket prices. We sat fairly near the front, but plenty of cheaper tickets are available and I would imagine that the view from higher up would be just as spectacular. There are also video screens showing details in close-up. The show lasts about an hour and a half with an interval.

You can find out lots of information about the production, including ticket information as well as factual information about the show and the dinosaurs on the Walking With Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular website.

Disclosure - We received complimentary press tickets for the show, but this is exactly the same review that I would have written had we paid for the tickets!

Book Review - Winter Storms by Lucy Oliver

Normally the books that I review on this blog are children's ones, but when I was contacted by Lucy Oliver, the author of Winter Storms, and asked if I would like to review her book, I couldn't say no.

I have tremendous admiration for anyone that can write a book. I also love reading, love supporting books from new authors, and I knew that if I committed to writing a review then I would definitely be making time for myslf to prioritise reading and actually finishing the book!

Winter Storms is set in Cornwall, a part of the country that I love. The book tells the story of Carly, who broke up with her lover Daniel after blaming him for a sailing accident that forced her to give up the sport and put an end to her Olympic hopes. She stayed behind and built a new life for herself in the small Cornish village where they grew up, while he went on to find sailing fame. Carly's life is thrown into disarray when Daniel returns and hopes to pick up where they left off.

I very much enjoyed this book. The story flowed really well, and I really wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next. One thing that really struck me about the writing was the characterisation - the characters were fully rounded and developed, even the minor characters. The descriptions in the book are also fantastic, making the people and events totally believable. I'd really recommend it!



I was sent a Kindle copy of the book to review, link to Amazon is affiliate.

Book review - I got a crocodile by Nicola Killen

I Got a Crocodile is a new picture book, written and illustrated by Nicola Killen. The young child in the story really wants a little brother or sister, but instead they get a crocodile. At first it isn't much fun having a crocodile in the house, and it causes big trouble at dinnertime, bathtime and bedtime. But then the child finds out that a crocodile can also be the perfect friend.

This is a really good book for teaching children about emotions, in particular jealousy and irritation. Life with a crocodile isn't exactly what the young child expected, but it turns out to be exactly what the child needs. I couldn't decide if the child in the story was a boy or a girl, and I liked that because then you can relate it to the child that is listening to the story. 

We really liked the simple illustrations in the book, and how well they conveyed the emotions being experienced by the child.

This would be a really good book to share with a young child that is expecting a younger brother or sister. You can prepare the child by talking about all the things that are going to change when a new sibling appears on the scene, and how although they might at first seem negative and disruptive, in the end the child will learn to love and appreciate the new addition.



We received a copy of the book to review, links are affiliate.

Creative Creatures blog book tour

Today, I am hosting the Creative Creatures blog book tour! Creative Creatures by Donna Wilson is Donna's first children's book, containing lots of fun and inspiring crafts to make both for and with children. I was asked to choose a craft from the book to make, and I chose the Sock Monster - a fun way to use up one of the many odd socks that we have lying around our house! I also knew that I would be doing the making myself, so I wanted to choose something that Harry would have fun playing with.

Our socks unfortunately aren't as pretty as the ones in the book, but I do have plenty of colourful felt around. This version is the sock in his second incarnation - Harry decided that my first version was too scary. You will notice that he doesn't have arms like the one in the book, this is because Harry runs around chasing Mia with him and I thought that the arms might be a bit hazardous!

This is a lovely book, all the crafts can be made with things that most crafty types have around the home, and you only need very basic skills to complete them. The book contains all the patterns and instructions that you need, as well as being illustrated with some gorgeous photographs and some lovely little stories about all the creatures. I did all the sewing for the sock monster but I let Harry choose the colours to use - older children would perhaps be able to get more involved and do some of the making by themselves.

You can see the other bloggers that are taking part below, do pop by to see the crafts that they have been making from the book!

I received a copy of the book to review, but I made the sock monster all by myself. Links to book are affiliate.

Book Review - Monkey Nut by Simon Rickerty

Monkey Nut is a story about sharing, something that we are talking about a lot in this family at the moment! When two little creatures find a monkey nut they both want it, that is until something larger comes along!

The story is mainly told through the illustrations, and there are very few words. This was brilliant for Harry (just 4). He can't read, and this was the first time that I have observed him sit down with a book and 'read' it to himself using the pictures, which was wonderful to watch. This book also appealed very much to Mia (20 months). She's never really been one for books, although I do try, and this was the first ever book that she brought over to me to read to her.

I have read it to one or the other over and over, and I'd really recommend it for both toddlers and pre-schoolers, I think that it appeals to young children of all ages.



I received the book to review, the link is affiliate.

Review - Baker Days Valentine's Day letter box cake

When I was asked if I would like to review a cake, how could I say no? Baker Days sell a wide variety of cakes, big and small, which can be personalised with text and photos. The letter box cake is designed so that it will fit easily through a standard letterbox, something that really appealed to me as I often find myself waiting in for deliveries or trekking out to the sorting office to collect parcels.

I was asked to choose a cake from their selection of Valentine Cakes. My husband and I are not particularly slushy romantics, so I chose a design that I thought was quite simple and modern. I opted not to go for a design that had a photograph of me on it, although I can see that might work well for other types of cake like a birthday cake.

The box did fit through the letterbox, although I happened to be on the other side of the door as it arrived so I gave the postman a helping hand! The cake is well protected inside a lovely little presentation tin, and a small packet of love hearts was a nice touch.

The standard cake is sponge, and you can pay a little extra for different flavours of cake. We thought that the cake tasted lovely, and it was beautifully soft. The cake isn't enormous though - we could have easily polished it off between the two of us.

I think that a letter box cake is a brilliant gift to send to someone and let them know that you are thinking of them on a special occasion. These cakes are so well packaged that I think it would be almost impossible for them to arrive damaged. You don't need to worry about inconveniencing the recipient, and so it could be a lovely surprise.

This cake costs £14.99 including delivery. This isn't cheap, although of course it is a lot easier than trying to organise posting your own or purchased cake.

We received the cake to review.

Book Reviews - Mike the Knight and Octonauts

We are very lucky in this household, in that from time to time we receive some lovely books to review. Our latest two are both based on television programmes that are currently showing on CBeebies.

Mike the Knight and the Real Sword

I'm not very familiar with Mike the Knight, probably because it isn't on at a time that we have the television on. I do know that my niece enjoys the show very much - my sister crocheted her a gorgeous Mike the Knight hat! You don't need to watch the show to enjoy the story though. The Mike the Knight stories emphasise about learning responsibility and learning to do things the right way - "It's time to be a knight and do it right". In this story, Mike the Knight is desperate to have a real sword so that he can act like a real knight, but he learns that he can make the best of what he has already.

Octonauts and the Undersea Eruption

We've only dipped in and out of the Octonauts on television, but I was very impressed with another book in the series - The Octonauts Explore the Great Big Ocean - which I reviewed over on Mini Bookworms. In this story, the Octonauts have to save sea creatures from an undersea eruption. The story was good, but what I really liked was the little fact boxes that told you more about what was happening. Like all pre-schoolers, Harry is very curious and full of questions, particularly about things that he hasn't encountered before like underwater volcanoes. This book would be a great starting point to go on and find out some more information.



Read some more reviews:

Mike the Knight at Being Mrs C

The Octonauts at Mini Bookworms
The Octonauts at Being Mrs C

I was sent the books to review, links are Amazon Affiliate links.

Two Book Reviews - No-Bot and Snug as a Bug

I love buying books for the children, but I tend to be stuck in the rut of buying books which I'm either familiar with from my own childhood, or which are older books that I've found in charity shops or the sale shelf at the library. So I'm always very pleased when I receive some new, recently published books to review, because there are some wonderful new picture books for young children out there. Here are two more books that we've been enjoying lately:

No-Bot The Robot with No Bottom! by Sue Hendra

Harry is just at the stage now where he is finding talk about bottoms very amusing, so this story is perfect for him. It's about a robot that loses his bottom on the park swing, and sets off to find it with help from his friends. After finding out that his bottom has been used for all sorts of things - as a nest, a drum kit, to make sandcastles - it looks as though all hope is lost when he spots it being used as a boat to sail away in.

We loved the range of characters in the book, and the simple, colourful illustrations.

Snug as a Bug - Tamsyn Murray and Judi Abbot

We both enjoyed this sweet book about a little boy and his imaginative Mum on a trip to the park. George doesn't want to go out because it's cold and raining, but his Mum assures him that he will be nice and warm, in fact providing a whole host of reasons why he doesn't need to worry about the cold, ranging from being "As hot as three pigs in big purple wigs" to being "Tucked up like nine owls in big fluffy towels"!

Harry thought that this book was hilarious, and the illustrations fit the story perfectly. It's also a great book for teaching counting.



Read more reviews here:

No-Bot at Mini Bookworms
No-Bot at Mum Reviews
Snug as a Bug at Mini Bookworms
Snug as a Bug at Being Mrs C

We received these books to review, links are Amazon Affiliate links.

Book Review - The Dinosaur Digger by Alison Ritchie and Mike Byrne

The Dinosaur Digger is a book in the new picture book series Jack's Mega Machines. Over on Mini Bookworms I reviewed the first title in the series - The Rocket Racing Car - which my son loved, so we were really pleased to be sent another in the series to review. I love how the books take two seemingly separate things which both appeal to young children, in this case dinosaurs and diggers, and blend them together in a story.

Jack is a mechanic who needs to fix a digger, but when he takes it for a test drive he is transported into a land of dangerous dinosaurs, saving some baby dinosaurs from the fearsome T-Rex.

The illustrations in the book are fantastic, and best of all it comes with a fold out dinosaur digger which your child can use to play along as you read the story, and then use to re-enact the story later on.

I really enjoyed reading this book to Harry, I love how it goes into so much detail about the digger as Jack mends all the different parts, and the descriptive language really makes the story come alive.



Read more reviews:

Mini Bookworms

We received the book to review, Amazon link is an affiliate link.

This is Not a Book by Keri Smith

I first heard about this book - This Is Not A Book by Keri Smith - while I was putting together my Day Zero Project list. I found it quite difficult to come up with 101 things that I wanted to do, and so I spent some time browing other people's lists. This book, and others by the same author, were featured frequently, and so I added it to my Christmas list.

As the title says, it's not a book. Every page suggests something else that it could be instead. I've been flicking through it at random and picking things out to do. So far I have made a page into an origami boat ("This is a voyage"), stuck eyes and noses on things, including the book itself, ("This is a friend"), used a page to make very tiny books ("This is a factory") and slept with it beside my pillow ("This is a dream catcher").

Some of the things that it asks you to do are well outside my comfort zone, so I am going to find it a challenge to complete the book. But going outside your comfort zone isn't a bad thing, and one of the pages ("This is a camouflage") allows you to hide one of the things that you really don't want to do!

It's something that I'll be dipping in to from time to time over the year, I'm looking forward to having some fun with it, and if I end up doing anything too ridiculous I'll make sure I blog about it!

Has anyone else completed this book, or any others in the series? I'd love to hear how you got on with it!

This is Not a Book by Keri Smith

It's an Amazon Affiliates link, but I received the book as a Christmas present from my brother!

Book Review - Diary of a Christmas Wombat by Jackie French

I'm not familiar with the books in the Australian Diary of a Wombat series by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. We don't have very many festive books though, so I thought this would be a good one for us to read together in the run up to Christmas.

I'm not entirely sure what a wombat is, so I think that there is a good learning opportunity for both me and Harry here. The story is told from the point of view of Mothball the wombat at Christmas time, as he discovers and follows some strange creatures that are in competition with him for carrots.

There are plenty of Christmassy elements here to talk about with your child - stockings, reindeer, a sleigh and of course carrots. The story is really simple with few words and some lovely illustrations. We had a lot of fun talking about what was really going on in the story.

I would really recommend this lovely Christmas book to read with your child.

We received a copy of the book to review. Amazon links are affiliate links.

Review - Music for Kids Recorder Set

I like to think of myself as quite musical. It may have been a little while since I picked up my violin or sat in front of a piano, but I'm pretty good at coaxing a tune out of the musical toys that we have about the house. Like most people, the first instrument I learned to play at school was the recorder. I think it's really important for children to learn a musical instrument, so when I saw an opportunity to review a themed recorder pack aimed at young children, I thought that it would be a good way to start Harry off on a musical journey of his own.

We had the choice of Pirate or Princess, and so I chose Pirate. The pack contains a blue recorder and drawstring case, some stickers, a Starting to Play book, a CD and a fingering chart. The recorder is a good quality, three piece descant recorder, which is the size that is usually taught in schools.

As I expected, Harry loved it, and was instantly marching about blowing away. He also appeared suitably impressed when I belted out Amazing Graze for him, before performing my repertoire of children's favourites including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jingle Bells.

The small book introduces the instrument, with tips on holding the recorder and playing the first notes. It only covers how to play two notes - B and A - so you will need to think about further instruction books or tuition in order to progress further. I think that a child completely new to music and the recorder would probably benefit from some adult help with getting started, preferably from someone that can read music. For a child that is already learning elsewhere though, perhaps at school, it would be easily picked up.

I really liked the CD that was included. The book teaches you to play just the note B in the rhythm of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald Had a Farm, then adds in the note A for both songs. It's not that tuneful of course, but if you play it along with the backing track on the CD it sounds really good (and there is applause at the end to keep you motivated!)

The recorder pack retails for £9.99 and can be purchased here.

Just on a side, unsponsored, note, if you do have a child learning the recorder, we found a great app for the iPad called JoyTunes Recorder Master. It was free on special offer when we downloaded it, although it's now £1.49. It uses the sound of your child blowing the notes to play games, for example making a bird fly higher as you sound a note for longer, and we've found that it helped Harry pick up playing the recorder really quickly.

We received the recorder pack for the purpose of the review.

Book review - Zoe and Beans, Hello Oscar by Chloe and Mick Inkpen

Hello Oscar is the fifth book in Zoe and Beans series, and Harry and I loved reading this funny story. Zoe has found all sorts of animals at the bottom of her garden, but where have they all come from? Does the hole in the fence have anything to do with it?

This is definitely a story book for children of the modern age, I can't think of any other picture books with a reference to Google! It's a lovely book to read aloud, and the dialogue flows really naturally. The text is laid out in a way that encourages you to really get involved in the storytelling, and there are plenty of opportunities for a silly voice. We really enjoyed this book, and I'll definitely be looking out for the others in the series.



Affiliate link. We received the book to review.

Book Review - The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

We were sent a copy of Paper Dolls to review - a new book by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. I really don’t want to sound too gushing in my review, but I have to say that in my opinion this picture book is perfect.

The story follows a little girl with a mother that makes her a string of paper dolls - each named and unique. The paper dolls have some beautifully illustrated adventures as the little girl plays with them around the house and garden. The paper dolls encounter a variety of imaginary hazards, but they escape them all, singing that they are ‘holding hands and we won’t let go’.

In the end, however, they can’t escape the very real threat of a little boy and his scissors, and he cuts them up into tiny pieces. But they haven’t gone forever, and they float away into the little girl’s memory, along with all sorts of other lovely things, until she has a little girl of her own that she can make paper dolls with.

This story is different to others by Julia Donaldson in our collection. The book is a touching reminder of children growing up and the passage of time, and that can be very poignant as a parent reading to a young child. It also broaches the subject of loss, and I think it would be a good book to share with a child that has experienced bereavement or any other type of loss, as it builds upon the idea that nothing and no-one is gone forever, they will always live on in your memories.

The illustrations in the book are quite superb. I love the drawings of Rebecca Cobb. I recently reviewed Lunchtime, which Rebecca wrote and illustrated, and that has become one of our favourite books. Her drawings are so lifelike, and they inject so much personality into the story.

I would absolutely recommend this book. We’ve been reading it every night for several days now, and I’m enjoying it every time. It must surely be destined to become a children’s classic.

Read some more reviews here:

Mini Bookworms
Plus 2.4

Affiliate link. I received a copy of the book to review

Review - AMF Bowling, Worthing

We'd been wondering whether to take Harry bowling for a little while, so when AMF Bowling offered us the opportunity to try out a family bowling day I was very interested to see how we got on. Initially we were going to take Mia, but fortunately we were able to arrange for my Mum to look after her, as I think at 17 months old she's probably still a little bit too young. Harry is 3 1/2 though, and it was perfect for him. We went to our local one, which is on Worthing seafront.

Ready to go

I've never been a regular bowler, although I've been a few times over the years. I've not been with a young child though, so I wasn't really sure how Harry would get on. But with the addition of bumpers down the sides of the lanes and a special ramp for him to roll the ball down, it really made the competition between us much more even.

Harry receives a pre-bowling briefing

I must admit that the adult's scores benefitted more than a little from having the bumpers in place, even if my husband did claim that he was using the bumpers strategically in order hit the pins at a particular angle. Harry caught on very quickly, and I taught him my tried and tested trick to use the power of your mind and your waving arms to will the ball over to the correct side. As I knew he would be, Harry was also fascinated by the machine that returns your balls to you.

We had a great morning, and we all really enjoyed it. It felt like we could compete evenly, despite the fact that he's only little. We'll definitely be back when Mia is old enough to join in too. Here is a little video showing how easy it was for Harry to use the ramp to roll the ball down (and how waving your arms really can influence the movement of the ball).

 

 

Disclaimer - We had two complimentary games at AMF Bowling Worthing