Perfect Pages

Books simply don't get prettier than this one- a beautiful pop-up feast for the eyes showing magical scenes under the ocean. It is so hard to do it justice in photos as it is a 3D masterpiece but hopefully these will give you an idea.... You may be gulping at the cost but given the intricate craft and the fact it is a 'forever' book I think it is more than worth those extra pennies!

Beautiful Birds

This is another gem from the wonderful Alice Melvin - we bought it for some friends but had to but another for us - too pretty to pass.....

Bonza Book

This book is our current go to read. Although my 3 and 1 year olds are clearly genius' (uch um) they obviously do not get most of the biology in it but as big fans natural history they pour over the pictures and different creatures with relish. It is beautiful. Each page is set out like a museum exhibit with stunning illustrations - in fact it is as good for adults as the smalls.....

Stunning Space

This is our awesome new book find. A stunning book on Space with bite size factual information a plenty yet so pretty you can feast with the eyes..... true, an investment read but in my book well worth it (no pun intended)....

An Alternative Advent

With doting godparents and grandparents around ever ready to lavish chocolate and treats on my children I have decided to take a rather more high-brow approach to advent this year (don't you know...!) Forget the sweet treat calendar, this year it is a countdown of adventures. Throughout the year I have collected books from second hand shops and bought those we have borrowed time and time again from the library to make a collection of 24 'advent' tales. The boys will take turns to open one each morning and we will read it after bath that evening - although something tells me we wont wait that long. It may be too late to collect 24 books in time for Dec1st this year without blowing the Christmas budget out of the water and ordering them all from Amazon in one hit but you could borrow them from the library? After all it's the excitement of opening a new story each day isn't it? Here are the ones I chose:

1. A Home for Bird - Philip C Stead

2 .Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst

3 .Cars and Trucks and Things That Go - Richard Scarry

4. Desmond the Dinosaur - Althea

5. Miffy at the Seaside - Dick Bruna

6. This is London - M Sasek

7. The Selfish Giant - Oscar Wilde

8. The Not So Scary Snorklum - Paul Bright + Jane Chapman

9. My Green Day - Melanie Walsh

10. The Yellow House - Blake Morrison

11. Ferocious Wild Beasts - Chris Wormell

12. The Thorn in the Lions Paw - Louise Maxwell

13. Good Little Wolf - Nadia Shireen

14. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs - Giles Andeae + Russell Ayto

15. Jack and the Flum Flum Tree - Julia Donaldson

16. Sir Scallywag and the Deadly Dragon Poo - Giles Andeae + Korky Paul

17. Solomon Crocodile - Catherine Rayner

18. The Little Engine that Could - Watty Piper

19. Best Storybook Ever - Richard Scarry

20. Imogene's Antlers - David Small

21. Penguin in Peril - Helen Hancock

22. Wild About Books - Judy Sierra

23. Farmer Duck - Martin Waddell + Helen Oxenbury

24. The Night Before Christmas - Clement C Moore + Eric Puybaret

Witty Words

Lenny has the world's most slapstick sense of humour - most 3 year olds I know do - so this book has him in hysterics every time. It's written and illustrated to mirror a 1900's silent movie - it's a feast for the eyes and well worth adding to your book shelfs.....

Picture Perfect

This book has been on my wish list for ages. It was going to go on our Father Christmas list but lucky Lenny got given it for his birthday - thank you Rosie! It is fantastic. A feast for the eyes with every type of animal beautifully drawn and put into categories. It is very large format and hardback so a real treat -if you are looking for a pressie for someone small this is perfect. Lenny has poured over it....

Pretty Pages

Sorry for radio silence on the blog I have been lost in a mound of calpol and paint samples.... who knew a 1 and 2 year old could have so much snot and who knew there were SO many shades of white?! Anyway between brushing layers of said white onto the delightful lilac walls of the new house and wiping said snot from little noses we have found this gem of a book. A true feast for the eyes. Sally takes her shopping list to the high street and finds all sorts of wonders....

Book Beauty

Here is a corker of a kids book. Lenny has another book called Just Imagine which has very few words and pages packed full of images and you make up your own story and characters - it has been thumbed so much we are on our 2nd copy. This book MAPS is a slightly more grown up version of the same theme. Every country in the world is beautifully illustrated with objects, people, food and animals found in that place. Obviously Lenny (2.5) does not get the geography but he loves spotting different things on the pages and it takes ages - who knows maybe some social geography is sinking in?! The extra bonus is amazon have it on for £8 which is a total bargain - a large hardback collectable book - put it in the present drawer and you will look uber generous!

Book love.....

One for the next Amazon order - Mr Tiger goes Wild by Peter Brown. A delight of wit and beautiful illustration...... sometimes we all need to discard our clothes and go a bit wild right?!