• The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep
    book review - competition - parenting

    Win a copy of The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    Last year The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep became a ground-breaking best-seller – and a bedtime saviour – as parents across the globe extolled the success of the book in helping their children to fall asleep at night. This new story, The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep, will be another welcome solution to help turn the often-trying bedtime routine into a special end-of-day ritual. The Little Elephant, features an all-new cast of lovable characters, but has been created with the same objective of helping children fall asleep. Written by behavioural scientist and parent, Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin, the…

  • The Muse by Jessie Burton
    book review - What I'm reading

    What I’m reading: The Muse by Jessie Burton

    September 17, 2016 - By 

    I absolutely devoured Jessie Burton’s first novel, The Miniaturist, so when I saw a copy of her new book The Muse I bought it straight away. I finished it a few weeks ago. It was an easy read but it took me a good few weeks due to all the upheaval of the summer holidays. It’s story has kept me thinking ever since I finished it. A picture hides a thousand words . . . On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about…

  • Zog and the Flying Doctors
    book review

    Zog and the Flying Doctors {a picture book review}

    September 12, 2016 - By 

    Since my children came along I have enjoyed reading the stories by Julia Donaldson as much as my children have. Yesterday I heard that the latest book to be animated is The Highway Rat and will be screened at Christmas 2017. That feels like quite a long time so I was also pretty pleased to discover a new book had been published by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Theirs is such a winning combination so when I spotted a copy of Zog and the Flying Doctors in the supermarket, I popped it in my trolley. Zog and the Flying…

  • Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes
    baking - book review

    Cooking with the Gruffalo {Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes}

    September 4, 2016 - By 

    With the Bake Off recently starting again and a sniff of Autumn in the air we have been looking for baking inspiration. Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes is packed full of sweet treats, healthy snacks and simple meals – all based on the best-selling picture book The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The book contains twenty-four recipes specially designed for adults to use with children, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and lots of hints and tips on what to do next The book is spiral bound with wipe clean pages in case of any spills! As well as the expected recipes for…

  • The Tale of Kitty In Boots by Beatrix Potter
    book review

    The Tale of Kitty In Boots by Beatrix Potter

    September 2, 2016 - By 

    It’s been a while since we shared what we’re reading but we recently received a lovely copy of the brand new The Tale of Kitty In Boots by Beatrix Potter. The manuscript by Beatrix Potter was rediscovered two years ago when Jo Hanks, publisher at Penguin Random House Children’s, stumbled across an out-of-print literary history about Beatrix Potter from the early 1970s. Hanks found in the book both a reference to a letter that Potter had sent her publisher in 1914, which referred to a story about ‘a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life’, and…

  • The Secret Cooking Club
    book review - competition

    Win a copy of The Secret Cooking Club

    August 20, 2016 - By 

    Mix three cups of friendship, a spoonful of cringey Mum and a sprinkle of first love – and what do you have? A warm, touching and cosy novel, perfect to satisfy your cooking cravings during the next series of The Great British Bake Off! The winner of the 2015 Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, The Secret Cooking Club is the first novel by author Laurel Remington. Contemporary, original and with a sprinkling of humour, The Secret Cooking Club follows twelve- year-old Scarlett as she discovers the secret ingredient to happiness – through cooking! Shy Scarlett is the star and victim…

  • The Gloriumptious Worlds of Roald Dahl
    book review - Roald Dahl crafts - What I'm reading

    The Gloriumptious Worlds of Roald Dahl {book review}

    August 5, 2016 - By 

    The Gloriumptious Worlds of Roald Dahl, a spectacular scrapbook of stories, characters and creations is published later this month, part of the celebrations surrounding 100 years since the birth of the author. Don’t forget the 13th September will see the biggest ever global celebration of Roald Dahl’s birthday on Roald Dahl Day. So, have you ever wanted to know what actually happened to James Trotter’s parents when they encountered an angry escaped rhino? Or how to make the Twits’ infamous bird pie? Well now you can find out, with The Gloriumptious Worlds of Roald Dahl. The book is a brilliant…

  • Bottersnikes & Gumbles
    book review - competition - What I'm reading

    Win a copy of The Adventures of Bottersnikes and Gumbles

    July 30, 2016 - By 

    This week Bottersnikes & Gumbles – the award-winning kids’ CGI animation show – premiered on CBBC, airing at 6pm every week day (with a repeat the following day at 3.30pm). The series brings to screen the much-loved 1970s classic children’s books by Australian author S.A. Wakefield and illustrated by Desmond Digby. In a far away forgotten valley, heaped with long abandoned junk, a timeless battle rages between good and evil… and also between squashy and scaly, happy and grumpy, clever and wily… cute and plain old ugly. This is the land of Bottersnikes and Gumbles. Each episode features the charming…

  • I Can Make My Own Accessories book
    book review - crafts - sewing - What I'm reading

    I Can Make My Own Accessories review

    July 28, 2016 - By 

    I love craft books and it seems my enthusiasm has passed to my children too. Every time they hear the sound of the postman dropping a book through the letterbox they rush to open it.  Next month sees the publication of I Can Make My Own Accessories, a follow-on from the popular I Can Make Dolls’ Clothes – both from Thames & Hudson. Written by former head of Children’s Wear Design at Liberty of London Louise Scott-Smith, and graphic designer Georgia Vaux, I Can Make My Own Accessories features on-trend pieces such as a festival garland and brooch. With easy-to-follow guides, this creative book teaches children aged…