Friday, 2 December 2011
All I Want For Christmas...is Books!
When we asked Charlotte what books she'd like for Christmas, she came up with a list of various books - some with a christmas theme, and some without.
Here's the top ten books on Charlotte's christmas list. She probably won't get them all, but you never know what Santa might pull out of his sack.
In no particular order:
10) The Art of Pixar - 25 years of Animation (Chronicle Books)
A fantastic book rounding up the last 25 years of Pixar animation, and containing plenty of artwork and scripts from some of Charlotte's favourite films. Glossy and beautifully presented, this would probably be quite high up my present list too.
9) Aliens Love Panta Claus (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)
Claire Friedman and Ben Cort's "Aliens / Underpants" series are always popular, and this is fantastic. Aliens don't steal underpants at Christmas, they give them away and enlist the help of Panta Claus to make sure everyone has a nice snug warm pair of briefs in their christmas stocking.
8) The Illustrated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Pop Up Book (Puffin Books)
Roald Dahl's timeless classic, in conjunction with Quentin Blake's fabulous scratchy drawings bring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to life in a whole new way. A gorgeous and luxurious hard backed pop-up book that the whole family can enjoy. Forget the movies, this is the definitive way to enjoy the sweetest, tastiest, yumscrumptious children's book ever written
7) Barefoot Books World Atlas (Barefoot Books)
A beautifully illustrated educational atlas presented in the trademark Barefoot Books way, with so much to look at and absorb it deserves to become a definitive children's resource. Nick Crane and David Dean have gone to town producing something that has fold-out maps, tons of information on each continent and country, and plenty of activity ideas to fire up your child's imagination. Absolutely perfect.
6) Goodbye Mog (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Given the choice between the various Mog books Charlotte doesn't already own, she chose Goodbye Mog. An odd choice, a book beautifully written and illustrated by Judith Kerr that deals with one of the most difficult subjects a parent has to tackle, the death of a loved one. As with all Kerr's books, it's timeless and wonderful and deserves to be read again and again.
5) Richard Scarry's Best Christmas Ever (Sterling Books)
Richard Scarry's fantastic anthropomorphised animals have set the standard for donkeys years for cute cuddly animals doing the things we humans love to do - including celebrating Christmas! Enjoyed for generations, Richard Scarry's Best Christmas Book Ever is back in print, and the colourful panels and illustrations are full to the brim with detail. Absolutely every childhood memory you have of a perfect christmas is jam-packed into this book. A must-buy
4) Tangled - Storybook and CD (Parragon Publishing)
Disney's latest animated feature, and newest addition to their Princesses, is a massive hit with Charlotte and there are a ton of books based on Rapunzel available this christmas (as well as dolls, hairbrushes, Barbies and a whole lot more. We chose the Tangled CD and Story Book as it follows the movie more closely than some of the other available books. Illustrations and panels from the movie compliment a simplified abridged version of the Rapunzel story. Movie sound effects and music are used to good effect on the accompanying CD too.
3) Usborne Illustrated Fairy Tales (Usborne Children's Books)
Probably one of the best anthology collections of classic children's fairy tales. This big thick luxurious hardbacked volume is one that children can come back to again and again at any time of the year, not just Christmas. Though Disney might lay claim to a lot of the characters and stories you'll find in this book, these are the original tales and are beautifully illustrated without a lot of that Disney cuteness tacked in.
2) The Strictly Annual 2012 (BBC Books)
Oh dear, how did this get in here! Two things rule the roost at home at the moment - Strictly and Take That (I blame CanIWalkMummy entirely!). Saturday and sunday evening are entirely consumed by Strictly fever (Charlotte wants Jason to win, but I think CanIWalkMummy is voting for Harry). The Official Strictly Come Dancing 2012 annual is a glossy, glitzy catch-up with the stars and professionals from the 2011 series. If you just cannot get enough Strictly, keep dancing down to the shops to pick up a copy of this
1) A Dose of Dr Dog (Red Fox Picture Books)
Without a doubt, one of the biggest "hits" of the year with Charlotte was Babette Cole's Dr Dog. Here's a little more Dr Dog as our favourite medical canine looks into all sorts of cures and potions to test out on the hapless Gumboyle family. Dr Dog was so popular I think it has spent more time at home than in the library this year, so this quite rightly goes straight to the top of Charlotte's "wanted" list.
Time to dig out the moth eaten wallet and see how many of these we can grab. Of course, if any publishers are reading - with promotional copies just sitting there gathering dust.... :)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from ReadItDaddy, Charlotte and CanIWalkMummy
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