Friday, 30 November 2012
ReadItDaddy previews "The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale" by Rachel Lyon and Vanina Starkoff (Released 31st January 2013 by Maverick Books)
Labels:
Maverick Books,
Preview,
Rachel Lyon,
Release Date January 2013,
The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale,
Vanina Starkoff
Now here's something decidedly different from Maverick Books. An eye catching and truly beautiful book from Rachel Lyon and Vanina Starkoff, based on the true story of The Childe of Hale, an actual giant that lived in the Liverpool area a long long time ago (his portrait...
ReadItDaddy previews "Tabitha Posy was Ever So Nosy" by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung (Maverick Books)
There's a mighty fine line between being inquisitive and being downright snoopy and in the sleepy town of Hamilton Shady (which, you may recall, is only just recovering from an incredible exploding woman!), young Tabitha Posy regularly crosses that line again and again.
At...
ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week Part 2: Charlotte's Choice - "My Big Shouting Day" by Rebecca Patterson (Jonathan Cape Ltd)
Labels:
Book of the Week Charlotte,
Jonathan Cape PB Ltd,
My Big Shouting Day,
Rebecca Patterson,
Roald Dahl Funny Prize Winner 2012
So here's Part 2 of our double 'Book of the Week' nomination for this week, and it's a book that had both Charlotte and I laughing out loud (and shouting out loud) at how utterly well observed the little girl is in this book.
Bella is not happy. Bella is having a big...
ReadItdaddy's Book of the Week Part 1: Daddy's Choice, "When it Snows" by Richard Collingridge (David Fickling Books)
It's another week where so many books could easily have slid into our "Book of the Week" slot that we feel honoured to (unofficially) be involved in children's picture books at such an amazing time. Both Charlotte and I talked about the many books we've read this...
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Five tips for making your children's e-book or storybook app more engaging than tablet games
Labels:
5 tips,
ebooks,
storybook apps,
tablet pcs
This christmas, one in five parents are considering purchasing a tablet PC either for themselves or for their children. With those figures, it's never been a better time to get involved in the e-book or storybook app marketplace if you think you've got a good solid idea that would...
The Jelly that Wouldn't Wobble by Angela Mitchell and Sarah Horne (Maverick Books)
Ahhhh jelly! It's fruity, it's fun and it's wobbly. Or at least it's supposed to be so imagine Princess Lolly's dismay when on her 89th birthday, her favourite food is presented with not a quiver, not a shake, nor a wobble in sight.
Quite understandably, Princess Lolly...
Shelter under "The Magic Oak" - a fantastic book produced in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association
A beautiful looking book for a very worthy cause? We can't resist shouting from the rooftops about "The Magic Oak" by James Springham and Maria Brzozowska. James had motor neurone disease, and frustrated that he suddenly couldn't do the things he used to be able to do with ease,...
Harry and the Dinosaurs make a Christmas Wish by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds (Puffin Children's Books)
Labels:
Adrian Reynolds,
Harry and the Dinosaurs Make a Christmas Wish,
Ian Whybrow,
Puffin Children's Books
Charlotte's been a fan of "Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs" since preschool, I think she secretly liked the books because two boys she really liked at preschool were completely obsessed with Harry and his adventures.
In "Harry and the Dinosaurs Make a Christmas Wish"...
The Biggest Thing in the World by Kenneth Steven and Melanie Mitchell (Lion Hudson Publishing)
Labels:
Kenneth Steven,
Lion Hudson Children's Books,
Melanie Mitchell,
The Biggest Thing in the World
If I asked Charlotte what her favourite animal was, she'd immediately say "Polar Bear". This is despite watching them recently scoffing seals and generally being very uncuddly on wildlife programmes! Thankfully the beautiful cuddly bears in "The Biggest Thing in the World"...
Scruffy Bear and the Lost Ball by Chris Wormwell (Jonathan Cape Publishing)
Chris Wormwell is the genius behind one of our favourite children's books, the divine "Eric!" and so we couldn't wait to dive into 'Scruffy Bear and the Lost Ball'.
Chris has a knack of imbuing his animal characters with a brilliant range of emotions and facial expressions....
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Le Visite De Petite Mort by Kitty Crowther (Lutin Poche)
Finally, FINALLY we've managed to get our own copy of this rather delightful little French paperback that tells a cute story all about Death and...
Wait just a second. Did you just say "cute story" and then "Death" in the same sentence there? You did didn't you!
Yes...
My Own Little Christmas Story by Christina Goodings and Amanda Gulliver (Lion Hudson Children's Books)
Labels:
Amanda Gulliver,
Christina Goodings,
Lion Hudson Children's Books,
My Own Little Christmas Story
As the Christmas shopping mania kicks in, it's very easy for children to lose sight of what Christmas is truly about, and to miss the stories behind why we celebrate on December the 25th. As Charlotte learns about the nativity at school (and is about to star as an angel...
The Snow Bear by Holly Webb and Simon Mendez (Stripes / Little Tiger Press)
Labels:
Holly Webb,
Little Tiger Press,
Simon Mendez,
Stripes,
The Snow Bear
It's difficult to imagine how beautiful our locale looks when covered with a thick blanket of snow. At the moment we're surrounded by water, and the skies are grey and horrible but Holly Webb's "The Snow Bear" cuts through all that, instantly putting us in the mood for...
Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball by Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini (Maverick Books)
Labels:
Gabriele Antonini,
Giles Paley-Phillips,
Maverick Books,
Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball
Back in the mists of time, Giles Paley-Phillips (who is easily one of the nicest chaps you could ever converse with in the book business) let us take a sneaky early peek at one of his books, "Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball". We're still a bit techno-luddite-ey here...
The Alphabet Friends and their Animals by Sue Pavey (Austin and Macauley Publishing)
Here at ReadItDaddy, we have seen a lot of alphabet books and often they follow a fairly rigid format. The most common seem to be alphabet books based around animals (though it's always fun to see what people are going to do with X!) but Sue Pavey's "Alphabet Friends"...
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Picasso's Trousers by Nicholas Allan (Red Fox Picture Books)
When children's books are at their very best, they spur your child on to find out more about their subject matter.
We love Nicholas Allan's cheeky homage to Her Majesty (in The Queen's Knickers) and Cinderella (in Cinderella's Bum) but for Picasso's Trousers, he tones...
Look out Larry! (iPad App, Wasabi Digital)
Labels:
iPad App,
Larry,
Look out,
Storybook App,
Wasabi Publishing
The lovely folk at Wasabi got in touch with us to tell us all about their storybook apps and as soon as we saw their ethos, we instantly wanted to find out more.
Wasabi sing from the developer song sheet of providing engaging content-rich apps that don't fleece parents...
Angel's Great Escape: A Christmas Story (And So We Begin) - iPad Version tested
Thanks to And So We Begin, we've had a chance to take a closer look at their fabulous new story app "Angel's Great Escape: A Christmas Story" on iPad (there's also a version for Android tablets / Kindle Fire).
More and more parents are switching on to the power of modern...
Monday, 26 November 2012
"Dear Santa" by Kathryn White and Polona Lovsin (Little Tiger Press)
Labels:
Dear Santa,
Kathryn White,
Little Tiger Press,
Polona Lovsin
Now here's a brilliant idea. Mix a fantastic christmas story with a superb letter writing kit (that's not just handy for those long, long, LONG lists to Santa, but can also be used to thank all those lovely relatives that spoil you rotten at christmas with a lovely festive...
The Fox's Tale by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen (Lion Hudson Children's Books)
Lion Hudson publish some of the best nativity books for a children's christmas stocking but we think this is the best of the lot. A rather unique look at the nativity story, from the perspective of a rather sly and inquisitive fox who discovers that there's far more to...
Bob and the Moontree Mystery by Simon Bartram (Templar Books)
Labels:
Bob's Moontree Mystery,
Simon Bartram,
Templar Books
For years now, artists working in children's picture books have been raising the bar so high and wowing the world with their work. Often we encounter books that are full of such utterly amazing illustrations that it's no exaggeration to say that you'd proudly display them...
Sticker Dolly Dressing - Princesses (iPad App - Usborne Publishing)
The iTunes app store is awash with dress-up apps and most of the time these 'free' apps are thinly veiled purchase-driven cash ins that soon frustrate children (and parents) as they realise the majority of the content needs to be paid for separately to get the full benefit.
Thankfully,...
Bored Bill by Liz Pichon (Tiger Tales / Little Tiger Press)
Labels:
Bored Bill,
Little Tiger Press,
Liz Pichon,
Tiger Tales
Bill the Dog leads a fairly charmed life really, yet he's totally, utterly, completely, mind-crushingly bored...bored...BORED!
Food bores him. Being brushed by his loving owner bores him. Even exciting walks in the park or karate lessons bore him to pieces. All Bill wants...
Friday, 23 November 2012
Angel's Great Escape hits iTunes and Android devices with perfect timing for Christmas
Labels:
Alan Titchmarsh,
And So We Begin,
Angel's Great Escape,
App,
Christmas Story,
Kirstie Rowson
Who is this rather beautiful angel? Well she's the shining star of a new app that arrives courtesy of the fabulous Kirstie Rowson at "And So We Begin".
"Angel's Great Escape" is a fantastic app and story narrated by none other than Alan Titchmarsh (I had to rein myself in from typing...
Spotlight on Wasabi Publishing, developer of superb children's apps
Well hello there little lizardy fellow! What are you up to?
This is Larry, and he's one of the stars of a brace of new children's apps from Australian publisher / developer Wasabi. For quite some time now we've championed the cause of app developers who clearly 'get'...
ReadItDaddy gets its first "Good Read" on Tots100. Wowsers!
Labels:
Childs Play International,
Fairy Tales,
Good Read,
Tots 100
Our piece on Child's Play International's fantastic range of traditional children's stories has made the Tots 100 Good Read.
Take a look!
"Does-anyone-still-read-traditional-fairy-tales-to-their-children?"
(Answer: Yes indeeed we do, particularly these lovely...
Book of the Week - Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes (Walker Books)
Our local library, Abingdon Library, is wonderful and they have a great Twitter feed if you fancy following it. Thankfully there's only one lion in there though, and he's a nice (slightly grubby) cuddly lion that likes to join in with the story time and singalong sessions.
A...
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Bear on a Bike by Stella Blackstone and Debbie Harter (Barefoot Books)
That moment when you realise that you've borrowed a book from the library about 50 billion times, and have never reviewed it? Yep that. I frantically searched through the blog earlier, absolutely convinced that we'd looked at "Bear on a Bike" before, even made it Book...
Maggie and Rose: This Book is Totally Christmassy! By Maggie Bolger (Walker Books)
We like our christmas 'make' books big, bold, brassy and most importantly BUSY! That's exactly what the excellent Maggie and Rose "This Book is Totally Christmassy!" book is like. Crammed to the gills with brilliant ideas so when we spotted this at Abingdon Library it...
The Friendliest Ballerina by Timothy Knapman and Jimothy Oliver (QED / Quarto Publishing)
QED has a rather impressive range of books that are designed to teach children about a subject very dear to my heart, good manners. Well not just manners but generally being a bit nicer to everyone. Yep even that kid over there who can't take his finger out of his nose....
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
What's that coming over the hill? New books from the monstrously brilliant Maverick Books in 2013
Labels:
Giles Paley-Phillips,
Jona Jung,
Julie Fulton,
Maverick Books,
Rachel Lyon,
Tabitha Posy was Ever So Nosy,
The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale,
Vanina Starkoff
Excellent moustachioed chap Giles Paley-Phillips got in touch with us to let us know that new shiny books are coming from one of this year's standout indie publishers, Maverick Books. We've absolutely loved Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball, The Fearsome Beastie, Grandma...
"Ten Shiny Snowflakes" by Russell Julien (Caterpillar Books / Little Tiger Press)
We're back on the trail of super little festive books to pick up in time for Christmas, and this lovely little book from Caterpillar Books / Little Tiger Press is perfect for fidgety and curious little youngsters who are just beginning to count.
A family of bears looks...
"Ginger and the Mystery Visitor" by Charlotte Voake (Walker Books)
It's always rather superb when our planned reviews are topical, or segue nicely with something that's being tweeted about. As the excellent "Play by the Book" discusses the secret lives of cats, we were putting the finishing touches to our thoughts and impressions on Charlotte...
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
When Will It Snow? by Katherine White and Alison Edgson
Imagine what it must be like to never have seen snow or galloped around in the lovely crunchy white stuff? I distinctly remember the first time we had real proper snow and Charlotte's reaction to it, one of those childhood expressions that can only be brought about by...
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