Showing posts with label #ReadItMD13. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ReadItMD13. Show all posts
Monday, 25 November 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Food Glorious Food! Children's books with a foodie theme!"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Food Glorious Food
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| "Mrs Macready Was Ever So Greedy" By Julie Fulton and Jona Jung (Maverick Books). Scoffing! |
Of course, taking things too far can be a bad move - as a certain Mrs Macready finds out...
"Mrs Macready Was Ever So Greedy" by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung is so full of juicy, tempting, tasty and plentiful grub that we had to have it in our list. From the delicious end-papers to the meals that Mrs Macready tucks into, it's a smorgasbord of scintillating sizzling flavours. Mrs Macready loves food a little too much though, and as her waistline expands - and even the newspapers become involved, life in Hamilton Shady will never be the same again.
Brilliant, a bit grisly, but such superb fun, we love it and it's a regular guest at our bedtime table.
Who's for a spot of breakfast....? Can I tempt you with something a little different than your usual bowl of Shreddies?
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| "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. Perfect rhymes to fill your platter |
"Green Eggs and Ham" is a complete riot from start to finish. I loved it as a kid, and it's been so fantastic to be able to introduce the masterful Dr. Seuss to Charlotte, and see her enthusiasm for his pitch-perfect rhymes and completely crazy scenarios. Here a hapless creature is pestered by Sam (I am) to try a most unusual dish. Green eggs and ham, whoever heard of such a thing! Sam insists it's the most tasty thing you can imagine but his cohort takes some convincing. Whether in a train or in the rain, on a boat or with a goat, the answer is the same - a firm no.
But try it, try it - just this once...and...YUM!
Charlotte likes to see me tripping over my tongue reading this and other Seuss books so it's become a challenge, to see if I can make it through without fluffing. I haven't yet!
Of course, there are those of us who just can't resist polishing off those leftovers...(waste not want not, my Nan always used to say!) so...
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| "Dustbin Dad" by Peter Bently and Russell Ayto. You name it, he wolfs it! |
"Dustbin Dad" by Peter Bently and Russell Ayto is like most of their collaborations, completely whacky and superb (and in no way describes the way dads behave when our daughters won't finish their chips or fishfingers, right Charlotte?) Again as is so often a theme when a gastronome goes out of control, the Dad here gets his comeuppance when a rather tasty looking fish consomme is consumed, and has hilarious side effects. Dad (or should that be puss) doesn't know what to do as he sprouts fluffy ears and a tail. Serves him right for being such a greedy guts! A brilliantly entertaining book (and again one that makes my tummy rumble looking at all the lovely fare on that cover!)
@TheStrollingMum (my lovely other half, who is a slender slip of a girl compared to my sumo-like girth) said don't forget the veg...
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| "Super Daisy and the Peril of Planet Pea" by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt. Pea-culiar! |
Peas. You could probably create a whole theme week geared around this tasty veg but a certain would-be superhero probably wouldn't be too impressed. "Super Daisy and the Peril of Planet Pea" by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt - one of our favourite dynamic duos in children's books - features our long-suffering heroine as she battles the nefarious forces of Planet Pea, and the threat that peas will invade all Daisy's favourite foodstuffs - even ice cream! EWWW! We particularly love Daisy's superhero costume, definitely an idea for the next Book Week at school!
We'll be back as the week progresses with more tasty fare. Do you have a children's story book with a foodie theme? (not a cook book, stories are where we are at this week, have you ever tried reading a cookbook to a child at bedtime? Maybe we might try that!) We'd love to hear all about it so please do tweet us or drop us a comment. Oh and pass the ketchup, there's a love!
Monday, 11 November 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Pirates Revisited"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Pirates,
Pirates Revisited
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| "Here Be Monsters" by Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene. Brilliant piratical fun! |
Let's start with an absolute belter. Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene's fantastic "Here Be Monsters" which has all the right elements of excitement, adventure, monsters and booty that we demand from a cracking piratical tale. Captain Cutthroat and his fearless crew (who are all brilliantly illustrated - along with the captain himself - by Poly Bernatene) set out in search of treasure but soon fall foul of some serious beasts out in the middle of uncharted ocean. All children will find a favourite character in this, and Jonathan Emmett's pacey writing keeps you on the edge of your seat right up until a brilliant twist of an end! Don't miss it!
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| "Pirate Girl" by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer. Utterly awesome! |
We can't let any pirate theme go by without talking about this fabulous book. "Pirate Girl" by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer. It's all too rare to see pirate books with a female lead - particularly one as brilliant (and inspirational) as Pirate Girl. Rather than relying on her sword, she relies on her quick wits when Captain Firebeard, the infamous and rather inept pirate captain kidnaps her and puts her to work in the galley. Pirate Girl has a plan though - she slips notes over the side to call for rescue. It arrives - and how!
Charlotte loves the book so much that she even dressed as Pirate Girl (here holding yet another brilliant pirate book, "The Pirates Next Door").
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| "Yo ho ho and a bottle of strawberry milkshake" |
Something for younger readers that's chock full of pirates, is entertaining and funny, and a great way of learning to count?
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| "Ten Little Pirates" by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty. Fabulous counting fun! |
"Ten Little Pirates" by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty sees ten salty coves embarking on a brilliant quest with danger at every turn. Starting with ten, children count down as each pirate comes a cropper - sometimes in a rather unfortunate way. Don't worry though, pirates are hardy characters and they all reunite at the end of the book for a jolly pirate picnic!
We absolutely loved the rhyming text and the wonderfully inventive pirates, a favourite for everyone!
More you say? More? Time to plunge into the pool...
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| "Plunge into the Pirate Pool" by Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves. Steampunk swimming in a pirate style! |
"Plunge into the Pirate Pool" by Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves is a brilliant addition to the "Albie" series by Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves. Joining Albie as he goes swimming and lets his imagination run riot with a pirate crew and the most fabulous shark-shaped submarine ever, we learn a little about addressing fears and uncertainty. It's also another all too rare book with a girl pirate character, we really wish more folk would let the girls have a go.
We'd love to hear about your favourite pirate books. Drop a comment below or tweet us @ReadItDaddy with your suggestions!
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Swords and Sorcery and the realm of fantasy" - A review of "The Crystal Mirror" by Tim Malnick and Katie Green (Vala Publishing)
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Katie Green,
Swords and Sorcery,
The Crystal Mirror,
Tim Malnick,
Vala Publishing
The Crystal Mirror
Written by Tim Malnick
Illustrated by Katie Green
Published by Vala Publishing
Tying neatly in with our Swords, Sorcery and Fantasy theme for this week, we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to review "The Crystal Mirror" by Tim Malnick and Katie Green. Story anthologies are becoming a very important part of our reading pile, they're usually comprised of stories that are short enough to squeeze in before bedtime - but more satisfying in depth and subject than some of our picture book fare.
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| "The Cuddliest Monster" - No swords required, he just wants a hug! |
The stories are:
The Cuddliest Monster in the World
Polly, the girl who was always changing
The Story of Oswald the Bat
The Master Painter
The Rainbow Bridge of the Sea
Each story is gloriously illustrated by Katie Green, and this helps the anthology to appeal to Charlotte who loves longer stories but welcomes illustrations in them to break up the text a little.
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| Our dream art set in "The Master Painter". |
The book is due to launch on 13th November 2013 and can be obtained from the Crystal Mirror Website.
There will also be a launch party on 30th November 2013 if you want to come along and meet Tim and Katie (and a certain cuddly monster too!)
If you're at the point where your children are looking for slightly more demanding but scintillating tales to read and have read to them, this is a fantastic collection of stories.
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| Oswald the Bat. A brilliant tale of courage and companionship |
Charlotte's best bit: The fabulous "Polly, The Girl Who Was Always Changing"
Daddy's Favourite bit: The wonderful "Oswald the Bat" and the lovely bittersweet ending of "The Master Painter"
(Kindly sent to us for review by Vala Publishing)
Monday, 4 November 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Swords and Sorcery - the realm of fantasy in children's books"
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| "The Hobbit (or there and back again) by J.R.R. Tolkien. Hugely influential. |
With fantasy series such as "Game of Thrones" and huge blockbuster movies such as "The Hobbit" making tills go cha-ching, it's never been a better time to devote an entire week to a much loved subject for children's books and for our #ReadItMD13 theme this week - dipping into swords and sorcery.
For me, The Hobbit was where it all started. It was one of the first 'big and proper' books I read, and it drew me in like nothing I'd ever read before. The tale of Bilbo Baggins and his comfortable everyday life being turned upside down while embarking on a quest to help the dwarves reclaim The Lonely Mountain and a fantastic treasure, guarded by the evil dragon Smaug.
Tolkien's gift was the ability to create worlds and characters that stayed in the memory long after the book covers were closed. With simple (but quite beautiful) illustrations, and of course now the huge draw of a whole cinematic world to refer to as well, Tolkien's books still set the standard for others to follow and have hugely influenced fantasy books for decades.
Following hot on his heels, another author also set children's literature alight with a fantasy series par excellence...
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| "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. A story for children, but one adults can't get enough of either. |
C.S. Lewis was a member of the "Inklings" (along with Tolkien), a band of Oxford academics who met to scribble down ideas in a pub just down the road from where I'm typing this (The Eagle and Child in Oxford). Squeezing into such a small (cosy) pub must've given the pair food for thought as they quaffed ale and dreamed up amazingly rich worlds. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" stretches across several books but by far the most well known and well loved is "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". Containing all the essential elements of a good fantasy yarn - evil monsters, fantastic heroes and an amazingly rich and inventive world, it's a book that has always been in my bookshelves in one form or another. Reading bits to Charlotte has been enjoyable, I always worry that classic stuff will be lost on her but Lewis' genius was to put children front and centre of the story as the heroes, and that makes it engaging to children of any age.
For slightly younger children there's still plenty to choose from when it comes to knights, dragons, swords and magic...
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| "The Worst Princess" by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie. The best princess, as far as we're concerned! |
We have to tread lightly, and comb through the usual "Brave Knight / Beautiful but helpless princess" books to find good ones but Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie's superb "The Worst Princess" ticks all the right boxes for us, and serves up a funny and entertaining story with a brilliant message for young girls. Princess Sue spends most of her life preparing for the day her handsome knight will arrive and whisk her off to his castle. Only when this finally happens, "The Worst Princess" realises that she actually prefers excitement, adventure - and silly pretty dresses are completely impractical when it comes to stomping the neighbourhood in search of fun.
It takes a dragon to stir things up a bit, and once our wonderful princess realises that dragons are rather fantastic as friends, she sets out on a whole new life of adventure with her new found friend - leaving the rather dozy (and slightly scorched) prince behind. Hooray!
There'll be plenty more to come during the week as we look at more books with a fantasy "swords and sorcery" theme. Stick with us for the week, it's going to be fantastic!
Monday, 28 October 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "This Is Halloween - Which Witch is top of the class?"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Meg and Mog,
Room on the Broom,
This Is Halloween - Which Witch is Top of the Class,
Winnie the Witch,
witches
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| No witchy round-up could possibly be complete without Winnie! |
It's Halloween, and before your little monsters and minxes descend on the neighbourhood in search of sweet treats, we are paying homage to a favourite halloween character who weaves a magic spell throughout many children's picture books. Be they scary, sweet or a little bit gross, ladies and gentlemen it's the Witching Hour!
We'll kick off with our favourite. Winnie the Witch books by Valerie Thomas and the uber-talented Korky Paul have always been in our library stack, we voraciously consumed them all when this blog first started up - though we've got lots of catching up to do now that there are new titles we've missed, and chapter readers which also look fab.
We have reviewed:
Winnie in Winter (our favourite!)
So you could say we're definitely in love with Winnie!
But wait a second, how dare this young upstart take the throne. How about a witch I loved when I was a wee whippersnapper...!
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| Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski. Zany. Hilarious. Genius! |
The "Meg and Mog" books were staple fodder for me, our school library had nearly all of the titles that were available in the early 70s - and a few more were added later on.
The story of a witch, her cat, and their owl friend - and a supporting cast of completely crazy characters ranging from other witches, to mummies, to aliens and monsters, they're eyecatching books and brilliant for a whole range of ages.
We have been a bit busy with Meg and Mog books on the blog, having reviewed:
It's extremely sad that Helen Nicoll is no longer with us. Meg and Mog stories should definitely be passed down to future generations, they're so good.
More witches, well we have plenty more to share around. How about:
The Witch of the East by Mark Boyde and Scott Macgregor
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
We've missed out a lot, so it's over to you - who is your favourite witchy character in children's books? Leave a comment below, we always love your suggestions!
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "This Is Halloween, Everybody SCREAM!"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Ghosts,
Ghouls,
Halloween,
Monsters,
Theme Week
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| "Darkness Slipped In" by Ella Burfoot. Spooky, Dark, Delicious! |
Welcome Ghouls and Boys to our #ReadItMD13 Theme Week celebrating all things spooky, scary and dark. It's Halloween on Thursday - and as you answer the door 20 times in one night to lots of little spooky chiddlers demanding "Trick or Treat", there's a ton of brilliant booky goodness to delve into as you tuck your little monsters tightly beneath the bedcovers once the excitement dies down.
We're starting off with a book that we were in two minds about at first. "Darkness Slipped In" by Ella Burfoot is truly a book that will divide opinion, and definitely not a book to read at bedtime if your little ones haven't progressed past needing a night light. A young girl is scared of the dark, and with good reason because at first "Darkness" is a mischievous and playful scamp, who you're never really sure you can trust or turn your back on. But soon the girl confronts her fears, after all "Darkness" is pretty harmless really.
Sticking with darkness for a moment or two...talk about a killer combination of author and artist, phew!
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| "The Dark" by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen. Hi Dark, Hi! |
"The Dark" by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen is utterly, utterly fabulous. With a similar theme to "Darkness Slipped in", "The Dark" features an adorable little lad, Laszlo, who knows all about the dark. The Dark lives in the basement, but sometimes it creeps behind the shower, or in spaces throughout Laszlo's massive (and quite spooky) house. One night The Dark steals into Laszlo's room but he's brave and bold, and follows The Dark down to the cellar to find out what it wants...
When this book first arrived (resplendent in a big black box and the most fabulous shipping envelope) we instantly fell in love with the tale, it became a book of the week, and we still just can't get enough of it. If ever there was a dynamic duo in children's books we'd love to see work together again, it's Snicket and Klassen!
Time for a rumpus, methinks!
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| "Spookyrumpus" by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees. Why didn't the skeleton go to the ball...? |
"Spookyrumpus" by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees tells us what all the ghoulies, ghosties, skeletons and monsters get up to once we're all safely tuck up in bed. A grand rumpus begins, a party to end all parties - loud enough to raise the dead, in fact! Whoooh!
...and in a similar vein, let's have a few more monsters having a high old time...
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| "Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball" by Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini. Monstrously good! |
"Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball" hit our doormat, courtesy of the absolutely smashing Giles Paley Phillips. His second monstery book (Who could possibly forget the brilliance of "The Fearsome Beastie" which also deserves an honourable mention in anyone's Halloween list) had all the essence of spookiness about it as young Tamara is unceremoniously taken away from her warm comfortable bed by a dribbling drooling monster. No evil intent though, the monster takes her to the annual event no monster could possibly miss. The Monsters' Ball! Brilliant rhymes, inventive monsters and possibly the world's coolest cake (which we STILL haven't quite managed to emulate in our bake-offs at home yet. We'll keep trying!)
More to come from us with all things monstery, ghostly, ghoulish, scary and dark as we explore more brilliant halloween classics very soon. We're going witchy next so if you have a favourite witch-based book, drop a comment below!
Friday, 25 October 2013
#ReaditMD13 Theme Week - The Four Seasons - "Autumn, how we love thee!"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Autumn / Fall,
The Four Seasons,
Theme Week
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| Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka and Chad Cameron. Autumnal fun! |
So we're kicking off with "Fall Mixed Up" by Bob Raczka and Chad Cameron. As you'd expect, it's a crazy book full of brilliant rhymes, fabulous artwork and though it's a bit US-Centric, it's a huge amount of fun.
Autumn leaves - let's stick with that theme for a moment...
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| The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger. Utterly sublime! |
With essences of Eric Carle, and a charming and touching story, Carin Berger's "The Little Yellow Leaf" is a fabulous tale of what happens when the very last leaf on the tree hangs on for dear life. Should they succumb to the autumn breeze or stay there as long as possible? The strong messages of bravery and friendship that bubble under the surface of this story are what makes it an essential autumn read.
It's just around the corner so let's take a look at...
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| "In November" by Cynthia Rylant and Jill Kastner. So beautiful! |
"In November" by Cynthia Rylant and Jill Kastner is a very special book, describing how Autumn makes it feel like the world is shutting down, battening down the hatches before winter. We see the animal kingdom preparing their winter stores of food before hibernation, and of course the first fall of leaves of every colour as the ground is carpeted with browns, golds and reds. A veritable Autumn feast for the eyes.
You'll notice we've kept well away from Halloween - there's a good reason for that (it's because the theme next week is - yep you've guessed it - Halloween) but we'll sneak at least one Halloween book in anyway...
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| "Fragoline and the Midnight Dream" by Clemency Pearce and Rebecca Elliot. One of our favourite spooky reads! |
"Fragoline and the Midnight Dream" is a book that just gets better and better with each reading. I think I've completely lost count of how many times we've borrowed this from the library (we can never seem to get hold of our own copy!). I love it because it's such an utter pleasure to read out loud. Charlotte loves it because Fragoline is just the right side of naughty, as she gads about after darkness cheekily roaming the neighbourhood before realising that perhaps the dark and spooky night isn't the best place for a little girl to be. She's bold, she's sassy, and we love her to bits! The perfect teaser for the sort of books you can expect to see all next week as #ReadItMD13 continues.
Hope you've enjoyed our seasonal favourites, and please, as always, if you have any of your own, do leave a comment or tweet us @readitdaddy.
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "The Four Seasons - Spring into Summer!"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Four Seasons,
Spring and Summer,
Theme Week
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| "The Easter Chick" by Geraldine Echner and Alexandra Junge. Not your average chick lit! |
"The Easter Chick" by Geraldine Echner and Alexandra Junge is a great little story with fabulous illustrations, and a rather neat plot twist that gathers pace as the story unfolds. While most easter books seem to feature fluffy bunnies, chicks or chocolate, this tale of a mother hen laying an egg with something QUITE unexpected inside, is a laugh out loud classic.
Usborne truly have Easter sewn up, from brilliant craft and sticker books...
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| The Easter Story by Usborne |
...to the story of easter - here in a sticker book that helps children build the bible story with brilliant layouts and artwork.
It seems like a long way away to start thinking about planting out the garden in the spring but Miffy's ready...!
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| Miffy's Garden by Dick Bruna. A veritable classic! |
"Miffy's Garden" sees everyone's favourite bunny get a patch of garden to grow things in. It seems to take forever for anything to grow, but patience is a virtue and there's nothing quite like harvesting your own veggies from your own vegetable patch, as Miffy discovers. It's amazing to think the Miffy books are over 60 years old, they're still as brilliant and timeless as ever they were.
Stepping into summer now, our favourite summer books are easy to spot...so let's kick off with an utterly fabulous pooch...
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| Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! |
"Harry By the Sea" was one of the first books we ever reviewed on the blog and it's still a book that we regularly read. Harry is a pooch enjoying a day out at the seaside with his family. Their tiny umbrella doesn't offer much shade so poor panting Harry has to go and find a cool spot to sleep in. The children's sandcastle is no good, and nor is using the curvaceous figure of a rather large lady. Tut tut Harry! We love the craziness of this, and Harry books are never far from our bedtime reading pile - I just wish more of the old ones were brought back into print. Come on publishers, do your thang - we really want "Harry and the Baby" back!
A girl with a name like this can't be far away from the summer sun, surely?
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| "Smile - Starring Sunny McCloud" by Leigh Hodgkinson. Perfect summer reading! |
"Smile, starring Sunny McCloud" is like concentrated sunshine in book form as we follow a day in the life of the fabulous Sunny herself. She's fun to read about as we meet her family and friends, her fizzing whizzing energy makes this a fun-packed sun-packed read.
From one amazing girl to another...
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| "Splash - Anna Hibiscus" by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia. Summer wouldn't be summer without Anna! |
"Splash - Anna Hibiscus" is utterly perfect, so much so that it gained a "Book of the Week" award back when the weather was a LOT nicer! Anna is enjoying a day at the beach with her family but no one seems to want to play with her. The girls are busy talking on their mobile phones, the boys are busy playing football - and all the adults want to do is chat or laze around in the sun. What can Anna do? The sea has an idea or two!
We've got one more theme day to look forward to this week so hope you join us for Autumn really soon!
Monday, 21 October 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "The Seasons - Books that celebrate Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn" - Winter!
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
The Seasons,
Theme Week,
Winter
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| "The Snow Bear" by Holly Webb (Stripes) . Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! |
Our header image shows the cover of Holly Webb's sublime chapter book "The Snow Bear" which is absolutely perfect for winter snuggles and bedtime stories as you pull out the big fat duvet, put the skinny one away and start filling those hot water bottles.
It's a beautiful story of snow, polar bears and grandparents - suffused with magic and mystery. Illustrations make it a great read for younger children who are just beginning to explore early chapter books. Above all though, like all Holly's books, it's the atmosphere that really makes it special.
Some folk don't like snow or cold weather. Take Winnie the Witch for instance!
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| "Winnie in Winter" by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul (OUP). Magic, mayhem and mischief! |
Of course, like most of Winnie's madcap schemes, things don't quite go according to plan. After all, if there's sunshine to be enjoyed - what's to stop the whole neighbourhood joining in and tramping your garden flat as they enjoy the unseasonal weather? Hilarious and brilliantly illustrated, it's a real must!
Bears and winter seem to go hand in hand - how about bears and racoons and letters?
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| "Herman's Letter" by Tom Percival. Full of wintry goodness! |
We loved the wintry landscapes Herman struggles through, as he fights to stay awake during hibernation time to deliver his message of friendship to his best pal. A lovely book exploring friendship in a unique way.
Finally, a touch of frost...Jack Frost!
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| "Jack Frost" by Kazuno Kohara. Nipping at your nose! |
Kazuno Kohara's "Jack Frost" is probably THE perfect winter book as we meet a young boy, desperate for a playmate, who befriends Jack himself - on the understanding that he never mentions any of the other seasons. If he does, Jack will disappear! They play together in the snow and have lots of fun but a slip of the tongue sees Jack making good on his promise, and soon he's gone as the new buds arrive and the first dewdrops of spring melt as the forests and woodlands turn green. Will Jack be back next year? Visually striking and a real wintry treat, it's a fab story. Just don't get frostbitten!
We'll be looking at lovely books celebrating spring next so keep an eye out for our next themed post!
Monday, 14 October 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "The History Books - Children's books with historical leanings!"
Labels:
#ReadItMD13,
Caroline Lawrence,
Dorlink Kindersley,
Roman Mysteries,
Theme Week - The History Books,
Usborne
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| "The Roman Mystery Scrolls" by Caroline Lawrence. Thrilling fiction, factual settings |
For this week's #ReadItMD13 Theme Week we're delving into books with historical leanings. Whether you're a fan of the fun stuff like "Horrible Histories" or prefer the more serious history books, there's something for everyone.
We'll start off with a series that's been massively successful, and has made its way to children's TV too! Caroline Lawrence's superb "The Roman Mystery Scrolls" often uses factual settings while telling brilliant stories set in ancient Rome.
We took a look at "The Sewer Demon", telling the story of a young down-at-heel slave boy, Threptus, who discovers something nasty lurking in the sewers. Avoiding bullies and trying to figure out who the midnight visitor is at a rich merchant lady's house, Threptus must keep his wits about him at all times in order to get to the end of this rather pongy case.
Caroline's passion for all things Roman shines through in her books, and it's definitely a great place to start if your children love history and mystery going hand in hand.
Though we've briefly mentioned "Horrible Histories" at the start of the article, we actually rather like the cheekily similar Tony Robinson books that take HH as their inspiration.
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| Baldrick, what ARE you wearing? "Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders - The Greeks" |
"Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders" are fantastic fun, crammed with facts and figures about ancient civilisations from the Romans to the Greeks, and even charting the rise and fall of the British Empire. Though the books take a sometimes scatological look at history, a la HH, they do have some brilliant content - mixing the funny stuff with the facts to slim down on the 'poo' and 'puke' quotient to dish up some tasty nuggets of historical goodness.
There's quite a series now, so dig in!
As you'd expect from Usborne Books, there's plenty of historical richness in their fabulous non-fiction book range...
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| The Usborne "See Inside" range. Absolutely essential for young historians! |
We also love Dorling Kindersley books when it comes to our non-fiction fix...
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| DK's "Millennium Children's History of the 20th Century" - a big weighty tome full of brilliant content |
We've got several DK books in our shelves but the DK History and Encyclopaedia range are our reference books of choice. We always go looking for one of these if we want brilliant photos, factual content not dumbed down in any way, and plenty of choice when it comes to books that deal with specific eras in history - from ancient to modern.
Curious kids love history. Do you have a favourite fact or fiction book that has a historical setting? We'd love to hear about it!
Monday, 30 September 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Doctors and Nurses and all things medical"
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| "Doctor Ted" by Andrea Beaty and Pascale LeMaitre. Take two biscuits and call me in the morning! |
So we'll kick off with a book that's been book of the week twice (!), and is regularly demanded whenever we spot it in the library stack...
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| "Doctor Ted" By Andrea Beaty and Pascal LeMaitre. Doctor in charge! |
Setting up a surgery doesn't take long (though I'm not sure mum would be too happy when she sees what Doctor Ted does with her curtains) but no patients arrive. Thankfully, schools are full of germ-riddled snot-covered patients a-plenty - so it's the perfect place for a young doctor to practice his craft!
Naturally, when you're at school to learn, and your teacher and headmaster take a very dim view of medical antics, things can go sadly awry. But can Doctor Ted prove his worth and save the day after a bump and a scrape in the playground?
This is a fab book, irreverent and cheeky - which is, of course, why kids probably love it to bits!
We'll stick with the cheekier side of medicine for a book that is equally popular with Charlotte, and also has a sequel that's fab too...
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| "Dr. Dog" by Babette Cole. No need for laughing gas here, it's got plenty of its own! |
Poor Dr. Dog ends up so stressed out at the end of the first book that he jets off on a tropical holiday for the sequel. Unfortunately the Gumboyles invite themselves along, and it's not long before poor Dr. Dog is once again called on to join forces with Professor Dash Hund to administer some tropical medicine!
These books are so well loved that we've practically worn our copies out!
Let's have a look at one of the best 'Body' books we've seen in our travels through the bookblogosphere...
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| Usborne's "Look Inside Your Body" by Louie Stowell and Katie Leake. Brilliant lift-the-flap factual biological fun! |
Last but not least, here's a book that bounces from A to Z through medical matters...
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| "ABC Doctor - Staying Healthy from A to Z" by Harriet Ziefert and Liz Murphy. Fab-u-Lous! |
There are so many children's books dealing with medical matters to choose from. Some fun, some factual - but one thing we would like to see more of are children's books where the ladies take centre stage. Do you know of any? If so, please drop a comment in the box below or tweet us @ReadItDaddy!
Thursday, 26 September 2013
#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Toot Toot Beep Beep Vehicles a-plenty" - Messing about in boats!
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| "Pirate Girl" by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer. Awesome in every way! |
Our header image is the cover of Cornelia Funke and Kersin Meyer's wonderful "Pirate Girl" - In fact you'll probably notice that most of the books we've seen on the blog that have boats in them often also have pirates in them too! This book is brilliant, with a flame-haired and wonderful heroine at its heart (who inspired Charlotte to dress up as her during last year's school book week). She has a rather nifty little boat called Molly with fab bedsheet sails. A neat twist on the "red riding hood" story theme, but feeling wholly original and wonderful.
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| "Tim in Danger" by Edward Ardizzone. Life aboard ship can sometimes be tough! |
We recently took a look at "Tim in Danger" by Edward Ardizzone - one of a series of reprints of the "Tim, Charlotte and Ginger" adventure books by a seriously talented author-illustrator. We learn that life aboard ship isn't all it's cracked up to be and can be very hard work - and fog is definitely not welcome! (As I type this, it's definitely not sailing weather, I can barely see across the park if I look out of the window!)
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| The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle. Perfect pirate neighbours! |
We wouldn't dare write a feature about boats, ships or pirates without mentioning one of our all-time favourite picture books, "The Pirates Next Door" by Jonny Duddle. A well-deserved book of the week, it tells the tale of a young girl who lives a fairly boring life in Ennui-on-Sea. Until, that is, the Jolley Rogers turn up in a huge pirate ship and move into the vacant house next door. It probably is a bit of a cheat to feature this in a boat-based round up but it has a wonderful amphibian car on the cover, and of course a wonderful pirate ship filled with one of the craziest pirate families you could ever hope to meet. Endlessly re-read by us, wonderfully entertaining - and if you get the version with the story CD you get to hear Jonny reading you the story!
(Look out also for Jonny's "The Pirate Cruncher" which is also brilliant, and also has a rather fetching pirate ship in it - at least until it meets a rather sticky end).
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| "The Snorgh and the Sailor" by Will Buckingham and Thomas Docherty. Adventure on the high seas and beyond! |
No pirates in our next book but plenty of nautical excitement to be had in "The Snorgh and the Sailor" by Will Buckingham and Thomas Docherty. The Snorgh is a grumpy and lonely little creature who leads a fairly solitary life, enjoying samphire soup and keeping himself to himself. That is, until, a sailor invites himself in and stays the night - detailing all the adventures he's been on in his life. Once you hear about adventure, you feel like having one yourself - so the Snorgh gives chase in his leaky bath tub to catch up with the sailor and finish the story!
If you love messing about in boat-based books, do drop us a comment and let us know your favourites!
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