Christmas is coming! You've probably noticed that, right? Here at ReadItDaddy we've been trying to subversively give you a few christmas book ideas so when the Carry Along Christmas / Angel books arrived from Lion Publishing, we decided it was time to dive in and start making things!

First, Charlotte exercised her culinary skills with these brilliant Rudolf Nose Truffles (from the Christmas Activity Book) - along with her Grandma...

Of course, Charlotte doesn't really need much of an excuse to get covered in chocolate. The reindeer noses are quite easy to make and quite easy to make disappear too (I managed to snaffle one when no one was looking - this is a daddy thing, obviously!)









As you can see, this is a very satisfied chef really throwing herself into her work! This is a photo that was taken once we managed to scrape all the chocolate off her chops!











Next we thought we'd check out some of the Christmassy makes in the Carry Along Angel Book...

The Strolling Mum dug out all our crafting materials and we decided to make the Angel Cards - which again are nice and easy to make with great results. Not too sure about some of the sizes in the book (10cm seemed really tiny for the cards) but it's fairly easy to scale them up and use the core ideas in the book to create your own festive versions.







On a cold wet Sunday, this was the perfect antidote. A great christmas craft-a-long with really cool results!

The "Carry Along Christmas / Angel" books contain all the instructions and a whole bunch of brilliant stickers, templates and ideas to keep your youngsters occupied for hours. Quite surprised to see a separate 'Angel' book aimed at girls, but once you dip inside the book itself, the crafting ideas are great for girls or boys so don't be put off by the pink cover.

I rather liked the idea that the books had their own integrated handle. If your children are off to visit grandparents or family this christmas, the books are great to take along. There's a real range of activities from simple puzzles and games to more complicated (and very clever) makes. Very stimulating and above all, really good fun.




Charlotte's best bit: Making her own angel card (oh, and of course licking the spoon while making the reindeer noses!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Sneakily stealing a reindeer nose (the biggest one) when no one was looking. Yum!

(Kindly supplied for review by Lion Publishing PLC)

Clemmie and Toby are back! We were very lucky to be sent another fantastic Rebecca Elliott book by Lion Publishing, featuring two of the most important characters in children's books of the last decade.

"Sometimes" is a beautiful follow up to "Just Because" which was our book of the week last week - and this time we find out how Clemmie and her brother Toby deal with Clemmie's hospital visits.

Children have a natural anxiety about hospitals, even when they're infrequent visitors. I can recall all too well the feeling of our world dropping out from under us when Charlotte has suspected Meningitis when she was still just a tiny little toddler. Thankfully she recovered but the entire week was a blur and an experience we were very pleased to be able to put behind us.

Some parents don't have that luxury. In "Sometimes" we see how Toby and Clemmie cope, and it's with the sort of bravery and indomitable spirit children seem to be able to muster in the face of adversity and unpleasantness.

Every page makes you want to hug your child tightly, and it was great to see Charlotte's understanding and also to hear her questions when we read through this book. There's a double page spread in this that sums up exactly why Rebecca Elliott is the sort of talent that shines out like a beacon, and it's also the panel that caused the most discussion and provoked the most questions from Charlotte. Quite right too - "why does this happen to the children, daddy?" There's just no way of answering that, just our best efforts to help Charlotte understand.

Again it's such a beautiful book, just like "Just Because", that you'll find your children wanting to return to it again and again for all the right reasons. It's thought provoking, masterfully handled and a book that every child and their parents should read.

Charlotte's best bit: She absolutely loves Clemmie's hair and she thought the children in the hospital were "very brave and very happy".

Daddy's favourite bit: Books like this don't come along very often but when they do, they're like a breath of fresh air. To have two come along from the same author / illustrator, that are of equal importance to children's picture books, is just phenomenal.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Lion Publishing)

When I was a wee whippersnapper, my two best friends were two girls - one called Selma and one called Merrel. Merrel had Spinabifida and had also suffered severe birth trauma and when I first read "Just Because" it took me back nearly 40 years to a time when the three of us were as thick as thieves. Selma (we used to call her the naughty one because she was always daring us to do really daft things like drink pond water or see if the insides of Rosehips really did work as itching powder by testing them out on ourselves  - Note to kids: Do NOT try that one at home) loved Merrel with the kind of unconditional love that children reserve exclusively for their close siblings. Merrel was in a wheelchair and could not speak (she could make noises, much like the little girl in "Just Because") but she was awesome and I'd never met anyone else like her.

As children we don't see 'different' until it's pointed out to us by others (usually adults, sometimes well meaning, sometimes cruel). Rebecca Elliott's "Just Because" absolutely captures the essence of this and Toby, the young lad in the story absolutely adores his big sister Clemmie. She's beautiful, she's funny, she has the most amazing hair on the planet and she has a cool wheelchair that can visit the moon. Most of all, he loves her "just because".

The most touching part of this book wasn't just that it almost made me burst into tears with the sharp and distinct memory of Selma and Merrel, but Charlotte's reaction to it. She asked a lot of questions about Clemmie but she asked them because she wanted to understand her own response to the story and then she asked that $6 million question - "why did this happen to Clemmie?" Which is, of course, a question I couldn't answer. "Just Because" just didn't seem adequate enough.

This is one of the most beautiful children's books ever written, handled in such a thoughtful and also thought-provoking way. I defy anyone not to feel a lump in their throat reading this, there are so many reasons why it can't be praised enough - from spellbinding illustrations beautifully painted by Rebecca herself, to the quiet and understated beauty of Clemmie as a character. There's another Clemmie and Toby book called "Sometimes" and I really really want to read that now!

Charlotte's best bit: Clemmie as a princess sitting atop her sand castle

Daddy's favourite bit: It'd be impossible to list all the tiny and beautiful little moments in this book that struck a chord with me, suffice to say that this is an incredibly important book that (to use a well worn cliche) really should find its way into the hands of every child.

(Kindly supplied to us for review by Lion Press)