If you are after a festive treat to officially kick off the festive season, you absolutely cannot go wrong with one of Alex T. Smith’s beautiful picture books. This year’s delight is a reimagining of a classic Christmas poem, borne from Smith’s inability to remember the original gifts celebrated in poetic form. Things start off … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day 1 ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas or Grandma is Overly Generous,’ by Alex T. Smith.
The loss of a family member or loved one isn’t something you can ever really prepare for, but sharing books which explore ideas around what happens when someone dies before the situation arises can be so helpful for young children. After being told to avoid writing a picture book exploring beliefs about death, Eva Hibbs … Continue reading ‘Where is Uncle Al?’ by Eva Hibbs, illustrated by Sarah Harrison.
I’m delighted to be part of Lantana Publishing’s campaign to ensure that children of colour see themselves represented in the books they receive this Christmas. To help make this happen, they’ve given me a special discount code for people to use on their website up until the 18th December. It’s: BOOKSUPERHERO15. For every book purchased, … Continue reading ‘A Story About Afiya,’ by James Berry, illustrated by Anna Cunha.
Today I’m sharing two wonderful picture books which focus on that Halloween staple - pumpkins! Find out how they grow then go on a spooky Halloween hunt... ‘We Planted a Pumpkin,’ by Rob Ramsden (Scallywag Press) I really love Rob Ramsden’s ‘In the Garden’ series - beautiful illustrations, heart-warming stories and an important message about … Continue reading Take a visit to the pumpkin patch…
After the end of the Second World War, British citizens from the Commonwealth were invited to relocate to Britain to help rebuild the country. Not all were made welcome and many suffered discrimination and racism because of the colour of their skin. Due to various changes in law, and the government’s determination to be seen … Continue reading The Windrush Generation
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this funny, silly, reassuring not bedtime story, bedtime story! Make sure you read Eoin’s piece about why he finally conceded to his young son’s taste for monsters with this scary (but not really) tale. Get ready for ‘The World’s Scariest Monster’ and his friends to take … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘This Book is Not a Bedtime Story!’ by Eoin McLaughlin and Robert Starling.
It’s Chriiiisssstmaaass!!!! Well, almost. But it’s definitely time to start buying Christmas books for all your favourite people. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to ‘Billy and the Balloons.’ Billy was out with his dad selling balloons on Christmas Eve and was desperate to hold the bunch, but dad keeps telling him that … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Billy and the Balloons,’ by Elizabeth Dale, illustrated by Patrick Corrigan.
Today’s stop is brought to you by the letter ‘L’ for ‘Library Girl and Book Boy’ as we journey through the alphabet with the newest addition to the award-winning ‘Oi Frog!’ series. If you’re an animal and want to know where to sit, Frog is your go-to amphibian, but he seems to bet getting weary … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Oi Aardvark!’ by Kes Gray & Jim Field.
Today I’m sharing with you a beautiful picture book about a girl called Fia who dreams of crossing the water in the bay to visit the mythical island of Hy Brasil. I also have a special piece written author, Patricia Forde, about what inspires her writing. The mythical island of Hy Brasil only appears once … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘To the Island,’ by Patricia Forde, illustrated by Nicola Bernardelli.
Today I have not one, not two, but three glorious picture books all about books! This joyous read joins a T-Rex as she discovers books and reading for the very first time. As she learns that books have amazing powers to transform a bedroom into a castle or a roaring ocean, to teach you how … Continue reading It’s all about the books!
Today I'm sharing Catherine Emmett's debut picture book, 'King of the Swamp.' Now it's time for you to meet McDarkly... McDarkly takes great pride in his swamp. To some, it is dark and dank and smelly but to McDarkly, it's home. He proudly plants new flowers in his garden and tends to them lovingly. However, … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘King of the Swamp,’ by Catherine Emmett, illustrated by Ben Mantle.
Today I’m bringing you a charming tale of a boy and his dog. Or rather, a dog and his boy... This brilliant and totally charming tale is cleverly told from the flipped perspective of a ‘pet’ dog. The story begins on Christmas Day when boy and dog first meet. It’s love at first sight and … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘I always Wanted One,’ by Olivier Tallec.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of Tracey Corderoy’s picture books yet, you have a whole treasure trove of fabulous titles ahead of you to try. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing her latest picture book, ‘Impossible.’ Dog has busy life in the city. By day, he washes and returns his … Continue reading ‘Impossible,’ by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Tony Neal.
We are absolutely huge fans of Caryl Hart’s awesome series of Albie picture books. Each story is a leap into the imagination of a young boy with a habit of attracting adventure and mischief! When my own boys were younger, we’d have Albie’s adventures on bedtime story repeat. They had several favourites, one of the being … Continue reading Albie’s 10th Anniversary Tour! ‘How to Win a Monster Race,’ by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Ed Eaves.
I love Duncan Beedie’s picture books - funny, wise and beautifully illustrated. Today I have one of his new titles to share with you: ‘Oof Makes an Ouch.’ AND a piece from Duncan about where the early idea for this brilliant book came from along with a peek in his sketchbook. Meet Oof and Pib. … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Oof Makes an Ouch!’ by Duncan Beedie.
Bonjour! Today I’m sharing one of my favourite picture books of the summer: ‘Monsieur Roscoe On Holiday.’ Readers learn how to speak French whilst they follow Monsieur Roscoe and his Goldfish, Fry, en vacances. After packing, the dynamic duo head to the countryside to go camping with with their friend, Eva. Then skiing in the … Continue reading ‘Monsieur Roscoe On Holiday,’ by Jim Field.
Coco Chanel is a name synonymous with style and luxury, but did you know that she grew up an orphan in a convent? In this fabulous picture book biography, readers will learn how Coco developed her sewing skills whilst being brought up in a convent and where her love of beautiful AND practical clothing for … Continue reading ‘Along Came Coco,’ by Eva Byrne.
We couldn’t have a French week on the blog without visiting Paris and who better to guide us than a high-kicking cat with dreams of becoming an entertainer! Cat was born in an alleyway behind a fishmongers, and although she loved playing with her brothers, sisters and cousins, she couldn’t help but wonder if there … Continue reading ‘Paris Cat,’ by Dianne Hofmeyr, illustrated by Piet Grobler.
Woo-hoo! Another absolutely fabulous picture book by Morag Hood is now available for all you luck readers! Her tightly-plotted and hilarious books are amongst some of my favourites. And now we have ‘Spaghetti Hunters’ to enjoy! Duck has a BIG problem. - he has lost his spaghetti. Thankfully, Tiny Horse is on hand to help … Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Spaghetti Hunters,’ by Morag Hood.
Full disclosure - I am huge fan of Bethan’s delightfully twisted fairy tales and was absolutely THRILLED to discover that she had written a totally original story with a powerful female lead. We are also lucky enough to get a peek into Bethan’s sketchbook as she shares how she uses roughs to help create the … Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘I Can Catch a Monster,’ by Bethan Woollvin.
Library Girl and Book Boy 