May 2018

Month

Thu
31 ^st

Parrots Don’t Live In The City By Lucy Reynolds & Jenna Herman

This fab book was recently recommended to us by one of our Instagram followers and it has quickly become one of our favourites because it is easy for Ivy to relate to. We live in South East London where there is a very large population of wild green parrots (rose-ringed parakeets, to be precise!) and they often come and sit in the trees in our garden. We have lots of fun trying to spot them amongst the leaves and this book now lets us extend the game inside!

The story is about a brother and sister who are playing with their kite in a city park. Jack spots what he thinks is a parrot flying in to one of the trees but Emily doesn’t believe him. She tells him that he couldn’t possibly have seen one because parrots live in the jungle and not in the city! After an unsuccessful search Jack admits he must have been wrong and goes back to playing with his kite. Suddenly his kite hits a tree and a whole host of green birds come bursting out. Could Jack have been right all along?

Wed
30 ^th

Mermaid By Cerrie Burnell & Laura Ellen Anderson

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Luka lives by the seaside and is fascinated by the ocean but his family don’t share his interest at all. He really wants to learn to swim but he doesn’t have anyone to teach him so instead he watches the waves and wonders what it might be like.

One day he spots a girl having fun in the water and she moves so gracefully that he thinks it must be a mermaid. He watches her for a long time until she swims up to the pier and is pulled gently out of the water by her father. He is so mesmerised by her that he barely notices the fact she uses a wheelchair on land – all he can see is her smile.

She tells him that her name is Sylvia and she offers to teach him to swim. By the end of the next day Luka is able to float on the waves all by himself and his family are very proud of his achievement.

Tue
29 ^th

Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson & Tor Freeman

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Most of you will be familiar with the old children’s counting song about ten sausages in a pan. The sausages in this book have obviously heard it too as they absolutely refuse to go POP or BANG!

Just like the song, the story starts with ten fat sausages sizzling in a pan and there is lots of counting – but that’s where the similarity ends. These sausages have minds of their own and they are on a mission to fight back! Some do unfortunately still go POP but the others manage to escape the pan and make a run for freedom. The problem is that the kitchen turns out to be way more dangerous than they anticipated!

Can they escape their fate or will they still end up as lunch?

Mon
28 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Phebi King, Owner, Bosses ‘N’ Mums

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hello, my name is Phebi a millennial mum to 2 wonderful children – a 4-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy – and wife to my hands-on hubby. London is my home and I absolutely love London. I previously worked as a Public Health Professional supporting mums and their families. I run my own business helping mums as a Confidence Coach. I help mums to build confidence to achieve goals whilst balancing family life.

What are your children’s favourite books?

To be honest I don’t think they have one favourite book. However, my son loves ‘Well Done Little Croc’ by Tony Maddox. I think it’s the way I read the book to him and he loves to learn the meaning behind the book. Whereas my daughter is very much into reading books about Disney’s princesses at the moment (she has outgrown Peppa Pig).

Sun
27 ^th

Izzy Gizmo By Pip Jones & Sara Ogilvie

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Little Izabelle loves to invent things. Her house is full of things she has made – from the Beardtastic grooming machine to the Swirly Spagsonic mealtime helper – but the problem is that they’re all in states of disrepair. Izzy loves to make things but when they break down she is too frustrated to try and fix them. She just gives up and moves on to the next project.

One day an injured crow falls in to her path. The local vet tells her that he has a broken wing which can’t be fixed so Izzy takes him home to look after him. She tries lots of ways to keep him entertained on the ground but the poor little crow just wants to be airborne again.

Spotting an opportunity to invent something new, Izzy sets about making a pair of wings but they’re too heavy and don’t work. Disillusioned, she immediately wants to give up but her grandpa and the crow won’t let her! They gently encourage her to have another go so she tries again. And again. And again.

Fri
25 ^th

Hug Me
by Simona Ciraolo

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Poor Little Felipe. All he wants is a little hug but his family are far too prickly and aloof. They are very concerned with appearances and don’t seem to notice that he needs some affection. It’s a tough life being a little cactus with a big heart!

He tries to make friends with a balloon and at first this looks promising but when Felipe tries to get close the relationship ends with a POP. Ashamed, he decides to leave home and start life anew.

He settles in to life as a solitary cactus but then one day he hears someone sobbing. Can he make them feel better with a hug and if so is it possible they could be friends?

Wed
23 ^rd

Does Your Child Love Dinosaurs? Enter Our Competition!

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What is it with little ones and dinosaurs? Ivy is in the grips of dino fever so we thought we would run a little dinosaur-themed competition for you.

Our prize bundle contains 5 picture books, a cuddly dinosaur, a colouring book and some crayons and it’s worth over £40!

We have 2 prize bundles – one for Facebook followers and one for Instagram followers.

Click here to enter on Facebook

Click here to enter on Instagram

Contest is open internationally and will run for 2 weeks. The winner will be selected at random at 8.30pm GMT on Wednesday, June 6th 2018

The prize includes:

* Silly Dizzy Dinosaur by Jack Tickle
* Ten Little Dinosaurs by Mike Brownlow & Simon Rickerty
* Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Clare Freedman & Ben Cort
* The Dinosaur That Pooped A Planet! by Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter & Garry Parsons
* If I Had A Dinosaur by Alex Barrow & Gabby Dawnay
* My First Dinosaur Colouring Book from Bloomsbury
* Set of Dinosaur Mini Crayons
* A Cuddly Dinosaur from Best Years

GOOD LUCK!

Wed
23 ^rd

My Colourful Chameleon By Leonie Roberts & Mike Byrne

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This colourful book by Leonie Roberts and Mike Byrne is about a little girl with a pet chameleon. She loves her pet but he causes lots of trouble because he’s constantly changing colour and getting lost!

The little girl tries to explain that chameleons are supposed to change colour but her mummy just doesn’t understand and threatens to take him away. After the chameleon gets lost at school and gets her in to trouble with her teachers, her mummy decides enough is enough and takes him to the vets.

Will the little girl have to say goodbye to her lovely pet or will the vet be able to help?

The tight rhyme scheme, cute story and fantastic illustrations make this a great book for toddlers – particularly if they are already a fan of lizards!

Tue
22 ^nd

Space Tortoise
by Ross Montgomery & David Litchfield

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This lovely story is about a little tortoise who lives all on his own in a bin in a disused old park. He has a nice cosy home but his life is missing one thing – friends! He has searched all over the park but has never seen another animal so he feels very lonely.

One evening, as he sits holding a tiny candle and gazing out at the world, he spots lots of little lights in the sky. He wonders if it is possible there are lots of other animals up there also holding candles, and if so, how can he get to them?

The next day he finds a book about rockets so he fashions himself a space suit and sets off in the direction of what looks like a rocket in the distance. He braves a great desert (a sandpit) and sails across a wide ocean (a paddling pool) but when he gets there the rocket isn’t quite what it first seemed.

Mon
21 ^st

Ivy’s Guest Book: Hannah Van Buskirk, Owner, HVB Marketing

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hello, my name is Hannah. I’m a self confessed cappuccino and Lotus biscuit addict, who could easily spend all day in a book shop if I wasn’t quite so distracted by my 3 and 5 year old! I own HVB Marketing. We are a business supporting (mostly amazing mum-lead) businesses with their online marketing, which predominantly focuses on Search and Social advertising. Having worked in the online marketing space for years, most clients will dip into other areas of marketing knowledge along the way. I live and work in the leafy Surrey suburbs.

What are your children’s favourite books?

My 3 year old daughter’s book of the moment is ‘Tiny Tantrum’’ by Caroline Crowe. It’s a story about a little girl who tantrums when she is asked to do something she doesn’t enjoy, like cleaning her teeth or eating broccoli. A purple, hairy monster and his friends give the girl a fright but then they give her some good advice like doing bottom wiggles, flushing your tantrum down the loo and never sharing hiccups, pants or snot. The kind of advice that makes my daughter laugh out loud! In the end, Tiny Tantrum finds herself giving the monsters some advice too. I think my daughter really connects with the tragedy of having to put your coat on, wash your hair all those things mean mums like me insist on!

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