July 2020

Month

Wed
15 ^th

Like The Ocean We Rise
by Nicola Edwards & Sarah Wilkins

This mesemerising, rhyming picture book examines the devastating effect that climate change is having on our planet and asks childen to consider how they might be able to play their part in preserving our future.

In the Arctic, ice is melting. In Queensland, the coral reefs are being bleached white. In the rainforest, trees are being chopped down. In Uganda, the earth is parched from lack of rain. But what can we do? We are so small so how can one person’s actions possibly change the world?

The answer is to rise like the ocean. Each of us is just a raindrop but even raindrops cause a ripple when they land. With enough momentum, ripples can grow in to waves and waves can create real, lasting change.

Tue
14 ^th

When A Dragon Goes To School
by Caryl Hart & Rosalind Beardshaw

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If your little one is headed to ‘big school’ later this year then I would definitely recommend grabbing yourself a copy of this gorgeous book to read over the summer holidays!

Before Ivy and I read this together I asked her a question – how do you think a dragon would behave if they went to school? She immediately answered ‘NAUGHTY’, which was exactly what I was expecting her to say! This set the scene perfectly for the story as it turns out that dragons are better behaved than she realised…

The story follows an adorable dragon as she navigates her first day at school. We see her say goodbye to her mum and dad and greet her new friends. She eats her lunch, reads some stories and plays in the playground before preparing to head home. These are all scenarios which a child will encounter on their own first day and with Dragon’s help they will learn how to meet each new challenge with a smile.

Mon
13 ^th

Meet the Author: Inshra Sakhawat Russell

Posted by Shelley Edwards - 1 Comment

Hi Inshra! Thank you so much for chatting to me about your very first picture book ‘Tiny Jumps In’.

Hello! It’s a pleasure, thank you for offering the opportunity.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a multi-platform content creator, a working mum and illustrator for hire. I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh and have been living in London over 10 years with my husband, 3.5-year-old son and a little dumpling growing in my belly.

In my case the platforms are illustration, design, photography and filmmaking, and content is children’s books, flashcards and posters, music videos, stop motion animations and short films.

Fri
10 ^th

Meet the Publisher: Parakeet Books

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We’re the Parakeet Books team: Sheju and Judy. Fed up with the same old books on offer to our own children we started to make our own. We’ve been making inclusive and diverse books for the last two years. Our vibrant, warm and entertaining stories are told through underrepresented groups – central characters who are BAME, people of colour, female or LGBT+.

Having read in cafes and schools we always find that children either don’t notice difference or they love it. The two mums in our book, Eve’s New Brother, never get questioned by our audiences, they just accept that family for what it is. But the relationship between Eve and her brother has them enthralled. In Buddy’s Pancakes they kids afterwards all want to talk about pancakes, in the Mysterious Dinosaurs of Crystal Palace they all want to talk about guess what… dinosaurs. The idea that kids books with main characters who are Black or have a disability or have same-sex parents are niche is totally bogus. It’s an adult assumption and cannot be dressed up as anything other than prejudice. The mainstream publishing world is too slow to change and now is the time for them to pick their feet up and catch up with what readers want.

Thu
09 ^th

Dinosaur Party
by Fiona Munro & Rachael McLean

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This sparkly board book from Pat-a-Cake is perfect for helping toddlers develop fine motor skills, especially those who love dinosaurs!

Panda and Penguin are off on an adventure. They need to get to Dinosaur Town in time for a party but they have a long way to go. They huff and puff their way up a steep hill and over a spiky track – but when they get to the top they discover a great big grinning dinosaur face. It turns out they haven’t been climbing a hill at all, instead they have scaled the back of a giant dinosaur! Fortunately he’s very friendly – perhaps he will offer them a lift to the party on his back?

Tue
07 ^th

The Bossy Book
by Yoshan

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Hands up if you hate the word ‘bossy’? Yup, me too.

All too often it’s used to negatively describe strong-minded girls, whereas boys are simply seen as assertive – so when I picked up this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turns out that I didn’t need to worry. There’s no gender bias here, just lots of interactive fun.

From the very first page, this book is in charge and you have to do everything it says. If the book wants you to sit up straight then you have to sit up straight. If the book tells you to sniff it then you have to sniff it (and tell it what it smells like). And if it asks you to be quiet then you had better listen – but the book has very good hearing and can even hear your toenails growing so keeping it happy is quite tough!

Tue
07 ^th

Sophia Sparks
by Elanor Best & Lara Ede

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Little Sophia Sparks is a brilliant inventor who creates wonderful things out of items she finds in her home – like rockets and robots and even a house with legs! She wears a bright blue bow in her beautiful curly hair and she’s pretty sure that this is the source of her creativity. With the bow in place she comes up with idea after idea.

When her teacher announces to the class that they are going to work together to transform an old bus into something exciting, Sophia is over the moon – until she realises that she has lost her precious blue bow. As the other children get to work Sophia’s tummy starts to churn and her mind goes blank. No bow = no inspiration!

Mon
06 ^th

Impossible!
by Tracey Corderoy & Tony Neal

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Dog lives a happy but predictable life in a busy city. He runs a laundrette and takes great pride in washing and drying his customers’ clothes. He enjoys his days but secretly he dreams about visiting the ocean. He’d love to see the waves lapping on the shore but thinks this is impossible because the sea is so far away. Instead, he lives vicariously through characters in books and whittles small boats which he keeps around his home.

One day he discovers a new brand of washing powder called ‘Ocean Magic’. Hes very excited to try it – but the box contains a little more than he bargained for. When he gets the clothes out of the machine they smell like sea and sand but huddled inside them is a very dizzy and confused little crab!

Sun
05 ^th

Monsieur Roscoe On Holiday
by Jim Field

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I studied French at university so I am really keen for Ivy to learn some basic words and phrases whilst she is small. This brand new book from Jim Field – his first as both author and illustrator – is absolutely perfect for that!

Monsieur Roscoe is a friendly little dog with a pet goldfish called Fry. The pair are about to set off on the holiday of a lifetime to visit some friends, but first they have to pack. As they throw all of the things they need in to a suitcase we see that each one is labelled on the page in both French and English. This continues throughout the book, giving your child the opportunity to learn lots of new French words.

Once packed they say goodbye to their friends and set off on their adventure. They get stuck in traffic on the way to the train station, which gives us the opportunity to learn the words for different kinds of vehicles and the names of the many shops they pass.

Sat
04 ^th

Isadora Moon Goes To School
by Harriet Muncaster

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Hopefully by now you will have read my announcement from earlier this week – I am going to start reviewing Early Chapter Books alongside Board Books and Picture Books as we have recently started reading them at bedtime!

I am starting with Isadora Moon as this was the first chapter book we tried and Ivy is OBSESSED. We read the first book – Isadora Moon Goes To School – over 3 days and she loved it so much that I ordered the rest of the series.

Isadora Moon is a very special little girl. Her mum is a fairy and her dad is a vampire, which makes her a vampire fairy! She lives with her family and her very special friend Pink Rabbit.

In this first story, Isadora is ready to start school but she doesn’t know which one she should attend. There are schools for vampires and schools for fairies, but there aren’t any for vampire fairies!

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