Category

Behaviour & Daily Routine

Tiny Tantrum By Caroline Crowe & Ella Okstad

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Tiny TantrumWe were recently recommended this book by one of our followers and i’m really happy we bought it as it’s fantastic. Ivy has recently turned two and a half so tantrums are (unfortunately!) now a part of everyday life. This means I am always on the lookout for books which may alleviate the stress a little!

The story is about a little girl called Tiny who has lots of tantrums. Every time her mummy asks her to do something she yells and screams and stamps her feet, refusing to oblige. However one day she is joined by an array of fluffy monsters who help her understand that there are better ways of dealing with her anger. From wiggling your bottom to flushing your tantrums down the loo, these monsters have lots of creative ideas on how to get rid of the grumps.

This one gets a big thumbs up from us as it makes Ivy laugh out loud. Additionally, there are lots of opportunities to put on silly monster voices and there’s a funky song at the end. The illustrations are lovely and definitely capture the drama of being a toddler!

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2MvWZoH

Praxx And the Ringing Robot By Paul Ian Cross & Andy Green

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Praxx & The Ringing RobotPraxx is a little alien who lives on a planet called Ekkadora with his mum and his best friend Zobott the robot. Praxx has lots of chores to do but he’s not a big fan of doing them himself so he sometimes enlists Zobott’s help.

One morning Praxx is rudely awoken by Zobott who is making lots of strange, really loud noises – RING! BLEEP! CROAK! It transpires that Praxx had asked him to help out with tidying up – but he has put everything in the wrong place. The alarm clock, phone and the family pet are all inside Zobott’s tummy storage box, there’s a worm in mum’s handbag and their rocket has been parked in the house!

Praxx learns an important lesson – always do your chores yourself else they might end up taking three times as long to fix!

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Never Ask A Dinosaur To Dinner By Gareth Edwards & Guy Parker-Rees

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Never Ask A Dinosaur To DinnerThis funny book by Gareth Edwards and Guy Parker-Rees always makes Ivy laugh. It follows a little boy as he goes through elements of his day – but he has chosen some rather crazy animal friends to help him with each task!

He eats his dinner with a dinosaur who gobbles everything up before he gets a chance to eat a single bite. He uses a tiger as a towel when he gets out of the bath – and unsurprisingly the tiger is a little cross! He even tries to use a giant bison as a blanket which proves a little uncomfortable.

Follow him as he discovers why dinosaurs, sharks, beavers, tigers, bison and owls don’t always make the best companions.

The rhyme scheme is really bouncy which makes it a lot of fun to read and it’s also a good book for discussion. A barn owl might not be the best thing to cuddle up to at night because of his sharp claws and nocturnal habits – so what might make a better bed fellow?

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2G8vahE

Sharing Time By Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen

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Sharing TimeI have been a big fan of the Toddler Tools books by Elizabeth Verdick ever since Calm-Down Time helped us with controlling tantrums. This other title from the series – Sharing Time – is the one we’re currently reading a lot and i’m hoping we’ll have similar success!

It shows how it’s fun to share some things (like hugs and see-saws for example) but more difficult to share others. Children worry about sharing their toys because they aren’t sure if they will get them back or if they will be broken.

Using calming language the books teaches children the words they need in order to be able to share things with their friends. It helps them identify the feelings they experience when they don’t want to share and offers a little breathing exercise they can do in order to regulate their emotions and move forward without a major incident. Ultimately it shows that we all have more fun when we play together nicely and share – something which is true for both toddlers and grown-ups alike!

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With My Mummy By James Brown & Cally Johnson-Isaacs

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With My MummyThis is a really cute book which captures the essence of the mother-child relationship really well. It takes you through a regular day from the point of view of the child and shows all the ways in which mummy makes their day special – whether it’s carrying them home from the shops because their legs are tired, fixing a favourite toy or splashing in the bath.

Each page features a different animal family and the beautiful illustrations really draw you in and help create a lovely warm setting for the story. Our favourites are the foxes in the park and the grumpy little elephant waiting for his dinner.

Lots of the activities are ones which many mums may not look forward to doing with their child in tow, for example doing the supermarket shop, but the child’s narrative is a nice way of reminding us of something important. No matter how badly we may sometimes think we’re doing at this difficult job called parenting, our children always think we’re the best! 

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Calm-Down Time By Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen

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Calm-Down TimeA few weeks ago one of our Instagram followers asked for my help with finding a book which could help her daughter learn to handle her emotions. Toddlers often have tantrums because they struggle to express their feelings in words so she was looking for a tool that would help mitigate this.

We’re only just getting in to the tantrum stage with Ivy so this wasn’t an area I had properly researched but I had heard good things about this book by Elizabeth Verdick. Wary of recommending something I hadn’t actually read, I ordered a copy and I am extremely glad that I did. This little board book has proven itself to be very effective!

It explains the emotions your toddler might be feeling in very simple terms and then gives a little mantra to help them calm down which is repeated throughout the book. It also offers up suggestions about how they can make themselves feel better, like asking for a cuddle, talking about how they feel, or simply finding a quiet place to play or sing by themselves.

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Zoo Poo by Richard Morgan

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Zoo PooWe’re not quite ready to start toilet training yet but I’ve recently bought a selection of books which address the topic to ease Ivy in to the idea.

This is the first one that we’re reading together and it’s a fantastic (and frankly hilarious!) way of introducing poo in to conversation in a fun way.

Zoo Poo takes you on a little journey around the zoo and shows you how each animal poos. Kangaroos do it while they hop, birds poo from the sky and elephants do poos that are bigger than you!

The illustrations are really fun and we always giggle our way through the book as Ivy find the poo on the page and yells ‘poo poo’!

The book then shows how humans poo on the loo and even includes some useful tips for parents.

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2pWcITs

Please And Thank You By Amanda Li

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Please And Thank YouI’ve recently bought a number of Pirate Pete and Princess Polly books as I find them really effective. Each book in the series introduces your child to a change in their daily life which they may experience as a toddler – and may push back against because it’s unfamiliar and therefore potentially frightening.

The series covers many things including potty training, moving to a big girl/boy bed, going to nursery and becoming a big brother/sister.

This particular book is about manners and it has really encouraged Ivy to say please and thank you more often. 

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Mini Myths: Good Job, Athena! By Joan Holub & Leslie Patricelli

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Good Job, Athena!We recently discovered the Mini Myths series and we’re busy collecting the whole set! Each book takes a well-known tale from Greek mythology and distils it in to a simple modern day story which is relevant relevant to toddlers.

This particular book takes the myth of Arachne and Athena (about hubris and boastfulness) and turns it in to a story which would be very familiar to most pre-schoolers.

In this re-telling Athena is very good at tying bows. Arachne is not as skilled at bow-tying but would very much like lovely bows on her shoes. Athena is a good friend and she ties some nice bows for her. Arachne boasts to the whole class that her bows are the best but she fails to credit poor Athena for having tied them. What will happen when another child in the class asks Arachne to pass on her skill? Will she be able to admit that Athena actually did all the hard work?

We love the simple but spellbinding illustrations (by Leslie Patricelli) and the easy to digest parable. Other myths in the series include Pandora, Hercules, Medusa, Midas, Icarus, Aphrodite and Odysseus.

Buy it now:  http://amzn.to/2FUotRg

George Saves The World By Lunchtime By Jo Readman & Ley Honor Roberts

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George Saves The World By LunchtimeOne morning, George gets out of bed and declares that today he is going to be a super hero and he’s going to save the world. His Grandpa thinks this is a fantastic idea and promises to help him to not only save the world but to do it by lunchtime!

He’s keen to get started but Grandpa has some things for him to do around the house first. Together they recycle the packaging from breakfast rather than throw it straight in the bin. Then they hang out the washing rather than putting it in the tumble dryer. This is followed by a bedroom-tidying session where Grandpa encourages him to bag up all of the toys he doesn’t use any more so they can donate them to charity.

This isn’t what George had planned at all and he starts to get grumpy. He wants to go out and be a hero, not stay at home and do chores! But Grandpa carefully explains to him how each of these little actions affect the world, and how much better the world would be if everyone followed their lead. George discovers he’s actually been saving the world all morning and he didn’t even realise it!

This is a fantastic little book to introduce a small child to all the little things they can do to reduce their footprint on the planet. As well as the engaging story and the fantastic illustrations the books is packed with simple tasks your toddler can do to help save the the world themselves!

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2tJ8vrf