Category

Family

The Baby’s Catalogue By Janet and Allan Ahlberg

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The Baby's CatalogueThis is a gorgeous picture book which gives you a little window in to the lives of 5 babies and their families. From prams, swings, nappies and games to shopping, meals, pets and bedtime this lovely book shows all the things a toddler may encounter in a day.

Ivy loves pointing at the pictures and naming all the things she that she currently knows the words for.

It’s a great little conversation starter with your child and is also a nice way of showing how every family is different.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2CAi2nM

The Lion Who Wanted To Love By Giles Andreae & David Wojtowycz

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The Lion Who Wanted To LoveLeo is not like other lions. He doesn’t feel compelled to hunt other animals, he just wants to cuddle them and shower them with love. As he is a little unusual and isn’t bringing any food to the pride, he is forced to leave his family and go it alone.

Will his loving approach help or hinder him as the little lion tries to survive on the plains alone?

This is such a sweet book with a lovely message about the importance of kindness.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2CuWHtn

Mog’s Christmas By Judith Kerr

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Mog's ChristmasPreparations for Christmas are underway at Mog’s house and he is not a happy cat.

Everyone is busy, there are too many people in the house and to top it all off someone has brought a tree in to the living room. A tree!

He escapes to the roof but it begins to snow and he soon gets cold.

Will Mog’s family be able to coax him down and show him just how lovely Christmas can be?

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2BTJ49D

Stick Man By Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

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Stick ManPoor Stick Man. All he wants to do is go for a little jog but everyone interferes and he ends up on an epic adventure trying to get back to his family.

First a dog uses him as a stick, then a little girl uses him as a pooh stick, then a swan weaves him in to her nest, then a dad uses him as a flag mast for a sand castle…

As Christmas approaches he worries that he won’t reach his family, but a chance encounter with Santa might just get him home on time.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2B1kuQa

How Many Sleeps Till Christmas? By Mark Sperring & Sebastien Braun

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How Many Sleeps Till Christmas?Little Pip is very excited about Christmas but as he’s only tiny his concept of time is a little off. Every morning he wakes up Daddy Grizzle convinced that it is Christmas Day – but there are still 4 more sleeps to go.

Daddy Grizzle manages to fill the days with lots of festive activities – choosing a tree, writing cards, wrapping presents – and shows Little Pip that the build up to Christmas can be just as exciting as the day itself.

Super cute, with lovely illustrations.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2CVtub0

Not Quite Narwhal By Jessie Sima

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Not Quite NarwhalNot Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima is a glorious little book about discovering your true self.

Kelp is born in the ocean and grows up believing he’s a Narwhal like his friends – but deep down he knows he’s a little bit different.

One day he gets swept away by a strong current and finds himself close to the shore. Up on a cliff he spots a majestic horned creature which looks just like him.

Is he brave enough to venture on to land and discover who he really is? And if he does, will he ever be able to return to his Narwhal friends?

This book carries such a great message about inclusion, diversity and being true to yourself.

Highly recommended – and the illustrations are some of the loveliest I’ve seen.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2BIhl8H

Peepo! By Janet & Allan Ahlberg

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Peepo!A few weeks ago we reviewed ‘Each Peach Pear Plum’ and we were inundated with messages telling us we had to read PEEPO! if we hadn’t already. I promptly bought us a copy and we can definitely see why you all love it so much! If you haven’t read this to your toddler yet then I would definitely recommend it.

A baby is standing in his cot pointing. What can he see? The cut out circle on the next page lets you see a small portion of the baby’s view. PEEPO!

Turn the page for a beautifully detailed picture and a rhyme which encourages you to find lots of different things within the illustration. This set up repeats throughout the book, encouraging lots of conversation around the contents of the pictures.

It’s a real delight which can either be a quick read at bedtime or something you can easily spend an hour looking at with your child. We love it!

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2B6F1Cv

The Bear And The Piano By David Litchfield

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The Bear And The PianoThere is something hauntingly beautiful about The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield – and this is another one where Ivy feels compelled to stroke the pages when I’m reading it to her.

The story is about a little bear cub who finds an old piano in the woods. Fascinated by the sounds it makes, he visits every day until he is an accomplished pianist, but he still doesn’t really understand what the piano is.

His playing begins to draw a crowd and eventually Broadway comes calling. He would really, really like to play his piano for audiences around the world but he’s scared of leaving his home and family behind.

What will happen if he takes a leap of faith? And will his friends forget all about him once he’s gone?

This is a really powerful book about how following your dreams doesn’t have to mean losing your roots.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2ip1J1O

Guess How Much I Love You By Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram

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Guess How Much I Love YouThis evening we’ve got a super cute classic – Guess How Much I Love You.

Little Nutbrown Hare is about to go to bed but before he goes to sleep he wants to tell Big Nutbrown Hare just how much he loves him. He stretches his arms as far as they can go and he hops as high as he can but Big Nutbrown Hare can stretch and hop a little higher.

A gorgeous book about trying to vocalise the extent of your love (which I actually bought for Ivy’s Daddy long before she was born because I’m a soppy so and so)

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2hu4Rfy

Five Minutes’ Peace By Jill Murphy

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Five Minutes' PeaceI think every parent I know will sympathise with Mrs. Large the Elephant. All she wants is five minutes’ peace to sit in the bath with her cup of tea and close her eyes. But before long the bathroom is the scene of a recorder recital, a book reading, a toy fest and a water fight as her three little elephants all find her and want her to play.

Sound familiar? Yup. Us too!

A really sweet and relatable story that’s now over 30 years old.

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2hqEd7x