Category

Friendship

Together We Can by Caryl Hart & Ali Pye

Since Ivy started nursery in January we have had lots of conversations about friendship, and this gorgeous book from Caryl Hart and Ali Pye has helped pull all of those strands together.

The gentle rhyme explains what friends are and what you can do for each other to make your days a little brighter. From helping each other in the classroom through to scratching an itch they can’t reach, we see a diverse group of children revel in the company of their friends.

Sometimes friends are very similar to you and sometimes they’re different. Sometimes they live close by and sometimes they live far away. Whatever the nature of your friendships, we see that they enrich our lives in many different ways.

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Whiffy Wilson: The Wolf Who Wouldn’t Go To School by Caryl Hart & Leonie Lord

Whiffy Wilson is a little wolf who refuses to go to school. He doesn’t want to sit in a boring old classroom and learn his ABCs. He’d much rather stay at home and watch TV because that’s much more fun! This may sound a little naughty but Whiffy isn’t really a bad little wolf. Deep down he’s scared of going to school because he doesn’t know what to expect and he’s worried about getting things wrong.

This all changes when he pops next door one day and asks his friend to come and play. She’s in the middle of getting ready for school and insists that Whiffy comes along too. She drags him in to class and shows him the ropes – and soon Whiffy finds himself having fun. He paints pictures, makes biscuits, plays football and even gets a gold star from the teacher for making a flying car.

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Sneaky Beak by Tracey Corderoy & Tony Neal

Usually I like to have a book in the house for at least 2 weeks before I sit down and review it. This ensures that we’ve read it multiple times and that I have had ample opportunity to observe how Ivy feels about a story. However I am breaking with tradition with this one as she is totally in love. We only received this book yesterday afternoon but we’re already well in to double figures on the number of times it’s been read!

Bear and Hamster are the best of friends. They are very happy living together in their little house, but every time they turn on the TV they are subjected to very loud adverts from an extremely persuasive salesbird called Sneaky Beak. They laugh at the ads together but in bed at night Bear finds himself wondering if perhaps he is missing out. As he feels a bed spring ping beneath him, he thinks that maybe he might need Sneaky Beak’s help.

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Claude: Anyone For Strawberries? by Alex T. Smith

We’ve recently discovered the joys of Claude and his trusty side kick Sir Bobblysock via the TV Series on Disney Junior so we were very excited to receive this book in the post. Based on one of the episodes, this sporty story follows the two friends as they hunt down their favourite fruit!

When Sir Bobblysock wakes up early one morning with a craving for strawberries, he and Claude head out to their local fruit and veg van to buy some. However when they get there they discover that the entire strawberry supply has been bought up by the Pawhaven Tennis Championship. Oh no!

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The Start Of Something Big by Annahita De La Mare & Jennifer Kirkham

When three little girls find a tattered hot air balloon hidden away in an old shed they realise they have found something special. The balloon used to belong to their grandmother, and they have heard many stories about the adventures she had in it as a girl.

With a flicker of excitement they realise that, if they can fix the balloon, they could have some adventures of their very own!  Working together, they mend the holes in the fabric and soon find themselves soaring through the sky.

However it’s not long before they discover that flying a hot air balloon isn’t quite as easy as it looks, and after a minor collision with a tree they start to doubt their own abilities. Will they manage to fly the balloon safely to Grandma’s house, and what on earth might she say when they arrive?

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Kind by Alison Green (& 38 Kind Illustrators)

Every parent hopes that their child will grow up to be kind, and for that reason I think this book should be on bookshelves everywhere. It teaches children the value of kindness and the difference it can make to the world.

The tiniest little things can turn someone’s whole day around and they cost you absolutely nothing – a smile, a hug, a hand to hold. The book asks children to think about what they can do to help those around them. This could be something as simple as carrying a bag, being a little bit patient or sharing your toys.

It also encourages kids to think about how others might be feeling. If there is a new person in their class then they might be nervous or scared, so how can they make it easier for them?

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The Go-Away Bird by Julia Donaldson & Catherine Rayner

The Go-Away BirdThis book is a little controversial in our house as it’s the first Julia Donaldson book that Ivy and I don’t agree on! I personally don’t think it’s one of her best – but Ivy loves it so what do I know!?!

The story is about the ‘Go-Away Bird’ who (as you’d expect from her name…) isn’t a big fan of company. She sits in her nest with a disgruntled look on her face and sends away all of the nice birds who try and make her acquaintance with a loud ‘Go Away!’

She doesn’t want to talk to the Chit-Chat bird, she doesn’t want to share a meal with the Peck-Peck bird and she certainly doesn’t want to fly with the Flip-Flap bird. But then the hungry ‘Get You’bird appears and the Go-Away bird discovers that maybe she does need friends after all.

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Kevin
by Rob Biddulph

KevinThere’s no getting around it, Sid Gibbons is a little bit naughty. Just this week he’s smashed a bird bath, thrown his dinner on the floor, trashed his bedroom and left his colouring pens on the floor for so long that they’ve all dried out. His poor mum doesn’t know what to do, because when she asks him about these misdemeanours he just lies and says that his imaginary friend Kevin did it all. Kevin is invisible and no one can see him except Sid, so he’s the perfect fall guy.

Then one day, when Sid has once again been sent to bed for being naughty, a hatch in the ceiling opens and a bright light appears. Sid climbs up to take a peek and finds himself faced with none other Kevin himself – he is real! Sid is super excited to see his (incredibly cute and fluffy!) friend and they have lots of fun playing together. However it soon becomes apparent that in Kevin’s world, it is Sid who is the invisible friend.

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The Smallest Girl In The Smallest Grade
by Justin Roberts & Christian Robinson

The Smallest Girl In The Smallest GradeSally is the smallest girl in the school, which means that most of time people don’t notice her. She passes unseen in the school corridors but she is very special because she notices absolutely everything.

She sees the tiny details all around her, but most importantly she sees the people and how they behave with one another. She watches as the children are unkind to each other in the playground, and she notices how this makes the bullied and excluded kids feel. She watches as mean words are exchanged and tears fall.

And then one day Sally decides she’s had enough.

The tiny little girl steps out of the lunch line in the cafeteria, raises her hand in the air to quieten the room and then she opens her mouth and tells everyone what she has observed and how it should change. She expects to be laughed at but one by one she sees hands slowly rise in to the air in solidarity.

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Think Big! by Kes Gray & Nathan Reed

Think Big!When you think of Humpty Dumpty you can’t help but immediately picture him falling off a wall – but what if he could be so much more than that?

This brightly coloured book starts with Humpty sitting on his famous wall, talking about the future with his friends. One of them asks what he wants to be when he grows up and his response shocks them. He wants to be a boiled egg! Aghast, they suggest that he thinks outside of the box.

Wee Willie Winkie thinks Humpty should be a footballer, Little Bo Peep suggests he becomes a detective, whilst Mary Mary Quite Contrary thinks he would make a great musician. Soon everyone is sharing their career aspirations. Little Miss Muffet dreams of becoming a scientist, Goosey Gander plans to become a builder, and This Little Piggy wants to be a traffic warden!

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