Uncategorised Archives - Page 15 of 16

Ivy’s Guest Book: Ceci De Benedictis, Director, Toy Box Tots

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

My name is Ceci, short for Cecilia and I am half of Toy Box Tots, renting out boxes of super fun toys to preschoolers across the UK. I have boy girl twins who will turn 3 in the summer and a wild and crazy kitten called Harry. We live in East Dulwich with my husband Marco, having relocated from the UAE 18 months ago.

What are your children’s favourite books?

This changes on a monthly basis! At the moment it’s ‘Lottie Potter wants an Otter’ by Jeanne Willis and Leonie Lord . Every couple of weeks we go up to the local library and chose about 10 books to take home and there is always 1 that gets singled out and has to be read at least 10 times a day until we all know it from memory! They always love books where someone or something is naughty or there is some drama or scandal that we can talk about. It’s brilliant for me as I’m always looking for new books to base our toy boxes around so constantly having new books on the scene is great research.

Mon
16 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Shannon Reed, Owner, Mockingbird Makes

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Mocking Bird Makes

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

My name is Shannon Reed and I’m a mum to two boys (7 and 11) and wife to one husband. We have lived in East Dulwich in South London for around 15 years but I’m originally from New Zealand. I used to be an innovation consultant, helping organisations generate breakthrough ideas and turn them into reality. Now I run Mockingbird Makes for bespoke knitted, crocheted and embroidered handcrafts – and here I am still facilitating peoples creativity!

What are your sons’ favourite books?

One of my children’s favourite books was the Usborne Little Children’s Music book by Fiona Watt. It’s a sound book and despite the fact it’s been broken for 3 years from so much use, I can still hear the music in my head. It would be played over and over again for hours – best babysitter ever!

Mon
09 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Julie Waite, Marketing Consultant

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hi, I’m Julie and I’m mum to two gorgeous girls aged 6 and 4. We live in South Yorkshire in a village on the edge of the Pennines, from where I run my marketing and copywriting business.

Which book do you most like reading to them and why?

A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a fantastic book to read to young children. It’s about a little old lady who grumbled that her house was too small, she then met a wise old man who tells her to take in an assortment of animals, culminating in total chaos, as you might imagine. At the end of the book he tells her to “Take them all out” and then she realises that her house was fine as it was.

I believe the story is based on an old folk tale or fable and it certainly carries a good message – be grateful for what you have, it is enough. However, it presents this message in a funny and subtle way, which my girls find very entertaining. They love to join in with key lines that are repeated throughout, often putting on a silly voice for the old lady “My house is a squash and a squeeze”.

Tue
03 ^rd

Competition: Win a set of toddler teas from Small & Wild and 4 great books!

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We recently met the lovely ladies from Small & Wild and instantly fell in love with what they do. They make a gorgeous range of fruity, herbal teas which are specially designed for children.

When they asked us if we’d like to collaborate with them we jumped at the chance because what could possibly be better than a cup of tea and a good book?

They have 4 flavours of tea, each represented by a different animal, so they tasked us with finding a book to go with each one. We did our research and found what we think are the perfect matches for their Snoozy Fox, Jolly Croc, Merry Tiger and Happy Toucan teas.

You can read about our picks over on their blog here: https://www.smallandwild.com/blog/2018/3/22/a-cup-of-tea-and-a-good-book

They are also giving one lucky winner the opportunity to win a fantastic prize – a set of all 4 teas along with copies of the books we chose to go with them. You can find full details on how to enter over on their instagram page: http://www.instagram.com/small_and_wild_company

The competition closes on Sunday, April 8th so get your skates on!

Mon
02 ^nd

Ivy’s Guest Book: Marcela Ferreira AKA S.E. Sussed

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

My name is Marcela, I am a mum of two (Izzy 8, and George 6) and wife of one. I am an aspiring children’s writer and though I have nabbed a great agent, I am yet to have my stories published (here is hoping).

What is your son/daughter’s favourite book?

We read a lot at our house, so favourites change all the time. I asked the kids what their favourites are right now, and this is what they said:

My daughter’s is Jake Atlas, by Rob Lloyd Jones: “because it’s adventurous”. Jake Atlas is Indiana Jones for kids, inspired by the author’s own experiences as an Egyptologist. His previous books, the ‘Wild Boy’ series are fantastic (and take place in Victorian London). I was lucky enough to meet Rob, and he is a brilliant story teller in person too – I highly recommend his books.

Mon
26 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Dave Bostock AKA @DaddyandJacob

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hello, my name’s Dave. I’m a hard-working single dad from Nottingham. What do I do for a living? Well I’m a reptile & aquatic specialist for a pet company. Animals and nature are one of my biggest passions and I hope to pass this on to my children. Currently I only have one child, Jacob, who is 2 years old (3 in a few months). Honestly, he’s my world and really does complete me. We do everything together.

What is your son’s favourite book?

Jacob’s favourite book has always been “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle. He’s always enjoyed animals, so it had to be an animal book! Learning about real caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies with his daddy made him love the book even more. He even recently dressed up as the hungry caterpillar for world book day!

Wed
21 ^st

Competition: Win A Signed Set of 3 Glitter The Unicorn Books

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We have another fantastic competition for you!

Last week we shared a review of a lovely book called ‘Glitter The Unicorn Goes To The Moon’ by Callie Chapman – who is just 7 years old! If you missed the review you can read it here.

We have a set of 3 Glitter the Unicorn Books to give away to one lucky winner, all of which have been signed by Callie herself:

* Glitter The Unicorn
* Glitter The Unicorn Goes To The Beach
* Glitter The Unicorn Goes To The Moon

To enter you need to head on over to our Facebook page and follow the instructions.

GOOD LUCK!

Mon
19 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Kate AKA The Muddled Mum

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hello! My name is Kate but I am also known as The Muddled Mum because, well, my mind is a bit of a muddle. I live in Dorset with my wonderful husband and 2.5-year-old daughter. My daughter is also called Ivy – a name I didn’t realise was so popular until I started going on Instagram!

What is your daughter’s favourite book?

Ivy has many favourites that get rotated around. Her current favourite is Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb. I bought it to see if I could encourage her to eat more and it worked! She knows most of the pages off by heart and likes repeating phrases like ‘a nice clean plate’, and ‘revolting!’ The illustrations have a certain innocence to them and Ivy often says that she is the little girl.

Mon
12 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Becky Coletto from Small & Wild

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Becky, one half of Small & Wild – a recently launched range of yummy herbal teas blended especially with little people in mind. I’m also mum to Amelie, 4, and Monty, 2 and wife to Phil. We live in lovely Nunhead in South East London.

What is your son/daughter’s favourite book?

Oo, this is always changing. We’ve had many favourites along the way.

A current hit is Quentin Blake’s Three Little Monkeys, which is beautifully illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. It tells the story of Hilda Snibbs and her three little monkeys.

‘Now, some people have dogs, and some people have cats, but Hilda Snibbs – Hilda Snibbs had three little monkeys. Their names were Tim and Sam and Lulu…’

Both of my two enjoy hearing tales of the mischief the three little monkeys cause whilst Hilda is out running errands. Poor Hilda always returns home and despairs at her house having been turned upside down. (My 2-year-old likes stomping around the bedroom at story time re-enacting some of the chaos they cause!) But one day Hilda comes back, the house is spotless, and her little monkeys are nowhere to be seen and she quickly realises that despite all their trouble-making she can’t bear to be without them. I imagine the story reminds my two a little of life at home and how they can wind me up no end but at the end of the day I will always love them to pieces!

Mon
05 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Shona Chambers from Space at 61

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Shona and I am the owner of a South London venue – Space at 61 – which I started 16 months ago. I live in Forest Hill (SE London). My business is in Nunhead, so I spend 99% of my time south of the river. I have two children who are aged 9 and 2.

What is your toddler’s favourite book?

My daughter’s favourite book at the moment is The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson. I think even 2-year olds have a lot of empathy, and she gets sad seeing the animals who the Rat steals from. But she also loves the rhymes and refrains and loves to spot the Gruffalo biscuits in the bakery at the end of the book. It was a real treat for her seeing it on TV at Christmas this year.

Which book do you most like reading to her and why?

The book I most like reading to my daughter is The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse by Beatrix Potter. It was given to us when she was born by a very dear friend. The lovely thing about this book is the little mouse and my daughter share a name, although it is only used once in the book. Whenever it gets to the place where it gives the character’s full name, my daughter smiles so much and says, ‘like me’! As with all of Beatrix Potter’s books it has the most beautiful illustrations as well.

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