Tag

Emotions & Feelings

The Heart And The Bottle
by Oliver Jeffers

The Heart And The BottleThere’s something incredibly special about Oliver Jeffers. All of his books seem to work on two levels. Children love them because the stories are simple and the illustrations are beautiful – but there is something deep in each story which really resonates with adults too. When I pick up one of his books and read it for the first time, I know that it’s probably going to make me feel a bit weepy and this one affected me more than any of the others.

The story is about a little girl who loves life. She loves to explore, she loves to learn and she sees wonder everywhere she turns. Pictured beside her (but not mentioned in the text) is her grandfather. Then one day she discovers an empty chair in her house, and the grandfather is no longer there.

Continue Reading…

Lauren Koala By Glenn Lawrence & Annie Barber

Lauren KoalaIn the last few months we’ve read some fantastic self-published books and ‘Lauren Koala’ (which was recommended to us by one of our Facebook followers) is one of our faves.

The story is about a little koala called Lauren who loves to make people feel better by giving them a hug. All of the animals in the jungle know that if they feel sad Lauren will be there to comfort them. As a result, it’s a happy, joyful place filled with love.

One day, Lauren Koala hears about a rhino who is very sad because his mummy died when he was little. Determined to help, she sets off on a long journey to find him, cuddling lots of other animals along the way. 

Continue Reading…

The Queen Engineer By Suzanne Hemming & Jacquie Hughes

The Queen EngineerIf you’re a fan of books with strong female characters then this new one from Suzanne Hemming (author of ‘She’s Not Good For A Girl, She’s Just Good‘) is definitely for you.

The story is about a young princess called Florence who has her heart set on becoming a great engineer. She has the brain and the ambition but she has one problem – her father, the King, says that instead of pursuing her dream career she has to marry a Prince and have babies.

Young Flo is devastated. She has no problem with Princes and babies but she also wants to be a great engineer and the King says she can’t do both. She flees the palace and bumps in to her old babysitter, who sits and listens to her woes. The lady tells her that you always have to be who you are, not who other people think you should be. She shows Flo a picture of her wedding day (where she married a Princess) and says that when you follow your heart, some people will accept who you are and some won’t but what matters most is that you are always true to yourself.

Continue Reading…

Princess Polly: I’m Starting Nursery By Amanda Li & Melanie Williamson

Priness Polly: I'm Starting NurseryIvy loves Princess Polly so we have most of this series either on our shelf or stashed ready for her to read when the time is appropriate. This title is about starting nursery (which she will be doing early next year) so we’ve recently introduced it to our rotation.

The book starts with an apprehensive Princess Polly. She’s not sure about starting nursery because she doesn’t know what it will be like and she’s worried she’ll miss her parents. She visits with her Mummy and sees lots of children having fun which sets her mind at ease.

After some settling in sessions she has her first full day and the book shows all the things your child can expect to experience at nursery – from the activities they’ll do,  like painting, playing and singing to the format of the day, like snacks, naps and story time.

Continue Reading…

The Magical Wood By Mark Lemon & Maia Walczak

The Magical WoodI’m breaking my own rules with this book as I confess it isn’t one which I have read with Ivy. It’s a tiny bit old for her just yet (the recommended age range is 3-8) but it’s an important book covering a difficult topic so I am sharing it in the hope it may be helpful to you, our followers.

The Magical Wood was written to help small children deal with the emotions they may feel around bereavement, particularly the death of a close family member.

The wood is a beautiful place which is home to a family of trees. It’s a happy place visited by lots of little animals who love to play and splash in the river. One night there is a terrible storm and when the tree family wake up they discover that the Strongest Tree (one of the oldest trees in the wood) has fallen in the night and is no longer alive. The trees know that their lives have now changed forever and many tears are shed. How can they continue without the Strongest Tree?

Continue Reading…

Ivy And The Lonely Raincloud
by Katie Harnett

Ivy And The Lonely RaincloudI definitely didn’t buy this one just because the little girl in it is called Ivy. Ok – maybe I did! But it turned out to be a good gamble as it’s a really lovely book with gorgeous illustrations.

The story starts with a little raincloud who is feeling lonely. The sun has come out so all his friends have gone away and he has no one to talk to. He sets off in search of a friend but no one seems to want him (and his raindrops) around.

He keeps searching until he spots a little girl who looks just as unhappy about the sunshine as he is. She’s grumpy in the market, grumpy on the tube and even grumpy when she gets home and tends to her garden. He starts to think that maybe the little girl is not really grumpy, just sad. He watches her in fascination as she looks after her plants, which seem to be struggling in the sun, and then he has an idea. If he rains on the plants and makes them grow, is it possible the little girl might smile again?

Continue Reading…

The Dot
by Peter H. Reynolds

The DotWe love this book by Peter H. Reynolds and i’m not ashamed to say it made me cry the first time we read it!

Vashti is a little girl who thinks she can’t draw. Whilst all of her friends paint and create in art class, she just sits and stares at the plain white paper, defeated. Her teacher challenges her to draw a dot in the middle of the page and then asks her to sign it. She jabs a dot with her pen, signs her name and then skulks out of the classroom.

The next week when she walks in to the art room she sees her dot (and signature!) on the wall, displayed in a lovely shiny frame. Inspired, she sets out to draw a better dot and then a better dot and then an even better dot than that. Soon she’s so good at drawing imaginative, colourful dots that the schools puts them on display at an art show.

Continue Reading…

Tiny Tantrum By Caroline Crowe & Ella Okstad

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

In My Heart
by Jo Witek & Christine Roussey

In My HeartA few weeks ago we interviewed the lovely Rachel Bridge (who is a a child psychologist), and she mentioned that she has used this book as part of her therapy sessions. Intrigued, we ordered ourselves a copy and we’re very glad we did!

‘In Your Heart’ is an in-depth but age-appropriate look at the wide array of emotions which we experience as humans. Each page takes a specific feeling, spells out what it might feel like in your heart and then names it. This not only helps your child understand what they may be going through but also gives them the language they need to articulate that feeling back to a grown-up.

The book covers happiness, courage, anger, calm, heartbreak, sadness, hope, fear, silliness and shyness and it explains really nicely that all of these feelings live in our heart and we all have experience them in different ways at different times. The underlying message is that it’s good to talk about your feelings and to ask others how they are feeling too.

Continue Reading…

Prince & Knight By Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis

Prince & KnightI think representation is SO important in children’s books so when I spotted this LGBT-friendly book I knew we had to add it to our library.

Prince & Knight is a beautiful fairy tale set in a magical world of castles and dragons which has a wonderfully diverse twist. The prince of the realm has come of age so his parents set about trying to help him find a bride. He meets many, many ladies but none of them catch his eye. He’s looking for something different but he just doesn’t know what that is.

Whilst they are on their travels, the kingdom is attacked by a mighty dragon and it seems like all may be lost. The brave Prince rides off on his horse and soon come face to face with the fire-breathing monster – but it seems that he will not have to fight this battle alone. A magnificent Knight appears and they work together to bring the evil dragon down.

Continue Reading…