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Unplugged By Steve Antony

UnpluggedThis fantastic book will be a useful tool for any parent whose child loves screen time a little bit too much.

Blip is a little robot who loves to play on her computer all day long. She uses it to learn new things, to see faraway lands, to listen to music and to challenge herself with puzzles and games. But then one day there’s a power cut and she trips over her wire, tumbles out of her house and down a hill and ends up drifting down a river in to a forest.

This is unknown territory for Blip – she is outside and unplugged! What will happen to her and what will she learn in the great outdoors?

The imagery in this book is beautiful and I love the way the pictures move from monochrome and ‘blocky’ when Blip is on her computer to bright colours and soft lines when she is outside. Blip herself is adorable and Ivy thinks she’s super cute!

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With My Mummy By James Brown & Cally Johnson-Isaacs

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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Words And Your Heart
by Kate Jane Neal

Words And Your HeartAt first glance this book looks like it’s going to be soppy and ‘girly’ but do not be fooled. It teaches a really important lesson and should not be overlooked because of the abundance of hearts on the cover!

The beautifully illustrated text talks about our words and the impact they have. Words are great for chatting with your friends and describing things you’ve seen and explaining how you feel but sometimes words can hurt. They can make you cry and affect how people feel in their hearts.

Because of this we need to understand that our words have power and we should use that power for good. Your words can cheer someone up if they are feeling sad, lift someone up when they don’t feel strong or help someone keep going when they are ready to give up.

If you use your words to help other people then you can help make the world a better place.

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Calm-Down Time By Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen

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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Iris And Isaac By Catherine Rayner

Iris And IsaacIris and Isaac are beautiful polar bears and they are best friends. However their inability to share causes them to have  a little falling out. Iris makes a snow nest which is a bit too small for both of them to snuggle up in. They each try to squish their big bottoms in, trying to get a bigger space for themselves but they end up destroying the whole nest and walking away from each other in a huff.

However they soon discover that life can be pretty sad without someone to share it with. When Iris spots a flock of snowy white ducks in flight she wishes she could tell Isaac about it – and Isaac spots the northern lights he wishes Iris was there to share the moment with him.

Can these lovely bears learn to share so they can be friends again?

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She’s Not Good For A Girl, She’s Just Good! By Suzanne Hemming & Jacquie Hughes

She's Not Good For A Girl, She's Just Good!The star of this story is a little girl called Florence who shows promise at all things sporty from a very young age. Spotting her potential, her father nurtures her abilities and together they have lots of fun practising running and throwing.

However when Florence starts school she is immediately faced with prejudice. A little boy called Frank tells her that girls are rubbish at sport and that boys are better and stronger. He tells everyone that it must be true because this is what his dad says.

Enraged, Florence challenges Frank to a race after school. Can Florence prove that boys and girls are equal or will Frank’s outdated opinions win the day?

This is an empowering book about gender equality with something for both girls and boys to enjoy. The intelligent rhyme is coupled with gorgeous illustrations (by Jacquie Hughes)and the message is one that I wish we saw more of in children’s literature today. Girls are strong enough and smart enough to look after themselves!

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The Ugly Five By Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

The Ugly FiveAlmost everyone has heard of the Big Five – the largest and most dangerous animals in Africa – but what about the Ugly Five? Julia Donaldson shines the spotlight on this lesser known group in this heartwarming story.

The lappet-faced vulture, the spotted hyena, the wildebeest, the marabou stork and the warthog are not going to win any prizes for their beauty. With their gnarled faces, distinctive odours and questionable table manners, they repel the other animals they meet.

However as they wander the savannah they meet a group who think they are the kindest and most beautiful animals in the world – their babies! Their little ones gather together and highlight all the reasons they think their mummies and daddies are wonderful and it really is quite lovely I may have shed a little tear the first time I read it…

This is a fantastic story which reminds parents and children alike that even at your worst, you are somebody’s whole world and to them you will always be beautiful.

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2qkagqd

The Skin You Live In
by Michael Tyler & David Lee Csicsko

The Skin You Live InI don’t really have the words to explain how fantastic I think this book is. In my opinion it should be on the shelf of every school library as it does such a great job of celebrating diversity.

On the surface the book is about skin colour but it’s also so much more than that. As well as illustrating the beautiful range of skin colours we have and describing them all in a lovely way, it shows how we are not to be defined by colour and encourages your child to look beyond the surface.

Our skin is a part of us and every day it helps us to be who we are and do the things we enjoy. We live inside it and smile in it. We play in it and we sleep in it. We have fun in it and we laugh in it (to quote the book we even ‘dream about eating ice cream’ in it <3).

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A Hole In The Bottom Of The Sea By Jessica Law & Jill McDonald

A Hole In The Bottom Of The SeaThis lovely book is based on the traditional folk song of the same name. This beautifully illustrated print adaptation has a twisting, turning rhythm which gradually gathers pace and takes you on an adventure to the bottom of the sea.

Featuring a whole host of underwater creatures – including a shark, an eel, a crab, a snail and a squid – it explains the underwater food chain in a really simple way.

The weeds absorb the sun. The snails eat the weeds but are then in turn eaten by the crabs. The crabs are eaten by the squid, then the squid are eaten by the eels and ultimately the eels are eaten by the sharks. The illustrations are soft and gentle to avoid any potential anguish over the animals all eating each other!

The book comes with a bonus CD which features both an audio version of the song plus a video animation. And if (like us) you happen to lose the CD then the video can also be found on YouTube here.

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2GDjEjH

The Earth Book By Todd Parr

The Earth BookThis fantastic book by Todd Parr is all about the little things that we can do to make a big difference to the earth. The concepts are explained in a really simple way so that your child can see a tangible reason for being environmentally friendly.

Tell a child that they have to colour on both sides of the paper or that mummy has to take her own bags to the supermarket and they probably won’t understand why. This book connects those actions to preserving trees and shows you that without trees then owls won’t have anywhere to live.

We love Todd Parr’s bold illustrations and Ivy loves naming all of the colours as we move from page to page. A gorgeous introduction to the wonders of the earth and why we should preserve it. This book is a New York Times Bestseller and we can see why!

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2GxHb5h