Tag

Winter

The Robin and the Reindeer
by Rosa Bailey & Carmen Saldaña

Time for another chapter book review!

It’s Little Reindeer’s first winter and she’s astonished to see snow falling from the sky. Her whole world is soon covered in a thick white blanket, changing once familiar surroundings into something strange and new.

Her herd set off in search of shelter and the calf is given the great honour of walking alongside their Leader. As the flakes start to flurry and the snow gets deeper Little Reindeer pauses to look at the enormous moon – but when spots a shooting star and turns to tells her friends she realises that she has become separated from the group. All she can see are little white tails bobbing far off in the distance.

Cold, tired and alone she tries to get her bearings but it’s no use – Little Reindeer is lost. However a chance encounter with a kindly little Robin gives her hope. Together they navigate the wintry terrain with the help of a little bit of woodland magic.

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Snuggle Down Deep by Diane Ohanesian & Emily Bornoff

Snuggle Down DeepAs snow begins to fall around the UK, this beautiful book about hibernation is the perfect choice for bedtime.

The story shows you ten familiar animals as they all snuggle up for the winter with their families. Bears cuddle up in caves, squirrels curl up in their nests, mice tuck themselves in to the little tunnels they have dug underground and turtles dive down deep to the sticky mud at the bottom of the pond.

The choice of language is really soothing and the gentle rhyme is repetitive so I love reading this to Ivy on nights when a little extra calm is required before putting her to bed. 

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Socks For Santa By Adam & Charlotte Guillain & Lee Wildish

Socks For SantaThoughtful George has a plan. As Santa brings him presents every single year, this Christmas George decides he’s going to take some gifts to Santa instead. He makes himself a sleigh, packs a big box of presents (throwing in some extra woolly socks for himself just in case it gets cold!) and he sets off for the North Pole.

However when he gets there he is met by a little elf in despair. They are really behind at wrapping the presents and Rudolph’s nose has stopped glowing because he has flu. George mucks in to help and soon everything is ready for Santa’s journey. He digs in to his box of presents and gives the elves some treats to make them feel better and also finds a torch for Rudolph. However the other reindeer get a little over-excited at the sight of all the presents and soon the big box of gifts George had brought for Santa is empty!

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How To Ride A Polar Bear By Caryl Hart & Ed Eaves

How To Ride A Polar BearWhen little Albie goes to the museum with his mum he is expecting the visit to be dull, dull, dull. However the arctic exhibition holds a lot more than just boring old exhibits!

Albie tries on a wintry outfit and is just about to start building an igloo out of blocks when BAM a snowflake falls on his nose, followed by a whole flurry of real snow. As Albie turns in confusion he sees a polar bear running towards him and realises he has magically entered an arctic world!

He befriends a little girl called Yura who is desperately trying to make her way home in the snow. Together they head off on an icy adventure featuring polar bears, an avalanche and some howling wolves. But will Albie be able to help Yura find her way home or will they be lost forever?

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Penguin Small By Mick Inkpen

Penguin SmallPenguin Small has a lot of fears. He is scared of the nasty polar bears bears who have been playing tricks on him and his friends, he’s scared of water and he’s not a big fan of being on his own. So when all of the other penguins decide enough is enough and head out to sea to make a new life in the South Pole, he is left in an unhappy position. He can’t follow them because he won’t go in the water, but he can’t stay because of the polar bears and the loneliness. What is a little penguin to do?

At exactly the right moment a Snowman appears and a series of events result in them floating off to sea on a small piece of ice and discovering a beautiful tropical island. The new friends meets lots of exciting new animals in this weird and wonderful place and the Snowman vows that he will stay there forever.

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Snowball By Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet

SnowballAt the top of a very tall hill stands a lonely snowball in a tiny yellow hat. As he stares down at the little town miles below him he decides that today is the day his life is going to change. He’s going to leave his quiet hill and go and find some new friends to have fun with.

As he takes the first few steps towards this new adventure he trips and falls – and starts rolling down the hill! Being a snowball, he gathers more snow as he rolls. Getting bigger and faster, his descent is soon out of control! His big snowy body collects things as he rolls – first some twigs and a pebble, then a sheep, some pants and even an acrobat team. Even rolling through the zoo doesn’t slow him down.

What will happen when he finally reaches the bottom of the hill and will he make the new friends he so needed?

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The Way Home For Wolf By Rachel Bright & Jim Field

We were lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this lovely new story which is out today in the UK and we’ve been looking forward to sharing it with you. We’re big fans of Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s previous collaborations (‘The Lion Inside’ is in our all-time top five!) and fortunately this new title is just as good!

The heartwarming tale is about a little wolf cub called Wilf who is extremely strong-willed and independent. He wants to do everything by himself and he wants to do it right now – which will sound very familiar to any parent with a toddler!

When his wolf pack is forced to leave their cave, Wilf wants to lead the expedition to find a new home. But the little wolf soon discovers that life in the wilderness is much tougher than it looks and he finds himself lost in a storm. Too proud to call for help he sits alone on the ice, which at that very moment begins to crack. It looks as though all hope is lost but then a friendly face appears from the depths.

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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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Snow Fight: A Warcraft Tale By Chris Metzen & Wei Wang

Snow FightIvy’s daddy has been playing World of Warcraft (an MMORPG or massive multiplayer role-playing game) since it launched back in 2004 so when he spotted this book he immediately bought it for our library.

The story takes three popular characters from the game – Varian, Thrall and Arthas – but shows us them as children on a normal winters day. It cleverly takes the essence of their in-game personalities and perfectly translates them in to little playground versions.

Friends Varian and Thrall are contemplating a snowball fight when neighbourhood bully Arthas turns up to spoil their game. He throws a large and painful snowball which prompts Varian to retaliate. Unimpressed, Thrall shows them that the game is a lot more fun if they can all just play nicely together. But can Varian and Arthas put their differences behind them?

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The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies

The Storm Whale in WinterWe loved The Storm Whale by Benji Davies and recently purchased this sequel – The Storm Whale in Winter. It does not disappoint!

In the original story a little boy called Noi saves a young whale who washes up in the beach during a storm – however in this book it is the whale who comes to the rescue.

Winter is setting in and Noi’s dad (a fisherman) decides to take his boat out on one last trip, but he doesn’t come back. Noi heads out over the frozen sea to find him but soon finds himself lost and stuck.

Enter the little Storm Whale who appears with his whole family to rescue poor Noi. Together they work to find Noi’s dad – but where could he be?

A gorgeous tale of friendship and bravery

Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2npHQJQ