BOOKS
'Maria's Island', a beautifully illustrated chapter book by Victoria Hislop
Maria's Island is Victoria Hislop's latest book and we have fallen absolutely in love with it. I read this in one sitting before passing it over to Florence and it has never left my mind. Based on Hislop's best selling novel, The Island, Maria's Island is the children's version and it is beautifully illustrated by ...
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BOOKS
Everything Under The Sun -- a great new book and podcast series by Molly Oldfield
Everything Under the Sun is a new book out by Molly Oldfield, who I have recently become pals with on Instagram. Molly wrote to me to share about her new book, and I loved the concept of the book without even seeing a photo. She then sent me a copy of her book, and it's ...
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AUDIO BOOKS
Summer reading and audiobooks for the whole family to enjoy
I know I keep saying it, but hurray for the holidays! And, although this may sound daunting to some of you, we love a long journey. There's something fun and exciting about packing up the car and heading south. We've all chosen our holiday reads and as a family we select our picks on audible, ...
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BOOKS
The Wizards of Once series by Cressida Cowell
Florence received this fabulous series of books, The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell and she loved them so much, I bought the collection for my class too. All of the children really love them and tell me they are their new favourite books, so I just knew I had to share them here with ...
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FUN
Introduce your children to yoga with this beautiful new book!
My dear friend, Kiki Morriss, has recently launched her book 'Nurturing Your Family with Yoga', and I couldn't be more excited to share about it here. I have watched and witnessed Kiki take this book from a dream to a reality, and while I knew it would be a beautiful book, I love it even ...
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FUN
'Arno and his Horse', a beautiful book by Jane Godwin and Felicita Sala
It is so special to find a children's picture book that appeals as much to adults as it does to children. Wilkie has requested this as his bedtime story every night for the last few weeks, and it's one of those books I never tire of reading. Arno and his Horse is a beautiful story, ...
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BOOKS
A Story About Afiya by James Berry, Illustrations by Anna Cunha
A Story of Afiya is a wonderful celebration of a little girl who has one dress which records all of her childhood memories. Jamaican poet James Berry, writes this lyrical story and shares the different occassions Afiya remembers when she was a little girl, from the roses in bloom to the day she visits the zoo. ...
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BOOKS
Many Shapes of Clay -- A Story of Healing
This beautiful book, Many Shapes of Clay : A Story of Healing is written and illustrated by Kenesha Sneed, and it is an absolute treasure. It is a piece of art, every page filled with graphic shapes and sensitive lines to create the most thoughtful story on grief, loss, and celebration of diversity. It is ...
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BOOKS
'When Green Becomes Tomatoes' by Julie Fogliano: Poems for All Seasons
I remember vividly as a child learning the poem, 'I wandered lonely as a Cloud' by William Wordsworth and have always loved reading poems. As the girls grew up they really enjoyed the rhythmic world of Julia Donaldson and all the fun wordery of Dr Seuss' 'Cat in the Hat' series. Even though the girls ...
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BOOKS
How to Be More Paddington : A Book of Kindness
Who doesn't adore Paddington Bear? I think he has to be one of my all time favourite book characters. We adore his fun antics and delightful escapades. This new book, 'How to Be More Paddington : A Book of Kindness' is an uplifting collection of inspiring quotes all taken from Michael Bond's classic books. 'How ...
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BOOKS
Six of Our Favourite Family Books for Easter time
I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter weekend. We've been enjoying the long weekend eating plenty of chocolate Easter eggs and having fun in the garden. We spent our evening looking through our spring time books and I thought I'd share some of our favourites with you all based around eggs and lovely ...
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FUN
'The Tale of the Whale', a beautiful new book with an important message
This new book arrived in the post this week and became an instant bedtime favourite of Wilkie's. The Tale of the Whale by Karen Swann and Padmacandra is a poetic rhyming book that highlights the beauty of the underwater world and the importance of saving it from plastic pollution. The book takes you on a ...
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BOOKS
'The Snowflake' by Benji Davies
The Snowflake, like all of Benji Davies' books, is so beautifully told and exquisitely illustrated. It is a celebration of finding a special place in the world and belonging. The Snowflake tells the tale of one snowflake and one little girl named Noelle. As Noelle goes for a walk with her grandpa Pappie, she wonders ...
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BOOKS
'The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone' by Jaclyn Moriarty
I am delighted to have discovered How Brave is the Wren through our Babyccino Kids shopping portal. It’s an online children’s bookstore, and before covid came along, it was a travelling bookstore in a caravan! It’s an Aladdin cave filled with the most glorious collection of books. When I browse through their online store, I’m like ...
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BOOKS
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse -- a book for all ages
Do you know The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse? It is a book for all ages -- from eight to one hundred and eight. And it is a book full of hope and full of positivity. The perfect book for a gift, but also, as a treat for yourself. This is the perfect ...
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COOK BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
What's Cooking at 10 Garden Street - A delightful cookbook for kids that also tells a story!
As a child growing up, I was privileged enough to be raised by a village. My mother was intentional about raising me among diverse groups of people. This also meant that I was exposed to diverse foods. To this day, a good dal or pancit is comfort food to me. I learned from an early ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Little You : A Beautiful Board Book
In November in the United States it is Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving is also just around the corner. So I wanted to share a lovely board book which is very timely called, Little You written by Richard Van Camp and illustrated by Julie Flett. This is a book written and illustrated by two Indigenous ...
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BOOKS
Get reading with Storytime Magazine!
The other day I was saying to my husband: we really should find some more gripping things to read for Fergus, our seven-year-old son. His sisters love reading and being read to, but our boy, well… he could use a little bit of encouragement. It must have been a sign -- Esther, the next day, ...
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PARENTING
Black History Month -- it isn’t just a month
[caption id="attachment_80686" align="alignnone" width="640"] Nelson Mandela by Chris Van Wyk[/caption] As we arrive in November, you will have recently learnt a lot more about Black History than you will have done since, well, maybe June. 2020, it seems, has been a bumper year. October was Black History Month here in the UK (February takes that title ...
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HOUSEKEEPING AND ORGANIZATION
'Sustainable Home' - a great starting point for living sustainably
Since having my children, I’ve become a lot more focused on living life in a sustainable way. I am more conscious than ever of the way I live, the way I shop and the way I consume. Mindful especially of how my these things doing affects the planet which my children and theirs stand to ...
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BOOKS
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai - an autobiography for older children
I have fallen in love with the work from Thanhha Lai and her poetric writings. Inside Out & Back Again is an autobiographical novel written in verse. It captures one year in the life of ten year old Kim Hàbook which reflects Lai's own childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and ...
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BOOKS
Seasonal book rotation, do you do this too?
We completed our seasonal book rotation! Every few months, we update our home with something special and we also pull out some books to acknowledge the season. One of the family traditions we love is to update the seasonal library with beautiful books. We rotate some of them in and out throughout the year. At times, ...
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PICTURE BOOKS
KIND -- written by Alison Green
Kindess. We all need it. We all need to share it too. Especially during these strange days. It's something we are discussing so much of in school at the moment and my girls are really thinking out of the box how they can be kind and helpful to others. So when a dear colleague friend ...
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