TOP TEN BOOK LISTS
Illustrator Bella Gomez shares her 10 favourite children's books
Bella Gomez is a UK-based artist and the illustrator of the beautiful new book, 5 Wild Numbers. She grew up on the beautiful Dorset coast in England, moved to London when she was 18 and now lives with her two children in Lewes, just outside of Brighton. Her journey in design and prints started with her own ...
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BOOKS
'Joy' by Corrinne Averiss and Isabelle Follath
When I saw Corrine Averiss' book called JOY, I couldn't help but fall in love with it. With such a fun-loving cover and equally stunning illustrations inside, JOY really does measure up to its title. This thoughtful story highlights the relationship one child has with her grandmother. As Fern sees that her Nanna has not ...
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BOOKS
'The Explorer' by Katherine Rundell, a captivating chapter book
How gorgeous has summer been in Europe? Oh my goodness we are loving it! These slow, happy, sunshiny days are just perfect. With all of the rushing around and non-stop school days it has been so good to have time together. We've still had a slight routine in that in the mornings we've been getting ...
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BOOKS
'5 Wild Numbers' by Bella Gomez
Bella Gomez is a UK-based designer, illustrator, a mum of young children and a reader of this blog. We were so thrilled when she reached out to us recently to introduce us to her new children's board book, '5 Wild Numbers'. The concept of the book is simple -- count the wild animals one to ...
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PICTURE BOOKS
Florette By Anna Walker
I am a huge fan of Anna Walker. Her work is deeply absorbing. Beautifully and gently illustrated, Anna's latest book, Florette, is well loved in our collection of books and one which I can highly recommend. Each and every page is mesmerising and every time you open up Florette a new detail in the illustrations is ...
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TEENAGERS
Great books for teenagers -- Sara's favourite reads
Sara (now 13) is a big reader. She seriously devours books! It's such a pleasure to see her being absorbed by captivating stories, strange worlds and exciting adventures. Especially since I was exactly like her as a teenager. I've asked her to share a list of books she would recommend to readers of around her ...
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BOOKS
'If All the World Were...' by Joseph Coelho and Allison Colpoys
Joseph Coelho has perfectly captured the sensitivity of talking about death and dying to very young children through his new book, If All The World Were. A book which is moving yet lyrical, gentle and softly spoken. Coelho's book is about a young girl's love for her Grandfather. She recalls moments of their life together ...
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BOOKS
Mrs Wordsmith
I find teaching kids how to read and expanding their vocabulary such an interesting subject. There are so many different theories and there are so many different methods out there, which makes it hard to figure out what works. Children are also so very different. One of my kids picked up a book at age ...
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BOOKS
'People of Peace' by Sandrine Mirza
It's the beginning of the summer holidays for us and we've spent the first week taking it easy around the house, catching up with friends and enjoying this glorious sunny weather in the garden. The best part of each day though is in the afternoon when we take five, drink iced tea and read books ...
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TEAM FAVOURITES
Team Favourites: Best London-themed picture books
Our London ShopUp event is just around the corner -- taking place in Shoreditch on June 9th and 10th! (Mark your diaries and don't miss it!) So, with London on our minds, we've rounded up our favourite London-themed picture books. Whether you live in London, travel to London, or simply want to teach your children ...
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PARENTING
Reading to older children-- fun and beneficial
My kids love reading. Pim and Sara really devour books, and Ava has also recently gotten the hang of it. They are entirely captivated by their books! (Poor Casper, it can be frustrating to be the only one unable to read!) I suppose it can be a natural transition to stop reading to children when ...
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BOOKS
'Magic Beach' by Alison Lester
Alison Lester is one of Australia's most beloved children's authors, and with the book now celebrating its 20th anniversary, it's safe to say that Alison Lester's 'Magic Beach' is a true Australian classic. It's definitely a big-time favourite in our home. It's not always the case that a children's book is fun to read aloud, ...
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PICTURE BOOKS
A new 'How To' series from Wide Eyed Editions
Florence and I are absolutely delighted with this new series of 'How To' books. Florence loves looking and learning about new languages. (I think she sees Helena confidently chat in Dutch and in French and sees a great role model!) We already have a small collection of French reading books and some Dutch books for ...
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BOOKS
'Almost Anything' by Sophy Henn
We love the books of Sophy Henn -- they are always such a delight! So when I saw a new one had been released, Almost Anything, we were so excited! A heart-warming story about a rabbit called George who thinks he's no good at anything. He admires his friends so much who can dance, who can ...
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TOP TEN BOOK LISTS
Bruce Ingman shares his top ten favourite children's books
We are super excited to share another inspiring Top Ten book list, this time from Bruce Ingman -- an award-winning and much-loved author and illustrator based in London. After teaching at a number of art colleges and illustrating for many well-known magazines, Bruce wrote and illustrated his first book, When Martha's Away, in 1995 , which ...
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TEAM FAVOURITES
Our favourite springtime picture books
Spring is finally here (despite the wintery weather still lingering in some cities!), and this is one of our favourite seasons -- so full of excitement, anticipation, new beginnings, budding trees and baby bunnies! We've rounded up 14 of our team's favourite springtime picture books perfect to read at this time of year. Find our ...
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TOP TEN BOOK LISTS
Allan Ahlberg shares his Top Ten Favourite Children's Books!
Allan Ahlberg is the author of more than 150 published books. He and his late wife, Janet Ahlberg, are the author/illustrator duo behind some of our favourite children's books, including the award-winning Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo and The Jolly Postman, which has sold more than six million copies (I remember this book coming out when ...
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BOOKS
Bravery Magazine -- featuring strong female role models
Bravery Magazine is a new quarterly publication for girls and boys aged 4 to 9 featuring strong female role models. Created by two mothers after a successful Kickstarter campaign, their mission is to empower children through stories of brave women 'to help them become their own kind of brave'. Their dream is to highlight a ...
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GIVEAWAYS
Win a signed copy of '9 Months'!
It's been a year since our 9 Months book came out! Esther and I have so enjoyed receiving feedback about the book and seeing photos of other families reading it. It is so heartwarming to think that our little book is being read and enjoyed during those beautiful months of waiting for a baby. Such ...
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BOOKS
A beautiful chapter book for older children (and mamas too)
Quite often I'll choose a novel for myself from the big kids section over something from the regular adult readers. This one, The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange is written for ten year olds plus (or that's what amazon says anyway) and is such a rich, intense storyline that I managed to read ...
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BOOKS
'Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth', a brilliant book by Nicola Davies
How many living things are there on Earth? LOTS! Our new favourite book, Lots: the Diversity of Life on Earth, elegantly illustrates how magnificent earth is, and impresses upon each reader how essential it is to respect our planet -- now! Did you know that there are 5,000 kinds of microbes in just one teaspoon of ...
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BOOKS
Cheerful, written by Palmer Brown
Cheerful by Palmer Brown is one of those charming stories which reminds you how gentle childhood is. Each page is filled with romantic pencil drawings which pull you in to a totally endearing world. A little church mouse, Cheerful, lives with his family and longs to live up to his name. He dreams of a ...
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BOOKS
A Treasury of Short Stories Series written by Angela McAllister
We have recently discovered two books by Angela McAllister, which are worth sharing with you: A Year Full of Stories and A World Full of Animal Stories. Both collections of short stories, A Year Full of Stories covers every continent and comprises of myths from around the world for each month of the year. Each story ...
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