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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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, ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
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 ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
Angela McAllister's Top Ten Favourite Children's Books
Angela McAllister is the author of A Year Full of Stories and the recently published A World Full of Stories. Two wonderful books which my girls are really enjoying at the moment. Angela's ability in collecting such wonderfully rich stories and comprising them into these two beautifully illustrated books is a gift and I'm so ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
The Great Race, Written and Illustrated by Christopher Corr
We'll soon be celebrating Chinese New Year (next month!) and this animated book, The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Christopher Corr is the traditional tale of how every animal has earned its place in the Chinese zodiac by taking part in the Great Race. Florence was captivated from the first ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
Baby Loves Science -- little books about big ideas!
A few months ago I received a sweet email from a woman named Sarah asking if she could send us a few copies of her mother's board books for babies. We happily accepted her kind offer and a week later we received the Baby Loves Science series of books written by Sarah's mum, Ruth Spiro. ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
'Waiting' -- a book about patience and learning to wait...
This has been a month of waiting, for Christmas parties and Nativity plays, for play dates with friends and cookie making, and for the biggest day of all -- Christmas. We heard ourselves say 'please just wait' about a million and one times over the past month to our understandably very excited four year old ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
Hortense and the Shadow, by Natalia and Lauren O'Hara
Hortense and the Shadow is the debut picture book by sisters Natalia and Lauren O'Hara. Older sister Natalia writes and Lauren, who is three years younger, illustrates. The two grew up in the north of England and their love of sharing stories dates from their childhood when Natalia, who is dyslexic, struggled at school and ...
READ MORE
BOOKS
What we are reading right now
As we are nearing the shortest days of the year and, as a result, spending more time indoors, I thought it might be fun to share with you what we are reading right now in our little home! Coco, who is 11, is on multiple books (as per usual). She is devouring the Generation K ...
READ MORE
TEAM FAVOURITES
Team Favourites: Twenty of the Best Christmas Books (ever!)
Our team shares a love of books. And a love of Christmas! So it seems we had a natural conversation we were waiting to share. We asked our team for their absolute, very, very (!) favourite Christmas books. Because the season goes by in a heartbeat, and with time spent rushing to school fairs and ...
READ MORE
