BOOKS
'Counting on Katherine' by Helaine Becker, Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
Having recently watched the movie, 'Hidden Figures' with the girls I was beyond excited to have found, Counting on Katherine. It's an excellent biography of Katherine Johnson who was the genius mathematician who helped make the Apollo 11 landings on the moon possible. She also helped at a critical stage in the return of Apollo ...
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FOR MUMS
Three Summer Reads You Will Love
I cannot believe it's already summer! Thank goodness I hear you cry! School is out and I'm excited to say we have 'time' again. Time to talk, time to sit together and time to read. I thought it would be fun to let you know what I've read so far and what I'm about to ...
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BOOKS
Young, Gifted and Black - a brilliant book for all ages
Young Gifted and Black is a firm favourite in our house. It is a beautifully put together showcase of 52 Black heroes, celebrating authors, actors, pioneers, politicians, those from the world of sport to the world of space and many more. There’s a Hall of Fame at the back, which we use when reading with ...
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BOOKS
"Julián is a Mermaid" by Jessica Love
This book, so beautifully written and illustrated by Jessica Love, is a celebration of individuality and a heartwarming story of unconditional love and acceptance. Julián is a Mermaid tells the story of a little boy, Julián, who spies three women on the subway one day and is entranced by their beautiful hair, their shimmering mermaid ...
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BOOKS
Paris on Paper: The books which inspired our New Year getaway
As a huge surprise to the girls this New Year: we decided to celebrate 2020 in style and took a road trip to Paris. It was a long way from Scotland but well worth it! But because of the travelling we decided to keep the gifts small and gave the girls each a box filled ...
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BOOKS
A Child's Guide to Wild Flowers by Charlotte Voake
As I write this we're celebrating Garden Day in the UK and we're about to put our wellies on and re-pot our seeds we've been growing in our sunroom. We've adored springtime in the garden this year and equally our woodland walks have been a breath of fresh air during this strange time. One book ...
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BOOKS
The Wild Journal by Willow Crossley - a book to heal and transform your mood
Willow Crossley is a writer and a floral stylist. She is the mother of three gorgeous boys and is based in the beautiful counrtyside of Oxfordshire. Willow's latest book, The Wild Journal, is utterly divine and I can't really think of a better treat in this current climate, than reading this book. Written over a ...
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EASTER CELEBRATIONS
Beautiful Eggs Illustrated by Alice Lindstrom
Author and illustration, Alice Lindstrom, has produced this exquisite book, Beautiful Eggs and we've loved reading it this weekend. Beautiful Eggs celebrates egg decorating around the world. From beeswax drawing in Ukraine, using colourful straws in the Czech Republic to using washi paper in Japan. There is even an egg stencil at the back of ...
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BOOKS
Good books for teenagers -- Sara's now favourite reads
It's already nearly two years ago that I asked Sara to share her favourite books, and many of you have asked to share her current favourites. She is nearly 15 years old now, and still absolutely loves to get lost in a great story! She reads loads, so there's a lot of material to choose ...
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BOOKS
The Dictionary of Difficult Words by lexicographer Jane Solomon
Florence was gifted The Dictionary of Difficult Words by Jane Solomon for her birthday and it's been a great hit in our house. It is filled with over 400 whimsical words which continually amaze us and words I have never even heard of before. Words like 'bumbershoot', 'spaghettification', 'hurdy-gurdy' and 'ombudsman' are carefully described and ...
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PICTURE BOOKS
The Girls by Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie
"The four women were still as different as they were the same. And they were still the best of friends." The Girls by Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie is a gorgeous picture book and it's well celebrated in our house by both of my girls. It was also a treat to see it being used ...
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BOOKS
Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker and Zoe Persico
Climate Change is becoming a huge topic for children to discuss nowadays, in the home and at school. I read a fabulous article in Lunch Lady (Issue 9) on How to Talk to Kids about Climate Change where they have brought together advice from educated specialists. It's a great read and it connects such a ...
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FUN
Fresh Books for the Shelf, to help bring cultural heritage into the lives of our children
At the beginning of December we held the Babyccino Shopup event, and myself and the wonderful panel of women who joined us discussed how we are bringing our cultural heritage into the lives of our children. Some decisions seem simple, like celebrating Christmas or Eid, for example. Those around us are celebrating too and not ...
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BOOKS
Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl
If there is only one book I urge you to purchase this holiday season it's this one, Madame Badobedah. It is truely astounding!! It's anigmatic and mysterious and hysterically fun. It's absolutely everything a book should be made of. We adore Madame Badobedah and you will too! Adventurous and rather curious Mabel lives in a ...
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SERVICES
Revisiting summer memories with photo books, and strategies for moving photos from digital to print
I'm now five and half years into parenthood and I still haven't developed a consistent method for archiving and printing photos...please tell me I'm not the only one! I've had stretches where I ordered some prints monthly and I've made photo books after having nice family photos taken, but I'm still searching for a method ...
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BOOKS
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters by Andrea Beaty
Both of my girls are huge fans of Rosie Revere, Engineer. Helena once dressed as Rosie for World Book Day and totally inspired her classmates to jump on board with reading the book. Florence has continued in the enthusiasm of the characters and when I saw there was a new range of chapter books showcasing ...
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TUESDAY TIPS
Memorizing Poetry, a lost art? Let's talk about the benefits.
I'm just back from Community Meeting at my children's school, which is a short weekly gathering of all the children in grades PreK-3 (so, ages 4 through 8 or 9 years old) and their parents. Typically at Community Meetings we sing together or listen to presentations from various classes on their studies, but the theme of ...
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BOOKS
Picture Books for Toddlers: Wilkie's current favourites
About a year ago, I shared a selection of Wilkie's favourite picture books, many of which are still on rotation as his favourite bedtime reads. But he's beginning to enjoy the slightly longer stories now, and we have a few to add to that list. I snapped a photo of his current go-to books, most ...
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BOOKS
"Hotel Flamingo" by Alex Milway -- a sweet series for the young
A friend recently told me about Hotel Flamingo so when I saw a copy in our local library I immediately picked it up for Florence. It is absolutely delightful and we've both fallen in love with the characters, especially Madame Le Pig, the amazing chef. It's a new series by Alex Milway and true to the ...
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BOOKS
'Would you Rather...?' by John Burningham
I remember the first time I played a 'Would you Rather...' game. I was a freshman in college and we played in my friend's dorm room, laughing our heads off. So fun! Who doesn't love thinking about silly, outrageous potential circumstances and weighing up your favourite (or least terrible) of your options?! Haha. When I ...
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BOOKS
Early Riser Companion: Rhythms & Rituals, Traditions & Transitions by Elizabeth Antonia
Longtime readers of this blog will remember reading posts from Elizabeth Antonia in Los Angeles. She has been a friend of ours for many years, has contributed to this blog, supported our LA-based ShopUp events and has been a wonderful supporter of Babyccino. I remember the first time she told me her idea for the ...
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PICTURE BOOKS
'Hey Grandude!' -- a picture book by Paul McCartney!
Grandude is not your everyday kind of grandfather. True, he has some stereotypical grandfather characteristics. He lives in a very normal house in a very normal street. He has snow-white hair and a tendency to fall asleep in his armchair. But, he also has something extraordinary and utterly amazing: he owns a magical compass! When ...
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TUESDAY TIPS
Encouraging children to read! Here are ten tips.
Both my oldest children are avid readers. Especially Sara is the kind of person who reads everything she can get her hands on: novels, series, educational books, newspapers, magazines, the back of cereal boxes -- you name it. So recognisable: I was exactly the same as a child. (I always thought it had to do ...
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