Reading

I love to look in secondhand bookshops for preloved books, every now and then you find a gem.  A book that at first glance looks ordinary, but interesting, and when you get it home and take a good look it turns out to be a real find.  I found one of these books this week.

Song of the Earth by Mary Hoffman is a lovely book which explores the magic of the elements, earth, fire, water and air.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Jane Ray, each section has its own individual title page.

There is an introduction celebrating each element.

Myths, folklore, legends and the association of various mystical figures are weaved into the text.

The life giving properties of each element.

Contrasting with the life taking abilities, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and untamed fires.






Each section concludes to bring to the readers attention the misuse and ill treatment done to this vital components of our existence.

The illustrations on each page wonderfully bring the text to life.  This book is a great introduction to so many interesting topics, ideas and concepts, I hope that it acts a springboard for further learning.

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Reading

We have been enjoying a book at bedtime recently, one that we found in the library I think we will be getting a copy of our own as we are enjoying it so much.

Buddha at Bedtime by Dharmachari Nagaraja is a lovely collection of stories which are interesting to share with children, and it is a good introduction to this religion.

The book has a section at the beginning introducing Buddha, Buddhism, mediation and relaxation.

The stories themselves all start with a similar sentence, asking the reader and listener to be still and listen in order to fully appreciate the story.  It gives a few lines about the story and then asks a question to see if you want more, and lets see if we can find out.  It is a lovely way of opening a story and my children always say yes!

All the stories are short and are illustrated.  At the end of each story is a moral related to the story and the teachings of Buddhism.  We have enjoyed sharing these stories before bed and they have provoked some interesting discussions.





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Reading

I want to share another library find with you this week.  We have found some wonderful books in the library recently, that is not to say that we don't have some lovely books at home but isn't it wonderful to be able to supplement them with borrowed books from time to time?

Ruby Nettleship and the Ice Lolly Adventure by Thomas Docherty is a wonderful adventure of magic and imagination.

Ruby Nettleship, like most children, loves to play in her local playground, but her playground is in a sorry state.  The only part that the children can play on is the swing as the rest of the equipment is broken.  When the swing brakes everyone leaves the park except Ruby.

 She is visited by an ice cream van and given a rather interesting looking ice lolly on the stick of which is the words, plant me.  Ruby plants the stick and the adventure begins.

An amazing playground evolves from the stick and eventually the whole town is playing, adults included. When it gets late and it is time for Ruby to go for tea the playground returns to the ground, but next time Ruby visits the playground she is in for a wonderful surprise.



This magical adventure also has wonderful illustrations which is, I am sure, part of the attraction of the book for my youngest.

Reading

We found a delightful book in our local library this week that I am sharing with you today.  Maudie and Bear by Jan Omerod is a collection of stories which perfectly captures the relationship between a child and their carer, in this case a large brown bear.  As in a child's world, Maudie's world revolves around Maudie and Bear's world revolves around Maudie.  In each story Bear treats Maudie with the utmost respect, patience and love which is unconditional, she is absolutely sure of his love.

The beautiful illustrations enhance the text and make this a truly wonderful book.  We have read this one a lot since bringing it home from the library.  I am really saddened to read that some reviews of this book describe Maudie as a spoiled brat they have missed the point of this book and what it takes to be a good parent entirely.

Reading

My youngest has recently been drawn to fairy tale type stories.  She seeks them out in the library and I love reading them to he, my eldest did not like these stories at all so I have never had the chance to share them with my own children until now, in the hope that I would, I have a small collection of beautiful illustrated fairy tale story books which I hope I will now get to share.  This week we found a lovely book in the library about a Princess on a search for her kingdom.

The Princess who had no Kingdom by Ursula Jones is a delightful story of a princess who has all her worldly goods on her cart which she travels with as she searches for her kingdom.  She makes her living taking things from place to place on her cart.  On her search she encounters many beautiful palaces and people who have much wealth but they are not quite what she is looking for.  She does, in the end, find what she is searching for a soul mate who want what she does in life, money is not important.  The illustrations are beautiful.  Some pages are in colour and some in silhouette reminiscent of those that you would find in a Jan Pieńkowski book.

My small collection of fairy tales is the following books.

Granny's Wonderful Chair by Frances Browne is a wonderful collection of tales written by the author, our version includes beautiful illustrations by Gisèle Rime.

A collection of the well known Hans Christian Anderson stories.

The Rainbow Book of Nursery Tales by Sam Childs is a collection of all the well known tale such as Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  It is illustrated with simple, bright pictures.

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Reading

We found two more wonderful animal themed books in the library this week both illustrated by the same author.

 Tweedle Dee Dee written and illustrated by Charlotte Voake is a lovely book based around a traditional folk song, The Green Grass Grew all Around, the tune of which is in the back of the book.  It is a good book for spring or summer as it celebrates the new life in the tree, the leaves and a nest chirping high in the branches.

The other is the Insect Detective written by Steve Voake and illustrated by Charlotte Voake.  This book is a wonderful introduction to the amazing world of insects, where you can find them, what they look like and what they eat and remember if it doesn't have six legs it is not an insect!

The illustrations in both these books are charming and simple and make me want to find more books written or illustrated by Charlotte Voake.

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Reading

We recently spent a day at a local wild animal park, since then we have been reading lots of books on animals.  This is our selection, so far, from our book shelves and at the library.

In Lost in the Zoo by Gill Arbuthnott, Rory the mouse is visiting the zoo but has lost his owner Sam, he meets lots of animals as he attempts to describe what Sam looks like and to find him again.

A monkey is off for an adventure he gets out of his cage and explores the outside world for a for day out of the zoo.  Monkey Do by the wonderful childrens author Allan Ahlberg, is a lovely rhyming adventure.

Buffalo has an itch, an itch he cannot reach, so what does he do?  Itch Itchy Itch by Mara Bergman is a lovely rhyming story about his quest to find the perfect partner to help him with his itches.  The book includes a final page which gives an introduction to the animals in the story.

Set on a farm, Snore by Michael Rosen is the wonderfully funny story of what happens when Dog starts to snore, wakes all the animals up and what they then do to get him to stop.  This is a great book for those learning to read as there is much repetition.

Hodge the Hedgehog by Kate Petty introduces children, through a story, to what hedgehogs eat, what they do in winter and what they do when they are scared

No list would be compete without the wonderful Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, a quest to find the perfect pet with flaps for the child to lift.

Animals Animals All Around by Catherine and Lawrence Anholt is a delightful picture book. It shows what they look like, stripes, spots etc, gets the child to think about what they might feel like, talks about the sounds they make, what their babies are called, how they move and at what speed. This is a wonderful introduction to animals.





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Reading

My youngest loves reading books about fairies.  We found this book in the library a while ago and have had it out on loan several times in the past few months.  She knows the words well but always finds new things in these wonderful pictures.

Fairy Shopping by Sally Gardner takes you on a journey along a street, in and out of shops, through a market, a pause in a cafe and ends with the shops shutting and it's time to go home.  It is a treasure trove of delights, each picture tells a story in itself.

It is book that I expect we will have out on loan time and time again and I will be looking out for a secondhand copy in any bookshops I visit as it, sadly, no longer appears to be available new.

Reading

We have started a seasonal table this year, a place in the house for us to mark the changes in nature.  I have been starting to look for books about spring as it felt like it was arriving and put away the books on winter and snow, but we have had lots of snow over the weekend so they are staying put for now.

We have just added a delightful little book that we found in a second hand shop.  Animal Homes by Debbie Martin is published by Usborne Books, this is an old copy and a quick search online suggests that this book is no longer in print so it was a good find.

Each double page spread is an animal or bird with information on how they build their nest or home.  There are flaps to lift to discover more information and pictures.

This book joins the following books which we also have on our table.

Snow is my Favourite and My Best based on the characters created by Lauren Child.

We love the Charlie and Lola series of books, they are a story with added information at the end, funny and great to read aloud.

Out and About by Shirley Hughes

An anthology of poetry and beautiful illustrations depicting the seasons.

First Picture Nature by Usborne Books

The Winter Book by Rotraut Susanne Berner

Snow Bears by Martin Waddell

Jolly Snow by Jane Hissey










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