Festive Delights: The Stink Before Christmas #StinkyStoryTime

From BAFTA-winning children's TV presenters Sam and Mark comes The Stink Before Christmas. Packed full of toilet humour, this new take on the traditional The Night Before Christmas tale may not be my ideal festive read but it has certainly got the Mini Reviewers giggling as we count down to Christmas.

#GiveABook this Christmas with Scholastic

Have you seen the amazing selection of books in Scholastic's Christmas Bookshop? With over 600 titles from 70 publishers there is bound to be something to inspire every little reader this Christmas. There are some amazing discounts as well as great offers on specially selected bundles. Plus for every order over £10 you can nominate a school or nursery to receive free books. Take a look at our choices and find out how to enter Scholastic's fab #GiveABook competition to win books for a school or nursery of your choice...

The Elf on the Bookshelf: Week 1

Well the first week of Advent seems to have flown by and, just in case you have missed our daily photographs on Instagram, we thought this would be the perfect time to share a round up of the festive books we have been reading, as chosen by our cheeky elf on the bookshelf, Elvis. So if you are looking for a little elf-spiration, you have certainly come to the right place!

The Elf on the Bookshelf returns!

So December is here and that means it's finally time to start our countdown to Christmas with our cheeky Elf on the Bookshelf, Elvis. Throughout December we will be reading a different festive book each day as chosen by Elvis. We plan to share a photograph on Instagram of each choice, plus you will be able to find our thoughts on each of the books here on the blog.

Festive Delights: Our Christmas Eve Choice

We have been so lucky to receive such an amazing array of books to read in the run up to Christmas - books with sounds, pop-up books and even books that have twinkling lights! However, The Christmas Eve Tree, written by Delia Huddy and illustrated by Emily Sutton, has to be one of the books with the strongest message about Christmas spirit and that is why it is our pick for Christmas Eve.

Festive Delights: Brilliant Bears

December is very nearly here and we are now over half way through sharing the festive delights we will be reading during Advent. Our last post was about baking and today's selection of books are all stories about brilliant bears! These three seasonal books are not just new to us, they have all been published this year (2017) so are brand new titles!

Festive Delights: Stories, Baking and the BBC Good Food Show!

From a really young age Mini Reviewer, Izzie, has loved cookery programmes her favourites including anything with Mary Berry or the Hairy Bikers and, of course, The Great British Bake Off. In fact when Izzie discovered Mary was not going to judge the latest series of GBBO she actually sobbed uncontrollably for about half an hour, however once the first episode got going she quickly recovered and happily sat through every episode after that - sorry Mary, six year olds are rather fickle!

Festive Delights: I Killed Father Christmas

If you are looking for a festive first chapter book this Christmas then I Killed Father Christmas could be the perfect choice. Although it sounds a bit grisly, don't be put off, it really isn't! I Killed Father Christmas is in fact a lovely story which is full of humour and warmth. Written by award-winning author Anthony McGowan and illustrated throughout by the amazing, Chris Riddell, this fantastic first chapter book is great for reading alone or aloud.

Become a Writing Star with the Premier League #PLPrimaryStars

Some children are reluctant readers, others reluctant writers and quite a few are both! So how can we ensure that all children are inspired to learn? Well perhaps the answer lies with the Premier League and some of their top footballing stars!

Language Learning Part 4: Learning with Lingotot

Welcome back to our Language Learning Series. This week we were delighted to be able to try out a Lingotot language class in York. I have been looking into language classes for a while as I think they are a great way to boost enthusiasm for language learning with little ones plus, of course, you get to meet new people.

Festive Delights: Last Stop On The Reindeer Express

We have another new Festive Delight to share with you today. Last Stop On The Reindeer Express has been written by Maudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Karl James Mountford and published by Little Tiger. 

It is a beautiful and poignant story about a little girl called Mia who can't be with her Dad at Christmas. Having made him a special card she discovers a mysterious postbox at the Christmas Market. She then meets a new friend and so begins her extraordinary journey, but will she make her delivery in time for Christmas?

Festive Delights: The First Christmas

It's time for our next selection of Festive Delights and today we are sharing two incredibly special books about the First Christmas. 

It is our aim to read a new Nativity book each Christmas and last year our choice was Room for a Little One - A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell and Jason Cockcroft, which is a beautiful portrayal of the Christmas story, you can read all about our thoughts here. This year we are including not one but two beautiful Nativity stories in our count down to Christmas selection. The first is The Christmas Story, an Exquisite Pop-up Retelling,  by Robert Sabuda, and the second is Make & Play Nativity illustrated by Joey Chou.

Celebrating Halloween with Isadora Moon

A little while ago Mini Reviewer, Izzie (5), won a book token at school and so off we went to our local bookshop where she picked out a new book all by herself. It was Isadora Moon Gets in Trouble by Harriet Muncaster. We read it together and that was it, she was hooked and wanted to read the whole collection. 

Festive Delights: Winter Reading Fun!

Today we continue our Festive Delights series by sharing a trio of snow-filled books that truly celebrate the beauty of Winter. Towards the end of the post, you will also find a few fun and really easy ideas for getting your little ones excited about reading throughout Winter months. But first, let's take a peek at those beautiful snowy books...

Christmas Gifts for Little Bookworms

It's that time of year again and every child is starting to prepare a very special list but with three children all of a similar age, our house already seems overloaded with toys and that is before Santa has made his deliveries! So with that in mind, we thought we would share a few ideas that may inspire others to "think outside the (toy) box" this Christmas. Here are our top Christmas gifts for little bookworms...

Festive Delights: The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Peep-through Picture Book

Hello, we have another fantastic Festive Delight to share with you today, but first you may remember that we recently shared our favourite budget ways to grow your child's book collection. If you missed our post and would like to take a look, click here. 

Our top suggestion was to visit your local library and get borrowing! We regularly pop to our nearby library and in the run up to Christmas last year, we were amazed by the incredible selection of seasonal books available. So if you are looking for some festive reads for you or your kids this year, do drop in! Also libraries sometimes host book sales to sell off their "retired" books and you can often pick up some great bargains. It is actually how we came to own today's Festive Delight, The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Peep-through Picture Book.

Festive Delights: Three Little Owls

Today we are sharing our second Festive Delight for 2017, a stunning new collectable edition of Three Little Owls, which was kindly sent to us by Tate Publishing.

This whimsical festive treat was originally written in Italian by Emanuele Luzzati. John Yeoman has written the English version, which has been beautifully illustrated by one of our all time favourite illustrators, Quentin Blake.

Festive Delights: Supertato: Evil Pea Rules!

After a little break from reviewing, we are back and ready to tackle some festive delights. Throughout 2016 we read a different book each day and during Advent the books were chosen by our cheeky elf on the bookshelf, Elvis. If you missed it, you can read all about Elvis' excellent choices and the chaos he caused here: The Elf on the Bookshelf.

Getting Crafty with Goodnight Spaceman #WorldSpaceWeek

To celebrate World Space Week (4th - 10th October) we have been getting crafty with Goodnight Spaceman thanks to Puffin Books and Ora. We made a fabulous space scene following this very easy tutorial on Puffin's website, which takes advantage of Ora's uniquely shaped round kitchen towels (although any paper towel could be used). This little project is suitable for the whole family, even Mini Reviewer, Poppy (1), got stuck in! Just take a peek at how we got on.

Language Learning Part 3: Flashcard Fun with Lil'ollo

Welcome to the third part of our Language Learning series: Flashcard fun with Lil'ollo, if you are joining us for the first time "Hello" or rather "Hallo"! We have previously looked at introducing languages through song and stories with an emphasis on learning German. However, the resources and products we have shared are available in many other languages too, so you may wish to take a look at our earlier posts: Language Learning Part 1: Singing with Lingotastic and Language Learning Part 2: STORIES.

Hello October: Books to welcome Autumn and celebrate Halloween

Hello October! Autumn is well and truly here and with it those chilly mornings and dark evenings. However, with plenty of puddles to splash in; leaves to throw; and conkers to collect, we think it could be our favourite time of year! So we are really looking forward to the half term holiday at the end of the month and, of course, Halloween!

Last year we celebrated Halloween with some spooky book-inspired baking and crafts, before dressing up and going trick or treating. We also read a few "not-so-scary" Halloween books. You can read all about last year's stories here and, in anticipation of this year's celebrations, we have already added a few more "not-so-scary" books to our collection.

wash, wear, repeat... #EcoverLaundry

Looking back to my childhood, I recall that the washing machine was constantly on the go and there were always clothes drying on the line outside. Fast forward 30ish years and not much has changed. As a busy Mum of three, it seems like the laundry basket is never empty and so continues the inevitable cycle of wash, wear, repeat... 

I spend a lot of money on washing detergent every month and, due to the eczema issues in our family, I am very particular about the products we use. I usually choose a non-bio formula manufactured by a leading brand and avoid fabric softener. I need a detergent that is tough enough to deal with all the weird and wonderful stains and smells that come with parenthood yet is gentle on sensitive skin.

Everything Unicorn

It's official, we have got unicorn fever in this house but there's no need to panic, this is not some sort of tropical disease, no, this is the unicorn craze that seems to have been sweeping the nation for some time now. So this week we are embracing everything sparkly, cute, shiny and even gooey that this magical, horned creature has to offer!

Something Sparkly...

Add some sparkle to storytime with these two fabulous unicorn-themed books. Sugarlump and the Unicorn is written by one of our favourite authors, Julia Donaldson. The cute and whimsical illustrations are the work of the extremely talented, Lydia Monks. Together Julia and Lydia have created several other brilliant children's books together, including The Singing Mermaid; The Princess and The Wizard; and the What The Ladybird Heard trilogy.

Our story so far... #EctodermalDysplasia #JeansForGenes

Tomorrow it's Jeans for Genes Day and, around the same time each year, I reflect upon the impact a tiny faulty gene continues to have on our family's day-to-day lives. For those of you who don't know, I have a condition called Ectodermal Dysplasia (ED) as does my son, Theo. I have previously shared a little about the condition and my concern's for Theo's future here: Along Came Poppy: Word of the Week: Kindness 

I'd like to emphasise from the outset that I consider our family to be extremely lucky not to be more severely affected by Ectodermal Dysplasia. However, having reviewed last year's post, I now realise that in just over twelve months a lot has happened regarding Theo's condition and treatment. I hope that by sharing our personal experiences, we will raise awareness of ED and may even help other families looking for answers.

10 Budget Ways To Grow Your Child's Library

These days our bookshelves are overflowing with beautiful children's books but this has not always been the case. When I was pregnant with Mini Reviewer, Izzie, I started to look for ways I could build up a little collection of books for her but without spending a fortune. Here are my tried and tested ways to grow your child's library on a budget...

Bath Time Adventures with Cocobubble - Review & Giveaway

Cocobubble is a family business based in South Wales that is reinventing bath time with a range of child friendly bath bombs, soap paints and mini character soaps. Cocobubble also sell innovative activity bundles, eco friendly toys and, yep you guessed it, a bath time book! 

The Magical Wood is described as a bath time adventure book. It is made using a flexible, waterproof material so it can get splashed or even be fully immersed in the tub. Cocobubble also sell The Magical Wood bath bundle, which can be used along with the book to promote imaginative play and storytelling. We thought this sounded such an amazing way to brighten up any bath time.

As the Mini Reviewers have mild eczema, we have to be quite careful what products we use on their skin. We were pleased to find out that Cocobubble products are not only made in the UK, they are 100% vegan and gentle on skin. They are made from many natural ingredients and are free from parabens, mineral oils, SLS, SLES and phlalates. So of course we were happy to try out some of their bath time range.*

Lollies Blog Tour:The Prince of Pants #Lollies2017

Nothing quite beats a book that gets you giggling, so we are delighted to be taking part in the LAUGH OUT LOUD 2017 Book Awards Blog Tour. The Lollies were created by Scholastic to celebrate the funniest books for children and are awarded in three categories: Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book; Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8s; and Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13s. The winning books will be announced early next year and are decided by children's votes. To view the shortlisted books and to place your vote visit the Lollies website.

Read with Lottie - Review & Giveaway

Lottie Dolls have been on our radar for a while now. We first came across Fossil Hunter Lottie in the shop at The Natural History Museum in London and loved the concept of dolls that are fun yet educational. Then we discovered that Puffin had released a series of books featuring Lottie, Finn and some of their friends. So, when we were asked to review Lottie Dolls, we happily agreed because we just couldn't wait to read with Lottie!

If you take a look at the full Lottie Doll collection you will see that there are boy and girl dolls, as well as dolls with different hair and eye colours and skin tones. There is also a whole range of different accessories, so your doll could be anything from a ballerina to a fossil hunter. He or she could go fishing, ride a scooter or even gaze at the stars. The vision behind the dolls is that childhood should be an inclusive place and Lottie Dolls are designed to empower children to be themselves. The tagline Be bold, be brave, be you! is therefore very fitting.

Meet Lucy and Jack - H is for Haemodialysis

It has been quite a while since I wrote a Books to Inspire post but you cannot get more inspirational than the story behind the Meet Lucy and Jack series. Just over 12 months ago I reviewed a very special book called "H is for Haemodialysis" written for children whose families are affected by kidney disease. It was the debut picture book of Anita and Simon Howell, who had been inspired by their own experiences of dealing with kidney disease and the impact it had upon their own family life raising two young children. Simon himself suffers from kidney failure and receives dialysis. He is currently waiting for a second kidney transplant.

New Books for Little Heroes

The Mini Reviewers have always loved to dress up and they have certainly come up with some imaginative outfits in the past but recently it seems to be all about crime fighting heroes and pesky bad guys. So when we saw The Rainbow Factory were holding a Superhero Extravaganza this summer, we had to book tickets. 

Novel Non-Fiction for Younger Kids

The Mini Reviewers are now 1, 3 and 5 years old. Over the past year there have been some incredible non-fiction releases aimed specifically at the younger end of the children's market. Here are five non-fiction books that we feel really stand out from the crowd...

Five Favourite Books about School

The summer holidays have flown by and as August ends our thoughts turn to the start of a new school year, an exciting time but also one that can be uncertain and nerve-wracking for so many. Here the uniform has been purchased, tried on and (almost) labelled and Mini Reviewer, Izzie, is raring to return to school. However when Izzie started school last year, we all had our fair share of nerves! So if you have an apprehensive school starter or a child that is a little reluctant to go back to school, don't panic! There are lots of books out there offering gentle reassurance and showing that school can in fact be lots of fun!

Language Learning Part 2: STORIES featuring a review of One Third Stories

Welcome back for the second part in our Language Learning series. Last time I shared how we started learning German through song using the fantastic CD from Lingotastic. If you missed it, you can read all about it in my original post here.

Today I'd like to share the next step in our language learning journey... learning through STORIES! As you know we enjoy a good book, so it seemed only natural to start reading in German to the Mini Reviewers. Once I had purchased two simple books (as recommended by Sarah from Lingotastic), I got to grips with the pronunciation with a little help from YouTube! I then tried them out on the Mini Reviewers.

KINFO App Review

KINFO is a new FREE app available on the App Store in iOS (an Android version is in development). The app has been designed by Isabelle, a mum of three, to help other parents find great activities for their own children. There is no sponsored content, all the recommendations have been added by parents. On KINFO you will find fantastic ideas for days out, holidays, recipes, games and crafts. As well as reviews of brilliant films, toys and of course, BOOKS!

Language Learning Part 1: Singing with Lingotastic

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing a little about our language learning adventures and reviewing some of our favourite language resources with giveaways too! Learning languages at a young age can apparently boost brain power and increase memory but the main reason I decided to introduce languages to the Mini Reviewers was to promote a deeper understanding and awareness of different countries and cultures, which in today's diverse society seems increasingly important.

Sadly I am not a gifted linguist or an expert in language learning. However what I lack in skills, I make up for in sheer enthusiasm and I thought that by sharing our language learning journey from the start, it may encourage others to have a try. So what are you waiting for? Pick a language and here we go...

Five Favourite New Books for 2017

Hello July! The first six months of 2017 seem to have whizzed by and the summer holidays are quickly approaching, so I thought it was about time I shared a round up of some of the amazing new picture books that have been released so far this year. Perhaps it will even inspire you to pick up a new book this summer...

Mandy & Mitch and the Big Brave Boots

Mandy & Mitch and the Big Brave Boots is the debut picture book from Little Boot Books.  It has been written by Alison Hanson and illustrated by Samantha Theobald-Roe. The team at Little Boot Books hope to create a series of stories for little readers that tackle big ideas and their first book explores the feelings of worry and anxiety. Here's the blurb...

Mitch loves Mandy Mondays, but not even his best friend can stop the worry in his tummy from bubbling out of control. As Mitch's worry bubbles grow stronger, Mandy knows that she must help her friend to pop those worries once and for all...but how?

Mandy and Mitch invite readers everywhere into the complex world of early emotional development. Exploring feelings of worry and anxiety, this book's visceral imagery provides a resource for storytelling, conversation and play. So dive in, boots first!

The story uses worry bubbles to explain to little ones how we all worry from time to time and there are useful discussion prompts available on the Little Boot Books website. At the beginning of the story Mitch is left by his mummy at his friend's house. Mitch becomes anxious and the worry bubbles start to build up inside him. I shared this book with Mini Reviewer, Theo, who is 3. He immediately understood how Mitch might feel if his mummy left him and we went on to talk about how he feels when he is worried.

The story then shows how Mitch's friend, Mandy is feeling. She is clearly fed up as Mitch won't play with her. Mandy's daddy advises her that she should try and put herself in Mitch's shoes, which confuses Mandy. We discussed the meaning of this saying and talked about how Mandy could help Mitch before we continued with the story.

As Mandy is unable to fit into Mitch's shoes, she puts on her Brave Boots (her wellies) and tries all sorts of things to burst Mitch's worry bubbles. Eventually Mandy realises that Mitch needs to share his worries with her. We talked about what it means to share a worry and why this can help. Together, Mandy and Mitch are able to pop and blow the rest of bubbles away and they go on to play for the rest of the day.

We enjoyed sharing this book together. I particularly liked the use of worry bubbles to explain  and visually show how anxiety can bubble up and become out of control. The book made a good conversation starter and I found the discussion prompts on the Little Boot Books website helpful. As a Welly fan, Theo loved the idea of popping bubbles in his own Big Brave Boots so maybe this is something we should try!

Credit: Little Boot Books

Mandy & Mitch and the Big Brave Boots is available now from Amazon: £5.99 (paperback) £2.99 (kindle) £0.99 (audio book). Affiliate link below.

Until next time... HAPPY READING!

Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx

*Disclaimer: We received a copy of this book for the purpose of review. All opinions are as always our own. This post contains an affiliate link you can find out more about what this means here.

My Little Book of Big Freedoms illustrated by Chris Riddell

When this small yet incredibly important book arrived in the post this week, I was extremely excited and I could not wait to share it with the Mini Reviewers.

My Little Book of Big Freedoms portrays the 16 different freedoms of The Human Rights Act in a series of enchanting and very beautiful pictures. Each picture is accompanied by simplified text taken from the act itself. The book has been illustrated by awarding winning writer and illustrator and former Children's Laureate, Chris Riddell. It has been published by Buster Books in partnership with Amnesty International UK, the world's largest human rights organisation.

As a former lawyer, I am impressed at how effortlessly this little book conveys the importance of The Human Rights Act and explains how the special rules look after all of us, keeping us safe and free. Although aimed at children, this is a book to inspire generations and I cannot see how anyone, young or old, could fail to be moved by such poignant illustrations.

This special little book is undoubtedly my favourite release of the year so far and I can see it being read in homes and classrooms up and down the country.

My Little Book of Big Freedoms is available from 22nd June 2017, RRP £9.99.

*We received a copy of My Little Book of Big Freedoms for the purpose of this review, all opinions are as always our own.

Bamboozled by PHONICS? Read with Phonics App - Review

Until Mini Reviewer, Izzie, started school in September, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I was bamboozled by these "PHONICS" everyone was talking about. When I learned to read we used sight words - basically repeating the same word over and over again until we could remember it! Of course, I knew what the letter sounds were and had taught these to Izzie but that was pretty much the extent of my phonics knowledge! I now know that learning to read using phonics (sounds) is a much simpler method than using sight words as there are only 44 sounds to learn. Once these sounds are understood then most of the English language can be decoded so it gets children reading more quickly. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Unique Board Books for Babies and Toddlers

At the beginning of May, Independent Children's Publisher, Nosy Crow launched a new range of books with The British Museum. The range, aimed at ages 0-12, includes these two incredibly interesting and unique board books.

Filled with fascinating photos of items originating from all over the world and from throughout time, these robust first concept books are designed to introduce children to letters and numbers. Although aimed primarily at babies and toddlers, Mini Reviewer, Izzie (5) found the images very engaging and she desperately wanted to know all about the different items on each page. Fortunately we were able to scan the QR code to find out a little more - although apparently not enough for Izzie! She particularly liked the collections of different keys, dolls, beads and kites and was in fact more interested in the books than her two younger siblings!  Although they too enjoyed looking at the pictures; counting the objects; sounding out the letters; and, of course, turning the pages themselves. Below are just a few of the images we found to be the most eye catching:

Five Favourite Colourful Books

This week we've been considering our favourite books about COLOUR prompted by our #top5friday twitter chat with The Happy Book Club and Acorn Books, boy do we have some amazing titles to share with you!

Cultural Diversity in Children's Books

In our search for diverse and inclusive books we came across Lantana Publishing, a London-based independent publishing company that champions cultural diversity in children's books. Last week the company's Founder and Publisher Alice Curry won the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, which recognises the achievement of women in publishing. Therefore we thought this would be the perfect time to share our round up of Lantana's beautiful and inspiring stories.

Five Favourite Train Stories

Mini Reviewer, Theo (3), likes anything with wheels but he really, really LOVES trains. We are incredibly lucky to live close to the National Railway Museum in York and we have made many a trip to look at the "giant wheels". On Theo's second birthday we even managed to see "The Flying Choo Choo" otherwise known as the Flying Scotsman!

Once Upon A Time Book Bundles

We were delighted to be contacted by Kelly from Once Upon A Time Book Bundles to review a bespoke book package. Kelly has recently set up her online book service to provide children's book bundles for all ages. Her customers include parents, as well as, childcare providers and businesses. She offers a variety of book packages but ensures that each bundle is suitable for the recipient's age, interests and reading ability.

Loads of books to make you ROAR (like a dinosaur)!

This week we are joining The Happy Book Club along with some other book lovers on Twitter for #top5friday and we are discussing the best dinosaur books around. We thought we'd share our top five choices as selected by Mini Reviewer and dinosaur fan, Theo (3). We hope these get you roaring...

One Silver Summer: A modern fairytale for teens

One night last week I stayed up especially late to finish One Silver Summer by Rachel Hickman. Now although this modern fairytale for teens is not the usual type of book I review, as it is aimed at children much older than my own, I felt that it really deserved a special mention. So as my five year old would say "here is the blurb..."

"After losing her mother, Sass is sent to live with an uncle she barely knows. Far from her native New York, the rocky Cornish shoreline seems an unlikely place to hide her grief. Yet when she stumbles across a silver horse in a sunlit meadow, Sass feels a surprising sense of peace... only to have it broken by a boy with a secret."

Books to Beat the Bedtime Blues #BathBookBed

Sleep deprivation has to be one of the hardest things to deal with as a parent and, with three children of my own, it is safe to say I have endured plenty of sleepless nights over the past 5 years. When we have had a bad night, parenting the next day seems so much harder. In fact everything seems so much harder! My patience levels hit rock bottom and I end up on autopilot fuelled by tea and biscuits.

In my sleep deprived state I have been known to drive to the wrong place, to find my car keys and phone in the fridge and I have even discovered (half way through the day) that my clothes are on back to front AND inside out! A sleepless night also means grumpy, tantrum prone children and the morning school run becomes a battle of wills. So a good night's sleep not only benefits the whole family but also anyone else that is unfortunate enough to encounter us the next day!

What's So Special About Dinosaurs?

Do you have little ones that love Dinosaurs? Then you may be interested in this fantastic series of non fiction books by Nicky Dee.

Storytelling Fun - Five Ideas To Bring Books to Life

What's better than reading a story? Well how about playing with one? Sharing stories in a variety of creative and imaginative ways can really help children with their early literacy skills and speech development. Here are just a few of our favourite ideas for storytelling fun.

Spotting Mr Panda at Edinburgh Zoo - Our Top Tips!

Those of you who follow us on social media will almost certainly know that as well as books, we love a good competition. In the past we have been fairly lucky winning all sorts of things from family days out and weekend breaks to books and toys and even a children's birthday party. In fact I could easily dedicate an entire post to the joy of comping and perhaps one day I will!

Anyway thanks to one of our comping successes towards the end of last year we took a trip to Edinburgh Zoo. Now did you know that Edinburgh Zoo is the only place in the UK where you can see Giant Pandas? Well we did and that is why we really, REALLY wanted to visit.

Parragon's Perfect Books for Preschoolers #StartLittleLearnBig

Over the past week we have been trying out the Start Little LEARN BIG range from Parragon Books. These colourful board and activity books are aimed at preschoolers age 3-5 and are designed to make learning fun. As Mini Reviewer, Theo, is very nearly three and has just started preschool, we were delighted to be able to take a look at some of the range.

Screen Time Success - KidloLand Review and Giveaway

Screen time for preschoolers always seems to be a bit of a taboo subject. One of those topics that you dread to raise on any parenting forum for fear of the backlash! Now before I had the Mini Reviewers I was totally against screen time for little ones. Then I had my second child and I quickly realised that the tablet was going to be essential if I ever wanted to get anything done!

I confess that I usually resort to YouTube when I need 5 minutes to load the washing machine, put the shopping away or jump in the shower! So when we were approached by KidloLand to review their app I thought it was a great opportunity to try something different.

Photo Credit: KidloLand

What's in the box? #LittleLearnersRelaunch

Early last week we received an amazing book buddies' box from Parragon. I already knew that it was going to contain a selection of books from the newly relaunched Little Learners range. These sturdy board books have been especially designed for babies and toddlers to encourage them to learn through play. I was really keen to see just how engaging the books would be and also whether they would withstand being "explored" by the youngest two Mini Reviewers. 

What's in the box Poppy? 📦📚#littlelearnersrelaunch #parragonbookbuddies #toddlerbooks #babybooks #childrensbooks #kidbloggersofig #readwithme #readersareleaders #readingismagic #instabook #kidlit #bookaddict #booklover #read #booksforkids #childrensliterature #kidsbooks #ilovebooks #bookworm #bibliophile #booknerd #bookblogger #raisingreaders #librariesofig #pbloggers #mbloggers

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on Jan 10, 2017 at 3:09am PST

Theo (2) and Poppy (1) obviously had no idea what was in the box so it was a bit like Christmas all over again! Why not take a look at them unwrapping the parcel and see what a huge hit the books were from the start?

Now that you have had a good giggle at our rather wobbly video, I'm going to tell you a little more about the five books we received. After the initial unboxing both little ones enjoyed playing with the books and the tissue paper (of course!) for quite some time. We then returned to the books many times throughout the week and explored them together. We all certainly developed our favourites so here are our thoughts on each title...

Mummy and Me (RRP: £3.99) is a delightful rhyming storybook with a cute finger puppet elephant. Poppy was seriously amazed to see the elephant wiggle! The small size of this book makes it perfect for little hands to hold and it is also fantastic for popping in your changing bag.

Such a cutie! #childofig #momswithcameras #childhoodunplugged #worldoflittles #totsphotos #candidchildhood #myhappycapture #pbloggersuk #mummyblogger

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on Jan 15, 2017 at 2:02pm PST

Ring-a-Ring o'Roses (RRP: £6.99) is definitely Theo's top choice, which will come as no surprise if you watched our unboxing video! Not only does this book play music, there are four buttons to press and these all light up! The pages contain the text of the nursery rhyme and there are cute illustrations of the animals doing the actions to the rhyme. Here it is in all its glory, take it away Theo:

123 Count with Me (RRP: £4.99) is a simple and very sturdy first numbers playbook. The text and pictures are very clear so your little one can easily spot the animals and learn to count to five. The small cut out in the corner of the book makes it great for you to hold, while your child looks at the pictures.

Eyes, Nose, Ears, Toes (RRP: £5.99) is described as a "peek-a-boo playbook". This is both my favourite and Poppy's favourite book of the selection. I found it brilliant for helping me really engage with Poppy. There is a question on each page such as "where is your nose?" and "can you blink your eyes?" The animal characters also play peek-a-boo through little holes in the book, which is a fun addition. However the reason Poppy loves this book so much, is it has a handle and she can carry it everywhere!

I think she may love this new book with a little handle, it's perfect for carrying around or cuddling! #littlelearnersrelaunch 📚💕 #kidbloggersofig #readwithme #readersareleaders #readingismagic #instabook #kidlit #childrensbooks #bookaddict #booklover #read #booksforkids #childrensliterature #kidsbooks #ilovebooks #bookworm #bibliophile #booknerd #bookblogger #raisingreaders #librariesofig #pbloggers #mbloggers #ukbloggers

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on Jan 13, 2017 at 2:33am PST

My First Shapes (RRP: £5.99) is a touch and explore book. It is a very simple tactile book and introduces the following shapes to little ones: circle, square, triangle, diamond and star. Poppy and Theo immediately started to trace the cutaway shapes with their fingers when we explored this book together. This would make a great first book.

Little Learners

Overall the Little Learners range have gone down extremely well with the Mini Reviewers. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing them together. The books really have been cleverly designed to promote learning through play. We love that the range is so varied and the books are very tactile and engaging for little ones.

Do you have any favourite books for your little learners?

*Disclaimer: We were sent a selection of books from the Little Learners range by Parragon Books in exchange for this review. All opinions are, as always our own.

Spreading The Love #BookGivingDay

Happy New Year to you all! On 31st December we completed our 366 books in 366 days reading challenge, and how did we celebrate? Just as we started, with a tweet of course!

Throughout 2016 we discovered new authors and illustrators; developed a love of wordless books; and found some truly beautiful and inspiring reads. (I am sure that I will blog about all of these things in due course!)