The Girls by Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovelie

I bought this for my six year old's birthday and it's been a real hit. I think I spied it on Twitter and thought it looked just the sort of thing she would like. Particularly since the requested theme for her birthday party was 'friendship'. Unfortunately I didn't quite manage to deliver on that and just hired an entertainer and booked a hall - her friends were all there though! Just think of the instagramable/pinterest moments I could have captured if I'd properly gone to town on the friendship theme though. Hey ho - time is precious and crammed full of people needing attention so that didn't come to fruition.
Anyway, I've totally digressed from the subject in hand...

The Girls is a wonderful depiction of friendship starting from a young age and going through to adulthood. There isn't a narrative as such but it's captivating reading through and seeing the characters grow and change and the main message is that through it all they stick together and are there for one another. It also shows how everyone is different and has many strengths and that we can all be good at different things and support each other when times are good and bad. This book in particular is lovely because it shows how valuable and deep friendship can be if you nurture it and keep it going. 

I particularly like this book for my six year old who's just gone into Year 1 since I feel that she's at precisely the age where they really start to work out relationships with friends and it can be a huge struggle. It targets the issue is a very soft and likeable way.

The hardback format is very nice, cloth effect and feels very gifty. I love the illustrations too, the colours are slightly muted and I think the palette really works in this context. There is loads of detail to spot and talk about in the illustrations, in particular as the girls grow up and other people are added to their lives. Gorgeous!

The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth by Ellie Hattie and Karl James Mountford

We picked up a copy of The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth from our local library (in fact they had some lovely books just loitering on a table so we took a whole armful home with us!). It's a lovely whimsical book which takes you through a beautiful Victorian museum room by room with the ruse of finding a young mammoth that has gone missing. The premise is that at midnight there is a magic hour when everything in the museum comes alive, the problem is that the young mammoth, Teddy, has gone missing and needs to be back in place before the hour is over.

There are lovely funny touches like the room containing the Extinct and Endangered Creatures doing an aerobics class. It's full of eclectic stuff, like all the best museums, with lots of different (some quite random!) information. There are loads of fun facts under the different flaps. It's great for reading to different levels of reader since you don't have to examine every flap and read all the text but you can if the child is interested or wants to read it themself (in the case of my nearly eight year old!).

I think this book would make a really lovely gift for a museum mad (or mammoth mad!) child. It has really lovely thick paper and beautiful flaps that work well inside each spread. Gorgeous!

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

There's an abundance of pumpkin soup in our house this week (I wonder why!) and every time I heat it up I can't help but say 'Pumpkin Soup, the best you've ever tasted' in a singsong voice (it's now apparently starting to get annoying!).

But weirdly, given that it's one of my favourite picture books, I don't seem to have blogged about it before. So I'm going to rectify that right now!

Pumpkin Soup is a perfect picture book for this time of year with sumptuous autumnal colours and a sense of crisp fresh air outside and cosy, warm times inside. The text is beautiful to read aloud and although it's fairly long I've never struggled to keep my children's interest throughout. This is probably because the story is full of twists and turns and keeps them entertained all the way.

Cat, Duck and Squirrel live in an old white cabin in the woods (incidentally if anyone knows of any cabins like this, please contact me!). They have a well worn routine and live harmoniously until Duck decides to make a few changes. This results in a terrible quarrel and Duck leaves. Thankfully, he does return and peace is restored, or is it?!

It's a lovely, gorgeous book that is a definite classic and should be read at least once an autumn!

Here's the 'mantra' which has to be quoted when making pumpkin soup of your own!

"Pumpkin Soup. The best you've ever tasted. Made by the Cat who slices up the pumpkin. Made by the Squirrel who stirs in the water. Made by the duck who scoops up a pipkin of salt, and tips in just enough."

Oh, and also for the best pumpkin soup recipe I've found go to Delia's recipe page, found here. I don't make it with cheese but it would probably be even more delicious!

This book just ate my dog by Richard Byrne

Hello! I feel as if I haven't posted a blog post in quite a while. It's been a busy few months but I'm going to try and get back to speed again!

I couldn't not post about this book - This book just ate my dog by Richard Byrne. It's brilliantly funny, interactive and great for all ages. I learnt about it through a meeting at BookTrust when I was part of the panel to help choose this years book for the Book Packs that are given out to every child. It was a wonderful day and I met some lovely people and read a shed load of children's books at breakneck speed!

Anyway a copy of This book just ate my dog was at the meeting and I immediately fell in love with how simple, yet clever it was and knew my children would adore it. I was right! They liked it from the start and it's been one of our best shared bedtime stories for a while. The book uses the fold in the middle to pretend that people (and dogs) are being eaten up. Then after everyone has disappeared it asks you to shake them out. It's very cute and we have been enjoying it very much.

It has also found a way into my new business which I have just started The Book Nook. I take my bell tent and lots of children's books plus cushions and rugs and set it up at events, weddings, fetes, parties, schools etc. This book is a brilliant one for storytelling when you have a mixed age group, and passing it round to get everyone to shake the characters out is lovely and interactive.

Olivia by Ian Falconer

Olivia is a bit of a modern classic (especially in the States where it was originally published) and we've come to it quite late really. She was first published 15 years ago and Ian Falconer has had numerous other Olivia titles after the first and original 'Olivia'. I think there is even a tv series as well. 

It's quite an arty picture book in that the colour palette is limited and a lot of the backgrounds are white. The insertion of two famous paintings by Degas and Pollock help to elevate it slightly too! My two seem to really enjoy having it read to them and find the many parallels between them and Olivia hilarious. Especially the wearing people out bit. Rosie was particularly impressed by the elaborate sandcastle (Chrysler building in New York) and incredulous and then decided it would be impossible. I think our beach trips might get interesting this summer!

The text is simple but succinct. It works so well and it all feels so familiar (the irritation with the younger sibling, wanting to decide exactly what to wear, decorating the walls, I could go on!). But over and above all that is the incredibly beautiful and wonderful line drawing that makes the artwork. Gorgeous! 

Meet the Parents by Peter Bently and Sara Ogilvie

I saw a lot of people saying how funny and fantastic Meet the Parents is last year so when I saw it in my local library today I picked it up straight away. 

It's a simple idea beautifully realised with the wonderful artwork of Sara Ogilvie. We love her books with Anna Kemp (Dogs Don't Do Ballet) as well. 

The premise begins with a description of all things parents tell kids to do, brush teeth, tidy up, wash your hands, say please! But then it starts to outline the things parents are great for, covering them with sand at the beach, carrying everything, wiping all types of fluids on! 

Sara Ogilive is particularly good at showing expressions on her characters faces and there is a lot of brilliant funny detail. The text is great, really funny with a wonderful ending. This book worked really well with both my girls, which is always handy at bedtime!