My Sunday Photo

Meeting Little Miss Sunshine & Mr Tickle after getting his books signed by the author and illustrator.

                                                 

Halloween & Christmas Bits

I thought I'd do a quick share of some bits I picked up for Halloween and Christmas, mostly from Poundland. I do love Poundland for a book bargain, last week they had most of the well known 'Large Family' books by Jill Murphy which were an absolute steal at a quid! They also had a few different hardback Halloween and Christmas books which my mum and I both bought for Eliot.

For Halloween...
Trick or Treat and Haunted House Books both have appealed to Eliot, although I haven't read them with him yet!
I bought the cake mix in Lidl for around £1.50, I thought it would be nice to make some Halloween sweet treats! Eliot also has a skeleton outfit from Asda which he will be wearing to really get into the spirit of things.

For Christmas...
I bought a Peppa Pig calendar for Eliot as he is a bit of a fan at the moment, I'm sure he will love getting a chocolate from it everyday.
The Santa's Workshop book looked adorable, I had to get it to add to Eliot's festive book collection.
They also have personalised 'Santa Stop Here' door hangers with lots of names available. Not Eliot's hence the 'Special Boy' one I picked up! Even if they did have his name, I'm pretty certain it would be spelt differently.

I thought all the bits from the Poundland were great for a pound, you can get some great buys there!

 

Have you bought any Halloween/Christmas bits?

REVIEW-My Little Big Town Books

 This review is a bit overdue and has a slightly embarrassing story behind it! When My Little Big Town were asking bloggers if they'd like to review book on Twitter, I tweeted them and said I would like to. I sent my details via DM and that was that. A week or so passed and I started to see reviews from other bloggers. Mail has occasionally gone astray on route to our letter box so I sent a DM to My Little Big Town (or so I thought). I didn't hear back so just put it down to them being snowed under with emails, DM's etc. A couple of weeks later I realised I hadn't sent the DM to My little big town but another publisher, oopsie. I was embarrassed and left it at that. A few weeks later, a package arrived and I was surprised to find the books.

We were sent The Monster Book Of Colours and The Monster Book Of Numbers by Calvin Innes. The books themselves are a perfect size for small hands to hold and look at. I would say they are probably better for older toddlers who have an understanding that books need to be handled with care. As they are paperback they are obviously open to easy rips.

I and Eliot enjoyed the bright colours and bold words and numbers throughout both books. I think they are appealing.

There are other books in the range available, The Monster Book Of Shapes, The Monster Book Of ABC's, The Monster Book Of Textures. You can find more info at http://www.themonsterbookof.com/
The RRP is £4.99

*The books were sent in return for this review. All opinions are entirely my own.

Review & Giveaway (CLOSED) 10th Anniversery Edition 'How To Catch A Star' by Oliver Jeffers

I was thrilled to be able to review this special 10th Anniversary edition of  'How To Catch A Star' by Oliver Jeffers. As a teacher it's a book I've enjoyed sharing with children. As a mummy I look forward to the times Eliot and I will read it together.

When it arrived I was like a child on Christmas day opening a present! Excited mumma! In the Pack I received some lovely goodies including resources that will keep the kids busy, such as dot-to-dot and even making a mobile! I also have a second copy of the book to giveaway to one of you!

If you're not familiar with the story, it's definitely one for the home library. It is a beautiful children's book. The illustrations are unique, and alone draw in the reader. The story itself is adorable and highlights the magic of a child's imagination. I won't say anymore, as I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it! If you haven't, you must! 'A modern classic' it certainly is!

This 10th Anniversary Edition is in hardback, perfect for the wear and tear of reading years to come! It begins with a letter from the author himself, Oliver Jeffers. He explains how his debut story came about, from a 'single drawing' inspired by his surroundings.

'I was sitting on the pier of a fish market eating cheap shrimp and counting the starfish around the poles. I caught the reflection of an early evening star in the water below'.

It's an inspiring note for any budding authors, writing and illustrating was not always what Oliver
Jeffers planned on doing but 'it found' him. After a year of working on the book he sent it off to various publishers and the very next day he received a call from Harper Collins saying they would
 like to publish it...amazing!

Eliot read the book with daddy. He was keen to get his hands on it and help turning the pages. I can't wait to share it with him as he grows and understands a bit more.

I'm hoping I will be able to plan a unit of English work using the book when I return to work. If I can't then I'll most certainly be reading the story and sharing the resources in the class!

This special 10th Anniversary edition is available from 27th March click here to order!

I'm excited to be able to host a competition for this special 10th Anniversary edition. Simply enter via the Rafflecopter. UK entries only. All entries will be verified

a Rafflecopter giveaway