Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Reading is an important activity which you cannot start soon enough with your little ones! It is even recommended to try reading to your baby during pregnancy to help your baby recognise the sound of their parents voices, It is never too early to start!

Although little ones may not fully understand the full content of books, there are ways in which to spark interest in reading from birth onwards. By introducing picture books which include the use of repetition and rhyme, your little one can have their visual senses stimulated whilst listening to a rhythmic and memorable rhyming stories which  they will over time remember and treasure.

Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds released ‘The Big Red Bath’ in March 2005, available in a board book edition, this charming book uses repetitive rhymes and onomatopoeia’s to tell a story of two children, Ben and Bella, an assortment of animals on a journey through the imagination. The pictures are visually stimulating and captivate children’s interest. ‘The Big Red Bath’ won the ‘Stockport Schools Book Award for Early Years’.

Following ‘The Big Red Bath’s’ success, Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds released the sequel to this  ‘The Big Blue Bath’ in October 2007.

The Big Blue Train features bright, exuberant pictures which capture the imagination. Once again Jarman and Reynolds make use of repetition and rhyme, creating a rhythmic storyline featuring the well loved characters Ben and Bella.

The Big Red Bath is available from www.amazon.co.uk for £4.10, The Big Blue Train is also available from www.amazon.co.uk for £4.39. These brilliant books are ideal for reading aloud from bump to birth and beyond!

Amanda Blake Soule has written an online blog www.soulemama.com for a few years. Amanda documents her life as a Mum to four, sharing pictures, creative ideas and instructions on how to be creative with little ones to parents Worldwide. Amanda currently has two publications available for purchase and another upcoming book which is due to be released in 2011.

‘The Creative Family; How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections’ is an inspiring read, Firstly it describes how Amanda has brought her children up in terms of beliefs and traditions. Secondly, it explains in clear detail how to go about using the materials which are all around us to create from.

Amanda explains how children discover themselves through art, craft and play. This book features photographs of Amanda’s and her children’s work, the creative home setup, materials and storage. This book is an excellent guide for parents wishing to learn how to bring the family closer together through tradition, art and craft.

Available for £9.10 from www.amazon.co.uk, ‘The Creative Family, How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections’ is a fantastic resource for parents wishing to encourage their children’s imagination and inspire learning for their little ones.

Children love books, it is even suggested that parents should read to their little ones even before birth to encourage voice familiarity.

Although reading is a fantastic, educational and inspirational experience for both children and adults, it can often be difficult to read to an infant as they are far more interested in trying to grab at the pages and chew on the corners of the book.

Rather than battle on trying to read books to your infant whilst holding them out of their reach, why not try introducing a hard back, board book which children are able to hold, touch and feel without the worrying of screwing up or ripping pages.

‘That’s not my…’ books from Usborne offer infants and children the chance to touch and explore a range of textures and materials whilst sharing a story. Usborne have produced a wide range of these books based upon varying animals and characters e.g bears, dogs, dinosaurs, monkeys and much more.

Available for only £3.60 from www.amazon.co.uk the ‘That’s not my…’ series enable your child to really get into their books from an early age.

Linzi, Mum to Ollie (2 years) and George (7 months) kindly took the time to review some reading for MBM. Linzi tells us more about the reading experience…

One of the unexpected delights of becoming a parent is being able to read and enjoy some wonderful children’s books. I am a self confessed book worm, and it is great to now have a legitimate reason to browse the books in the children’s section of the bookshop! The Snail and the Whale is one of my favourite books for kids, and luckily it is also one of my 2.5 year old son’s favourite books!
Written in lilting rhyme, it is the story of a sea snail and a humpback whale who go sailing together. The snail sees some wonderful things in her travels but is left feeling very small by what she sees. This is remedied when it is only she who can save the whale when he  needs help. This is a story of travel, friendship, the vast beauty of the earth and most importantly; even small things can make a big difference.
As with the modern classic also by this author, The Gruffalo, the text is in full rhyme which conveys the story brilliantly and with wonderful rhythm. Such passages like: 

“This is the whale who came one night
When the tide was high and the stars were bright.
A humpback whale, immensely long,
Who sang to the snail a wonderful song
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.”

make this a firm favourite in this family and the rhythm also makes the book appeal to younger children.

The illustrations by Axel Scheffler capture wonderfully the story and the beauty of the sea. My son loves to point out the different characters; the snail, the whale, the cat, the children, the fire engine. The colour is rich and vibrant and really brings it to life.

We love this book so much that when our cat destroyed our first copy we immediately went out and replaced it! If you only buy one book for your child this year, make it this one.

MBM would like to thank Linzi, Ollie and George for sharing their thoughts and opinions with the magazine. You can buy your copy of ‘The Snail and the Whale’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler from www.amazon.co.uk for £2.98 or £1.39 from the Amazon Marketplace (a bargain book if we say so ourselves!)

Liz Fraser’s second book ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ brings the basics back into child rearing. Liz tells the story of of her visits to see her Grandma up in ‘Bonny Scottland’ where conversation is fuelled with debating the comparisons of modern day and old school child rearing.

The book is split into chapters for each area of parenting: Education, Fashion, Feeding, Discipline, Routine etc. Throughout each chapter Liz explores how modern society has become selfish and therefore forced changes which may not necessarily be for the better into the upbringing of ‘today’s children’. Together Liz and her wise Grandmother compromise upon parenting techniques.

This book is not only a fabulous read but will educate you upon how to bring back the traditional whilst adding a touch of the modern to your child’s upbringing.

Available from www.amazon.co.uk for £8.39 (or if you fancy a bargain saving money for your family as Grandma herself suggests, it is also available in the used/ new section for only £1.69!)