Early Readers: The Princess in Black

While I love Biff, Chip and Kipper as much as every other parent forced to read about them on a nightly basis, it's always refreshing to find a new story that my five year old can help me read. 

We read the Princess in Black together, reading a few lines each and it was a really good level for my early reader. 

The story itself was fun and entertaining, and the bright, colourful artwork ensured her interest was maintained throughout. I picked this up from the library for a half term bedtime story, but we ended up reading it at multiple times a day because it was so enjoyable. 

I was excited to learn that this is the first in the series, and will definitely be getting her some of the other titles for more adventures with the Princess in Black (and the Goat Avenger)!

Picture This: Scruffle-Nut

Scruffle-Nut follows Olivia on a trip to the park with her Nanny Clementine, where she comes across a squirrel who doesn't fit in with the others, as they leave him out and steal his food. Olivia knows what it is like to be an outsider, so she is determined to help Scruffle-Nut. Their meeting is brief, but the episode stays with Oliva throughout her life.

The gentle, lyrical writing and soft, muted colour scheme make Scruffle-Nut a soothing story for the end of the day. It has a lovely, wintery feel so is great for reading under a blanket on a cold day.

Scruffle-Nut is written by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Owen Swan

Picture This: Little Spiral

Little Spiral is a soothing, gentle story about a snail moving through a forest, where he encounters a host of woodland creatures, friend and foe. 

Patrick Shirvington's illustrations are beautiful; with detailed depictions of each of the animals Little Spiral encounters. This a great story for learning about the natural world.

The writing is soft and soothing, with lots of sibilance and alliteration, making this a perfect bedtime story for sleepy toddlers.

Little Spiral is written by Pat Simmons and illustrated by Patrick Shirvington 

Picture This: Twelve Days of Kindness

Twelve Days of Kindness is the story of Nabila and Holly, two friends on a mission to make their entire class kinder and more welcoming. 

When Nabila starts school, she eats lunch alone and is left out of football practice. When she makes friends with Holly, the girls devise a plan to help the rest of their class understand that a good team is kind and accepting of others: the twelve days of kindness. 

Nabila and Holly's 12 step plan would work well in a classroom or youth group - I plan on taking this story along to Rainbows to see what the girls think - as they are a great way to prompt discussions about being a good friend, or to encourage children to come up with their own 'rules' for being kind. 

The bright, cheerful artwork is another great feature of this story.

Thank you so much New Frontier Publishing for sending me a copy to review!

Twelve Days of Kindness is written by Cori Brooke and illustrated by Fiona Burrows

Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston

Kat wants to do GOOD FEMINISM, although she's not always sure what that means. She also wants to be a writer, get together with Hot Josh (is this a feminist ambition?), win at her coursework and not make a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT of herself at all times.

But the path to true feminism is filled with mortifying incidents and when everything at school starts to get a bit too much, Kat knows she's lost her way, and the only way forward is to ask for help . . . {goodreads summary}

I cried with laughter, I cried with sorrow. If I had a time machine, I'd definitely send a copy of this back to my teenage self. Here are three reasons I loved Diary of a Confused Feminist (and think everyone should pre-order it now!)

1) It's laugh out loud funny. I made the mistake of reading it while sitting by my toddler, waiting for him to fall asleep, and had to stop because I was in danger of waking him up even more; I just couldn't stop giggling!

2) It portrays mental health in a very realistic way. I wish I could have read this book as a teenager, because I know how much I would have related to Kat's internal monologue (and I still did in so many ways). This is a brilliant book for teenagers who have ever experienced anxiety, or even ones who haven't and want an insight into what it is like. The coping strategies in the book are ones readers can take on board and I liked the realistic approach to treatment - NHS therapy has a huge waiting list and I know plenty of teenagers who have never managed to start CBT because of waiting times.

3) I loved the way friendship was presented in this story. Kat, Millie and Sam are a brilliant, hilarious trio who felt like real teenagers. I really enjoyed their chat names and would love to be part of their group.

I've got to three points without even mentioning the brilliant feminist messages in this story, or the tips for being a good feminist at the end. At a time when teenage girls are still often wary to refer to themselves as feminists (2 years ago, I listened to a five minute GCSE speaking exam about women's equality where the word wasn't used once!) I think this novel is important and necessary.

Thank you so much BKMRK for letting me review a copy of Diary of a Confused Feminist through Netgalley.

Picture This: Pip Finds a Home

Pip Finds a Home follows Pip as he tries to fit in with various groups of penguins. He can jump like a macaroni penguin, but he doesn't have a feathered head, and he can swim like a gentoo penguin, but his beak is the wrong colour. All of the penguins Pip meets are friendly and welcoming, but none are quite like him - until another great auk appears and explains that Pip belongs in the Northern Hemisphere instead of the South. 

This story was an unexpected, lovely read. I had never heard of a great auk before, so didn't realise what Pip was until it is explained at the end. It was nice to read a story about fitting in that didn't feature the main character being excluded by groups who aren't quite like him. 

I also loved the fact files at the back of the book, which were really informative and complimented the great facts found elsewhere in the book. 

The art work in this story is beautiful - I would happily buy a picture of Topouzoglou's penguins for my children's walls, they really are lovely.

Thank you so much New Frontier Publishing for sending me a copy to review!

Pip Find a Home is written and illustrated by Elena Topouzoglou

Picture This: Friends Don't Like Roaring

As soon as this book arrived, I knew it was going to be popular with my dinosaur mad two-year-old (is there such a thing as a two-year-old who isn't dinosaur mad?) Thank you so much Little Steps Publishing for sending us a copy to review. 

Friends Don't Like Roaring follows Lap, the little dinosaur, on a trip to the park. He is desperate to play with the other dinosaurs he meets, but quickly discovers that roaring at them isn't the best way to make friends! With some gentle encouragement from his mother to "use his words" Lap tries again, this time with much more success. 

Friend's Don't Like Roaring introduces the concept of approaching others and making friends in a way that all young children will be able to relate to. It's a sweet story that is clear and easy to follow, and is fun to read aloud (lots of roaring required!)

The art work is also lovely: bold, bright and friendly, my two-year-old was immediately drawn to it.

Friends Don't Like Roaring is written by Antje Taylor and illustrated by Matt Howorth

Picture This: The Caveman Next Door

The Caveman Next Door is a fun story about fitting in and embracing your differences.

Penny's new neighbour is a caveman. He's a bit confused about how life works in Penny's street, so Penny takes him on a tour of her town to help him learn how to fit in. After a disastrous trip to the library and a mishap at the park, Penny decides it might be safer to take Ogg the caveman to school for show and tell. Ogg struggles to follow the rules at school, but his knowledge of the natural world makes him a surprising hit with Penny's headteacher, with unexpected results.

We really enjoyed reading this story. It's unusual premise meant there was lots of humour and it was a lot of fun to read aloud. My two-year-old really enjoyed following Ogg's adventures and we loved the bright, colourful artwork. There's so much to look at on every page.

Thank you so much New Frontier Publishing for sending me a copy to review!

 

The Caveman Next Door is written and illustrated by Tom Tinn-Disbury

Picture This: Going to the Volcano

I picked up Going to the Volcano from my local library after being drawn to the bright, cheerful artwork on the front cover. My five-year-old loves making vinegar volcanos, so I would confident she would find this as exciting as the space stories I also picked up. 

Going to the Volcano is a fun, rhyming story about a journey to a volcano with a colourful collection of characters. When they get there, their trip doesn't quite go as expected!

Ordóñez's artwork is distinctive and amusing, and I will definitely be on the lookout for other stories illustrated by him - they made this story a treat to read!

Every time we have read this book so far (and we've read it quite a few times already!) we have spotted something else in the artwork. The illustrations are so clever and busy, and you can read this story on repeat, following a different character's progress each time. 

The story itself is also very funny - the front cover promises readers it's "so funny you'll erupt with laughter" and this was definitely true in our house. 

Going to the Volcano is written by Andy Stanton and illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez

Picture This: Somebody Swallowed Stanley

I spotted Somebody Swallowed Stanley on twitter a little while ago and knew we would love it.

When Stanley sweeps into the sea the other creatures aren't sure what to make of his - is he a jellyfish, or something else? Whatever he is, he looks tasty, and in no time at all the other creatures are trying to take a bite. But who has swallowed Stanley? And what damage will trying to eat a plastic bag do? 

This story is a clever, moving way to explore the danger of plastic pollution in the ocean. It features some lovely artwork and the rhyming scheme makes it fun to read aloud. The questions about 'who swallowed Stanley?' have prompted an enthusiastic response every time I've read this so far too.

We took part in the Future Girl Acts Plastic Challenge at Rainbows last month, and I read 'Somebody Swallowed Stanley' to the girls to help explain the problem of plastic pollution. The story fitted in brilliantly with our theme, and inspired lots of jellyfish and turtle making during our activity.

Somebody Swallowed Stanley is written by Sarah Roberts and illustrated by Hannah Peck