The Boy with his Head Stuck in a Book

In the world of digital media, many children would prefer to pick up a smartphone or tablet rather than choose to read a book.  So Zappar has launched a new title to bridge the gap between technology and literature, with an augmented reality book for children aged 7 - 11 years, called The Boy With His Head Stuck In A Book. 

The paperback book tells the story of an ordinary boy who is reluctantly dragged to the library one Saturday afternoon, where he discovers an ancient, mysterious book and quite literally gets his head stuck within its pages. He finds himself catapulted into a magical world filled with dinosaurs, ghosts, dragons and pirates as he tries to free his head from the book!

Downloading the Zappar app allows readers to scan the pages and bring them to life. The images and characters are animated in this innovative digital pop up book. There are buttons to press to activate the scenes and the letters on the pages spin around the page.  It is definitely a great way to engage reluctant readers!

The book references a whole host of classic titles, opening up young readers to a range of texts that they may wish to further explore. The referenced books include:

• The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
• Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
• Red Riding Hood – Brothers Grimm
• The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
• The Iron Man – Ted Hughes
• Peter Pan – J. M. Barrie
• Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
• Harry Potter – J. K. Rowling
• Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
• A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
• Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
•  Tarzan of the Apes – Edgar Rice Burroughs
• King Kong – Merian C. Cooper/Delos W. Lovelace
• The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
• Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
• The Sword in the Stone – T.H. White

At only £5.99, this product is an affordable way of keeping children engaged with reading in an interactive way over the summer holidays.  The Zappar app is free to download from Google Play or the App Store. You can find The Boy with his Head Stuck in a Book on Amazon.

Once Upon a Zombie #bookreview

The Once Upon A Zombie series of children's books is already hugely popular in America, spawning a franchise of fabulous zombie princess related merchandise. Now, Book One: The Colour of Fear is available in the UK - just in time for Halloween.

The first book in the series features a young girl, 14 year old Caitlin, an American girl in London who suffers from social anxiety and panic attacks. When investigating mysterious sightings in graveyards where famous authors are buried, Caitlin is tricked into going to Lewis Carroll's grave alone on Halloween night. Caitlin ends up sliding into a strange hole that turns out to be an interdimensional wormhole taking her to a fairytale universe. However, this universe is not the fairytale world that we all remember from our childhood, it is a rotting and decaying wasteland crawling with zombies - and the zombies want Caitlin's help! 

The book is really well written with an astute message on empowerment and overcoming difficulties that children can face when growing up, such as loss, moving home, making friends and anxiety. The characters and the settings are beautifully conjured up through the rich descriptions in this fast paced narrative filled with unexpected twists.  It's a new way for children to enjoy traditional fairy stories, made a little darker and cooler with the addition of zombies. It is filled with humour, is engaging, exciting and fun, combining high school drama with zombie action.

Written by Billy Phillips, the Once Upon A Zombie Book One; The Colour of Fear is available now priced at £10.99 on Amazon for readers aged 9 - 12 and the YA market.


            

The Very Best Sheepdog, Colin the Crab and the Official Playmobil Annual 2015 - children's book reviews

The Very Best Sheepdog

When Ben, a gentle sheepdog, befriends Bo, a fun-loving lamb, he becomes the laughing stock of the farm yard. With both his parents being prizewinners, the expectation on Ben was high, but he just couldn't herd sheep.  But when a storm comes and scares all the sheep away, it's Ben who has to save the day. With his good nose and his love for Bo, Ben bravely battles the elements to try and save the flock.

The gentle text and illustrations bring the story of an unusual friendship to life.  It is a heart warming tale about nature and farming, which shows how perseverance and self belief can overcome difficulties.  The relationship between Bo and Ben is so cute and beautifully portrayed.  At the end of the book, little ones will be rooting for Ben!

The Very Best Sheepdog by Pinny Grylls and illistrated by Rosie Wellesley

RRP £5.99 Pavilion Children's Books

Colin the Crab

This little pop-up book from Norfolk based beach merchandise company Gone Crabbing, is not only a lovely story, it also contains a very important message about respecting creatures when crabbing and rock pooling at the beach.  It has some great pop-up elements to bring the story to life, which Freddy really enjoyed. 

Colin the Crab shares a rock pool with his best friends Sally the Starfish and Mike the Mussel.  They have an idyllic life until two children come along.  Colin watches in horror as his friends are caught and thrown into a bucket and taken away.  He sobs big salty tears as he tries to think of ways to get his friends back.  Thankfully, the children know how to treat living things and when they are returned to the rock pool at the end of the day, they explain to Colin how they were looked after by the children.  It is a really good way of showing families the right way to respect nature when it comes to compassionate crabbing and rock pooling.

Colin the Crab is not only the star of this book, he is also the star of the totally 'clawsome' range of seaside inspired gifts sold at Gone Crabbing.  He certainly is a cute little creature!  Hopefully, this story will encourage little ones to be more compassionate and respectful when they discover animals in the natural habitats.

This is a lovely gift idea, which compliments the other products in the Gone Crabbing range.

Colin the Crab is by Susie Mason and illustrated and engineered by Robert Crowther.
Available from Gone Crabbing for £7.99 (also available is the Colin Crab mug and soap).


Official Playmobil Annual 2015

This is definitely one to look out for in the run up to Christmas if you have any Playmobil Knight fans at home.  Annuals always make great presents to pop under the tree and they keep kids amused for hours, so they are always a good buy.

The annual is full of puzzles, colouring pages, quizzes and games all based around helping the Green Dragon Knights defeat the evil Red Dragon Knights.

The book is perfect if your child is a fan of knights, dragons and castles as it is dedicated to that theme.  The content is like that found in an activity book and doesn't include stories or cartoon strips at all.  The paper is thick and glossy and the full colour photos are spectacular.

It's a great choice for Freddy but if you have a child who prefers princesses, animals or fairies, they may not be as keen on the Knight theme.

RRP £7.99


We received these lovely books to review.