Personalised Halloween Storybook

I always love personalised gifts bearing my children's names. There is something so special about seeing your child's name emblazoned on something lovely.

Born Gifted have treated Freddy to a gorgeous personalised picture book featuring a spooky Halloween story where he is the star. Perfect to commemorate a child's first Halloween or to celebrate the occasion with a young child, the full colour pages include plenty of references to your child's name, in both the text and in the illustrations.

The softback book "Freddy on Halloween Night" comes with a personalised dedication on the front page, making this a lovely gift. The fun rhyming story tells the tale of Freddy's Halloween. Dressed up as a ghost, he meets a whole array of scary characters. At first Freddy is a bit frightened of all the spooky costumes, but he soon discovers that there is no need to be afraid. It definitely makes Halloween seem a lot less scary to little ones when they realise who is underneath the fancy dress outfits. A funny twist in the tale on the last page turns the story on its head and shows children that there is no need to fear make-believe monsters.

The paper is glossy and the illustrations are fun. Little ones will love sharing the rhythmic text and older kids will enjoy reading it themselves and spotting their name throughout the story.

On Halloween Night personalised book from Born Gifted is £9.99 and dispatched in 3 working days of ordering. Standard delivery is £2.95 or free for orders over £40. Born Gifted also stock an exciting range of lovely gifts and toys, both traditional and unusual, for babies and children.

www.borngifted.co.uk

Children's Books on Review - Dinosaur Beach, None the Number and Love Monster

New to Freddy's bookshelf this week are three lovely picture books courtesy of Harper Collins and Pavilion Children's Books.  Freddy is getting so interested in books now the 'reading penny' has finally dropped and we've been delighted to share these gorgeous books with him.

Dinosaur Beach

Frann Preston-Gannon is the author and illustrator who wrote the lovely How To Lose a Lemur, which is one of our favourite books. Her latest book, Dinosaur Beach, is the simple story of Farmer Jack's trip to the coast.  He's packed a picnic and buckets and spades for a lovely day beside the seaside. The text may be simple, but the pictures accompanying it show that the trip is anything but that, because travelling with him are his four huge dinosaurs and his Dino Dog!  The funny, chaotic illustrations contrast beautifully with the deadpan style of the writing.  The dinosaurs are completely oblivious to the destruction that they cause, but when disaster threatens, they work together to save the day and make new friends.  It's a lovely book to talk about as you read, looking at what is going on in each of the pictures.

Pavilion Children's Books PB RRP: £5.99

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate

Monsters LOVE chocolates, so when Love Monster returns home from holiday to discover a box of chocolates on his doorstep he finds himself in a conundrum.  Should he eat them all himself or share with his friends?  As he ponders this problem he worries that someone might eat his favourite one or that he might be left with the coffee one (heavens forbid!!  Although coffee is my favourite so I'd happily eat it for him!!)  He thinks he knows what to do, but when it comes to the crunch he follows his heart and finds out that some things are better than chocolate!  This is a delightful story that reminds us that following our hearts and doing the right thing can bring us the biggest treats of all.  The chocolatey illustrations are lush and Love Monster is an adorable character that little ones will love! This title joins the other Love Monster books from the very talented Rachel Bright.

Harper Collins PB RRP: £6.99

The Hueys in None the Number

The Hueys love numbers and counting, but they are puzzling over whether 'none' is a number.  To demonstrate the concept of zero, they count things from 1 to 10 then take all those things away to get back to 'none'!  They take readers on a counting adventure with quirky illustrations and humorous suggestions for each number, such as four being the amount of tantrums Kevin throws each day.  The four little pictures of Kevin having tantrums over different things are wonderful!  This book is by the brilliant Oliver Jeffers who has such a fantastic style and such an unconventional way at looking at things, which never patronises his young readers.  At the end of the book is a small passage for the grown-ups so they can learn the history and significance of 'none' as a number and ponder the conundrum of whether nothing can be considered as  a something for themselves!  It's a great, thought provoking, counting book with a difference,  that I enjoyed just as much as Freddy did! 

Harper Collins HB RRP £12.99

How to Lose A Lemur - Book Review

This delightful picture book follows a young boy who is being followed by lemurs!  He tries to avoid them by hiding, disguising himself and eventually running far, far away.  He thinks he's lost them, then realises he's got himself lost in the process.  Thankfully the lemurs are on hand to help!

Freddy was sent a copy to read! The book has lovely illustrations and the text is upbeat, cute and quirky.  Little ones will love following the story as the boy travels across the lake, up mountains, across the desert and into the sky in a hot air balloon.  It's very imaginative!

Sharing this story with Freddy got him to thinking about different ways to travel across different landscapes and how he'd cope if he was being followed by a troop of over friendly lemurs!

RRP £5.99

Can You Dance to the Boogaloo?

Can You Dance the Boogaloo? is a children's picture book from new talent Alice V.Lickens.  It celebrates a love of music and dancing, that get-up-and-go, feel-good feeling that kids have in abundance.  we were sent a copy to take a look at.  It is a nice size, sturdy paperback book with 32 full colour pages.

The illustrations are a combination of ink and lino prints featuring the numerous animal characters on their way to the Boogaloo and also a selection of instruments. They are bright, bold and colourful and for me are my favourite thing about this book.

The rhythmical text is rich with sounds and imagery inviting children to join in the boogaloo and dares little ones to sit still.  The be-bop beat resonates musically as you read the words aloud.

I think a new reader would struggle to follow the text which snakes around the pictures and includes a lot of made up words and fancy fonts.  I think this is a book for reading out loud to a child, sharing the pictures and encouraging movement and interaction.

Using this book as a resource for a music and movement session with little ones would be a fun idea.  It is a high energy book that really makes you feel like dancing!

RRP £5.99