We are having another phase of Julia Donaldson books for bedtime at the moment, the current 3 regular requests are Stick Man, Jack & the Flumflum Tree and The Princess and the Wizard.

The rhyming nature of Stick Man means we rattle through it although as usual there’s is lots of detail in Axel Schefflers illustration to make us pause & study the pages. When the girl uses Stick Man as a Pooh stick Freya is keen to know where Winnie the Pooh is.

My favourite however is Jack & the Flumflum Tree, owing to the exquisite illustrations & the fun adventurous tale. Its great that the characters are a mix of gender & race making this a more accessible tale. Jack & his friend set off a mission to get a Flumflum luckily equipped with “granny’s bag” for the adventures they encounter, which include meeting sharks & a cheeky monkey.

The Princess & the Wizard is different to the other two in not following the familiar rhyming pattern & is also being a longer story. The princess, captured by the wizard is given the chance to escape by “changing her colour & changing her shape”. Her determination & quick thinking lead to her getting back to her party for a slice of cake. The two highlights of the book are the feisty heroine & the focus on colour, which Freya is currently enjoying learning about.

The book even inspired to make our own puppets, letting Freya take centre stage as Princess & casting her brother as the wicked wizard.