Here are some of daughters creations inspired by books we’ve read;
The Princess and the Wizard by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Lydia Monks
Old Bear’s The All-Together Painting by Jane Hissey
One More Sheep by Mij Kelly & Russell Ayto
Jampires by Sarah McIntyre & David O’Connell
Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony
(Jampires by me)
A Tower of Giraffes by Anna Wright
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Reviews
Freya described this book as ‘a bit sheep-y’ as eight ‘magnificent’ sheep take centre stage in this funny story.
This rhyming tale of the sheep and their adventures across the world, having accidentally taken off in an aeroplane, is great fun to read out aloud. The stylish, humorous & detailed illustrations bring the story to life especially the characters of the sheep. Freya was keen to spot & name each sheep on each page and with names like Eunice & Mabs they fit perfectly with the Edwardian style setting for this tale.
On their journey the sheep take in some common tourist attractions. One of Freya’s favourite spread includes an ‘old maharajah’ which appeals to her dark humour when at the bottom of the page he is seen waving a cleaver saying ‘mutton curry’. Luckily at the end of the story all the sheep return to their quiet life in the hillside munching the grass.
Even after numerous re-readings this book never fails to delight, induce a chuckle and in my case leave me with an ear worm of the theme song from the movie “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines”
Having conpleted the reading scheme books at school Bryn is now able to choose whatever he would like to read from the school library. His first 2 choices were;
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Reviews 
Its very easy to fall in love with Louie however smelly. This adorable mutt starts the story smelling of roses & apple blossom something which he is not very happy about. With the help of an old boot, stinky bins & some sticky sludge Louie gets back the smell he wants, but will he get to keep it?
I really enjoyed reading this book to the children and Freya especially liked spotting all the different animals Louie encounters. The wonderful illustrations help bring the outdoors inside by evoking not just the beauty of nature but even its smell. With each turn of the page the colour of Louie’s coat gets darker & darker as he gets gradually smellier & smellier.
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Reviews
From the first reading I was completely bowled over by this book. A blast of sunshiny goodness brimming with gorgeous witty illustrations, well designed page layouts, a fabulously funny story and a larger than life heroine bursting from the pages with her joyous imagination.
Poppy Pickle is a little girl with a big imagination living with her ordinary family. When sent upstairs to tidy her room she discovers her imagination comes to life with a ‘pop’ and soon she is surrounded by lots of funny creatures including a monocle wearing mammoth, a crablo picasso and a hungry crocodile. It turns out letting your imagination run away with you can lead to trouble. With a hungry crocodile & two angry parents to cope with will Poppy have a happy ending?
While Freya was a little worried about Poppy’s parents reaction to the chaos her imagination caused Bryn couldn’t stop laughing at Poppy’s imaginative creatures. A book we will enjoying reading again & again.
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Reviews
“We love it!” sums up Freya.
This intergalactic adventure in which Space Dog not only rescues the inhabitants of Cornflake 5 & Bottleopolis but also discovers how ‘sworn enemies’ Astrocats and Moustronauts can become ‘sworn friends’. A heartwarming romp in a fantastically zany world expertly crafted by Mini Grey.
The children were very taken with Dairy Quadrant map at the front of the book and use it for their own adventures. Like Space Dog they wanted to explore & rush to the aid of anyone needing help.
With every reading theres a new reference or joke to discover for both me and the children. A treat of a picture book for the whole family.
We also followed Mini Grey’s excellent advice on How To Draw Space Dog. I will leave you to guess the artists of the pictures below.
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Reviews
You Can’t Take an Elephant on a Bus by Patricia Cleveland-Peck & David Tazzyman is a funny picture book where we see all sorts of animals riding unsuitable vehicles from an elephant on a bus, tiger on a train, pig on a skateboard to a hippo in a hot air balloon.
Just seeing the cover has Freya in stitches & she happily joins in pointing out the ludicrousness of each animal & their chosen vehicle. The animals need not despair as the last spread provides the perfect mode of transport for them as well as inducing huge grins for us.
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Book Family Reviews
Bryn described this as a book about rules & consequences. He felt the pictures were a funny way of describing the consequences.
With its sparse text & sometimes surreal pictures I wasn’t sure how the children would react but they were intrigued & transfixed. We read the book a few times & with each reading we found more things to talk about and to spot. I enjoyed seeing their reactions to the pictures and it was noticeable that they both became quiet & sombre when the pictures were darker in tone.
Looking at the illustrations Bryn was intrigued by the difference in scale with the depictions of large animals & food. Freya however was more interested in the pictures of the two children.
We enjoyed Rules of Summer, being introduced to something different and challenging was a great treat.
We wrote this for the Guardian Children’s Books Family Review
I liked this book because not only is it a great read aloud story with rhyming text & beautiful illustrations but it also has an important message about jealousy, fear and diversity. Freya loved this book because it features ‘Abracazebra’, a zebra doing magic tricks.
In a town called Yawnalot nothing much happens, and what passes as entertainment is visiting Goat on his boat. This all changes when Abracazebra arrives – a fabulous magician who brings colour, fun & stripes to the town. Jealous of the attention the new magician is getting, Goat decides ‘stripes are bad’, and it is only after Abracazebra has been driven away that Goat realises what they have lost and sets to work to get her back.
The rhyme helps the story be told at a good pace and there illustrations provide humour and warmth to create this great story.
We were very pleased to receive a review copy of Sir Lilypad, a tall tale of a small frog, from the publisher. We had high expectations of this new story from the talented duo that created The Worst Princess and we werent disappointed.
This is a fun tale of a teeny-tiny hero with big dreams who, with the help of two familiar characters, finds a happy ending.
We all fell in love with the brave and adventurous Sir LilyPad. His quest to become a hero finds him confronting an ogre, peeking under a witches hat and finally spotting a princess to rescue. Bryn & Freya would argue over who got to be Sir Lilypad when acting out the story. Swords (the cardboard variety) in hand they too were keen on defeating villains with a poke to the bottom.
With it vibrant illustrations, witty rhymes and aspirations to dream big this is a glorious book to share with the children.
Disclaimer: I received these book from the publisher. I was not asked to write this post, nor was I given any money for doing so, and the review represents my own honest opinion.