The Secret Sky Garden – Linda Sarah & Fiona Lumbers

Posted on June 29, 2018 by penny

There’s a whole range of emotions that go with pregnancy. The thing I found myself sobbing over the other day though was the fact that it means I’ll still be able to keep enjoying picture books with my kids. It’s a stage of parenting that I love. Little Miss C is definitely an independent reader now and somewhat beyond picture books. Master C though is still a huge, huge fan and usually chooses a couple every bedtime. Books like The Secret Sky Garden are ones that I particularly love though. The messages in them are just perfect.

Funni loves playing in the old airport car park. She goes there most Saturdays and either takes hire kite or recorder with her. She loves watching the planes take off and land. She’s learnt to imitate the notes from the tannoy system in the airport terminal on her recorder. She loves looking out over the city.

But, something was missing.

In that beautifully innocent way that only a child could, Funni decides to make a difference. Over the weeks she turns that disused car park into gorgeous garden. She tidies up, plants flowers and creates something really, really special.

But still, something was missing.

One day Zoo is flying into the airport and spots the garden from the aeroplane window. He decides that he needs to find the garden and visit and that’s exactly what he does.

He finds Funni and the beautiful world she has created. They fly kites together and he also brings his harmonica to play alongside her recorder.

Now, nothing is missing.

The Secret Sky Garden is one of those books that really can only be described as beautiful. Linda Sarah’s story, combined with Fiona Lumbers’ gorgeous illustrations are the perfect match. Just like Funni and Zoo. It’s beautiful to see a book celebrating the environment, kindness and friendship like this. It’s the perfect launchpad for a discussion with children about how we can all make a difference in life. An important message for everyone.

The Secret Sky Garden. Written by Linda Sarah and Illustrated by Fiona Lumbers. Published by Simon & Schuster on 28 June 2018. Paperback £6.99 ISBN 978-1-4711-1926-2. Available in bookshops and online.

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of The Secret Sky Garden for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Supertato Veggies in the Valley of Doom – Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

Posted on June 28, 2018 by penny

Supertato is a hero in our house. It’s about three years since he first arrived in our family and he’s made quite an impression in that time. Master C still regularly asks for his books at bedtime and still loves them just as much as he did when Supertato first came on the scene.

It was lovely therefore to receive the latest Supertato adventure to review – Veggies in the Valley of Doom.

Once again, we’re back in the supermarket and it’s night-time. The veggies are bored and don’t know what to do until broccoli suggests a game of hide and seek. The veggies all go off and hide whilst Supertato counts.

When they counting is up he sets off and managed to find several of the veggies before carrot finds a treasure map and the seeking steps up a level.

Their adventure takes them down the gardening aisle and then on to the Valley of Doom. But, just why is it called the Valley of Doom? And why does Supertato think they need oven gloves? And why do he and the veggies need too call upon Evil Pea for help? And will Evil Pea actually respond to a request for help?

Not forgetting what is possibly the most important question. Whether or not anyone will actually find broccoli ‘s hiding place.

It’s lovey to welcome Supertato back to our bedtime story time. Any child who has enjoyed his previous adventures will love this particular game of supermarket hide and seek. Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet have again worked their magic in the supermarket’s frozen food aisle.

Superato Veggies in the Valley of Doom, published by Simon & Schuster on 28 June 2018. Paperback ISBN 978-1-4711-7170-3 Priced at £6.99. The book is available in bookshops and also online.

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of Supertato Veggies in the Valley of Doom for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Ladybird: How it works The Hovercraft

Posted on May 17, 2018 by penny

Wherever I go I keep my eyes peeled for Ladybird books. You just never know when you are going to come across one. Most often I find the ones I collect in charity shops or car boot sales. Every so often though I see that familiar shape somewhere when I’m really not expecting it. That’s what happened with the Hovercraft title.

The latest example of this was whilst on the Isle of Wight for a quick trip with my boyfriend B. He was over there for a work trip and as I couldn’t tag along last time I made sure I did this year. After a trip up and down the Island line we then popped into the Hovertravel terminal building to find out how much a return ticket to the mainland costs. Our plan being that we could factor it into our schedule for when we next returned to the island.

Hovertravel

There, sat in a basket in front of a load of other hovercraft related souvenirs were a huge pile of copies of the old Ladybird title The Hovercraft. This was originally part of the “How it works” series. Picking up a copy quickly showed me that whilst the interior pages are an exact copy of the original 1969 title, this version of the book was actually published in 2011, specially for Hovertravel.

Their logo and website address appear on the back cover, along with the following text:

“Hovertravel, the only scheduled hovercraft operator in Europe, was launched in 1965 and is the fastest Isle of Wight service across the Solent, with a journey time of under ten minutes. It is also the world’s longest-running commercial hovercraft operator.”

This is then accompanied by the following “Hover Facts” and how Hovertravel:

carry over 850,000 passengers per year
operate up to 72 journeys per day
their hovercraft travel at 45 knots, faster than any ferry
also operates the fastest freight service

The inside cover of the book also notes that Hovertravel will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2015. I’m guessing that when the book was published in the hope of it being popular as part of the anniversary celebrations. However, the pile of them still available to buy now in 2018 suggests maybe not.

Isle of Wight

It’s a shame really. The Hovercraft service to the Isle of Wight is one of many lovely little quirky things about the Island. Whilst the technology behind it may now be a bit old, it’s still fascinating to geeks like us. The How it Works Hovercraft book explains everything beautifully, even if the context of it all is a bit dated.

These Ladybird How It Works books may have been aimed at children, but they’re actually excellent for adults who want to learn about a new subject too.

If you want to find out more about the Hovercraft service over to the Isle of Wight then look out for a post very soon over on Penny Travels.

If you want to get your hands on your own copy of this Hovertravel version of the Ladybird book How it Works The Hovercraft then just head over to Hovershop, the Hovertravel website shop.

Hello Hello – Brendan Wenzel

Posted on May 2, 2018 by penny

One of the most magical things I remember about my kids being small is curling up with them and a book before bedtime. There was a stage with both of them when they were really small when they had a complete obsession with animals, and rather than reading story books to them we instead used to have a series of old books that were more identification books for animals. There were full of pictures and we just used to spend ages going through the pages, pointing at everything, identifying what it was and talking about the similarities and differences between it and other animals on the same pages. For those where I knew we could often both be found laughing as we made strange animal noises together, pretending to be whatever we’d just been pointing at.

Hello Hello is basically the book that I wish we’d had at this stage. It starts off simply with two cats to say hello to. One black and one white. Page by page more and more animals and birds are introduced. The text is simple, just focussing one one physical attribute or characteristic, but the book provides so many prompts to be able to talk to your little one as you go through the pages.

Brendan Wenzel’s illustrations are stunningly beautiful and make Hello Hello into one of those absolutely gorgeous children’s books that I feel my kids are so lucky to have.

There’s an added few pages at the back that I feel make Hello Hello particularly special from an educational point of view. There is a comprehensive list of all the animals featured in the book, in order of appearance, with a silhouette-style picture of them all and it tells you which the conservation status of all of them all (according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature). It’s a lovey touch, and so valuable if you have a little one who demands to know what everything is when you find yourself struggling in a sleep deprived state.

Hello Hello is a beautiful book for any young child who loves animals and wildlife, and it’s the perfect book to snuggle up and share with them.

Hello Hello, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel, ISBN: 9781452150147 Price: £12.99 Available to buy online here

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of Hello Hello for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Flight Four: India

Posted on March 8, 2018 by penny

The weather here in the UK is freezing cold at the moment, so I’m letting myself think about things further afield and taking a trip with the Ladybird Travel Adventure series to India. I originally came across series 587 when I found Book Three which takes the reader to the USA, and since then I’ve also managed to add Flight Two: Canada to my collection. Flight Four: India jumped out at me from a charity shop shelf recently and I was delighted to pick it up and add to my Ladybird travel collection.

Originally published in 1960, Flight Four sees Alison and John again accompany their father on a business trip, but this time to India. Their father has business in Bombay to start with, so that is where they head on a luxurious Air India flight, stopping in Rome on their way. Once again there is no mention in the book of Alison and John’s mother, or any other family members that they might be leaving back home.

Not only do Alison and John start to experience Indian hospitality on the Air India flight over, but they are also charmed to be welcomed at the airport by the Chand family (Mr Rand Chand being a business contact of their father’s) who greet them with traditional garlands of flowers which their father placed around their necks.

They spend a week in Bombay where they stay with the Chand family and in this time were shown around the city as well as the surrounding countryside. They also became familiar with the size of India and the feel of the country. Once their week in Bombay was up they bid farewell to the Chand family and boarded a second flight to the smaller city of Aurangabad where their father has some time sightseeing with them. They then take the train to their father’s next place of business – Agra. However, it is obvious that the children and their father are travelling in luxury on this business trip as it’s not a traditional hot and dusty Indian train, but instead a sleek new one with air conditioned carriages and a separate dining car.

As well as Agra’s old fort Alison and John were also taken to see the Taj Mahal, before heading on to the Indian capital Dehli, where they father had to spend another week on business. This isn’t the end of their trip though as Dehli is followed by Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kashmir and the Himalayas, Benares, Darjeeling, the Ganges, Jorhat, Calcutta, Madras and Trivandrum. At one point the children ask their father to draw a map of India showing all the places that they have been to, and when he does so you realise just how much of the country they have covered. They were exposed to a huge amount of Indian culture and as well as visiting historic sights also got to see everything from tigers and elephants through to tea plantations.

Like in Book Three, the journey felt a little bit contrived. Whilst I fully appreciate how much Alison and John must have learnt whilst on their travels with their father, I am also left wondering just how realistic a trip like this would have been. Would a father have taken his two children on such a long business trip with him back in 1960? Was this because their mother was no longer on the scene for some reason, or was she left at home with other children? Maybe I need to go away and do some more reading up on Alison and John and just why they travelled so much with their father.

If you want to read about other books in my Ladybird collection then please make yourself a cuppa and head over here.

This post originally appeared on Ladybird Tuesday on Being Mrs C.

Great Bunny Bakes – Ellie Snowdon

Posted on March 8, 2018 by penny

With the current celebrity version of the Great British Bake Off (The Great Celebrity Bake Off) hitting our screens it’s made me realise that despite the programme’s move to Channel 4 and the loss of Mary Berry, the tent based baking competition doesn’t seem to have lost any of its magic. Kids also seem to completely love the show (even if some of the innuendo does go right over their heads!) and so Ellie Snowdon’s new book Great Bunny Bakes really captured my children’s imaginations.

Quentin is a wolf who fancies himself a a bit of a Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood mix. He loves baking! For some reason that he can’t quite fathom, he’s been sent an invitation to the Great Bunny Baking competition. He’s desperate to take part, but there’s a slight problem when you’re a wolf and you want to enter a Bunny Baking competition…

But any problem can be overcome with a bit of imagination. Oh, and some fancy dress!

Disguised as a bunny, Quentin he starts to win over the competition judges with his perfect loaf, trifle and honey bunny tower. But when it comes to the pastry round things start to go wrong. It turns out that one of the other competitors isn’t a cute bunny after all, and he’s swapped Quentin’s sugar for salt (something we’ve seen happen all too often on the bake off, although there it seems to be due to competitors just picking up the wrong glass jar!)

As if the sugar/salt mix up wasn’t enough, as Quentin goes to carry his chocolate cake to the judging table disaster strikes and he drops it!

All is not lost though as it turns out that the other bunnies are more than happy to come together and help their fellow baker in his hour of need.

Great Bunny Bakes is a lovely book for any child who enjoys baking and who has maybe enjoyed the Bake Off, or Junior Bake Off, on television. We were lucky enough to be sent a review copy along with a beautiful recipe card and some cookie cutters. Master C was delighted to see these and has specifically asked if he can do some “biscuit making” with me the next weekend we have together.

He thoroughly enjoyed the book and loved the baking creations in the accompanying illustrations. They are beautiful busy pictures, with lots of details for children to pick out when you read the story to them. I am slightly worried that Master C might think my baking ability is up to making a honey bun tower like that pictured, but hopefully he’ll be impressed enough with the biscuits that I think I can manage!

Great Bunny Bakes by Ellie Snowdon is published by Simon & Schuster on 8 March 2018. Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4711-4567-4 £12.99 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4711-6635-8 £.6.99

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of Great Bunny Bakes for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.

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