Children's Books

Superkitty – Hannah Whitty and Paula Bowles

February 15, 2019 by penny Leave a Comment

A crime fighting kitty? Not what you might expect at the Sensational Superhero Agency, but that’s exactly what kitty wants to do. She’s sick and tired of just answering the phones whilst Cheetah, Wildebeest, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Bear are out in Big City chasing crooks and solving crimes.

One day a call comes in from Dr Fossil at the Big City Museum. Someone has stolen one of the bones from her new dinosaur exhibit. The one that was supposed to be revealed to the public tonight.

Kitty takes the call and decides that this time she’s not taking no for an answer. She heads out with the others to try to find the criminal behind the theft. On their way to the museum the others question whether or not Kitty can make it, but also show their own weaknesses by having to stop off en-route. Once they reach the museum Kitty shows that she very much has what it takes to be a Superhero in her own right. She is Superkitty!

It’s a lovely tale of believing in your own abilities to succeed at something and showing that you shouldn’t always judge someone else’s abilities by their external appearance alone.

This fast moving story is accompanied by some gorgeous illustrations that really help to bring it to life. A couple of the outdoor nighttime scenes may be a little dark to read in a dimly lit bedroom, but Master C enjoyed the excuse to put the “big light” on for that part of the story! He loved the story and it provoked some great conversation afterwards about how anyone can be a superhero even if they are a cute fluffy little kitten!

Superkitty by Hannah Whitty and Paula Bowles is published by Simon and Schuster on 21 February 2019. Hardback priced at £12.99 and paperback priced at £6.99. It is available to buy online here.

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

Forest Craft – Richard Irvine

February 5, 2019 by penny Leave a Comment

A review of Forest Craft by Richard Irvine

I am a huge, huge fan in getting children outdoors. I firmly believe that it is possible to learn so much outside. Both in terms of academic learning, but also wider learning about nature and being at one with it. My children’s school already has outdoor learning as a key part of their curriculum and I know so many other schools are doing similar. I’ve also heard amazing things about local forest schools that cater for pre-school aged children. Bonn and I are keen that Tube Stop Baby is as much at home outdoors in the countryside where we live as she is travelling around the tube system in London.

On Instagram I follow several people who home educate and I love seeing what they get up to outdoors, especially in the woods. I was therefore intrigued to be sent a copy of Forest Craft to review by GMC. Over the years I’ve seen plenty of online articles about activities to do with children in the woods, but Forest Craft is a bit more specific than that. The book’s subtitle is “A Child’s Guide to Whittling in the Woodland” and it contains 20 whittling projects for children along with huge amounts of really useful background information for people who are new to working with wood.

The book explains the hand tools that you need to complete the projects, along with a guide on which wood to use, and about how the landowners permissions should always be found before taking any wood, even from dead trees. Before getting to the projects it also details all the different techniques that you use for the projects, with some useful photographs illustrating them well.

Knowing how impatient children can be to get started with a project I would thoroughly recommend that an adult reads the book and familiarises themselves with the tools and techniques before letting children lose on choosing a project. This is particularly key if you don’t have any prior experience at woodwork. One of the things that I think this book would be good to teach though is patience. Whittling projects are not something that can be knocked up quickly, especially when you’re inexperiences. It’s very much a labour of love and the projects take time, care and attention to get the finished result you want.

I really like the variety of the projects in Forest Craft. There is something that will appeal to all children. From the Harry Potter-esque Magic elder wand through to the Fairytale fungi there are also spud and dart guns to make as well as music instruments. Even if you didn’t let young children loose on the projects themselves there is plenty that an adult could have a go at whittling for their children.

The other good thing about Forest Craft is the presentation of the book. The instructions are clear and accompanies by step by step photographs. Additionally the book contains gorgeous photographs of children in the woods and some delightful illustrations. The combined effect is a book that not only contains loads of valuable information, but looks good too.

As a book just on whittling I did have initial concerns that Forest Craft may be a bit too narrow in its focus, but the finished result quashes my concerns. This book has so much inspiration and instruction in it that I think it the perfect addition to the bookcase of any family that enjoys an outdoor life.

Forest Craft A Child’s Guide to Whittling in the Woodland by Richard Irvine. GMC Publications. Published February 2019 in paperback. RRP £16.99 Available to buy online here.

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

Discover our Solar System – Colin Stuart

January 30, 2019 by penny Leave a Comment

Master C has an obsession with factual books. He just wants to know how everything works and he absorbs facts like a sponge. Once he’s into a certain subject he can spend weeks telling everyone everything he knows about the topic. Recently he’s been covering space and a recent space themed birthday party that he was attending meant that it was the perfect time to review Discover our Solar System.

Discover our Solar System perfectly manages to combine a book packed full of factual information with something that is written so that children want to read it and enjoy to do so.

This isn’t just a book that covers the planets. There is so much more content covering everything from the Big Bang through to the International Space Station. There is a timeline showing the Space Race and also pages showing different space rockets and the basics of how they work. Each planet has its own page, including a large illustration, and there is a separate double page spread on the dwarf planets, including Pluto.

All the factual text is accompanied by excellent illustrations which are incredibly detailed as the black background on each page makes them incredibly attention catching too.

At school I have noticed that children are taught about different types of book and when they cover factual non-fiction books there are certain things that they always look out for, like a contents page and a glossary. Master C and I were therefore very pleased to see that Discover our Solar System includes both. The glossary being brilliant for any child who is reading the book on their own and possibly wanting to make sure that they are fully understanding everything that they are reading.

Master C used the book to help him find a picture of Saturn so that he could then draw a version on it on the card for the friend that was having a space themed birthday party. If that’s not a brilliant ay of introducing a child to factual books like this then I don’t know what is.

Discover our Solar System is a brilliant book for anyone interested in space or astronomy and Little Miss C enjoyed reading it alongside doing her astronomy badge at Cubs recently. I’m hoping Master C finds it just as useful when he comes to do his badge at Beavers.

Discover our Solar System by Colin Stuart and illustrated by Charlie Brandon-King was published in October 2018 by Button Books. RRP £12.99 it is aimed at children aged 7+. It is available to buy online here.

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

The Secret Woodland Activity Book – Mia Underwood

January 25, 2019 by penny Leave a Comment

With a new baby in the family there’s been quite a lot of juggling of late at home to try to make sure that the other kids are happy and occupied whilst Tube Stop Baby has been taking up my time and attention. My two kids have been reasonably understanding about this and they have learnt that there are times that they can have my full attention and other times when the might need to occupy themselves for a bit. As long as they have something to hold their attention they’ve been pretty good about this and so it’s been excellent timing that I’ve had loads of different activity books to review lately. The Secret Woodland Activity book was one of the first to arrive and it is just perfect for Little Miss C. She loves all sorts of cute woodland scenes and animals and this book has both in abundance.

I think what I liked most about The Secret Woodland Activity Book is that it’s more than just a collection of pages with activities for children on them. Instead it’s like being taken for a journey through a magical woodland and meeting lots of its wonderful inhabitants on the way. The artwork has a gorgeous Scandi-style to it that makes it super cute for children on all ages.

The book contains everything from pages to colour in, maths puzzles, word searches, prompts to come up with a character of your own and write a story about them, scenes to complete with stickers (the book comes with over 150 of them) and instructions to make various craft projects.

LMC has been enthralled with this activity book for hours, steadily working her way through most of the activities in it. At the start there is an invitation to draw a picture of yourself entering the woods, and with whatever you need to take with you for your adventure. LMC seems to have done so with gusto.

She’s also really enjoyed using the stickers to create pictures throughout the book.

She has also come up with an excellent character for a story. No prizes for guessing which series of books she’s currently working her way through at home!

It’s fair to say that The Secret Woodland Activity Book has been absolutely perfect for Little Miss C. With a recommended age range of 4 – 8 years old it worked perfectly for her as an eight year old. I’d think that children at the younger end of the range would need some adult help, but actually older children would still enjoy many of the activities included.

The Secret Woodland Activity Book by Mia Underwood was published in November 2018 by Button Books. It is priced at £9.99 is available to buy online here.

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

Black Beauty Annual 1978

November 5, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

I can see an occasional series starting here on Penny Reads. Vintage annuals found in secondhand book shops. After featuring the Buzby Annual that Bonn and I came across in a National Trust shop of all places, today I bring you the Black Beauty Annual from 1978.

Black Beauty

Written in 1877, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty is probably one of the best selling books of all time. Although Sewell died only 5 months after its publication, she lived to see its success. For years children have loved the story, but it also holds important messages about animal welfare, kindness, sympathy and respect.

What made someone decide to produce a Black Beauty Annual in 1978 is slightly unclear though. I do know that in that year there was a Hanna-Barbera animated version released via CBS, but I’m not clear that this was every released or shown here in the UK where this annual was published. Even if it was, I can’t find any link in the annual itself to Hanna-Barbera.

Annual contents

The annual contains the regular mix that you expected in annuals back in the 70s and 80s. There are quite a few stories for children to read, but also jokes, games, puzzles and some educational bits.

As well as a section on Anna Sewell herself, many of the horses featured the story are profiled, and there’s even a section on famous horses in the bible. I do wonder if they were struggling for content a bit by the end there!

One thing I note about the annual is the fact that it exclusively contains illustrations. There’s not a single photograph of a horse in there at all. I don’t know if that’s because it was cheaper to employ illustrators than photographers, or just quicker. Or maybe a style decision?

With four illustrators listed as having worked on the book, and no author or editor, I’m guessing that the illustrations were seen as an important part of the book as a whole though. It just seems a bit strange to me that they all get credited, yet those responsible for all the words don’t. Or maybe that’s just the way it was back in 1978?

An Eagle in the Snow – Michael Morpurgo

October 27, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

With eight year old Little Miss C a fully independent reader I’m soon realising two things. Firstly how much I miss sharing books with her. And secondly, just how few children’s classics I’ve actually read. I have to buy (or borrow) books for her at an astounding rate to keep her in reading material and I keep trying to steer her towards classics. Books that I think it will be good for her to read, as well as ones that I think she will enjoy. She has certain favourite authors (Jacqueline Wilson being top of the list!) and it can sometimes be a bit tricky to get her to try someone new. Michael Morpurgo is such an author.

Michael Morpurgo

Born in St Albans, where LMC goes to school, I’ve always been aware of his books, and his role as the children’s laureate, but I have to admit to having never read a single of them. And nor had LMC. Until last week. I’m obviously very aware of War Horse, and knew that there were several books he wrote set during the war, but beyond that I knew little more.

LMC then went to a birthday party last weekend where the children were all given a book as a gift when they left instead of a party bag. The birthday girl’s favourite author is Michael Morpurgo and so she gave them all one of his paperbacks, and LMC came home with An Eagle in the Snow.

With what can only be described as quite an intense and serious looking cover design, I did find myself wondering if she would read the book, as my previous attempts to get her pick up his titles in the library had fallen on deaf ears.

Later that afternoon I crashed out in bed for a couple of hours (late pregnancy does that!) and when I got up again and asked her what she’d been up to she happily told me about how she’d started her new book and how fantastic it was. So keen was she to share it that I was then told I had to read the first two chapters that she’d already read whilst she did her maths homework.

Not one to disobey orders I did just that, and could see exactly why she had been captivated by it.

An Eagle in the Snow

Set in 1940 An Eagle in the Snow is really a work of historical fiction. I don’t want to give away the whole story, but it is set in a train that is sheltering in a railway tunnel having been under attack from German fighters. In one compartment are Barney and his mother. Escaping from the bombing that has destroyed their home in Coventry they are on their way to Cornwall to stay with an Aunt there. Also on the train is a man. A man who seems to know exactly where Barney is from. A man who has an amazing story to tell. A story about his friend Billy in the first world war trenches.

LMC ended up reading the whole of An Eagle in the Snow within the week and she very determinedly brought it back to my house and told me that I needed to read it next so we could talk about it together, and then we also needed to buy her Granny a copy of it so that she can enjoy it too. (Apparently Granny isn’t to be trusted with just borrowing LMC’s copy!)

Again, following her instruction, I have curled up and read the book in just a couple of short sittings, and I can fully see why she enjoyed it so much. It’s a great read. It has taught me lots about a story in history that I didn’t previously know about, and also I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in a book again.

The power of sharing a book

Finally though, it’s shown me how lovely it is to share a book with someone, even if you’re not reading it out loud to them. For a while now I’ve been making plans to read all those children’s classics that I never got round to and maybe this is the motivation to do so.

Being able to talk to LMC about what she enjoyed most in the book, and how it made her feel has been lovely. Almost like a recollection between the two of us. Replacing something that had been lost when she started wanting to read on her own rather than being read to. It also helps get around the fact that she’s not always staying with me, so I don’t get to sit with her each evening at bedtime and talk about what she’s reading. We FaceTime each night and it’s lovely having books to connect over when we do talk.

Must read children’s classics

My challenge now though is to compile a list of the children’s classics that I ought to read and share with her. In a way the hard bit might be trying to narrow it down to a manageable list. I’m hoping I can get through a few of them though during this late pregnancy insomnia that I’m currently battling. It seems children’s fiction is somewhat easier to get through at 3am than some of the adult classics that I’ve been meaning to read for years!

If you’ve got any suggestions for books that should be on my list though please do leave me a comment below.

An Eagle in the Snow is available to buy online here. Other Michael Morpurgo titles are also available online. On the author’s website there is a very good listing of all his books, split by category, and against each it has a recommended reading age.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.