What We Read - July

We read, A LOT, in this house. I have a huge love of books, always have as a child and pre Daniel I used to read at least four books a week (yes, really!).

My reading these days is more likely to be a book to Emma and Daniel, some more than others. It always amazes me what books capture their imagination. Often I am surprised at the level of detail in books that Daniel can comprehend. I suppose though that I just read to him so much as a newborn he is used to it.

Each month I plan to post about the books that we have read in the month, any that are new favourites and any that we have been sent to review. I will also post which books I've been reading.... I hope that as we look to move Emma into her own bedroom over the coming weeks enjoying a book before bed may become a reality again!

So.... July books we have read....

Mummy's Books
Well... I haven't really had much chance to read. Although after a particularly awful Sunday   I headed up to the pub with my copy of the third Bridget Jones book - Mad about the Boy. Trashy I know, but easy reading. It's not as good as I remember the first two books being, but that said it has made me laugh out loud in places and it's easy to dip in and out of.... without requiring too much thought. I have requested The Fault in our Stars from the library, so I hope to have that soon too.

Daniel's well loved favourites

A staple of many a child's library is a Julia Richardson book or two. This month's long standing favourites include Room on the Broom and Tabby McTat - both of which I have read so often I know off by heart! Our copies are well thumbed now... and very tatty around the edges. I'm developing some ideas around using Room on the Broom in other ways, more of which I will post about soon.

Emma also seems to enjoy Room on the Broom. I love that the pictures are so detailed. Daniel still finds new things to point out and tell me about, and the pictures are vivid enough to engage Emma. We have been reading Room on the Broom for a long time now - this is Daniel reading with Damian at ten months old.




New favourites
Some new favourites that Daniel has taken to over the past week are The Gruffalo and the Gruffalo's Child... he hasn't ever really shown much interest in either of these but all of a sudden over the past week they have both entered the morning story time rotation alongside Room on the Broom. I must confess though that I don't think either are particularly brilliant, I much prefer some of Julia Donaldson's other books. But they are very readable and Daniel enjoys them, and that's what counts.



Review books

We have been fortunate enough to have been sent four books to review this month. One from Nosy Crow - Flip Flap Safari by Axel Scheffler and three from Little Tiger Press - Farm Baby, 123 Sticker activities (which I've written about here)  and Zoom - a colour book.




I really thought Daniel would love the Farm Baby book, the pictures are super clear and bright and I liked the big and small book idea. I have to say though he hasn't really shown much interest in this one. I have asked him to find the baby that matches the parent animal a few times, and he will do with some coaxing but much prefers some of the other books we have. I don't know why this doesn't engage him. Emma on the other hand quite likes this one. We do a lot of baby sign language so it's a good one to teach her the animal signs with. I'm sure over time we will use this book more, but for now it hasn't made it into the regular reading pile.

Zoom on the other hand - well he loves this one (as do I!). I have used this a lot in the work I have been doing teaching Daniel colour. I have used it alongside the craft stick activity I have written about previously (see here). Daniel has learnt the colour red from this book  and I love how the pictures have lots of other things to talk about, such as how many wheels each vehicle has, the noises the animals make etc. This is a book we use regularly, either just to read for readings sake, or alongside some colour based activities. Emma also seems quite engaged with this book.

Both are chunky board books and have withstood the rough and tumble of my toddler, and also the dribbly hands of Emma.

Flip Flap Safari by the superb Axel Scheffler is another great book. The pages split into two to reveal the top and bottom of various animals. The pictures and style of drawing are instantly recognisable as Axel's work, and as ever are humorous and engaging. Daniel has enjoyed this one and has giggled as we searched for the correct legs to match the various animals that appear. It's also great as it has some less common animals in, rather than the 'standard' lion, zebra etc it includes buffalo, warthog and antelope, so great for introducing new words etc. There are 121 combinations to be made - so plenty of fun! This book is published on 7 August and would be a great addition to any child's library. The book is encased in a hard back but is spiral bound inside, so easy for small hands to flip through to match the animals up. The individual flaps are also really sturdy and have taken a bit of a bashing from Daniel - very impressed it's stayed in such good condition.

Books we've bought.
I've been good this month and not splashed out on any books, other than two sticker books by Igloo. One I picked up in Asda and another in Aldi. Daniel is really engaged with stickers at the moment, so it's a nice activity to do together on a quiet afternoon, or to pop into the bag if we are off visiting somewhere. We have yet to use these two but they look good and the sticker scenes look sure to engage Daniel. They were only £1.99 each, so a bargain in my book as they will provide entertainment for Daniel, and Emma in the future.  



Visit to the library

I intend to utilise the library more over the coming months, especially for my own reading (although I have a stack of books to read at home!). A visit today and we have taken the books in the picture out.

Daniel really likes the Pip and Posy books so this one will be good fun. One Little Baby is for Emma and the 100 First Animals is for them both - in the library Emma seemed to enjoy looking at the bright pictures.


I'm on the lookout now for good bedtime books. We have been reading a few over the past year with Daniel, but I would like to pass these onto Emma as we start her bedtime stories. Have you any recommendations for good stories for Daniel's bedtime?