The Importance of a Smile - The Bear Who Stared

If there's one way to bribe BookBairn into reviewing your book first, it's by sending her chocolate in the post along with her book (see the video below). She was more than delighted to get a little chocolate bear with her copy of 'The Bear Who Stared' by Duncan Beedie. But in all seriousness this one probably jumped to the top of the list because I was able to read it with her straight away as she munched on the chocolate (there are not many times she chooses to sit still during the day: when eating, watching TV or reading but best chances are when you combine two of those listed, and lets face it you can't read and watch TV at the same time!). And because we were able to read this one as soon as it arrived (which isn't true for all our book post) it has really captured her imagination!

A post shared by BookBairn and Mummy (Kim) (@bookbairn) on Feb 17, 2017 at 3:42am PST

'The Bear Who Stared' tells the story of a bear who likes to stare at the other creatures in the forest. He stares at the ladybirds as they eat their breakfast, he stares at the bird as she feeds her babies, and, rather unwisely, he pokes his nose in a badger's sett and stares. But the other animals don't like all this staring. Before long, Bear finds himself sitting by the pond and pondering all the other animals reactions to his staring. He was just curious but too shy to say anything. And along hops a frog who can sympathise with Bear and his staring. When you have big goggly frog eyes it's hard not to stare! Bear stares into the murky green pond to see another bear staring back at him. And that bear's mouth turned into a smile. Frog tells Bear that when he doesn't know what to say, just smile! So Bear returns to the forest to see the ladybirds, birds and badgers again but this time he is armed with a smile. And, of course, Bear makes lots of new friends! But none quite as perfect a match as the green wobbly pond-bear!

I love the message of this story. Learning to make friends can be hard, and knowing what to say can be nerve-wracking. (Whether you are an adult or a child!) But being armed with a great smile really can break the ice. And what a great thing to teach little ones. BookBairn has certainly learned to charm grown-ups with her smile. She flashes her pearly-whites whenever she can, especially if I'm trying to encourage her to say "hello" or "goodbye" but she's feeling shy and keeps quiet - she will usually give a grin instead!

The illustrations are, without a doubt, the bit that BookBairn loves the most. First I should point out that the bear is orange, her favourite colour, and so instantly appeals. She is also a huge fan of the frog and likes to turn the pages to find him.

The illustrations are simple allowing the main characters to stand out. I really like books that don't over-detail the background as they allow younger children to focus on the real story-telling action rather than being distracted by other extra details. Also, you can read the emotion on the characters' faces with ease. You don't need to read the words to see how they are feeling: another element that supports younger readers in understanding the story. That's not to say it wouldn't also appeal to early school-aged children as there is lots to discuss. Our only criticism is that I feel the book is a little too long for BookBairn, we've only managed to read it cover to cover a few times as we get near the end and she wants to go back to the beginning or back to her favourite page with the frog.

This would make a wonderful gift for children who are struggling with shyness, or are about to go into a new situation like starting nursery or school, or if like BookBairn you are a fan or green goggly-eyed frogs or orange bears!

This book will certainly bring a smile to your face! And if in doubt, enjoy reading it with a chocolate bear - that did the trick with BookBairn!

Book Giving Day Treasure Hunt

Yesterday was such a brilliant day! Not because Daddy BookBairn bought red roses (he didn't by the way), or we had a romantic meal for two (nope didn't do that either) or because of the beautiful diamonds I was given (don't be silly!). It's simply because BookBairn, Papa BookBairn and I went on a marvelous tour of all the local play places and hid books for others to find in our Book Giving Day treasure hunt.

BookBairn and I popped out early to the local soft play and stashed a few books in the ball pool and on the slides for little ones to find (Mummy also had a hot cup of tea whilst little miss had a quick play) and we rushed home to meet Papa who was taxi driver and swing pusher for the day. (As I'm now seven months pregnant we decided it made the most sense to go from park to park in the car so I wasn't completely exhausted by the end.) First we headed to the duck pond and park and fed the ducks, played on the swings and hid a pile of books. Next, we headed to the 'big park' and played on the slide, had another go at the swings and hid a dozen books all over from the bandstand to the roundabout to the slides. Here we bumped into a couple of book hunters who were delighted with their finds and I felt like Santa Claus! Thanks for saying hello - it was lovely to see your smiley faces. And finally, we stopped at one of the little parks in a local housing estate and had another play and hid some more books.

I was exhausted! And so was BookBairn who had a long nap afterwards! But the fun didn't stop there! We then got lots of notifications on social media about people who had found our books. And these made me smile so much! So many happy children and grateful parents. I really felt wonderful and am so glad you enjoyed the day. I was thrilled to see that some people had even come prepared and had left a book behind where they had picked theirs up. You can see them all on our Facebook Page. And although it was disappointing for a few people who said they hadn't got to a park in time to find anything I was so relieved to see that there weren't any left out over night and the hunt had been a success.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part: donating books, hunting for them and hiding extras. I hope I can do something similar in future, though for the moment I'm concentrating on resting up and taking care of BookBump! I have an idea in mind though... perhaps for just after the summer/whenever I actually get some sleep!

A special thank you to Papa BookBairn who made sure I could get to all the parks with ease and who kept BookBairn happy and flying high in the swings whilst I hid books, took photos and posted on social media. I couldn't have done it without you! (Though I reckon you had as much fun playing with BookBairn as I had!)

Big Bundle of Little Activities

If you follow us on social media, you may have gathered that one of my New Year's Resolutions was to be a more creative and crafty mama! Entertaining little ones is not easy and it's made all the more challenging when you are 30 weeks pregnant and find it difficult to muster the energy to do all the busy things that you used to do. But fortunately the wonderful online world of mamas have inspired me, along with some marvellous books! (Of course!)

So here are a few sources of my 'inspiration' for some of the crafty activities we've been getting up to!

KidArtLit

The Big Book of 100 Little Activities by Laura Minter and Tia Williams

Gruffalo Crumble and other recipes: The Gruffalo Cookbook

Image taken from the Oh Creative Day website.

Oh Creative Day

Pinterest

Favourites Shelf - February 2017

My goodness me, can you believe it's February already? Time seems to just be flying in already and for us that means the countdown is on until BookBairn's second birthday in March and until our new baby arrives in April. Lots happening in the BookBairn household so I hope you won't mind if things are a little quiet for a while. I do have a treat lined up for you all but it's a work in progress so I'm not going to say much more.

Hopefully even during the busy months I will still have time to share our five favourite reads from our 'Favourites Shelves' which I try to change regularly! We are going to redecorate BookBairn's room in the coming months as she will be sharing with her little brother when he is old enough to go into his room and the current version of these shelves might be under threat! But I will insist to Daddy that they stay in some form or another. (Maybe I'll even manage to extend them?) Here are BookBairn's top five bedtime reads of the moment....

The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas

BookBairn absolutely adores this story and we have read it every day for the last month or so. It introduces the idea that our emotions are linked to colours in the most beautiful pop-up artwork for little ones. It has been really great for helping BookBairn start to talk about her feelings as well as reinforcing her colour vocabulary. We've now read this one so often she can recite parts of it herself. To read our full review of this one click here.

Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda

I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt

Funny Bunnies: Up and Down by David Melling

Brrr Brrr! by Sebastien Braun

KidLit Picks January Round-Up

Being able to relate to the characters in a book is such a vital piece of enjoying it. It is through these characters that we find the courage and strength to be who we truly are. Trials and tribulations are at the heart of every story, and the way that characters triumph over them can be the essence of what readers are searching for in their own lives. It's no coincidence then that so many characters can feel lost, alone, and full of doubt. The uncertainty that haunts the beginning of a book, though, can be washed away by the end, leaving behind a sense of hope and fortitude that we, as readers, need from time to time. It is this self-confidence that we hope to instill in the young readers who glance into unknown pages and hopefully are able to see themselves reflected back.
Rulers of the Playground, by ​​Joseph Kuefler

I Can Only Draw Worms

 Wouldn't it be wonderful to write and illustrate a picture book? To have BookBairn reading a book I wrote, drew and made just for her? Well, I confess I have a few story ideas and it's something I might one day tackle but I cannot draw. Not even a little bit. I can sort of copy others' drawings but create something from my own imagination - not a chance.
So I can sympathise with Will Mabbitt who can only draw worms! We were lucky enough to receive an advanced unbound copy of 'I Can Only Draw Worms' and have been reading it for weeks. (It was one that I mentioned in our Most Anticipated Reads of 2017 blog post.) BookBairn calls it the 'wiggly worm book' and she's right - its quite simply a book about worms. Whilst you might think that worms are rather boring, wiggling things that don't do very much you'd be very much mistaken. According to Will Mabbitt, worms have incredible adventures. Unapologetically, Will cannot draw those, so you will have to imagine them! What a great way to engage older readers - they can tell you the stories, perhaps even draw them, of the worms' adventures riding unicorns and travelling into outer space.
BookBairn hasn't quite developed the imaginative skill for that yet - so why does she revisit it again and again? It's also a book about one of her favourite things - it's about counting. Counting worms. One to ten. It's a counting book! But it's packed full of good humour! Has adults laughing over and over as they snort out loud reading the pages. For example, what happens when you cut a worm in half? You get two worms, right? Wrong - you get two half worms!

But perhaps even more engaging than the silly laugh out loud humour is, in fact the illustration. Now, Will modestly says he can only draw worms - this is true - the only illustrations in the book are some worms. But he can pick a striking colour palette. The yellow, pink and black pages break up the story and literally entrance readers. The pink pages are so bright that when BookBairn holds it up to her face the colour reflects and she is a little pink lady! Genius book-making!

Genuinely funny, clever and visually dramatic, this book is truly outstanding! With it's bold yellow cover it will literally stand out on your bookshelves and will have children choosing it over and over again. And, grown-ups reading it will be quite happy to read it over and over. (I can promise you that after many many read the humour still tickles my funnybone!)

Maybe one day I will write a picture book. But one thing's for sure, I won't be drawing the pictures. Unless it's a book about worms. I might just about manage to draw some worms.

A video posted by BookBairn and Mummy (Kim) (@bookbairn) on Jan 24, 2017 at 1:19pm PST