Before I start - I have to make a confession. The 'Favourites Shelves' are currently gone. Argh!! We moved both kids into their o...

Favourites Shelf - Winter 2017-2018

Wednesday, February 07, 2018 BookBairn 2 Comments


Before I start - I have to make a confession. The 'Favourites Shelves' are currently gone. Argh!! We moved both kids into their own rooms upstairs in our cottage and the Favourites Shelves remain downstairs in the new study/library. I will get shelves for the children's rooms but I haven't had a chance to do a trip to Ikea yet so their are temporarily missing in action. But we still read every bedtime and every other time in between! So here are our favourites from this Winter.

Bébés Chouettes by Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson


I picked up the French versions of some of our favourite classic picture books at the library last month and BookBairn has really been fascinated by Owl Babies. She knows this story pretty well so it was a good one to start with and she likes to read the French and English versions, one after the other. It's the story of three owl babies whose owl mother flies off into the night and they worry about her return. Interestingly, BookBairn has started to follow along with her finger as we read the text in these books and she has picked up that we read from left to right. She can now also say "Je veux ma maman" in French which is so sweet to hear. We will definitely be reading more books in French and might start doing some numbers in French too.

Ally Bally Bee (traditional rhyme) with illustrations by Kathryn Selbert


We featured this recently as part of our Scottish books that we read to celebrate Burns Night (you can read the blog post here). It's a delightful traditional rhyme that we sing at home regularly and The Wee Page Turner really enjoys turning the pages of this one by himself. The lift-the-flaps are also easy for his wee hands to manipulate and he really enjoys it. A perfect book for reading on his mammy's knee!

Snuggle the Baby by Sara Gillingham


We have been revisiting an old favourite too which came to the front of the bookshelf after the room move. 'Snuggle the Baby' by Sara Gillingham is truly a perfect book for little ones to introduce the idea of looking after a newborn. Completely interactive, the readers have to help play with and look after the baby in the story. (Our original review can be found here.) BookBairn loves to read this one over and over and really enjoys playing at looking after the baby. She's got lots of practise now that she is actually a big sister!


My Colourful Chameleon by Leonie Roberts & Mike Byrne


We shared this one pretty recently when we joined in the blog tour and it really has become a favourite read. We certainly read it three or four times a day for several days after it first arrived and we still read it regularly! This lovely book tells the story of a little girl and her pet chameleon who just keeps disappearing. Her mum thinks her beloved pet is a pest when they lose it on a daily basis because, of course, it just keeps changing colour. The illustrations are simply adorable and the changing coloured chameleon is irresistible and BookBairn is now fairly insistent on a pet chameleon!


If I Had a Dinosaur by Alex Barrow & Gabby Dawnay


I can't believe we haven't shared this book on the blog before. We read it lots! It's the story of a little girl who really really wants a pet dinosaur. And she makes her argument really well and in brilliantly fun read-aloud rhyme. BookBairn has particularly enjoyed it recently after we watched it on Cbeebies Bedtime Stories being read aloud by Eddie Redmayne. She follows along, turning the pages as the story moves along. It's a great way for her to enjoy a story by herself. Though we still like to curl up and read it together.


Ted Series by Sophy Henn


We recently added a 'book basket' to the Wee Page Turner's bedroom (the main bookshelves are in the living room and BookBairn's bedroom) and every nap and bed time BookBairn chooses a book out of the basket to read with him. She often chooses this series because "he really likes Ted, mummy". These little books are delightful and I'm planning to do a full review of them this month. But if you have a toddler you will recognise Ted's play, behaviour and excuses for avoiding bedtime. They are delightful and the whole cast of animal friends remind me of the cast of animal toys that follow us around everywhere!


Pom Pom Gets the Grumps and Pom Pom the Champion by Sophy Henn


Another Sophy Henn book series! She makes the best books for toddlers. She captures them so well and makes them pretty endearing, even when they get the grumps! BookBairn rediscovered Pom Pom Gets the Grumps when we moved bedrooms and when she realised it was signed for her brother she switched her affections to Pom Pom the Champion which is signed for her. Pom Pom is a typical toddler who likes to get his own way, has a grumpfest over the slightest thing and very much enjoys being the winner. In Pom Pom, Sophy Henn has created an expressive little panda who is utterly adorable, even with a grumpy face! The illustrations throughout these books are deceptively simple with bold colours against unfussy backgrounds. And they are incredibly stylish. BookBairn is particularly fascinated by a background character, a giraffe, who Sophy told us is called Clemmie - it's amazing what they notice when you read a book over and over again. Our original review is linked here.

Neon Leon by Jane Clarke and Britta Teckentrup


Oddly we have another chameleon story in this round-up! Unlike the first one this chameleon has an issue - he's neon orange and he doesn't seem able to change colour. This is an interactive story where you try to help Leon fit in with the background and the crowd, and when he can't it's little readers jobs to help him find a place where he can fit in. It's utterly charming, and the illustrations just make this book! However, despite this book strongly relying on the visual elements, BookBairn loves listening to the audiobook on the Nosy Crow Stories Aloud Podcast too!

I'll Wait Mr Panda by Steve Antony


BookBairn has become a little obsessed with doughnuts. She loves the colours and the sprinkles. And she is really great at waiting until she gets home before devouring them. I blame and thank this book in equal parts. Whenever we go to the shop to pick up our doughnuts she stands in the aisle and shouts "please Mr Panda" and then when we get home and I say she was to wait until she gets home she replies "I'll wait Mr Panda". As you can guess this book is about patience and self-control, and waiting for doughnuts. The illustrations are delightful and it's equally fun as it is about good manners!


So that's our favourite read over the winter (I haven't included our festive reads for obvious reasons and we shared those with you already). What have you enjoyed reading recently? And do you have any recommendations for us to read as the season begins to change?

Happy Reading,
Mummy, BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner xx

*Some of these books were sent to us by publishers for review and others are ones that we have borrowed from the library or purchased ourselves. These are our genuine re-reads so all opinions are our own.

2 comments:

  1. I’m looking forward to reading some picks from the favourites shelf soon.

    ReplyDelete