Little Loves - September

As it's getting into autumn time and we've been enjoying conker gathering, we have started to cosy up with some autumn reads. BookBairn adores the character in Tidy by Emily Gravett and we have been reading this one most bedtimes at the moment. Personally, I sympathise greatly with Pete, the badger who likes everything neat because anyone who knows me, will know I like things neat. So when all the leaves falls off the trees in Pete's forest, I completely understand why he felt the need to tidy them all away. And then I can understand that the trees look rather scrappy without their leaves on them. So they get tidied too. Until the forest becomes a concrete abyss. Badger has taken it a little bit too far. But is it too late? With humour and delightful illustrations, this is a lovely autumn read. BookBairn just loves this story so much!


The Wee Page Turner is just loving the classic Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, just as much as his sister did! I guess it's a classic for a reason. He has long been able to lift the flaps by himself but now he is trying to imitate the noises of the animals which is so sweet as he isn't really talking very much yet. If you don't know the story, it's about a zoo which sends lots of inappropriate animal pets in large colourful crates (which you lift the flaps to see what's inside) until finally they think very hard and send the perfect pet. Wtih bold colourful flaps set against plain white backgrounds, it's perfect for little peepers to get excited and find the flaps easily. The repetitive text is great for older tots to join in with the reading of the story. It also has a great surprise at the end! #nospoilers but you quite probably already know!


I have read two really great books this month! Firstly, I adored Power to the Princess by Vita Weinstein Murrow & Julia Bereciartu which features 15 princess stories retold where the princesses are bold, funny, smart and kind and where they can do anything they set their mind to. I really enjoyed reading the stories (even though they are aimed at readers aged 5-11) and loved the diversity of the illustrations. I loved the stories of Cinderella fighting for the rights of workers, and the Little Mermaid's concern for clean oceans as well as Belle coming down hard upon the witch who cast the spell on the beast, after all that's no way to treat someone even if they were unkind to you! I think sometimes it's great for children, who are already familiar with the characters and stories, to see a different way of tackling a problem and ultimately that not every story that has a 'happily ever after' needs to have a prince and a wedding. We can choose our own happily ever afters!


On a similar sort of theme I also enjoyed reading The Feminist's Guide to Raising a Little Princess by Devorah Blachor which was a witty take on looking at concerns about empowering our daughters to be authentic, joyful and fearless even if she refuses to wear anything but a pink tutu and is fascinated by princesses! This was such a fun and easy read as well as sharing some interesting analysis of princess culture and the effect it has on society and our little girls in particular. I really enjoyed learning a bit more about the history of the Disney princesses as well as the retellings of the stories in a similar vein to the retellings in the Power to the Princess book I just mentioned. And it made me think a little more about letting BookBairn enjoy her princess fascination without worrying about whether it would have a negative influence on her or prevent her from becoming a mighty girl herself. In short, it won't.

With cooler days means new jumpers! I had a wee shopping splurge for The Wee Page Turner as he has outgrown most of his jumpers from the cooler weather we had in Spring and I think they are super cute as he looks so grown up and a lot like his daddy. And BookBairn got an adorable jumper and skirt set that is just like a jumper she had last year but with red hearts instead of black ones and she looks so adorable in it I would love one in my size! We also stocked up on tights and a new coat for her. The Wee Page Turner is in need of a new winter coat too so I'm looking for one for him after I finish writing this post!

I don't think of myself as a creative person and I struggle with mess. So doing craft activities with my kids doesn't come naturally. But what I am good at is 'bookish play'. No mess, no fuss, and books at the centre of the activities. And I shared five quick, and almost mess-free ideas, for ways we celebrate books in our play in a blog post linked here. Our favourite is definitely the Dear Zoo puzzle as I mentioned it was one of The Wee Page Turner's favourite books this month and he loves lifting the flaps on the puzzle too.

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