You may have read in one of my recent posts that I decided I was no longer doing blog tours. Yup! No more. However... I couldn't resist...

Spaghetti Hunters Blog Tour

Friday, July 24, 2020 BookBairn 2 Comments

You may have read in one of my recent posts that I decided I was no longer doing blog tours. Yup! No more. However...

I couldn't resist this one! We adore all of Morag Hood's books! So I wasn't going to turn this one down. In fact, it was featured in my Exciting Upcoming Picture Book post and we have certainly really enjoyed reading it!


I knew from the premise of this one it was going to be laugh out loud funny and the bairns really do enjoy this one and we've read it several times. It tells the story of Duck who has lost his spaghetti. It has vanished. But never fear, Tiny Horse has a plan to save the day. But what exactly do you bring on a spaghetti hunt? And this is where things get interesting and the bairns start shouting at the book "no, silly Tiny Horse!!" Tiny Horse wisely and without hesitation packs a spade, a fishing rod, a jar of peanut butter, cutlery (I mean these might actually be useful) and some binoculars - obviously! Cue: hysterical laughter from the bairns.



Together they search far and wide but all they come up with as worms, a ball of string and even a snake. But no spaghetti! Disaster! So Duck decides it's probably better to consult his recipe book and gathers flour, eggs and a pasta maker and sets about making his own spaghetti. But does Tiny Horse approve?



This really is a laugh out loud caper that on the surface may seem like just a silly story but it actually opens questions about where our food comes from and encourages home cooking too! 

Brimming with wit and dry humour as well as lots of fun and Morag's typical simple-but-not-simplistic illustrations (how she gets across all those character expressions in such simple lines and colours is beyond me!), this is such a superb read!

As are all her books! I really could not choose a favourite as all have held high places in our hearts!

When Grandad Was a Penguin - we changed the words to when Papa was a Penguin and BookBairn enjoyed reading this over and over when she was about 2-3.

Colin and Lee Carrot and Pea - one of the first books that we heard BookBairn read aloud to us because we read it so many times she had memorised it.

I am Bat - without a doubt, this was The Wee Page Turner's first favourite book. Also gave us that comical moment when something upset BookBairn (I can't remember what) and she declared: "I will never be happy again!" - a quote from this book.

Aalfred and Aalbert - read this on the tram into and from Edinburgh when going to and fro an Edinburgh Book Festival event - so probably about 8 times on repeat! Making it the most read book in one session!

The Steves - because who doesn't love a puffin?!

Brenda is a Sheep - because... I'm running out of book connections, so we love this one because it's just blooming great!

Morag has kindly shared some activities and resources for download which I have linked below (click on the images to find the links) And if you want to stop off on one of the other blogs on the tour I've popped that banner below so you can find all the awesome content about this newest release!






Happy reading!
Kim and the bairns x


Disclaimer: This book was sent by the publisher for review. Words and opinions are my own. Please read our Review Policy  if you want to know more. If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link.  This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.



2 comments:

 Gosh, is it just me or has July gone by in a flash? BookBairn starts school in just three weeks and I can't believe it! The Wee Page...

Kids Love to Read #55 & Giveaway

Monday, July 20, 2020 BookBairn 1 Comments


 Gosh, is it just me or has July gone by in a flash? BookBairn starts school in just three weeks and I can't believe it! The Wee Page Turner also starts nursery and all things being well he has been allocated 9-3 five days a week so I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself other than bask in the free time and read some books (but seriously I have a book draft to finish and a mountain of DIY and home improvement to organise that will keep me busy for a while!). And hopefully I'll have some more time for reviews and blogging which has really taken a serious hit in lockdown as I just don't have the energy even when I do have the time. But no more excuses because there's always time for Kids Love to Read!

So back to this month's link-up, if you share or review children's books or are raising a reader whilst writing a blog then our co-hosted monthly linky with  Laura's Lovely BlogKids Love to Read is a link-up to share blog posts written by other bloggers that star wonderful children's books. It's a great way to find new blogs to read and new book recommendations too, as well as invite people to come and read your own blog.

So if you write about your favourite children's books I would love it if you link-up your post! And I'm looking forward to reading them all!

Laura has also set up a Pinterest Board for Kids Love to Read, where she pins everyone’s posts featured, as well as lots of lovely bookish posts. If you would like to join as a co-contributor please message me. The more the merrier!

Last Month's Favourites

My favourite post last month came from The Next Best Thing to Mummy who reviewed a book that we also enjoyed all about being true to yourself and loving the things you love! I've linked my Instagram post about it below too.



View this post on Instagram

Kids can be so changeable, can’t they? One minute they love My Little Pony and the next they love Barbie. Or they flit from tractors to dinosaurs to trains. Or, not that I’m speaking from experience, they love My Little Pony and trains! And this story, a little girl tells us about all her favourite things, from her light up shoes, to her red pencil, to the view from our window. But the girl knows that her feet grow her pencil shortens and the scene from her window changes. That is one constant through all this, there is someone she’ll always laugh… And that is what (who) she likes the very, very most. Ultimately this story is an ode to the unwavering love a child has for their mother. A mother’s love never changes, she is constant when nothing else remains the same. A beautiful lyrical story, with child-like illustrations, this is a lovely story to cuddle up and read together. (Sent by the publisher @bigpicturebooks for review.)

A post shared by Kim & the BookBairns (@bookbairn) on



Laura's favourite came from
Book Nerd Cafe who shared a book about Fierce and Fearless Girls which I have immediately added to my wish list!





Linky Rules:
– Write about reading with children, share your love and your children’s love of books, what do you love to read together, how do you encouraging reading and books with your little or not so little ones? Books you love or book reviews.
– This Linky is open every 3rd Monday of the month for one week.
– Grab the Kids Love to Read badge and pop it in your post. It's linked at the end of the post for you.
– Use the #KLTR hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.
– Share the love – try and read & comment the host’s posts and on 2 other blogs listed on the Linky.
We look forward to reading your posts! And don't forget to enter the competition below!
Kim and Laura x

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Giveaway



We have a fabulous giveaway this month oFantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst - a book I love about mighty women who have made a difference!

*Terms and conditions: Entries are open to UK residents. The competition closes on the the 28th August 2020. Winners will be announced on social media and contacted via email. If the winner does not respond to the email in two weeks, a new winner will be randomly chosen. Please allow extra time for prize delivery due to current pandemic restrictions. Host reserves the right to substitute the prize for a suitable alternative in case of problems with supply. No cash alternative available.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Grab the Button:





Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

1 comments:

One of the things I told myself this year was that to better manage my workload I would not be taking part in any blog tours, but.... I made...

I Can Catch a Monster Blog Tour with Bethan Woollvin

Friday, July 10, 2020 BookBairn 5 Comments



One of the things I told myself this year was that to better manage my workload I would not be taking part in any blog tours, but....

I made an exception! Because I just ADORE Bethan Woollvin's fairytale series soooo much (I've linked my review to those here), I wanted to see what sort of might girl character she would create! And she's a wonder! She's smart, she's strong, and she is DEFINITELY in charge! Her brothers say she is too little to go off monster hunting but Bo has other ideas. And she sees the monsters differently too. I love this! Bethan has created a totally new fairytale character for modern kids and she has done it with characteristic wit, short and snappy prose and, what at first glance may appear to be simple illustrations, though they are far from simplistic and I'll defy you to find many illustrators as talented at bringing to life characters in such few paint strokes.

Below Bethan tells us about her process of brining the characters to life and shares some of the process of her creation of the book through photographs.


There can be quite a few steps involved in creating a picture book, and my latest story I Can Catch a Monster was no exception! When I began working on this project, I first started by creating a general story using a storyboard, which helped me to quickly plot out my story through basic sketches. Then, building upon these sketches, I formed more refined drawings for my rough artwork, including a loose medieval environment, some basic character sketches and of course - lots of monster doodles! Next, I progressed onto creating the final artwork, which I sketched and painted over a light box. The last stage was to edit all of the final artwork in Photoshop, ready for print. On average, each spread of a book takes me ten days to complete from start to finish, meaning for the standard 32 page picture book, it can take me around 6 months to complete - sometimes longer!

The stage I anticipate the most is painting the final artwork. As I Can Catch a Monster was my first original tale, I spent a long time working on the storyboards and rough sketches to make sure it was working well. Pulling all of my ideas together for each spread, I sketched out the scenes of the storyin preparation for painting. Using a refreshing new colour palette of a deep teal, zingy orange and eye-popping magenta, I began painting my artwork, really bringing it to life! Like all of my books, I painted the artwork for I Can Catch a Monster with my preferred medium - gouache paint. This type of paint dries flat and opaque, giving it a screen printed aesthetic whichI love! Painting my artwork by hand is a process that I really enjoy and feel confident with, especially since I’ve been holding a paintbrush since I was young!









Thank you so much Bethan!! It's fascinating to hear and see inside the process! And do check out the other stops on the blog tour!




If you're looking for a modern fairytale with amazing artwork, you must check out Bo!
Once upon a time... Happy Reading!
Kim and the bairns

Disclaimer: This book was sent by the publisher for review. Words and opinions are my own. Please read our Review Policy  if you want to know more. If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link.  This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.

5 comments: