Picture books often get all the glory in the kid lit world, but it feels like middle grade novels are having a moment. So what is "middle grade"? Middle grade is generally written for ages 8-12, with less gritty content than their YA counterparts (i.e., no profanity, violence, or sex). They are a marvelous segue from picture books and early readers into longer, more complex stories, and they encourage independence, imagination, and confidence. It's a blast to watch kids of that age read on their own. So here's to a month-long celebration of middle grade novels!

“Here’s what the kids had to say… Haz - “Hilda and the Hidden People has a great mix of adventure, suspense, fantasy and fun. I like all the characters, especially the Wood Man.” And Iz - “I think Hilda is a hero. She’s brave and also a good friend. I want my mum to collect all of her stories, so I can read them over and over again.” — Summer from @readingisourthing

The Hidden Witch, by Molly Knox Osertag

“Possibly better than the first in the series!" — Mel from @spiky_penelope

"A book is a gift you can open again and again" - Garrison Keillor

And that's why we are teaming up with Smallprint Books and Tidy Books to bring you an awesome new series of children's book recommendations so that you can 'give the gift of reading' this Christmas. And the best part? There's going to be a GIVEAWAY too!

So what can you expect?

Every Thursday, on our social media, we will post a review of one of the books that we think will make a wonderful gift, over the next five weeks. We've carefully selected, with the advice and help of children's book expert Jenny at Smallprint Books, 5 books that we thing are truly perfect for children of all ages, so I hope over the five weeks there will be something for everyone!

And at the end of the five weeks, you'll have the chance to win all 5 books PLUS a portable Tidy Books Box to store them in! (Thanks to our lovely partners - Smallprint Books and Tidy Books.) 

And if you love the look of a Tidy Books shelf, they have kindly sent us a discount code to share with you for the duration of the competition so if you would like a book box of your own, or one of their many wonderful shelves just use BAIRN10 at checkout.

What a wonderful way to fill those stocking at Christmas!

Kim and the bairns xx

Disclaimer: I was sent the portable wooden book box by Tidy Books as part of the collaboration and the books for the competition will be supplied by Smallprint Books. The books that will feature in the competition are ones from our own collection.

If you're looking for an adventure without ever having to leave the comfort of your reading nook - look no further than this brilliant new non-fiction that will tell you all about life all around the world! We have spent the last few months collecting and collating, buying, requesting copies from publishers and borrowing from friends and the library to ensure that we have looked at as many book as possible on the theme of helping us understand other cultures and learn more about life in different places all around the world. We love learning about the world!* And here are our favourites:

*It is worth noting that the majority of these books are aimed at children older than BookBairn so if your child is under five, I would say to take caution about picking up too many of these - we enjoy having these sort of books but we don't sit and read them, we tend to pick them up and have a flick through, looking at the illustrations and talking about them because that's more appropriate for BookBairn's age and stage.

"We sometimes speak DIFFERENT languages but we ALL talk to each other.

We sometimes wear DIFFERENT clothes but we ALL get dressed.

We sometimes eat DIFFERENT food but we ALL eat."

Welcome to the World by Moira Butterfield & Harriet Lynas is a wonderful celebration of customs and traditions from many different countries around the world. From what classrooms look like in India to Australia or the noises animals make in different countries, or what to do when your tooth falls out in El Salvador or Sri Lanka - you can explore it all in this beautifully illustrated book! All told in child-friendly language and with adorable illustrations bringing to life what it is to be a child in all corners of the world this is a perfect book to dip in and out of with even the youngest readers but is also a wonderful reference text for children who are slightly older. A veritable encyclopedia of life around the world for little readers! 

There is a big wide world out there waiting to be explored and in Around the World in Every Vehicle by Amber Stewart & Duncan Beedie, the Van Go family (adorable red pandas!) are packing up their blue camper van and setting off on the adventure of a lifetime. Let me also say that one of the things we love about this book is that the adventure starts in a "quiet little corner of the world in Scotland" so we can immediately relate to these characters! And from there they travel to London, Paris and across Europe before flying by plane to India and travelling across Asia by train and boat where they fly from Hong Kong to America  travel on to South America back across to Africa and then on to Australia - it's a fairly comprehensive trip. With a narrative style and appealing characters this is a great book for younger readers as they have more of a story to follow and pick up some facts along the way rather than more of the encyclopedia-style books. It's just a lovely alternative. And we love Duncan Beedie's illustrations and he has packed so much in from landmarks, to vehicles, maps, other characters that the Van Gos meet along the way. You really feel like you've been on a round the world adventure after reading this!

Definitely one of the coolest non-fiction books we’ve seen! Scratch and Discover: World Atlas by Charlotte Trounce  you can travel the world and using the clever scratch and discover patches you can find out more about landmarks and flora and fauna from all over the world. Each page stars a different continent and there is a large globe to scratch and reveal where that continent is as well as 10 different scratch and discover things on each page (the different continents have a different focus - mostly landmarks and animals.) This is a great book for all ages - BookBairn loves it as she likes to find things, older kids would be fascinated by the different facts from all over the globe, and grown ups will find scratching the pages immensely satisfying! The illustrations are wonderful too and the facts are so interesting that I think it will stand the test of time even after it’s all scratched. After you've scratched them it's got a list so that you can use the book as a seek and find. Definitely a fun interactive one!

We love this series collaboration between the British Museum and Nosy Crow books. They feature some of the fascinating objects from the British Museum collection and Around the World: Early Learning at the Museum focuses on items and paintings from all around the world. These are a great way for inquisitive little readers to learn about different countries but through fascinating objects that represent a multitude of cultures from around the world and objects that span a timescale from thousand-year old relics to 20th century fashion and old coins to ancient works of sculpture. And these books are primarily photographs (or photographs of artwork) making them more like traditional non-fiction which makes a good balance for your library.

In my experience of teaching, you will find in every class at lease one kid who is utterly fascinated by flags. And Raise the Flag by Clive Gifford & Tim Bradford is the perfect match for them. You will be amazed by the plethora of flag trivia and wowed by weird and wonderful flag features such as dragons, volcanoes and smiley faces as well as fascinated by the stories behind the many different flags from all around the world. Amusing text is accompanied by a mixture of photographs as well as illustrations you will be able to explore all sorts of different facts as well as learning which country is the only one to fly a five-sided flag? You can also learn semaphore! This book has everything and is flying the flag for flag fanatics!

The subtitle of Hello World by Jonathan Litton & L'Atelier Cartographik is A Celebration of Languages and Curiosities, and it is just that! Hello is a word that starts friendships. It opens doors. It brings smiles. On the opening pages of this book you are immediately greeted with a beautiful map of the world and 10 translations for the word "hello" (or similar greeting) and in reading them you will be able to greet more than half the people in the world. Working your way through the rest of the book, across each continent. you will be able to say hello to people from around the world. Each word for "hello" is on the top of a flap and underneath is the phonetic spelling (how you pronounce it) as well as the language/country that it comes from and how many people speak that language. The illustrations in this book are truly sensational and I love all the traditional dress that they share. It really does provide "a world of exploration" at little ones fingertips. 

"An Amazing Atlas of Wildlife", Hello World Animals by Nicola Edwards & L'Atelier Cartographik will have little readers discovering some of the most incredible creatures on Earth! This book is aimed at older readers but BookBairn enjoys lifting the flaps scattered across each page and have me read about the animals they feature, so it's great for younger readers too. Discover the animals of each continent through the beautifully crafted pages, bitesize facts and stunning illustrations. With over 180 animals to learn about this one will keep kids busy, and fascinated, for hours! 

You are invited to follow the lives of seven real children from Italy, Japan, Iran, India, Peru, Uganda and Russia for a single day in This is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe. After being introduced to each child, we explore where they live, who they live with, what they wear and many other important parts of their day. There is a strong focus for how they play and what their school is like, as being young children, like your reader, this makes up an important part of their day. The book is well structured with each page divided up into eight parts (one for the heading and one for each child) so that you can directly compare their days, and there's also only short snippets of text to accompany the lovely illustrations making it a fun read. Giving a window into the lives of children that may differ from our own as well as sharing the experiences that are common to us all, this book will certainly inspire children to learn more about the people in the world around us!

Do you ever wonder what is happening at this exact moment in time, everywhere around the world? Story Worlds: A Moment in Time by Thomas Hegbrook is an incredibly unique picture atlas whose unique binding create a 360 degree books that allows you to go on a perpetual journey as the day unfolds. Looking at both human life, as well as that of the flora and fauna on different spots around the globe, it will appeal to younger children who might just want to enjoy the spectacular illustrations as well as older children who are ready to learn about time zones. This unique ‘perpetual’ format takes three books in one and takes little ones on a global journey with a difference. This is just brilliant! It’s a beautiful piece of artwork. It’s unique. It’s a commentary on our world. It’s truly incredible.

Discover what life is like for children from around the world in One Day So Many Ways by Laura Hall & Loris Lora. Over the course of a day, little readers can follow children from over 40 different countries and learn all about the similarities and differences in their lives. I adore the retro style of the illustrations and the bold shapes and colours which really help to give the impression that whilst the children all look different, are different colours, were different clothes, their is a strong similarity between them all, which for me conveys a message that we are all alike as much as we are different. 

In some ways Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska & Daniel Mizielinski reminds me of two old jigsaw puzzles I had growing up: one of which showed the globe with animals from all over and the other which featured world landmarks. But this book is the epitomy of illustrations as artwork. Using a muted colour palette and natural tones each page features a country from around the world and highlights some of it's wonderful features from it's wildlife, to landmarks, to agriculture, traditional costume, musical instruments, artists, and notable citizens and historical figures. There is very little text so it is a visual wonder as it conveys so much information through it's clever illustrations. (I love it so much that I've used it as the backdrop for each of these photos in this blog post and whilst this is a library copy, I don't think it will be long before we have a copy of our own!).

There really are some wonderful books to transport your little ones all around the world and help them to learn about different lives and lifestyles across the planet. As a parent I want BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner to look beyond themselves and have a desire to learn and explore people and places that are different from what we have here on our doorstep. It's a passion I want to give them. And the best way to start is through books!

Happy reading and exploring,

Mummy, BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner 

Who knew cookies were so grouchy? And who knew you could fall head over heels for an angry, snippy chocolate chip cookie? When his roommate won't stop playing her recorder, his favourite toothpaste has run out, and his haircut goes all wrong, Cookie finds his anger tricky to cope with. So he kind of loses it. *Deep breaths* But maybe your little readers can find a way to cheer him up? We all know that just being there for a toddler when they are mid-meltdown is just about all you can manage. So when Cookie realises that you, the reader, are still standing by his side, he finds his clouds of anger lifting. I love this story, it makes me laugh out loud. It reminds me of the whims of toddlers, how the most insignificant things can ruin their whole day! A brilliantly unique book that is inventive and hilarious alongside vibrant illustrations, there's only one way to enjoy this book: with a cookie, of course!

When you have kids, you suddenly find yourself talking about sleep a whole lot. How much you are not getting, how often and for how long babies are napping, do they sleep through the night (of course they don't), they finally nap for more than forty minutes and not on top of you or in a moving vehicle, they slept in their big cot, you are still sleep deprived, they sleep all night (finally - meanwhile you were up every three hours to check on them), they are cutting teeth so no one sleeps, please tell me this cycle of sleep obsession ends sometime?! I have read enough about sleep and sleep patterns to boggle my mind. But I've never enjoyed a book about sleep as much as this one. Sleep is the starring character in this brilliant new bedtime story. A little girl and Sleep visit all wonders of places and have all sorts of nighttime adventures in their happy dreams. But when they encounter a monster in a dream, what will happen? Fortunately, Sleep knows just what to do! This is such an imaginative book, with illustrations that will whisk you off into a magical world, as well as helping settle children's fears around sleep and nightmares, this is the best book on sleep you will read! As I type this, both my bairns are softly sleeping in their beds. Long may it last tonight. Zzzzzzzzz

We adore the formidable and enchanting team of Franklin and Luna. In the first book, we loved seeing them become friends and setting up their 'Flying Bookshop' showing people that dragons are to be treasured not feared. And now they are back on another adventure and this time they are flying even further! Luna and Franklin love stories and want to visit all the places that they have read about in their books, but despite copious research in their books, they just can't quite figure out where dragons come from. And at 605 years old, Franklin is so old he can't remember either. But longing to be reunited with his family, they know they have to find a way. And that sets them off on their biggest adventure yet! With a lyrical story that will enchant you, and illustrations that will bring that magic to life for readers this is a story that you will want to wrap yourself up in! Perfect autumnal storytime!

Surely this is the collaboration of the year? In children's publishing it's hard to believe that there are two bigger icons that Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and countless other wonderful stories aside, and Helen Oxenbury the talented artist behind We're Going on a Bear Hunt, as well as many other works of picture book art! When Rabbit is confronted by "the giant jumperee" who has taken up home in his burrow, he asks his friends for help. But they are too scared by this mysterious creature to intervene, except for Mummy Frog, of course, who has a sneaking suspicion she has met this 'jumperee' before! With the elements of suspense and a mastery in building anticipation, this is surely a new classic in the making! 

Hope you like this 'quick review' format!

Kim

Disclaimer: We were sent all these books free for review purposes by the publishers. Words and opinions are my own. If you click on the title or image of the book 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 20-70p 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 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 Our Readers' section.

We are just moving into the best season to curl up and cosy up with a good book! And we have read lots of really great books recently. I have shared our favourite Autumn stories (linked here) if you're looking for a seasonal book, so in this post I'm just sharing our 'Favourites Shelf' books. The books that we have read over and over again in the last couple of months. And as The Wee Page Turner continues to develop his own reading taste (I think he might enjoy books more than his sister as he chooses books over toys so many times a day!), I've included some of the books that he grabs out of the book basket most often alongside BookBairn's favourite books at the moment. 

Here are our most recent favourites and repeat-reads:

The Wee Page Turner is beginning to enjoy books which have more of a story to them than the simple first word/primer/baby books that we had been enjoying up until now. And don't get me wrong, those books have their place and we still read them lots but it's nice to share something that has more of a flow of a story. And these books are a great start for that! In Busy Bear Building Site by Benji Davies, Busy Bear is working on the building site and he does all sorts of things but the best part is that little fingers can use the mechanisms to keep them entertained whilst you read. These books are also super sturdy and have great illustrations (Benji Davies is one of our favourites and he wrote and illustrated The Storm Whale which BookBairn and I also love). We also have Busy Bear Racing Driver from the library at the moment and I think I will put some on his Christmas wish list. A wonderful series.

Ted has long been a favourite in our house - so much so that we have all six of the Ted books. I've written about them several times in the past (you can read the most recent one here) because we read them so often - I'm sure Bedtime with Ted by Sophy Henn was on BookBairn's favourite shelf over and over! The story has a simple premise (don't the best ones always?): it's Ted's bedtime. On each page a speech bubble shouts through "Bedtime, Ted!" and on the reverse page... "Not yet says Ted". I mean, how many parents haven't heard that phrase over and over at bedtime?! Under the full-page size flap you then see the reasons why Ted is too busy for bed: it's bath time with his penguin friends, or he's brushing his teeth with a crocodile or my personal favourite he's "jump jump jumping out the fidgets like a bouncy kangaroo." All parents will be pleased to know that he does eventually get into bed with all his animal friends and drifts off to sleep. The Wee Page Turner loves to lift the flap and reveal Ted making mischief with his friends. And of course, the illustrations are just fabulous! Bright coloured backgrounds with a few simple objects to help you identify which room of the house you are in but most of the detail is in Ted and his friends and their antics allowing little ones to make the connections between the words and the illustrations so easily! Ted is irrestible in his red and yellow wellies with his orange and turquoise bobble hat (I'll be he chose his own outfit that day!) and his animal friends are as cute and cuddly as can be.

We adore the Shifty McGifty (got to be one of my all time favourite character names) and Slippery Sam stories and Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam and the Missing Masterpiece by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton has to be BookBairn's favoruite. It is a truly brilliant rhyming tale of two pooches that foil an art heist with humour galore! Tracey Corderoy has the most brilliant talent at writing rhymes without comprising wonderful storytelling (and I would love to be able to write like she does) and Steven Lenton packs so much humour into the expressions of characters and brings to life scenes that will have your little readers wanting to turn the pages to see what happens next! BookBairn truly adores these books! And finding the hidden little spider on each page - nice touch from the illustrator. Looking forward to exploring the chapter book with her now that she loves the characters so much. Shifty and Sam are a formidable team - much like their creators. If you like a crime caper - your kids will love these!

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!

Billy and the Beast by Nadia Shireen is a book we have been raving about since we first read it. When a terrible beast starts roaming the forest in search of tiny creatures to make a big bowl of monster soup, Billy and her Fatcat cannot let him get away with it. He's got boil in a bag bunnies, spicy mice and grated hedgehog all on his list but can Billy outwit this ferocious beast and save the inhabitants of the forest? Packed full of humour, fun illustrations and a heroine who stashes doughnuts in her hair for emergencies this is a brilliant new fable that will empower as well as make you giggle. And BookBairn loves it!

When my parents were in America last year I ordered this gorgeous doll to go with a story that I was itching to share with BookBairn, but at the time it was probably a bit long for her. But now Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts is not only a great read but it's one of our favourites. Ada is a might little girl with great ambition, intelligence, courage and gumption! Ada’s head is full of questions and she is endlessly curious and her efforts to answer them lead to scientific experiments. Some of which go too far, leading to her parents becoming more and more frazzled and they banish her to the Thinking Chair – what will they do with her? And the wonderful, supportive parents that they are, they join in sorting fact from fiction embracing their little scientist’s fascinations, “because that’s what you do when your kid has a passion and a heart that is true.” (This is perhaps one of my favourite lines from a picture book ever!). Written in rhyming verse, giving brilliant pacing and momentum to the story these books (there are two more picture books and now an early chapter book) really celebrate little heroines that children can look up to. The mixed media illustrations are a delight and capture the magic of what it is like to be little and to imagine and to create. They really are perfect inspirational stories for children about pursuing their own passions.

So those are our most recent favourite reads! What have you been enjoying reading recently? And if you can't wait to see our next quarterly installment of our Favourites Shelf, I always include a book or two in our monthly Little Loves blog posts!