As you can imagine a 'bookish' person like me is involved in a few book groups. I have my lovely friends who meet once a month f...

Mummy and BookBairn Book Group - Penguin Adventures

Friday, January 13, 2017 BookBairn 23 Comments


As you can imagine a 'bookish' person like me is involved in a few book groups. I have my lovely friends who meet once a month for a 'book and a bake' and we chat books for about ten minutes and then eat cake for a lot longer! I am so proud to be a founding member of the #kidlitreaders book group on Twitter where we discuss books aimed at 7-12 year olds, which make for delightful reading and discussion! BookBairn has her own little reading group (though we've not met for a while - sorry kids it's been a bit busy!). But I thought it was time to add one more...

Mummy and BookBairn Book Group!

Inspired by the #bookstagramxover challenge to share a picture book and a companion YA or adult fiction, I thought I would try and share a book pairing for myself and little BookBairn. 

As you may have noticed from our social media, BookBairn and I have become a little bit obsessed with penguins. This is in part due to the #kidartlit challenge, in part due to watching penguins on Frozen Planet, but mostly to do with reading lots of penguin-y books. For my 'book and bake' book group our next read is 'The Penguin Lessons' by Tom Michell. Based on a true story, Tom Michell rescues a penguin from an oil slick in Uruguay, only to find that the penguin will not leave his side. Tom then smuggles his new companion across the border into Argentina, where he teaches in an international school. I'm only half way through and loving the adventures that Tom and has penguin get up to!

And I found a great companion story for BookBairn! 'Blown Away' by Rob Biddulph tells the story of a penguin and his friends on a similarly strange adventure across borders. Penguin Blue is flying his kite in the Antarctic and a huge gust of wind blows him, his kite, and his friends (including a polar bear who was probably already a bit lost given he was a bit far from their arctic home) across the ocean to "a tiny island, lush and green (a colour that they've never seen)." These intrepid travellers then try to find a way home! Told in brilliant rhyme which had BookBairn entranced from the beginning. Rob Biddulph's illustrations are bold, bright and brilliant! The snowy, icy Antarctic scenes are a chilly blue in contrast to the vibrant green of the jungle island. With lots of details for discussion they will appeal to younger readers, like BookBairn, as well as school-age children who will want to pour over every detail. Penguin Blue is set for another adventure in 'Sunk' out later this year and we will certainly be looking out for this one!

So we both curl up and read our penguin adventures! It's a little dream of mine. It's also one of the first times that I can quote BookBairn for review: "Penguin Fly a Kite. Again! Again! Again!" - if that's not a five star review I don't know what is!



If you have any recommendations for Mummy and BookBairn Book Group, we would love to hear them! And if you want to read along, we'd love to hear your reviews. (Mummy will be posting hers on GoodReads when she is finished reading!)

Happy Reading,
Mummy and BookBairn xx


We had great fun making this penguin for the #kidartlit challenge.






23 comments:

  1. BookBairn's Papa C13 January 2017 at 20:02

    You can't get any better a review than "Again,again,again". What a great home made penguin. Good luck in the challenge.

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    1. BookBairn14 January 2017 at 13:49

      Glad you like him! BookBairn will definitely want to share this story with you when you get home from sunnier climates! x

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  2. Catherine @ Story Snug16 January 2017 at 14:08

    I love your book club idea! Blown Away is a fantastic picture book. We can't wait for the sequel :o)

    #readwithme

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  3. Brewtiful Fiction16 January 2017 at 15:50

    What great choices, I wish I had more time for book groups, I shall have to settle on being a lone reader, thanks for sharing with #ReadWIthMe

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    1. BookBairn17 January 2017 at 20:26

      The only downside is that you sometimes find yourself reading a book that you don't really like and wish you were reading something else! At least as a lone reader you have full book choice control. x

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  4. kateonthinice16 January 2017 at 21:33

    I would love to be part of a book group. I adore all things penguin and once had the privilege of stroking one and that moment was so precious so I am sure I would love these books and my children would too

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    1. BookBairn17 January 2017 at 20:27

      Awww! That sounds amazing! Our local aquarium has a family of penguins so we need to pop back their soon.

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  5. Unknown16 January 2017 at 22:18

    Wow I love the idea of pairing a YA book with a picture book. Well done on finding 'penguin' book pairs.
    #KLTR

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    1. BookBairn17 January 2017 at 20:28

      Thanks! I'll need to get my thinking hat on for next months pairing!

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  6. SarahMummy17 January 2017 at 14:32

    The Penguin Lessons sounds like a great book - kind of like Mr Popper's Penguins, only for real!
    How lovely to have your first real review from Bookbairn :)

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    1. BookBairn17 January 2017 at 20:28

      Mr Poppers Penguins would be a great one too! I'll need to remember that!

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  7. Acorn books17 January 2017 at 19:26

    Such a lovely idea! I recently joined a grown up book group and I'm loving it as it gives me more of a push to read something for me.
    We are big fans of Penguin Blue here, can't wait for his next adventure.
    #readwithme

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    1. BookBairn17 January 2017 at 20:29

      I love a chance to get out and spend time with grown ups too! Looking forward to Blue's next adventure!

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  8. Spectrum Mum18 January 2017 at 13:21

    I almost bought the penguin lessons when I was in the UK last - now I wish I had. #KLTR

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    1. BookBairn18 January 2017 at 19:13

      I'm really enjoying it! Not one I would have picked up if it hadn't been book group choice but so glad I did!

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  9. The Queen of Collage18 January 2017 at 14:32

    I love the fact that you've opted to read books with a shared theme. Penguins are wonderful characters. #readwithme and #KLTR

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  10. The Breastest News19 January 2017 at 18:14

    Aww this is great you're reading books together, how lovely. Nice that you did a craft to go with it as well :)
    #KLTR

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    1. BookBairn22 January 2017 at 20:15

      Thank you! I'm trying to be more crafty thanks to the new #kidartlit tag on Instagram!

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  11. Unknown23 January 2017 at 17:14

    I love that you read your books together, and found a "twinning" book for her to read! :) And the craft you made is so cute! #KLTR

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    1. BookBairn23 January 2017 at 20:05

      Thanks! I'm trying to get better at being crafty! And I'm thinking about the next book twin - need to find equally as good a match!

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  12. Laura - Laura's Lovely Blog19 February 2017 at 13:15

    The Penguin Lessons sounds like a really intriguing book and I love the fact you found a similar book for your daughter to read what a fun idea. Love the craft too! Thank you for linking up to #kltr and sorry I am so late with my comment this month

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    1. BookBairn20 February 2017 at 12:01

      Thanks Laura! I'm just thinking about what to review for this months post! x

      Delete

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