It's been a while since I did a Mighty Girls book selection round-up and I've had a stack of books sitting in a pile by the desk for so long that I'm feeling guilty that BookBairn hasn't had much a chance to read them as I've been hogging them. So without further ado, here are some new (and old because I want to highlight again how good they are) books starring mighty girls!

This is a book that we borrowed from the library and enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy for BookBairn and I'm sure we will be going back for the sequels in this series too. Stopping monsters is no job for a prim and perfect princess in pink, even if that is how everyone expects a princess to behave. So when trouble calls in her kingdom, Princess Magnolia transforms into her alter ego and confronts the monsters as The Princess in Black. All the time keeping up the pretence of her pretty in pinkness for the subjects of her kingdom. I like the way this turns the princess genre on it's head and gives her a superhero type quality with her secret identity. This is a highly illustrated chapter book to so there is lots in the illustrations to deepen children's understanding of the story as well as keep them focussed whilst you read the slightly longer chapters aloud. It's not too long though - we still usually read it in one or two sittings! A lovely one for a mighty girl princess.

Molly Rogers to the Rescue by Cornelia Funke

You may have come across Molly Rogers Pirate Girl in picture book form so for little readers who already love the character this early chapter book is a little gem of a book to continue the adventure. In this new story, Molly Rogers comes to the rescue of the beautiful Monkey Skull Island which is under attack from Captain Firebeard. Molly way be small, but she's out to show just how smart and fierce she is and to teach old Captain Firebeard a lesson. Packed full of fantastic illustrations that are dripping with detail and humour, this is such a great little chapter book for young readers to dip their toe into slightly longer reading sessions, or for helping them to recall previous events over multiple sessions. Molly is a super character to enjoy too - it's not often you see such a mighty girl pirate and I love that she is leading the way for mighty girls on the high seas! 

Mighty Reading!

Kim and the bairns x

Disclaimer: We were sent some of 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.

Welcome to a new feature on the blog! Once every month I want to highlight a book which is absolutely spectacular! A short review with lots of photos so that you can appreciate it's beauty across the pages. So without further ado...

This is a spectacularly magical and exquisitely beautiful folk tale about love and freedom.

Starbird’s songs weave the richest dreams and delight to all who hear his song, so the Moon King wants to give Starbird as a gift to his newborn daughter. Capturing Starbird and trapping him in a cage, Starbird sings for the little princess but over time the magic and life in his voice begins to fade away. So the princess, much to the dismay and wrath of her father, sets the Starbird free. Starbird flees and tries to hide from the Moon King, gliding through different habitats around the world and hiding amongst some spectacular creatures. But he cannot evade the Moon King forever. 

And what follows is perhaps one of the most profound lessons about captivity and freedom in picture book form. With a feeling of a timeless myth, this original fable is utterly beautiful. The exquisite use of silver foil throughout and intricate illustrations make it a true work of art. This is a beautiful book for adults and children alike. (And it’s going on to my, not the kids, picture book shelf!)

Wow!! First Kids Love to Read of 2020! Does anyone else feel like January is flying by super fast? I had all the best intentions of making sure that I got two blog posts up every week but that has already faltered with everyone being really poorly with a virus last week so I didn't manage to post at all. Will try to get back to it though!

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 Blog and Acorn Books is perfect for you! Kids 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!

My favourite post last month came from Mumma Scribbles who shared a bundle of superb stories that her kids were loving at the time (I'm sure they still do!) and it featured one that we had borrowed from the library at the same time - The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler as well as one of my all time favourites - Mixed by Arree Chung.

Laura's favourite came from Rainbows are Too Beautiful who wrote about mindfulness with children, a topic you know that I love, and shared a book that we had been sent for review in the past but didn't really use that much because my kids are quite good at drifting off to sleep themselves so it was nice to read her perspective.

And Acorn Books is back from her maternity leave with a very adorable new baby to boast about and she enjoyed Raisie Bay's post about the Magical Mermaid Underwater Activity book and the Roman Adventure Activity book, which I recently featured too in an Instagram round of of amazing activity books.

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 the #KLTR team x

We have a fabulous giveaway this month of Bad Dad by David Walliams and although it's not one I've read it is one that I know lots of kids love!

*Terms and conditions: Entries are open to UK and Ireland residents. The competition closes on the the 16th February 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.

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As you know I am an avid reader and I managed to read 105 books this year. So I wanted to share my absolute favourites. I did re-read The Northern Lights Trilogy and some of the Harry Potter series as well as some of my other favourites but I'm not including those as they were re-reads.

Turning the Tide on Plastic by Lucy Siegel: Having read this book at the beginning of the year, I realised that simply recycling some of the plastic that we bring into the house isn't enough anymore. We need to try to stop it crossing the threshold. And we have made big improvements, which you can read about in my blog post 'Reducing our Family's Plastic Consumption'. This book was a huge influence on how I tackled the plastic in our home and I found the way it blended fact and advice that I could learn from and put into action a really easy (though in some ways troubling) read. If you are interested in this topic this is a great book to read to get you motivated!

Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill: I was so moved by this book I got literal goosebumps whilst read, cried tears and think it is perhaps the most powerful collection of poetry and best thing I have ever read! Putting a feminist twist on fairytale characters as well as empowering poems about life. I am going to re-read this one again and again. I have downloaded the audiobook too so that I can absorb a poem every once in a while when I have five minutes here or there although I think the power of reading this was being able to sit down and read them all in one or two sittings. So perfect for a child-free indulgent morning, afternoon or evening! 

The Wordsmith by Patricia Forde: this book is probably not a book that I had particularly high expectations of but I found it fascinating and gripping! It's a Middle Grade (ages 8-12) dystopian story where the vocabulary of the population is limited to fewer and fewer words. Following an ecological disaster, the people who survived and gained entry to the 'Ark' are controlled by a enigmatic leader who sees language as a huge problem and sets out to limit words in order to limit protest, expression, and even free-thinking. And he's planning something even bigger. I loved this and found the way the story unfolded truly masterful. I enjoyed the sequel almost as much making it a worthy read too!

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport: Reading this book changed my life. Completely. It totally changed my perspective on how I use screens and technology and how I spend way to much time on my phone and how easily I let myself pick it up and waste my time on it. But only using your time to add value to your life rather than spending so much time on social media, etc. The book describes digital minimalism as "a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else." There are few sections that are a bit 'dry' that I would recommend skimming but the overall message is something that I really needed to hear and found it really helpful.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - one that I probably should have read much sooner than I actually did! After I read it I reviewed on social media saying: "I'm not sure that I'll ever recover from this one. This story has changed me somehow. Irrevocably." I'm glad I read this at the time that I did because it really resonated with me. If you haven't read this one yet it's well worth it.

No Ballet Shoes in Syria by Catherine Bruton - my lovely friend BookLoverJo sent me this for my birthday and I cannot wait to read it! An important book with a powerful message for young readers and a subject area that I find myself extremely concerned about at the moment. I found the weaving of the story, the building of the characters and the community to be masterfully done and I think that's probably the reason that I enjoyed it so much! I really felt like the characters were real and I could relate to them. I particularly enjoyed the way the author wove together the stories of the main character and her family who are Syrian refugees and the story of the ballet teacher who was a world war two refugee. I think drawing this comparison for children is a powerful connection. A similar book that I read this year was The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf but I preferred the subtlety of this story and it was a better connection for me. (This one is not pictured in the bundle as I leant it to a friend!)

Some Kids I Taught and What the Taught Me by Kate Clanchy - as a teacher-on-hiatus I am all to aware that the children I have taught have taught me many things over the years and I really enjoyed this memoir come social observational book written by an English teacher. It was so well-written and the observations so well thought-out and stories woven and connected together. The author's observations of society and how some things have changed over time were truly fascinating. I also loved some of her observations about educational changes, government cut backs and policies as well as the way society treats teachers as professionals to be spot on. A superb read for teachers (and everyone else)!

I've set myself the same overall reading goal as the previous year of 72 books - which works out as six a month but I'm hoping to read over 100 again as it seems like such a huge number to me. I'm delighted that over 60 of the books I read this year were library books (as well as some other library books that I borrowed, started and didn't enjoy so I abandoned them) and intend to do the same this year - in fact the library already have two requests waiting for me. I also cleared 15 off my To Be Read list by actually reading them, though I did get rid of others as I realised I had no intentions of actually reading them. So my plan for this year is to tackle that ever growing pile of unread books before I buy anymore. I figure it's pretty unrealistic for me to read all of them before buying any new ones but I would like to adopt a policy of reading two old books for ever new one I buy.

If you're looking for advice on how to read more books, you might like my post Finding Time to Read as a Busy Mum.

What were your favourite reads last year? And do you have a goal for this year?

Happy Reading,

Kim