BookBairn: Primers

Showing posts with label Primers. Show all posts

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If you are looking for the perfect books to gift this Christmas then this nature series is my top recommendation for younger readers!

One of the magical things about picture books, and books in general, is when the characters take hold of us and become more than simple creations on a page but actually become real and enter our hearts. There are many wonderful characters and I think each of us will feel a special attachment to more than one (I've always loved Charlotte from Charlotte's Web so much so that BookBairn is named after her) but for children it's wonderful to watch them make a new friend in the pages of their favourite stories.

They are often the stories that we end up reading again and again. And there has to be a little bit of magic about that particular character if they are to stand out amongst the rest.

For us, that character is Nibbles the Book Monster, affectionately known as Dimbles as BookBairn has loved him since before she could quite grasp saying the word 'Nibbles'. We have written about Nibbles many times on the blog:

A Book Munching Buddy

BookBairn's Kindred Spirit

A Bookish Few Weeks - where we met Nibble's creator Emma Yarlett

My Top Five Picture Books - making this list is no mean feat I tell you!

Nibbles has a firm place in our hearts and BookBairn was lucky enough to be sent a Nibbles plush by the publisher who she now sleeps with every night. To say we love him selling it short!

Nibbles is a book nibbling terror who has now munched his way through countless fairytales and even a dinosaur anthology. He has an insatiable appetite for books and munches his may through BookBairn's bookshelves on a daily basis.

And now he is back nibbling his way through a book of numbers. Little ones can count along with Nibbles as he chomps his way from one to ten! From the first page flap, to all the delightful little finger-sized cut-out holes in each page (corresponding to the number of bites Nibbles has taken), there's so much for little ones to explore. With bright and inviting colours and tactile holes to count together this is a number book that provides more than simple number teaching. The rhyme scheme makes it enjoyable to read aloud and allows little ones to predict the next number in some pages. BookBairn alos enjoys that Nibbles, like in the previous books, has nibbled a hole in the back of the book and escaped! But even more than that she likes to read the book backwards, counting down the numbers and shutting Nibbles back into his crate on the final page. Such a versatile little book! And as it's a board book The Wee Page Turner is safe to explore the pages too!

Baby BookBairn enjoying Nibbles.

Conceptually clever and innovative, the Nibbles series works on multiple levels - little ones like The Wee Page Turner enjoy following the mischievous little character and feeling the cut outs and peeking through the pages. And older children like BookBairn will recognise the numbers, dinosaurs or fairytales (depending on the book) as well as adoring Nibbles's trouble-making as well as make fun nibbling sounds as you read!

The illustrations are sensational! Nibbles is mischievous and yet is still adorable. He will charm his way into your heart as he has ours.

And if you want a whole set of the Nibbles books, a beautiful tote bag (we use ours for swimming!) and a cuddly Nibbles of your own - check out our Instagram post going live at 8pm this evening! *EDIT Giveaway now closed***

Who is your favourite book character? We would love to know!

Happy book-nibbling! And watch out for a book monster on the loose!

Kim, BookBairn, The Wee Page Turner and Dimbles xx

Disclaimer: these are all our choices. Some were sent from publishers (others are books that I have bought myself) but they were not sent in connection with this post. Their inclusion here is my choice. Because I really do think they are great. 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.

Book Bairn

BookBairn is really loving spotting letters all over the place at the moment! She is particularly fascinated by the letter 'L' - I'm sure you can guess why?! After all her name isn't actually BookBairn! So we've been exploring lots of alphabet books and activities so I've got some of our favourites to share!

Alphablock by Christopher Franceschelli

One of the most stylish books in our alphabet collection this little cube-shaped book with gorgeous cut-out letters and corresponding illustrations. I love that the letters are cut out and encourages little fingers to trace over and explore them and I love that the letter comes first and you have to turn it over to see the corresponding illustration, which is beautifully drawn/painted. Obviously with two pages for each letter (one of the letter and one for the illustration) it is quite a chunky little book, as are all the books in the series but it is so well-crafted and quite small so not too heavy and both the bairns love to explore this one on their own and with mummy!

Peekaboo A to Z by Gareth Lucas

This is a book we've had for quite a long time (if you want to see photos of baby BookBairn reading it check out our old post here). This is a large and sturdy board book (two years later and not a singe rip or lost flap with flaps that small hands can flip with ease, illustrations that are utterly adorable and silliness that will appeal to grown-ups and little ones alike. It has an animal for every letter of the alphabet and with alliterative text, it extends it's appeal far beyond little ones who have already mastered their initial sounds. The short sentences and corresponding illustrations mean that these books will also be great for early readers. So it's no wonder we are still enjoying it!

a b c by Aino-Maija Metsola

This is a stylish collection of illustrations using bright bold high-contrast colours making it a perfect first ABC book for babies. I love the 'Learning Garden' series of books as they feature some common images - a for apple, b for balloon etc but the illustrations are crisp and stylish! The bold, graphic designs paired with the large images are perfect for little ones who love high contrast books still and I love the fact that it mixes both upper and lowercase so that children can see both alongside each other. As a teacher I see a lot of letter activities focussing on capital letters but we want children to make connections with lowercase letters too. BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner love reading this one together!

Touch Think Learn: ABC by Xavier Deneux

We love the Touch Think Learn books and both the kids love to explore them with an adult or by themselves though it is worth noting that this is an extremely large and heavy book so it's one for reading stretched out on your tummy on the floor! Featuring spreads that have one page with raised shaped objects that neatly fit into the scooped cutouts on the opposite page, they are such a wonderful multi-sensory books with letters and corresponding illustrations. BookBairn loves looking at the bold, bright illustrations and tracing her fingers over the raised and cutout shapes as well as beginning to say the names of the pictures. This is an abc book to touch, think and learn with!

Alphamals A-Z by Graham Carter

If you're looking for an alphabet book for slightly older children, or children who require a bit more than just ABC then this is the perfect book for you! Alphamals is just magical! The illustrations are both soft and bold using a sumptious graphic design. I love the depth that is created in the patterns that add a wonderful texture. The accompanying text is a lovely short poem for each animal that will teach you a thing or two about many creatures from all corners of animal kingdom. There's a fairytale quality to this one and you could easily forget that it's an alphabet book! A mesmerising book!

Amazing Animal ABC and Fabulous Food ABC by Krina Patel

These two books are another pairing where the alphabetical order comes second to great lyrical rhyming phrases and collage illustrations that will visually engages readers. One exploring the animal kingdom and the other perfect for food enthusiasts, both these books read like long poems which are coincedentally in alphabetical order. I particularly love the food one - as there are lots of alphabet animals books so it seems a little different and I loved exploring new and unusual foods from all around the world. These books are bright and colourful and are great fun to explore together!

ABC Mindful Me by Christiane Engel

We shared this one recently as part of our list of Meditation and Mindfulness books for kids but of course we love it so much it has to be part of our ABC list too! It pairs each letter of the alphabet with a word that teaches children about mindfulness principles like compassion, empathy, gratitude and kindness. The illustrations are bright and playful and the rhyming phrases on each page make it lovely to read aloud too! There are so many things you can talk about with this book but I love that it has taken an ABC format and turned it into something so much more meaningful, powerful and enjoyable.

ABC French by Daniel Roode

If you are looking for something a little different for an alphabet book why not try one in a foreign language? I couldn't resist this French one (as I lived in Paris for a year during my studies) and I love exploring the language with my two petits bairns! The graphic illustrations are so appealing and the friendly characters are incredibly adorable. It's also another book which makes great use of bright high-contrast colours to appeal to little readers so it's a really great way to explore language and sounds with your little one. And of course, BookBairn loves telling me "that's not the real word, mummy" and correcting me! Each French word has the corresponding English underneath and for those who aren't confident in pronunciation there is a pronunciation guide to make it fun and easy for you too! If you fancy exploring multilingual books this is a great way to start!

ABC Shapes by Ingela Peterson Arrhenius

This is such a quirky alphabet book introducing children to unusual shapes and will no doubt help your little one learn about the alphabet and shapes at the same time. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging and its use of shapes make it rather unique and special! This book has certainly taught me a thing or two about shapes using unusual and lesser-known shapes like nanogons and helixes to share a shape for every letter of the alphabet. Little artists and engineers in the making will love this! Such a unique and special look at both shapes and the alphabet. This is one for readers who want to think outside the box (square, cube... you get the idea!).

ABC: A Walk in the Countryside by Rosalind Beardshaw

Part of a series of first concept books, created alongside the National Trust, this board book takes young readers on a Springtime walk through the countryside spotting things from nature (in alphabetical order) along the way. Created with a gentle narrative, loveable animals and lots and lots of things from nature to spot and name, this is a lovely book to explore together. The beautiful and soft illustrations are incredibly appealing and will have you wanting to pack a picnic, a magnifying glass and get your wellies on to go out and explore all the sounds of the alphabet on a wonderful wildlife walk!

My Awesome Alphabet Book and Canvas by Dawn Machell

This book and canvas combination have been of great interest to BookBairn as she loves to point to all the pictures on the canvas and talk about the things she can see and is beginning to tell me some of the letters too. The accompanying book is a fantastic introduction to letters: each page is filled with several words and pictures for each letter. The illustrations are adorable and clearly labelled and it's a great way to explore the alphabet together.

Alphabet Cards by Jam Tart Designs

Not a book but so beautifully illustrated I just had to include the alphabet cards from Jam Tart designs. We have these all stuck up in BookBairn's new room and she loves to take her fairy wand and tap them as she sings the alphabet song. If she gets out of place, she uses the illustrations to catch up and match the sound to the letters. These are really beautiful and make a wonderful gift!

And there you have it! It's a long list but these really are some of our favourite ABC books!

Happy ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!

Mummy and BookBairn xx

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DISCLAIMER: The majority of the books in this list (except Alphablock) were sent to us by the publishers free for review purposes. Please know that our review policy is that book sent for review are accept on a review consideration basis meaning that I only review ones we really like. That's our quality guarantee to you. If you want to know more about our review policy it's available here. Words and opinions are our own.

So you've (hopefully) read my gift lists but you might be wondering what books we would like to add to our collection. You may find what I'm about to say a little odd, and I guess it is but I can't lie... we don't buy books for BookBairn or The Wee Page Turner at Christmas. Ka-boom! Why not? Well, we get books all year round, so for Christmas we just don't. Even I think it's weird. Does it make me a bad book blogger? I don't know. I digress.

[*Edit: I totally bought them books. And one of them is on this list but I started the draft before I hit the bookshop! So...]

Anyway... here are some great books I've discovered this year but just haven't had a chance or the never-ending funds to buy. But they are wonderful and I wanted to share them with you.

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

We really want to listen to the brilliant music accompanying this book! We have read the story when we borrowed it from a friend. It tells the story of a little bear who stumbles upon a piano in the forest and he teaches himself to play. The bear is then 'discovered' and sets of on an incredible journey to New York, where he becomes a huge star. He becomes rich and famous but still something is missing. His friends and family. And I want to hear bear play! If you want to know more about this one check out Book Monster Ally's review on her blog here.

Unplugged by Steve Antony

Having flicked through this one in the bookshop it just seems so sweet! We love Please, Mr Panda so whenever a new Steve Antony book appears we can't wait to see it. I love the idea of a story about a character as cute as BLIP who spends all day plugged into her computer, playing games and having fun. But when there is a power cut, Blip discovers playing games and having fun outside. An important reminder to enjoy the unplugged things in life!

Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis

Du iz tak? What is that? Aren't books that make grown-ups say silly things just great fun?! Little children just love bugs and have imaginations that create whole worlds for them! And of course, bugs can speak their own language. This book has me fascinated? What is it about? Will I be able to translate the bug language and understand the story? So many fellow picture book fanatics love it! So we really want to check it out!

Pancakes! Cook in a Book by Lotta Nieminen

BookBairn has really enjoyed some of the books that allow her to act out the story so why wouldn't she want to make pancakes as she reads along!? You can cook pancakes from scratch inside this interactive recipe book - readers whisk the eggs, flip the pancakes, and more! Using pull-tabs, wheels, and a punch-out piece, BookBairn will be able to join in the cooking. Cooking pancakes has never been so satisfying nor so clean! Sounds brilliant! And if we like this one I'll definitely be getting the pizza one too!

Bob the Artist by Marion Deuchars

I've heard a lot about Bob. Bob the bird is just like all his friends, apart from his skinny legs. When Bob is teased, he decides to try and change himself to fit in. But little does he know where all his efforts will lead him... Sounds like a great book for subtly building confidence of little ones. And I believe the artwork is brilliant and that readers will be inspired to make art as a form of self-expression too. I love books that encourage little ones to be themselves, if we can instill this while they are young then hopefully they will have the confidence to be themselves throughout their tween, teen and adult years too!

What a Wonderful World! by Bob Thiele, George David Weiss and Tom Hopgood

The concept for this series of books has me absolutely enchanted. Take some of the most famous, beautiful and inspiring lyrics and turn them into an equally beautiful and inspiring picture book: yes please! And this one is top of my list because I love the song. It follows one little boy as he discovers just how wonderful this world of ours can be. And I love that the book comes with an accompanying CD which includes the much-loved recording of the song by Louis Armstrong and an exclusive reading by Sophie Aldred because we love audiobooks at the moment but I would quite like to listen to some new ones as we listen to the same three or four on repeat. And it's always good to have a reminder of all the wonderful things in our world!

Baby Loves Quantum Physics by Ruth Spiro and Irene Chan

Papa BookBairn is a retired physics teacher and he used to always give us a little science lesson with whatever new toys we got - whether it was gravity, the bernoulli effect, electricity. And I noticed him starting to show BookBairn about waves with her new slinky (as well as gravity) - "science in action" I overheard him tell her. So I thought he would get a kick out of reading this series, and in particular this book, with The Wee Page Turner. Described as "big, brainy science for the littlest listeners. Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby" I knew he would love it. This one it all about Schrodinger's cat and is told through a hide-and-seek style game. And I think it wouldn't do me any harm to brush up on my science too!

Animals by Ingela P. Arrhenius

This is one of the biggest books I have seen in the bookshop. And I have flicked through it's pages and can definitely say that the striking graphic style of the illustrations in this book are stunning! The retro style and bold typography absolutely has me desperate to add this to our bookshelf (although it's too big to fit on the shelf so it will need to have a special home!).

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson

It feels like every single kidsbookstagrammer has this book already. And they all love it. And to be honest that's enough to sell it to me as I value their opinions so much. But if it's not enough to sell it to you here's a bit more detail. CJ begins his weekly bus journey around the city with disappointment and dissatisfaction, wondering why he and his family can't drive a car like his friends. Through energy and encouragement, CJ's nana helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine. Packed full of beautiful illustrations of people for different backgrounds and ethnicities I think this is a must have for a diverse bookshelf. Exploring themes of urban life with honesty, interest and gratitude I think this is a must have for an intentional bookshelf (a bookshelf full of books that share important values). Also, Last Stop on Market Street has won multiple awards and spent time at the number one spot in the New York Times Bestseller List.

The Secret Garden: A BabyLit Storybook by Mandy Archer and Jane Newland

I love the BabyLit books that we have but they are all primers of basic vocabulary and BookBairn is beginning to outgrow them as she wants a bit more from a book now than just words. And I really want to introduce her to the stories I loved growing up. BabyLit Storybooks give classics new life for the next generation of early readers. I have no doubt that we will end up with the whole collection of these books! But I want to start with this one as it's one of my favourites! And Pride and Prejudice too!

I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of our wish list. As you can imagine our house is pretty packed full with books but there's always a few more on our wish list. And, like you, we can't possibly justify buying them all. But maybe our budget could stretch to these beauties?

[*Edit - can you guess which book I had to buy in the time between starting this post and finishing writing it?]

Happy book wishes,

Mummy and the bairns xx

Earlier this week I shared a gift guide for babies with some fabulous books for the littlest readers. Today I thought I would share some for children who are similar in age to BookBairn. Again I've tried to choose books that would appeal to a wide variety of readers and I've avoided festive reads (these will be part of our advent book tree post which is coming up next week). As I wrote this post I've realised how many are interactive books! The obviously appeal to me! But that's because they appeal to toddlers. All of the books I've chosen here are quite different in the interactivity so you shouldn't find them at all similar. Other than that they are all fabulous!

Tap the Magic Tree - Christie Matheson

This an enchanting story about a how a bare winter tree is transformed through the seasons. But with a difference. Little readers have to act out certain actions to make the tree change. Tap the pink blossom buds to make them open, wiggle you fingers to make the leaves change colour, shake the book to make the leaves fall off. It's just so clever how it teaches little ones about the seasons, tell a magical story and get them joining in. BookBairn loves these sorts of books where she feels like she is influencing the story. And this would make a great gift for little ones who love to change the story too!

Fly - Xavier Deneux

This is another brilliant little interactive book starring a family of little birdies. On the first page, we meet a little yellow bird who has found a tree to make her home in. And you have to lift the yellow birdy out and move the character into the tree! Then a little red birdy pops along and he moves in too (and again you can literally move him in). Next you can help them build their nest by moving the twigs around, and help their babies hatch from the eggs by removing the shell pieces. And finally, of course, you can lift out on the of babies and make it fly off into the sky! This book is incredibly stylish and the illustrations just pop-out of the page, both figuratively and literally. This is one of the books that BookBairn pulls of the shelf again and again and again and, to be honest, it's a wonder we haven't lost any of the pieces yet as she does like to play hide-and-seek with them! This book will be a hit with any tots and toddlers that you are buying for this year. It really is brilliant. (We reviewed this one a while ago but you can find it here.)

Say Zoop! - Herve Tullet

If you know a toddler who likes to make some noise then this one is for them! This book is an invitation to make noise - to sing, shout, whisper! Readers follow along with the coloured dots on the pages and quite simply oh and ah according to size, order and instructions. This is the first book that BookBairn can actually read by herself. After several reads together she now puts her fingers on the dots and shouts "oh" for the large blue dots, or whispers if it is a small dot and similarly the corresponding red or yellow spots. She is beginning to translate symbols into sounds - pre-reading skills. But this book isn't just an awesome learning tool. It's great fun! Really great fun! Herve Tullet is an expert in participatory bookmaking and ensures that children really engage with reading and books. So any of his books would make a great gift - 'Mix it Up' is BookBairn's other favourite. But kids will go dotty for this one!

Night and Day - Julie Safirstein

Got a little one who has a good vocabulary that you are looking to extend? This book is great at introducing and bringing to life basic concepts.

It is a hugely oversized book that is filled with opposite words: night and day, high and low, open and closed, as well as other basic vocabulary like numbers. But it goes beyond simple pictures to represent the concepts. It brings them to life. Truly. Colourful pop-ups, lift-the-flaps and cut-outs create an interactive book that is packed full of bold and modern graphics that will engage little ones with the concepts. This book gets read/played with over and over again. It's too big for the shelf to perhaps it has an advantage sitting beside all the other books but more likely it's because it's pretty awesome! This really is a book like no other. And would be a brilliant addition to any child's bookshelf (or floor in our case!). (You can read our full review here.)

One Day on our Blue Planet... in the Antarctic - Ella Bailey

This book has been re-read over and over again recently so I couldn't not include it here! It is a non-fiction adventure that is full of fascinating facts about a little Adelie penguin who is now old enough to venture out into the world on her own, exploring the Antarctic Ocean. This is the first book that I have read the expertly blends a story with facts in a genuinely convincing and natural way. The illustrations evoke the icy beauty of the Antarctic and the icy blue colour palette creates chilly pages that bring the story to life. The endpapers are an encyclopedia of Antarctic creatures found above and below the ice, and BookBairn is engrossed in these for hours and hours, spotting and naming animals! There are a few others in the series too - 'in the Savannah' and 'in the Rainforest' - so you might want to think about what kind of creatures your little one is fascinated by. For more details check out our review, and tiny BookBairn, by reading here.)

I hope you have found something that your toddlers would love! Please keep a look-out for my next list of recommendations for you (yes, you - grown ups!) which should be up early next week.

And if you want any specific recommendations please feel free to get in touch! All our social media links are in the header at the top of the blog - or you can just search 'bookbairn' to find us!

Happy Christmas Shopping,

Mummy and the elves xx

Disclaimer: these are all my choices. Some were sent from publishers but they were not sent in connection with this post. Their inclusion here is my choice. Because I really do think they are great.

I'm just crazy about Britta Teckentrup's fabulous artwork (her book Bee featured in my last post on My Top Five Favourite Picture Books). Her artwork takes picture book illustration to a whole other level into irresitible pieces of art that I just want to frame.

And I'm delighted that there's a new series of books that introduces these stylish illustrations to the littlest reader in our house. BookBairn has several of her spotting books and we enjoy looking over the illustrations to find the odd one out, or the matching pair. But for a long time she was too young to join in. But now there's a new series for little tots.

I'm not saying The Wee Page Turner can spot the odd one out in the 'Opposites' book or match the mother and baby in 'Animals' yet. Yet (in a blink of an eye he'll be all grown up and able to do this with ease). But he already really appreciates the high contrast colours and different images. We can sit and talk about the pictures, something so valuable to little ears, who pick up everything. And BookBairn can read these to him and help him find the matches.

These would make a very stylish new baby gift and as little hands learn to grasp the pages they will love the pop of colour and uncluttered design. Artistic, simple, clever. Love them.

*There are also four others in the series - 'Animal Spots and Stripes', 'Animal 123', 'Colours' and 'First Words' which are no doubt excellent too.

Happy spotting, matching and reading,

Mummy and The Wee Page Turner xx