BookBairn

Once Upon a Raindrop

A Walk in the Countryside

Under the Same Sky

We Are Together

Singing in the Rain

Blown Away

What a Wonderful World

The Most Magnificent Thing

Today is Valentine's Day and it's a lovely day for sharing a wonderful book with your little ones to show how much you love them and I've got a great list of those here for you (they are perfect any day of the year!). But it's also Book Giving Day meaning it's a wonderful day to share books with other children too - perhaps with children who need them more than you do. There are still some shocking statistics about the number of children who don't have access to books at home.

In the past to celebrate Book Giving Day, we have held a book treasure hunt in our town hiding books all over local parks etc for little ones to find and enjoy but this year I'm making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of plastic that we use so I didn't want to wrap the books in plastic to keep them safe from the damp Scottish conditions. So I decided against doing that this year. And last year I did ten days of competitions on my social media feeds giving away lots of books in collaboration with publishers. But that takes a lot of organisation and quite honestly I didn't have time to do that this year. Perhaps later in the year?!

So when a friend of mine told the nursery staff at BookBairn's nursery about my book excess they very politely asked if I had any that I could donate for the World Book Day plans next month. And of course I said yes. As regular readers know, we are fortunate to get sent lots of books from publishers, and whilst I tend to keep most of the books we request and ones that we are asked in advance if we would like posted we often get unsolicited books too. We just can't store them all - I'm currently at a rate of more than a book a day so far this year. We live in a cottage - there is only so much shelf space! So it's nice to be able to share our book wealth!

Since BookBairn's nursery is on half-term holidays today we handed the books in earlier this week - about 40 so far (I had donated a large bundle for the Christmas Toy Drive in December so you can see we collect quite a few in a short space of time) and I intend to drop books in on a more regular basis. We also dropped off a dozen board books to The Wee Page Turner's nursery as these were better suited to the baby room than the older bairns at BookBairn's nursery.

And it felt really good to share! Firstly I am having a purge of stuff from our house following watching the Marie Kondo programme on Netflix and reading her book and I love nothing better than a good declutter. And I really have sorted the bookshelves too! And also because I know that those books, which go unread on our still over-stuffed bookshelves, will be read and enjoyed by lots of other children as well as my own.

If you want to know more about Book Giving Day check out their website for details and have a look on Twitter on @BookGivingDay as well as the hashtag #bookgivingday for inspiration.

Happy Book Giving!

Kim and the bairns xx

The human spirit thrives in nature. When we connect to our natural world it can create feelings of happiness and connectedness with others. Breathing in that fresh air sends a rush of good vibes to our brains and exploring all of nature’s creatures and beauty is just another avenue to learning. So this month, why don’t we celebrate the wonder of nature in picture books?! The singing birds, buzzing bees, crashing waves or swaying trees? Find and share any books that illustrate the wondrous environment around us and pay homage to our sweet Mother Nature.

During January the @kidlitpicks book club featured books about nature. Thanks to Angelique from Heads Shoulders Knees for the inspirational theme!

I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree, by Fiona Waters and Fran Preston-Gannon

“Because it is summertime in our part of the world, we started halfway through. In all truth, we’ve read more than one poem every day because this book is darling, with wonderful bite-sized nature-themed beauties by poets such as Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, Robert Frost and Emily Bronte, and soft, friendly illustrations.” — Summer from @readingisourthing

My Little Forest and My Little Garden, by Katrin Wiehle

“While the images are printed to look flat, they have an energy and texture about them that jumps right off the page." — Mel from @spiky_penelope

The Little Gardener, by Emily Hughes

“We love this book for its detailed, whimsical illustrations, it’s simple repetitive text and it’s big heart.” — Claire from @alittlebookhabit

Wild, by Emily Hughes

“It’s a gorgeously illustrated book with a lot of heart and some really good discussion points if you have an older audience.” — Claire from @alittlebookhabit

Bug Hotel and Bird House, by Libby Walden and Clover Robin

“These are perfect for when Spring returns and gardens become a-buzz with bees and beasties and trees a-flutter with feathered friends.” — Kim from @bookbairn

The Flight of Mr. Finch, by Thomas Baas

“Indeed it is a reminder that the journey is more important than the destination and perhaps what one seeks after most is closer to home than previously imagined.” — Miranda from @bookbloom

Illuminature, by Carnovsky and Rachel Williams

“This book is seriously cool, engaging, informative and fascinating!” — De from @books_and_babycinos

Animals in the Night, by Ruth Austin and Iris Deppe

“This is a lovely way to engage children in learning about animal behaviour and habitat.” — Carissa from @bookskidslove_

Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill, by Heather L Montgomery and Kevin O'Malley

“This book is seriously fascinating.” — Carissa from @bookskidslove_

The Clue Is in the Poo, by Andy Seed and Claire Almon

“There’s loads of pictures on every page and interesting information about animals from around the world.” — Carissa from @bookskidslove_

Shell, Beak, Tusk: Shared Traits and the Wonders of Adaptation, by Bridget Heos
"This is a compelling picture book for older kids that brings to life theories of evolution in small, easily understood fun facts." — Rossa from @curiouslittlepeople

Where in the Wild, by Jenny Lambert

“Its bright and engaging pictures are guaranteed to grab the attention of the smallest readers and its rhythmic language sounds like a sweet song.” — Angelique from @heads.shoulders.knees

A Forest, by Marc Martin

“This story demonstrates the touching reality of renewal and conservation.” — Angelique from @heads.shoulders.knees

The Honeybee, by Kirsten Hall and Isabelle Arsenault

“This beautiful book, vibrant with gold and black, provides a simple yet thorough journey through the life of bees!” — Angelique from @heads.shoulders.knees

Little Fox in the Snow, by Jonathan London and Daniel Miyares“The lyrical and subtly rhyming text blend together perfectly with the illustrations to accentuate the stillness and urgency of nature.⁣” — Heather from @kidlitbookbits

Finding Wild, by Megan Wagnor Lloyd and Abigail Halpin

“Finding Wild is a gorgeously illustrated exploration of the wild that can be found all around us if we just take the time to look.” — Anna from @kidlitcrafts

OUR FEBRUARY THEME IS:

Where would we be as a society without trailblazers? They are often the first people to do something or go somewhere and they show us that it is also possible for other people to do the same. Whether they are the explorers from days before, inventors that chose to make something that everyone said was impossible to current trailblazers that are defying people's expectations of them, these humble heroes inspire both adults and children alike. So join us this month as we find and share books that pay tribute to these amazing people!

To get in on the fun, share your favorite trailblazer book and hashtag #kidlitpicks_trailblazers.

Happy Reading,

The #KidLitPicks Team and Kim x

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

As Valentine's Day approaches I notice that lots of fellow bloggers are sharing all things love and romance. But I shared a list of books last year about love in a more romantic and Valentine's based sense so this year I wanted to try and take a slightly different point of view and share books that celebrate one of the strongest loves there is. That between a parent and a child. Not the romantic sort of whimsical something from fiction love but real realistic love. Becoming a parent has changed me thoroughly and completely and have a very different perspective on life and on love. And one of the ways I like to share with the bairns how much I love them is through the stories we read and we have a great selection. These aren't all the books we have on the topic - it would be a much longer blog post - so I wanted to share with you a selection of the ones that we enjoy best.

Emma Dodd's Love Series

Emma Dodd writes the most wonderful books about parental love. The love between a parent and a child is such a magical thing and quite tricky to capture well but Emma's words do a superb job of capturing that everlasting, all-encompassing, forgiving love. And I think Emma captures it so well in her books but in a poetic, beautiful bedtime story sort of prose. The illustrations are also beautiful and if you get the paperback or hardback (not board book) editions every other page has foil details that make the illustrations really shine! As you can see from the photograph our copies are well-loved: I think I have read 'Me" (it's our favourite) over a thousand times. And I'm not exaggerating. It's one that we can all recite from heart (except The Wee Page Turner who is still keeping his voice to himself!) If that doesn't tell you how much we love this one I don't know what I could say to convince you further. We love the whole series and frequently pick them up in the library. And the new release What Matters Most is a lovely story which explores the themes of identity and acceptance encouraging parents and children to think about the simple joys in life. And shows a parent and child exploring them together. (It's released 7th February so just in time for Valentine's Day.)

Love is... by Diane Adams & Claire Keane

Simply this book describes what Love is. It is the story of a little girl who finds a duckling lost and abandoned in the street so she takes it in to look after it. Each page begins "Love is..." and some of my favourite lines include:

"Love is noisy midnight feedings, show box right beside the bed."

"It's early mornings, messy bath times, tidying up, and settling down."

If that's not real love... Perhaps I appreciate this book so much because having a duckling is a lot like having a new baby to look after! Written in rhyming phrases (although the ones I've shared are only part of the rhyming phrase) it is a lovely read aloud story. And will help you share that you want to love and protect your little ones until they are ready to fly on their own. The colour palette is very soft and the illustrations are simply enchanting - baby duckling is so cute you will want one of your own!

Under the Same Sky by Britta Teckentrup

We all live under the same sky and we experience many of the same hopes and dreams and emotions wherever we are. We feel the same love. We face the same storms. In this beautiful lyrical text, Britta Teckentrup celebrates and cherishes all that we have and share. Despite different colours, environments and experiences, as are depicted in her stunning illustrations of animal families all around the world, we all are under that same sky. This is a magical story that will help you feel close as you read together and would be a lovely one to read if you are away from a loved one. We actually bought this book as part of The Busy Box Little Loves Special Edition Box last Valentine's Day and it came with some great goodies including positive 'yes mum' affirmation kids for kids and a box of crayons in all different skin tones as well as paper to draw lots of different people under the same sky. It makes a lovely Valentine's gift for little bairns.

You're Safe with Me by Chitra Soundar & Poonam Mistry

If you're looking for something utterly unique, the illustrations in this book will absolutely take your breath away. This is a beautiful story about bedtime in the Indian forest and all the baby animals are afraid of the storm. But Mama elephant is on hand with her kind words of wisdom that will reassure them. "You're safe with me." Isn't that what all children want to hear when the are afraid? With all the elements of a fable, but reads like a folktale and illustrations that will make you gasp at their intricacy, this is a perfect bedtime story. The illustrations are so intricate and magical that they beautifully capture the loving relationship between mama and the animals as well as the wondrous world around them. The follow-up books You're Snug with Me is equally as wonderful!

You Can Never Run Out of Love by Helen Docherty & Ali Pye

One of the things that it's lovely to remind our children is that our love is endless and will always grow and make room for more. Especially if children are adjusting to a new sibling or a life change of some kind. And this lovely book holds a very simple message: You Can Never Run Out of Love. Written in rhyming prose it shares all the things that you can run out of: batteries, patience, time, milk, nappies, energy; but puts them in contrast with the one thing we can never run out of: love. Such a simple message but truly wonderful to share with little ones (and big ones!).

"You can't measure love in a bucket or cup.

You don't have to worry you'll use it all up.

'Cos love's not a game, where you have to keep score.

Whenever you give some, you'll always have more."

With Your Paw in Mine by Jane Chapman

Isn't it adorable that otters hold hands as they drift and sleep? It's an image that is synonymous with love. So this lovely book based around just that! When Miki is young, she holds tight to her mother's paw each day and night. And as she grows she finds a special friend to hold paws with too. During a storm, as danger comes, the otters hold tight to each other and the raft of otters grows and grows as more otters join the bond. Such a beautiful story about belonging.

I'll Love You Forever by Owen Hart & Sean Julien

This is such a wonderfully nurturing story of a little polar bear cub and his grown-up as they travel through the seasons in their wintry landscape. Although the snow melts and the leaves turn golden, little cub learns to rely on the guidance, reassurance and love of their carer bear. This is a wonderful portrayal of the steadfast love between a parent and child - never faltering despite changing conditions, landscapes and challenges. The lack of defining the gender or even age of the characters means that it is a lovely book for mothers and fathers, grandparents and older siblings to share with little readers. And the beautiful landscapes and scenes with throw you and those little ones into the story together.

Edie by Sophy Henn

This is perhaps and odd choice as at it's core this book isn't really about love or parenting. It's about a little girl called Edie who is filled with excitement and unintended mischief. But I want to include it here as no matter what mischief she gets up to - and she gets up to lots - at the end her family all love her just the way she is. And that's an important message of love too. (And also I adore this pained illustration on the parents' faces after Edie has drawn on the wall - that's real parenting right there and therefore it's real love!)

Isle of You by David LaRochelle & Jaime Kim

Based around this incredibly clever play on word Isle of You plays on the idea that when children are worried or suffering with anxiety, loneliness or are feeling sad they can always travel to the Isle of You. A magical land where all your dreams can come true: you can dance with roller skating polar bears, soar on the back of an eagle, or even discover hidden treasure! With dreamy illustrations and a calming story this will help soothe little children at bedtime and leave them with that little reminder - that you love them. This book is subtle and perfect.

The Kiss by Linda Sutherland & Jessica Courtney-Tickle

How far can a small act of kindness travel? This book is such a sweet tale of little Edwyn who shares a kiss with his grandma who then shares it with the people that she meets that need it. Learning to be observant of the feelings of others, and sharing small acts of kindness is the central message of this book and with a fairytale feel it is a truly heart-warming story. The illustrations are magical and I love the clever bringing to life of the kiss.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram

This classic needs little explanation as to why it's on the list! I love you all the way to the moon and back is a great final line to read with your little ones right before they drift off to sleep.

A Hug is For Holding Me by Lisa Wheeler & Lisk Feng

"Look around and you will see all the things a hug can be!"

This is such a sweet and cosy book to cuddle up and read together. It's all about the love and affection and invites children to engage with the natural world in a fresh new way. Hugs can be the egg with a little bird inside, the cocoon of a caterpillar, the flower bud and the seashell. I love how beautifully nature is interwoven in the poem. But what about the hug between parent and child? Well that's something extra special.

"So Many things a hug can be be.

So much a hug can do.

Your hug was made for holding me...

... my hug is for holding YOU!"

Under the Love Umbrella - Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys

This book is quite simply a celebration of the joy and comfort that love can bring. And of course that's not simple feat to achieve in a short picture book. And yet this book does all that and more. It captures the everlasting, all-reaching, breadth and depth of love. For children knowing that they are loved no matter where they are, what they do helps them to grow and learn to be independent. And for parents that's one of the most important things that you want for your child: for them to know that you will always love them. Always and everywhere. Not only does this book help parents share this message and children believe it, it is a beautiful book. Each word chosen so carefully. And each brushstroke, colour choice has been given equal consideration. Of the books I've included here this is definitely one that I can share with BookBairn but I share it with her as much for myself. Because this is a picture book for grown ups too!

Some other books we like the look of but don't own:

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman - we borrowed this from a friend and it's so good!

That's Me Loving You - Amy Rouse Rosenthal- this one looks adorable in both the board book and picture book formats.

You can find all these books saved in our new section on the shop here:

BookBairn's Amazon Shop

So I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day! And you have someone you love to share a story with.

Kim and the bairns xx