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Showing posts with label Early Readers. Show all posts

Thursday, 20 January 2022

A Mechanic, A Snail, A Bluebell and Ants... Self-published picture books for younger children (sent for review)

I don't get as much time as I'd like to review children's books nowadays, but today I am very happy to bring you 4 self-published illustrated story books for younger children. Full of pictures and ideal to read together, or for beginner readers to practise reading alone...

4 Children's Picture Books laid out in a square on the table

Daddies And Baddies by Mat Waugh Children's Book Review (Age 3-7+)

Mat Waugh has sent me his latest children's book for review, and it's a big, bold picture book suitable for reading together with younger children. Daddies And Baddies is the story of 5 daddies, 5 baddies and one crazy day....

Daddies and Baddies by Mat Waugh Children's picture story book review

I reviewed Cheeky Charlie for Matt a few years ago, and that was more of a children's storybook, so teaming up with an illustrator to release a picture book is very different. Graham Evans' style is very modern and cartoon-like, with the people always the focus of the image, even in a street scene.

Daddies and Baddies by Mat Waugh Stan's dad illustration and text example

OKIDO Which Way? Coding Game Review (for age 4-8+) Sent by OKIDO

I really like OKIDO. My boys have enjoyed their magazines for many years and now they are branching out with a range of kits and games. We've been sent the OKIDO Which Way? Coding Board Game to review. Everything OKIDO do brings together creativity with science, making it not only rewarding and fun, but educational and really accessible to all children - whatever their ability or gender.

Which Way? Coding Board Game is a bit young for my own children, so I enlisted help from some of the children who play in my garden all Summer, but they don't appear in the photos or video.

OKIDO Which Way Game Review - Coding for age 4-8 photo of box

I'm really impressed right from the start. This is a game which teaches young children to think 'like a coder' and prepares them for genuine computer programming and use. The design is simple genius, a line-following robot car with a magnetic board and track pieces, which are designed to replicate blocks of computer code.

Gruffles And The Killer Sheep by Kate Wiseman Young Fiction Review (Sent by Zuntold Publishing)

ZunTold Publishing’s next release is the third instalment in the hilarious Gangster School series by Kate Wiseman, Gruffles And The Killer Sheep, and we've been sent a copy to review as part of the Book Tour to promote release on 2nd September.

Recommended for children aged 6-13, although this book is third in a series, it also works as a standalone story. Characters are introduced gradually and the setting becomes obvious and understandable within the first couple of pages.

Gruffles And The Killer Sheep by Kate Wiseman book cover showing large gold tiyle and scary red eyed sheep drooling, gloomy old castle and 2 children running grinning

Gruffles is the stinky pet dog belonging to Charlie Partridge, a pupil at Blaggard's School For Tomorrow's Tyrants. His best friend is fellow pupil Milly Dillane and neither of them particularly want to beome master criminals. Fortunately they get plenty of chances to hone their skills protecting their school and it's pupils...

Stars of Paradise By Mary Obozua Children's Book Review Age 6-9+ (Sent by Hashtag Press).

Stars of Paradise is the first book in The Wonderful Life of Daisy & Ewe (The WLDE) series by Mary Obozua and I've been sent a copy for review by publisher Hashtag Press. Previously better known for her designer shoes and brand Mary Smith, she promises the series to bring girl power, a multicultural cast, mystery and fun packed adventures.

Stars Of Paradise is recommended for young independent readers aged around 6-9 and stars two schoolfriends, Daisy and Ewe.

Stars of Paradise By Mary Obozua Children's Book cover with softly coloured stars and clouds and feathers

Daisy and Ewe are quite girly girls. They're a bit pink and fluffy, but they are also incredibly intelligent and fantastic gadget-makers. These are the sort of heroes I like best. They remind me of my own childhood hero, and really do prove that you should never judge anyone by how they look.

AlphaBriks and Classic Brik Set review (age 4+) Sent by Strictly Briks.

Strictly Briks manufacture building blocks and other elements which are designed to work along with your own collection of building products and give you new and different options during play. We've been sent a couple of products to review. A 156 piece Classic Brik Set and the Strictly Briks AlphaBriks Set, which contains a 10" x 10" green baseplate, 100 letter and symbol tiles plus drawstring storage bag.

Strictly Briks.AlphaBriks and Classic Briks on baseboard spelling strictly briks

Strictly Briks produce elements you won't find from other manufacturers of building blocks, such as tall stacks to create levels, silicone baseplates, trap doors, flexible joining pieces and much more.

Pickles' Purrfect Plan by Carolyn Young Children's Book Review (sent by Matador)

Pickles' Purrfect Plan is a rhyming book for younger children and we've been sent a copy to review by Matador Books. Written by Carolyn Young and illustrated by Jo Blakeley, it tells the story of Wizard, Witch and Pickles the cat, who live together in a cottage in the woods.

I wouldn't usually cover books for children younger than my own, but I'm impressed with Pickles' Purrfect Plan. The story is sweet, the illustrations are excellent and the rhyming format works very well.

Front cover depicting cat wearing wizard's hat Pickles' Purrfect Plan by Carolyn Young Children's Book Review

Pickles, Witch and Wizard live a humble life in their cottage in the woods. One day a storm comes and the cottage is damaged. They search the house, but don't have the money to pay for repairs.

Pickles has a plan to help them and once they go to bed, he springs into action - with more than a little help...

Scholastic Book Parties - earning money for yourself and books for your school.

If your childhood was like mine then a highlight of every term was the Scholastic Book Club Catalogue of dreams. Full of colourful and exciting books at reduced prices, my parents always allowed me to choose a book and the day the delivery came was something very special.

I've worked with Scholastic now for over 3 years and all of the children's books in this post were sent to us by Scholastic for review over that time. There are some excellent books from some amazing authors...

Nowadays we don't have to wait until the new catalogue release, we can buy from Scholastic online all year round. All of the books are available at prices that are discounted from the recommended price by up to 70% and they've been specially selected by Scholastic, so you know they'll be good.

Totally Wild Fact-Packed, Fold-Out Animal Atlas Review for Carlton Books

The Totally Wild Fact-Packed, Fold-Out Animal Atlas by Jen Green is exactly what you'd hope. A big book with large scale colour pages full of all of the different animals you can encounter wherever you are on the globe.

Inside there are global maps and many larger scale maps for great chunks of the world, plus absolutely loads of information for each. Photographs and text support illustrations and although this is a fact book, the language used is modern and relaxed, so it doesn't feel like an educational book. Obviously it still has plenty to teach almost anyone...

A Hedgehog Story: Hedgehog Queen by David Hills review for Book Guild Publishing

A Hedgehog Story: Hedgehog Queen by David Hills is a new release from The Book Guild Publishing. Recommended for age 3-11, reading together or independent readers, this is a smaller book and a shorter read. A tale of friendship and being helpful to others, with maybe more than a tadge of imagination...

The story follows Hamish The Hedgehog, who wakes from hibernation and explores his world. As he walks around the garden he leaves a glittery trail behind him. A young boy names Alistair cannot sleep, he spots Hamish through his bedroom window and goes outside to meet him. They both benefit from the company, so play together and become friends.

The Totally Amazing World Atlas Review for Wellbeck Publishing

Carlton Books (now Wellbeck Publishing) make some lovely books for children and The Totally Amazing Fact-Packed Fold-Out Atlas Of The World is no exception. Genuinely full of information and big, bold illustrations, there's enough here to satisfy any young future explorer.

The book starts with a world map showing continents and The World At A Glance. The perfect introduction to our planet, neatly laid out and with text in manageable boxes. The book format is full colour in a large 24cm x 28cm with a really glossy cover and fold-out pages throughout.

Books To Encourage Reluctant And Less Confident Readers aged 6-8+

When your child first learns to read it's easy to become excited about all of the books you can share with them, but some children take longer than others to become confident readers. It can easily be a couple of years before you move from books which are mainly illustration with a few words on each page, through to big books with pages entirely full of text.

While one of my younger boys leapt off into the world of books, his younger brother just hasn't had that confidence. I've put together a few ideas for anyone who wants to encourage their children through this stage and build their skills and speed without making reading become a chore.

The Stink Before Christmas Book Review (age 3-6+) for Scholastic

The Stink Before Christmas is an especially festive book release from Scholastic. Written by Children's TV presenters Sam And Mark (Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes) and illustrated by Tom Knight, it is of course a retelling of Twas The Night Before Christmas - with just a little tweaking of the storyline. In Sam and Mark style...

We were sent a bonus item - a whoopee cushion. I never thought I'd pretend 'I don't know what I'm about to sit on' so many times in my life. This is child no.7, I can spot a whoopee cushion from the next room.

Write Size Pencils - the right size for children's hands.

Write Size are a range of differently sized children's pencils designed especially to help with handwriting. There are 3 sizes, each with specific design features to help younger children learn to write neatly without the frustrations standard pencils can pose.

I first saw Write Size Pencils at Blog On September, and I was really interested. Having watched and helped all of our children learn to write, we've had many struggles with grip, or pencils with lead that snaps every 15 seconds. I was really intrigued to see how Write Size were different, and how that works in reality.

One Third Stories Review - Learning Languages Through Storybooks.

It's a lovely day when I'm sent something that I liked the sound of, and it far surpasses my expectations. One Third Stories have really achieved that. Their ideal is that every child should have the chance to be bilingual - they want to start a language learning revolution through stories - and their first books are available now. We've been sent the French Language Learning Bundle to review.

I have reviewed children's books now for several years and I was introduced to One Third Stories at a very early stage when they launched on Kickstarter. I liked the sound of it so much that I agreed to promote it - and I'm very pleased I did. The finished product is gorgeous, and it really works!

The French Lanuage Learning Bundle we've been contains a Story Book (with excellent illustrations by Hannah Hutchings), Activity Book (in 4 languages), sheets of double-sided press-out Flash Cards (one side English) and a French Fact File.

Letts 'Back To School' Book Bundle Giveaway and 30% Discount Code

Letts have a huge range of learning books for children and young people throughout school and college, from the earliest letter and number skills for age 3, right up to A level revision. With the 'Back To School' panic now underway Letts are offering all of my readers a 30% discount on their entire range of books, and one of my readers can win a huge £50 bundle of books suited to their child.

After the Summer break we're all busy preparing uniforms, shoes and PE kits, but getting children back into a learning frame of mind is really important. There are lots of great books to choose from and Letts has some really engaging and motivating learning books.

For younger children Letts have ranges such as 'Monster Practice' and the new 'Wild About...', and we reviewed some of the Wild About books this June...You can find our full review of Letts Wild About Workbooks here...

Water - My First Discoveries Children's Book Review (age 4+)

Water is one of life's essentials, but it's also pretty amazing and has some unique properties. This book might not touch on all of those, but it's a great introduction to something we all take for granted. Suitable for young independent readers, but best for reading together, Water - My First Discoveries by Pierre-Marie Valat is not only full of information, it has a really interesting format...

The My First Discoveries books are a hardback spiral bound series, with around 24 stiff card pages and 6 transparent acetates. Designed for children aged around 4-8, Water is a more intelligent and 'grown up' board book.

Storytime Magazine (age 2-11) Review and Discount Code

Storytime Magazine has the aim to move away from 'free gifts' and TV tie-ins, and deliver good old fashioned tales. Myths and legends from around the world and from throughout the history of writing, side by side with brand new children's stories and poems written by unknown authors or Children's Laureates.

I love to hear my children read to me. I feel waves of pride listening to my 5 and 7 year olds put on voices, pay attention to exclamation marks and 'sound out' those tricky words as they stride through yet another story. They have a love of books and reading which started before they were even able to sit up, as we sat them on our knee and shared picture books and cloth books with them.

Just as reading together is great for babies, it's great for my children now. We read most nights, but the difference is that we take it in turns. I love hearing them read as much as they still love to hear me read. Storytime magazine is perfect for bedtime reading together for children aged 2 to 11.

Star Wars Reading Campaign Children's Books Giveaway and Review with Egmont Publishing

Egmont Publishing are working very hard this year to encourage children to develop a love of reading, and one of the ways they're doing it is by releasing a huge range of Star Wars books. We've been sent the Star Wars Treasury: The Original Trilogy and the Star Wars Starfighter Workshop, plus a Star Wars Young Reader each for my 5 and 7 year old boys.

It'll be no surprise to regular readers that my young boys both love reading, we're very lucky. My oldest son was a very reluctant reader, and one of the ways I managed to get him to read was by buying Star Wars books and annuals. We still have them, and my little boys still read them!

Dream Letters - Making writing fun for children aged 5-12

Dream Letters is a big hit in France where it was first launched and now it's coming to the UK, just in time for Christmas. Designed to help encourage children to really enjoy reading and writing, it places your child into an imaginary storyline and uses their own responses to carry the story forward in a way that suits your child.

We'll be reviewing Dream Letters later on, but it'll only just arrive in time for Christmas, so it'd be too late to order if you want to look at it for your child.

Receiving letters through the post is a delight for any child, and writing letters in reply can be a great way to get a reluctant child to become excited about writing. When they are older penpals can be great for children, but younger children aren't really equipped to chat to a stranger who doesn't prompt them and talk about things that they understand.

Dream Letters is very different because your child is placed into their own personalised fantasy story. Your child's first letter informs them they're now King or Queen of their own kingdom, and the first pack contains 4 letters, a map, certificate, paper crown, stickers and a badge saying "Call Me Your Majesty".

About The Brick Castle

COVID-19 UK and World News Updates every couple of weeks. (I couldn't do 7 days a week forever!)

Play and entertainment for children and young people from tiny to teen and beyond. Skilled at Lego building, reviewing big kid toys and mending all things trodden on.
My family lost our 16 year old to suicide in August 2014. I write about this occasionally, and I collect smiles as often as possible.
Mainly my own content with an occasional guest post to put food on the table. If I didn't write it, they'll have certainly paid me to host it.

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Thursday, 20 January 2022

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