The Little Penguin: Pororo's Racing Adventure is one of the latest children's animated titles from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The star is the little penguin Pororo, who has a dream to be a Super Sled champion, and gets his chance to shine when he participates in the ultimate Super Sled race with his friends.


Pororo accidentally causes an aeroplane to make an emergency landing near his home in Porong Village. The plane is piloted by 2 turtles, Toto and Mango, who are on their way to make a delivery to the Super Sled Championships. Pororo has told everyone he's a Sled-Champion, which isn't strictly true, he's a delivery boy.

Some children's books are a joy, and Secrets Of Winter is one of them. This is a book with a secret, in fact every other page holds a secret, and it's only when you 'shine a light' behind the page that you can find it's hidden treasure...


Written and illustrated by Carron Brown and Georgina Tee, Secrets Of Winter is one of a series of 'Shine-A-Light' books. We were reading at bedtime, so we used a torch to 'see' the pictures as we read.

Last weekend we were treated to an exclusive early morning visit to Sealife at the Trafford Centre in Manchester to have a look at their new visitors, the Octopi! Annoyingly they like to lie in and are more active later in the day, so weren't really in the mood for photos. Sealife are well aware of how temperamental they can be, and the Octopus area is somewhat wittily called Octopus Hideout.


We've been to Sealife several times as we've been Ambassadors for the last year and had an annual pass. It's always really handy to promise the young lads a trip to Sealife 'just after we've done this shopping...' Incentive always helps little legs from getting too tired. It's also calming after a visit to the more hectic LEGOLAND Discovery Centre next door.

And last Friday would have been her 18th birthday.

Milestones are hard because you are reminded so much of the 'should have been'. All the hopes and dreams and the loss of that potential. 18 is such a big birthday and one you imagine for such a long time, it was an event we had discussed and something Elspeth had always yearned to reach.

My partner didn't know I'd make a cake, and he also bought one, so forever more February 12th will be 'double cake day' and we will celebrate Elspeth's birthday in a way she would very much have appreciated. And we will smile.

Hotel Transylvania 2 is out on Digital HD, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray & DVD now. It continues the story of Jonathan and Mavis and their son Dennis, who live in Hotel Transylvania with her father Dracula and a host of other horrific creatures, safe from the more tender human population.

On 8th February the children's movie Maya The Bee was released on DVD and Digital Download. Based on the hit TV show of the same name, which was first shown in the 1970's and still airs on Tiny Pop, the Maya The Bee movie is actually suited to a wider and slightly older audience too.

Maya the Bee is the story of a young bee who has reached the age where she wants to get out into the big world and explore. When she does though, she and her friend Willy find that the fight between Bees and Hornets is actually not what everyone should really be worrying about, the much-loved Queen and the hive are secretly under threat from the Queen's own advisor.

This year Geronimo Children's Festival will be headlined by Justin Fletcher, otherwise known as the incredibly popular children's icon, Mr Tumble. It will return to Tatton Park in Cheshire from May 29th to 30th, PLUS new venue Harewood House in Leeds from May 1st to 2nd. This year's acts will include Mr Bloom, Cook And Line and Alex Winters.

Geronimo Festival will also feature a huge array of arts and entertainment including live music, theatre and a literary zone. Arts and crafts, zip lines, tortoise greeting and den-building will also be there, among the hundreds of crazy and unusual activities for children under 12.


Last year I was due to attend Geronimo with my children, but unfortunately it fell just after my hernia surgery, so we couldn't go. Instead of wasting the tickets, I arranged for one of my readers who had entered my ticket giveaway to go instead with her family. Her name is Sara, and here's what she thought...

Today Elspeth is not 18.

She won't be opening presents from her mates, or choosing what to buy with her birthday money. Her brothers won't be getting excited like little brothers do and waking everyone up early.

There won't be any post, no visitors, no giggling, no laughter.

She won't be taken out for her first legal drink by her Dad, and she won't get her first 2am passout.

She won't ever be driving us home.

She won't be starting the rest of her adult life and all that it holds onto.

She never got the chance to realise that being an adult can be great. She couldn't wait long enough.

We wish she could have waited, and we will eat cake, and we will always miss her...

This half term it seems everyone is pulling out the stops to cheer up what is likely to be yet another windy, rainy week. If you want to get out and about in Manchester this half term then here are a few places you can go which won't break the bank....

Manchester Area:

Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays, Manchester have Potato or Pike? for half term. Pack your sandwiches and dust off your pike. Discover what life was like in the Home Guard – also known as ‘Dad’s Army’. A week of free family activities this half term at IWM North between 13 and 21 February. Entry is free.

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.