The full title of today's cookery book review is Let's Cook Spanish, A Family Cookbook: Vamos a Cocinar Espanol, Recetas Para Toda la Familia by Gabriella Llamas. I think the title is a pretty good description. This is a book of Spanish recipes ideal for cooking with your children.


This is a  hardbacked cookbook which is written in English and Spanish, with introductions for the children in the family, and the grown ups. It takes the stance that cooking should be a fun, participatory event. I can't disagree with that. It also introduces Spanish into the English pages of the text, and my boys liked trying to pronounce the foreign words.

My 2 young boys love Alvin And The Chipmunks,  and were more than happy to preview the upcoming DVD release of their computer animated Nick Jr TV series Alvinnn!!! And The Chipmunks. Volume 1, Summer Of Sport, will be released on DVD on June 13th and contains the first 14 episodes from the show.


Summer Of Sport features all of the regular characters, including the guys - Alvin, Simon and Theodore, the Chipettes - Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor, and their long-suffering carer David Seville.  The total runtime for the 14 episodes is over 2 1/2 hours, making this a pretty hefty DVD, but it is broken into short bites and universally rated, so it works for any child, whatever their attention span.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have been entertaining children and adults since 1950. 20th Century Fox's computer animated 'The Peanuts Movie' is the first full length film featuring Charles M Shultz's world famous characters, and it's available to buy from 30th May 2016 on digital download, Blu-ray and DVD.


I watched the movie with my 6 and 7 year old boys and we all enjoyed it. The storyline is easy to follow for younger viewers, but there is enough going on to interest the more mature film fans - and their parents.

In the movie Charlie Brown and his friends cope with the arrival of a new girl in class, they manage to score a win over the kite-eating tree, and they generally just have fun being kids and playing with their friends. Snoopy meanwhile battles his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, including some great aerial action in his biplane and goggles.

Whit week half term holiday is somewhat unreliable, so here is a list of special events and activities running over the week for families in the North West. As usual I've kept it to events and activities that don't cost any more than £12 each

Don't forget your local museum and library, they nearly always offer holiday activities and clubs for a small charge, and entry is usually free - here is a great post by Jollies And Jaunts with 10 quirky items you can find in Manchester Musems..

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Trafford Centre has a second new 4D movie arriving - LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS! The LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS have to defeat the evil Jestro, the Book of Monsters and all their Lava Monsters - think wind, water and smoke - bringing the battle to life all around the cinema. Visitors can also see The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure. Both movies will be on rotation with two to three showings every hour.
There is also the new play area, City Builder, where visitors can create cities and buildings in the most unique city that can be imagined, including everything from huge skyscrapers to cosy family houses, all from LEGO. From £9.95 per person booked in advance.

CAPTURE THE FLAG is a brand new animated movie release from Universal Pictures. Available from Tomorrow 23rd May on Digital Download, and from 30th May on DVD and Blu-ray, it is an all-action thriller of a movie. It tells the story of a boy, his father and his grandfather, and how they ended up protecting the legacy of the original moon landing.


At the beginning of the movie our young hero isn't a future Astronaut, he's a kite-surfer, and his surfer mates help him when they discover a wealthy and egocentric billionaire has decided to wipe away any signs of the original moon landing, discrediting the astronauts and everyone else involved.

We've had the most awesome day today reviewing a special event at The Blackpool Tower, so I am anxious to spread the word because it would be a shame if they didn't sell out! Only for the next 3 Saturday mornings can you experience Tall Tales at The Blackpool Tower - and what you get is exactly the same as what we experienced...and it's a fantastic morning out...


For Tall Tales you have to arrive at 9am, an hour before The Blackpool Tower opens to the general public. This in itself is really special. Being inside when this amazing old building is virtually empty is something else...my youngest certainly felt it.

It's been a while since we reviewed for Orchard Toys, but their recycled card, UK made games and puzzles are still firm favourites in our house. Recently they have released a series of mini games, ideal for taking away with you on holiday. We've been sent Jungle Snakes And Ladders to review.


Everyone has played Snakes And Ladders, it's suitable from age 4+ and has been around since the 2nd century BC. A game of pure chance, so anyone has an equal opportunity to win.

We're long-standing fans of Transformers, and their latest release on Monday 23rd May is the next in the Robots In Disguise series. Rumble In The Jungle contains 6 new episodes from series 1 with a total runtime of just over 2 hours.


We've been sent a copy to review, and the characters and background storyline are obviously familiar, as this is a continuation of the series, the second after Transformers Robots In Disguise: A New Mission which we reviewed earlier. The 6 episodes in Rumble In The Jungle are:

True Colours
Rumble In The Jungle
Can You Dig It?
Advntures in Bumblebee-Sitting
Hunting Season
Out Of Focus

I have a huge freezer because I'm well aware of the #PowerOfFrozen. I've been asked by Iceland to take another look at their range and see if I can come up with an interesting meal for my family which demonstrates some of the benefits of using frozen food - quality and choice, value for money and convenience.


Freezing preserves vitamins and allows us to eat foods out of season, and it allows me to buy more cheaply for my large family. Among my shopping was this great 30 piece Barbeque Pack for only £5 - not only perfect for barbeques, also ideal for my little boys who often are the only ones eating meat at teatime in our house...

If you haven't yet visited LEGOLAND Discovery Centre at The Trafford Centre, Manchester then you may wonder what it's all about and how all that gubbins fits inside the building. Last time we visited we were allowed early access before the general public arrived, so I took advantage of the lack of crowds to take some photos and I can show you the inside of the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre....


You start your visit by going up in a lift. Once upstairs there is a waiting area with screens before you are allowed in to the LEGO Factory Tour in limited numbers to prevent crowding. Here you find out how LEGO is made in a very simplistic and child-friendly way