Badger And Crab's Adventure is the latest release from author Catherine Trimby. Recommended for independent readers aged around 7-9, it tells the story of an unlikely friendship and has a message about preserving and looking after our UK wildlife, rather than feeling we have a right to control it for our own amusement or gain.


The story is centred on a badger and a crab, who meet one night on the beach. It isn't Badger's usual haunt, but he answers a cry for help and finds himself in a whole new world of sand and wetness. They have a common enemy, humans, and when both face imminent danger, they have to come to each other's rescue to survive.

Our latest game review is the tabletop card game, Fletter. A quick fire word game for 2-4 players , using 110 specially designed cards. Fletter is easily portable and a great game for taking away with you. Recommended for age 8+, although the letter cards are also brilliant for younger family members to practise their spellings or even learn their letters.

I'm often asked which books are good for children of various ages and I give my answers, but what does an actual 9 year old think? My own 9 year old is a voracious reader and it took him precisely 23 seconds to choose 9 of his favourite books - and here they are...


1.Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling
Everyone has heard of J.K.Rowling's student wizard and all of our children worked their way through the series of books with gusto. They are a fantastic natural progression with your child, as the books get longer, stories more complex and subject matter slightly more mature gradually from book 1 to 7.
My son says his favourite of the whole series is the 7th and final book, and he's read them all twice.

2. Nelly The Monster Sitter series by Kes Gray
There are several books featuring Nelly, a girl who has a part time job offering her services as a monster sitter. As you can imagine, looking after monsters isn't always the easiest job, but it's usually the funniest.

We really like the Nerf Nitro car launchers and the AeroFury Ramp Rage is a very neat set with a compact battery-operated launcher, 2 beautiful foam cars and the all important ramp for launching your vehicles as high and as fast as possible.


Packaging is almost entirely card and recyclable. It's best to cut the straps with scissors and unboxing only takes a couple of minutes. You will need 4 x AA batteries which aren't included, so don't forget them if giving as a gift. Inside the box you have the launcher itself, 2 awesome camouflage cars and one big yellow ramp.

100 years ago women were allowed to vote in UK elections legally for the first time. Only women over 30 with property worth at least £5 (or a husband with property worth £5) were allowed to vote, but it added over 8 million to the electoral roll (more than 5 million men aged over 21 were also allowed to vote for the first time).

Allowing another 13 million of the population to express their opinion was a giant leap and it was only another 10 years before voting rights were extended to the entire UK population over the age of 21. There are many flaws in our electoral system, but it's the best one we've got and the closest to democratic that will probably ever happen in our lifetime.

Women's Rights were fought and died for, and although I was born over 40 years later, we've come a long way. Manchester was the key location during the reformation of elections and the Suffragette movement, and there are masses of special events planned.


Manchester Museum Of Science And Industry


Contact Young Company celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act (1918) with She Bangs the Drums. Based on research at the People’s History Museum and will take place in the Museum of Science and Industry’s characteristic 1830 Warehouse as part of the city’s Wonder Women 2018 festival.
She Bangs the Drums will explore voices and stories from Manchester’s rich and radical past as a centre of protest, from the Suffragettes to the Chartists.
She Bangs the Drums takes place at the Museum of Science of Industry, Thu 8 Mar – Sun 11 Mar, at 12pm, 2pm and 7pm (Thursday & Friday) and 2pm and 7pm (Saturday & Sunday). Tickets are on sale now priced £13/£7 concessions via contactmcr.com or by phone on 0161 274 600. Please note this show is for over 14s only.


Manchester, Pankhurst Centre

The heritage centre has information about the Pankhursts and the Suffragette movement and is open to the general public on Thursdays from 10-4 and on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, 1-4pm.  Entry is free. For more information call on  0161 273 5673 or visit the website thepankhurstcentre.org.uk (Best to ring, the website is a touch out of date).

I'd seen Sphero Mini before, so I jumped at the opportunity to review. Sphero Mini App Enabled Robotic Ball is an amazing little table-tennis sized ball which is actually a very nippy little robot. You charge it, then control it and programme it, play games and guide it through obstacle courses or just drive around your table or room. It is tons of fun and we think it's awesome!


Sphero Mini is presented in a really smart plastic box which is great for storage and safekeeping afterwards. Inside you have your Sphero ball, USB charging cable, paper guide and a selection of gorgeous, brightly coloured obstacles. The Sphero Mini comes in a selection of 5 different, bright colours - great for knowing which is which if you have more than one!

Stargazey World is a crazy, wild ride of a book. It is full of everything that you can imagine - or that the main character Sheena can imagine anyway. A fiction book for children aged around 8+, everything starts ordinarily enough with a trip down to Cornwall for her cousin's wedding.


Sheena has naturally green, untamed hair and is teased by bullies because of it. She isn't exactly academic and struggles to pay attention in school, so the teachers find her a challenge too. She escapes into her imagination maybe a little too often, but in the unfamiliar setting in Cornwall, sharing a bunk bed for the first time and staying with relatives she barely knows, her imagination runs riot.

I was going to do a post about some of our favourite books for 8 year olds today, but, along with a lot of the country, we have had a snow day and our local weather has been so exhilarating that it's basically filled all my time.

Tuesday 7am - not enough to close school darnit

My young boys have yearned for their own snow day since they started nursery. We had snow on Tuesday and it was pretty impressive to look at, but not quite enough. Today though, they got one. Double bubble because they have another snow day tomorrow, although they don't know that yet.

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.

Where Peacocks Scream is a thrilling book aimed at children aged around 9+. A more grown up read, reminiscent of children's stories written when our Grandparents were children, it'll suit confident readers who like their tales with a lot of mystery and a degree of peril.


Our main character is 12 year old Daniel, who lives in a Pub named The Riverside. He has free run of the grounds, including a large island that is mainly overgrown and unused. Most of his free time is spent sculling (an unfamiliar term to my children) and looking after the boats at the local boatyard. His life is turned upside down by the arrival of a stranger at The Riverside - one who very quickly outstays his welcome and proves to be unlucky for everyone.