I didn't think I'd be working with Thomas again, our boys have all grown out of him now, but I'm a strong believer that children should learn all kinds of skills from story books without even realising it. Stay Safe With Thomas is a partnership between Network Rail, Mattel and Thomas & Friends, who have created a book which teaches children how they should behave around trains and railway lines.


This is the first time Network Rail has partnered with children's entertainment company Mattel, and the first time Mattel has published a Thomas the Tank Engine book with a rail safety theme.
In the past 5 years, the number of young people taking risks on railway lines has risen by 80%, so safety messages need to reach younger children before they are allowed to play unsupervised and put themselves in danger.

The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid was released this month by Workman Publishing. Produced by the team behind the incredibly popular Times Best Seller Atlas Obscura, their children's Explorer's Guide edition is a really beautiful book which showcases 100 of the most exciting and unusual places on our Earth. Be an explorer at home and discover the world's treasures...


The authors, Dylan Thuras and Rosemary Mosco, highlight lesser known and hidden places which children are unlikely to have heard of or read about previously. My 10 year old is a voracious fact-collector, but he has found a host of new places, customs and incidents described here - it really is very carefully researched and very different.


The illustrations by Joy Ang are bright and colourful, clearly depicting the description alongside and bringing a realism to the accounts. It's an unusual move not to have photographs, but it works and in many cases is more beautiful than the real thing, bringing a certain calm to the Self-Mummifying Monks of Japan and the Everlasting Lightning Storm in Venezuela.

My first Christmas Present Giveaway is Snot It, which has been sent to us by KD Games to review. Suitable for 2 to 4 players aged 6+, this is a very funny family game which really made us laugh and is not quite as disgusting as I expected!


Inside the box are 4 pairs of special glasses with noses, 4 sticky snots, 1 spinner, 30 boogers and a booger bowl which has a timer in the base. No batteries required, the box and plastic packaging is easy to open, plus you can store everything in the box afterwards - Christmas morning friendly.


Initial set up takes only 5 minutes to construct the glasses and insert the snots. The snots are made from that gooey-feeling, sticky sort of rubbery plastic and one end is poked into the bottom of the fake nose.

For the second year running Blacks are teaming up with popular weekend TV show Countryfile to support BBC Children in Need, raising money which will support disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

Special BBC Countryfile rambles will take place all over the UK, this year hoping to amass over 18,000 miles in total, walked by ramblers getting outdoors and enjoying their right to roam around our beautiful countryside.


Last year's Countryfile ramblers raised over £100,000 for the charity and this year they hope to beat that figure. For the second year Blacks have created a special BBC Children in Need Countryfile ramble hat to keep ramblers warm and raise a bit of extra money for the charity, as 50% of the purchase price is donated to Children In Need.

This month the Blogger Boardgame Club have sent us Set from Asmodee to review. Suitable for 1 or more players aged 6+, this is a fast-paced card game which really challenges your visual perception. Stay alert and you might have a chance of winning...


Inside the box are the instructions and the pack of 81 cards. Each card has 1, 2 or 3 symbols, in green, red or purple. Each symbol is clear, partly shaded or fully shaded, and each card has symbols that are ovals, squiggles or diamonds. No 2 cards are the same.

Inflata Nation is a group of indoor inflatable theme parks and the Manchester venue is the original. The UK’s first permanent indoor inflatable theme park was launched by a local husband and wife team and they already have 4 sites in the North West and the Midlands.


We were invited to Inflata Nation in Manchester to review and we booked our visit for last Saturday afternoon. An indoor inflatable theme park is unlike anything I've ever been to before and the Manchester site is inside a huge warehouse at Trafford Park.

Parking was a bit ad hoc. There is a large car park, but arriving on a Saturday afternoon we weren't exactly surprised to find it full. There's more on street parking, so we weren't far away.

Independent Toy Manufacturer Emmerse Studios have sent us 2 of their new Quirk! Card Game packs to take a look at. Suitable for up to 6 players aged 5+, Quirk! promises to be a very different sort of game which is funny and easy to play, and accepts you for being totally odd. In fact they encourage it...


We've been sent Original Quirk! and Quirk! Legends to review. Each pack contains Instructions and 56 Cards including:
39 Character Cards (13 different characters).
7 Tactic Cards
7 Skip Cards
3 Defence Cards


This is an ideal travel game as everything is contained within the pack of cards. The aim of the game is to collect Quirks. A Quirk is a group of 3 matching Character Cards. The person with the most Quirks at the end is the winner.

This week my 8 and 10 year old boys were in for a REAL treat. Rollplay have sent us the 12 Volt rechargable Nighthawk Ride-On to review and it's been a massive hit here! Very different to anything we've ever owned before and with a full 1 hour battery life, this is the stuff of your childhood dreams...


There really is no assembly, your ride-on arrives in a huge box and needs 12 hours to charge fully, stick in the flag at the back for visibility and you are ready to go. Ours is the 'Black' model, which has a lot of red too. White is also available.


The box has the Nighthawk, flag, power supply charge adapter cable with UK and European adaptors, plus instructions.

Fortnite Battle Royale is a very popular game here and has been played by most of us at some point, although I can't say I've had more than a try! The talk of the playground, what every player aims for is to be the final character left on the map from the 100 who start.

Carlton's Fortnite Battle Royale Ultimate Winner's Guide is released on 1st November and is designed to give you hints, skills and tips to help you stay safe from the storm and earn the coveted title of Winner. We've been sent a copy to review and it's my youngest son who has taken a good look at this one...


Fortnite has age guidance of 12+ and my younger children do play under my supervision. Full of illustrations and simple to follow diagrams and instructions, Fortnite Battle Royale Ultimate Winner's Guide is a full colour guidebook. My son sat and flipped through for ages before he settled on what to read first...

Brick Or Treat is an annual event at the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre at October half term leading to Halloween. Running until November 4th this year, we were given free entry and it was such a good visit that it would be rude not to tell you about it.


Brick Or Treat this year includes a pumpkin patch where you can add your own creation, a ‘Scarevenger’ hunt, spooky stop motion animation, Halloween character meet and greet, scarily themed mini land and until they run out, limited edition pop-badges and factory bricks!

Not only that but each paying adult can take one child who is dressed in Halloween costume with them for free!