The Little Boy who lost his Name …
… Day 12 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
The Little Boy who lost his Name is a very special entry in the #AtoZfavbooks challenge because it’s completely personalized with your child’s name.
In the story, the people that the little boy meets and the adventures he has are all determined by the letters in their name. So Max met a Mermaid with a comb tangled in her hair, an Aardvark eating ants and a pirate with a treasure map marked with a X. (He was particularly fond of the pirate.) A child with a longer name would get a longer story 🙂
The story was told in rhyme and had great pictures. I ordered one for my grandson and he thought it was very funny that the boy had the same name as he did.
As this has to be a print to order book, I did worry what the quality of the printing would be like but it’s superb; excellent colour and sturdy paper that takes the punishment that any book for children gets.
The books can be ordered from the LostMyName website. When you’re ordering you can see a preview of the book with the options for the letters in your child’s name which is a really great touch. ‘The Little Girl who lost her Name’ is available too.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter L in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Kiss Goodnight Sam by Amy Hest …
… Day 11 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
‘It was a dark and stormy night on Plum Street …’ so starts Kiss Goodnight Sam by Amy Hest and my book choice for Day 11 of the #AtoZfavbooks challenge. (You wouldn’t believe how good I’m getting typing #AtoZfavbooks!)
This is a wonderful bedtime story that is a firm favourite in our house.
Mrs Bear is putting Sam to bed. She follows all his usual bedtime routines; drinking milk, tucking him in and arranging his friends under the covers etc. But Sam still isn’t ready to go to sleep. What has Mrs Bear forgotten? Why, Sam’s kiss goodnight, of course 🙂
The illustrations are warm and inviting and the text is gentle and fun. My grandson’s favourite line in the book is after Mrs Bear finally remembers and ‘bends down, kissing Sam once and twice and then twice more’ and Sam shouts, ‘Again!’ “Again” became a line we had to repeat a lot.
Your little one will definitely have sweet dreams after reading this book.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter K in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Alhberg …
… Day 10 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
I had no trouble choosing The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg for Day 10 of the #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
This clever story combines fairy tale characters and the daily delivery of letters from our ‘jolly’ postman. Riding his bicycle round the town, his first stop brings a letter of apology for the Three Bears from Goldilocks. He’s also got a delivery of witchy goods to the witch from Hansel and Gretel and a postcard from the Giant to Jack.
This is a book I have to supervise at the moment as there are various removable letters tucked into pouches throughout the book which could easily to lost or ripped by my grandson who isn’t the most careful of people but he enjoys the story and the pictures (especially as The Three Bears is one of his favourite bedtime tales).
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter J in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
I am Otter by Sam Garton …
… Day 9 #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
I first encountered the fantastic I am Otter by Sam Garton on facebook in the days before the book was picked up and published by Harper Collins.
The illustrations are delightful and the funny logic of Otter and his sidekick Teddy makes for a great children’s book. I mean, who can fault Otter for opening a toast restaurant because he’s bored while otter-keeper is at work?
If you join Sam Garton’s mailing list, he regularly sends fun newsletters with the latest exploits of Otter, Teddy and the long-suffering otter-keeper which always make me smile.
I bought a hardback copy. This is going to become a classic.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter I in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Hairy Maclary by Lynley Dodd …
… Day 3 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy is the first book in a series of twelve books by Lynley Dodd about this lovable dog and his friends whose names are as gorgeous as their fantastic illustrations.
“Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum,
Bitzer Maloney all skinny and bony,
Muffin McClay like a bundle of hay,
Bottomley Potts covered in spots,
Hercules Morse as big as a horse
and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy”
My grandson is scared of dogs and I hoped showing these lovable doggy characters would take away some of that fear. Not sure this strategy was successful but we had fun reading the lovely rhyming text.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter H in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss …
… Day 7 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
OK, I admit it, Dr Seuss writes some my favourite books for children. I love his wacky sense of humour and the silliness of his stories. Green Eggs and Ham is one of my favourite favourites.
The book is centred around Sam-I-am (you have to laugh at just the name) who is trying to get rather strange and grumpy troll-like character to eat green eggs and ham. Why? We’ll never know but it makes for a funny story.
This Dr Seuss classic is the fourth best-selling English-language children’s book of all time and a must-have for your children’s book shelf which isn’t bad considering it started out as a challenge to the author to write a book using only 50 different words.
Love this animation that is voiced by the same actor who played Tigger.
Read and enjoy.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter G in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Better Buckle Up photoshoot
Another Better Buckle Up photoshoot and I just had to share these pics.
My little model did a great job at looking suitably fed up at the prospect of sitting in his seat.
I think we have a budding actor on our hands here.
Suzie x
Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy …
… Day 6 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
I have to admit, I had no idea for a book title starting with ‘F’. Luckily the library had Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy on it’s shelves … problem solved.
Mothers everywhere will appreciate the efforts of poor Mrs Large in her attempts to get a break from her family. Her relaxing bath is interrupted, first by her son playing the recorder, then her daughter reading a book, and finally all three children decide to join her in the bath. You’ve got to feel sorry for her.
The illustrations in this book are gorgeous with so much detail for your little one to look at and talk about.
I found a video of the story, if you’d like to check it out before you buy.
Happy Reading.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter F in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Even Firefighters go to the Potty by Wendy Wax …
… Day 5 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
Even Firefighters go to the Potty by Wendy Wax is a lift the flap book that makes potty training cool!
It’s not strictly about Firefighters, rather it features different professions that children tend to like, such as police officers, astronauts and construction workers. But the concept is simple. Every page has a different scenario where a critical person is missing. You lift the flap and find them sat on the toilet because … even firefighters to to the potty.
Did that make you laugh? Believe me, it works on a two year old.
My only reservation about this book is that the police officers, firefighters etc are sitting on a toilet and not what most young children consider to be a potty. This resulted in my grandson wanting to use the ‘big toilet’ – which was no bad thing but could be slightly confusing. (I feel this could be the result of an Americanism that didn’t cross over to the UK very well).
Wendy Wax also has a similar book Even Princesses go to the Potty, if that’s more your child’s thing.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter E in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell …
… Day 4 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
Dear Zoo is an absolute must-have classic children’s picture book. My children read it … over and over until the flaps were worn out … and now I read it to my grandchildren … over and over (flaps still intact but tiring at the time of writing).
This is the story of a little boy who wrote to the zoo to send him a pet and all the animals they send him. Little ones love opening the flaps and discovering the lion (who is too fierce), the camel (who is too grumpy), and the monkey (who is too naughty) and who are all found unsuitable and have to be sent back to the zoo. Luckily at the end of the book the people at the zoo send him the perfect pet.
You can find more of Rod Campbell’s books on the website dearzooandfriends.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter D in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.