Giveaway Ends Today!
Today is your last chance to win an autographed copy of Better Buckle Up in the Giveaway over on Goodreads.
Entry is free and open to people all over the world. Although you do have to be a member of Goodreads, signing up is free and easy too.
Better Buckle Up is a children’s picture book that aims to make car safety fun. You can find out more here but this is what people are saying.
The colourful illustrations are delightful and add a level of humour for the parent to enjoy, while reading the story with their young family. Callie Carling
A delight for parents and children. Murboyd
This book does an excellent job reinforcing the importance of buckling up … in a manner that empowers the child to choose and cooperate. L. Favreau
A very clear and positive message, in a captivating story. P. Edwards
The winner will be chosen by Goodreads when the competition closes at midnight on 21st June.
So click on the form underneath for your chance to win.
Good luck.
Suzie xx
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Father’s Day
As we come up to Father’s Day, I’ve been looking at some books that celebrate Dads everywhere for you, and Dad, to share with your little ones.
First up is “Just me and My Dad” by Mercer Mayer. The book is part of the well known Little Critters series and is a lovely story about an eventful father-and-son camping trip.
Despite all the things that go wrong, the duo manage to have a great time. The book has detailed illustrations with so much to look at and talk about. A real feel-good read.
Of course, daughters and dad’s can have great days together too. Check out “Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too” by Anna Dewdney, a funny book told in rhyme.
What I particularly liked about this book is that it breaks with traditional gender stereotypes, so we see Daddy not only building a playhouse with daughter Nelly but cooking her dinner, running errands and reading her stories. What a great dad 
My next choice is “When Dad Showed me the Universe” by Ulf Stark. This book has beautiful, dreamy illustrations which match the wonderous tone of the text.
This is a story all parents can relate to. Dad plans to show his son the magic of the universe with a night-time walk but his trip doesn’t go as he’s planned and despite the fact his son totally sees the beauty his father is trying to show him, Dad fails to notice. It’s not as sad as it sounds, just a really good story that can be enjoyed by parents and children alike.
“Me and my Dad” by Alison Ritchie … a role model book for father’s everywhere to aspire to.
Daddy Bear wakes Little Bear with tickles and kisses, plays with him, teaches him to swim, protects him from thunderstorms, then cuddles him under the stars for a bedtime story. Wow! What a dad.
Finally, I’ve included The Day I Swapped my Dad for a Goldfish, by Neil Gaiman. This is a book for older readers (probably 5 upwards) but adults are going to love the story too. Obviously the title gives away the plot but there are plenty of twists you won’t expect as the story unfolds.
I think I share the same sense of humour with Mr Gaiman because, even though it’s completely unrealistic that you should be able to swap your father, I find it very funny.
Here’s wishing all Dads a Happy Father’s day. Have lots of fun whatever you read.
Suzie x
Goodreads Book Giveaway
About empathy?
“Empathy: The ability to identify with or understand another’s situation or feelings. The Free Dictionary.”
Empathy is our capacity to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, to know how they’re feeling and then to use that understanding to guide our actions. And it’s a vital skill every child should learn.
“The brain development of babies has deep implications for society. A human being without a properly developed social brain finds it very difficult to empathise with other human beings. This can pose risks along a spectrum from a lack of emotional resilience leading to depression or general unhappiness, to antisocial behaviour, drug-taking, and criminality, and at the most extreme end to psychotic behaviour.” Andrea Leadsom.
How reading helps.
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes
Humans are hardwired to listen to stories. Our brain loves them. They help us make sense of the world and our experiences. A good story can make us laugh or cry. We put ourselves in the protagonists shoes, feeling their pain or their happiness as if it was our own. We are emotionally transported into the story.
Psychologist Dr. Raymond Mar has shown that children begin to understand that other people have thoughts and feelings that are different from their own between the ages of three and five. Reading stories and talking about the behaviour of characters in books is a non-threatening way to help children sort out the rights and wrongs of their experiences.
[bctt tweet=”Reading is a way of thinking with another person’s mind: it forces you to stretch your own. Charles Schribner Jnr. ” username=”suziewauthor”]And it’s not just speculation. One study by neuroscientist Gregory Berns, showed MRi scans of people had heightened connectivity in the area of the brain associated with receptivity for language after reading a passage of a novel.
“The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist,” Berns says. “We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”
Disturbingly, watching TV has the opposite effect, with children exposed to lots of television performing worse in theory of mind tests.
[bctt tweet=”Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another … and feeling with the heart of another. Alfred Adler” username=”suziewauthor”]Some books about empathy.
And some books to share with your baby.
Whatever you do, make sure you read with your baby. There is no down-side.
Suzie x
Zog by Julia Donaldson…
… Day 26 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
It’s the last day of the #AtoZfavbooks challenge and the book for Day 26 is Zog, by Julia Donaldson.
Let’s face it, you could fill your shelves with books by Julia Donaldson and get a winner every time but let’s focus on Zog.
Zog is a young dragon at Dragon school who is learning how to breathe fire, roar and capture princesses. He’s very keen, but not always very successful. However, when Princess Pearl volunteers to go back to school with him, he finally gets the gold star he was trying for. But in a clever plot twist, this is not the end of the story. A knight comes to rescue Princess Pearl, who has been having a great time looking after the young dragons and she doesn’t want to go.
How will the story work out? Julia Donaldson’s brilliant imagination comes up with a happy ending for everyone … even the knight’s horse.
Told in rhyme and featuring fantastic illustrations with lively colour and lots of detail, this book is bound to be a winner with you and your little ones.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my choices for the #AtoZfavbooks challenge. Look out for my round-up of the books and the things I learned along the way coming soon.
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 Z in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
You can’t take an Elephant on a Bus by Patricia Cleveland-Peck …
… Day 25 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
You can’t take an Elephant on a Bus. Well, of course you can’t. This book, chosen for the pen-ultimate of the #AtoZfavbooks challenge, explains why.
It then goes on to look at other modes of transport for different animals. We see centipedes on roller skates, pigs on skateboards and monkeys in shopping trolleys; all with appropriate, hilarious explanations of why this would not be a good idea.
I don’t know why, but I haven’t chosen many books written in rhyme. Children love the rhythm of the verse in this book and there is plenty to talk about in the funny illustrations. After several readings of this book, we started making up silly scenario’s of our own which was really fun and a great way to spark your child’s imagination.
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 Y in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Giveaway on Goodreads: Better Buckle Up
Starting today, there’s a chance for you to win a shiny, new, paperback copy of Better Buckle Up in the giveaway over on Goodreads autographed especially for you or your child.
Entry is easy.
Click on the link below.
(You do have to be a member of Goodreads, but it’s free and there are lots of other interesting books for you to try for as well)
Better Buckle Up aims to make car safety fun. You can find out more here but this is what people are saying.
The colourful illustrations are delightful and add a level of humour for the parent to enjoy, while reading the story with their young family. Callie Carling
A delight for parents and children. Murboyd
This book does an excellent job reinforcing the importance of buckling up … in a manner that empowers the child to choose and cooperate. L. Favreau
A very clear and positive message, in a captivating story. P. Edwards
The winner will be decided by the Goodreads team on 21st of June.
So, don’t delay. You have to be in to win.
Good luck.
Suzie x
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Xavier Ox’s Xylophone Experiment by Barbara deRubertis …
… Day 24 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge
OK, I admit it. I had no idea what book to choose for Day 24 of the #AtoZfavbooks challenge. We didn’t have one that started with X at home and I couldn’t find one on my visit to the library. Thank goodness for Google. And enter Xavier Ox’s Xylophone Experiment by Barbara deRubertis.
The book is part of the Animal Antics A to Z series published by Kane Press. (Hey, if I’d known that at the beginning of the challenge, I could have used all their titles and had an easy time 
) Anyway, it has beautiful illustrations that I fell in love with immediately and is a fun story about Xavier, an ox who loves music. When his enthusiastic drumming at school ends in the boxes he’s using as a drum kit exploding into pieces, and the xylophone he would like is too expensive for him to buy, his school friends experiment to build him a xylophone he won’t be able to break.
Does the xylophone experiment succeed? You’ll have to read it and find out.
As well as being a good read, this book has the added advantage of giving early readers practice in the letter X which can be quite hard to find. With titles like Kylie Kangaroo’s Karate Kickers and Tessa Tiger’s Temper Tantrum other books in the series promise to be just as good.
So, here’s my new favourite book for X. Bet you can’t say the title ten times fast without getting your tongue in a twist.
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 X in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill …
… Day 23 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill was a firm favourite when my children were small. We even had a cuddly Spot dog. And I’m happy to report it’s still as popular with my grand-children too. Hence it has a well-earned place on day 23 of the May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
The story is simple. It’s dinner time but Spot’s mummy can’t find him. Follow her as she searches the house, finding a crocodile under the bed, a hippo in the piano and a bear with a honey pot behind the door (don’t we all!)
Where’s Spot? is book to delight generations of children to come. Here’s the animated version for your delight.
I must look into finding a cuddly Spot for the grand-babies
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 W in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
Update.
I just had to update you with this this screenshot from Amazon.
Better Buckle Up is at no. 5 in the children’s ‘cars and trucks’ category. Squeee!
Yes, I know it has a long way to go to reach Amazon’s all time no. 5 but I was still excited anyway.
I’d like to thank all the people who have downloaded the book since it went live on Wednesday and especially those who have taken the time to post a review. Reviews means so much to authors.
I hope you and your little ones are enjoying the story and are chanting ‘Better Buckle Up’ when you fasten them in their car seats.
Love Suzie x
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle…
… Day 22 May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Who hasn’t read this classic children’s book? A no-brainer choice for Day 22 of the May #AtoZfavbooks challenge.
There are so many editions of this story. Books with pop-ups, books with finger puppets and bean-bag toys, books with touchy-feely bits along with the ‘eaten’ holes in the page. There have been games based on the book, it’s been used in a campaign to promote healthy eating and every year, on the first day of spring, we have a Very Hungry Caterpillar Day with folks dressing up to celebrate the book. Yes, it’s that well loved.
So, on the off-chance that you haven’t come across this book (or that you just forgot), the story goes: after hatching from his egg, the ever-hungry caterpillar eats his way through increasing amounts of food until he builds himself a cocoon, emerging as a beautiful butterfly.
As well as teaching children the life-cycle of a butterfly, you get the opportunity to practice counting to five and even very young children enjoy the award-winning, bright illustrations.
I love listening to authors read their books, so here is Eric himself to tell the story. Take it away, Eric.
It’s not hard to see why this has been such a popular book. A must-have for every child’s bookshelf.
Suzie x
P.S. Read this book? (Of course, you have) Let me know in the comments below.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to share your favourite book title starting with the letter V in the comments below or post them on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #AtoZfavbooks so I can find them.
