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The best children’s books ever

03/03/2011 by Cathy James 7 Comments

These are the best children’s books ever – well according to the NurtureStore panel of book critics. Today is World Book Day and to honour the occasion I thought I’d share with you our very favourite books – and see if you agree with our picks. It’s so hard to put together a definitive list of course but these are the books which hold a very special place in our heart.

Dogger by Shirley Hughes is a tale of love, loss and how to be a fabulous big sister. It tells us what happened when Dave lost his favourite toy dog and how big sister Bella saved the day. This book made me cry when I first read it to B, when I was pregnant with L and B was just about to turn into a big sister herself! We haven’t come across a Shirley Hughes book we don’t love and this features her amazing illustrations, depicting a family and school life which is so familiar.

I’m sure you all know Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and it’s in our top picks because it’s the book we especially love to read out loud as it gives plenty of opportunity for great character voices as well as dramatic resonance.

Can You Catch a Mermaid by Jane Ray is a moving tale of a lonely little girl and a very hard decision she has to make. It’s all about friendship and features Jane Ray’s beautiful illustrations. B has a real love of mermaids so this is her top pick and I like it because it can be read on different levels: it has a happy ending and also leaves you thinking about unanswered questions long after you’ve finished reading.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is the first book I ever read to both B and L and so has a very special status in our family. It’s a real classic and a fabulous springboard into learning about caterpillars and butterflies, numbers, days of the week and so much more. I’ve used this book in so many different ways with the children I work with and it just had to be in this selection.

I loved the My Naughty Little Sister series by Dorothy Edwards when I was little and I think it’s a real joy to share a childhood favourite with your own children. Some of the things my naughty little sister gets up to make B gasp, andw e also love the book because some of the stories remind us quite a lot of a little sister we know.

B is now at the stage where she can read chapter books independently and she’s delighting in discovering lots of new-to-her authors. Roald Dahl is a master story teller but I’d forgotten just how well crafted his books are. Fantastic Mr.Fox is the first of his books which B came across and I often find her fast asleep at night, clutching this book in her hand.

So this is our pick of the best children’s books ever. What’s would be on your list?

More World Book Day ideas.

How to make a bookmark

02/03/2011 by Cathy James 10 Comments

Following on from our post about World Book Day ideas, here’s a suggestion for a World Book Day craft. And the perfect craft for World Book Day has to be a bookmark, right? We often make bookmarks when we’re giving someone a book as a birthday present, and they’re so easy to make you could even get busy and make one for all your friends, to hand out on World Book Day this Thursday.

How about a bookmark with a tab to sit on the page in your book. We made ‘I love books’ hearts but the design is easy to adapt so you can customise them to suit the person you’re giving it to, or match the book you’re giving. Draw a rectangle shape with your motif on the top, decorate and then use a craft knife to cut out the bottom of the motif to make a ‘hook’ to go over the edge of the page.

Using binca / aida cross stitch fabric to make bookmarks is a good option for children too and a nice first step to introduce some sewing. You can have the children draw out their design on a piece of paper first, or just give them a needle and thread and let them freestyle.

How old do children need to be before they can sew? Well, the binca material is thick, which makes it sturdy enough to work as a bookmark and easier for the children to hold, and because the square holes are large you can use a child-friendly big blunt needle and a thicker thread. My four-year-old needed help threading the needle and tying knots, but was determined to do her own thing when it came to stitching. My eight-year-old managed her bookmark all by herself, designing a butterfly and sewing on some buttons as an embellishment.

Another super easy idea for a homemade bookmark is to draw a design with pencils on card, laminate it for strength, punch a hole and add a ribbon.

More World Book Day ideas.

happily shared with Get Your Craft On and Mad Skills Party and Making Monday Marvelous and Preschool Corner and Upcycled Awesome and Kids Get Crafty

Letter Dectective Hunt

09/02/2011 by Cathy James 5 Comments

>>> Download our guide to ABCs and 123s here

L keeps telling me she wants to be a grown up. She wants to be a mummy with a baby, she wants to do the washing up and she keeps asking me if she’ll be able to do things ‘when I’m big numbers’. (I’d quite happily put the brakes on her and keep her as a lovely four-year-old for quite a while longer.) One thing she likes do to, in her quest to be a grown up, is read the paper or one of my books, so long as it’s full of text with no pictures at all. She’ll sit on the sofa, leafing through the pages, commenting now and then on a few of the articles.

She’s also very interested in letters, and this week has discovered punctuation marks with a huge shriek of ‘What is this?’ as she pointed to the question mark at the end of one sentence, as if she had uncovered something new to the universe.

It’s always my aim to follow a child’s lead and add in some learning in a way that suits their current interest, so I suggested she might like to be a Letter Detective and go on a hunt to find some letters. Big hit! Now we can keep each other company on the sofa, reading alongside each other, as I suggest she spots a particular letter and she goes off to hunt. Spy glass optional.

My guide to ABCs and 123s

Do you have a young child who is learning their ABCs and 123s, and do you want to make their learning fun? Our ABCs and 123s resource of mulitsensory, play-based letter and math activities is just what you need. See more here.

Booktrust Booktime website and prize draw

06/09/2010 by Cathy James 2 Comments

Have you heard of Booktrust, the UK charity which aims to encourage a lifelong love of reading? Those of you with school age children may have come across their Booktime campaign which runs in partnership with Pearson and the Department for Education. Booktime gives every English reception class child free books to promote a love of stories and encourage family reading: B loved the copy of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s Funnybones she was given.

They have a website which is available to everyone, with games and resources linked to lots of books and which is well worth a look. There are interactive online books read by the authors, including Eric Carle and Ed Vere, and tips for making the most of family reading. There are games you can play too, which include number and colour recognition skills, and recommendations for lots of children’s books whatever topic your kids are interested in.

Eric Carle Prize Draw

This autumn 680,000 copies of Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth by Eric Carle will be given free to all children starting in English reception classes. Booktime are also offering primary schools and libraries in England the chance to win an exclusive artist’s proof from the book, signed by Eric Carle. If you’d like to nominate your school or local library you can enter the competition until 31st October 2010 and you can find full details at the Booktrust website.

Encouraging reading and writing

31/07/2010 by Cathy James 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s #goplay Twitter Tips. Today, by special request from a reader who’s looking for ideas to use with her 8-year old son, we’re looking at :

Ideas to encourage reading and writing

#goplay Tip One: If you want kids to read make sure they have easy access to some fab, inspiring books: fact, fiction, stories, comics

#goplay Tip Two: Reading doesn’t have to feel like school, you can read anywhere: garden, park, beach. Pack a book with your picnic.

#goplay Tip Three: Comics are great for reluctant readers: they’re ‘cool’ & the visual prompts help comprehension.

#goplay Tip Four: Make use of your local library for oodles of new books & activities like the summer Space Hop scheme.

#goplay Tip Five: Give reading a purpose to have fun & make kids keen: read the recipe when baking, read instructions to make a model

#goplay Tip Six: Keep it short and sweet: a little blast each day adds up to a whole lot of reading over the summer

#goplay Tip Seven: Link books to a fun day out. Go to the museum and pick up a book on dinosaurs to read when you get home.

#goplay Tip Eight: Writing doesn’t have to be on a blank piece of paper, which can induce writers block in the best of us!

#goplay Tip Nine: Try writing with chalk on a wall, water painted on the patio, sticks in sand, glitter pens on a cute notepad

#goplay Tip Ten: Keep a multimedia scrapbook over the summer with photos, drawings and tickets – and a little writing each day too.

These are a few tips from me. What ideas can you share with our reader?

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