Story Time with Miffy - Review & Giveaway

I remember the Miffy books by Dick Bruna being one of the first ones my dad read to me back in the early Nineties. Over 20 years later and my own children absolutely love the sweet little bunny. They were first aware of her by watching Miffy's Adventures Big and Small on Tiny Pop then we got toys and books. She was an instant hit in house! 

Being a Miffy Mum, we received a lovely little duo of books to read recently. My favourite time of day is reading to my children at bedtime and they were delighted to have some new Miffy books to read.

Firstly, we received a really cute Miffy shaped board book called 'Miffy's Word Book'. My first thought was that it would be perfect for younger children. With it's colourful pictures and words, two year old E certainly loved learning what each image was, but my four year old son is starting to independently read so he found himself sounding out each word without looking at the picture for help. From Miffy's favourite things to the names of Miffy's friends, it makes for a wonderful learning book for little ones. 

Next up was one that brought me back to my childhood. The style of the Miffy books haven't changed and this story about Miffy and her friend Melanie is very sweet. Miffy has a pen friend who comes to visit and the story follows them meeting up, activities that they do and the fun that they have together. I've written briefly before that we are waiting on an autism assessment for our son C and one of the things that has been recommended for him are books on making friends. Although this isn't specifically about making friends, it's a good one to teach him about acceptable behaviours and emotions.

Miffy's Word Book retails at £6.00 and Miffy and Melanie retails at £5.00. Both can be purchased from the Miffy Shop. You can also keep up to date with Miffy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I have a set of two books up for grabs for a lucky reader. To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is fill in the Gleam widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• One winner will win a copy of miffy's word book and a copy of miffy and melanie
• The giveaway will run from July 5th until July 23rd
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• One entry per person
• No automated entries 

Set of Miffy books (Miffy's Word Book and Miffy and Melanie)
 

 (We received copies of the books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

The Dinosaur That Pooped Daddy / A Rainbow books - Review + Printables

We absolutely the Dinosaur that Pooped books and we've been lucky enough to review a few books in the series in the past.




With Father's Day approaching, I jumped at the chance to review a new publication to the existing series by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter - The Dinosaur That Pooped Daddy. 

Previously the books have been paperbacked stories but this one is a smaller board book so it's great for younger readers too. My daughter E (aged 21 months) really enjoyed being able to hold it and flip through the pages too.

The book starts off showing a mess that daddy has made and Danny and Dino need to try and find him. It is a great book for learning number skills. As the pages go by you see ten pairs of pants, nine pencils and so on until number one. In typical Dinosaur That Pooped fashion - yep, you guessed it - Dino poops out daddy!

We also received a copy of The Dinosaur That Pooped a Rainbow. This one is also a board book and it works in the same way only with teaching colours. As soon as the books arrived, the kids wanted to read them right away and have read them every night since. C has almost completely memorised them too! Both kids love the end where the see the word POO in massive letters. I really love books that can be funny and educational all in one package.

You can purchase these books from Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1Vgtrv


I also have some really cool The Dinosaur That Pooped printables to share too.
You can make your own Dinosaur Father's Day card, complete with your childs' drawing of their daddy by follow the link here - http://bit.ly/1O7un44

You can find some really cool Dinosaur themed activity sheets for your children here - http://bit.ly/288oLx4




They are sure to keep your children busy over the next couple of days.

 
(We received these books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Colours Colours Everywhere - book review

Book reviews are my absolute favourite posts. My two kids (aged 3 and 1) have probably 100+ books between them. Reading was a big part of my life when I was little (and still is now!) and it is so important to read with your children from an early age. As soon as E was born, I introduced her to C's old baby books and we progressed from there. We recently received Colours Colours Everywhere to read with E.

E is such a little sponge. C didn't really speak much until he turned two but E picks up everything, probably from copying her big brother. I was excited to read this to her to introduce to different colours and maybe get her saying them.

Colours Colours Everywhere is a chunky, hardbacked book with cut outs on the front of some of the items inside. Each page contains the colour in huge lettering along with some items that are that colour. For example, on the red page there are items like a strawberry and ladybird and the black page has a cat, spider and lots of others. I mentioned that on the front cover. This is because on each page of the items is on raised cardboard so it pops through. At the end there is a massive rainbow finale that covers both pages.

I was totally right when I said that I was hoping it would encourage her to say colours but it brings so much more. She loves pointing at all the different pictures of animals and other items and likes to try repeating what I say. The addition of rhymes to do with the colours is a great idea and I think the more we read it, the more likely it is to stick in her head because of this. The cut outs on the front, alongside the raised cardboard pieces, encourage her to touch the pages and really get into it. I think it's a lovely little book, perfect for ages 0-3 to teach them about colours.

In April this year, they will also be releasing Numbers Numbers Everywhere. I will definitely have to pick up a copy judging by how much E has loved this one!

Colours Colours Everywhere is written and illustrated by Libby Walden and Samantha Meredith, respectively, and it is published by Little Tiger Press. You can purchase it from all good book retailers and it's currently available on Amazon for £6.94.

Usborne Slide & See Book

C, my eldest, has always been into books and I'm hoping that E follows in his footsteps. Myself and their daddy loves to read as children (and we still do!) so it's important to us to always read with the kids.

E received a wonderful little Usborne Slide & See Under the Sea book to try out. 

I think that this is a really great first book for little ones. It is a board book so you don't have to worry about little hands ripping the pages and destroying it. There are only five pages so little ones aren't likely to get bored and their attention will fully be on the book.

Each page shows animals that live in or around the sea and they have sliding panels so you can make the animals hide or move. I didn't think E would really know what to do but, to my surprise, when I showed her she tried to move them herself! This is great for developing your child's motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. The bright pages really capture her attention too. Her big brother also loves it. He likes to move the panels but it's also great for teaching him the animals too.

This book retails at £7.99 and you can purchase it directly from the Usborne website.

You can keep up to date with Usborne on Facebook and Twitter too!

(Disclaimer: We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own).