My Book Of Feelings by Nicola Edwards | Children's Book Review

(AD/ Gifted: We received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. If you click to buy anything through a link on this post, I will earn a few pennies at no extra cost to you.)

I think it is very important to teach children about what their feelings mean, how to express them and how to understand them. No matter what age you are, your feelings are valid.

Blurb:

Does playing in the snow make you happy? Maybe you worry about visiting the dentist? Use the colourful emoji spinner and mirror to put a face to your feelings!

This interactive book helps you to navigate the world of emotions with your child. Explore a range of interesting and emotive topics together and delve into what feelings really mean.

Review:

This book is aimed at children between 3-5 but I wanted to review it for my 5 and 7 year olds because I thought it would be a great learning topic. My 7 year old is autistic and does struggle with emotions so it has been wonderful to have a visual to explain them.

The book starts by explaining emotions and you can twist the emoji spinner to see what those feelings look like. It doesn't just use language like "happy" and "sad", we also have synonyms like "joyful" and "disappointed".

As you work through the book, we have pages of questions relating to different subjects such as how different types of weather or different experiences make you feel. It is packed full of questions so it is really interactive. I would ask the questions and the children would either pull a face to convey the emotion or spin the spinner to show me. I love the little mirror at the end of the book where they are able to show the emotion that they currently feel and see what it looks like.

My Book Of Feelings is part of the Montessori-inspired 'My World' range so you can also buy 'The Touch Book', 'How Many Beads?' and 'ABC Nature'.

Thank you Little Tiger for our review copy.

My Friends And Me by Stephanie Stansbie and Katy Halford | Children's Book Review

(Ad/Gifted: We received this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. If you click to buy anything through a link in this post, I will earn a few pennies at no extra cost to you.)

It's so important to teach your children about the world at a young age. From different religions, different cultures to race and types of families.

My Friends And Me by Stephanie Stansbie and Katy Halford is a wonderful tool to introduce different types of families to young readers 

Blurb:

Jamie has lots of friends - lots of friends with different kinds of families. Kate's got two dads. Olivia's got two mums. And Jade's got her own butler!

But no matter who they are or where they live, there's one thing that all the grown ups have in common...

This warm and funny book celebrates the very special bonds in very special families.

Review:

This book is packed with beautiful images of lots of different families. There's Kate who has two dads, Olivia who has two mums that are in an interracial relationship and Lily who is very lucky because she has two of everything. Obviously because her mother and father have split up and live separately, so she splits her time between the two houses but it's spun in a positive way.

We even have a single mum and children who live in different types of homes like caravans and boats. 

My favourite part of the book has to be the pages about Ned's mum. "People used to think Ned's mum was a man. But it turns out she's a woman." The wording of that is really important. It isn't that she "used to be a man", she has always been a woman. It honestly made me happy to read.

It is such a positive and upbeat book with beautiful illustrations. C and E especially liked the annotated drawings and had me read every single one out! I would definitely recommend that everyone gets a copy for their child's bookshelf. 

Thank you Little Tiger for our review copy.

10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late by Georgiana Deutsch

C has always been a massive bookworm. He will be five next month and has taught himself to read. Our house resembles a bookshop and I love it. C is always happy to get a new book to read.

10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late is a brand new book by Georgiana Deutsch. It's recommended for chidren aged 1-4 and the story is about a mother owl trying to get her ten baby owlets to go to bed. 

They are all busy being noisy and having fun and it's a great little book for children who are reluctant to go to sleep. The peep-through parts add a bit of excitement and it uses the concept of counting owls to make bedtime a fun, educational and relaxing experience.

The colours of the book are mostly pale and muted - great to help children relax before bedtime. It creates a tranquil mood and ends with all owlets cosily in their nest, encouraging little ones to fall asleep too.

The rhyme makes it easy to read and lovely for children to listen to and follow. C has learnt a few new describing words and the counting guide at the end is great for teaching children numbers. We've read it a lot to two year old E, hoping that she will remember number orders. 

10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late was published by Little Tiger Press yesterday (10th August 2017) and can be purchased from all good bookstores for £10.99.

(We received this item 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.

Red Car Blue Car from Little Tiger Press

I love working alongside Little Tiger Press on book reviews for the kids. C has always loved books. The importance of reading is something that I've always wanted to instil in him as it was my favourite thing to do when I was little.

We recently received a wonderful book called Red Car, Blue Car which is a pop-up book of colours. C knows all of his colours so he was happily telling me each of them alongside what the vehicle was.

Each page has a different coloured vehicle which pops up as you turn the page. This is accompanied by a short rhyming passage. C loves the animals that appear in and around them. The pages are bright and colourful so E likes to have a good nosey too!

I love pop-up books as they really grab C's attention and excite him. He does get a little too excited sometimes and I need to tell him to be careful as he might rip them!

This fabulous little book retails at £6.99 and it is published by Little Tiger Press. You can also find "One, Two, Baa, Moo" in the range too.

You can keep up to date with Little Tiger Press on Facebook and Twitter.

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

Having Fun with Sticker & Activity Books from Little Tiger Press

C has always been a fan of books. He loves being read to and loves to learn. As he has gotten older, he likes to challenge himself by doing activity books and his ultimate favourite is sticking stickers. We were lucky enough to receive two fabulous books from Little Tiger Press that I knew C would love. 

Firstly, the 'My Little World' series by Jonathan Litton and illustrated by Fhiona Galloway has two new additions; 'I Spy Learn and Go' and 'I Spy on the Farm'. C received Learn and Go. He also received Little Snappers Dinosaurs Funtime Sticker Activity Book.

C was very excited about the dinosaur book firstly. He is a typical boy and loves all things dino related. Sticking stickers is one of his favourite things to do so when you combine those two together, he is one happy boy. 

The first half of the book has the sticker scenes. Each page has a scene and is titled then when you go to the middle of the book you can find all the stickers for each page under the title. I love this as you do have free rein to stick your stickers anywhere but you have a little guidance as to which stickers go on each page. There are also little questions such as 'Can you find xyz?' in the scene. 

The second half of the book has activities such as dot-to-dot, colouring, find the odd one out and lots of fun things to get your child excited and interested in. The answers are at the back of the book to check how your little ones get on with the task. 

C really enjoyed this book and because it has so much packed into it, he has used it multiple times of the past few weeks and it's been great for keeping him occupied. 

The I Spy On The Go book is a similar book to the dino one. The pages are laminated in this one so you can stick, unstick then stick again until your hearts content. 

You can visit four different scenes and at each one you are asked to spot different objects, use your stickers to put the missing objects in place and you can also trace words and dress up characters. The answers to each page can be found at the back too. Erasable markets can be used with this book. 

This book really got C's brain working and because there is such much going on in each scene, he loved pointing everything out and telling me what they were. 

Both of these books are available from Little Tiger Press both retailing at £5.99 each. 

You can find out more at the Little Tiger Press website and you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

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

Noisy Dinosaurs by Jonathan Litton

C is very much your typical little boy. He loves playing with building blocks, cars and most importantly, dinosaurs! The only thing he probably loves as equally as dinosaurs are books. 

Imagine his delight when he received a copy of Noisy Dinosaurs by Jonathan Litton. 

This book, as the name suggests, in a sound book which I think are great for sucking a child in. They make reading much more fun. 

C is well aware that there are different types of dinosaurs. This book has pages about the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, Diplodocus and Triceratops. On each page, there are facts about that particular dinosaur and on its image, you are able to push a button to hear how that dinosaur sounded. The buttons each have a different texture which is a lovely touch - pardon the pun! Jonathan Litton has touched on his scientific background to give your child accurate information and I like that C is having fun and being educated at the same time. Your child is asked if they can make the same sound so they are encouraged to join in and interact with the book. 

Noisy Dinosaurs is published by Little Tiger Press and it is available to buy now at a price of £8.99. It is suitable for children aged 3-5 years old. 

You can have a browse of the full range of books at the Little Tiger Press website or you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

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

What C's Reading: Little Tiger Press

C absolutely loves having stories read to him. He loves to listen, look at the pictures and tries to repeat what I'm saying too. 

We've recently been reading two lovely books from Little Tiger Press. 

My Favourite Bedtime Rhymes (RRP £5.99)

C really enjoys this book. It's filled with well-known and well-loved rhymes. C did know some of them but he was excited to learn the new ones and happily sings along to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. 

It's beautifully illustrated by Sanja Reseck & Hannah Wood. C loves pointing at the pictures and telling me what they are. 

This board book is for ages 1-3 years. 

What's the Time, Clockodile? (RRP £8.99)

As soon as C saw the clock he couldn't wait to see what it was all about. The story follows a little bear's daily routine incorporating the times he goes to school, has lunch, goes to bed, etc. Your child is encouraged to turn the clickety-clakety clock to the correct times shown on the page. It is a great way to teach your child how to read time and I love that you are given the digital equivalent on each page too. 

This book is suitable for ages 3-5 years. 

Both of these books are available from Little Tiger Press. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

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

Animals Jigsaw & Sticker Book

Every time I look for toys and games suitable for C's age, I always come across jigsaw puzzles. These were never something I'd bought C as I felt that he was maybe a bit too young and wouldn't really understand how to put them together.

Little Tiger Press sent him an Animal Jigsaw & Sticker book by Fhiona Galloway & Jonathan Litton which is brand new - only released on April 6th!

I opened out the jigsaw fully expecting to do most of it but C was really interested in why it was all in pieces. I started him off by finding two edge pieces and putting those together. He loves animals, recognises and can name the majority of them so all I had to do was ask him to find the piece with a certain animal on it, he'd bring it to me then I'd tell him where to put it.

He caught on very quickly and he really surprised me. He had so much fun telling me what all the animals were (especially the ones along the border of the puzzle) and he clapped when we had completed it. He also sat admiring it for a while! The more he's used it, the better he's getting at doing it himself. 

The sticker book I already knew would be a huge hit before I even handed it to C. He loves stickers and I honestly think he'd sit sticking stickers all day if he could.

Again, he loved telling me all of the animals and as he can't read himself yet, I had to tell him what animals he needed to stick on each page. I love that we can remove the stickers and re-use the book. He has thoroughly enjoyed both the jigsaw and the sticker book and I would definitely recommend the set.

The Animals Jigsaw & Sticker Book is recommended for children aged 3-5 but C at 2.5 years only needed slight help with them. You can purchase it from Little Tiger Press for only £6.99.

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