Book review: We are Family

When we first adopted Blue Bear he was very young and didn't talk much. He did, however have a love of books and enjoyed listening to stories. We had always read to Brown Bear and he loved books, so I was keen to share a love of reading with Blue Bear too. I found that there are a lot of special books about adoption, but didn't necessarily want to focus on just one experience. 

I am keen that books are inclusive of all kinds of people so when I received this book to review I was delighted. We are Family tells the story of 24 hours in the life of eight different families. Each of them has their own routines, but the overarching theme is that families love and care for each other. It's great to see characters of different ethnicities depicted in a picture book and to get a sneaky glimpse of how other people live. It's like peeking behind the curtains of your neighbours, only for children. 

This is a beautifully illustrated book with the story told in gentle rhymes that encourage restful sleep and happy dreams. Ryan Wheatcroft is the illustrator and Patricail Hagarty is the writer. There is so much detail in the pictures that I think you would see new things on each re-reading. It would make a lovely gift and I can see this becoming a firm favourite in our house. 

We are Family is published by Little Tiger on January 11th. 

Christmas books worth going to bed early for

Since I first heard about the idea of having a Christmas Eve box I've done them for the boys. It varies from year to year but there is always a seasonal book inside. It's something they can read in preparation for the big day and gives them a reason to go to bed nice and early. Well that's the theory anyway. Often Brown Bear just stays up reading his book over and over hoping to catch a glimpse of Father Christmas. 

Little Tiger publishing sent us some lovely books to review - just in time for Christmas. They are so beautifully illustrated and would be great as gifts. These are all softback versions of popular Christmas titles that have been reissued for the festive season. 

The nicest thing about reading a book with children is the active participation. We have read to our boys since they were very small so in the early days it was more about using their senses to enjoy the experience.

One Noisy Night is a touch and feel book with pictures that your child can run their fingers over to feel Little Hedgehog's velvety hat. I love stories that have a joining in element and this one is a bit of a mystery featuring animal characters and an adventure.

The Perfect Present is an adorable story of friendship and kindness. Bella and Billy are best friends and they want to give each other a present that will make them happy. It made me sob when I read the lovely ending to the story, but in a good way.

Santa to the rescue is more of a traditional Christmas story with the animals of Holly Tree Forest helping Santa when the bears of Mistletoe Mountain get snowed in. This is the one that Blue Bear would love the most as he is a big fan of Father Christmas stories. It's also a great story to tell the night before Christmas so it's a surefire entry for Christmas Eve boxes.

These illustrated stories are wonderful for reading to children until they can read themselves. I love collecting these stories and sharing them with my children. They have such a magical feel to them and make a nice bedtime treat in the run up to Christmas. I can't wait to give these to the bears (and one for their cousin too).

Disclosure: The lovely folks at Little Tiger sent us these books to review. 

Little Tiger book review: Monster daycare and Owls that won't go to sleep.

We love books in our family and have bookcases in every room in the house - yes every room. I take the boys to the library and they choose many books each time and so we keep adding to the ones we have - albeit temporarily.  Then there are the books I get sent to review. The best part of writing this blog is being introduced to fantastic new products or brands. Little Tiger is one of these and when I was asked if I wanted to receive books to review I jumped at the chance. After all Blue Bear loves picture books and these are just lovely.

Stomp School is a book about 'daycare for the raucous kids of the world's most famous city- stomping monsters.'

It's a wondefully interactive story book with pages that fold out to make tall towers and irregular shaped pages that add interest and engagement with the story in a fresh and clever way.

Like all kids his age Blue Bear is obsessed with monsters so the story is just up his street and with the added bonus of a familiar setting and the unpredictability of the monsters it's great fun.

Blue Bear is a big fan of owls so when this next one arrived in the post he was absolutely delighted. 10, 9, 8... Owls up late is a beautiful book.

As well as featuring some lovely illustrations of the owls there are cut outs that enage the young reader. In the process of counting the owls different ones appear through strategically cut out pages and captivated Blue Bear from the very first page.

This story is a great countdown to bedtime and has a cast of many woodland animals including foxes and mice and a grey cat. It is simple for a young child to follow and uses the characters to reinforce the skill of counting at the end.

I love this book and as it's in hardback format I hope it will last a long time. Blue Bear has read it every night since we received it and has become a firm favourite.

Disclosure: The lovely folks at Little Tiger sent us these beautiful books to review