The Octopus's Garden by Ringo Starr & Ben Court

My Review

This book is truly one of a kind and we think it's very special indeed. I believe it will stand the test of time and be talked about from many, many years to come!

The storyline follows 5 children on a spectacular underwater adventure. They have so much fun playing, discovering and hanging out with the Octopus. Oh, if only we could all escape to an Octopus's Garden in the shade....

This book comes with a CD, which contains an exclusive song and some reading from Ringo Starr himself! The song is so catchy, it's gets stuck in your head and you will be humming or singing it for ages - good job it's an ace song!

The illustrations are so bright, bold and just bursting with life. We simply adored watching the glorious adventures play out on each page - our favourite page has to be the one with the turtles.

The Octopus's Garden is a fabulously fun book that is full of warmth, humour and friendship. The bringing to life of a well known Beatles song has worked wonders and we delighted in the pages of this beautiful book - and also the material on the CD. This is one book that we will enjoy returning to again and again. A BIG winner for our favourites shelf.

5 / 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy*

Richard Scarry's Best Lowly Worm Book Ever

My Review 

Wow! This really is the best Lowly Worm book ever! There is so much to discover and explore throughout these wonderful colourful pages: Manners, body parts, the morning routine, counting, farming, different modes of travel, different vocations, things I can do (swimming, hopping...), hide & seek Lowly and the bedtime routine!

We adored the 'Where's Lowly' pages. Each little illustration has a hidden Lowly worm to discover - which is super duper fun. The 'Things I can do' page  is also fantastic because it is sure to have little folks showing you all of their tricks.

I think the morning and bedtime routine pages are wonderful, it lets kids know that everyone goes through similar things to get ready to go out or to bed. There is also a little Goldbug to find on each page - which is another little added extra!

Lily's favourite parts: The hide & seek pages and the body parts.

All in all Richard Scarry's Best Lowly Worm Book Ever, is fabulous! It is full of fun, adventure and is packed with lots of things to learn and discover. We can very easily recommend this book - actually it's a MUST!!

*Special thanks to Harper Collins Children's books for the review copy*

A BIG 5 Stars!

Amelie & Nanette: Sparkly Shoes & Picnic Parties by Sophie Tilley

My Review

There are times when you come across a picture book that is truly something special and you will marvel at it's beauty for an age before even presenting it to your child - this is definitely one of those special books!

Sophie Tilley has created a masterpiece, her vintage styled illustrations are truly delightful and have such delicate beauty and charm. We didn't know what to feast our eyes over first, the picnic looked divine, the girls' dresses and shoes exquisite, but a personal favourite had to be the gorgeous dog - Pilou (who is rather naughty).

The story follows best-friends, Amelie and Nanette, on a day full of adventure and mishap. This beautiful story pushes the friendship card out there, because really, what can be better than a very best-friend?

Sparkly Shoes and Picnic Parties is a glorious picture book that is just perfect for any little lady out there. It is bursting with charm, beauty and little hints of French chic. We just can't wait to go on more fun adventures with Amelie and Nanette.

A BIG 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy*

Spider Sandwiches by Claire Freedman & Sue Hendra

My Review

This book is AWESOME!! It's a whole lot of rhyming, laugh out loud fun that we just couldn't tear our eyes from!

It reads so beautifully and just begs to be read out loud for that full on gruesome effect! Max is a monster, a monster who likes to eat creepy, gloopy, gunky, slimy things!

Go on this fast flowing tale to find out what terrifyingly gruesome things Max likes to feast upon - but his very favourite thing just so happens to be: Spider Sandwiches!

My 5 year old adored this book and spent most of her time screaming "YUCK!!" at everything Max stuffed into his mouth!

The illustrations are a feast for the eyes and we marvelled at the striking colours and grizzly eats that we came across. We especially loved the scrummy lice rice.  Max is actually quite a cute little fellow, but as Lily would say "he needs to learn some table manners!" lol!

The ending itself will have readers everywhere laughing out loud like maniacs!

Spider Sandwiches is a bouncy fun fest that seems to get better each time you read it - and we have read it countless times! It's actually the perfect book for Halloween, go grab it now, quick - it really is brilliant!

A BIG 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy*

Muffin: Hide & Seek by Clara Vulliamy

My Review

'This is Muffin. The Yummiest small brown bear.'

This is such a beautiful little book, with lots to learn, discover and explore. Along the way you will uncover animals and the sounds they make, while discovering numbers and counting while you're at it.

Muffin is playing hide and seek with best-friends Flora and Fizz. While looking for them he stumbles upon some super cute animals. But where is Flora and Fizz?

We adored the little flappy bits, which when folded back reveal some new little friends. The little mouse is sooooo cute!

Muffin Hide and Seek is a super fun adventure book that is a joy to read an explore. The illustrations are simply fantastic and we couldn't wait to see what we were going to uncover next. The very best thing about this has to be the gorgeous friendship between Muffin, Flora and Fizz.

Everything ends with a BIG HUG - what more could you possibly ask for!?

4 / 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Orchard for the review copy*

Amazing Baby: Boing, Boing! by Emma Dodd

My Review

This super sturdy little board book is a whole lot of bouncing, boinging fun!

It has big, bold and super attractive illustrations that are just fantastic to look at. We adored the little patterned back-rounds and we especially loved the super cute little boingy bunny.

This book takes us through all the things that go boing; balls, rabbits, frogs, a jack-in-a-box and even kangaroos....

There is also a little sound button that goes 'boing', so little folks can boing away to their book. Or if you are my little guy, just press the button repetitively at random occasions throughout the day.

There is also a lovely little surprise bouncing thing at the end, see if you can guess?

All in all, this is yet again another winning Amazing Baby book. Every baby needs their very own selection of Amazing Baby books.

5/5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Templar for the review copy*

Ladybird I'm Ready...to Read! Trip- Trot Tippy- Toes by Judith Nicholls

My Review

This is a lovely little rhyming story that bumps along at a perfect pace. It has a lovely little message and is a whole lot of fun!

The rhythm and rhyme of this book is brilliant because it easily engages little ears and makes parts of the story quite easy to remember. Kids will just love remembering and reading back certain parts of the book throughout.

They always slow and steady wins the race. This is a great way to sum up good old tortoise, who only agrees to a race with hare to make him be quiet and stop boasting. But cheeky hare gets too full of himself and makes a big mistake....

The ending is really great and will put smiles on faces if nothing else.

Trip- Trot Tippy- Toes is a fab little stepping stone into the reading world and we liked it a lot. Also, because this is a Ladybird book, you can have a super fun adventure finding the little ladybird on every page.

Lily's favourite bit: When the cheeky hare fell asleep!

3.5 / 5 Stars!

*With special thanks to Ladybird for providing the review copy*

Dear Snowman by Kathryn White & Alison Edgson

 My Review

We are head over heels in love with this stunning book! It is absolutely adorable and most definitely has the aww factor!

Little Rabbit and Snowman are the best of friends. But when the snow starts to melt, snowman disappears. Little Rabbit is ever so sad but things start looking up at the arrival of a postcard. Turns out Mr Snowman is off on his own travelling adventures.

Lots of different postcards arrive for Little Rabbit, but will Snowman ever come home to his friend?

The illustrations are gorgeous, I don't think we've ever seen anything as adorable as Little Rabbit before. We simply adored seeing all of the wonders of the glorious snow.

Dear Snowman is a truly magical tale full of charm and adventure. The story beautiful to get wrapped up in and we were huge fans of the delightful little postcards and stickers that come tucked up inside. The ending is truly heartwarming and we just love rereading this super cute tale. A BIG winner!

5 / 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Little Tiger Press for the review copy*

I Love You Father Christmas by Giles Andreae & Emma Dodd

My Review

Hooray for another fabulous I Love You book!!

This particular one is a gorgeous Christmassy instalment! It takes us through all the things little people associate with Santa. His big red suit, his cuddly frame and his glorious reindeer - just to name a few!

The little guy in this story makes sure to tell Santa how good he has been and all the things he has done to help out his parents. Tidying the bedroom comes up, which I was VERY pleased about!

The beautiful rhyming quality to this story makes it beg to be read out loud - for the full on sing song effect.

The illustrations are quite simply fantastic and we didn't know what delights to feasts our eyes on first! Emma Dodd's style is really gorgeous.

I Love You Father Christmas is a really special book that is full of charm, Christmas spirit and is guaranteed to put smiles on faces. It just HAS to go on every child's Christmas wishlist!

A BIG 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Orchard for the review copy*

Love Monster and the Perfect Present by Rachel Bright

My Review

Yay for more Love Monster! We just love the little fellow!

This is a charming story and has a really great message! It's Present Day in Cutesville and Love Monster wants to get his special friend something very wonderful indeed!

But Love Monster doesn't have a lot of money to spend and he is very worried that he won't be able to get the perfect gift! Then he has a brain wave, he could use stuff he already has to make something super duper special!

"You see, sometimes the perfect present doesn't have to cost the earth.....to mean the world."

We simply adored the fantastic illustrations that are just bursting with colour and life! Monster and his special friend are very cute indeed!

Love Monster and the Perfect Present is a beautiful story that we thought was very special. Adults and children will both easily be charmed. In a materialistic world we sometimes forget that the most treasured things come from the heart and actually don't have to cost anything at all.

We can't wait for more Love Monster!

5 / 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Harper Collins Children's books for the review copy*
 

Barbapapa by Annette Tison & Talus Taylor

My Review

Okay, I'll admit it, I think Barbapapa is very strange and I really do think he's a bit of an acquired taste. Saying that, I did like the book and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it, but I really thought Barbapapa himself was a little weird!

I actually vaguely remember Barbapapa from childhood (even though he's way older than me lol), so it's excellent to see it brought back to life again after so many years!

One day François was watering his flowers when Barbapapa was born! Unfortuenly though, Barbapapa wasn't allowed to stay with François and his family! He has to go to the zoo, where he is very miserable because he has to stay in a cage!

But one of the most special things about Barbapapa is when he discovers he can change his shape. He tries to change his shape to fit in with others, but nobody 'gets' him! So, he leaves the zoo and that is where his adventures really begin!

Barbapapa becomes an unlikely hero who managed to charm and rescue everyone, eventually he is accepted for being himself - which is very beautiful indeed!

We loved Barbapapa's journey and were delighted when he manages to find his place in the world!

The illustrations are quite old fashioned but definitely memorable! We really enjoyed watching Barbapapa change his shape to help out others!

3 / 5 Stars!

*Special thanks to Orchard for the review copy*