Tag / We Love Books

by jo

DC Super Friends Books

We were sent four of the new DC Super Friends books from Random House for H to try. There are several titles that have been published at the end of March, from some First Reader titles to some great Activity Books targeted at 5-8 year olds. Read on to find out what we thought!

DC Super Friends

DC Super Friends need no introduction – the title first came about thanks to the tv series which featured the characters from DC Comics – Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman Spiderman and Aquaman. Wonder Woman does seem to have been written out of the DC Super Friends history, unfortunately, but the others remain.

We’ve been working on expression a lot with H’s reading as she’s progressing well in reception. Generally she can tackle tricky words and work them out, but still reads with one tone. To help her along I’ve been looking for books which have a bit more of a POW! going on where she’ll learn to recognise how to read it differently. These books are ideal!

We were sent Hero Havoc, where Bizarro just wants to be like Superman, but doesn’t quite get it right. He just wants to be a hero too, and doing it the opposite way to Superman does seem to create havoc. Really, it’s all about finding a superhero task for Bizarro which suits him – and as a parent I was glad to see a happy ending.

The other book was Crime Wave where Black Manta steals the worlds biggest pearl, so Batman, Superman and Aquaman all try to get it back while avoiding the Black Manta’s giant octopus. Both books have short sentences and are ideal for children who want to read a story independently. There are great illustrations and plenty to talk about (and read) on each page.

The other two books we’ve received are a fantastic Wipe-Clean Activity Book which has been used the most – H’s superhero name (which you fill in at the start) is Super Robin, and I love the pen can be stored safely and has a little rubber on the lid to remove the pen marks from the page. She has really enjoyed doing the activities, and there’s a good variety of puzzles. The type of things covered are writing, counting, drawing, spot the difference, mazes, colouring – all simple stuff but the kind of thing she enjoys doing.


Finally, The Super Friends Sticker Book has over 50 Super Hero stickers and loads more activities within, from decorating to completing puzzles. Given H loves stickers, this is right up her street.

In summary, I think these books are great. I do feel sad at the lack of female superheroes, mainly as I grew up with them in the seventies and eighties – these days most superheroes seem to be male (but that’s my issue rather than H’s), but I found all these books to be suitable for H and her age and reading ability.

The DC Super Friends books are available now, published by Bantam Books, part of Random House Children’s Books.

We were sent the books for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. Book pictures link to Affiliate links.

by jo

New Miffy Books? Almost… but yet they are!

Simon and Schuster are the new publishers of Miffy books. We’re long-term fans – they’re books I read when I was little and now H loves them too.

Miffy was first brought to life by Dick Bruna way back in 1955 by the Dutch artist Dick Bruna. We have a mighty fine collection and one of the things I’ve found the most charming is the not-quite-right translations of the books. Words that would never rhyme being used in the stories. I’m sure I didn’t care when I was young, I just read and got on with it.

So I have a sense of loyalty – and was a little wary when it was announced the books would be getting a bit of a revamp for modern times. I’m not a fan of change unless it’s for a good reason.

Fortunately, there is a good reason. The Miffy illustrations stay the same, and most of the rhymes stay the same or similar, but have a better structure. For example – there is a picture of a pear and some peapods, the original book mentions a cauliflower (probably to make the words flow better) yet it isn’t pictured. The new version of the book is much simpler and sticks to what you can see. See the two pictures for more examples.

Miffy

I quite like them too. I bought ‘Miffy’ and ‘Miffy at the Zoo’ today and have compared both versions we own. But yet it says the translations date back to the 1990’s – so what did we have before this? What did I read in the seventies? Would it be unreasonable to buy a third version of the books purely for my own curiosity?

If, like me, you weren’t sure what was going to be done with the books, rest assured, it’s fine. It’s a job done well and very faithfully. Would I buy all the books again? I’m unsure – as we own them all already it could prove quite costly. Fortunately they’re being made available in small batches (Miffy at the Gallery is the third in the series – which was published via the Tate Bookstore not that long ago) so won’t break the bank. I’m hoping that the last book, Njintje is Stout (Miffy is Naughty) will get a translation, as I’m fairly sure that’s the only book that hasn’t been.

Miffy at the Zoo

October is a bit of a cop-out with Miffy’s Dream getting republished! The only one without words – maybe new translator Tony Mitton needed a break 🙂 We like and have read a few of Tony Mitton’s books – though only own ‘The Somethingosaur’ which we reviewed a while back.

I can see there are also activity books available too, though didn’t buy those. It looks like Miffy is going to be well stocked in bookstores again which is quite frankly, a fabulous thing. You can find all the books over here  – Miffy – the New Books (contains an affiliate link).

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by jo

Love Our Library – The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Wants A Puppy by Mo Willems is another in the wonderful Pigeon series, and one which we picked up from the library last week.

H’s reading is really coming on, so as an experiment (as we’re working quite hard on expression at the moment) I had her read the book and sound out any words she wasn’t sure about. There aren’t many words, but there’s a good story to be read.

The pigeon wants a puppy. He really does. He’d really love a puppy and he’ll tell you why, repeatedly. He’s SO in love with the idea of wanting a puppy that when he actually does get one he realises he didn’t actually want it at all.

Pigeon Wants a Puppy

Within the book there are plenty of exclamation marks, it’s funny, the pictures work well alongside the text, and for a four year old who is moving gradually into regular books it was lovely to hear her read it, not struggle with any words and giggle at the funny bits.

Pigeon Wants a Puppy

We only own ‘Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus’ plus another one of his books, though I spotted there’s a new pigeon book due in April which is VERY exciting indeed. In fact, there’s a whole website of goodness over here.

We love Mo Willems’ books, we really do. REALLY.

by jo

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit is the latest book we were sent as a Parragon Book Buddy. With a tagline of ‘Delicious cakes, pastries and desserts’ we were won over immediately!

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit comes from Parragon Books Love Food range, and is a collection of classic and new recipes using fresh fruit in all seasons. Actually, the best thing about the book was getting it out at the table with Shaun and H and watching them both coo over it, they look delicious!

We did a spot of foraging last year, and this year I want us to do some Pick Your Own from local farms. There are plenty of recipes in here which will cover the various fruits we can get too – from the complicated looking to ones which look quite simple.

We haven’t had a chance to try any recipes yet, but on the list is the Lemon Sponge Roll (although it includes gelatine so I need to find a vegetarian option), the Mandarin Cheesecake looks especially good, and I know it’s almost time, we need to buy a ring tin as the Cherry Marble Cake looks divine!

Oh and don’t get me started on the Lime and Raspberry Tart… yum!

As we head out of the post-Christmas slump, we’ve been inspired by the Great British Bake Off. H loves it too thanks to them repeating it over Christmas and the Comic Relief version in the new year. I think H fancies herself as a bit of a Mary Berry, and this book features the kind of recipes I know H will like to do too. There’ll be no soggy bottoms around here!

Baking With Fruit will sit perfectly alongside the Higgidy Cookbook which we bought and reviewed last year. While we’re still being very weight-conscious, I’d like to think these recipes aren’t going to be too fattening – plus it’s all down to portion size!

Baking With Fruit is available now, published by Parragon Books and has a rrp of £8.

We were sent the book for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The book image at the bottom contains an affiliate link.

by jo

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen

We received Recipes from an Indian Kitchen last year as part of our Parragon Book Buddies programme – and this is a book which has made me excited. With over 100 recipes from across India with photographs to accompany them, this is the kind of book I’ve been waiting for – we love curries in this house!

recipes from an indian kitchen

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen is part of Parragon Books Love Food range. Way back in time someone told me the perfect curry recipe with the correct blend of herbs and spice. I forgot it immediately, but it opened up a new world to me, how to make a good spicy blend without going for the shop-bought option.

Since then I’ve fancied trying it out, but never got around to getting the elusive cookbook, instead using passata and various blends but not getting it right. Which is where Recipes from an Indian Kitchen comes in – while it doesn’t break down each stage, the instructions are easy to follow. We tried Garlic & Chilli Flavoured Potatoes with Cauliflower – which has ten minutes prep time, 30 minutes cook time.

The Tomato Kachumbar salad has been an easy one to make as well – though we substituted peppers for the tomatoes – this has a 10-15 minute prep time.

One we haven’t tried yet but is ‘on the list’ is the South Indian Yoghurt, Pomegranate and Peanut Raita – which looks delicious and again a very simple dish to prepare.

The pictures on each page make you want to try the dishes – though there are a lot of meat and fish ones, they’re easily substituted with vegetarian options.

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen is broken into easy colour coded chapters – with Basic Recipes, Raitas, Chutneys & Pickles, Snacks and Appetizers, onto Main Dishes, Pulses, Rice & Breads and finally Desserts & Drinks. There’s a good large selection – and actually if I’d had a book on Chinese food for the recent new year, which was laid out like this I think we’d have had a great healthy feast.

This is a book I know we’ll use a lot and indeed is something which has dishes H can help with! We love it, and would recommend buying.

We were sent a copy for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The final image is an affiliate link.

by jo

Christmas Gift Ideas – Dick Bruna’s Christmas Book

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book has been republished as a golden anniversary edition by Simon and Schuster. We received a copy to review and love it – read on for more!

Dick Bruna's Christmas

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book was first published in 1963 and is a classic Bruna book – he being the creator of Miffy, having his distinctive style of drawing.

Right now the book is perfect for us – H is learning about the nativity at school, and this book tells the story in an uncomplicated way. As she isn’t reading properly yet I read it to her, and she now understands a little better what it’s all about. They’re doing a school Christmas service soon and she’s quite enjoyed knowing what happened when Jesus was born. I’d say this book is ideal for youngsters in explaining the story and why Christmas exists.

A cute little addition is a bookmark in the shape of an angel – as unlike other Bruna books this is a long one so may need bookmarking. It’s also worth noting, this is the first edition by Simon & Schuster who announced they’d be re-translating the Miffy books for a big relaunch next year – the text in here is the english translation from 1995.

Dick Bruna's Christmas

I asked H what she liked the best about the book – she says the best thing was finding out Jesus’ mummy and daddy’s name, aw! For me, we’ve sat and really gone into the story, and I’m still not able to answer her why Jesus was given myrrh! It’s nice to sit and read the story together, we’re not religious and haven’t really done much along these lines, so it’s helping me too.

Dick Bruna’s Christmas book is available now with a rrp of £10. It’s currently £5.75 at Amazon, so worth getting while it’s at that price!

We were sent a copy of the book for review, all opinions are our own. This post contains an affiliate link.

by jo

Underpants Wonderpants by Peter Bently and Deborah Melmon

Is it an eagle? Is it a plane? No – it’s Underpants Wonderpants to the rescue again!

Underpants Wonderpants

Underpants Wonderpants is a dog with amazing underpants, who helps people out when they’re in trouble.

We’ve never read the previous book , Underpants Thunderpants so it’s a new one for us – and is quite similar in style to Julia Donaldson’s ‘Superworm’ – a book which H really enjoys.

I asked H what her favourite thing about the book is, and she tells me it’s “when they do the rescues” – she does like to help people out, so it’s good that appeals to her.

I like that it’s an easy read – now she’s at school and we’re learning how to read in reception I know books like this will be fun for her once more words are recognised, plus it’s silly. Silly books are good books and are fun to read.

The text in the book is by Peter Bently (an award winning author who has written over 30 books for children) , with colourful illustrations by Deborah Melmon(who has illustrated many books for kids). It gets a big thumbs-up from us!

Underpants Wonderpants is available now, published by Parragon Books. It’s currently available at Amazon (affiliate link) for £4.44, and has a rrp of £5.99. I think it’d be a good one for Christmas if you’re looking for fun book ideas!

We received this book as we are Parragon Book Buddies – all opinions are our own and honest! 

by jo

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books is my kind of cookbook. I’m definitely a visual learner, rather than reading pages that describe what to do and getting a bit lost.

Vegetarian Step by Step from Parragon Books

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books is taken from their Love Food range, and features loads of meat-free meals grouped into Soups & Starters, Salads & Light Meals, Midweek & Family Suppers and Special Occasions. The recipes are presented in a really good way, lots of pictures so you can see what you’re doing, and written clearly so even impatient people like me who miss instructions don’t go wrong.

Lucy recommended the Spaghetti with Fresh Pea Pesto and Broad Beans, so that was our first stop as she’s a good lady who knows her food. I love how the recipe is set out and it’s based on ingredients you’ll probably already have. I know good cooking is based on good photo presentation and this book makes me want to try everything. Like the other Love Food book we’ve reviewed, it’s presented in a really uncomplicated way.

For this recipe, the pesto is made from cooked peas blended with garlic and cheese until it makes a paste, with added almonds at the end, plus salt and pepper seasoning. All you do after that is boil the broad beans, remove the skins and add to spaghetti. Toss the pesto in there at the very end.

Oh my, it’s good. This is where I’d normally have a photo, but I was horribly disorganised and didn’t take one. So instead see the presentation of the recipe, and you’ll see what I mean.

Vegetarian Step by Step recipe

I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years now, and I’m happy this book isn’t packed with mushroom or tomato recipes – my two least favourite things. So many places seem to assume vegetarians like them, and it drives me mad. Where there are recipes which feature them, I’ve found they’re not the main part so can be substituted with something else easily.

Now I’ve got more time in the evenings with working shorter days, I can see me trying out more of these recipes. The Roasted Root Soup with Ginger and Créme Fraîche looks particularly good!

Vegetarian Step By Step is available now, and is currently £9.86 at Amazon, with a RRP of £16.00

I received my copy of Vegetarian Step By Step as I am a Parragon Book Buddy. All opinions are my own and honest.

by jo

Make, Bake, Cupcake from Parragon’s Love Food Range

Make, Bake, Cupcake is a wonderful visual book of cupcake goodness. A treasure trove of all the cupcakes you’ve thought about baking made easy. Every page is a feast for the eyes, with straightforward instructions how to make your cake.

Make, Bake, Cupcake

Make, Bake, Cupcake is one of my favourite books right now. There are so many varieties of cupcake recipes in there – ice cream cones, squashed witches, brains, and the one we made last week, the Chocolate and Stout variety.

I really love how the book breaks down the kind of cupcakes into sections, so you can bake for an occasion – Cocktails and Mocktails, Feisty Flavours, Fun & Frosted, Scary Cute and Hidden Surprises. Each type of frosting has clear instructions so you know which one applies to your cake.

As far as the recipe goes, it was really straightforward to follow, but we have one problem – our meringue icing turned into a nightmare. We couldn’t get to the shops to buy more eggs and the mixture wouldn’t thicken, I’m sure something we’d done wrong. It would be handy to have a guide what to do when it goes wrong (and fortunately after a lot of googling Shaun found a video, and stayed up until 1am to fix it) – I’m sure it’s probably just for meringue icing as it’s tricky anyway. If, like us, you’re doing them for a reason then have a practice run beforehand!

Make, Bake, Cupcake

We made two lots as our cakes were for the Great Beggars Bake Off at work – raising money for Missing People. Do feel free to donate as well, although I can’t give you a cake.

Chocolate and Stout Cupcakes from Make, Bake, Cupcake

My workmates all said the cakes were delicious, and considering there had been a week of cakes so they could potentially be cake-d out, that’s a good thing! Over the coming weeks we’re going to try more recipes from here, the Popcorn Cupcakes look interesting (a good one for movie night maybe!), and the halloween ones look like loads of fun – squashed witches, ghosts and cobwebs – marvellous!

Make, Bake, Cupcake from Parragon Books

Make, Bake, Cupcake is available now (and a good price at Amazon), and is published by Parragon as part of their Love Food range. I received my copy as I am one of Parragon’s Book Buddies. I’ve already had several friends gushing over the pages – it’s the kind of book you want to make what’s inside rather than feel like you can’t. Who’s up for some brain cupcakes next then? Hehehe…

by jo

The Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection

The Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection is a new book from Igloo Books. It features Tommy and Tallulah and their friends from Nick Jr’s popular show.

Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection

The Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection book has over 150 stickers as well as puzzles, games  and activities within it, and is perfect for preschoolers.

Within the book there are various activities made from card that you can can pop out from the pages and assemble. We tried the birthday card and gift box. Here’s the result :

Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection

I really like Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection. I found that the activities are kept simple and with Tickety Toc being as popular as it is it’s something which will have a lot of appeal to kids – it’s the kind of book I could leave H to and she wouldn’t get frustrated by it and want me to help her (for certain activities).

The book has a Join The Dots puzzle which H really enjoys doing, as well as a maze. There’s plenty of colouring in and putting stickers in the right space, as well as general decorating of things.

There are some games in the book as well which makes things fun. Once you’ve assembled the card activities you can rip out the pages which makes things easier. Considering how competitive H is this appeals, she enjoys playing games and having something she’s made at the end as a prize is quite appealing.

You can buy The Ultimate Tickety Toc Sticker and Activity Collection at Amazon, currently at a bargain £3 (but out of stock) – if your child is a fan this would be something they’d love – and there’s enough activities in there you wouldn’t run out either – head over here. They’re also available from Asda.

We were sent a copy of the book for review, all opinions are our own. This post also contains an affiliate link.