This vibrant picture book from Vivian French and Nigel Baines deals with many of the arguments that kids (& adults!) put up to avoid reading - 'I don't have time' "I'm too old for pictures' 'Reading is hard' etc. The illustrations are full of life, colour and humour, I particularly liked the horse librarian but I hope it wasn't suggesting librarians are nags! Excellent reading encouragement from the first page to the last with some very valid points made, such as the need for kids to be able to see themselves in books - much better representation is needed of disabilities, all types of families, cultures and religions. This book should be in every primary school library/classroom and it's humorous tone would go down well in lower secondary too. Championing of comics throughout which really gets my seal of approval! All types of reading whether digital or paper are approved of in the books pages and the illustrations show every type and age of person you could think of along with some very cute animals. Nods to Harry Potter and Star Wars made me smile. All in all I just love this book and can thoroughly recommend it.
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3/1/2016 0 Comments 2015 Reading RoundupHappy New Year all! I am very pleased to have surpassed my GoodReads target of reading 120 books in 2015 (in fact I read 121) so now need to set myself a new challenge. I was going to make this post a list of my top 5 books of the year - but I can't possibly limit it to 5, will have to be 10! Here they are in no particular order, and they are not necessarily books published in this year, just books I have read: One, Sarah Crossan - this book stands out for me as the book that I have recommended to everyone and that probably made the most impression on me. Lyrical, beautifully written and so emotional, if you haven't read it yet go read it now! Concentr8, William Sutcliffe - an extremely powerful read that is scarily credible with some thought provoking extra reading on the subject of the over prescription of Ritalin etc. Twisted Dark Volume 1, Neil Gibson - I've started to read more graphic novels this year and intend to continue to do so in 2016 and Twisted Dark are going to help me with that. Hard hitting and not for younger children this was not always a comfortable read but gripping nonetheless. Clariel, Garth Nix - being drawn back into the world of the Abhorsen was an absolute delight, this prequel to a favourite series was like being given an unexpected present Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig - an important, sensitive description of Matt's struggle with depression that is both uplifting and comforting. I've requested this as my book to give out on World Book Night, fingers are firmly crossed. (very honourable mention to A Boy Named Christmas too which is destined to be a December read for me for many years to come). Monster, CJ Skuse - the one that kept me awake at night and gave me nightmares! Tense, scary and set in a boarding school (reminiscent for me of Mallory Towers!), what's not to like?! Demon Road, Derek Landy - first YA title from the always sarcastically amusing creator of Skulduggery. Read this in one greedy gulp and will will go back and reread. Darkly funny but bloodthirsty too. Because you'll never meet me, Leah Thomas - debut novel and very unusual story of a friendship built on letters that sustains and is a lifeline for two 'different' teenage boys. Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar, Emily Mackenzie - my favourite picture book of the year. Ralfy Rabbit is obsessed with books, he just can't get enough of them and this leads him into a life of crime when he starts to steal other peoples. He's 'saved' by a library - of course! Eren, Simon P Clark - Gorgeous book about the very nature of story and the impact it can have on life. Narrowing down to just 10 books has been ridiculously difficult and I must give a hat tip to a couple of others that didn't quite get into the lineup, Cleo, Lucy Coats & Mind Games, Teri Terry that I thoroughly enjoyed too ;-) My reading resolution is quite a simple one - read......more! and I'm looking forward to discovering more fantastic books in 2016. 3/12/2015 0 Comments Christmas Challenge Dec 3My reading choice today resonates even more poignantly in the light of yesterday's Syria decision - The Best Christmas Present in the World by Michael Morpurgo with illustrations from Michael Coleman. This slim volume tells the story of the Christmas truce of 1914 when both sides laid down their arms and celebrated Christmas Day together, realising that they were not so different after all. The spare, almost lyrical prose brought a tear to my eye by the the time I got to the bittersweet ending. The misty, watercolour images illustrate the text perfectly and are well worth lingering over. A small book that packs a big emotional punch.3/12/2015 0 Comments Christmas Challenge Dec 2This December I have set myself a Christmas Challenge - each day I will read a festive tale and blog about it. Some of the reviews will be of books, some will be apps but I intend to upload one every single day :-)
This morning I've read one of my favourite types of book - a picture book, Badger's Grumpy Christmas by Paul Bright illustrated by Jane Chapman. Poor badger just wants to go to sleep but the other animals want him to join in the Christmas festivities and keep knocking on his door. Badger gets grumpier and grumpier and refuses to help when poor mole gets stuck at the top of the tree. He finally manages to get to sleep only to have a nightmare about his friend up the tree and he wakes up, grabs the ladder and rushes off to rescue mole. All of the animals forgive Badger his earlier surliness and he hosts a wonderful festive party. I read the book via the Me Books app and it's wonderfully narrated by Will Huggins who voices Badger perfectly. I loved all the different animal voices, especially the scouser rabbit! Beautifully coloured illustrations throughout the book keep your eyes happy and this gentle tale would be perfect to share with little ones on a cold winter's night. 1/12/2015 2 Comments Christmas Challenge Dec 1This December I have set myself a Christmas Challenge - each day I will read a festive tale and blog about it. Some of the reviews will be of books, some will be apps but I intend to upload one every single day :-)
1st December A Boy Called Christmas , Matt Haig , illustrated by Chris Mould I've started off with a new story, read in one greedy gulp on the train to Newcastle. Nikolas is a lonely boy until circumstances force him to leave his home and travel to try and find his father. He makes friends with a mouse and a reindeer and is thrown into jail by elves before redeeming himself to them and being renamed Father Christmas. This is an utterly delightful reading experience, from the glitter on the cover and the humour within to the amusing, clever illustrations. It would be a perfect book for a December daily read aloud session with kids and they would be spellbound I'm sure. I loved the description of crackers - "Better than exploding trolls heads!" - given by the truth fairy! I will be treasuring my copy and hoping to get it signed by both the author and the illustrator at some point. When it comes to story books for younger readers there are so many on the app store that it's hard to know when to stop downloading. These are my personal favourites:
1. Hairy Maclary - One of my children's favourite series many years ago so I was already prepared to fall in love with it and luckily it more than met my expectation. Read by David Tennant (a bonus!) the book features colouring pages, you can record your own narration and clicking on individual words will cause them to be repeated. All of the dogs have different barks too, which is a nice touch. 2. Elmer's Special Day - Another old favourite, the colourful patchwork elephant translates beautifully onto the ipad screen. Tapping on the pictures brings up additional vocabulary and you can opt to have the story read to you or read it yourself. 3. Winken, Blinken and Nod - A twist on a classic storybook this one won't advance until you read the words on the screen aloud. Wonderful for early reading practice and speaking and listening. 4. Wheels on the Bus - One for every parent that's ever been exhorted to 'read/sing it again!' Interactive element on every page, but I warn you the singing will become.....irritating and unfortunately with this one you can't just 'lose' the batteries! 5. The Monster at the End of This Book - How could you not love an app that stars Sesame Street's Grover? Very cleverly done, Grover's character comes across strongly, and if you don't turn the pages quickly enough he reminds you to do so. 6. The Lettermen go to the Seaside - This series of books have always been popular and the app is bright, colourful and fun to read. There's a spelling task on each page and you can choose to have the narration on or off as with most titles. It was hard to choose just 6 but these are a good starting point for little ones I think. |
AuthorMy blog is a collection of thoughts and I hope you will learn something about me from the ramblings as well as finding some useful links. I'm Bev Humphrey and I'm a Literacy, School Libraries and Technology Consultant. I am self employed so views expressed are solely my own. CategoriesAll Android Apps Authors Bett Book Giving Day Books Cats Childrens Books Christmas Christmas Challenge Conferences Dickens Dyslexia English Games Geography Graphic Novels Images Inspiration International Women's Day Ipad Ipad For Education Libraries London Mfl Picture Books Podcasts Poetry Poetry Day Primaries Reading Resources Revision Twitter Urls Video Visits Wbd Wordcloud Wordle Workshops Write Path Writers Writing YA Youtube |