The Marvellous Moon Map by Teresa Heapy and David Litchfield age 3-7
In this story, Mouse creates a map and sets off to find the moon. This proves quite an adventure in which he finds true friendship.
Claire tells us about sharing The Marvellous Moon Map with her two daughters:
‘My girls are 6 and 3 years old and love going on adventures, anything from a walk in the woods to a weekend camping at the seaside. This beautifully illustrated book really captured their imaginations. I think what they enjoyed most is the sense of adventure as mouse sets out to find the moon.
We’ve read this book a good few times now, it’s fast becoming one of their favourites. I love that they join in with the repeat phrases in the book like “But I’ve got you, and you’ve got me - so we’ll be all right”. This is also a book about friendship. I like to think that my girls are sharing adventures like bear and mouse and building a strong friendship along the way.
We've talked about what mouse or bear is feeling at different parts of the story. My eldest was quick to point out that mouse needs a rocket not a map to get to the moon, so we talked about this too. We’ve discussed what we’d pack in our backpacks if we were going on an adventure like this and where we’d go.
We were inspired to create a moon map of our own. My eldest particularly enjoyed this and took great pleasure in using the book for inspiration to draw her own map. We also used the step-by-step guide at the back of the book to make an origami boat which we floated in a tray of water for a while. My two love creating and water play so they had a fantastic afternoon inspired by this beautiful book.’
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Don’t worry Little Crab by Chris Haughton Age 0-3
Little Crab lives with Very Big Crab in a tiny rock pool. One day Little Crab is very excited because they are going to see the sea. When they get there, Little Crab is not so sure about the sea – the waves are very big. An appealing story about having the courage to try new things, with a little help and encouragement along the way.
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Gloria’s Porridge by Elizabeth Laird and Toby Newsome Age 3-5
When Gloria makes a bowl of porridge her cat wants some, but Gloria doesn’t want to share. This leads to a chain of events upsetting not only the cat, but also a donkey, a hive of bees, a hen and Gloria herself. Fox hears the rumpus and helps them sort out the problem. An engaging picturebook based on a traditional Ethiopian folk tale.
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The Cooking Club Detectives by Ewa Jozefkowicz Age 9-11
Erin and her friends are enthusiastic members of the cooking club at their local community centre. When the centre and their club is under threat from an unnamed buyer, they decide to investigate the mystery. There is lots to talk about in this engaging story including making friends, the impact of unemployment, the importance of community centres and healthy eating on a budget. There are seven brilliant recipes sprinkled throughout the book to inspire young cooks.
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 Newly updated – Our Top Ten Books for Baby’s First Bookshelf
It’s never too early to read or sing to babies. They will tune into the sounds, rhythms and patterns of your voice and will begin to focus on, and delight in, the pictures. Books are a wonderful way to engage your baby in a shared, enjoyable and stimulating activity and a perfect way to spend time together. As babies grow, they will join in with your actions, words and tunes to bring the book to life. This early experience is an important first step on their journey as readers.
Our list includes books to share with your new baby in their first weeks and months, some of these your child will continue to enjoy for several years. Most are available as board books which your baby will soon be able to handle themselves. As you develop your collection of favourite books, your own or borrowed from the library; the stories, songs and rhymes you share together are likely to include favourites from your own childhood, children’s classics and new books by contemporary writers and illustrators. For more ideas also see Our top 10 classic picture books and our Books for 0-3 years .
Andy tells us that sharing books with Cassidy, 8 months old is an important part of their daily routine
‘Reading is a massive part of Cassidy’s day, be it for play or part of her wind-down sleep routine. She loves to play with lift the flap books such as Dear Zoo and Little Fish. And the rhythmic narratives and soothing illustrations of books such as Be Brave Little Penguin, Peck, Peck, Peck, A Busy Day for Birds, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes really help her to relax. Reading books to Cassidy is also one of her Mummy and Daddy’s favourite activities!’
Read more about sharing books with babies in this piece by Dr Mary Roche, Education Consultant.
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Reading Dear Zoo together, age 7 months.
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 We are delighted to introduce our new patron, Sonia Thompson. is Head Teacher of St Matthew’s C.E Primary School in Nechells, Birmingham. She is passionate about evidence-based reading for pleasure practices and places these at the heart of the school. St Michael’s was the first school to win the OU/UKLA whole school reading for pleasure school of the year award.
Read more and find out about Sonia and all of our wonderful patrons here
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 Parents and schools are concerned about the impact of potential loss of learning on children - with school bubbles being forced to isolate after school closures. Various catch-up programmes are being offered and discussed.
During Lockdown parents appreciated the efforts of the dedicated teachers, who devised wonderful home learning opportunities with an emphasis on creative, practical learning and a big focus on reading for pleasure. We were delighted to have contributed to this creative approach and that our resources were so well used by schools across the country.
With the summer holiday approaching, we feel the most important thing for parents wishing to support their children is to continue to foster a love of reading. Making sure you read regularly to your children even when they can read independently themselves, introduce them to exciting new books, wallow in the pleasures of familiar books, choose books together at the library, step into the story world and share book-based fun - for example by acting out the story together with puppets or toys.
Visit www.lovemybooks.co.uk for book suggestions, booktalk ideas, lots of creative activities and advice about reading with your child.
Join the Summer Reading Challenge Summer Reading Challenge (Summer Reading Challenge) run by The Reading Agency in partnership with Public Libraries.
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Focus book | New books | Top Ten Books for Baby’s first Bookshelf | Our new Patron | Creative catch-up
