Day 85 (Week 13, Day 1) - Sunday 26th March 2017

Day 85 (Week 13, Day 1) - Sunday 26th March 2017

Alas, another busy day and a late night return home which meant that the kids fell asleep in the car on the way back and we had miss out on storytime once more!

Maybe we'll be able to read a real glut of books in one day to try and catch up a bit!

Fingers crossed for tomorrow...

Books Read: 166/1000 (16.6%)

Day 84 (Week 12, Day 7) - Saturday 25th March 2017

Day 84 (Week 12, Day 7) - Saturday 25th March 2017

Far too much going on today for Catherine's birthday, so unfortunately no time for any stories at bedtime as we were all so exhausted! Fingers crossed we'll be back on with improving our total tomorrow!

Books Read: 166/1000 (16.6%)

Day 83 (Week 12, Day 6) - Friday 24th March 2017

Day 83 (Week 12, Day 6) - Friday 24th March 2017

Friday might be the end of the working week and the night a lot of people like to flop down and do nothing, but for us it's just as good a time as any to read some more as a family! Though it would be fair to say that after a long week at school, Josh tends to be a little more tired on a Friday night and doesn't always find getting ready for bed to be the easiest thing to do...

Anyway, on with tonight's stories...

1) This Book Belongs to Aye Aye - Richard Byrne

Aye-Aye wants nothing more than to be in a picture book (which is a noble dream, indeed). The two twin rabbits in his class are scathing of his plans however, and hardly fill Aye-Aye with confidence. When a competition is put on the blackboard, Aye-Aye tries to be the best at each of the changing criteria, but he always seems to lose out to the twins. But when the truth about who has been changing the criteria is revealed, Aye-Aye's helpfulness might just see him rewarded in the way he has been dreaming of all along...

It's a story, then, of trying hard and being helpful to those around you, which is a fantastic message for children of course, and a great way of starting off an evening's reading! The illustrations are delightful, capturing Aye-Aye's determination to be helpful and slight despair at how the competition seems to be falling away from him perfectly, and when you realise it's Richard Byrne behind the story (he of This Book Just Ate My Dog!) then it's no wonder it's so enjoyable.

Great for a story where the hero gets just what he deserves, and where you have a chance to talk about the important moral messages behind it with your children.

Chris says: If you've followed this blog at all then you'll know that I love a story with a good moral behind it, and 'be helpful and kind to those around you' is always going to be a winner. It's also great to see Aye-Aye rewarded for using his creativity! Great messages for children in this.

Josh says: I like that he got to be in the book at the end.

Xander says: I like painting.

2) The Colour Thief - Gabriel Alborozo (Author & Illustrator)

Zot lives in a world without colour. When he spots Earth, he decides to journey there and take all its colour for himself to take back to his planet. But when he sees how sad it's made a young boy to now live in a world without colour he returns it all, satisfied with taking back just one bright orange balloon. It's a nice tale about how just a small bit of colour can brighten an entire world, and if you want to use it as a metaphor with your children then it's easy to translate into a slightly different scenario (a single kind word can bring a moment of happiness to someone's life, for example). There's also the moral as well about not invading a place and taking everything for yourself without seeing how it would affect those already living there, but I don't think that one is supposed to be the main focus of the story!

Visually, the book does a great job of proving this point; the opening pages, though nicely drawn, are definitely drab compared to those in full colour (as is the intention), and I know that myself and the kids are much happier to live in a world with fantastic colours around it!

A nice story about how one little thing can brighten a person's world!

Chris says: I don't always twig when there's a metaphor hiding in imagery, but I think I understand this one! A bit of colour really does brighten the world, whether it's literally a splash of blue or red in a sea of grey, or a spark of happiness for a person in a bad place.

Josh says: I like that he put the colours back when he saw the boy was upset.

Xander says: I like the balloon.

3) George Flies South - Simon James (Author & Illustrator)

It's not easy for anyone of any age to stick at something until they nail it, particularly if they're struggling to succeed or they're afraid of what they have to do, so this story of a little bird who can't quite bring himself to learn how to fly is quite inspirational in that sense. It takes a bit of desperation when the nest he's living in is no longer beneath his feet and he finds himself falling, but when he tries his hardest George finally succeeds in learning to fly, and continue on South for the winter. 

Stories like this help to show children why it's important never to give up, even if something is difficult (a message that I wish Josh sometimes heeded when he declares himself too tired to get ready for school in the morning and gives up part way through getting dressed...), because the reward for doing so is just around the corner. It's illustrated delightfully in watercolour (at least that's what my minimal knowledge of art leads me to believe!), and it's a book that fitted perfectly for us at the end of a nice evening of reading!

Chris says: Lovely message and easy for children to understand. The perfect type of book for parent's to read with their kids!

Josh says: I like that he was able to fly in the end.

Xander says: I like to fly!

So, to summarise Day 83...

A very good evening for positive messages tonight, whether it was about being helpful to others (This Book Belongs to Aye-Aye), always looking to put a bit of colour into the world (The Colour Thief), or never giving up (George Flies South). Picture books are great for getting across these messages in simple but effective ways, and I do enjoy having the chance to talk for just a little bit with the kids about what we think the important message behind each story is. 

It's also great that the vast majority, like these three tonight, are just jolly good fun to read!

Books Read: 166/1000 (16.6%)

Day 82 (Week 12, Day 5) - Thursday 23rd March 2017

Day 82 (Week 12, Day 5) - Thursday 23rd March 2017

We've had a good streak going lately, managing to books read each night for the last few days to keep heading towards our target of 1,000 picture books read in 2017. Xander unfortunately fell asleep early tonight, so it was just Josh and I on reading duty!

ANY day that you get to read with your children should be cause for celebration, but there have been far too many days as far as I'm concerned that we've had where for one reason or another we just haven't been able to settle down and get those stories read. Usually it's because of sickness or the children just being too tired, but it's added up to far more days than I thought it would, and so we're aiming now to either read six books in the evening after one where we haven't read any, or read the three intended for the previous night in the morning before school if we can. 

However we do it, we're determined that we'll reach that 1,000 book goal!

1) Happy Harry's Cafe - Michael Rosen (Author) & Richard Holland (Illustrator)


Michael Rosen is an author and poet that I admire greatly for all his work advocating reading and the importance of libraries, so it's surprising that we haven't yet read any of his work for the Picture Book Challenge. With Happy Harry's Cafe, it's easy to see why he's such a highly respected wordsmith with the beautifully poetic way this story is told, using alliteration and rhymes without a standard rhythm throughout, and making the kids giggle along as the story is told. We laughed as Matt the Cat realises he doesn't like the soup Harry has served because he has no spoon to eat it with, at the silly song they make up about it, and particularly at the bit where Robin the Robin comes bobbing along, bringing back memories of a song that many of you probably sung many years ago (as I did in a school play).

The illustrations by Richard Holland are great as well, featuring mainly one character per page and allowing the focus to fall solely on them, which is a contrast to how most picture books seem to be drawn, and a bit of variety is always welcome!

A lovely tale with a poetical feel that can't fail to raise a smile!

Chris says: I like when a particularly clever poet is able to tell a story in a way that doesn't have a standard rhythm to it, but makes it work perfectly anyway. It shows just how you can play around with storytelling techniques and find a different and exciting way to tell a tale.

Josh says: I liked the song at the end.

2) Watch Out! There's a Monster About! - Claire Freedman (Author) & Russell Julian (Illustrator)


I love a story that builds slowly towards it's climax, teasing a repeating theme or scenario along the way before the big event happens, and this book is a great example of that storytelling technique at work. Owl, Rabbit, and Mouse are all afraid of the Monster Of The Woods, and put a plan in place in case it comes calling. Will they be able to stick to the plan though when the time comes, or will curiosity get the better of them?

It's hard to get across without reading it yourself, but the pacing of the buildup to the appearance of the 'Monster' really is perfect, and the way the words dominate the page at the time we finally meet it is just so well done that it lends itself to being read out loud as well as anything I can remember. That's one of the key successes of this for me: it really is just glorious fun to read to your children!

It's beautifully illustrated too, of course, with the terror that the friends are going through put across in fantastic tandem with the words.

And if you like your positive morals, it's also a chance to talk about not judging something until you know it!

Chris says: Perfect pacing and such fun to read aloud - two things that help to make up a great story for me!

Josh says: I liked that the monster was very nice.

3) There's a Monster in My Fridge - Caryl Hart (Author) & Deborah Allright (Illustrator)


We see the name Caryl Hart on the front of a book and we instantly celebrate because we know we're going to have a great time reading it! There's a Monster in My Fridge in another imaginative and delightfully fun story about the monsters that live in someone's house, hiding in the fridge, the cupboard, beneath the sheets, and many other places! There are lift the flap pages to make the reveal of each monster all the more exciting, and even a mirror at the end to show the scariest monster of all!

As you'd expect with a monster book, the illustrations by Deborah Allright are an incredibly creative collective of bright colourful monsters and other ghoulish beings in a variety of locations, and they compliment Caryl Hart's teasing questions about what the reader might find hidden in this house incredibly well.

We had great fun afterwards talking about what monsters we might find hidden in our own house, until I realised that it probably wasn't the best think to be talking about just before bed!

Chris says: We just have so much fun when we read Caryl Hart's stories, and that's a fantastic thing - to know that one of your favourite authors keeps bringing out highly enjoyable tales like this gives us plenty to look forward to!

Josh says: I liked the wolf scratching his bottom.

So, to summarise Day 82...

The theme of the day isn't quite monsters (there weren't any in Happy Harry's Cafe), but you could certainly classify it as 'incredibly creative'! Whether it's the majestic wordplay in Happy Harry's Cafe, the fantastic pacing and build up of Watch Out! There's a Monster About!, or all the monsters in There's a Monster in My Fridge, we've had another evening of books that inspire our imaginations, and I'm certain that any one of these books would put a smile of the face of you and your children if you were to pick up a copy!

Books Read: 163/1000 (16.3%)

Day 81 (Week 12, Day 4) - Wednesday 22nd March 2017

Day 81 (Week 12, Day 4) - Wednesday 22nd March 2017

Xander was happily playing with his train set tonight and unfortunately I couldn't coax any coherent answers out of him as to what he enjoyed about each story, though he was in the room as we read them so I'm hoping he enjoyed having stories in the background as he played!

Josh on the other hand sat with me on the sofa as always, thoroughly enjoying what we read. Here's our reviews...

1) Counting Lions - Katie Cotton (Author) & Stephen Walton (Illustrations)


We wouldn't necessarily have picked this book up if it hadn't have been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. It is, for all intents and purposes, a non-fiction book with facts about various animals, and though we've read a few books so far that are very informative they've always been stories (rather than information books) at heart.

I'm so pleased that we didn't skip this, therefore, because it's one of the most breathtakingly beautiful books that I've ever seen, filled with illustrations that you'll genuinely struggle to understand just how Stephen Walton has created. From a distance you could easily mistake them for photographs, and that's really not an exaggeration. If you think about how realistic the digital recreation of Grand Moff Tarkin was in Rogue One, then this is many times more realistic still. They're staggeringly lifelike, and I can't fathom how an artist can be so skillful.

The words are written by Katie Cotton, who we recently enjoyed with The Road Home, and the poetic accompaniments to each illustration she provides are small but highly informative pieces on each species.

Children's books often say so much with so little, and this is a fine example. We loved it in every way.

Chris says: You really can't exaggerate how magnificent these illustrations are. Everytime I look at them again I'm in absolute awe.

Josh says: Is that a photo? (N.B. Referring to the front cover)

2) Ready, Steady, Dig! - Smriti Prasadam-Halls (Author) & Ed Eaves (Illustrator)


This is NOT a book to sit and read quietly together; this is a book to read as loudly and enthusiastically as possible, just like life on a real building site! Josh loved making the sounds and actions of all the various machines throughout, and Xander had to come and see what was happening to join in with them too. Smriti Prasadam-Halls' words and Ed Eaves' pictures guided us through the chaos like a seasoned foreman onsite!

Diggers have always been big in our house, and it's great to read stories that you know the kids have a personal interest in. If you want a book that's great fun with plenty to shout about and noise to make, here you go - this is the perfect story for you!

Chris says: It's a good job we don't look for quiet stories before bed! Loads to shout about noisily with this one!

Josh says: I like to build with Lego bricks.

3) Sir Scaly Pants the Dragon Knight - John Kelly (Author & Illustrator)


It's a bit of an irresistible name, 'Sir Scaly Pants', isn't it? And a proper hero he turns out to be, saving the common folk from a giant where everyone else fails, including the bullying Nasty Knights, with the help of his trusted steed Guinevere.

It's excellent fun and wonderfully colourful, featuring the most fantastically grumpy looking horse in Guinevere since the one from Disney Pixar's Tangled. Josh loved this adventure, and I had to ask him to sit down and stop pretending to be a knight at one point to finish it!

Inspired their imaginations no end!

Chris says: Always going to welcome a story about a knight on an adventure - particularly one with a fantastically fun name! Great way of getting kids excited about reading a book.

Josh says: I like how he defeated the giant.

So, to summarise Day 81...

Tonight, we've had simply stunning and photo-realistic illustrations, irresistible shout-out-loud noises, and heroic adventures. A perfect cocktail for inspiring the imagination (both for children and adults alike!). 

Books Read: 160/1000 (16.0%)

Day 80 (Week 12, Day 3) - Tuesday 21st March 2017

Day 80 (Week 12, Day 3) - Tuesday 21st March 2017

Ooh, I had an exciting email come through today - the chance to review Julia Donaldson's latest book, courtesy of NetGalley! There's always something exciting about getting a proof copy of a book through before it's published, though this particular one was in eBook format so we couldn't take our customary picture reading it.

It was just Josh tonight as Xander was too engrossed in the games he was playing, so here's what we thought of the books we read this evening:

1) The Giant Jumperee - Julia Donaldson (Author) & Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator)


We received this eBook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's always great to read a picture book that has a bit of a mystery within that children can enjoy trying to solve. Our kids thoroughly enjoyed trying to guess the identity of the Giant Jumperee, and they thought it was hilarious when the mystery animal's identity was revealed. I'm sure that most adults would have been able to make a decent guess, but for smaller children this is exactly the sort of thing that can come as a huge shock to them, and make a book all the more memorable.

Though it always feels a little strange not to see Axel Scheffler illustrating a Julia Donaldson book (and there are loads of other illustrators that she's worked with so it shouldn't feel that strange, really), Helen Oxenbury's illustrations are delightful and perfectly suited to the story. She brings a fantastic feeling of warmth to accompany the text, mixing the detailed characters in the foreground with the simple but highly effective landscapes in the background.

People are always going to be excited by a new release from Julia Donaldson - having read it, I'm certain they're going to love this one!

Chris says: A lovely little mystery for children to try to solve, beautifully illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and a great addition to Julia Donaldson's catalogue. It's always great when an author you much admire brings out a new story that you really enjoy!

Josh says: I like finding out who the Giant Jumperee is.

2) T'wit T'woo - Maddie McClellan (Author & Illustrator)


I'm fond of this book for one very important reason: it's pretty much the first book that Josh has sat down and managed to read through all by himself that isn't one provided by his school. It's a huge step in learning to read, and so I'm very grateful that we came across this! It's a bright and colourful story about a group of owls causing a bit of mayhem and having fun, and Josh relished the chance to be the one that told us what was going on.

He enjoyed reading it so much that he happily read it again, and then again when Xander requested a third read-through. It's fun watching the owls getting up to mischief, but even more fun to see the look of happiness on your son's face as he gets to be the one to read it!

Clearly, therefore, a good recommendation for anyone who wants a warm and amusing picture book for beginner readers to get their teeth into!

Chris says: It's such a very proud moment as a parent when you see your child reading a book that they've picked up all by themselves for the first time. Yes, Josh has been reading well with his school books for a long time, but they're specially designed to be at his reading level, whereas this was just a book he picked up a wanted to have a go at reading. Wonderful to see!

Josh says: I like that I can read this all by myself.

3) Greenling - Levi Pinfold (Author & Illustrator)


We love learning about nature together as a family, and Greenling is a great story to show just how powerful nature is, and how the process of sowing and harvesting crops plays a vital role in how a community comes together. Initially, when Mr Barleycorn brings home a strange green baby that he finds on his land, his wife isn't keen and wants it taking away, but as the greenling's powers are revealed and the townsfolk also become hostile towards it. so Mrs Barleycorn becomes protective and insists that it be allowed to stay.

It's a lovely fable about how nature can disrupt our lives, but also be there to support our lives if we allow it, and as you'd expect from a Kate Greenaway Medal winner, it's beautifully illustrated too (though I must admit to being slightly scared of the greenling's face on the front cover!).

A lovely opportunity to talk to your children about the ways nature looks after us, as why we should try to take care of it, too.

Chris says: Levi Pinfold really is a stunning illustrator, and the imagery in this is so very memorable. It's very lifelike, and really helps to hammer home the message of nature's power.

Josh says: I like the drawings of the people.

So, to summarise Day 80...

Three totally different stories tonight, as we had a mystery, a comedy, and a fable. All very enjoyable, all very imaginative, and all very worthy additions to our Picture Book Challenge total!

Books Read; 157/1000 (15.7%)

Day 79 (Week 12, Day 2) - Monday 20th March 2017

Day 79 (Week 12, Day 2) - Monday 20th March 2017

We're safely back in Britain after a wonderful trip to France - the first time that the kids have been abroad and they loved it! Great fun at Disneyland Paris, going on lots of rides and experiencing a different culture (and a HUGE amount of Star Wars!), and also the excitement of getting the ferry there and back (despite such a huge delay on the way home).

We couldn't read yesterday because of all the journeying, but we're back adding to our total tonight!

Here's what we've read:

1) The Road Home - Katie Cotton (Author) & Sarah Jacoby (Illustrator)


Oh, this non-fiction (essentially) title is just absolutely stunning! It's the tale of how different animals (birds, mice, wolves, and rabbits) survive in the animal kingdom, against each other and Mother Nature, and both educates us with it's poetical telling of each species' plight, and enthralls us with the sublime visuals that accompany it.

I love when a story combines non-fiction with a story-based narrative to teach children without them even realising that they're learning. Josh & Xander both loved seeing how the different animals survived against each other, with the birds playing predators against the mice, and the wolves hunting down the rabbits, as well as how the protection that each parent offers its young on this journey means that the long road home is still home.

I can't wait to see more stories from Katie Cotton and illustrations from Sarah Jacoby. Sometimes a story really touches you and I feel such an urge to shout to people about how much I enjoyed this - hopefully I'll get it passed round my colleagues at work for the message to spread!

Chris says: I just loved how beautiful the illustrations are, combined with the lyrical way each animals journey is told. It felt like a genuine honour to read something this beautiful!

Josh says: I liked learning about the different animals.

Xander says: I liked the animals.

2) Odd Socks - Michelle Robinson (Author) & Rebecca Ashdown (Illustrator)


Well, this is a delightfully quirky little rhyming tale! I thought it was going to be terribly traumatic at one point when one of the sock at the heart of the story got a hole in it, but it finishes on such a happy note as both socks end up as sock puppets that I was prevented from having to make something up about sock heaven!

Not that I believed for one second that Michelle Robinson could ever traumatise me in one of her books! Her stories have easily been one of the main highlights of the Picture Book Challenge so far, making us laugh and smile in equal measure as her creativity unfolds at the heart of every page, and brought to life by an array of talented illustrators. The latest of these, for Odd Socks, is Rebecca Ashdown, whose work we recently enjoyed in The Glump and the Peeble. It makes for such a colourful combination of words and pictures, and the kids loved the idea of turning their old socks into puppets.

Great fun, as always!

Chris says: A book that gives us an idea for a creative activity afterwards! What could be better?

Josh says: I'd like to make sock puppets, especially with googly eyes.

Xander says: I like socks!

3) Sidney, Stella, and the Moon - Emma Yarlett (Author & Illustrator)


The premise of this story, that an inability to share for siblings Sidney & Stella causes the moon to be accidentally destroyed, is exactly my type of wonderfully ridiculous plot that I couldn't help but smile all the way through. Having found myself reacting slightly over the top to the kids messing around before, with suggestions of not-even-slightly-plausible things that might happen should they not calm down, this was a good chance to explain why they nevertheless might cause huge problems if they don't share!

Sharing for young children can, of course, be an incredibly difficult thing, and though the outcome here is obviously not realistic, it's still a great chance to discuss why sharing is a good thing to do.

It's wrapped up in utterly fantastic illustrations (particularly the haphazard hairstyles!) that lends itself perfectly to the quirky story, and makes me yearn for more of Emma Yarlett's work (I loved Orion and the Dark so will have to request it from the library again).

A beautifully drawn story with an important message to discuss - excellent stuff!

Chris says: Josh and Xander flick from being wonderful at sharing to terrible at it in the space of a few seconds, and though it's difficult for children to learn and I can't criticise them too much for that, it's always nice to have something like a memorable story to draw upon as a backup for why they need to share better!

Josh says: I liked the glowing cheese moon.

Xander says: I liked the Moon!

So, to summarise Day 79...

We've come back to some lovely stories: one of the most beautifully illustrated picture books that I think I've ever read in The Road Home (with a lovely educational basis to it), more fun from the fantastic Michelle Robinson with lovely illustrations from Rebecca Ashdown in Odd Socks, and finishing another important message about sharing and playing nicely in Sidney, Stella and the Moon. 

I might not get these reviews onto the blog very quickly (N.B. I'm publishing this just over a month after we read the books...eek!), but the most important part of it (the reading!) is still such an important part of our day that we're gutted when we go without getting to properly sit down and read. Hopefully we'll put together another good run of days to add significantly to our overall total!

Books Read: 154/1000 (15.4%)