The BFG Film Review

Us human beans love a little bit of escapism, especially in the current political climate, so what better way to spend a wet Wednesday afternoon that a trip to the cinema. After a busy week holidaying in Italy, we thought we would finish off a bit of family time with a day out to see the new Speilberg adaptation of Roald Dahl's brilliant 'The BFG'.

Movie adaptations of books have a lot to live up, none more so than this giant of a story. I have always loved The BFG after devouring it as seven-year-old (I think I was given a copy for my First Holy Communion). Dahl had the ability to draw in kids of all ages which was evident in the rows of families of all ages lining the seats in front of us, along with groups of friends and couples sans children.

My daughter has not read the book, yet, as she is just coming up to five and is still in the picture book stage, but she was really looking forward to meeting Sophie and her giant friend. Packed full of melancholy and bittersweet moments that can melt the coldest of hearts, the BFG was a brilliant piece of film magic.

Mark Rylance captured the hearts of us all and left us wishing that he could whisk us off in his big comforting hands, much like I wish my grandparents were here to offer comfort like they did all of those years ago. Ruby Barnhill as the likeable and assertive Sophie is a real star in the making and I felt that she really invited the audience on her journey with her.

For those who love a bit of childish toilet humour, the scenes with Penelope Wilton as the Queen will have you giggling like a child, as will the threat of making your little ones snozzcumbers for tea when you get home from watching the film.

The thing that has always stood out for me with the BFG is the squiggly words and sense of fun that Dahl brings to language and literacy, something that Rylance carries off brilliantly. He really did make me smile so much.

Photograph: rstock/Everett/Rex/Shutterstock

The BFG is a story of dreams and being able to connect to people that you did not think possible and, for those reasons, it is truly scrumdiddlyumptious!
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Long time no speak

Wow, it has been almost one year since I last posted on here, oops. I never intended to stay away so long but it has been a hectic year with one thing and another, so I have taken a back step with Little Scribbles.

Little Scribbles started out as a blog to write about my experiences as a new mum who had just been made redundant while on maternity leave and had a wealth of ideas. I stumbled upon the Barefoot Books ambassador programme and felt that is was the perfect opportunity to earn a little money while taking time away from work to raise my daughter. My love for children's books has long been in my heart and my Barefoot adventure gradually turned into me developing my own online bookshop and storytelling business. I had no idea how long I would spend in this business as my long-term goals were always to return to a 'proper job' once my daughter started school.

The past year has seen my long to return to my job as a counsellor, which I have been doing for almost 10 years now on top of my main job that I was made redundant from. I have always kept up with some voluntary work to keep me in the loop, but I have started to work for a couple of organisations and will be looking to do some private work once my daughter starts school in September (how is this happening so quickly?).

During the same period that I stepped up my counselling work, Barefoot Books sadly withdrew its ambassador programme and a lot of health issues meant that I had less zest for my storytelling sessions. So, I have decided that my bookselling business will take a back seat for now and I will think about opening my shop once things settle down after September.

My new counselling website will launch during the summer and I will be featuring children's books that can support a child's emotional development and parental guidance books. I still have a huge passion for children's books, especially those that challenge stereotypes and celebrate diversity, so I still want to immerse myself in that world. With this in mind, I am planning to keep this blog running and chat about children's literature and storytelling without the business side of things.

I am looking forward to chatting to people more and hearing about how you and your children are enjoying reading and storytelling. I promise not to stay away too long this time!

Matt on a Bike

Little Scribble's is very happy to be supporting Matt Giannasi on his Challenge Cancer Cycle Trans Pennine bike ride. The challenge consists of a 60-mile bike ride from Manchester to Leeds and will take place in September. Overall, Challenge Cancer aim to raise £1.5 million for four of the top UK cancer charities. Matt decided to take on the challenge in memory of a work colleague who lost his life to cancer earlier this year. You can check out Matt's just giving page, if you would like to support him on his journey.

We are supporting Matt in his fundraising efforts by offering up all profits from our sale of Bear on a Bike and Bear on a Bike gift set. Simply buy either of the bear products using this link and we will arrange for our profits to go to Matt's fund. 

Bear on a Bike is great for children up to 6 years and comes as a boardbook or paperback. You can join Bear as he tries out different forms of transport and has an adventure with each one. Rhyme and repetition support the learning layers of travel and transportation, as Bear travels in a raft, a rocket ship, a boat, a bike, a steam train, and a carriage. The 'Bear on a Bike Set' includes a copy of 'Bear on a Bike' board book and a 'Bear on the Go' first puzzle.

We hope you join us in wishing Matt the best of luck on his bike ride and we hope that his bottom doesn't ache too much!

This is my allotment, there's not a lot to see

After 3 years on the waiting list, we finally have a plot at our local allotments, yay! We say yay, but just look at it, it's not in the best state. It is such as shame that it has been left in this condition, but I guess we can start from scratch and get it to the way that we want it. We do not expect to start growing anything until at least springtime as it will take until that time to clear it up and get the ground ready to begin planting.

We have been excitedly planning how we want the plot to look, what we will grow and looking at sheds and greenhouses, how geeky does that sound? We will be blogging about our allotment journey, particularly how we will be getting mini scribbles involved in organic gardening and nature activities. Hopefully, we will be posting better pictures in the next few months, wish us luck!

Book of the Month: July

July is an exciting time as school is out for summer and it is time to think about summer holidays. We are enjoying some glorious weather at the moment, so it is the perfect time to go outdoors and enjoy what nature has to offer. Our Book of the Month for July is the brand new singalong CD book from Barefoot Books, Outdoor Opposites.

The book invites little ones to grab their backpacks and head into the countryside for a camping adventure full of contrasts! Looking through the book, your child can act out the different opposites, such as fast/slow, run/walk and high/low and they can bring it all together when the enhanced CD singalong is played.

Take a look at the video here

This book is ideal for fun in the garden or in nurseries and pre-schools, to help children learn opposites in a creative way. Check out more books about opposites for children to enhance your child's learning. You can also check out our Opposites Sensory Storytime Pinterest board for activity ideas.

You can enjoy 20% off these books until the end of July using 2015SUMMER when you checkout

30 Days Wild: Day 1

Our first day (me, Deb and 3 year old mini scribbles) of our 30 Days Wild challenge was spent thinking of ideas for the month ahead and taking a little walk in the rain. Unfortunately, my silly phone decided that it had no space for us to take pictures, but that's ok as we got to focus on our walk more. As was as picking up fallen leaves and twigs, to paint with over the next week, we talked about different flowers and plants that we spotted and, of course, there was plenty of jumping in muddy puddles.

We hope you have had fun during your first wild day! We promise to take more pictures tomorrow.

30 Days Wild

We are looking forward to taking part in The Wildlife Trust's 30 Days Wild challenge. The challenge is simple, all you need to do is get outside and do something wild each day. Who's in?

Help Build a Nursery in South Africa

Little Scribbles founder, Deb, spent time in Africa back in 2006, volunteering in a children's orphanage in Kenya. A little bit of her heart stayed in Kenya and she has done her best ever since, to raise money in supportive and effective way. We recently came across a fantastic local project, that aims to travel to South Africa to make hands-on changes to one of the poorest communities in the country. Youth at The Lane are a group of young people from South Liverpool, that are part of the Long Lane Church community. In August 2015 they will be flying to Johannesburg, South Africa to build a nursery for children stuck in poverty. Their goal is to raise £25,000 to enable around 25 community members to go and make this happen. Find out more about the team and their project here 

To help support the team, we are holding an online Barefoot Books fundraiser. Barefoot have lots of great books that feature tales from Africa, here are just a few of our favourites

There are lots more options on the website and if you buy any item from my Barefoot Books store, using the link below, and 25% of profits will be donated to this fundraiser. If the team have room in their bags, we will also donate a selection of books for the nursery!

Buy a Barefoot Book and support the Youth at The Lane South Africa Fundraiser

We wish the team the best of luck in their fundraising efforts and we hope that they have a safe and enjoyable trip. Good luck guys!

World Earth Day Activities

World Earth Day will be celebrating its 45th birthday this year, on April 22nd. Now, more than ever, is the time to get our children involved in taking measures to protect our planet. Children are aware of the importance of recycling and energy saving, but the more we educate children on exactly how we impact our planet, the greater chance of creating a sustainable future. Earth Day Network shows you ways that you and your children can take action and make a difference. There are also very simple things that you can do on Earth Day itself, as pointed out in the latest Barefoot Books blog.

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is the perfect book to read in the run up to World Earth Day. Each of the seven folk tales, featured in the collection, show how different cultures around the world embrace the natural world and strive to live in harmony. 

The short stories are great for snatching a short period of family time together, in the midst of a busy day. You can simply read aloud together or, if you have more time on your hands, you can have a go at the hands-on activity attached to the end of each story. Activities include ' Everything Goes Soup' and homemade bird feeders, and all promote green living and eco messages. 

The first story in the collection is The Sun Mother, a story from Australia. After an introduction to the country itself, the story goes on to spread the message that if we all look after the little patch of earth where we belong, between us we can care for the whole earth. The activity at the end of this story is to make an aboriginal song-line painting. Song-line paintings are traditional pieces of art that depict areas that are social to the painter. The activity encourages children to think of their favourite place, a garden or park for example, and to paint with whatever materials they have at hand. You could use sand, chalk, charcoal or whatever natural pigments you can find or, like us, you can just use paints.

We took our book and paints in the sunny backyard and got to work on our song-line paintings, influenced by our local park

We had lots of fun and, of course, ended up getting very messy, which is what we like best! We would love to see your song-line paintings of your favourite place on earth.

April Book of the Month

Spring is finally here and it has brought along lots of sunshine, yay! I am sure, like us, you are enjoying lots of outdoor time and are eager to try new activities with your little ones. With that in mind, we have chosen Millie's Chickens as our April book of the month, so that you can celebrate the great outdoors.

Read along as Millie tends to her chickens, that she keeps in her backyard, and learn how to tend to chickens day and night. The rhyming text engages children, as do the beautiful illustrations by Valeria Cis.

Silkie, Leggy and Rhodie are just some of Millie's wonderful chickens, that love to roam in the sunshine. Millie's Chickens is a great book for pre-schools and early years classes, that teaches children all about different breeds of chicken and how eggs are made. The STEM friendly science information, in the end notes, makes this book educational as well as lots of fun, and may just teach adults a thing or too also!

Unfortunately, we do not have any space for chickens in our backyard but we still had lots of fun learning about chickens and how to look after these fun animals. A trip to our local farm is on the cards, to test our new found knowledge of chickens. If you are looking for books about outdoors, for your children, this is the perfect springtime story.

If you are new to Barefoot Books, you can enjoy 20% off using SPRING2015 when you checkout. Hope you have lots of fun! Cluck, cluck, cluck!

March Book of the Month

Wow, here we are in March already. The weeks and months seem to be flying by, probably as we always have our heads buried in books as the rest of the world floats by! As we have just celebrated St David's Day and are about to celebrate St Patrick's Day, we have decided to choose Tales From Celtic Lands as our March book of the month.

This collection of tales, from Barefoot Books, ventures into to the magical land of the Celtic peoples, where the spirits of the mountains, streams, seas and trees are all alive. The story comes alive with the beautifully narrated CD that accompanies the books, taking you away to enchanted lands and places of mystery and magic. The songs, blessing and folk tales in this collection are accompanied by notes on each story and a Celtic pronunciation guide, making it a great book for an educational storytelling session. As with all Barefoot's books, Tales from Celtic Lands is packed full of vibrant illustrations, full of dreamy landscapes and colourful interpretations of the characters. Take a sneak peek at the book in this audio telling of The Black Bull of Norroway

If you are planning on enjoying a fun storytelling session this St Patrick's Day, why not finish off your session with some of these fun St Patricks Day activities and crafts. 

Hope you have all the luck of the Irish this month, happy reading!

The Girl Who Could See Stories

In a world in which children are rushing around just as much as adults, it can be difficult to take a step back, relax and to think about the things that are really going on around us. These are the thoughts I had when I read Gill Torres' new book 'The Girl Who Could See Stories'. The book is a gentle tale about being mindful about what we eat, thinking about the stories behind the food on our plate. Whilst Gill is passionate about being Vegan, her writing eloquently portrays her views on food, rather than preaching that a vegan diet is best, which is how I have found some other vegan books for children.

'The Girl Who Sees Stories ' introduces us to Sofiel, a girl with a special gift that allows her to see a story behind very person and every object, whether that be understanding why two old friends are giggling away to themselves or the burger on her plate that looks sad. After discovering that some of the things she eats has an unhappy background, Sofiel chooses a plant based diet so that she can ensure that the food she eats came from a happy place. I am not vegan myself and cannot see myself ever omitting all animal products, but I do strive to buy as ethically as possible and, above all, I like that thinking about our food sources is the ultimate message of the book. There is a theme of empathy running throughout the story, for people and for animals, so whether or not your child chooses to adopt a plant free diet or not, they will certainly think twice about the food on their plates and how they look at people that they meet each day. Here at Little Scribbles, we aim to read and share books that encourage diversity and that educate them about different lifestyles, 'The Girl Who Could See Stories' certainly ticks those boxes. I read this book with my 3 year old and we had a long conversation about different diets people have and where the food we eat comes from, so I think this would be a great book to be read in schools.

The illustrations, by Ilan Sheady, are fun and engaging and show the growth of Sofiel, from a young girl eating at a fast food restaurant, with her cool tattoo wearing dad, to an older woman telling her story to her grandchildren. When I met Gill, her passion for the book came across and when you turn the pages you see her story coming to life, she says;

" I choose to be loving and healthy. I have written this book to inspire children to do the same"

It is great to see life passions brought to life by stories and, just like Sofiel, Gill knew that there was a story to be told about growing up on a diet that challenges the way children see food.

February Book of The Month

Wow, where did January go? As we step in to February, we are looking forward to lots of storytelling and crafting fun for St Valentine's, Shrove Tuesday and, most of all, Chinese New Year. With Chinese New Year in mind, we have chosen 'We're Riding on a Caravan' as our February book of the month.

This beautifully illustrated story from Barefoot Books is an exciting tale of a year long trek along the famous Chinese Silk Road. The exciting lyrical tale takes children on an adventure, stopping off at significant places along the road and teaching children new facts about China. There are great endnotes, with information of important Chinese cities and map of the Silk Road, making your storytelling session educational as well as fun. You can bring your story to life with gathering any Chinese themed items that you have around the house, such as chopsticks, drums, materials or dragon puppets. Add a little music for ambiance and you have a fun filled story time ahead of you. Head over to our Facebook page to enter our giveaway, in which you can enter to win a copy of this book in time for Chinese New Year.

Why not enjoy a Chinese New Year craft, once you have finished reading your story. A classic paper lantern is a cheap and easy activity or you can make your very own goat mask, to celebrate 2015's Year of the Goat.

Other great books for Chinese New Year storytelling  include, Lin Yi's Lantern, Little Leap Forward and The Great Race.

Happy New Year

January Book of the Month

With a brand new year ahead, January is often a time for reflection on what has gone before and excitement of what lies ahead. You may be dreaming of an exotic holiday abroad or exploring more of your own country or you could be wishing that you will do something different this year. Children are no different, with thoughts of everything that they can do in the year ahead exciting their little minds. I Wish I Were a Pilot is a simple and fun book that encourages toddlers to use their imaginations to take them anywhere they want to go.

Wish your way through race car tracks, wavy seas and even star-filled space. Travellers of all sorts are featured in this fun and imaginative book. The vivid colours and fun illustrations jump out of the page and will engage even the wriggliest of toddlers.

As with many Barefoot Books, the book includes educational notes about each of the modes of transportation featured in the rhyming text. I wish I were a pilot is a must have book for girls and boys that love transport related play as they can bring the story alive with their array of planes, trains and automobiles. 

Let your little one's imagination run wild in 2015!

Christmas Books for Children

For us, the best thing about Christmas is being snuggled up in new PJ's on Christmas Eve, with a book in hand and treats to eat and drink. Of course, Christmas Day is tons of fun and to see children's faces light up when they get their gifts from Father Christmas is priceless but we love the anticipation of it all. It is easy to get caught up in the mayhem of toys, turkey and tinsel on Christmas Day, so Christmas Eve is a great way to take time out as a family to relax and get in the mood for what is to come. Once you have finished wrapping all of your presents and prepped your sprouts, pop on a pair of PJ's (Kyna Boutique is our favourite for kids and we can't resist a pair of Cath Kidston's for adults)

For a cold winter evening, Cleo in the Snow is a fun book to read to babies and young toddlers. The book sees friends Cleo and Casper playing outside and discovering magical white flakes falling out of the sky. It may not snow in your region of the world this year but children will delight at the thought of what the first experience of snow may feel like. We dream of a white Christmas each time we read this book!

If you are looking for a traditional Christmas Stories with a twist, Babushka is a fun story that can be simply read aloud or acted out in the style of The Nativity. The book introduces children to Babushka, a woman who is so busy focusing on the little things, that she hardly notices the miraculous events going on around her. This touching Christmas story shows that the more you give away in love, the more you will receive. We love the bright and engaging illustrations, by the brilliant Sophie Fatus, in this book as they really help the book come alive.

For Independent readers Winter Shadow is a glorious tale to be read on a cosy night in by the fire. We read this at out first book club of 2014 and it left the whole group in tears, bittersweet tears nothing too deep! The book follows the story of a young girl who stumbles upon a wolf cub and goes on to raise it, until it finally needs to return to the wild. A book that adults and wolf lovers will enjoy just as much as children.

Other favourites for Christmas and winter include, A Skip Through the Seasons, a great book for toddlers and young children to learn about the changing weather and what to expect during winter. For older children, The Abominable Snowman' is a modern retake on the traditional tale and The Snow Queen is one of the most well known fairytales of all time, particularly as it was the base story children's favourite Frozen.

All of these books are wonderful tales that will give children the gift of stories for Christmas, something that cannot be replaced.

December Book of the Month

With Christmas upon us, there will be lots of people looking for books as gifts for children. Books for bedtime, annuals and  anthologies are top of the list for many people, with hundreds of books to choose from. To help you out with your choice, we have chosen My Big Barefoot Book of Wonderful Words as our December Book

The book follows a lovely family throughout their busy dat, with pages filled with everyday activities and products. Each scene is filled to the brim with people, places and things, and you’ll meet people of all races, cultures, lifestyles and abilities as you go. With images of children and adults with disabilities, breastfeeding, baby wearing, different types of family and much much more, children's eyes are opened to all that is diverse in our wonderful world.

This book is vibrantly illustrated and immerses children in detailed scenes of daily life, which are followed by simple spreads of labelled illustrations to help with vocabulary building and word recognition. It is a great choice for a Christmas gift as it will last for years and can be passed drown to younger children. We would not wait to get our copy when it was released during the summer, it has not been put away since we opened it! Another Barefoot Books gem.

The Tear Thief

As well as running Little Scribbles' Stories and this blog, owner Deb (me) is a person-centred counsellor who works with children, young people and families. I am currently working with Oakleaf , a Liverpool based charity that is dedicated to helping children and families during the difficult process of grief and loss, as a result of death or separation from a loved one. 

We were recently featured in this years Children in Need programme and are partly funded by the charity. As you would expect, the publicity drove more people to our services and whilst we are doing the best that we can to support as many children and young people as possible, we still need lots of help. Take a look at this BBC video to hear more about Oakleaf's services 

The team are busy looking at fun ways to fund raise and will be taking part in next Month's Santa Dash in Liverpool. I will not be taking part myself but I am thinking of innovative ways to raise money with my family and friends, if you do have any ideas, please let me know!

In the meantime, I will be donating all profits from one of my favourite Barefoot Books, 'The Tear Thief'. All copies of the book, sold through my Barefoot Books page or over at Little Scribbles' Stories, will not only give a child a wonderful story to read but will also provide a little bit of help that will go a long way for Oakleaf.

Each night, in the hours between supper and bedtime, the Tear Thief carries her waterproof, silvery sack as she steals the tears of every child who cries. But what does she do with all those tears? This warm, poignant, and beautifully illustrated story offers a thought-provoking message and a starting point to share children's emotional experience. The book is a great tool for children to explore new feelings and emotions and enables parents to support with different situations that lead to children feeling sad. At the end of the book, we find out that all of the tears that children cry are placed onto the moon, so that it shines as bright as possible. There is an accompanying CD, read by Juliet Stevenson, that is ideal for bedtime reassurances and a dreamy end to the day.

I will keep you all updated on how much the book is making for the service and will also be holding some special book sales to support too. 

Thank you in advance to all those who support us through buying this book and don't forget to leave a comment if you have any fun ideas on how I can raise some more funds!

Buy your copy of The Tear Thief

World Nursery Rhyme Week

This week sees children, and all those that work and care for them, celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week. The week aims to highlight the importance of nursery rhymes in the development of language and communication skills and to champion just how much fun singing can be. We often include nursery rhyme time at the beginning of our storytelling sessions as it is a great way for little ones to get involved, have some fun and really practise their babbling skills.

We love to get our Nursery Rhyme Puppet Set out, which we put into a bag so that each child can have a go at choosing a puppet out of the bag and be surprised at what they get! It adds a little bit of fun to the session and encourages children to explore the bag and engage with the group as they all guess what song it will be.

You will probably remember a lot of nursery rhymes from you were a child or when children around you were growing up. For those who are a little rusty, Baby's First Book is great introduction to favourite nursery rhymes and short stories that are ideal for babies and toddler. The illustrations are just beautiful, from the wonderful Clare Beaton once again, making the book a real keepsake and a great gift for Christmas babies or as a unique christening gift.

For a more laid-back singing session, Mrs Moon's Lullabies for Bedtime is a lovely book to encourage a peaceful nights sleep. Bedtime rhymes is also a very relaxing book, that fits not small hands and will have your little one drifting off to sleep in no time!

 

There ate lots of great resources on the World Nursery Rhyme Week website, but why not have some fun and think of fun activities that you can do with your little ones. After 3, 1...2...3...Baa baa black sheep.................

November Book of the Month

We can't believe that we have just typed November 'book of the month'! What a quick year it has been? We have loved introducing to new titles and old favourites and for November we are bringing you a bit of both. Our book of the month for November is ' Magic Hoofbeats ' from Barefoot Books. The book is back by popular demand, after going out of print for a few years. Magic Hoofbeats is a must for all horse lovers and would be a great addition to any child's bookshelf.

Children can lose themselves in the world of the equestrian with this beautifully illustrated collection of mystical tales of memorable horses. The collection brings together tales from many different cultures and traditions and is written by horse whisperer Joseph Sherman.

As with many Barefoot Books, there are fantastic endnotes that will educate children on different breeds of horse give you fun facts about this wonderful animal. The book also has an accompanying CD, which is ideal for a quiet pre-bedtime wind down or for long car journeys.

We love a good collection of short stories as it allows for great shared reading amongst the whole family, each reading out a story to practise storytelling skills and bonding together when discussing each others favourite story. As well as being inspired by the stories, children will be inspired by the fantastic illustrations by Linda Wingerter, so there is plenty of opportunities to get pencils and paints out for a creative post book craft session. A truly enchanting book.

An Autumn Walk

We are very lucky to have lots of parks and green spaces in and around the city we live in, so there is plenty of opportunities to go exploring. Sundays do not get much better than a long lazy morning of coffee, pancakes and newspapers followed by a nice family walk. A family walk can be enjoyed at any time of the year but I always think they are better during autumn and winter.

So, after a lazy Sunday morning last weekend we went off to explore Greenbank Park, a small but beautiful park that is ideal for little legs.

There has been lots of talk of autumn this past couple of weeks, as our eager toddler rushes home from pre-school to tell us all about how leaves are falling from trees and how painting with a conker is 'amazing '. So, off we went in search of more conkers and autumn leaves, for crafting during the week ahead.

After searching for fallen goodies, it was time to take a walk around the lake and feed the duck, with porridge oats of course (bread is bad for ducks). I love how the simple things can put a smile on my daughters face.

Oh, we fed the swans too

After free time to run around and play on the rocket ship in the playground, it was time to go home, have a warm drink and watch the football and read some of our favourite autumn themed books.

Our conkers were used for painting and making little conker men with googly eyes and our leaves were used to make these cute little autumn leaf hedgehogs. My daughter got a little bored of the autumn colours and decided to make a funky feathered hedgehog too

What have you been getting up to so far this autumn?