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

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!

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!

Barefoot Book of the Month:September

WOW, so summer is over (well not officially but there is only a slight hope of more sun and a late holiday) so it's time to think about getting back to school and making a fresh start! Our Barefoot Book of the month for September had to be the fabulous new addition to the ' Bear' series, Bear's School Day.

With Bear as your teacher, you can join in and follow the fun of the school day. There’s singing, crafts and story time, and even a map to help you find your way around. The illustrations are so colourful and engaging, with so much detail put not every page. Our favourite is the super cute nap time image, which helps children see that there first year at school can be comforting and fun. A lot of children will be looking forward to school, so this book is a great opportunity to be excited together and for your children to talk to you about what they are most looking forward to or are most apprehensive about.

We especially love the last  page, which shows a map of a school where children are encouraged to show bear around the different parts of the school. This is a very useful tool to help prepare children for their first day and what to expect. Why not ask your school if they have a map so that you can talk your little one through what to expect and encourage school to be a fun place to be.

If your children are a little on the quiet side when they come home from school, take a look at this article for some tips on what questions to ask about their school day and how they are feeling. Children will have had a busy day and will be full of different emotions that they may not be used to, so the last thing they may want to do is take about it all. Some of the questions in this article are a little intrusive for our liking but there are some great conversation starters that may just help your children talk about their day without feeling the pressure.

Book of the Month: March

WOW, we are in March already. The year is going very quickly and we are currently enjoying a little spring like sun, to give us a burst of freshness. Spring is on the horizon, with images of flowers, Easter eggs, bunnies and lambs popping into our heads.For our March Book of the Month we meet a little lamb with a big struggle on this hands.

When a hungry young wolf spots a tasty looking animal in the field above the river, he thinks he has found some dinner…. but the fluffy little lamb is more clever than he bargained for. Will the lamb become a tasty snack, or will she escape the hungry wolf's jaws ? The Hungry Wolf is our Book of the Month for March and what a fun read it is! With plots to make you chuckle and illustrations that jump of the page, this a great read aloud for older children or for children aged 6+ to read independently.

The book has some really good discussion points, around our food consumption, nature, family and overcoming obstacles, so is ideal for book clubs or for parents to encourage children to explore meaning behind books. The vocabulary in the book is varied but not too challenging for children who are starting to read on their own and the speech bubbles add an extra dimension to allow us to really get to know the characters. An engaging and vibrant tale, that I am sure adults will love too.

January Barefoot Book of the Month

As regular readers know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. To prepare your little one with knowledge of Chinese new year, in preparation for February's celebrations, I have chosen ' The Great Race ' for my January book of the month. The book is retold by Dawn Casey, with great illustrations by Anne Wilson. Aimed at 4- 9 year old, The Great Race explores the story of the Chinese zodiac, helping children to learn a little about Chinese culture and traditions.

Race with the animals of the Zodiac as they compete to have the years of the Chinese calendar named after them. The excitement-filled story is followed by educational notes on the Chinese calendar, important Chinese holidays, and a chart outlining the animal signs based on birth years.

For every copy of this book bought throughout January and February I will be donating £1 to The Teenage Cancer Trust to help support a local fundraiser, find out more here 

Like the look of this ? Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY13 at checkout, including all our weekly dazzling deals and sale items.

December Book Of The Month

As regular readers know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. For December I have chosen a book that is great for Christmas but will also be a great read into the new year; The Princess And The White Bear King. 

Written by professional storyteller Tanya Batt, illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli, and now narrated by award-winning actress Miranda Richardson, this book will send a tingle of excitement down your spine as you journey on a breathtaking adventure to the magical land that lies east of the sun and west of the moon. Combining the themes of three classic wonder tales - "East of the Sun, West of the Moon', "The Black Bull of Norroway' and "The White Bear King' - this exquisite fairy tale takes its roots from the Scandinavian tradition, but its story and its message ("where there is no trust, there can be no love') are universal.

Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout, including all our weekly dazzling deals and sale items.

November book of the month: The Kite Princess

As regular readers know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. November's  book of the month is ' The Kite Princess ', written by Juliet Clare Bell and illustrated by Laura-Kate Chapman with a CD enclosed that is narrated by Imelda Staunton.

Princess Cinnamon stitch is a tomboy who has no interest in courtly life. She'd rather cartwheel through puddles and dance with alley cats. Can she show the king and queen that there's more to life than being pretty or good?  As well as a great story that celebrates individuality and independence, this book provides a visual feast for the eyes that you and your little one will love. Help your child express themselves in their own personal way and have some fun as you read along.There are instructions in the back of the book to make your own kite, just like princess Cinnamon, so you can get really step inside the story.


Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout, including all our weekly dazzling deals and sale items.

October Book Of The Month; Lin Yi's Lantern

As regular readers know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. For October I have picked a beautiful book that is new to Barefoot this autumn; Lin Yi's Lantern, written by Brenda Williams and illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe. The book is aimed at children aged 5-9 years but, as with a lot of Barefoot books, I think it can be introduced to a younger audience so they can admire the great art work and have a simplified version of the story until it can be enjoyed fully.

Lin Yi is a little boy with a big heart and a talent for bargaining. Tonight is the moon festival and he wants nothing more than a red rabbit lantern; but first he must buy the things his mother needs at the market. This heartwarming story shows the rewards of putting others first, and includes educational notes at the end about the chinese moon festival, life in rural China, and the legend of the moon fairy.

Help your little one learn some of life's little lessons whilst enjoying some brilliantly vivid pictures. At the back of the book you can learn how to make your own chinese lantern, which can also be downloaded from the Barefoot website along with a tasty recipe for ' Moon Fairy Moon cakes ' that Lin  Yi buys at the market.

Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout, including back to school specials. For all books sold in the first week of October I will be donating £1 from each book to The Book Trust, to help celebrate Children's Book Week and help get every child reading.

September book of the month

As you know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. This month I have chosen an enchanting book called ' The boy who grew flowers ',  written by Jen Wojtowicz and illustrated by Steve Adams. The book invites you to climb to the top of a mountain to meet a very special boy named Rink, who at every full moon grows flowers all over his body. 

This heartwarming book celebrates difference and friendship, as Rink meets a girl with her own secret and they discover ways to help each other. Rink and his family are treated as outcasts, simply because they are a little different; something that a lot of children and adults will relate to. This book subtly touches upon the prejudices we have towards those with a disability and is a great way of introducing the need for understanding and celebration of differences to your little ones. It stresses the importance of friendship and how as humans we should all work together and embrace how different we all are. The language and pictures are very eloquent and this fantastical story will draw you into the warm world of the boy who grew flowers. 

Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout, including back to school specials.

August book of the month: The Gift

As you know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. This month I have chosen a beautiful book by written by Carol Ann Duffy and illustrated by Rob Ryan. The book is a story of a girls journey through life and the desires that shape it . With a kind of magic that is timeless, ' The Gift ', speaks to everyone who wonders about the mysteries that lie in the heart of the human experience.

The book celebrates all that is important about life, love and family and is aimed at all ages. Younger children can simply enjoy the lyrical tale, older children can explore the themes of the cycles of life of birth, love and death and adults can simply get lost in the wonderful art work of Rob Ryan. I adore this book, its one of those that puts a smile on your face as soon as you open the first page and think it is definitely one to keep on the shelf for years.

Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout. Sale on until 27th August, with unto 70% off.

July book of the month

As you know, I am an ambassador for Barefoot Books . Barefoot have lots of amazing books for children and I will be highlighting one as book of the month, that I think you and your little ones would love. To celebrate the summer my July book of the month is Bear In The Sunshine. Bear In The Sunshine is a bilingual book and come in an English/French and English/Spanish version.

Help your little one take his/her first steps to speaking French/Spanish with bear. This book teaches first Spanish/French words for weather, phrases about different pastimes, simple sentence structure and key vocabulary. The story is supplemented by and easy vocabulary list at the end and will be a great addition to your holiday this year.

Take a further look at Barefoot Books and get 20% off your first order using the code TWENTY12 at checkout