Books for summer – review

I was sent these books free of charge for the purpose of a blog post.

Since starting to potty train Lia, we’ve been spending a bit more time at home than usual. This has given us the chance to take it easy and do things the girls enjoy around the house, including reading. It’s always great when some new books arrive in the post, and Macmillan Children’s Books are some of our favourites.

More People to Love Me – Mo O’Hara

This is a lovely book giving an interesting perspective on large families. These days, the classic nuclear family is actually pretty rare, and yet not many books mention step-parents, half-siblings, step-grandparents and other close family members that many people have.

The book is about a little girl who is asked to draw her family tree. She is unable to fit it on the piece of paper due to her large family – both of her parents have partners and children, and when she is asked to add in grandparents this makes the family tree enormous. The teacher helps her to add some extra pieces of paper so that nobody gets left out, and the ‘family forest’ is created.

My girls both love this book and have asked to read it several times. It got us talking about our own family, and in particular the extended family members who love them. Whilst our own immediate family is the fairly classic model of mum, dad and two children, we do have a very large extended family on my side. The book started some interesting conversations and has led to the girls getting a better understanding of our family.Books for summer: Review Books for summer: Review

Flying Lemurs – Zehra Hicks

Flying Lemurs is written from the perspective of a baby lemur. It explains how the whole lemur family are brilliant at jumping. They are all circus performers with brilliant tricks that involve jumping. The baby lemur tries various different jumps and finds that he’s not very good at jumping – in fact he’s quite frightened and doesn’t want to do it at all.

What I love about this book is that there’s no pressure from the lemur family to do anything that the little lemur doesn’t feel comfortable with. They keep reminding him that he is good at other things, and eventually with a bit of practice, he realises that he’s amazing at jumping and circus performance after all.Books for summer: Review Books for summer: Review

Dear Zoo Drawing and Colouring Book – Rod Campbell

This is Libby’s favourite book of the summer. We’ve always loved the Dear Zoo books, and this one is perfect for Libby’s age group, as it is so interactive. There are pictures started off for her to complete by following instructions, and all of the pictures are in black and white so she can colour them in.

But my favourite feature of this book is the fact that each page is designed to be torn out without getting damaged. This means that not only can she keep her favourite pictures to put on the wall or even frame, but both girls can colour pictures from the same book at the same time. Perfect for avoiding arguments – she even took it round to her friend’s house so they could both colour together.Books for summer: ReviewBooks for summer: Review

Prince Ribbit – Jonathan Emmett

This is a lovely fairy tale with a twist. It’s based on the tale of the frog prince, and little girls who enjoy the magical story. Their sister Martha is less of a romantic, realising that the clever frog who convinces them that he’s actually a handsome prince isn’t telling the truth.

Whilst researching the situation, Martha reads some books about frogs – and then turns to the fairy tales that her sisters love. Whilst she understands that the stories are not true, she still finds them exciting and inspiring – and realises they are worth reading after all.

And as for the frog? Well he gets found out. When all the sisters realise that he’s just a frog, it’s time for him to go back to his pond. Or is it?Books for summer: Review Books for summer: Review

The Hippopandamouse – Jools Bentley

This story is set in a toy shop, where any mistakes made when stitching up the cuddly toys are rectified immediately. Incorrectly sewn teddies are placed into the unstitching machine, to make sure that only the perfect ones make it to the shelf.

But when one imperfect toy slips through the net, a princess visiting the toy shop falls madly in love with it. The toy store owner just manages to rescue it before it gets unstitched, and the princess is delighted with her new hippopandamouse.

I love the fact that this story celebrates imperfection. We don’t all see beauty in the same things, and we all have our own imperfections. They are what make us unique, and this book celebrates different qualities in an unusual and endearing way.Books for summer: Review Books for summer: ReviewPlease note, all books were sent to me for the purpose of inclusion in a blog post. However all views, opinions, images and book-loving children are my own.

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3 Comments

  1. August 15, 2016 / 9:56 pm

    I love new books for the girls, adding these to their wish list. We are big fans of Dear Zoo too, I didn’t know they did a colouring book they will love this. x
    Laura – dear bear and beany recently posted…My Girls…AugustMy Profile

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