Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts

Tuesday

Granny Franny's Big Red Bus - Kids Book Review



It's time for another Children's Book Review.

Today it is a book for young children about a granny and her grandkids going on an adventure.








We have always felt that books are very special to our family and share a love of reading but now that Fred and I have got to the "grandparent stage" we are once again looking at, buying and reading books that are suitable for young children.


So when I heard about this book and the fact that it was about a granny who liked to go on an adventure with her grandkids I was very interested to get a copy to read with our grandkids.


Disclaimer:  I did receive a free copy of this book to read and give my honest review.



So let's have a look at

Granny Franny's Big Red Bus



As with other Children's Books I have reviewed

SSHH Don't Wake The Baby! - Christmas Children's Book Review


I like to get our grandchildren involved but things did not go exactly to plan this time.


We had planned to visit them and sit on the comfy couch with them snuggled in beside us and have them make the big hard decision of

 "Who do you want to read this book to you today?"

But then 3 out of that family of 5 took sick with a nasty cold and so the visit was off.

I had told them we had a new book for them!

What were we going to do - once they know we have got something new for them they are always looking forward to seeing what it is.

Now any children find it hard to wait and this gang were already disappointed that we were not coming to their house so we decided we would read the story while on facetime like we have done other times.


Grandpa is the designated reader while we are on Face Time calls and nanny does the "Guess What I'm drawing today!" and we both do the jigsaw puzzles and the hunt the bear round out house and the other games we play.
We have loads of things that can be easily enjoyed together in these posts
10 Easy Ideas for Face Time with Kids
10 Easy Games to Play on Face Time with Kids


So Grandpa got himself comfortable in the chair at the kitchen table with the iPad on the table and lifted the book.





If a book is meant for that young age group then it should be tested with children of that age.

At the time of writing this we have 3 grandchildren Matthew almost 5 years old, Ruby is 3 yrs  and Sarah will be 1 in 2 weeks time but she was with her mum and not listening and watching with us this time.

So Matthew and Ruby were ready on the iPad for Face Time and ready to watch as grandpa read to them.






Well back to testing out the book.


It is an "off for an adventure" kids book with some lovely phrases for the kids to repeat after grandpa has read a page.

one of my favourites was the

thick, icky, sticky mud

can we all say that one quickly???

Can you spot it in the pic below?







We enjoyed the rhyming parts of the story as well as the bright, bold illustrations with lots of detail  which means that the children will enjoy coming back to the book for further readings as they will not have remembered everything of the story or the pictures from this first reading.


You can see from the pictures above that this book is very bright and colourful.

But what you don't know yet is that the illustrations are funny and there is a lovely character named "Thinkerbell" on the Big Red Bus. (There is a glimpse of her in the picture below)







Grandpa is as mad as me sometimes and really got into the swing of the story - that's why the kids have a hard job deciding who reads to them.


Here is the front cover of the book.

I love the details on the bus:

  • Reg GR4N  for Gran but there has to be a number on a reg plate.
  • Seaside Park, Zoo Playground - destinations for the story
  • Gransville - town location







Here you can see the back cover of the book

I just would have loved to have seen a picture of Sonia (the author) here but that's more from a grownup's perspective, kids probably aren't interested in this at the younger age.






Now the surprise in this book is that there are actually two adventures (practically 2 stories in one!)


So I have told you about this fun book which I believe would make a great gift for any family to read together but more especially where grannies and grandpas can enjoy it together with the grandchildren as we did.

Maybe our having to do it over facetime made it even better because it was a special treat just between us and the grandchildren.







This book is written by Sonia Beldom and is also illustrated by Sonia and all this completed during the  COVID-19 pandemic.

Proceeds from this book are going to bus-related charities due to help with the fact that all private hire vehicles were off the road for a prolonged period of time.

You may also be surprised to find out that Sonia drives heritage London Routemaster double-decker buses at weekends (in between her other normal jobs).


So Deciding thought on this book?


Yes it's a big Tick from me and Fred and the grandkids.








Disclaimer:
I was given a free copy of the book to read and write an honest review but no other compensation.  
The views expressed here are completely my own.




Marie & Mr Bee Kids Book - Book Review



It's time for another Children's Book Review.

Today it is a book for young children about a girl and a friend she makes.








We have always felt that books are very special to our family and share a love of reading but now that Fred and I have got to the "grandparent stage" we are once again looking at, buying and reading books that are suitable for young children.


So when I heard about this book and the fact that the main character is a girl in a wheelchair I was quick to get a copy but unfortunately very slow to review it.


I did buy this book and I am not being compensated in any way for this review.


So let's have a look at

Marie & Mr Bee



As with another Children's Book I reviewed

SSHH Don't Wake The Baby! - Christmas Children's Book Review



We got our grandchildren involved and here is a short taster of how we did that:







If a book is meant for that young age group then it should be tested with children of that age.

We have 3 grandchildren Matthew 4 years and , Ruby almost 3 yrs now and Sarah the baby, all of whom fall in this age group.

Unfortunately Sarah was having a nap during this part of our facetime with the kids and this time we did not have the pleasure of cuddling with the other two on the couch as we would normally do to read a story book to them - well we are in lockdown at the moment so all our time with them is spent online.

You can see how we manage this in 10 Easy Ideas for Facetime with Kids



Well back to testing out the book.


You can see from that brief video above that this book is very bright and colourful with beautiful illustrations and very clearly presented with a lot of detail which means that the children will enjoy coming back to the book for further readings as they will not have remembered all the fine details of the pictures on each page even after several readings.






Look at the concentration on those faces below as they listen to Grandpa read the story.







Here is the front cover of the book






Here you can see the back cover of the book






There is also a pancake recipe included in the book - for the children to help the grownups to make and them and then everyone can enjoy eating them.






Now that I have told you about this beautifully illustrated book which I believe would be a great book for all children especially to make them more aware of the similarities between themselves and children with disabilities because they all have imaginations. 

I want to say that I believe it would make a great gift for any family to read together.



The book actually comes in two versions although the difference is very slight.

Zooming in closer to the front cover you can see that my version is the Scripture version denoted by this symbol on the front cover.





So you can choose between one which has a Bible verse included on the last page or one which does not.

This book is written by Margaret Welwood  and illustrated by Coralie Rycroft and you can check out  Grandmasbookshelf.net  for more info on this and other books by Margaret.




You can also watch this longer video of reading Marie & Mr Bee together. 







So Deciding thought on this book?


Yes it's a big Tick from me and Fred and the grandkids.








Disclaimer:
I have NOT been offered a free product to write this blog post nor any other compensation. 
I bought this book myself. 
The views expressed here are completely my own.







Appointment with Death - Book Review


I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.








Appointment with Death



1938


Description


The unstoppable Hercule Poirot finds himself in the Middle East with only one day to solve a murder in the classic Agatha Christie mystery, Appointment with Death

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her.









My Thoughts


This is the 31st book by Agatha Christie and the 18th Poirot Mystery

The actual murder takes place on an Archaeological Dig in the Middle East but the preamble to it is set in a travelling atmosphere so it has the added mix of having people of various nationalities intertwined more than those of her novels which are set in the United Kingdom.


The usual family members of course are involved and then the people involved in the dig plus some other visitors.

Many servants and manual workers but is there a red herring in this one?

Who are we meant to like and to dislike?

Does Miss Christie try to lead us up the wrong path?

Yes of course she does but which path is the wrong one and which is the right one.

Not one of my favourites partly because I'm not so fond of that type of location but she does present us with what looks like an impossible murder and of course that is Christie at her finest.





If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.









 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie



If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.









Disclaimer:
I did not receive a free copy of this book or any other incentive to review this book.
I have owned all the Christie novels for many years.


SSHH Don't Wake The Baby! - Christmas Children's Book Review


Disclaimer:
I have NOT been offered a free product to write this blog post nor any other compensation.  
The views expressed here are completely my own.

It's Christmas time again and it's Christmas Book Review time.

Today it is a book for young children about the real focus of Christmas.








We have always felt that books are very special to our family and share a love of reading but now that Fred and I have got to the "grandparent stage" we are once again looking at, buying and reading books that are suitable for the "0 - 5 years" age group.


So when I heard about this title and the fact that these books can be got cheaply - more about that later I - and knew the people who were recommending them were reliable (very important!) I was quick to tell my friend at church and if you read on you will find out what that resulted in.






Well back to testing out the book.

If a book is meant for that young age group then it should be tested with children of that age.

We have 3 grandchildren Matthew just turned 4 at the start of last month, Ruby 2 yrs 5 months and Sarah 10 weeks old, all of whom fall in this age group.

Unfortunately Sarah was fast asleep when we arrived back with Matthew to his mum and dad from having a sleepover at our house so we did not lift her out of the cot to disturb her but it will not be long before she is on Nanny or Granddad's knee as we read other stories to them all.


(I forgot to get a picture of Sarah in her cot asleep but here is one from a few days previously when she was asleep in my arms.)





So you can see this book was very apt for Matthew and Ruby because of baby Sarah and Yes even though we were reading the book together and mum & dad were chatting & laughing in the kitchen we didn't wake Baby Sarah.



We had cuddled into the big corner of our son & daughter-in-law's sofa in their living room where we always go in their house to read our storybooks together.



Ruby gets very serious when she is looking at a new book and always seems like she is trying to take in everything on the pages.






At first I think Matthew thought maybe this book was better suited to Ruby's age than to his but it wasn't too long until he was sitting forward to see the great illustrations.






At one stage you have to turn the book round in a circle to read the spiral writing and this really got Matthew's attention






 plus he then decided that he needed to check something from the previous pages before he would let me continue reading.







The book goes back and forth between referring to a baby in the family and the baby Jesus and this did not confuse either Matthew or Ruby at all.






We have a saying in our family - one which was started by our children when they were young
"No Hugging, No Kissing!" they would shout when Fred and I would get too close to each other - and it is still chanted all these years later.

So we laughed when we got to this page






The book was just a nice length for Ruby who was very attentive the whole way through.







Matthew however was a bit sad that it wasn't longer and didn't want me to close it after I read the final words.






The book is a lovely size (6ins x 6ins)  for slipping into a handbag or for little hands like Ruby's to hold.


There is also a hardback version of the book which is approximately 9ins by 9ins but I have not seen this in person.  It would be an ideal size and a sturdier type book for using to read to a group of children.


Here you can see the back cover of the book






So back to the point where I had told my friend in church about this book BEFORE I even had a copy. 

In fact the copy I had for this review was given to me by her because once she had looked it up on the website she just felt it was the right book to get for our church to give to all the children who come to our "Sonshine Club" each Tuesday (our Mums & Tots group).

She ordered 60 books to have today for our Christmas Party and because this book focuses in on Jesus as a baby and the special reason for this baby it is an ideal gift for the children to learn about Jesus, the true reason of Christmas and also for the mums and dads and grannies and granddads who sit cuddled up with the little ones they love and read of the love of God at Christmas.







Now what would be the point in me telling you about this beautiful book which would make an ideal gift for any young child if I did not tell you where to get it.

This book is written by Helen Buckley and illustrated by Jenny Brake and can be ordered from  10 of Those  a company which sell many of their books at great discounts in fact if you order now there is something like 40% off the retail price.

This company also sell some books in large quantities and when these were bought for our church event we got them for only £1 each.


So Deciding thought on this book?

Yes it's a big Tick from me and Fred and the grandkids.






Please note the book is not available through Amazon.co.UK or  .Com however you can find other books by the same author on Amazon HERE






Disclaimer:
I have NOT been offered a free product to write this blog post nor any other compensation.  
The views expressed here are completely my own.









Murder in the Mews - Book Review


I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.








Murder in the Mews



1937


Description


Murder, stolen plans, a mysterious death and a menage a trois – four intriguing novellas featuring Hercule Poirot…
How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secert military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the ‘eternal triangle’ of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry?
Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases – Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man’s Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes – each a miniature classic of characterisation, incident and suspense.






My Thoughts


This is the 30th book by Agatha Christie and the 17th Poirot Mystery

One of the Poirot short stories books but they are not too short as there are only 4 in this grouping.  



Murder in the Mews
A few good suspects but it looks like suicide or does it, nice twists along the way and an obvious clue to anyone who watches or reads a lot of murder mystery now because I have seen that idea (no spoilers here!) used more and more but perhaps when I first read it many years ago I would not have been familiar with that type of clue.

The Incredible Theft

Well you know what happens with thefts in her novels - there is always much more than a slight of hand involved and again who is that foreigner?  And I'm not talking about Poirot here.

Dead Man's Mirror
Are people always who or what they claim to be?  (Slight clue there!)

Miss Christie throws in one of her outside/inside episodes here which she can easily do when the setting is a large house with various patio type windows.

Triangle at Rhodes
Very similar in a way but then also very different to a certain of her other well-known and full length stories so watch out for the twist here too.


A good read, in fact 4 good reads where you will change your mind on the guilty parties more than once or twice or even three times.



If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.


 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie


If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.