Story Time with Noah

Once upon a time I was a self confessed bookworm. I've always loved to read and the majority of my favourite childhood memories are based around books; going to the library with my Mum, reading bedtime stories, collecting Jacqueline Wilson books, the school book club and so on. But now that I'm a Mum and my free time is none existent I rarely have the chance to read but there's always time to read with my son.

I started buying books for Noah back when he was the size of a pea inside my belly. From day one I knew that I wanted my child to enjoy books just as much as I did when I was a child.

I understood the importance and the benefits of reading to my child, the younger the better. I read to him when I was pregnant, when he was a newborn, when he was a baby and now he's a toddler. Although I've always read to him he would never sit still for long and would wander off a couple of pages into the story. I also couldn't read to him at bedtime as instead of relaxing him it would have the reverse effect and would get him over excited.

Much to my delight over the last few weeks he's finally enjoying story time and always asks for more. Even better yet he is also enjoying bedtime stories in a calm and relaxed manner and I love that we are able to finally include this in our bedtime routine.

Below are some of the books that we've been enjoying lately! All four books are firm favourites of Noah's, especially Side by Side which is a lovely tale of a little mouse who doesn't have a friend and goes looking for one in Wintermouse Wood! 

1. Side by Side by Rachel Bright & Debi Gliori 

2. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast by Josh Funk & Brendan Kearney  

3. Sylvia and Bird by Catherine Rayner  

4. Goodnight Tractor by Michelle Robinson & Nick East

Does your child love to read too? Which out of these four books do you think your little one would enjoy the most? Or feel free to tell me about your child's favourites! 

Little Tiger Press - I Love My Mummy - Giveaway

I recently wrote about my love of themed children's books and about our love of books in general, you can see that post here. Today I wanted to write about another favourite book of ours which we were recently sent just in time for Mothers Day.

I Love My Mummy by Jonathan Litton
Illustrated by Fhiona Galloway
Age 0-3
£5.99

Join a colourful cast of characters who all want to say thank you to their Mummy in this charming board book all about giving. I Love My Mummy is perfect for Mother's Day and all year round too.

The artwork from Fhiona Galloway is bright and eye catching as ever which makes the book stand out with it's contrasting colours. There are holes and die cuts throughout the book as well as cheerful rhyming text that will help learning come to life.

Both Noah and I adore this book. From the cute illustrations to the thoughtful and sweet words, it's a lovely book and a welcome addition to any baby or toddlers book collection.

Not only were Little Tiger Press kind enough to send us a copy but I also have a copy to give away too! If you would like to win a copy of I Love My Mummy please enter using the Gleam form below. Good luck and don't forget to enter my other competitions. 

I Love My Mummy Book

t&c-

1. 1 prize to 1 winner.

2. Prize supplied directly from the PR.

3. Competition ends 05/04/16
4. Incomplete entries with be disqualified.

5. UK entries only.

Themed Children's Books

We love children's books! So much so that we have hundreds already and Noah is only two. We are always expanding our collection because lets face it, you can never have too many books!

When Noah was only a few months old I started a new family tradition revolving around books. That tradition is to have themed books for every holiday or special occasion, whether it be Easter, Halloween or even Pancake day! Reading themed books together isn't great for just learning and bonding but I think it also adds to the excitement of these holidays or festive periods.

We currently display Noah's themed books on little shelves on his bedroom wall which do the trick but we would like more space. I've recently been looking at free standing shelves and there's a lovely range of children's bookcases and furniture at Room to Grow. I think a big bookshelf is always a great statement piece for any room.

With Mothers Day just around the corner I thought I would take the opportunity to stock Noah's shelves with some Mother and Child themed books. I think it will be lovely to sit down with him in the afternoon and read these books together. Below are some of the books I have already bought and others I am still thinking of buying.

I Love My Mummy - Giles Andreae & Emma Dodd.

My Hand to Hold - Smriti Prasadam-Halls & Alison Friend.

Why I Love My Mummy - Daniel Howarth

My Mummy and Me - Tina Macnaughton

Do you buy your child themed books or perhaps you would like to suggest any other books I could purchase for Mothers Day? Leave me a comment below!

I See Me: Who Loves Me? - Review

If you know me at all you would know that amongst my favourite things are children's books and personalised gifts, combine the two and well that's perfection to me. I See Me is my go to website when I am looking for a personalised book as I know I will find what I'm looking for. They have over 40 titles, a different book for every occasion and each one can be personalised in many different ways.

I See Me is an American website but the books are available to order here in the UK. With a shipping time and cost of 2 weeks and £6.50 I think that's really reasonable but it's worth a mention that they are launching a UK website later this year.

We were recently sent one of their newer books called "Who Loves Me?" to review. As this book was personalised for Noah the title was changed to "Who Loves Noah?" Not only is the title of the book personalised with your child's name but the name is featured in the book through out. Accompanying the name of your child you also personalise each page with the name of a friend or relative. Not only that but you can also add a photo of your child on the first page a long with a message. This is what I love about I See Me, there are so many ways to personalise the book.

This book is perfect for pretty much any occasion from birthday through to Valentines day. It's a tale which tells your child how much their family and friends love them. When we read the book for the first time I almost cried because the words in the book are just so beautiful. 

From the words through to the illustrations this book is just perfection in my eyes and Noah must think so too as he always seems to choose this book over others on his bookshelf. We read it a lot in the day and he's starting to remember which family member is featured on each page! This is a new favourite and one in which we are going to treasure for years to come.


- We were sent this product for the purpose of this review however all opinions are my own.

An early Christmas present from Miles Kelly - #GiveTheGiftOf Reading

Miles Kelly is a brand that I absolutely love to work with. From their beautiful books to their excellent PR and customer service, it's always a delight to deal with them, so much so that I had to mention that straight off the bat! 

A few weeks ago a lovely email landed in my inbox. Miles Kelly wanted to send Noah an early Christmas present, a book bundle that was tailored to him. With his likes and interests in mind the books were carefully selected with the #GiveTheGiftOf reading campaign. 

I was delighted when Noah's book bundle arrived as it was all wrapped up with a bow, quite literally! The wrapping paper itself was designed from illustrations from their very own books and the personalised bookmark and Christmas label was a very sweet touch.

As soon as Noah spotted his gifts his eyes lit up and he wanted to unwrap them straight away. I had no idea what they had sent us but was so excited to see what they had chosen. 

Inside we discovered the Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, Flashcards and the Fire Engine Convertible Car, all of which are perfect for Noah. Not only are all three suitable for his age but they all match his tastes to a tee! The flashcards in particular are going down a storm, especially the animal ones! See the set here.

If you would like to #GiveTheGiftOf reading then do take a look at their website because Miles Kelly is putting together themed book bundles exclusively for Christmas. These special bundles are up to 60% off which is just amazing but there are so many more offers to be had too! 

- We were sent these products as a gift for this post. However all opinions are my own.

New releases from Maverick Books - Competition

Noah's a very lucky boy indeed because from time to time he is sent new releases from various publishing brands. We are both huge book lovers so we are always so excited to see the new editions and this week was no exception when we received the four new releases from Maverick Books.

The four new releases are A Gold Star for George, Horace and Hattiepillar, A Box of Socks and Pirates Don't Drive Diggers.

At first glance Hedgehugs really caught my attention but as they say you should never judge a book by it's cover because all four titles are equally as fantastic as the other. Each book is very unique in story and are all very different when it comes to their illustrations too. Noah's favourite is A Gold Star for George but that changes on a daily basis! 


A Gold Star for George -
The Heavenly Hippos Wildlife Park is awarding gold stars to the animals and George the Giraffe has the perfect spot on his fence for one. But will George win a gold star. 

Horace and Hattiepillar -
Horace and Hattie are the very best of friends... One day they find something tiny and interesting under a leaf. But what is it? 

A Box of Socks -
Granny Mutton loves to knit and so she has made a whole box of socks for Little Lionel’s friends. But Little Lionel gets all the socks muddled and has to find out which pairs belong to whom!

Pirates Don't Drive Diggers -
Digger-mad Brad is not cut out for a pirate's life, instead he dreams of life on a building site. When the Salty Dog sets sail, can he prove to Captain Blood that pirates do drive diggers after all? 

How would you like to win one of these fantastic new releases? All you need to do to enter is fill out the rafflecopter entry form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

t&c:

1. 1 prize to 1 winner.

2. Prize supplied directly from the PR.

3. Competition ends 17/6/15

4. Incomplete entries with be disqualified.

5. UK entries only.

- I was sent these books for free to feature on the blog. All opinions are my own. 

Noah's Book Collection - New Additions from Maverick Arts

I started purchasing books for Noah back when he was still a tiny little thing inside my tummy. I have always been such a lover of books and reading is a passion of mine that I always knew I wanted to pass down to my children. 

Noah is now 16 months old and has a countless amounts of books. He has his favourites and there are some he hasn't even picked up yet. I like to lay numerous books across the floor and let him choose which fascinates him the most. Sometimes he will sit there looking at the cover, other times he will open it up and skim through the pages and there are times he will bring one over to me so that I can read it to him. 

I recently received three new stories from Maverick Books and each has attracted Noah in different ways. 

The Dog Dectectives in an American Adventure

I am a lover of everything American so this was a hit with me the moment I read the title.

The Dog Detectives take you on a fun tour across different states in America. It's a great way to introduce your child to new places and landmarks without it being boring! 

You can buy The Dog Detectives in an American Adventure here for £6.99. 

Daniel O'Dowd Was Ever So Loud

I can see why this "Ever so" series is such a hit with the kids.

In this story Daniel becomes lost in space, he likes to shout, yell and holler and he doesn't like to listen. Will he learn to tone it down and will he ever get home? 

Daniel O'Dowd Was Ever So Loud is £6.99 and you can buy it here.

The Four Little Pigs

This story is great and all about a boy called Tom who's Granny is a witch. 

Granny doesn't have a TV but has lots of books but Tom think's books and fairy tales are rubbish. Gran decides to liven things up a bit by casting a spell which transports Tom into the story of The Three Little Pigs! Will this story have a happy ending?

This book is £5.99 and can be seen here.



Have you bought any new books for your children lately? What are their favorites? 


- I was sent these books as samples. I was not asked to review.