Wednesday 24 June 2009
Goodbye
I will not be making any further entries to this blog for a while. Pressure of time is the main culprit. Thanks to those of you who added comments and followed Jessicat's reading adventures.....who knows, one day I may find the time and the inclination to begin again. Farewell.
Sunday 21 June 2009
Another good website...
...this time devoted the the idea of dads spending more time reading books to their children.
http://www.readingdads.co.uk/site/
Very easy to navigate site, and it seems apt to feature this on Father's Day today. Jessicat had scribbled on some cards for Dave, and he had chosen a Porcupine tree CD, so we were well prepared here. Unfortunately, Dave had to spend the morning on cleaning and other household chores whilst I took Jess to Sunday school, but his day improved after a meal and relaxing afternoon at my mum's house.
http://www.readingdads.co.uk/site/
Very easy to navigate site, and it seems apt to feature this on Father's Day today. Jessicat had scribbled on some cards for Dave, and he had chosen a Porcupine tree CD, so we were well prepared here. Unfortunately, Dave had to spend the morning on cleaning and other household chores whilst I took Jess to Sunday school, but his day improved after a meal and relaxing afternoon at my mum's house.
Sunday 14 June 2009
Reading for June 2009
"Once upon a time" - John Prater. Lovely book featuring lots of characters from nursery rhymes and fairy stories.
"Melrose and Croc" - Emma Chichester-Clark. Would be ideal to read this again in December, as it's set at Christmas time. Nice story about friendship and beautiful illustrations.
"Jungle Jive" - Tony Mitton. Great book, rollicking rhyme. Jessicat can knows some of it off by heart. We're familiar with some of Tony Mitton's poems from our anthologies of children's poetry, and this doesn't disappoint.
"Noah Built An Ark One Day" - Colin Hawkins. This book has flaps and strong rhymes. Jessicat is particulary fascinated by the final double page spread showing the inside of the ark, and likes to spend time studying this and speculating where she would sleep.
"Horatio's Bed" - Camilla Ashforth.
Some of our favourite hangouts of this summer so far have been:
Tiny Tearawayz soft play at Broadwalk Centre - great to meet up here with friends. This summer is the first time I see Jess going off to play independently, leaving me to chat and flick through magazines (surely one of the best ways of passing time?)
Starbucks - cookies, marshmallows, muffins, chocolate coins etc. Nuff said.
Borders Bookshop - air conditioned paradise. What genius thought to put a sofa in the children's play area next to the colouring in table and train set? Give that man a pay rise!
The parks of St Annes, Arnos Vale and Keynsham - generally only bearable in short doses or the company of friends.
Broadmead and Cabot Circus - ELC! McDonalds! Water fountains! Waterstones! Pubs! We loves it!!!
Bath - no trip to Bath is complete without at least one of the following: a sojourn in the egg cafe, browsing in Bath library, cookie hunting in Ben's, reading and dog stroking in Mr B's. After years of a deeply rooted aversion, I've finally grown to love Bath and what it has to offer.
"Melrose and Croc" - Emma Chichester-Clark. Would be ideal to read this again in December, as it's set at Christmas time. Nice story about friendship and beautiful illustrations.
"Jungle Jive" - Tony Mitton. Great book, rollicking rhyme. Jessicat can knows some of it off by heart. We're familiar with some of Tony Mitton's poems from our anthologies of children's poetry, and this doesn't disappoint.
"Noah Built An Ark One Day" - Colin Hawkins. This book has flaps and strong rhymes. Jessicat is particulary fascinated by the final double page spread showing the inside of the ark, and likes to spend time studying this and speculating where she would sleep.
"Horatio's Bed" - Camilla Ashforth.
Some of our favourite hangouts of this summer so far have been:
Tiny Tearawayz soft play at Broadwalk Centre - great to meet up here with friends. This summer is the first time I see Jess going off to play independently, leaving me to chat and flick through magazines (surely one of the best ways of passing time?)
Starbucks - cookies, marshmallows, muffins, chocolate coins etc. Nuff said.
Borders Bookshop - air conditioned paradise. What genius thought to put a sofa in the children's play area next to the colouring in table and train set? Give that man a pay rise!
The parks of St Annes, Arnos Vale and Keynsham - generally only bearable in short doses or the company of friends.
Broadmead and Cabot Circus - ELC! McDonalds! Water fountains! Waterstones! Pubs! We loves it!!!
Bath - no trip to Bath is complete without at least one of the following: a sojourn in the egg cafe, browsing in Bath library, cookie hunting in Ben's, reading and dog stroking in Mr B's. After years of a deeply rooted aversion, I've finally grown to love Bath and what it has to offer.
Thursday 11 June 2009
Not a Thomas fan
I have just seen that Jessicat has opted for "Thomas and the Jet Engine" as one of her reads tonight. Ugh! Whilst I would never openly want to condemn any enjoyment of books she has, these aren't great for reading aloud. I think it is signicant that I can find no mention of the author's name on this book. The Thomas books do have merit when it comes to teaching colours and numbers, but the stories always seem to be so leaden and the characterisation so wooden that these are one of the few books that I don't enjoy sharing with Jess.
We also have a quick pictue book to read called "Zzzzzz - A book of sleep" by Il Sung Na, featuring pictures of lots of animals going to - you've guessed it! - sleep. I am really looking forward to introducing Jess to Dr Seuss and "The Cat in the Hat". I've never read it myself, so it will be new to both of us.
Bit disappointed to see only limited coverage of Anthony Browne's success in the papers. Maybe once he gets going properly in his new post, we will see some more media coverage. Anything that makes a change from MPs's expenses and Gordon Brown's woes would make a refreshing change.....
We also have a quick pictue book to read called "Zzzzzz - A book of sleep" by Il Sung Na, featuring pictures of lots of animals going to - you've guessed it! - sleep. I am really looking forward to introducing Jess to Dr Seuss and "The Cat in the Hat". I've never read it myself, so it will be new to both of us.
Bit disappointed to see only limited coverage of Anthony Browne's success in the papers. Maybe once he gets going properly in his new post, we will see some more media coverage. Anything that makes a change from MPs's expenses and Gordon Brown's woes would make a refreshing change.....
Tuesday 9 June 2009
New Children's Laureate
...is Anthony Browne! In celebration of today's announcement, Jessica and I are celebrating by reading one of his books as our bedtime read, "Gorilla". This is a poignant tale about a little girl whose Daddy is always too busy to play with her, but all comes right in the end. Our other read tonight is "Bear in a Chair" by Tim Healey.
We had a good weekend. Jessicat and I had our usual trip to Bath whilst Dave tackled the housework. Found a new shop selling the best cookies I have EVER tasted. At Jessicat's request, we paid our customary visit to the ELC and to the egg cafe. Hurrah for eateries with play areas; surely one of the most civilised developments in the history of eating out! And no trip to Bath feels complete without a visit to Mr B's Book Emporium, a wonderful and idiosyncratic bookshop. THeir children's area is fantastic. They have child sized chairs, a few cuddly toys, and a wonderful array of picture books, all displayed face out to tempt us in. Jess loves this pop up book called "Chick" by Ed Vere, and laughs out loud at the page where the chick poos!
In the afternoon, we went to the Festival of Nature at Bristol harbourside. I was really impressed by how much was laid on for children. Jessicat had a go at painting, colouring in, planting sunflower seeds and stroking a polecat. The day was slightly marred by Jess being in a grumpy mood. I just had the strongest yearning for wine and a session with the CJ Sansom novel that I'm into, so 7.30pm couldn't come round quick enough!
We had a good weekend. Jessicat and I had our usual trip to Bath whilst Dave tackled the housework. Found a new shop selling the best cookies I have EVER tasted. At Jessicat's request, we paid our customary visit to the ELC and to the egg cafe. Hurrah for eateries with play areas; surely one of the most civilised developments in the history of eating out! And no trip to Bath feels complete without a visit to Mr B's Book Emporium, a wonderful and idiosyncratic bookshop. THeir children's area is fantastic. They have child sized chairs, a few cuddly toys, and a wonderful array of picture books, all displayed face out to tempt us in. Jess loves this pop up book called "Chick" by Ed Vere, and laughs out loud at the page where the chick poos!
In the afternoon, we went to the Festival of Nature at Bristol harbourside. I was really impressed by how much was laid on for children. Jessicat had a go at painting, colouring in, planting sunflower seeds and stroking a polecat. The day was slightly marred by Jess being in a grumpy mood. I just had the strongest yearning for wine and a session with the CJ Sansom novel that I'm into, so 7.30pm couldn't come round quick enough!
Friday 5 June 2009
A motley collection...
...of books this week.
"Nobody Laughs at A Lion" - Paul Bright. Appealing story about a lion who needs to find his talent (message there for grown ups as well, I think).
"Oliver Finds His Way" - Phyllis Root. Beautifully illustrated, very short story about a little bear who wanders too far from home, but is quickly reunited with his mum and dad. A cosy read, and one that with its autumnal pictures, makes me yearn to be snuggled up with Jessicat listening to rain and wind howling outside.
"Big Red Bath" - Julia Jarman. Written in rollicking, jaunty rhyme, I love reading this aloud, and it seems that Jess knows parts of it off by heart, as she is able to supply the missing word or phrase if I stop! A truly splendid book.
"A Rumpus in the Night" - Nick Ward. A rumpus is a friendly little monster who just won't stay in a dream where he belongs. Jessicat enjoys this story of the monster and the young boy causing havoc and having fun in the middle of the night, but I'm not sure she really "gets" the twist in the tale at the end, so probably a book to re-visit in a few months.
"Rufus and the Blackberry Monster" - Lisa Stubbs. Stories that deal with children feeling frightened but overcoming their fear are very reassuring to toddlers I think, and this is no exception. Jess talks about monsters and ghosts, but hasn't yet reached a stage of worrying about them.
"This is the Bear and the Picnic Lunch" - Sarah Hayes. A short story written in rhyming couplets. Fast paced and simple, but very effective, and I will definitely be looking to read the whole series with Jessicat.
"Jumpy Jack and Googily" - Meg Rosoff. Recently published book that we have managed to order from the library, this tells the tale of a nervous snail who asks his monster friend to check everyone for scary monsters. I think the irony of asking a monster to look for a monster completely escaped Jess, but she was still gripped by the story, and we will be looking out for more books for Meg Rosoff.
Summer has hit with a vengeance, and brought with it all the usual paraphanalia: annoying hayfever, Jess looking cute in shorts and sandals, fans in the bedroom (like last year, she is still scared of them!), yearning for different weather and darker nights etc etc (guess who's not a fan of this season?) We still put Jessicat to bed at 7.30pm, but it seems that the heat and the light nights combine to keep her awake and chatting away to herself to nearly 9pm. Which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't insist on still waking up before 6am on the odd occasion...
At least the midday nap has made a temporary re-appearance, which is giving me the time to blog today. Later on, we are off down town, to share a drink and a cake in Starbucks, and to browse in Borders (air conditioned, just heavenly). Anyway, the forecast is for a cooler and wetter weekend, so we live in hope. We are planning to take Jessicat to the Festival of Nature at the Harbourside on Saturday, and maybe to the market at the Tobacco Factory on Sunday.
"Nobody Laughs at A Lion" - Paul Bright. Appealing story about a lion who needs to find his talent (message there for grown ups as well, I think).
"Oliver Finds His Way" - Phyllis Root. Beautifully illustrated, very short story about a little bear who wanders too far from home, but is quickly reunited with his mum and dad. A cosy read, and one that with its autumnal pictures, makes me yearn to be snuggled up with Jessicat listening to rain and wind howling outside.
"Big Red Bath" - Julia Jarman. Written in rollicking, jaunty rhyme, I love reading this aloud, and it seems that Jess knows parts of it off by heart, as she is able to supply the missing word or phrase if I stop! A truly splendid book.
"A Rumpus in the Night" - Nick Ward. A rumpus is a friendly little monster who just won't stay in a dream where he belongs. Jessicat enjoys this story of the monster and the young boy causing havoc and having fun in the middle of the night, but I'm not sure she really "gets" the twist in the tale at the end, so probably a book to re-visit in a few months.
"Rufus and the Blackberry Monster" - Lisa Stubbs. Stories that deal with children feeling frightened but overcoming their fear are very reassuring to toddlers I think, and this is no exception. Jess talks about monsters and ghosts, but hasn't yet reached a stage of worrying about them.
"This is the Bear and the Picnic Lunch" - Sarah Hayes. A short story written in rhyming couplets. Fast paced and simple, but very effective, and I will definitely be looking to read the whole series with Jessicat.
"Jumpy Jack and Googily" - Meg Rosoff. Recently published book that we have managed to order from the library, this tells the tale of a nervous snail who asks his monster friend to check everyone for scary monsters. I think the irony of asking a monster to look for a monster completely escaped Jess, but she was still gripped by the story, and we will be looking out for more books for Meg Rosoff.
Summer has hit with a vengeance, and brought with it all the usual paraphanalia: annoying hayfever, Jess looking cute in shorts and sandals, fans in the bedroom (like last year, she is still scared of them!), yearning for different weather and darker nights etc etc (guess who's not a fan of this season?) We still put Jessicat to bed at 7.30pm, but it seems that the heat and the light nights combine to keep her awake and chatting away to herself to nearly 9pm. Which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't insist on still waking up before 6am on the odd occasion...
At least the midday nap has made a temporary re-appearance, which is giving me the time to blog today. Later on, we are off down town, to share a drink and a cake in Starbucks, and to browse in Borders (air conditioned, just heavenly). Anyway, the forecast is for a cooler and wetter weekend, so we live in hope. We are planning to take Jessicat to the Festival of Nature at the Harbourside on Saturday, and maybe to the market at the Tobacco Factory on Sunday.
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