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Kidlit recommendation: The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks
I thought I’d share a few book recommendations over the next few days in case you’re still shopping – books have your back right up until the last minute! This is a bit specific, but my daughter is almost 11 and is reading all kinds of stuff (from Dogman to Worst Week Ever to Babysitters Club to the Divergent series) but her absolute favourite this year has been Katie Kirby’s Lottie Brooks series. She devoured them in quick succession while we were in England in May and has reread them all a few times since. And she’s not alone – I’m yet to meet a 9 or 10 or 11 year…
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Bookish Advent Calendar: Our Picks for 4 of the Best Festive Kids’ Books This Year
Last week I talked about some festive bookish traditions I love and at the top of the list was counting down to Christmas with a Bookish Advent Calendar. Our Bookish Advent Calendar is made up of four books, one for each Sunday of Advent. Today I’m sharing the books that caught my eye and have been included this year. The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever by L.D. Lapinski This book also got a shout-out in my Christmas traditions post last week as a perfect family read-aloud. There are 25 chapters so you can read it like an advent countdown all the way up to Christmas day. The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever…
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Book Advent 2022
It’s the first Sunday in Advent today, and one of the ways we celebrate the countdown to Christmas each year is with a book Advent calendar. I have written a bit about bookish Advent calendars before (check out this post for more info if you’d like). We’ve tried a few different things as my daughter has grown, and my number one ‘rule’ is always to do what works for you. For a few years when she was little and we were reading picture books we tried doing a book each day or every second day, but in the end what we’ve found works best for us is to have four…
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Christmassy :: Q&A :: Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove
Justin Chase is having the WORST WEEK EVER!His Mum has just married a vampire.His Dad is driving a giant toilet on wheels.His cat has probably been abducted by aliens.A psychotic bully is making his first day at a new school miserable.And right now, he’s hanging off the edge of a 10-metre-high diving tower in front of his entire class wearing nothing but rapidly disappearing crocheted swimmers!And it’s only… MONDAY! My 7 (almost 8!) year old has been DEVOURING books over the past six months. She has been moving a bit away from books for junior/newly independent readers and closer to middle grade novels, and a format that she is absolutely…
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Christmassy :: Books for Young Readers
Popping in quickly today to share a stack of Christmassy books for young readers – junior and newly independent readers through middle grade. There are more fab Christmas kids’ books coming out each year, and these are by no means the only great ones out there, but htey are some we have read and loved. A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig.This must just about be the most recommended book here on my blog. If you haven’t checked it out yet perhaps now is the time, as the movie adaptation has just come out. I think I mention every time that we love the audio book of this one too…
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Friday Favourites :: 3 December
Happy first Friday of December friends! I’m feeling kind of torn this week between looking forward to Christmas and being kind of terrified that the end of the year is upon us already. Not to be dramatic, but every thing feels a bit like we’re on a precipice at the moment. There has of course been lots of excitement this weeks, with the start of December also meaning advent calendars! We have a couple of daily calendars – a fabric one I made a few years ago with little pockets to fill, a Lego one, and also a lovely traditional cardboard one with glitter and gnomes and pictures of rocking…
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Christmassy :: Q&A :: Angela May George
Hello friends and merry Christmas Eve! It’s just after 10pm here in Canberra, so very close to the big day, and I have one more Christmassy chat to share. I have really loved doing this, and am hoping to be able to keep bringing some behind the scenes chats with authors all through next year. Tonight my guest is Angela May George. Hi Angela! Thanks so much for joining me on my blog! One of my favourite things I’ve done over the past few months was joining you on Words and Nerds podcast to celebrate the release of your latest novel Step Up, Shine On, a contemporary story for readers…
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CHRISTMASSY :: TINSEL :: Sibéal Pounder
What if somewhere along the way we’ve all got the Santa story a bit wrong…? Join Blanche Claus and her best friend Rinki for a funny festive sleigh ride you’ll never forget!From Sibéal Pounder, bestselling author of the Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids series, this tale of friendship and mince-pie feasts is the perfect book to curl up with this winter. Funny, feminist and with a huge heart, it’s a gloriously Christmassy adventure that will delight even the biggest Grinch. You know I love a middlegrade adventure, and if it has a festive spin, even better. This made Tinsel: The Girl Who Invented Christmas one of my most anticipated books…
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CHRISTMASSY :: PICTURE BOOK ADVENT CALENDAR/Basket
One of my favourite things each year is pulling out our favourite Christmas books – and picking some new ones to join them! I always really love the idea of doing a bookish advent calendar, where 24 books are wrapped up and one opened each day in the lead up to Christmas, but I also like to put my own spin on it so it works for us. When Amelia was small, and a book a day was a bit overwhelming for her, we started with a new book each week, and then every few days. The past year or two I’ve planned to do the full wrapping 24 books,…
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Christmassy :: Pick a Pine Tree :: Patricia Toht & Jarvis
Tonight I wanted to share the book that has been our favourite bedtime story so far this Christmas – Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht (with illustrations by Jarvis). This book is so divine! Just look at that pretty cover – I always love foil detail, and the red on here is so lovely! The book is about how a pine tree brought home and decorated becomes a Christmas tree, and is told in rhyming text. It is an absolute delight to read aloud, and all of the illustrations are just so beautiful. There is a lot to look at in each picture – I feel like we find…
