Bestest Christmas Gift Guide – World Atlas
Dec07

Bestest Christmas Gift Guide – World Atlas

I’ve been on the hunt for AGES for a really good Atlas to engross the children. And here it is. Barefoot Books have really got something special with this one – every page is beautiful, and interesting, and totally absorbing. Enough facts, broken up with enough pictures – the 4yr old enjoys this as much as the 10yr old does. And that’s no mean feat. The history of map-making was absorbed minutely by the 8yr...

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Bestest Christmas Gift Guide – Scaredy Cat Splat
Dec05

Bestest Christmas Gift Guide – Scaredy Cat Splat

We just love Splat. That’s it really… The new halloween themed one is funny, doesn’t tire after reading countless times; and the illustrations, as always, are incredible. Top marks, Rob Scotton. Toppety top marks. Available from all good bookshops, or Amazon for a pumpkin under a fiver.

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Spotted! Perfect Notebook For Writers. Or Thinkers. Or Anyone, Really.
Oct31

Spotted! Perfect Notebook For Writers. Or Thinkers. Or Anyone, Really.

Oh. My. Yes. After the day I’ve had, this one’s ALL MINE. But there are others in the shop, I’ll let you get your own one if you want. Which of course you do. The Brain Whirring notebook is just seven and half pounds from those fably people over at the Literary Gift Company. Beware – once you step inside, it’s VERY tricky to leave. sadly no longer available..but other fab notebooks can be found here on...

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Travelling with Children (Book review, not horror story. Honest).
Sep01

Travelling with Children (Book review, not horror story. Honest).

I find booking family holidays incredibly stressful. In fact I always find myself considering not going rather than continuing with the stress of finding the perfect location, accommodation and date. And then when you actually set off… Catherine Cooper’s book – Travelling With Children: A Parent’s Guide –  is an entertaining and practical guide to, well, travelling with children. The book will help you...

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Spotted! Vintage Notebooks. Of the genuinely lovely kind.
Jul20

Spotted! Vintage Notebooks. Of the genuinely lovely kind.

Oh. SO excited! No, REALLY! LOOK at what this clever bookbinder in Bath is doing! She’s seeing so many books that are just too lovely to throw in the recycling… but not good enough to rebind. So she’s salvaging what she can, and creating oh-so-perfect new notebooks out of them! GENIUS! She keeps the covers, where possible makes the spine into a bookmark, and a few inside pages. Adds sheets of good quality (150 gsm)...

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Book Review – Augustus And His Smile
Jun08

Book Review – Augustus And His Smile

We’re already big fans of Ernest, so when we saw Catherine Rayners ‘Augustus and his Smile’ land on the mat, we were a bit keen to step inside. So we just sat on the bottom stair, the then-3yr old Pink and I, and immediately did just that. Transporting ourselves away to somewhere utterly, totally, deeply enchanting. Oh Augustus. How I do LOVE you! Honestly? This is probably one of my very favourite books on...

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