My Big Truck Book – Review

My boy adores all things vehicle. We can’t go out anywhere without a running commentary on every vehicle we pass. He particularly loves diggers, trucks and all kinds of emergency vehicles.

It was with collective delight when we were sent the “My Big Truck Book” from TickTock books to have a look at. It is a beautiful hardback book with child-friendly thick pages (not board but a thick glossy paper). As soon as I put it in front of him he exclaimed “Oh wow!” And I knew it was an instant hit.

At the grand age of two and a half he was only able to (really, really) appreciate the pictures, it’s not too wordy but the descriptions are probably more suitable for slightly older vehicle obsessed children. He did get a little bit bored when I tried to read to him, preferring instead to greedily flick through the pages to look at the other vehicles.

My only real (tiny) quibble is that some of the emergency vehicles appear to be from other countries, which is fine, but he didn’t immediately recognise the ambulance as an ambulance. Otherwise he instantly identified the diggers and trucks.

It is a lovely book, superb quality and something that he can appreciate on different levels as he grows. I would recommend it to any parents of transportation obsessed toddlers.

Disclaimer: We were sent this book free of charge, we were under no obligation to review it and we probably would have bought it for him at some stage anyway.

In The Night Garden live

When my Mr suggested we take the boy to see his favourite thing in the world my heart sank a little. It’s not that I want to deny him fun, but thanks to BBC iplayer I get “treated” to about four episodes a day and I cannot bear it.

So many months ago I reluctantly agreed, took out a small mortgage and bought some tickets. We refused the horrifyingly expensive add-ones. £15 to meet Daisy. No thanks, if she was going to come back to ours and get cracking with the ironing maybe. But no. £20 for a goodie bag? No! He’s 2 he doesn’t really care.

So we arrived early and we were ushered through the massive inflatable theatre in the car park of the Trafford Centre. The boy didn’t really understand what was going on but did get excited each time he saw a picture of a character. We found what were excellent seats and settled down. As I said, we arrived early and we waited half an hour for it to start. But no worries, they had fabulous projections on the walls which kept the little ones entertained as well as In The Night Garden (ITNG) sound effects. The half hour passed quickly, punctuated only by being mugged for £6 for a twirly light with Iggle Piggle on it, admittedly it kept him entertained for the rest of the evening and beyond. But tat all the same.

The show started much to the boys delight, it was colourful, entertaining and true to the TV version. Both husband and I were horribly bored after about 20 minutes but we were both enchanted by the delight on our sons face. He loved it, every second, every song, everything about it.

It lasted about 50 minutes and much to the boys disappointment we had to leave. In the car on the way home he was shouting “Again, Daisy, again!” Bless him.

Would I go again? Yes. But I do feel like I’ve been spanked for cash, but pretty much anything you do with your kids feels like that these days.

You can find out more about the show here – http://www.nightgardenlive.com/

Disclaimer: I wasn’t paid or asked to write this post, I went of my own accord and paid for the tickets and everything else myself.

Children’s Book Review: Dandylion by Lizzie Finlay

We love reading in our house. Before our son appeared in our lives I’d happily devour an entire book in an evening. I do that less often these days, but we wanted to pass on our love of books by reading to the boy right from the start. We even read to my growing belly when he was living in it.

One of my favourite things about being a Mummy is bedtime stories. We have three a night (and unlimited during the day when he fancies a read). We all snuggle in bed and transport our family to faraway lands, following the fantastical pen of children’s writers like Julia Donaldson and Lynley Dodd. The boy loves us doing funny voices, (my reading of The Gruffalo is a triumph). I especially love the rhythmic writing and wrapping my tongue around some of the great words in children’s books, (Lynley Dodd is particularly good at throwing in great words guaranteed to make you giggle).

For his Christening, we asked if people wanted to give him their favourite childhood book. We got some great ones, Rupert Bear, Harry Potter, some Alan Garner and Spot the Dog amongst other great reads.

I thought it’d be nice to share our love of reading, and some of our favourite children’s books in a bit of a mini-series. The boy has chosen his current favourite bedtime story, Dandylion by Lizzie Finlay.

Children's Book Review: Dandylion by Lizzie Finlay
Dandylion is a wonderful book about being different, finding acceptance and making friends. It’s the perfect tale to tell any child. The moral being it’s really ok to be different and wouldn’t the world be a dull, gloomy old place if everyone was the same. Admittedly it’s for older readers (he’s 2 and a half) but we love the beautiful illustrations and the story telling.

As Dandylion (who is ‘delightfully different, bright yellow and rather scruffy’) joins Miss Gardener’s organised and tidy class, the illustrations become more vibrant and colourful. This reflects the delightfully warm impact Dandylion has in his classmates.

At first he doesn’t fit in (he is a weed, but remember a weed is just a wildflower growing in the wrong place). After one particularly messy incident he is sent home and becomes despondent about his differences. But soon his classmates (including Basil and Tulip) realise that being too organised and tidy isn’t always a good thing. A plan is soon hatched to get Dandylion to return to school and to make him feel right at home. At last, scruffy, wild and free-spirited Dandylion feels like a wildflower growing in the right place!

Aside from its heartwarming message, it’s just a good book. Beautifully illustrated, visually appealing and lovely to read out loud to your child. Lizzie Finlay is a talented illustrator and I hope she writes more lovely books along these lines.