Word of the Week: Upbeat

I have desperately tried to remain UPBEAT this week and, in all honesty, it has been incredibly tough. Things began to unravel for us on Saturday lunchtime when we had to cancel a weekend of celebrations due to illness. We were utterly deflated and basically this set the tone for the rest of the week.

As I’m often branded a pessimist by my own father (thanks dad), I am determined that my blog, for the most part, will be a whinge free zone. So don’t panic, I am sparing you the gory ins and outs of our week. Instead I have chosen to share the things that made me smile and got me through to Friday...

1. SLEEP - Poppy moved into her own room and finally dropped the night feeds so I have had my first full nights’ sleep (yes multiple) in almost nine months. Hooray!
2. DISNEY - I managed to take all three little ones to see Finding Dory at the cinema and we also watched lots of classic Disney films at home. Thank you Walt.
3. A PLAN - Theo had a very positive appointment at the dental hospital. He is going to be reviewed again in six months with a view to commencing treatment. You can read more about our family’s dental issues here.
4. MILESTONES - Poppy started pulling herself up and cruising the furniture. Is this a good thing? I’m not so sure, but it certainly made me smile!
5. SIBLING BONDING - We played lots of games, read lots of books and did some drawing. It was great watching Izzie and Theo play properly together. He learns so much from her and he teaches her the need for patience and understanding!
6. DISTRACTIONS - I won’t lie, my new phone together with blogging, reading and watching the Olympics have also been fantastic distractions from the grim realities!

I’ve got everything crossed that this week will be better but, if its not, I’ll take Dory’s advice and “just keep swimming”!

Baby girl is feeling better - phew! Even managed a selfie ;) #nearly9months #timeflies #happyfriday

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on Aug 19, 2016 at 2:50am PDT

10 New Picture Books (2016)

I have enjoyed reading so many #pb10for10 posts this year that I thought I'd join in the fun. I am late to the party (as always) but here is my own selection of books:

My love of picture books has truly been re-ignited this year through our family's #366booksin366days reading challenge and all my chosen books were recently published. We have already included these books in our challenge and they have quickly become some of our favourites.

My children (The Mini Reviewers) are all under 5 so these are the perfect stories to share with toddlers and preschoolers. Of course, they are great for older picture book fans too! I have added the links to our reviews (where applicable) below. The lovely Kim, who blogs at Bookbairn has written two superb reviews for Oi Dog! and Bee and (with her permission) I have also included links to her posts for these books.

1. Douglas You Need Glasses - Jed Adamson
2. Little Red - Bethan Woollvin
3. Tiger in a Tutu - Fabi Santiago
4. Superhero Dad - Tim Knapman and Joe Berger
5. 123 A Walk in the Countryside - Rosalind Beardshaw
6. Oi Dog! Kes and Claire Gray and Jim Field
7. A Brave Bear - Sean Taylor and Emily Hughes
8. Pip and Posy: The New Friend - Axel Scheffler
9. Bee - Britta Teckentrup
10. Tidy - Emily Gravett

For other picture book inspiration check out #pb10for10 on twitter. Or why not have a little look at our other book posts?

Until next time... HAPPY READING!

Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx

Changing Bag Essentials

Last week I got caught out without the changing bag. I won’t go into details but let’s just say it was fairly messy and, luckily I found a spare nappy in the car. Phew! Normally I am prepared for every eventuality. Take a look at what I can fit in my fantastic “bottomless” Cara bag from Babymel…

Books about Funny Birds!

We love a book that makes us giggle and I’ve previously shared some of our favourites. Here are another couple of excellent picture books that have really tickled us recently. It just so happens one features an owl and the other, a seagull, you could say they are a couple of funny birds!

Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise
Written by Sean Taylor and Illustrated byJean Jullien (Walker Books)

Hoot Owl Master of Disguise

We all know owls are wise, but did you know they are also masters of disguise? Well Hoot Owl thinks he is anyway. A totally melodramatic tale of a hungry owl searching for his dinner. But what will he catch? A rabbit, a lamb, a pigeon? Or maybe even a pizza?

The Mini Reviewers found this story absolutely hilarious, particularly Hoot's disguises. They were incredibly relieved each time Hoot failed to catch his dinner. I could literally hear them holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen. Also the fabulously bold illustrations fit brilliantly with the drama of the story. This is a perfect picture book to share. Just have a go at reading it through a few times first to get the comic timing right!

Steven Seagull Action Hero
Elys Dolan (Oxford University Press)

Probably the most confident looking seagull you'll ever see! A fantastically funny picture book. #day166 #366booksin366days #readingresolution #readingchallenge #picturebooks #bookish #bookstagram #kidsbooks #childrensbooks #kidlit

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on Jun 21, 2016 at 3:03am PDT

This is Steven, probably the most confident seagull you will ever see! He is a retired cop but his ex-partner, a goldfish called Mac, wants him back on the force to help clean up Beach City. Steven knows “a gull’s gotta do, what a gull’s gotta do” so joins Mac in his search for the Sand Thief. They waste no time in rounding up suspects at the beach. But will they be able to solve the mystery of the missing sand once and for all? Or will Steven’s renegade ways get the better of him?

Sorry there are no spoilers here! Let’s just say that we have read this book over and over again and it never fails to make us giggle. Both the text and the almost comic book style illustrations are very funny. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed!

Until next time... HAPPY READING!

Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx

Disclaimer: I won Hoot Owl from a Toppsta Giveaway and Steven Seagull from a competition run by OUP on Twitter. All opinions are, as always, my own. Please note that this post contains Amazon Affiliate links, you can find out more about what this means here.

Word of the Week: Rainbow

When, at the start of the summer break, I asked Izzie (4) to make a list of things she wanted to do, I wasn’t quite prepared for what was to follow…

1. Build Sandcastles
2. Go to Rockpools
3. Paint nails
4. Make Fimo models
5. Watch Finding Dory at the cinema
6. Visit the Airfield for Theo and… wait for it...
7. A RAINBOW DAY WITH RAINBOW PIZZA!!!

She either has the best imagination ever or she possibly saw it on CBeebies. That blooming Mr Maker has a lot to answer for! She even described how she wanted a rainbow hanging from the washing line made out of different coloured things. When I looked at her blankly she said, “you know Mum like fabrics and stuff”. I promised her I’d see what I could do and this week we had our Rainbow Day.

Happy Rainbow Day!