Official Strictly Come Dancing 2021 Annual By Alison Maloney Review!

Official Strictly Come Dancing 2021 Annual (2020) by Alison Maloney is an enjoyable read.

The annual is jam packed and really well put together. I was engrossed by it as a huge fan of the show. There is so much in it such as interviews, stories about how the professional dancers started in dance, a crossword and lots of behind the scenes info. It’s really interesting and fabulously glossy. I enjoyed learning so much about the people involved and all the hard work which is put into the show. We got to learn about how Strictly went green to help the environment. I loved reading all the interviews and stories especially Johannes’ because I am a huge fan of his. It was just a very entertaining annual all round. Some annuals are very short but this annual is packed to the full. There is plenty of reading to do and wonderful photographs throughout.

In short I loved it. Tens across the board! 🙂

To purchase Official Strictly Come Dancing 2021 Annual by Alison Maloney go to:

For more about Alison Maloney and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/526544.Alison_Maloney

For more about Strictly Come Dancing go to:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8dq

Children’s Atlas Of History By Schwager & Steinlein Review!

Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash

Children’s Atlas Of History by Schwager & Steinlein is a really great book. Unfortunately when I looked it up for this review I was unable to find any information about it.

However it is a great read and includes different sections about various time periods such as The Stone Age, The Vikings, Age of Discovery, The Reformation and The Industrial Revolution. It breaks everything down into sections which makes learning history a lot easier for children. And adults! 🙂 It is really enjoyable to read and has a lot of information packed into it. Really interesting. There is also a quiz and a helpful index and wonderful illustrations.

If you do come across this book I would recommend it. So many periods in history are covered and I found it engrossing. A wonderful book.

For more about Schwager & Steinlein and their work go to:

https://www.schwager-steinlein-verlag.de/

King Rollo’s Playroom And Other Stories By David McKee Review!

King Rollo’s Playroom And Other Stories (1996) is a really great read.

In this collection of stories we have four stories from the life of King Rollo. In the first story King Rollo is leaving his room a mess with his variety of interests much to Cook’s dismay. In the second outing King Rollo must make breakfast for the first time as Cook is ill. In the third story King Rollo makes friends with a dog and in the final story King Rollo and Queen Gwen make masks.

There is a wonderful array of characters especially the main four characters in these stories in King Rollo, Cook, Queen Gwen and the Magician. Each of the characters plays off each other very well creating great tales. There is a lot of great, easy flowing dialogue in these stories and they are clearly well thought out. Lots of fun to read. My favourite story was the third one as I adore dogs but there is something here for everyone.

A great read.

To purchase King Rollo’s Playroom And Other Stories go to:

For more about David McKee and his work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58401.David_McKee

Usborne The Great Dinosaur Search By Philippa Wingate and Rosie Heywood Review!

Usborne The Great Dinosaur Search (1990) by Philippa Wingate and Rosie Heywood is a really interesting book packed with facts about numerous dinosaurs and other creatures from the past.

It is a puzzle book with facts about all these animals. Children are asked to find an amount of each creature in the breathtaking illustrations while they are learning all these facts. There is also a puzzle at the end with multiple choice answers and a segment about how the dinosaurs died which teaches children how the world came to be how it is today. There is a helpful index and a key section which I admit I didn’t fully understand but maybe the children will get it quicker than me. 🙂

Really interesting. Packed with information and done in a fun way. Very well put together and thought out and very enjoyable.

To purchase Usborne The Great Dinosaur Search by Philippa Wingate and Rosie Heywood go to:

For more about Philippa Wingate and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/167209.Philippa_Wingate

For more about Rosie Heywood and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/332880.Rosie_Heywood

For more about Usborne Books go to:

https://usborne.com/gb/

The Friendliest Ballerina By Timothy Knapman Review!

The Friendliest Ballerina (2012) by Timothy Knapman is a lovely read.

The story is about Bella who is a ballerina. She meets two fellow ballet dancers in her class called Clare and Peter. The story is about how she helps them to be the best at ballet that they can be and is a good friend to them. We see Bella’s past where she did her ballet shows amazingly but she was never happy because she was lonely. So she changed her ways as she seen there was more important things in life than always being the best. She realises that having a happy life away from her performances is important and that it makes her performances even better than before.

A very fun read with great illustrations by Jimothy Rovolio. The message is great about showing kindness and not being selfish for yourself which is a great message for children.

A great read.

To purchase The Friendliest Ballerina by Timothy Knapman go to:

For more about Timothy Knapman and his work go to:

https://www.timothyknapman.co.uk/

For more about Jimothy Rovolio and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6062294.Jimothy_Rovolio

The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water By Gemma Merino Review!

The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water (2014) by Gemma Merino is a really wonderful book.

The book follows the story of the main character who doesn’t like water and is the only one in his family who doesn’t. We follow his story as he struggles to fit in and feels lonely. We see him try to be like his family and things don’t work out. Spoiler alert: He is a dragon and he prefers fire to water. I think this story is beautiful and in a fictional way is very much a lot of peoples’ stories. It is a story about being different in some way to those around you and how you will always be loved unconditionally for yourself by those who really love you. It is a story about being you and being happy and I absolutely love that.

I think the story is amazingly put together and I think the message is incredible. This book will help a lot of young children who are under pressure to fit in because their family or society sees or might see them as different and find that a bad thing. I found while I was reading this book that it was a beautiful read for trans children or children who are treated as different by society and their families often in general. Seeing the dragon find himself and feel free, happy and like life can be amazing is such an important and brilliant message to send children. It gives them hope away from the negativity that they are far too young to have to face. I also think this book can help children who are not trans or thought of as different in any way to be respectful, kind and treat everyone with equality. There is beautiful messages left, right and centre in this book for all children and it is just amazing to see that. The message is love, not hate whether that is love for yourself or to show kindness to another child different from you and that can only make the world so much better. Last point, a lot of adults should probably read this book too! 🙂

A must-read.

To purchase The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water by Gemma Merino go to:

For more about Gemma Merino and her work go to:

http://gemmamerino.blogspot.com/

Don’t Worry, Grandpa By Nick Ward Review!

Don’t Worry, Grandpa (1998) by Nick Ward is a really beautiful read.

In this book Charlie is comforting his grandfather who is scared of thunderstorms. Charlie is on hand to soothe Grandpa’s fears every time the storm gets stronger. It is such a charming and delightful book, definitely has a lot of warmth and heart to it. I adore the relationship between Charlie and his grandfather. It’s so sweet. I think this book teaches children to be very compassionate and to understand a person’s fears and help them with that instead of mocking them or dismissing their fears. A really important message. (Side note: having a massive fear of wind, I could definitely relate a lot to Charlie’s grandfather with his fear of thunderstorms).

It is so well put together. The storytelling flows with ease from start to finish. Really well illustrated. It’s just amazing and the story just oozes kindness which I think is excellent.

To purchase Don’t Worry, Grandpa by Nick Ward go to:

For more about Nick Ward and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/30315.Nick_Ward

Peppa’s Balloon Adventure: A Pull-The-Tab Sparkle Book By Neville Astley Review!

Peppa’s Balloon Adventure: A Pull-The-Tab Sparkle Book (2008) by Neville Astley is a wonderful joy of a read.

Peppa goes on an adventure in a hot air balloon but soon is plunged into a rescue mission of Teddy. In such a short book Neville Astley certainly gets in quite a few twists and turns. A really fun read with some excellent illustrations, lots of sparkle and a tab to save Teddy (which was missing from my book but I’m sure is a lot of fun for children).

It’s just a light and fun read. Really well put together. Creative with great storytelling.

To purchase Peppa’s Balloon Adventure: A Pull-The-Tab Sparkle Book by Neville Astley go to:

For more about Neville Astley and his work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/526866.Neville_Astley

Ship Shapes By Stella Blackstone Review!

Ship Shapes (2006) by Stella Blackstone is a lovely read which helps children understand different shapes.

The book has gorgeous illustrations by Siobhan Bell and I find the concept really creative. The different shapes are shown at the beginning of the book as an introduction to the different shapes for the children and then there is lots of pictures with ships which include the shapes. Children are encouraged to find the shapes in the pictures.

It is a really fun way to learn and perfect for a child who has an interest in ships and boats. I really like how this book is put together. It is different to many shape books but still with the same goal. It feels like it would be a really enjoyable adventure for children as they learn about all these new shapes to them.

A great book.

To purchase Ship Shapes by Stella Blackstone go to:

For more about Stella Blackstone and her work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/116736.Stella_Blackstone

For more about Siobhan Bell and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2773688.Siobhan_Bell

Shimmer The Sharing Fairy By Kathryn Smith Review!

Shimmer The Sharing Fairy (2011) by Kathryn Smith is a lovely read.

Illustrated beautifully by Zoe Connery, the book is part of the Glitter Fairy Book Series. In this read Shimmer The Sharing Fairy encourages Mouse to share and shows Mouse how wonderful and fun it is to do so. I really liked the book.

It had a really great message for children and Mouse is so adorable. It is a delightful little read about wonderful characters and it flows very easily from page to page. Shimmer The Sharing Fairy is a really great main character.

Great read.

To purchase Shimmer The Sharing Fairy by Kathryn Smith go to:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=1934699101&clickid=R59zjZyY6xyITg8RYKW662mZUkGyjf3qgU1gyg0&cm_mmc=aff–ir–64613-_-77416&ref=imprad64613&afn_sr=impact

For more about Kathryn Smith and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4053443.Kathryn_Smith

For more about Zoe Connery and their work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5194419.Zoe_Connery