Tidy Books - The Children's Storage Solution

Book review: Jack & Boo’s Bucket of Treasures

Ian Newbold — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:10:04 +0000

Jack and Boo are characters created by family publishing team, Philip and Eleanor Bell. Their first book takes them to the beach, and on an adventure to discover hidden treasures.

The Beachy Books website explains what they are hoping to achieve.

‘Beachy Books is a small family run publishing company. We are passionate about books, especially children’s books. Our first book is a picture book called Jack & Boo’s Bucket of Treasures. It has been written, illustrated, designed, typeset and published by us. We plan a whole series of Jack & Boo adventures in 2010, as well as publishing other books for older children.’

It is evident from reading their début book that they do not lack passion. Jack and Boo’s adventures on the beach are lovingly regaled, and the illustrations are a mix of colourful drawings placed upon actual pictures that I believe are actually ones taken by the illustrator.

This style reminded me of another book I recently reviewed: George and Flora’s Secret Garden published by a wing of the Eden Project.

Personally I am not entirely sure I like this style, but it is definitely one that children relate to and enjoy. I could see my five year-old boy getting taken in by them, and picturing himself in scenes of his own beach adventures.

The text has a whimsical edge, and anyone who has fond memories of the beach will have those happy thoughts brought right back to them.

Its narrative gets smoother as the books goes on, and small illustrations of the items featured within it offer additional interest and an excellent first point of reference for a inquisitive child wanting to know what ‘bladderwrack’ is for example.

As well as the story of Jack and Boo’s discoveries the book also carries a ‘Beach Spotter Guide’ and ‘Family Beach Ideas’. I found the guide in particular useful. With a child learning to read having a checklist of items you may find on a beach, as well as in this story, makes for an excellent aid.

This book has a cover price of £7.99, but I found it cheaper on Amazon.

Some of those that have already bought this book via the giant of online book sales left favourable Amazon reviews, and it reads like this may be an excellent book to buy as a gift.

You can find more about Beach Books on their website, and also follow Beachy Books on Twitter.

Don’t forget you can follow Tidy Books on Twitter, and that all sorts of news and reviews can be found on the Tidy Books Facebook page.

Book review: Jack & Boo’s Bucket of Treasures is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading.. “Sing a Song of Bottoms” by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower

Ruth — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:31:06 +0000

If your kids get the giggles at the mention of bottoms, then ‘Sing a Song of Bottoms’ could provide the comedy in your home library. This is a cheeky romp of a book, with a parade of bottoms, from rhinos’ to babies’ to see who wins the prize for the best one.

The six year old, on picking up the book for the first time, instinctively sang it to the tune of (you guessed it) ‘Sing a song of Sixpence’. The two year old has brought it out regularly to be read, and has also been heard around the house singing it to himself.

This is an easy book to read out loud; its rhyming text bounces along and is perfect for kids to join in with after a few reads. The illustrations are a great fit with the text; they’re perky and mildly cheeky, and remind me of the sweetest of the Disney cartoons.

The author knows she is on to a winning streak here with the perennial humour of bums and pants. Jeanne Willis, has won lots of awards for her other titles which include ‘Bottoms Up’ and ‘Who’s in the Loo?’ The latter is a favourite in our house, and has fantastic, witty drawings. ‘Sing a Song of Bottoms’ is cross between two other books which have a familiar format: ‘Pants’ by Nick Sharratt and Giles Andreae which features a talent show of animals in pants and is genuinely funny, and ‘Doing the Animal Bop’ by Linsdey Gardiner and Jan Ormerod which has a lovely swinging beat and celebrates what each animal can do.

Sing a Song of Bottoms has instant appeal for children aged 2-5, perfect for a having bit of a laugh and improving the mood. It is quick to read and is great for a quick story time when time is tight.

Sing a Song of Bottoms by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower is published by Puffin Books, June 2010.

We’re reading.. “Sing a Song of Bottoms” by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Introducing The Home Buddy

Ian Newbold — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:42:53 +0000

We at Tidy Books are proud to introduce to you The Home Buddy. A stylish and simple product that makes storage of those things liable to fall from a traditional shelf easy and secure.

Originally designed with children’s bunk beds in mind, The Home Buddy can be used in all the rooms around your home. We discovered a lot of people have found them useful in nurseries for holding nappies and wipes above a changing station, and in bathrooms keeping toiletries safe and close to hand.

Available in a variety of colours, and with durability that means it will continue to look great for many years, The Home Buddy will look great on any wall.

Introducing The Home Buddy is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Summer reading lists

Ian Newbold — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:30:29 +0000

Will you be putting together a summer reading list?

It is certainly amongst my to-do items, and I shall also be casting my attention to my son’s summer reading soon.

Reading throughout the impending school holidays can be of enormous benefit. As well as keeping children in the good habit of reading, the extra freedom of reading exactly what they want to, can turn a possible chore into a positive joy.

That’s the hope of the Reading Agency, who will soon be releasing their Summer Reading Challenge.

Libraries from all over the country will be involved in rewarding children for their reading throughout the summer.

The challenge for children aged between 4 and 11 is simple, read six or more books of their choice.

They will be incentivised by receiving collectable items and rewards along the way, with certificates and medals for all that complete the challenge successfully.

This year’s theme is space, and has been called Space Hop. Children will be boldly going where no one has been before, as they continue to nurture a life-long love of reading books through an exciting galaxy.

As well as having a tangible Space Hop pack, there is also an interactive website linking children with top authors and illustrators, and giving them the chance to share and discuss their favourite books and reading tips.

My local library will be registering children from the 10^th of July, and you should get in touch with your local library to see how and when you can get involved.

And how should we put together a quality reading list?

Well of course children can look for books they have yet to read from their favourite authors, but if you’re at a library already, it is a good idea to make use of the experts at your disposal.

Terry wrote an excellent post on the Booklights blog about how to make a great summer reading list. As well as exploiting initiatives such as Space Hop, libraries are an excellent resource for putting together a book list.

Based on age, author, or even subject. If you have a passion for bugs, or princesses, then it is the experts at the library, who will be able to point you in the direction of books about, or containing, your favoured subject.

So will your children be taking up the challenge? Or were yours some of the 750,000 to benefit from this initiative last year?

Summer reading lists is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Children’s reading initiatives

Ian Newbold — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:45:42 +0000

Although I believe, as parents, we must take on the responsibility of garnishing our children’s love of reading there are plenty of organisations and initiatives that can aid us.

Here is a list of a few reading initiatives for children.

The National Literacy Trust is a great place to start. This is a trust that believes that improved literacy can genuinely improve people’s lives. I would not argue with that.

They operate numerous projects. Gaining funding from the Department of Education, Early Reading Connects aims to strengthen literacy development in the under fives.

After government figures recorded that boys’ performance was lower than their female peers, Reading Champions was created to increase boys’ enjoyment of their reading.

Reading for Life is also borne of the National Literacy Trust. And this was set up to encourage everyone to read. Promoting the benefits of reading to all ages.

Booktrust is an independent UK-wide charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages to enjoy books. It operates a large number of specific initiatives and partners with Reading for Life and the Arts Council.

Bookstart is its national programme concerned with encouraging children from the earliest possible age. One of its main aims is to provide a free pack of books to every baby in the UK.

Booked Up is a similar scheme that aims to give a free book to every child starting secondary school in England.

Booktime concerns itself with the children between these two age brackets. And my own son was very pleased to receive his free Booktime books and bag during his first school year.

Another independent charity inspiring more people to read is The Reading Agency. They do a lot of work with public libraries and throughout the summer will again be running its Summer Reading Challenge.

The idea of this initiative is to encourage children to continue reading throughout the lengthy school holidays, and to help kids turn their reading from a chore to a pleasure.

An initiative that they run all the time is Their Reading Future. Working in partnership with libraries, supporting them to deliver the best possible reader development programmes.

The Scottish Book Trust aims to inspire readers and writers. And what four year-old would not be delighted with an explorer backpack?

In America Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has really taken off. The idea of this initiative is that each community provides every child with a free book every month until they turn five.

A project that many communities have bought in to after its initial launch and success in Dolly’s home county in east Tennessee.

It is spreading into Canada, and also parts of the UK. You can go and see if there is an affiliate near you here.

Another stateside project I have stumbled upon is Reach Out and Read. This not-for-profit organisation aims to promote school readiness by providing new books to children and advice to parents via America’s network of paediatric exam rooms.

But what wonderful initiatives am I missing?

And I would love to read about any positive impacts reading initiatives have had.

Children’s reading initiatives is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…”Wendel’s Workshop” by Chris Riddell

Ruth — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:17:27 +0000

There’s interesting message in ‘Wendel’s Workshop’: Tidy up, but not too much. It’s a message that appears to have resonated with both of my children.

This book is a re-read and returned to favourite with the two year old and the six year old, and is probably perfect for four year olds. It has also added to our vocabulary at home. The “Wendelbot”, the robot who goes on a tidying rampage and throws everything out, has become a term of friendly abuse.

Maybe it’s the robots and the brilliant Heath Robinson-esque drawings that have made this such a favourite. Or that there’s a classic mix of humour and sadness. Or that it’s a multi-layered book; there’s a relatively simple story that can be enjoyed by a two year old, with lots more in-depth ideas to talk about with an older child.

Wendel is an inventor with a draconian mind; if his invention doesn’t work exactly, he throws it onto the scrap heap and starts again. Soon his workshop is piled high with rubbish, and he creates a robot to deal with the mess. “Clunk”, his creation doesn’t work too well, getting teacups, wellies, and bed making hopelessly mixed up. Poor Clunk is quickly despatched down the rubbish chute. Wendel tries again, making the Wendelbot. The Wendelbot works perfectly, but doesn’t stop tidying. Soon Wendel is the untidiest thing in the room, and he’s thrown down the rubbish chute, where he bumps into Clunk. As the Wendelbot starts upon world domination, he is only stopped by Wendel and Clunk’s gaggle of imperfect robots they’ve salvaged from the rubbish. As the story ends, Wendel learns to be patient with the failings of his robots, and never to throw anything away again!

I’m unreservedly enthusiastic about this book. It’s a brilliant story that will appeal to all children and contains interesting ideas about friendship and helping others, to being tolerant of others’ imperfections, and re-using and recycling your rubbish. However the themes are subtle, you can choose to pick up on them or just enjoy the story. And, it’s funny too.

Chris Riddell is a prolific writer and illustrator and winner of many children’s book awards. He has a great website where you can peek at his books and listen to them too. His drawings may also be familiar to you as he a renowned political cartoonist.

Wendel’s Workshop by Chris Riddell is published by Macmillan Children’s Books, 2007

We’re reading…”Wendel’s Workshop” by Chris Riddell is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Using the World Cup as a learning aid

Ian Newbold — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:12:19 +0000

Everywhere you look there is news from the World Cup. It is unavoidable whether you love or loathe football.

I am somewhere in the middle of those two groups. I enjoy watching football, and usually a major football tournament would be of great interest to me. But my interest this time has only really been ignited by ways in which my son is engaging with it.

The stubbornness within my son’s personality means that it is a much more joyous thing to let him choose a topic to aid his learning and development, than force him down a road he is reluctant to travel.

It seems this is true of a lot of children, especially boys, as they start their formal learning lives.

I did not expect it to, but at the moment the World Cup really has my son’s attention, and I have been looking at ways of making the most of that. I haven’t had to look too hard, as my son has found ways of doing that himself.

He was given a Panini World Cup sticker book. And he has enjoyed looking for the numbers that correspond with the stickers he has got, and has been slowly populating his new treasured sticker book. Regardless of who the player actually is the number is all important to him, which is great.

Older children at his school have been collecting Match Attax cards, some of which have been kind enough to give their duplicates to my son. He thinks the few he has got are great, and has been using them to learn how to spell names of countries, and also as guides for when he is drawing footballers from the respective teams.

His drawings have been brilliant, using different colours for the different teams. Replicating national badges and flags, and coming up with scorelines for most of the scenes we have both drawn. England always seem to score 10, he still has a lot to learn obviously.

During England’s first appearance in the tournament he and a couple of his friends made flags and footballers on sticks. They had great fun, barely paying any real attention to the game – not that they missed anything, unlike England’s goalkeeper.

Then last night, with a little help from CITV’s Share-a-Story contest, using their template, he started his own World Cup cartoon. Which included drawing and writing in speech bubbles.

Yesterday really was a ‘football’ day as he wanted to conclude it with a football story at bedtime. I had to think quickly (no mean feat) if we had one, then I remembered that Roger Hargreaves’ Mr Cool, from the Mr Men series, includes a footballer and he was more than happy with my choice.

I am delighted that my son is engaging with the World Cup in such positive ways, and not just kicking a ball about, which he is enjoying doing too.

Has it been the same in your house, and do you have any more ideas for me?

Using the World Cup as a learning aid is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book review: Wake Up! by Katie Cleminson

Ian Newbold — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:15:32 +0000

As we invariably leave our daily reading as a treat at bedtime, I like books that end with its characters going to bed themselves. It puts my boy in the right mood for a good night’s sleep, and always feels like a fitting end to the day, no matter what you have been up to.

Wake UP by Katie Cleminson ticks this box with bells on.

It is tale of one boy’s very busy day, very apt for the little boy of this house. He wakes up, and up and up, and the book continues beautifully along the same rhyming vein.

He goes to school, where he must listen up, and up and up.

His adventures include all sorts of things in a typical young boy’s life. Dressing up, playing, show and tell, eating, bathing, and cuddling up for bed.

My son could relate to all these things, and enjoyed having the book read at a lively pace, but also enjoyed stopping me to pour over the wonderful illustrations, trying to spot things that are mentioned in the book’s verse.

Katie Cleminson is clearly a very talented illustrator and author. This book follows the impressively successful Box of Tricks that earned Katie the prestigious honour of Best Emerging Illustrator at the Booktrust Early Years Awards 2009.

On receiving that award Cleminson explained how it actually left her ‘lost for words’.

The illustrations in this book are wonderfully crafted using pen and ink. Some pages are made up of a single scene, while others are made of a collective of smaller drawings. All are eloquently accompanied by the appropriate text

For an emerging reader the language is uncomplicated, and even for a child at the very beginning of learning to read, the style of the book encourages them to engage with it.

Along with Jacqueline Wilson, Katie will be judging the Vintage Classics competition to find a young artist to design the jackets for a new edition of the Secret Garden. The competition is for 7 to 12 year olds and is running in The Times newspaper.

Book review: Wake Up! by Katie Cleminson is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Bribing your children to read

Ian Newbold — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:53:24 +0000

Raising a reader is the wish and hope of millions of parents, but what is the best way to incentivise your children to read?

This is something I’ve thought about a lot, probably too much, as I have introduced books into my son’s life.

My general parenting philosophy has always been to be as honest as possible with him, and even when I know the answer may be upsetting, or even if my explanation may be a little difficult for him to grasp at his age, I have still stuck to the honesty behind my policy.

Like if he queries: “Do I have to?”

My reply often starts with ‘no’ but going on to explain the consequences if he doesn’t, or my case as to why I believe he should do something.

With reading, or with books, there was enjoyment there from the start, and that is something I never want to sap away, as to me, that’s the key to wanting to read.

Which is why I was a little perturbed when the pressure started from school, for my boy to start to read for himself, rather than letting me do it.

He found this frustrating, like I’m sure many children do, a mixture of not being able to do it straightaway, and not being given a choice of books, or any that where anywhere near as appealing as the ones in his own collection.

I must admit to being tempted to entice him into reading his school books with bribery, but thought better of it.

My fear being that spurring a child to read with other rewards, or treats, implies that reading is a necessary evil, rather than a joy itself.

Instead I listened and sympathised with him, agreeing with his angst about some of the dross he had been given to read, but tried to motivate him to read them by explaining how many literal doors reading competence can open, and how wonderful reading can be given the choice of material.

Either policy carries an amount of risk, and indeed, can mean very different things in the short, and longer terms.

Joyce Grant, who writes the excellent Getting Kids Reading blog wrote about using a rewards system to get reluctant readers to read.

KidsCash is an earning and redemption system, where children get ‘cash’ for doing jobs that their parents want them to do, which can then be redeemed for things they want, like toys or TV time.

I commented as to why I thought this was possibly dangerous, and I am glad that I did, as Joyce reminded me that parenting is not a one-cap-fits-all scenario, even citing an example where paying a child to read can work.

However I recalled the impending report of Michael Norris, an American publishing expert, who is recommending that reading should not be considered a chore, or good behaviour.

But as I hope I’ve demonstrated, parenting is not perhaps an exact science, and it is the outcomes that we are all interested in rather than the means at any one given time.

Have you ‘bribed’ a child to read? Or would you ever consider doing so?

Bribing your children to read is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book review: Secret Seed Society

Ian Newbold — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:04:19 +0000

I was excited to receive some books from the Secret Seed Society for review.

We have very much enjoy growing vegetables in our garden, and books that link in to gardening are always going to be off to a good start with us.

The books are designed to be used as an interactive aid to introducing children to vegetables, exposing them to the benefits of vegetables, and how they actually get to the edible form they usually find them in.

“Secret Seed Society takes the whole family on a journey from plant to plate.”

In fact, I am selling them short by calling them ‘books’. They are actually supplied as ‘packs’. Each of which comes with an illustrated storybook, seeds, growing instructions and props, a recipe for your eventual produce and an invitation to join the Seed Agent Club online.

There are several titles that all centre around a character based on a vegetable, such as Rudi Radish, Carla Carrot and Mingo Mung.

The creator of Seed City, Shena Cooper, actually explains it much better. She told me: “Every vegetable has a story, and the other vegetables pop up in the other stories. The main idea is to entice very young children into the garden and kitchen, growing and preparing tasty food as they come to love their vegetables.”

They are designed for supervised play with the three-to-seven age group. My five-year-old son found the stories very enjoyable, notably as he found lots of the names given to the characters, and places in the story amusing.

The illustrations are good fun too. Drawings are colourful and play a big part in telling the stories on their own.

Each book is a handy size, ideal for children, and also for popping in a handbag (not that I have one).

We grew some mung beans, which was fun. And as they mature over a very short period – three to five days – we could return to our sprouting jar regularly to check on their progress, and to give them a rinse.

You are even encouraged to send your sprouting pictures to the Secret Seed Society, so as you can share your successes with others. But we’re only sharing ours with you.

The books make for a very pleasant read, and it is a project that deserves some attention and success.

You can find your local stockist of Secret Seed Society on their website, alternatively you can order directly from them online.

They also have a Facebook group, and you can even follow Peter Parsnip on Twitter.

Book review: Secret Seed Society is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Who is dictating the bedtime reading?

Ian Newbold — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:19:45 +0000

Virtually every night we are at home, I stand with my son at his Tidy Books bookcase, and we set about choosing what books we are going to read.

Sometimes this is a very quick process, like on days when we have already discussed what to read at bedtime, or if we have played along a theme featured heavily in one of his books during the day. Like if we’ve played with dinosaurs, popular bedtime stories then become things like Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs or Dinosaurs Love Underpants.

At other times, the process can seem to take a disproportionate amount of time, as my son refuses to choose, and also refuses any of my suggestions.

We commonly read two books each bedtime, adding more for good behaviour and if time allows. I do reduce reading down to one if there is reason to limit his reading, like a late bedtime, or poor behaviour. Luckily instances like that are relatively rare, as to this point, I have chosen to run to a reasonable rigid schedule and the boy generally knows where my lines of good behaviour are.

I have also been mindful, increasingly so, to let my child choose what we are going to read. I really want him to enjoy reading, and I think a big part of that is being allowed complete freedom when it comes to choosing literature.

My focus on this was heightened recently, when I read a report, that pointed out that well meaning parents can actually have a negative effect on a child’s reading.

However, my boy, such is his giving nature, likes to allow me to ‘choose’ a book to read.

So, when we have two books, the principle is that he chooses one, and I choose the other.

Great idea, except my son reserves the right of veto. Which means my choice is actually limited to going through the list of his books, until I land on one he wants to be read to, or have a go at himself.

This irritates me a little, and at times I have said to him; “Why do you even ask me to choose?” to which I get a beautiful and all knowing grin.

We both really know he is in control of choosing what he reads, and long may it continue.

But, who chooses the books in your house? And do your kids do the same thing to you?

Who is dictating the bedtime reading? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading “Don’t dip your chips in your drink, Kate”

Ruth — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:18:58 +0000

If it’s the case in your home, as it in ours, that table manners have become a contentious subject, then you may be interested in stories about behaving at the table. Suddenly, it seems, the eating habits of the six year old (surely influenced by the school dinner hall?) need some improvement. I was intrigued then, by this book, about behaving at the table and wondered whether it could lighten the nightly discussions in our house.

‘Don’t dip your chips…’ is written by a new author, Caryl Hart who has gathered accolade enough already to be shortlisted for a Sheffield Children’s Book Award. in 2010. The illustrations, by Leigh Hodgkinson who collaborated with Lauren Child of ‘Charlie and Lola’ fame, have a familiar cute and quirky feel.

It’s a nicely subversive story. Kate is sent to her room for telling jokes about bogies at the table, and writes a letter to the Queen asking if she could come to tea at the palace to learn to be posh. When the invite comes, Kate swots up on her table manners: “No slurping, no slouching, no grabbing, no burping…” She’s surprised then when the Queen decides that manners are dull, and they eat pudding first, ping food and burp loudly. There’s a rather apologetic end note from the author to exhort her readers to be polite at the table, but relax the rules once in a while and have fun.

I tested this book on the six year old and his friend. They seemed bemused at first, then amused, and some of the funnier lines got guffaws: “Why don’t you start with that big treacle tart, come on now, stuff it all in” and “Throw jam roly poly all over the dining room floor” My only criticism is that the rhyming text doesn’t always flow easily, making it a little difficult to read aloud in places.

Since reading, we’ve recited some of the Queen’s ‘rules’ at the table, as a joke, and also as a gentle reminder. Strangely, the two year -old is obsessed with the book and has been asking for it two or three times a day.

Don’t expect this book to change your child’s table manners, but it’s a neat way to start a conversation about the things in life that are less riotous fun, like table manners. The book is aimed at older children, 5-7 year olds, but strangely, the two year -old is obsessed with the book and has been asking for it two or three times a day. In the same vein, and targeted at younger children, we found “I don’t want to wash my hands” by Tony Ross in the library this week. This is one of the witty Little Princess stories, and has nice scare tactics; “germs and nasties that look like crocodiles” that small children seem to relish.

So, I’d recommend ‘Don’t dip your chips’ as a funny picture book for 5-7 year olds, whether you need to improve your children’s manners or not. Interestingly, there wasn’t a rule about reading books at the table….

‘Don’t’ dip your chips in your drink Kate’, by Caryl Hart and Leigh Hodgkinson, Orchard Books, Oct 2009 (paperback May 2010)

‘I don’t want to wash my hands, by Tony Ross, Harper Collins 2003

We’re reading “Don’t dip your chips in your drink, Kate” is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Positive distraction from reading

Ian Newbold — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:05:17 +0000

In my last blog post, about how children like to imitate adults, and how therefore I have made a conscious effort to read by example, I wrote about why I think I was reading very little printed material in front of my child.

I have always enjoyed being consumed by a book, getting totally absorbed by what I am reading that I ignore everything around me, and appear zombie like to everyone else.

Sadly, I am nowhere near as cute as this wondrous child when I bump into people, totally engrossed in what I am reading.

Since becoming a parent, my novel reading has dropped off to a near snails pace, as I have struggled to cope with accepting that children are just not as susceptible to ignorance as adults are.

But I need to embrace interruption if I am going to re-engage with books, at any other time than that of when I am completely on my own.

And further to that, I have been interested to read how distraction can be a positive thing, especially with children, as they learn to read.

My son is very easily distracted, and his concentration span is thus very limited.

It is all part of a very active mind, and an unquenchable thirst for understanding and enjoyment.

Means we have to make reading more than that, reading often ends, or is interrupted by us picking out our favourite characters, ranking them in some way or guessing how a book may turn out.

But what of consistent, and deliberate distraction to quell and help concentrate an active mind?

When I read about dealing with a moving audience, on the Booklights blog, I was interested in the parts relevant to my child’s age, and also mindful to keep in thought the ideas for his future years.

There are some top tips there of how to deal with those that may wander, in mind, as well as physically.

But do you deliberately distract your children?

Does bouncing a ball, listening to music, or anything else help focus their attention better, and actually end up assisting with their reading?

Positive distraction from reading is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Being a model reader

Ian Newbold — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:27:39 +0000

As a parent looking to instil a strong love of books in my child, I am always open eared to the ideas and practices of others.

It is reassuring when you do read ideas, and pick up tips, when they are things you already do, seemingly without guidance, naturally so to speak.

Like, in my case, I have always encouraged my child to read what he likes, asked about things we are discovering together in books, and highlighted how an ability to read can be useful in other ways, not limiting reading to books.

But there are also times when I see advice, and think, what a simple idea, why have I not thought of doing that before?

Subtle changes, easy to adopt, and perhaps, even techniques adopted for other aspects of parenting, without realising they could be useful things to do to encourage your own little bookworm too.

I have always been a fan of leading by example, and certainly that actions speak louder than words. Which I suppose, on the face of it, means we need actions to encourage the consumption of the written words.

Children like to imitate adults, especially those closest to them, so of course it is a glaringly good idea to have children see that you enjoy reading for yourself, rather than simply concentrate on reading to them, or listening to them read to you.

As beneficial as that it, it must also be a good idea to be a model reader.

Great in principle, but I’ve found, while I read a lot, it is mainly limited to that on my computer screen, and that in my child’s books when he is around.

As I like to be consumed by a book, I tend to read them when my son is not awake, or is in the care of others. Fearing interruption of my reading will turn it into an annoyance.

But I have decided I am not following my own ideas, and why should I limit my leisure reading – of printed material – to books alone?

For that reason I have bought my first copy of Private Eye for a good many years, and I hope this will lead me down other literal roads. With the overall aim of having material I can pick up, and read snippets of, or get consumed by if the situation allows, all of which can be witnessed by my offspring.

I have also been on the look out for books with short chapters, so having to start one over again is only a minor irritant.

Fingers crossed these things will contribute to my son continuing a healthy relationship with books, and I look forward to the day we can sit and ignore each other, with heads in our respective books.

How about you? Are you an unwitting model reader?

Being a model reader is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Whose childhood is it anyway?

Ian Newbold — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:14:55 +0000

Have you ever started a conversation with your child with the words; ‘When I was a kid’?

I would love to know if it is limited as a British colloquialism, but it does very much seem to be a parent-kid-parent cycle here. Where, eventually we remember our own parents saying those words, to then only repeat the process with our own children.

Granted, it is a phrase I hear used a lot for parents to chastise children for poor behaviour, that just wouldn’t be acceptable in their childhood, and also to encourage children to appreciate the many material things, and opportunities now available to them.

I have yet to fall into this trap, at least I don’t recall citing my own childhood in such a way, mainly as I don’t see it as relevant, and my own childhood was not one of strict rules, routine and in anyway lacking in opportunity or love.

I wonder if I appreciated it at the time?

However, I am guilty of revisiting things I loved in my childhood, using my child as an excuse, or prompt.

When my wife was pregnant with our son, getting towards the end of her pregnancy, I became aware that I had not bought any thing for him, or her, to celebrate their safe arrival.

Not really a surprise, as I am not one for counting eggs before they hatch, nor am I keen to buy things for the sake of them being bought.

But never the less, I became aware that I had not really thought about buying my first child anything.

So, I decided to order a complete set of books, that I loved as a child. And here’s a video review of the Mr Men Library Bus that I bought.

These excellent books by Roger Hargreaves have always been fondly remembered, and such was my adoration of the series, that I had my bedroom decorated with Mr Men wallpaper.

I wanted to share these books with my child at the earliest possible moment.

And it was something I very much enjoyed doing, even when my son was just a slobbering baby, simply enjoying the pictures and my dulcet tones.

As he has grown the books have stayed relatively popular with him. They seem to carry favour for a few bedtimes, to then disappear again for a few weeks.

And I have been mindful to not force my son to read them, or anything else for that matter, reading should be his choice, and therefore fun for him, even if his nightly choice is sometimes not to my liking.

It seems many folks agree with this attitude, Susan wrote an excellent post on the Booklights blog, about how it is great to have childhood favourites, but appreciation that these may differ vastly by generation, and using those more familiar with today’s children’s literature for recommendations, are great ideas too.

Then there was the impending report I covered last week, about how it is expected to be reported that well meaning parents can actually harm a child’s love of reading.

Personally I believe it is all about balance, and I think I know my own child well enough to know when telling him what I liked as a child is a good idea, and when it is not.

But how about you? What books that you loved as a child have you read with your children? And how, more importantly, do you think this has affected their relationship with books?

Whose childhood is it anyway? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Reading for pleasure, not by pressure

Ian Newbold — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:57:18 +0000

As a parent, a parent of a child in his first year of school, my role for encouraging his reading has come under closer self-scrutiny.

I have always wondered how I can affect my son’s potential love of reading, writing previously about my own childhood reading exploits, hoping for a different outcome for my boy.

How much I can actually impact his possible love of books is not exactly quantifiable, but I like to think I have carefully considered my overall approach to reading in our lives to positive effect.

Since my child started school in September, and as mentioned in my opening line, my own appraisal of personal involvement in his reading has carried increased focus. Due to the fact that the introduction of school brings the evolvement of the ‘reading books’ process, and therefore a method of dealing with them as entities at home.

I have never been entirely keen on some aspects of school reading books, fearing that the monotony of this process, and the somewhat forced direction of reading, could have an overall negative effect, much as I believe it had with me in my latter schooling.

I was interested to read an article published in The Observer this weekend, that is reporting on an American publishing expert, who is expected to advise parents not to force their children into reading what, they as parents, would like them to.

Michael Norris is expected to include evidence in the monthly Book Publishing Report that well-meaning parents can actually have a negative impact on their children picking up a healthy reading habit.

Norris says that parents have too much of say in deciding what a child reads, and if children are always led to books, rather than choosing them themselves, it really will turn them off.

He also argues that books should not be talked about with “work words” and not be stereotyped as being good, when things like video games are deemed as bad. Suggesting that rewarding children for reading with other things actually undervalues reading, making it a necessary evil rather than a practice as pleasurable or enjoyable as the rewards some parents offer.

Which reassured me that my bedtime stories protocol, of making books a slightly under rewarded treat, may actually be the right way to go.

The Observer article makes for very interesting reading, and concludes with a concise list of the great tips for parents that Norris has come up with.

One of which is not to enthuse too much on what you, as a parent, enjoyed as a child, reading should be a personal experience, and we should rely on the professionals, such as librarians and books sellers, when it comes to a child choosing their next book, rather than force feeding treasures from our own childhoods.

Reading for pleasure, not by pressure is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading… ‘Gorilla’ by Anthony Browne

Ruth — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:55:18 +0000

This is a sad, dark story, about a lonely girl called Hannah, who longs for her dad to notice her. It’s not your average pre-school book, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. ‘Gorilla’ invites an emotional response, and has evocative and witty artwork, that can start the deeper conversations with your young ones. It ends optimistically too, in case you are worried that the story will dampen the mood.

Hannah loves gorillas. She draws them, watches programmes about them, but has never seen a real live one. She yearns for her father to take her to see a gorilla at the zoo, but her father, so absorbed in work or his newspaper, barely seems to talk to Hannah, let alone take her to the zoo. The sense of Hannah’s loneliness is in the drawings, where she seems overwhelmed and powerless in an adult world. But magically, on the night of her birthday, the toy her father gives her turns into a real gorilla, who gently takes her by the hand on a midnight trip to the zoo. Is it the stuff of dreams? This is never answered, but there are intriguing suggestions in the pictures that her dad and the gorilla might be one and the same. In the morning, Hannah’s dad asks her if she’d like to go to the zoo, and she “was very happy.”

My six year old was interested in the story, and recognised the sadness in it, but said that he liked the bit “where the gorilla comes to life.” The two year old enjoyed the story in a ‘Tiger who came to Tea’ sort of a way, but it is aimed at older children. My feeling is that it’s a perfect book for 4-6 year olds. It has the immediate interest of the gorilla, but the depth to endure re-readings, and to start chats about feeling sad, or the failings of grown-ups, or how we can make others happy.

This book is a classic, first published in 1983, but the story and illustrations have not dated. It won the Kate Greenaway Medal in that year for illustrations, which are reminiscent of Jill Murphy’s (On the Way Home, Peace at Last and the Worst Witch) but perhaps wittier. Author Anthony Browne has won many awards for his other childrens books and is the current Children’s Laureate.

We’re reading… ‘Gorilla’ by Anthony Browne is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Alice in Wonderland winner

Ian Newbold — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:15:13 +0000

During our successful showing at the Harrogate Nursery Fair last month, we invited people who visited our stand, to enter a book giveaway.

As well as demonstrating our beautiful children’s bookcases, and our other inventive products, we were also giving away a limited edition copy of Alice in Wonderland to one lucky visitor.

And that lucky visitor turned out to be Clare Mitchell, who is the commercial manager of MyChild.co.uk

MyChild is a fast growing parenting website, and currently has over 200,000 parents receiving its weekly ezine.

They aim to offer parents, of children aged three and above, a great resource, offering a huge library of parenting advice, including many free downloads, as well as running a constant stream of competitions, amongst other things, hoping to help enable parents it their quests to help their children to succeed.

Certainly worth a visit, if you’ve not been there before, and you can also follow MyChild on Twitter.

Don’t forget, for all our latest news, and news we find from the world of children’s literacy, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks to all those that visited us at Harrogate, and indeed, to all those that entered our giveaway.

Alice in Wonderland winner is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Are bedtime stories really in decline?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:49:52 +0000

A recent tabloid headline got our attention.

‘Half of all parents too busy to read a bedtime story to children’ Read the article headline, published earlier this month in the Daily Mail.

The story was based on research compiled on behalf of Silentnight, themselves hoping to promote their own ‘Book at Bedtime’ competition. 1,000 parents were quizzed about reading to their children at bedtime, and although 97 per cent agreed that reading to children before bedtime was of developmental benefit, only 53 per cent confirmed that they did, in fact, read to their children at this time.

Most parents that said they did not read to their children, said that they did not do so, based on being too embarrassed to read out aloud to them. The study also revealed that half of the children under 12 watch DVDs in bed

This, in isolation, is a worrying figure, but I am unsure that 1,000 parents being questioned is enough to gain a real idea of how many children are read to at bedtime across the county, and is possibly sensationalist to offer a headline saying that half of ALL children are not read to before lights out.

I certainly hope that the reality is much brighter to that recorded by this research, but have looked back to a blog post I wrote in October, based on the annual study compiled for Booktrust, which found DVDs increasingly popular amongst older children at bedtime.

For me, as a parent, bedtime reading has always felt right, but I can sympathise with parents that feel uneasy with reading out aloud, I’ve been self conscious in the presence of visitors, and on the odd occasion I have had to read in public, but really, what is the bigger issue?

Reading to a child is obviously of immense benefit, and the joy in watching a child revel in being read to, and then reading themselves, is something every parent should enjoy. It really should be, and is, a parent’s privilege.

Inspiration is all around us, not only in the faces, ears and mouths of our children, but if you need further encouragement, look no further than Jim Brozina, and his daughter Kristen from Millville, New Jersey.

Mr Brozina and his youngest daughter, enjoyed a nine year ‘streak’ of reading together each night.

Inspired by the failure to continue reading to his eldest daughter once she had learnt to read herself, the elementary school librarian decided to not make the same mistake again. Initially setting himself and his youngest daughter the target of reading for 100 nights on-the-trot, which then became 1,000, and so on.

A truly wonderful story, and hopefully one virtually replicated all over the World, between parent and child.

I am unsure where we are in our streak, but it is incredible rare of us to have a night without reading.

But how about you? Can you beat Mr Brozina?

Are bedtime stories really in decline? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book Review: George and Flora’s Secret Garden

Ian Newbold — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:27:13 +0000

When reviewing children’s books, particularly as I tend to review those aimed at first readers, and earlier, I can get a little clouded and perhaps, occasionally, lose sight of the fact that I am not the intended audience for these books.

The introduction of a child, to either read the book themselves, or indeed, for me to read to, is most definitely necessary in some cases. It is all well and good me liking, and praising a book, but if it is the opposite for the actual intended audience, then, well, it is of little worth.

Luckily, for readers of my reviews, yet rather annoyingly for folks in my life, I do not find it difficult to slip into the toddler mindset, the odd prompt being all I need to send me into my own little junior world of my own.

Picking up George and Flora’s Secret Garden for the first time however, I was obviously in grown up, and hyper critical mode, not a state that I like to be in for too long.

I found the book, while a pleasure to look at, to be a little cluttered, and if anything having too much information in it, trying to give a lot of detail, and dovetail stories together, that really did not work for me.

The premise of the book, written by Jo Elworthy, who is also in charge of the Eden Project in Cornwall, is effectively about children growing their own food.

George and Flora, the book’s main characters, are also awaiting the arrival of another sibling, and there is some linkage between waiting for a child to arrive, and for waiting for things to grow.

I really like the story in the book, as does my five-year-old son, but it took his involvement for me to realise this.

The layout of the book is such, that the story and main illustrations occupy the left page, and most of the right, with a column for information about growing things, and a footnote of where we are with the pregnancy.

This means, that if you try to read all this information concurrently, as I did in the outset, then it can be content rich, and confusing. But when reading the story in isolation, something I automatically did when I had my son on my lap – my mini-eureka moment with this book – it is most enjoyable, and then the columns become easy to refer to prompts, after the whole story has concluded, or in isolation themselves.

We have our own vegetable patch, but the book has actually reminded me, and prompted me, to get some pumpkin seeds, as that is something we didn’t grow last season.

Illustrations within the book, the handy work of Ley Honor Roberts, are a wonderful mix of drawings, and real photo images. Demonstrated well on the books cover, the image included within this blog post.

The book is published by Eden Project Books, which itself is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, and is available from Rbooks.

Book Review: George and Flora’s Secret Garden is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Should children’s books come with warnings?

Ian Newbold — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:59:36 +0000

When I am about to read a book, I am often torn by the amount of information I want to know before embarking on reading it. And what I mean by that, is how much of the actual plot do I want to know beforehand, or is it okay to go ahead with just being familiar with the general gist of the story?

Books come to me in various forms, recommendations from other people, ‘well if you liked that, you’ll like this’, from picking up the new title of an author I have previously enjoyed reading, and sometimes by reading reviews and descriptions on sites like Amazon, like with the last book I bought for myself.

Blogs are also great for finding book recommendations, and I have purchased a good few children’s books based on things I have read around the web. Including this morning no less, when I ordered Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, based on a post I read on Playing by the Book.

I also hope that the Tidy Books book reviews have been, and continue to be useful for others to base purchasing decisions on.

My purchase this morning was actually one of a very sensitive nature, the book in question is one that deals with grief, and in this particular case how a parent feels when they lose a child.

Not something I can immediately relate to, but I am buying the book fully aware of what to expect, and I intend to read it myself before considering if it would be material relevant to my child, and useful for him to develop his understanding of mortality and grief.

But what if there was no warning, and a character in your child’s book dies?

The youth novel market has been one of immense debate over recent years, and its popularity has spawned incredible successes for many a series of books come films, and if the excellent Bologna Children’s Book Fair summary of my new blog friend David Maybury is to be believed, then publishers are just awaiting the next big thing to appear from this genre.

For books aimed at these older children, when the choice is entirely theirs, and they are basing their decisions via similar means to us old fogies, do we just need a quick cross check to ensure what they are going to read is appropriate?

If you are the parent of a sensitive child, or perhaps one that has suffered certain traumas, for example the loss of a friend or relative, how much would you like to know about a book before it appears in their hands?

We have got very used to the classification guides of films, that come with an overall rating and then indicators to why such a rating has been given, like contains fantasy violence and mild swearing.

Would a similar system benefit books, or would it hinder the mystique of what makes book, and its story, so engaging?

I am in two minds on the subject, I can see how it could prevent regrettable instances such as children being exposed to material that perhaps it was better they weren’t, but I also feel a book could lose some of its allure and effect if we know too much about it beforehand.

But what are your experiences and thoughts?

Should children’s books come with warnings? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Harrogate Nursery Fair 2010

Ian Newbold — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:54:02 +0000

Starting this weekend, the Harrogate Nursery Fair 2010 is set to be the biggest yet.

There are huge ranges of products covered that are all suitable for the nursery age range, from newborns to four-year-olds, and the fair offers an opportunity for businesses to showcase their products to the trade market.

The three day exhibition opens on Sunday 28^th March, and closes on Tuesday 30^th March.

A host of major suppliers to this market will be there, including Silver Cross, Britax and Tomy.

The Tidy Books Children’s Bookcase will also be on show in all its glory, as well as all our other wonderful products.

You can find who else will be represented here, with exhibitors spilt by hall, by product category, as well as by name.

I shall be on hand, as well as Geraldine Grandidier, the company’s founder, and will be ready and willing to answer any questions people may have, and in the process will be hoping to not put folks off, what I believe, are wonderful products.

If you are planning on visiting the show, please do come and say hello, we are looking forward to meeting many new people and catching up with some others.

For visitors that do make it to our stand, as well as our products, we will also have a little book competition, where one lucky entrant will win a first edition copy of Alice In Wonderland, which, of course is also Disney’s latest blockbuster movie.

Hoping to see you there.

Harrogate Nursery Fair 2010 is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…”Hold on tight, Stripy Horse” and “Monster Day at Work”

Ruth — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:21:56 +0000

Stripy Horse returns for another adventure inside the bric a brac shop, when the magic picture on the wall starts to rain, creating a river that threatens to wash Stripy Horse and his friends away. Stripy Horse is joined by a flamingo umbrella, some pepperpot penguins and a parrot weathervane in this (slightly random) tale of friends helping each other to save the day.

The Stripy Horse stories are winners of the Sheffield Children’s Book Award, which asks Sheffield’s schoolchildren to vote for their favourite book, so this one has crowd- pleasing pedigree. The artwork is beautiful, with gorgeous colours and the pages in my paperback edition have a pleasing matt finish. I was puzzled by this book however; I didn’t find the characters or the story engaging, and felt that the relatively simple story was overburdened by too much text, much of it in complex language. In particular I was irritated by the parrot who spoke only in clichés, which go straight over a young child’s head. Overall, I felt its main aim was to be cute rather than interesting. When reading this with the two year old, I had to hurry through or edit the text before he pulled the next page over. My 6 year old said it was good because he liked fantasy stories. But, the book has not been pulled out to be re-read since the first couple of readings. See what your young readers think.

“Monster Day at Work”, published last month, was a book we found by chance in my local library. Its a look through a child’s eyes at a parent’s day at work. The young monster accompanies his dad to work; picking out his tie, eating biscuits in meetings, playing on the computer and going to the canteen for lunch, and then wonders why Daddy complains about going to work. It’s written with simple text and mischievous humour, prompting chat about what Daddy (or Mummy) might be up to when at work. Illustrated with quirky and appealing characters, it was a book that all of us enjoyed reading. Author Sarah Dyer has also written other award winning stories including Five Little Fiends, which won the Smarties Book Prize in 2001.

Hold on Tight Stripy Horse by Jim Helmore and Karen Wall, published by Egmont Press, March 2010

Monster Day at Work by Sarah Dyer, published by Frances Lincoln, February 2010

We’re reading…”Hold on tight, Stripy Horse” and “Monster Day at Work” is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We have our final winner

Ian Newbold — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:23:41 +0000

Thanks to everyone who entered our Tidy Box giveaway, we were overwhelmed with the response, and the positive comments we received about this product, and some of our others.

The winning entry this time was from a comment made on the blog, from Sarah Broadhurst.

Congratulations to Sarah, and a Tidy Box in natural wood lacquer finish will be shortly be on its way to her.

Our sincere thanks to everyone else that entered, and please keep you eyes peeled for future giveaways.

We would also really welcome your interaction here on the blog, you can have a read of our most recent book review, or offer your opinion on whether boys need more encouragement than girls when it comes to reading.

Tidy Books will be exhibiting at the Harrogate Nursery Fair at the end of the month, and if you are planning a visit, we would very much encourage you to come and say hello. And we might just be having a little giveaway at the exhibition.

We have our final winner is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book Review: Dog Loves Books

Ian Newbold — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:44:16 +0000

There is something quite magical about a hardback book, a mystique that only grows, in my humble opinion, when the book in question is a children’s book.

So when Random House sent us Dog Loves Books for review, in that form, they were off to a great start.

It may be because personally it takes me a fair bit of convincing to shell out the extra expense for a hardback variety, and therefore they have additional novelty and kudus factor in our home, or it might just be because they feel better in your hands.

But whatever it is, there is definitely something ‘more’ about them.

Louise Yates, the author and illustrator of this particular book is obviously a very talented lady. She began drawing pictures to go with stories she would write at school, and it was there where she told her classmates that she was going to be a children’s book illustrator.

She wasn’t wrong, and after studying English at Oxford University she can actually also add ‘author’ to her list of achievements.

Dog Loves Books is beautifully illustrated by Yates, primarily using water colours. Illustrations are laid out in a variety of formats, with text wrapped around them in different ways to give the story great range and to spoil the eyes passed its beautiful drawings.

The story itself is of a dog, so enthused by books, that he sets about setting up his own bookstore.

It is not all plain sailing, but the dog does continue to love his books and manage to fill his shop with all sorts of things, if not willing buyers.

This is romantic and idyllic reverse of the current trend of books being sold via relatively faceless mediums and without any personal interaction.

And I like it.

Even if I must say, my five year-old son has not been as enamoured. He has certainly not turned his nose up, but it is yet to be placed among his favourites on his Tidy Books bookcase, but that may be down to my reluctance to let go of it.

It is definitely aimed at children of my boy’s age group. And it is a book that can be read to non-readers, but also used by those children with a firm grasp of reading, but yet to move onto children’s novels.

As mentioned Dog Loves Books is available in a hardback form, but is also available in a more frugally minded paperback version.

Book Review: Dog Loves Books is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Do boys need more encouragement than girls?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:36:42 +0000

A major study of what children are reading, has yielded some surprising, or perhaps unsurprising results.

Some 100,000 children, aged between 5 and sixteen were part of a study commissioned by Renaissance Learning, headed by Professor Keith Topping, of the University of Dundee’s school of education.

The overriding positive seen from the study is that of the children studied, boys, in general, read just as much as girls, yet the perceived negative found was that they do not read books that are as challenging.

One of these findings is being largely reported as predictable, in that people expect boys, for whatever reasons, to choose books of a less demanding nature, and within their existing capabilities rather than stretching them.

However a piece in The Independent pointed out that the exact opposite was recorded in a similar report, completed only two years ago.

The more surprising, and encouraging finding, is that of boys reading just as much as girls. Not one that was wildly anticipated.

However, the gap between reading standards between both the sexes was recorded as being most pronounced between the ages of 13 to 16, just as children are reaching the business end of their high school education.

Availability of desirable reading material for both boys and girls was actually identified as a possible cause for this, with the Twilight series of novels by Stephanie Meyer being cited as an excellent standard of reading for girls in this age group, but with no such obvious series of books for boys of a similar age.

Responding to the findings of the report, Professor Topping called for a closer monitoring of what children are reading, and said; “If they [children] are reading books that are below their independent reading level it may give them enjoyment but it won’t extend their reading ability and literacy rates are at risk of continuing to decline.”

Similarly though, rates could be at a risk of decline if children, and boys in particular in this case, are pushed into reading more standard appropriate books, but that engage them no further than having to read them?

This is certainly an interesting study, and hopefully one that will engage schools, parents and children alike.

For me personally, it may mean a rethink to my limiting-reading-to-encourage-it policy.

But, what do you think?

Do boys need more encouragement than girls? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Is limiting reading a good idea?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:45:13 +0000

We are encouraged to read to our children, and have them read back, as much as is physically possible. The many benefits, to both child, and parent, are so obvious they probably do not need linking to.

But if you do want some science for that argument, you could do a lot worse than start in the National Literacy Trust’s resource section.

As a budding parent, or even as an aspiring one, it just felt important to attempt to encourage any offspring of mine to enjoy reading, right from the very beginning.

When my child was very small, baby to toddlering, we would have the traditional story books, touch and feel types, pop-up classics, sticker books, and some other, perhaps, less traditional reading material.

My little fellow demonstrates that much better in picture, here.

But instilling a love of reading has been very important to me as my son’s parent.

So why would I even think about limiting it?

Well, my argument – which I believe to be especially true when handling boys – is that they will desire something that they get just that little bit too little of, rather than that they get in spades.

It is perhaps a risky strategy, and not for everyone, but at the moment it certainly feels like it is a process that is working.

Bed time is the regular time for us to be reading here, as I am sure it is in other homes, not exclusively confined to this particular time of day, but almost without fail a book of some kind is read shortly before lights out.

However it is the negotiation beforehand that I am going to refer to.

It has been a long time ritual of ours to actually have dialogue about the number of books that are going to be read during bed time. Rewarding an earlier bed time, or excellent behaviour, with a higher number of books. And conversely, not rewarding the opposite.

This is a process I have a lot of fun doing, and aids my boy in all sorts of ways, our cheeky nature means that I always start at one, and he always starts at some ridiculous number, from which playful mediation then occurs.

Compromise is always gained, more often than not at two, but my son would sit and listen until his batteries totally run out.

Which, I believe, in part, is due to the fact that I always aim to read one book too few, rather than one book too many.

This process is definitely a fun one for us, which is what reading should be.

But I would love to hear the argument for limitless reading, and experiences of other parents, or from your own childhood memories.

So, would my approach have worked on you, or is this something that you think will back fire?

Is limiting reading a good idea? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Tidy Books World Book Day Giveaway

Ian Newbold — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:52:22 +0000

To celebrate the upcoming World Book Day, and the launch of our brand new looking blog, we are giving away three, yes, three of our fabulous Tidy Books Tidy Boxes.

The Tidy Box - Books at the heart of any home

- Comes with play clock, which can be removed as your children grow
- Looks great anywhere in your home
- Holds up to 40 books or magazines of all sizes
- Available in three different finishes
- Handmade from wood from sustainable sources

But first, what do you think of our shiny new blog, do you like it?

We are still working on it, so there will be subtle changes in the near future, but we hope it serves as an easy to navigate, and useful resource, for people with a vested interest in children’s literacy. And it would be fantastic to hear, or read your opinions of our new blog.

Now, back to the contest.

The Tidy Box is the newest idea from the makers of the award winning Tidy Books kids bookcase. Like all good ideas, it is simple and ingenious. It will give you an easy place to tidy books and magazines into, and keeps your children’s books always in reach. Keeping books at the heart of any home.

Geraldine explains where the idea came from; “I was inspired to make the Tidy Books Box, having seen children’s books kept in boxes in friends’ living rooms. The books were in one place, but kids had difficulty in seeing them easily or getting them out of the box, and so they ended up in a mess.”

We are giving the opportunity to three lucky winners, that will be chosen at random, to choose a Tidy Books Box for themselves, and as we are celebrating World Book Day, this competition is open to all territories, meaning anyone on the planet can enter.

To enter all you have to do is tell us which colour of Tidy Box you would like in the comments. Ensuring you enter a valid email address as we will use that contact you in the event of you winning one of these wonderful products.

To further your chances of winning, you can also become a fan of the Tidy Books Facebook page. Telling us that you have done so (and your colour choice) here in the comments, or over in the discussions of our fan page if you prefer.

We are also offering a final way of entering, by following us on Twitter. Simply start following us on Twitter, and then tweet about this competition, including a link to this blogpost. Be sure to also include @tidybooks in your tweet so that we pick it up and add your entry.

The first winner will be drawn on World Book Day, the 4^th of March, and the following two will be drawn throughout March.

Good luck, and please wish us some back with the blog!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR ENTRIES, OUR THREE LUCKY WINNERS HAVE NOW BEEN DRAWN, AND THUS ENTRIES FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE CLOSED.

Tidy Books World Book Day Giveaway is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…”The Terrible Plop” by Ursula Dubosarsky

Ruth — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:10:17 +0000

What is the ‘Terrible Plop’? It was, to be frank, the title that caught my eye, but, really, the story is not about what the plop actually is, but how it can look pretty silly to run away from something you don’t understand.

Down by the lake, the rabbits are munching on ‘carrots and chocolate cake’, when they hear a ‘plop’.’ Not knowing what it is, they ’run, run, run’, infecting the other animals with blind panic who all career out of the forest. Finally, the bear, sunning himself in a deckchair with cocktail, refuses to run, questions the ‘silly old plop’ and demands to be taken to see it. The smallest rabbit, threatened with ‘I’ll eat you up!’ takes the bear back to the lake. The rabbit, this time sees the ‘plop’; an apple dropping into the water. But, the bear only hears the plop, and instantly loses his cool, taking off in fright. In his new found wisdom, the rabbit gets to finish off the chocolate cake.

And the verdict from the kids? My six year old read it instead of getting dressed, and pronounced it “funny”. What bit was funny? “When the bear ran away.” He totally got the point of the story. The two year old enjoyed it too, particularly when the bear is threatening to eat the rabbit. I wasn’t sure he understood what a ‘plop’ was, so it gave us an opportunity to play dropping things into the water at bath time.

I found this story really easy to read, the rhythm and timing is just perfect. Some books with rhyming text take a few reads to get the cadence right, but with this book, I could make the story bounce along the first time I read it. The illustrations are great, somewhat reminiscent of Dr Seuss, but with much nicer colours. The bear put me in mind of Jungle Book’s Baloo, both in his appearance and (initial) laid-backness. You can even learn how to draw the bear from a video on the author’s website. I also liked that readers can see from the start what makes the plop so they can appreciate the humour. I don’t ‘think the book is intended to have a moral message, but is just playing on the humorous situation

‘The Terrible Plop’ was published in Australia first last year, and has been well received by Australian bloggers, some of whom have made comparisons to Chicken Licken. I found the book a little tricky to get hold of. My local Waterstones, though helpful about tracking it down, had no plans to stock it, and so turned to Amazon.

‘The Terrible Plop’ by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, published by Egmont UK January 2010

We’re reading…”The Terrible Plop” by Ursula Dubosarsky is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Will your children end up loving or loathing reading?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:46:55 +0000

I keep banging on about how much I want my child to enjoy reading, but ultimately I am not really sure how much of an impact I can have on another person’s likes and loves, but that does not stop me from having a ‘strategy of encouragement’.

Thinking back I have very strong, and very vivid, memories of enjoying books as a child. Memories include taking books on holiday with me, and reading them at night, even after all the excitement of the day, days that would usually have included a multitude of activities, making new friends and, at times, perhaps, the odd bit of mischief.

But even after all those highs, I would enjoy coming back to my night time reading, and look forward to the visions that my mind would create based on what I was reading.

It was also at this time that I first discovered that reading can be so much more fun than television, or film. I had a book based on the children’s cartoon series M.A.S.K. The images I came up with while reading it, in my own grey matter, were always better than the actual episodes I numbed myself with on television.

However, somewhere along the way, I lost my love of reading, and looking back I think I can start to perhaps pinpoint where, and why.

I now believe it was during high school, which, twenty years ago (wow) was when school felt like it was getting serious.

A proper timetable, homework, a diary to record homework, targets, tests and reports.

All these things turned me off education, and while I did not struggle at school, I did not thrive within its environment, and my love of reading was lost to the labour of reading what I was told to, and to; READ IT BETTER.

It was not until I left school, again on holiday – one very different to the ones we used to enjoy as a family – that a friend handed me a book they had just finished; Popcorn by Ben Elton. And after reading it, in what seemed like hours, my love for books was reignited.

My hand luggage on any holiday after that would always be dominated by books, at an almost one-per-day-of-vacation ratio. And I would always have a book on-the-go at home, without finding the time to read them at such at perhaps such a ferocious pace.

Now with my son starting school this September, I can, sadly, see him going through a similar process, it is already happening in his first formal year of schooling.

My son loves books, or being read to certainly, he gets very excited when I increase the number I am going to read to him based on his positive behaviour, and that fills me with joy.

What fills me with dread is when he says things like; ‘I MUST read this tonight, as I HAVE to get to the end of this level, to get onto the next’.

Laboured, rushed reading, ignoring his learning ability, and certainly his joy of learning and words.

What is more depressing is that this is seemingly a global issue, with parents feeling the world over, that children are under increasing pressure from a ridiculously young age, to achieve certain targets, with little regard to the impact this is having on the individual.

The Book Chook gave, what I believe, to be an excellent response to a letter she received from a worried parent. A parent concerned that their child is not at the right level of reading.

I appreciate there has to be a balance, but, in my opinion, a love of reading conquers being on red, green level or having a ‘reading age’ surpassing the years since your birth.

But, what do you think, and have you experienced similar?

Will your children end up loving or loathing reading? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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National Storytelling Week

Ian Newbold — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:37:26 +0000

The Society for Storytelling is currently in the midst of running its annual ‘National Story Telling Week’.

This initiative is in its tenth year, and was set up to promote the ancient art of storytelling, an art that the society believes to be ‘at the root of every artform: we think in story form, make sense of our world in narrative - from something we’ve seen – from last night’s television, to what family and folk stories we remember and retell.’

A statement I would have immense difficulty arguing with. So I am not going to try.

I love story telling, I suppose as a parent it is something that a lot of us do naturally, but generally to a very small audience – in both a figurative and literal sense.

Children, certainly in my experience, seem to thrive on being read to, well, at the very least, it does often shut them up.

It was quite something to discover, from such an early age, how children will sit and be transfixed at storytelling time, much before logic or reason seems to be applicable. Even babies with picture, and touch-and-feel books, getting the hump when you actually stop reading the narrative to them.

Storytelling is so rewarding for both teller and listener, on a certain level, I am not enjoying my son learning to read, as it eats into my ‘stage time’ with him, not that I am about to embark on a career as a dramatic storyteller.

I anticipate it will be a long time before I actually cease reading to my five-year-old, if ever, and in fact, I can look forward to him expanding his reading to me. It is seemingly something much rarely for adults to actually enjoy listening to the art of storytelling.

However the Society for Storytelling has a library of storytellers, people who can provide you with engaging, dramatic readings.

They also list on-line resources, where you can go to listen to stories being told, and only this morning we were directed to the magic library of Mrs P, a wonderful resource of classic stories being retold in a very cosy environment.

One of our new favourite bloggers, The Book Chook has also written an excellent blog post about National Storytelling week, all the way from Australia. You will find masses of links and information there.

Details of this year’s National Storytelling Week are available here, and we hope that you find something interesting going on by you.

We would love to hear of anything you get up to.

National Storytelling Week is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book Review: Tortoise Vs Hare: THE REMATCH

Ian Newbold — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:12:54 +0000

Going near a classic tale, or fable, taking it from your children’s bookcase, and doing anything other than reading it, is always going to be a tricky business.

Children’s stories, classics, those laced with subtle, and the not-so-subtle morals, those ingrained in the memories of millions of children, and their parents, most – I would have thought – full of positivity, and some, of course, held with cynicism. Like Ricky Gervais’ take on the industrious mouse (which does contain some swearing). But basically, very risky messing with any of them.

But Preston Rutt, author of; Tortoise Vs Hare : The Rematch, is a much braver man than me.

Bold enough to take the timeless tale of the much underrated, and plodding Tortoise, overcoming the fast, yet overly confident and complacent, Hare. Pitching them versus each other again, in another race, to put the matter of ‘who is the fastest’ to bed forever.

When I received this book, I really was not sure where, and which way, the story was going to go. There was also a shim of reluctance to read it, as its beginnings are in a very old, and forever told story.

However, I was intrigued if it would go down a similar path, reinforcing the original themes of the first tale? Or if it would go a completely different way, and bring new ideas, and different things for children to think about in the process?

I am not about to spoil it for you, but I would say I enjoyed what it did bring to the table, or more specifically, my son’s bunk bed.

In a complete break from the traditional tale, the story is told from the perspective of a sports commentator. Jonny Fox is like a Des Lynam and Brendan Foster all rolled into one, and he basically takes the reader through all the action, with a brief interlude from his trackside reporter.

This puts a twist on the story, making the book much more interesting, than if it was simply told along the regular ‘straightforward-description-of-what-is-happening-in-the-illustrations’ way.

It did take my son a little longer than usual to understand how this story is being told, but learning new styles and spins, is a wondrous thing to watch a youngster do.

The text is clear and well laid out. Even reading it aloud for the first time was easy, which is not always the case, as the words that need different emphasis are very clear, and BOLDER, making it easy for a numpty like me to give them their correct enunciation.

Reading it is also easy as Rutt’s words are eloquent, while still simple, and he uses repetition, within a changing style and pace, very fluidly.

The illustrations match the story very well, and I would suggest even for a younger child most of the story would be understood, and certainly enjoyed, from them alone.

It is a great night-time read, especially as the book ceases with the race narrator going to sleep himself, thus encouraging the reader to get some shut-eye too.

A conclusion I enjoy in a book, as that is when we do the vast majority of our reading.

Tortoise Vs Hare: The Rematch, is published by Meadowside Children’s Books, and is available from Amazon.

Although, I hear, you are much more likely to find the book’s author, Preston Rutt, searching for it in the Kew Bookshop.

Book Review: Tortoise Vs Hare: THE REMATCH is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…”We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins

Ruth — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:01:02 +0000

This story is a children’s classic, from the author of the very classic “Rosie’s Walk” written in 1968; so classic that you may remember it from your own childhood. “We’re Going on a Picnic!” published more recently has all the characteristics of a classic, with idiosyncratic, beautiful illustrations, a deceptively simple story and lots of humour.

It’s a lovely day, so Hen, Goose and Duck pack their favourite fruit in the picnic basket, and set off to find the perfect picnic spot. But, they’re being watched by a hungry rabbit, squirrel and mouse. Each time they put the basket down to decide whether the picnic spot is just right, one of the watchers jumps in and helps themselves. Not noticing the extra passenger, Hen, Duck and Goose keep walking until they find themselves back at home, and the basket, mysteriously empty. They decide the picnic must have fallen out, pick some more fruit, and as they lay out their picnic blanket, they fail to notice that the pilferers are busy in the basket again! I’m not sure which I found funnier; the bumptious innocence of the birds, or the unabashed cheek of the thieves.

My two year old brings this book out regularly. He enjoys talking about who is watching, and doing the sing-song bits of “we’re going on a picnic!” The humour however, goes a little over his head. He doesn’t (yet) see how it might be funny to pinch something behind someone’s back. I’ve also caught my five year old listening with a smile, when he’s not pretending he’s too old for picture books. “We’re Going on a Picnic!” is perfect for 3 and 4 year olds to introduce ideas about noticing and observing, with plenty of repetition to boost understanding, and of course, to get them giggling.

” We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins, published by Red Fox 2002

We’re reading…”We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Who needs children’s book authors when we have children themselves?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:31:13 +0000

The answer to that, is we all do, bless their very existence, but I hope by reading on, you will get my point.

Like many other parents, it seems I am constantly pulling at the few hairs of creativity I have left, in a constant search to find new things to do at home, ones that I can engage my child with, activities that hopefully have other benefits than merely plugging up time.

The winter is much more difficult than the summer, partly as outdoor activities are more limited, and because, well it certainly feels like, children have more days stuck at home with colds. Or in very recent times, days at home, with the country at a snowy standstill.

But like an irritating business person a wise man once said to me, and many others for that matter, every problem is an opportunity.

In cases with children, more time with them is very much a bigger picture blessing, as it is with aiding them in certain disciplines, practices that will bode well for their future.

Reading is one of the obvious things to do, when we have limited, or are limited by our resources. That is one of its beauties, reading can be done anywhere and by many means, a good reason it is a top choice, or should be, when options are actually unlimited.

I wrote previously about engaging children in literature without words, a concept not always well understood, nor emphasised eloquently enough – certain not by me – but I believe, it makes sense that story making starts with understanding the concept of what ‘a story’ actually is.

Which, is of course, anything you want it to be.

This brings me to a blog post I recently read over at The Book Chook. A post including some wonderful links to some great sites, that help children, assisted by their parents, put together story books themselves.

Like The Book Chook says, it is a great way of exploring, and exposing children, to the link between reading and writing.

The link I picked up on, took me to bookr, which is an on-line tool by pimpampum. I was led there, as my child is only just of school age, but those with older children, may want to try Glogster, which seems like a great resource, but where child supervision is still recommended.

Failing that, there is nothing wrong with pencil and paper, that is, unless the former needs sharpening.

This is what I came up with on bookr, it took me a little while to get my photos onto Flickr, the site it uses for uploading photos. But armed with the experience of creating one book, I am sure any further ‘published’ works would not take as long.

You do not actually have to use your own photos, you can use tag words to search Flickr for photos relevant to the book you are creating.

Anyway, here is what I created. You can flick through the pages by clicking on the very top left corner, or very bottom right corner of the images. And failing that, you can go straight to an easy to control version by clicking on the link below the book.

A Little Bored by Ian Newbold

Who needs children’s book authors when we have children themselves? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book Review: A Child’s Book of Faeries

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:38:54 +0000

Over to Pat (of Tidy Books) and her six year-old daughter, for a review of;

‘A Child’s Book of Faeries’.

This is a collection of Faery stories in the broadest sense. There are poems and fictional stories, but also other information such as the types of faeries a child can expect to find, from ‘brownies to boggarts’.

It is a great mix of information as it combines faery story telling with information to back up the fact that faeries really do exist! The stories feature bad as well as good faeries and the stories are not ‘sugar coated’ ones just aimed at little girls.

The book is beautifully illustrated and the pictures themselves capture the imagination.

Of the stories included my daughter’s (6) favourite was ‘Only me’ which recounted the story of a wilful little girl and a naughty faery.

The only challenge with the book would be the age range it appeals to. Younger children may just like looking at the pictures and having the stories read to them. Other than the poems, the stories take up several full pages of text with pictures round the edges of the page, so realistically a child would not be able to read all the content themselves until the age of 8 (and only then for very proficient readers at this age).

Therefore, think it can best be enjoyed as a magical bed time story for parents/grandparents to read to a child, boy or girl, from 5 upwards.

A Children's Book of Faeries

‘A Child’s Book of Faeries’ Collected and retold by Tanya Robyn Batt

Illustrated by Gail Newey and published by Barefoot Books.

Found available for purchase at Play.com and The Book Depository

Book Review: A Child’s Book of Faeries is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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What funny things have you said to your children?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:10:54 +0000

Speaking in public, while something I have always been quite competent at, has been something I have loathed doing, even back since my school days.

People who know me would argue that I do like to take centre stage, but it is only really true if there is no script, and I am in the company of people in which I have embarrassed myself previously.

Like many others, I can get nervous, especially if there are words to be read aloud from notes, or definite thing I must say or cover, before I get booed off. I can get very bumbly, and read words incorrectly and in the wrong order.

And this is even after practice, rather than reading things aloud for the first time, in front of others.

When my son was a pre-schooler, one of the playgroups we attended would call upon the carers to take turns in reading a story to all the children, as they sat nicely during their snack time. The idea to somewhat keep them calm, before they went off racing around the place again, once all the food and drink was tidied away.

This led, to the occasions I could not avoid it, to me reading some books I had never seen previously, aloud, to group of baying little ones, and their parents. Perhaps not the most difficult audience ever, but terrifying all the same.

Reading to my own son has always been enjoyable, and I have got to the point of not really caring who is listening to us, and our mistakes.

I do find myself really concentrating if the book is more challenging than usual, or one we have not read in the past.

Making errors can also be funny – certainly is to a five year-old boy – and after making one, I then tend to make them deliberately, to see if I can get him to laugh, or notice my deviations.

It is also really funny to hand a book to someone who is not used to reading aloud, perhaps those friends and relatives without children, or ones now old enough to find they better enjoy reading themselves.

When I am in a particularly playful mood, I will hand a book to one of our ‘guest readers’ on the basis of it being difficult to pronounce some of the words, rhymes or passages.

Books about dinosaurs are very good for this devilish pursuit, and the holidays confirmed it. My son and I had ample opportunity, and willing victims, to test it out on.

I am not going to write how one of our friends pronounced diplodocus, but you can imagine it was pretty funny, and I suppose, a little naughty at the same time.

They then took the lead to pronounce all the dinosaurs in my son’s book incorrectly. Which he partly found hilarious, and was also good for him to be able to correct.

So, have you suffered, or I should say, enjoyed similar with your broods?

What is the funniest thing you have mispronounced to your children?

What funny things have you said to your children? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…’Tip tip, dig dig’ by Emma Garcia

Ruth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:34:42 +0000

The choice for this month’s review was made for me by my two year-old, who is gripped by an obsession with this book. We picked it up in the library last week, and have read it at least twice a day since.

Aimed very much at toddlers, ‘Tip tip, dig, dig’ begins with the question: “Look at all this mess! What can we do with it?” Along come the diggers, the cement mixers, tipper trucks, cranes and more, to build an adventure playground. The illustrations are simple and engaging, with brightly coloured collages which are very reminiscent of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, but they work well. My two year old enjoyed joining in with the “tip tip” or “mix mix” bits, and if you both really get into it, you can do the actions and vehicle noises too.

I liked the book’s idea that the machines work together to create a playground out of the mess. The illustrations and text are clear, and its structure gives readers the opportunity to repeat the sounds and actions, which small children love. The author, Emma Garcia has written similar books since, one of which was shortlisted for an Early Years Award.

As mum to a young vehicle enthusiast, we’ve read many transport themed books, and if like me, you’ve failed to recreate the noises of say, a crane or a helicopter well enough for your toddler to be credulous of, you may also like to try the ‘Big Noisy Book of Vehicles’. This is a transport compendium that takes you from scooters to space stations by way of paddle steamers and racing cars. It has simple text and lots of pretty illustrations created from collages. The book comes with a DVD, with lovely animation, and the vehicle noises of course!

Tip tip, dig dig by Emma Garcia is published by Boxer Books, 2007

Big Noisy Book of Vehicles by Britta Teckentrup and Ronne Randall is published by Boxer Books, 2008

We’re reading…’Tip tip, dig dig’ by Emma Garcia is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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An annual ritual?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:22:43 +0000

When I was a child, the Christmas season would induce several rituals, as I am sure it does, or did, for the rest of the country’s children.

There were obviously such things as the school play, or carol service that happened every year, which I would be cajoled into taking some role within.

A trip to visit Santa was also pretty much mandatory amongst the busy weeks of December.

I can distinctly remember going along to our local Co-op, who every year, would install a machine that conned you into thinking you had taken a sleigh ride to see Father Christmas, when, of course, in reality you had just stepped out of the other door of the pneumatically operated sleigh-ride-simulator.

That is a rather cynical view in hindsight, and my memories are actually very happy ones, I used to enjoy the magic of the illusion, and it was so well run, you even got to ‘ride’ the sleigh back to the store, complete with whatever Santa, or the decision makers of Co-op, had deemed you worthy.

One of the reasons for making those yearly trips was to let Santa know what you would like for Christmas, what your favourite toy or wish was at the moment. We also used to write a list that my parents would send up the chimney of our open fireplace, all very festive and warm.

Amongst all the things I would list, I knew there was something I was going to receive regardless of its inclusion or omission, and that was the Beano and Dandy Annuals.

My mother received them herself as a child, and it was a tradition she wanted to continue, and one I very much enjoyed too.

And rather than it completely stopping as a young adult, the Beano and Dandy were replaced with the Viz derivate, much more appropriate to my then post-teenage addled mind.

A quick search on Amazon has revealed that the Beano – my favourite of the two – is still amongst the top ten children’s annuals. However, it is the only one that originates from comics within the best selling ten.

The others are from popular TV series, films, and books made even more popular by TV. Doctor Who, Top Gear, Ben 10 and Horrid Henry are all presently in there, as is Hannah Montana.

I eagerly await to see if I get one of these annuals this Christmas, and I feel it is something I should appraise for my own child, perhaps extending our family Beano tradition another generation.

But what about you, what annuals will be on your children’s bookcases?

An annual ritual? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Do you need words to learn to read?

Ian Newbold — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:13:31 +0000

When I became a parent I instantly became excited about the prospect of reading to my child.

The harsh, yet joyous arrival of a newborn, quickly established to me that I would not be reading to my child in a rush, reading would just have served as an unwelcome interruption to their sleeping, eating and crying cycle.

However, their development, and yours as a parent, is swift, and it was not long before I was reading soft picture books. I also distinctly remember reading a Mr Men book to him when he was only a few months old, but this was more for me, and practise for the future.

A future that quickly evolved to fold-out books, touch-and-feel books and then to regularly reading all kinds of literature to my child, including tractor magazines.

I have always thought reading to a child, reading anything, was a positive thing, not really thinking a great deal about why, but while both parties enjoy it so much, why it was great was not really of huge concern.

It did not really cross my mind that I was teaching my child anything specifically, or actually impacting on him learning to read. Enjoyment and a love of books are what I was after.

Then school starts, and reading becomes more formalised, as it should. His reading books are intended exactly as titled, for him, rather than anyone else, to read.

I was a little surprised to find the first stage of learning to read, or the first series of books in this instance, were books without words.

My first feelings were of a little bafflement. How are you supposed to learn to read without having anything to read?

But the question I should have been asking, and was eventually led to, was; How can you be expected to learn to read stories when you do not know what a story is, or how they are constructed?

Not all the parents agreed with this method, and some were immediately pushing for books that more closely resembled the type of literature their children were used to at home.

I was happy for my son to re-establish the structure of books, and I am also a firm believer that if you are given less to work with, then your creativity is encouraged.

One of these wordless books was titled ‘Stripes’, a sequence of pictures with stripes in various forms. Such as in patterns, flags and on animals – like Zebras.

A ridiculously simple book, which was actually a ridiculous amount of fun to read. It led us all over the place; looking for stripes, making comparisons and encouraging my son to learn such things as horizontal and vertical.

Again, it was panned by other parents as boring and having very little to it. And you cannot really argue with that on a piece of literature level, but books like these certainly have their place, or they certainly do for me.

I would be delighted to hear of similar experiences, or the opinions of others.

Are books without words a waste of time or can they give children a sound base to learn from?

Commenting here is welcome, or alternatively you can get in touch with me via blog (at) tidy- books (dot) com

Do you need words to learn to read? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Book review: Jim by Hilaire Belloc and illustrated by Mini Grey

Ian Newbold — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:50:37 +0000

Be careful of the lions.

That was the warning that I heeded, but sadly Jim did not.

Mine came from a representative of Random House, and I was of course delighted to receive a review copy of; Cautionary Tale of Jim, to further learn why such caution should be adopted.

This is an illustrated update of a classic, written, and originally published in 1907, by Hilaire Belloc.

I have to admit to have never read the original, and for that matter, ever knowing of it, but the description of this book had me interested.

The book promises gatefolds, flaps, a fold-out map and a terrifying pop-up lion, I was sold. Plus free is my favourite price.

Bringing the book to life is illustrator, Mini Grey, and she does an absolutely marvellous job, doing exactly what it says on the tin, or marketing promotion, in this case.

Mini, named after being born in a car of the same moniker, demonstrates tremendous talent, and I am sure why she was amongst the top ten illustrators in the UK, as part of the 2008 Big Picture campaign.

For children’s books, this is aimed at older kids than I am currently used to – it is targeting the 7-9 age group – yet it has a wonderful feel to it.

The quality is fantastic, and I did find myself treating it quite gingerly, almost like the book was more precious than the others in our growing library.

Physically I suppose that is true, as with all the aforementioned upgrades – flaps, pop-ups etc – if given to little ones I would imagine that its effectiveness may be diminished quite quickly.

It probably warrants its own shelf on our children’s bookcase.

The story itself is a little grim, and real too, but I like that, and the serious message it actually contains, is still amusingly told.

It is actually more a poem that tells a story, and if an adult was just reading the text, it would not take a great deal of time to read. But the illustrations are so vibrant, interesting and full of detail, that I suspect the book would never be read that way in any case.

My four year-old son was a little frightened by the book, but still interested enough to want to have it read to him several times, and he spent quite a bit of time pouring over some of the drawings and features.

It would probably make more sense to a slightly more mature child too, as it uses the term ‘Nurse’ as meaning child carer, rather than as how my boy currently understands what that job title means.

But again, and conversely, it is a prompt to expand understanding in the younger ones.

If you would like to buy a copy of the book, it is available on-line from the commercial arm of Random House, Rbooks.

And if you enjoyed this review, and would like to see what else we have been reading, you should hopefully find all our reviews here, that is if we have tagged them correctly.

Book review: Jim by Hilaire Belloc and illustrated by Mini Grey is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Can you make reading a game?

Ian Newbold — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:54:40 +0000

I often read about how we should be encouraged, and encouraging of others, to find a love of reading.

The means and methods appear unimportant. If you can engage people with, and get them to enjoy reading menus, road signs, posters, cereal boxes, newsletters, obituaries, catalogues or operation manuals on its own is great, but will most likely lead to a reader expanding their enjoyment to books at some point.

As a parent it is certainly a philosophy I have thought about, one I was acutely aware of even at the conception stage of my child: How can I help my child enjoy reading?

The colours in picture books, and the practice of actually sitting and reading to a child from a very early stage, have been documented to have a huge impact, and I know from personal experience that they certainly help.

There comes a stage at which children look for more, they have many more distractions around them, yet at about the same time, become able to actually learn to read books for themselves.

It is perhaps at this stage where the nightly ritual of reading before bedtime can seem more like an extension of school for the child, possible becoming a chore rather than something they look forward to.

That is when making reading a game can help.

And by game, I mean that in at least two senses.

Some books have been turned into board games, the one I specifically think about is Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar.

A classic children’s book, for your classic children’s bookcase, very simple, but still incredible powerful.

The game can currently be picked up for under £10 in the UK, and is a very welcome tool to further engage children in reading, who also enjoy playing games.

I have seen it work, playing the game with friends and family, my son has gone and fetched his book, to help explain the rules, and also to get someone new to read his book to him.

(As an interesting aside, I have also just discovered Eric Carle’s blog, perhaps a tool to encourage the older ones!)

The other way in which reading can be turned into games, is simply to devise ones that involve reading in some way.

Another blog that I enjoy reading, and I know Geraldine does too, recently posted about this.

The B.A. Bookworm blog is written by Mindy, a parent of four, who started blogging to help others nurture their child’s ‘inner bookworm’.

There are some great ideas there, and the post to which I refer was about setting riddles and hiding them around your home.

I am sure similar games, and many, many others, have been devised by parents all over the globe, and it would be great if we could get a few of you to share yours with us.

Can you make reading a game? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We’re reading…’Tabby McTat’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Ruth — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:51:38 +0000

Tabby McTat is Fred the busker’s cat “with a miaow that is loud and strong.” Picture man, cat and guitar yowling in harmony! The latest story, from ‘The Gruffalo’ creators, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a ‘lost and found’ tale of chance meetings, loss and new discoveries. It has a more realistic story and characters with no monsters, dragons (Room on the Broom) or giants, (Smartest Giant in Town).

Tabby McTat ( a great name for a cat) loves singing with Fred and his guitar, but one day he meets Socks, a beautiful black cat who becomes his wife. In an unfortunate series of events, McTat and Fred lose each other with no obvious way of finding each other again. McTat is taken in by Socks’ owners and discovers that he enjoys home comforts and his new kittens, including one called Samuel Sprat. Samuel Sprat inherits his dad’s singing talent, and eventually becomes Fred’s busking partner.

This story has a darker mood, with a longer, more complicated structure than previous Julia Donaldson books, and is definitely aimed at children of school (or nearly school) age; 4-6 year olds. Axel Scheffler’s drawings are also darker and rougher round the edges, and drawn with more realism; characters have grey hair and wrinkles. But the drawings are beautiful, lively and full of witty details for kids to pick out.

We found the rhyming text not always easy to read aloud, as it doesn’t have a predictable rhythm. Our two-year old enjoyed the pictures and just being read to, but the story is beyond him. My five-year old said “it’s good, it’s fine” and giggled at the mischief that McTat gets up to when he becomes a home cat. There’s also a good opportunity to entertain your kids with some caterwauling and sing McTat and Fred’s song: “meee-ew and the old guitar, how purrrr-fectly happy we are!”

If your kids are veterans of ‘The Gruffalo’ and other Julia Donaldson books, then this story is a natural progression. It’s not as instantly enjoyable as previous stories, but we reckon it’ll grow on you, and will be picked off the shelf regularly.

Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is published by Alison Green Books (Scholastic Children’s Books), August 2009.

We’re reading…’Tabby McTat’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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So who is writing this stuff about children’s bookcases?

Ian Newbold — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:19:17 +0000

Ian Newbold, Tidy Books

I’m Ian, and the smaller guy you can see in the picture is my son, Max. I’m a 32 year-old freelance writer and parenting blogger. I first came into contact with Tidy Books when I ordered one of their excellent bookcases for my son’s bedroom – with which I instantly fell in love – and now I find myself the main contributor to their blog.

As a single parent, full-time, hands-on dad, my interests are dominated by all things child. My son has recently started school, which has meant our adventures have been curtailed a smidge, but we still manage to get up to a lot, and school brings with it a whole new stage of exploration. Pre-parenthood I was quite sporty, and getting back into shape is something I have done recently. Watching sport is also something I enjoy, as is top drama and comedy on television.

The relationship between books and children is very important to me, the first thing I bought my son when he was born was the Mr Men library bus, and he has an ever growing and changing library that is somewhat, but not always, tidied by his Tidy Books bookcase. Yet what it definitely, and consistently does, is speed up the process of choosing a book for bedtime reading. My boy finds it so much easier to choose a book when he can see the all the covers of his collection.

The principles of this blog, while not hiding the fact that it hopes to promote the excellent and innovation products of Geraldine Grandidier, the brains behind Tidy Books, are to find relevant news to the child literacy arena, generate viewpoint blog posts that parents will find interesting and instigate discussion. There will also be book reviews, those we are sent, or books that we already own, and when I say, or type, ‘we’ I mean from any of the lovely folks that work for Tidy Books, or indeed the children of our merry gang.

We also hope to find time to read, contribute and engage with other blogs and bloggers. Interacting on Twitter and Facebook has also been fun so far, and long may it continue. Feel free to get in touch with us via any of those mediums, or here at the blog. I can be contacted via blog (at) tidy- books (dot) com and it would be absolutely great to hear from you.

So who is writing this stuff about children’s bookcases? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The Tidy Books Children’s Bookcase Wins Gold

Ian Newbold — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:04:15 +0000

As we may have mentioned previously, we think our products are great, however it is always wonderful to learn that we are not the only ones that think so.

Our Tidy Books Children’s Bookcase has gone and picked up two ‘Golds’ from the Right Start Toy Awards.

Our bookcase is a double Right Start Gold Award Winner

Awards were bestowed on our bookcase in the ‘Best Investment Buy’ category, translating to our product offering excellent long-term play and usage value. The bookcase also picked up ‘Gold’ in the ‘Nursery and Baby Accessories’ category.

Of the two honours, Geraldine Grandidier, the bookcase’s designer, was most pleased with the ‘Best Investment Buy Gold Award’.

Geraldine said; “We aim for all our products to offer excellent value for money. They are not throw away toys and this award recognises that many families get years and years of use from their Tidy Books bookcase and it is great that this has been recognised.”

The Tidy Books Children’s Bookcase Wins Gold is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The Tidy Books Box is ideal for children’s storage

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:43:28 +0000

At Tidy Books we are very proud of our children’s storage solutions.

Our latest product is the Tidy Books Box, and we’ll let Geraldine explain how this product came in to being;

‘I noticed that in most living rooms there’s a plastic box with a few favourite children’s books in. Again kids can’t see the covers, so usually drag them all out and leave them in a mess. I also wanted something that would work for the whole family; books of any shape and size, magazines etc…something simple and stylish, never babyish- with a clock to play with, that you can remove. Have also found that kids seem to love these next to their beds as well’.

So there you have it, the Tidy Books Box.

To celebrate its launch, and for a limited time, you can grab a 10% discount. Simply use code ‘TB10′ in the discount code box of our on-line check out.

Alternatively, this, and our childrens bookcases and 3D jigsaw puzzles can be ordered by phone on +44 (0)20 8520 4647.

The Tidy Books Box is ideal for children’s storage is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Have you got books or DVDs on your children’s bookcase?

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:07:29 +0000

Your kid’s reading is something we are very interested in, and certainly, in many cases, hope that their bookcase, is our children’s bookcase too.

A report, we first read on the BBC website grabbed our attention this week.

The education news story was based on a report commissioned by the Booktrust, as part of their Booktime and Booked Up initiatives.

It is an annual report that surveys 3,000 parents, carers and children, aiming to find out about the part books play in each of their lives.

The idea behind both of the Booktrust’s programmes is to generate a real love of reading amongst children, and the report is one way for them to monitor if their work is having the positive effect they intend it to have.

Some of the positives they should take from this year’s survey are that, indeed, reading has become more popular amongst the people quizzed. They also found a 40% increase in the number of dads reading with their children, compared to the 2008 figures.

Negatives the survey highlighted are that while flexible working practices are supposed to enable a better work-life balance, technology and home entertainment are increasingly eating in to the time allocated for reading.

To that end, children’s bookcases are under threat, especially in households with older children.

Books are losing out to DVDs and computer games, with 34% of parents and carers saying that this is true of their households. This figure rises to 41% in the homes of 11 to 12 year-olds.

This is a trend that the Booktrust is looking to reverse, and through its Booktime and Booked Up programmes it will be distributing 2 million free books to children, hoping ‘to encourage a life-long love of reading’.

Every 4 to 5 year–old in reception classes all over the country will be receiving a free book through the Booktime this term, and for children in Year 7, aged 11 to 12, Booked Up is gifting 670,000 books. Children of this age will get to choose a book from a carefully selected dozen.

We hope to see many of these books on your children’s, and our kid’s bookcases.

If you want to read the BBC report we did, you can find it here.

Have you got books or DVDs on your children’s bookcase? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The nation’s favourite nursery rhymes

Ian Newbold — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:39:30 +0000

It was National Bookstart day last week, and as part of the initiative designed to get all young children interested in reading books, the Bookstart organisation decided to try to establish the nation’s favourite nursery rhyme.

Over 2,500 were polled from all across the country, and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ came out on top overall. It was the favourite amongst all the regions, with the exception of the North East, where the favourite rhyme was ‘Incey Wincey Spider’.

This is how the top ten looked;

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Incey Wincey Spider
3. Round and Round the Garden
4. Baa Baa Black Sheep
5. The Grand Old Duke of York
6. If You’re Happy and You Know It
7. Humpty Dumpty
8. This Little Piggy
9. Ring a Ring a Roses
10. I’m a Little Teapot

The survey also indicated a decline in the use of nursery rhymes, and revealed that only 36% of parents used them regularly, or sung them with their children. With parents claiming they were simply too old-fashioned to interest their offspring.

Bookstart would like to reverse this apparent trend, and as a result, has made an exclusive free booklet of the nation’s favourite nursery rhymes available for download, in both English and Welsh.

They will also be printing one million books of the nation’s top eight rhymes for distribution, aimed at encouraging parents to fall in love with our once more popular rhymes, and perhaps give them confidence to share them with their children and include them on their children’s bookshelves.

Bookstart Rhymetimes will also be going on all over the country in libraries, nurseries, schools, early years centres, shopping centres and bookshops. If you are lucky the Bookstart Bear may even make an appearance at these events, and further the enjoyment of singing along.

The nation’s favourite nursery rhymes is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Learning while reading to your children

Ian Newbold — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:17:52 +0000

Books are a tremendous resource for learning. They hold many facts, opinions, recounts of history, explanations of how things work, and how experts theorise on how things have been in the past.

Sometimes it is very difficult to judge at what level, or indeed, which book you need in order to get knowledge of a subject that has either become relevant, or is something new you want to find out about.

Many books are written with an expectation that the reader has some prior knowledge of the subject, or subjects relating to it, so when starting from scratch it can be difficult to get straight to the information required.

It can also encourage a reader to target the answer without really creating a desire to understand why that is the answer, and to not get a great subject appreciation for the future.

Reading to the test criteria, and not passed it, perhaps.

This is also something that can be highlighted when a parent, or any adult, reads to a child, from a book intended for those learning something for the first time.

Even picture books contain information, that a grown-up may have missed, or even forgotten.

Children, even at a young age, can sometimes really enjoy text books not really intended for their age group. Yet attracted by the colours and images, they can be satisfied by hearing facts related to all these bright images in front of them.

Which can make the process of reading a learning process for both parties involved.

Reading and learning like this can also produce some wonderful moments between people, and those observing.

A friend of Tidy Books, who shall remain nameless, was reading to her nephew recently – a rhyming book about Dinosaurs.

Apparently when she got to the rhyme about Spinosaurus, she got a little distracted, and her nephew got a revised reading.

As she never knew that this particular dinosaur used the giant spine on its back to store up heat, she replaced the line ‘and my friends think it looks neat’ with; “Blimey, I never knew that.”

They each saw the funny side, and probably learned something neither will ever forget.

In other news the Booktrust have deliberated on their Early Years Awards, which we mentioned on the blog, and have announced the winners.

Learning while reading to your children is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The death of the guidebook

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Like many families,the summer was packed full of outings to various museums, historic sites and places that we do not generally call home.

Often with children everything is done at breakneck speed, especially if you are operating amongst a gaggle of children, each one wanting to be the first to press the next button, or to be at the front while a guide starts to give their talk.

Keeping an eye on your throng sometimes means that your attention is not always focused on what is in front of you, or being presented to you.

Racing round a castle can be absolutely wonderful fun, for children and adults, producing your own mock re-enactments can give a tiny insight into the purpose of these great sites, and what it may have been like in the times of their intended use.

But the history, and the formal workings of such places, can be completely missed.

The dawn of the internet, and the advances of its availability across homes, schools and while we are on the move, means that we often know a lot more about a place before we even arrive.

Sites have moved on from being a simple price and location guide, and can often include a lot of information about the site you intend to visit, with song-and-verse about the history, line-of-ownership or purpose of the place.

However this means that armed with a lot of this information for ‘free’ on a computer screen, the good old reliable guidebook has taken a bit of a battering.

One of the rainy day activities we did this summer was to Electric Mountain, essential a hydro-generating power station that is actually housed deep within a mountain, amongst the beautiful glut of them within Snowdonia National Park.

A great way to entertain children of all ages, those that will be interested in the workings of the power station, and those just happy to explore the inside of a mountain.

Sadly this is a place that seems resigned to the power of the internet, when we asked about purchasing a guidebook, we were told they had not ordered any from their printers, and that, instead, all their information was available on their website.

We hope this is not a permanent solution, and perhaps they are devising a much better book that can compete with the supposed merits of the internet.

There are others that have done exactly that.

The National History Museum produces a wonderful ‘KIDS ONLY’ guide, it is packed full of information, suggestions, maps, quizzes and puzzles.

On busy days it is sold outside to the queuing public, and can help you entertain children as you await your free entry into the museum.

It helps engage, and obvious guide, as you move around the museum from section-to-section. And for the parent who ‘may’ have forgotten exactly how an earthquake works, or what type of dinosaur that is, it offers a quick and easily readable reference for you to pass on.

These strongly bound books can be passed around in a car, on a bus or in a carriage on your journey home. Children taking turns in recollecting their day, or asking questions.

Children can take them to show friends, further promoting the subject, and however good the internet is, it will find it very difficult to rival the sharing of a book.

A guidebook is also a permanent point of reference and souvenir of a great trip all in one.

We hope many of them take a place proudly upon your children’s bookcases.

The death of the guidebook is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Entertaining children with your mobile phone

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Does anyone still own, or can you even buy, a mobile phone that simply makes and receives calls?

The cellular phone has certainly come a long way. From the systems that now look very primitive, units that were almost as big as briefcases, simply to give them battery power, then came smaller units, that still would not fit in your pocket.

Lots of people, us included, cannot really recall the time that we did not rely on mobile communication, or how we used to get in touch with one another without a trusty mobile.

SMS messages, or texts, were also revolutionary, a practice that many adopted, and used to replace making calls. Very useful for relaying information in a short written form, and when you knew you were unlikely to reach your intended recipient at the time of your call.

These advances were all about communication, but the mobile phone has also become so much more.

You can use them to store music, as radios, to take pictures or videos, get directions and even play games.

Personally I remember thinking that the introduction of Snake on all Nokia phones was incredibly clever, and a very simple game, especially by today’s standards, it became addictive, but also could be used to occupy minds, big and little ones, when there were few other options.

We wrote about entertaining children on the move before, but the mobile phone can be a very useful entertainment tool, when space is limited, or you are caught somewhere without your vast array of semi-mobile toys, games and books.

The mobile computer, and games console, have also made huge advances, but sometimes they run out of batteries, or they do not get packed, so the games on a mobile phone can be very, very useful.

Last week though we also learnt that the phone, specifically the iPhone, can be used as a device for reading books.

Through our Twitter account, we were directed to a story in The LA Times of two guys, two dads, who had created an application for the iPhone that enabled children to read, or listen to books.

Woody Sears, one of the inventors, said he always felt guilty about handing his phone to his children, for them simply to watch videos or listen to music.

iStoryTime was born.

The application allows a user to download and play books, choosing from an expanding library, through an iPhone, or an iPod Touch.

A child can simply look at the illustrations, and listen to the narration, or indeed read them for themselves, so their appeal is to a cross-section of children and abilities.

So the next time your child asks to be entertained on the hop, you may actually have a book in your pocket or bag, or something that can become one at the press of a few buttons.

Entertaining children with your mobile phone is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Do personalised books encourage reluctant readers?

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:44:00 +0000

Via Twitter, Super Nanny, or the people behind the programme, asked their Twitter following if they believed that personalised books encourage reading in reluctant readers.

This is something that interests us, and indeed did interest us as we trawled Twitter for all the children’s literacy information and news we could find.

Personalised books have always been a great gift idea, they have been about for a good while, but now, it appears, they have become more sophisticated, making more appearances on children’s bookshelves and extending to popular children’s characters like Thomas The Tank Engine, and the Mr Men.

We know there will be many parents, and their children, who are in possession of books with lovely stories that feature them, friends, and family – bought as a gift often these things can include the ‘gifter’, as well as the ‘giftee’.

So as well as making great presents, do they engage reluctant readers?

It would be great to think so, and fabulous to hear of stories when they have actually done so.

Do personalised books encourage reluctant readers? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Anne Fine says there is no hope in modern children’s books

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:51:00 +0000

It would seem, and certainly for Anne Fine, that an era of magical children’s books, that were predominantly based on hope, in part by continually providing unrealistic happy endings, have been replaced by on kids bookcases by books where gritty realism is much more common, and over-bearing.

Speaking to The Times at Compelling Novels, Vulnerable Children, an event organised by the umbrella group Children in Scotland for the Edinburgh Book Festival, she commented: “In the Fifties, when a strong child was dealing with difficult circumstances, there was always a rescue at the end of the book and it was always a middle-class rescue. The child would win a scholarship to Roedean or something, and go on to do very well. That was felt to be unrealistic and so there was a move away from that. Books for children became much more concerned with realism, or what we see as realism. But where is the hope? How do we offer them hope within that? It may be that realism has gone too far in literature for children. I am not sure that we are opening doors for children who read these books, or helping them to develop their aspirations.”

The words of the former Children’s Laureate were not universally accepted, and in fact the current incumbent, Anthony Browne, disagreed, he said: “There are both types of endings, happier and unhappier. I prefer open endings. I don’t think we are living in an age of depressing, dark endings. If you look at Jacqueline Wilson, she does deal in gritty realism, but her books don’t lack aspiration.”

Browne also recently changed the ending to his forthcoming book, a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, so that the ending was more positive. “My original version had Goldilocks being chased out of the bears’ house and her ending up on bleak, dark streets. I decided to give it a more ambiguous ending, so now she is running toward something that may or may not be her mother.” He said.

Initial comments on The Times’ piece would indicate that parents are mindful of both, being able to inspire children, but to also give them healthy doses of realism, as to help them deal with difficult issues they may face themselves, either in childhood or later in life.

Anne Fine says there is no hope in modern children’s books is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Booktrust Early Years Awards

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:01:00 +0000

The Booktrust have recently announced their shortlists for their annual Early Years Awards. The aim of the awards is to celebrate, reward and publicise the exciting range of children’s books, specifically aimed for pre-school children. These are the books which are hotly tipped to be making an appearence on children’s bookshelves this year.

There are three categories;
Best book for babies, under one-year-old.
Best picture book for pre-school children up to five years of age.
Best emerging illustrator of a book for pre-school children up to five years of age.

A panel of judges, that include Radio One presenter, Edith Bowman, and Bookstart founder, Wendy Cooling MBE, will decide on the winners. Each of which will receive £2,000 and the emerging illustrator will also receive a specially commissioned award by a leading illustrator.

On being included in the panel for the first time, Bowman spoke of her excitement and relevance of the awards to herself. “‘I’m over the moon to be involved in the Booktrust Early Years Awards – the timing couldn’t be better. I love nothing better than getting home from work and reading my little boy a bedtime story before bed. I can see the importance of words and pictures, colours and story already in him and the reaction you get is quite mesmerising. So together Rudy and I plan to spend a great deal of time reading all the wonderful entries.’ she said.

THE SHORTLISTED

Baby Book Award;

Chick by Ed Vere (Puffin)
The Big Night-Night Book by Georgie Birkett (Red Fox)
Baby Loves: Tiger by Claire Dowe (Scholastic)
Five Little Ducks by Francesca Stich & Jemima Lumley, illus. Jason Chapman (Simon & Schuster)
Baby’s Very First Outdoors Book by Stella Baggott (Usborne)
That’s Not My Frog by Fiona Watt, illus. Rachel Wells (Usborne)

Pre-School Award;

If I Were You by Richard Hamilton, illus. Babette Cole (Bloomsbury)
Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide by Mara Bergman, illus. Nick Maland (Hodder Children’s)
Sylvia and Bird by Catherine Rayner (Little Tiger Press)
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood (Macmillan)
The Tail of the Whale by Ellie Patterson, illus. Christine Pym (Meadowside)
Miaow Said the Cow by Emma Dodd (Templar Publishing)

Best Emerging Illustrator;

The Grump by Sarah Garson (Andersen Press)
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia (Boxer Books)
Box of Tricks by Katie Cleminson (Jonathan Cape)
Small Mouse Big City by Simon Prescott (Little Tiger Press)
The Haunted House by Kazuno Kohara (Macmillan)
Peas! by Andy Cullen, illus. Simon Rickerty (Puffin Books)

The winners will be announced on the 23rd of September

Booktrust Early Years Awards is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Popular Children’s Books

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:10:00 +0000

The children’s books genre is a vast one, not that any other of the particular sections of reading are narrow, but the difference between books in this section is huge.

A child’s reading will change dramatically over time, what may interest them at five, may be a complete no go at six. And this is even before considering the type of book, or the subject it contains.

Reading for very small children seems to be all about relating a child to a book, any book, using characters, some of them well know, to tell stories, get across ideas or to simply expand vocabulary and understanding.

Colours and illustrations are all important at this stage, not that they disappear from books aimed at an older market, but for the tender years the picture really does assist the story telling or reading.

A quick Amazon search for children’s books, opting to rank the list by popularity, highlights the huge differences in the styles of book produced for young people.

The top ten is currently dominated by Stephenie Meyer, and her Twilight series of books. These works have grown tremendously popular, and are best sellers all over the world. The relative closeness of Hollywood to books has also helped, with the first of the four books published so far being released as a block-busting film last year.

Harry Potter, and J.K. Rowling have set a trend it seems, for young adults especially.

Then there is the perennially popular books, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, still a regular in the top ten.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell also made its way on to the list when it was checked, as it does many kids bookshelves, and childrens bookcases throughout the UK.

These books could not be more different if they were trying to be, and yet they can be enjoyed by similar audiences, albeit perhaps, for very different reasons.

Popular Children’s Books is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Reading on the Move

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:56:00 +0000

We are in the midst of the summer school holidays here in the UK. There will be many families doing many miles all over these isles, via various modes of transport, as they travel from place-to-place, in their respective attempts to entertain the children.

Holidaying inside the UK has perhaps never been more popular, especially due to the current financial climate, although the good old British weather is doing its level best to promote holidays abroad.

This means there will be many folks, up and down the country – quite literally – spending time in cars, buses, coaches, trucks, on trains or even on our waterways. While many parts of the UK are beautiful and quite wonderful to gaze upon as we travel around it, sadly, this alone is generally not enough to keep the children occupied.

It can be a battle to keep little, yet vast, minds occupied, and all activities have a limited attention occupation, even those newfangled ones, electronic games, portable DVD players, those things that can also eat batteries, or battery power, like nothing else.

There are classic car games, like I-Spy and counting different colour cars. These are great as everyone can take part, even the driver, as long as they are able to still focus on the driving. And they do not need any props.

Games that need simple props, like pencils and paper, include tic-tac-toe and hangman, again great alternatives to pass some minutes.

It is also a great time to read, to get lost in a book, or even use time to find out about where you are going, what activities are available and how you go about doing them. Or perhaps, if you have taken a summer reading challenge travel time provides a great opportunity to catch up on your choices.

Not everyone will enjoy reading whilst on the move, especially as some will be travel sick, or actually feel ill as they try to focus on the words of a book, or in the detail of an illustration.

For those people there are always audio books, and perhaps even for people that would enjoy the same book, hearing them together, rather than reading them separately may be the way to go. This method may even induce discussion, furthering enjoyment and also the amount of time this activity occupies.

We hope you choose wisely, and find a formula that works for you, your car load or carriage.

Reading on the Move is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Holiday Time, or Time for a Reading Challenge?

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:44:00 +0000

The school holidays are upon us. There will be differences all over the UK, but most of us, or the children amongst us, are into their second week of holidays.

It has long been debated, and will continue to be so, how long the school holidays are in the summer, between school years, and whether they need to be shortened or moved to extend other holidays throughout the year.

But as it currently stands, most children, or the families of those children, need to find things to occupy them for six or seven weeks without school.

That can be tricky, and expensive, which is when ideas that are both cost efficient and worthwhile carry extra kudos.

Extended homework is also a topic of hot debate, with the advocates of continuing formal lines of education through holidays, arguing with those that feel a holiday should mean a vacation from anything defined as work.

So how would all those parties feel about a summer reading challenge?

We are not entirely sure but would love to find out.

Quest Seekers is a summer reading challenge organised by The Reading Agency, and is in its eleventh year.

The aim of the challenge, running in association with the nation’s libraries, is to encourage children to read six books during their summer holidays.

“The theme is all about the power of the imagination. It will take young readers into a mysterious and wondrous land where they can discover the joy of reading and nurture a life-long love affair with books. It also promotes the library as a place of wonder and excitement, where librarians can offer children invaluable advice and guidance to help them through their quest.” Taken from The Reading Agency website.

This initiative is free, and everyone who signs up gets a nifty moving image membership card, and a fold-out poster they will use to keep track of their progress, with scratch-and-sniff stickers no less.

It is open to children of all ages, and any type of book can be read as part of this challenge, even audio books.

Parents wanting more information should have a look here.

Holiday Time, or Time for a Reading Challenge? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Barefoot Books Website Relaunch

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Barefoot Books, a children’s publishing company, was started by two mothers who wanted to feed their children’s imaginations through reading, whilst simultaneously instilling a respect for diversity and creating a love for our planet.

An ambitious, yet achievable goal right from the start.

Today, Barefoot Books are now a world-wide community of writers, artists, story tellers and musicians, with that ethic still at the heart of the company.

We at Tidy Books agree; that reading should be fun and diverse, and can be a springboard to stimulate and prompt readers into other areas such as story telling, song writing and illustration.

Making time for imagination and make-believe, is a gift of tremendous reward. Stimulating the mind in this way can lead to many things, and we know how ‘switched on’ you can feel after a period of creativity.

Barefoot Books’ products are an array of children’s books, covering all ages of childhood. They also produce books with sing-a-long CDs and have a selection of puzzles available.

They have recently relaunched their website, and as a result are giving away a free download of the popular children’s song; If You’re Happy and You Know it

The availability of this download is for a limited time only, so get in quick if you have children who you know will enjoy singing along to this popular tune.

A visit to their website is well worth the effort, and you will find so much more than a book store. Their vibrant community portal is a place for all sorts of people to connect and share ideas.

Barefoot Books Website Relaunch is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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What’s That You’re Reading?

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:59:00 +0000

Encouraging children to read is proven to improve their confidence, and will impact postively on many other facets of a child’s life.

Reading can be laborious for some. Or at least they think it is, but without realising, reluctant readers actually enjoy some forms of it.

Books are not the only place to engage in reading, and they are not the sole preserve of bookworms.

Words are, of course, everywhere, and all count as reading: Road signs, film subtitles, comics, magazines, menus, posters, crib sheets, timetables, and even on the sides of buses.

Like the Reading for life initiative’s tag line “Reading isn’t only in books, it’s everywhere.” Their website offers many excellent ideas and examples of how to make reading enjoyable for you, and your child. For example, if your child is into football, then why not read their team’s latest match report, or better still, encourage them to write their own? Or if your child can do little else but boogie to their favourite tunes, suggest that they read the song lyrics, and work out what they mean. Another idea is to suggest your child find these meanings via reading. It is an excellent resource, with some fabulous ideas to get children, parents, adults, and whole families reading together.

For younger children, picture books are ideal, and read regularly, gets them into the reading habit. It is also great if you can find material that matches their ever changing interests, like this little fellow, who obviously wants to be a farmer when he grows up.

Time is precious, which is why we think it is very important to be inventive, and appreciate that reading and encouraging it, can be done in all sorts of forms, and at all sorts of times.

What’s That You’re Reading? is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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It’s Daddy’s Turn to Read

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:24:00 +0000

We, at Tidy Books, are behind any campaign that encourages parents to read to their children. Our commitment goes further than that; grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, older children reading to siblings, all these people can have a positive effect on a child’s reading.

Ladybird have a campaign focusing on dads, and encouraging them to read to their children. This has been launched around Father’s Day, with backing from TV celebrity, Richard Hammond, who himself reads regularly to his two daughters, and there are some great prizes still up for grabs.

“I love reading with my children and think Ladybird’s Reading Dads campaign is a great way to encourage dads to enjoy sharing a book with their kids.” The popular Top Gear presenter enthused.

The campaign was also ran at a similar time last year, and Ladybird were inspired to start such an initiative, as the National Year of Reading had unearthed figures that suggested only 42% of dads read to their children, compared to 76% of mothers.

These figures were disappointing, and also surprising as it was expecting many dads to be found responsible for the bedtime routine, a routine commonly likely to include reading.

But obviously reading is not exclusive to any time of the day, or to any set of people, but from the research, it is possible to see why it is good to focus on dads.

The National Literacy Trust offers some great reasoning as to why dads should be reading to their kids, going as far as to suggest that children whom have benefited from having a father read to them, can enhance their achievements in all sorts of areas, through added confidence and self-esteem.

They say shared reading can;

Increase enjoyment of reading and better literacy skills
Help attain better exam results
Improve school attendance and behaviour
Produce higher quality of later relationships
Bring better mental health
Increase self-esteem

There are also some great tips on their website, of where to start, and how that reading does not have to be reserved for books. If a child can be engaged in reading, road signs or menus will do.

All we know is that reading to children is a great experience, and no matter what any research finds, no child should miss out on being read to, and no parent should really miss out either.

It’s Daddy’s Turn to Read is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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