Santa's Suitcase

Age range: 2-5 years

Santa's Suitcase is a lovely book. Santa is feeling the cold at the North Pole so Mrs Santa decides to go send him on a holiday to warmer places. You travel with Santa on his adventures with each page visiting a new destination. This is a touch and feel book so the pages are made of thick card with different materials/textures to feel. It is very well made and on the whole very sturdy. Its just a shame that there is one page where the fringe of green felt is very easy to pull bits off, so care is needed with young children to ensure they don't choke. The story is written in verse so it is lots of fun to read. Santa enjoys his holiday but in the end he appreciates that although its cold, there's no place like home.

Linda Addy - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Big Bear Little Bear

Age range: 2-5 years

The book is about a little bear who wishes to be big like his mother but after seeing what it entails isn't as eager. The book has excellent pictures. It's also a 'touch-feel' book ( which Sophie (2 and a half) rubs her nose on!); is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable. The book was a big hit with Sophie and will be read repeatedly in the months to come.

Karen Barfield - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Shhh!

Age range: 2-5 years

The book is about Santa who is noisily and haphazardly delivering toys to the children. It is a very colourful book with excellent pictures and a very easy to follow story - after 3-4 times through Sophie ( 2 and a half) was reciting the line ' Don't wake the children', which is repeated throughout the story. Again a very enjoyable story which tells the story of Santa brilliantly for a 2 and a half year old and is perfect for this time of year. It's one we will be reading repeatedly in the run up to Christmas!!

Karen Barfield - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

My Fairy Winter Wonderland

Age range: 3-6 years

When I got this book and I knew straight away that it was going to be fabulous. The book is tied with a ribbon and you can't wait to open it. When you open the book it comes alive with beautiful scenes. My daughter was so excited. The book gave us so much to talk about. If you are looking for something special for your daughter this is it! I would not recommend it for really young ones, as they will just love to put their hands in and pull and this book could not hangle that.

Deborah - October 2005

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Dear Father Christmas

Age range: 2-5 years

What a delightful book! Both of my children aged 4 and 6 loved it. Not only is it a lovely story with great illustrations the added excitement of opening the attached letters and things made it very different. Nearly each page has a letter in its own envelope for your child to open and for you to read. It is an unusual way of writing and including surprises along the way. It makes the whole Father Christmas experience seem even more real to them. This has certainly made my girls want to write their own letters and they can’t wait to receive letters like Holly in the story!

Louise Bennett - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Handbag Friends

Age range: 2-5 years

I have read this book repeatedly to Sophie, ( who is two-and -a half), and she loves it!!

The story is about six friends who set off to rescue the pink handbags from a 'baddie' who has kidnapped them. Initially when I read the book to Sophie I found it quite hard to read in a way to make it sound interesting and fun. However after several times through the book we were hooked. The pictures are excellent and colourful; the story is imaginative and it's total fun. Sophie is a girlie girl and so the fact that the book is pink and is in the shape of a handbag is perfect for her! We have tested the book on several children of ages ranging from two to six and they all really enjoyed the book. It was a hit with everyone and I would highly recommend it for any little girl!

Karen Barfield - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Magic Wanda and the Gardener

Age range: 3-7 years

I watched this with my 7 year old son and 2 year old daughter. My son felt it was a bit girly although he did find the factual parts interesting especially the Secret Dragon Garden.

My daughter loved it! I am not sure that she followed the story but she liked looking at the pictures in the book and loved the songs on the dvd. The age of the book is stated 3-7 years and I feel that this is right.

Sarah Hussey - October 2005

To learn more about Magic Wanda visit www.magicwandamedia.com

www.amazon.co.uk

Ten Fat Sausages

Age range: 2-5 years

What a lovely book. My 3 year old daughter loved it. She knows the song anyway but loved reading it with me. It helped with her numbers and she enjoyed reading it alone. I could hear her reading it over and over again, chuckling away as she did so.

A wonderful book for toddlers definitely. My 6 year old son wasn't too interested in it to be honest, much to my daughter's delight!

Cath Ball - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Fidgety Fish

Age range: 2-5 years

Both my 5 year old and my 3 year old absolutely love this book! We have read it many times together as well as them wanting to look through it on their own. The story follows a little fish called Tiddler, who just can't keep still. His Mum gets so fed up with him fidgeting that she sends him out into the sea to tire himself out. Tiddler meets many colourful characters on his way to use up his energy... but then he comes face to face with what he believes to be a big cave...

This book is so vibrant and beautifully illustrated, it is a real pleasure to turn each page. Each scene leaps out at you, each page is bright and full of colour. The language used is humourous and easy enough for my 5 year old to read herself so it is great for practising her reading too, as well as being a great story. I would really recommend this book to anyone, young or older and I will certainly be looking out for other books by this author.

Annabell Ashwell - October 2005

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Where Did That Baby Come From?

Age range: 2-5 years

Having just had my third child my other two girls found this book very appropriate. It has great bold illustrations and simple to understand text – the kind of questions that they would ask themselves! They could relate to the same experiences had by them involving a new baby in the house. A very enjoyable and amusing book.

Louise Bennett - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

I Love You Blue Kangeroo

Age range: 2-5 years

A really lovely book. I am sure most children like mine have a favourite cuddly toy that always has to be in bed with them. The story is exactly how my daughter is with her favourite cuddly penguin. They get many other toys and just like the little girl in the story attempt to take them all to bed leaving a tiny space for them to sleep! This book is favoured by my 4 year old who is just like Lily in the story and has shared the same experience with her new baby sister. Simply illustrated and easy to relate to. The cuddly blue kangaroo that came with the book was loved and taken to bed – but as she pointed out like Lily in the story he would not take the place of her real favourite! Very true story.

Louise Bennett - October 2005

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Astrosaurs The Mind

Age range: 9-11 years

This book seems to be meant for under tens, or those who find reading difficult. The story is quite good, but it could do with more detailed description. It has some humour and I quite liked reading it. The fact that the book has the first chapter of the next book in the series helps build suspense and makes the reader want to go out and buy the next one. I would recommend this book to younger readers or those who like short snappy books.

Tom Bird (11 year old bookworm) - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Nanny McPhee

Age range: 8+ years

This book is about a lot of children and their dad. The children are very naughty and so none of the previous nannies would stay and that’s where Nanny McPhee comes in. When the mother dies the dad looks for a second wife. Who could it be? You can find out if you read the book. It is very funny and quite easy to understand. I recommend it to children age 8-12.

Julia Bird (8) - October 2005

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The Worst Childrens Job In History

Age range: 8+ years

This book contains useful information, but gets a bit boring if you try to read it all in one go. I wouldn’t recommend as a long read but would be good in small snatches.The things I like about the book are the illustrations as they are very colorful. I also liked the funny jokes. The things I didn’t like about the book were that it got very boring after a while of reading it because it kept telling you the same sort of facts. All together I don’t think this is a very good book.

Tom Bird (11 year old bookworm) - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk

Dom's Spooky Magic

Age range: 8+ years

With his TV career, this book of magic tricks may appeal to children more than the other similar books on offer in the shops. The book itself is bright and colourful with descriptions of tricks graded in difficulty. All with a creepy theme, they are well explained and are helped along with good colour photos. Like any magic book, the child will have to spend a good deal of time perfecting the trick, but the items needed are readily available in most homes and could keep a dedicated apprentice magician happy for hours. It may not seem to be the most baffling 'magic' ever......but even Dom had to start somewhere and the 'Spooky Spider' or 'Vanishing Eyeball' tricks will, no doubt, appeal to a childs gorey imagination. I can't say this book is exactly 'original' but if this is the sort of book you are looking for....this one is certainly worth considering.

Sue Whittle - October 2005

www.amazon.co.uk