Barefoot Books Review and Give-away

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We love books in this house so when Barefoot Books asked us to review some and give away another we were very excited. The children were so keen to look at the new books that we had read all of them the same night we got them!

First up The Princess and the Pea which is a reworking of the classic story for 4-8 year olds:

It tells more of the Prince's travels in find of a princess who meets his expectations of being a real princess. Of course he fails and comes home and the Queen uses the pea test to discover a suitable bride. My daughter was very taken with the beautiful illustrations:

It is a lovely re-working of the story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it to her and having her read some of it to me. It would make a beautiful gift as its hardback and comes with a CD of the story teller Xanthe Gresham reading the story herself.

For my son we had The Little Red Hen which is another reworking of a well known story:

It's good to have a story about people not pulling their weight but wanting to share the rewards any way. It has really fun illustrations on every page:

The book was in paperback format and again came with a story CD narrated by Debra Messing. It also includes a recipe for making your own bread which my son is keen to try (watch this space!).

Our final book was A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea which is a singalong with cumulative lyrics:

The book is a great way for children to learn about how the food chain works under the sea:

After the song has finished there is a simple explanation of the marine food chain and blue holes that exist at the bottom of the sea. I wish my laptop had a CD drive so I could make full use of the enhanced CD with audio and video animations.

Any of these books would brighten up a child's Christmas and bring much enjoyment. 

Competition finished! There is also a chance to win your a book using the Rafflecopter widget, just browse the web site and comment as to which book you would like to win:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Barefoot Books Celebrating Earth Day 2013

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This year's Earth Day was on April 22nd the lovely people at Barefoot Books sent us 3 books which link in nicely to celebrating our planet and connecting with nature:


Grandpa's Garden by Stella Fry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All year, Billy helps his grandpa in the vegetable garden.

This is the delightful story of Billy and his grandpa in the vegetable garden. It takes you and your child through the seasons as there are different jobs to do depending on the time of year. It starts in winter when all seems dead and finishes with the autumn harvest.

The illustrations are bright and colourful and the story not too complicated. When it ends then there are tips for planting your own vegetable garden and each season has its own list of Grandpa's tips and jobs.

This book is therefore not just a story but also a gardening guide for children. This makes the price of £5.99 a very good one.


A Farmer's Life for Me: With CD by Jan Dobbins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A simple story about the life of a farmer with each page having a verse and illustrations for one of the tasks the farmer's family have to do. Each ends with the same refrain 1-2-3 a farmer's life for me.

A great idea to introduce younger children to farm life and in the back there are more details about each of the task which you can talk about with your child. My 6.5 year declared that the book was for children younger than him but that he really liked it!

This version also comes with a CD. This includes a group singing the book to appropriate country sounding music. If you are brave the score is included in the book! There is also an interactive animation of the story with the word to sing highlighted as you go.

Nice bright illustrations and a good book to share. I'd say this was best for 4-6 year olds. Again well priced at £6.99.


The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales by Dawn Casey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will take a while to finish this with my daughter as it is jam packed with stories from around the world. Each of them give a view point from a different country about the relationships between man and nature or how nature interacts with each other part.

Each story is followed by an activity to do. Some of these are arty such as Australian painting. Or maybe creating a bird feeder or building a willow wigwam. I will have fun trying some of these out over the school holidays.

A good book to share with primary aged children to help them think about the world and how to look after it.

Monday book review: Barefoot Books

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I was sent some books to review by Barefoot Books these are the two picture books I was given to share with my 5 year old.

1) Grandpa's Garden - Stella Fry and Sheila Moxley

All year, Billy helps his grandpa in the vegetable garden.

This is the delightful story of Billy and his grandpa in the vegetable garden. It takes you and your child through the seasons as there are different jobs to do depending on the time of year. It starts in winter when all seems dead and finishes with the autumn harvest.

The illustrations are bright and colourful and the story not too complicated. When it ends then there are tips for planting your own vegetable garden and each season has its own list of Grandpa's tips and jobs.

This book is therefore not just a story but also a gardening guide for children. This makes the price of £5.99 a very good one.

2) Port Side Pirates - Oscar Seaworthy and illustrator Debbie Harter

Oh we go this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea!

Many people will be familiar with this song or variations on this song. In this book each verse is accompanied by illustrations of the young pirate crew as they go on their adventures. Each page has plenty to explore.

For the non musical the accompanying CD will provide the correct tune and professional voice of Mark Collins. If you are able to read music then the lyrics and tune are at the end of the book.

There are also some fascinating pirate facts plus a numbered guide to the parts of a pirate ship. The paperback with CD comes at £6.99 or without the CD for £5.99 so well worth the extra £1! If your child is a big pirate fan there is also an accompanying activity book (£3.99) and there will be a sticker book and pirate puppet in June.

Both of these books would make a lovely addition to your 3-7 year olds bookcase.