Doug the Bug that went Boing! by Sue Hendra

Doug and Trevor are best friends who love playing in the garden. But one day Doug gets dug up! Stuck at the top of a tower block can Doug find his way back to his friend or will he be trapped forever?

Doug and Trevor, best friends who love playing together, however they always argue over who's turn it is to fetch the Berry Ball when the ball gets stuck in a flower. Doug always ends up going to fetch the ball, but on this occasion he ends up being scooped up by a shovel and put in a flowerpot at the top of block of flats. Doug has quite the adventure finding his way back down to the garden and Trevor.

This is a fun book which children of all ages will enjoy. There are lots of funny events which children will enjoy - Doug has quite an adventure on his way home, nearly ending up in someone's breakfast, the toilet and the bin. 

The illustrations accompany the story perfectly and tell the story well, allowing young children the opportunity to tell their family and/or peers the story without reading the words. The pictures are bright and colourful, while simplistic and eye-catching. 

This is a fantastic book which children will enjoy picking up and looking at. The author, Sue Hendra, has also written No-Bot which I have reviewed on this blog.

Thank you to the publishers, Simon and Schuster Children's Books, for sending me the book to review.

Dear Snowman by Kathryn White and Alison Edgson

Little Rabbit and Snowman are the very best of friends. But when winter fades, Snowman is nowhere to be found. Wherever can he be? Soon a postcard arrives for Little Rabbit. It's from Snowman - and he's travelling the world! This brilliant book about an adventurous snowman has a gorgeous shiny cover and comes with six postcards and masses of stickers, so little readers can send messages to their family and friends just like Snowman. Children will love the excitement of reading Snowman's postcards and letters and finding out where in the world he has been. This lovely book would make a fantastic Christmas present but is sure to be enjoyed throughout the year.

In today's digital world writing letters are becoming a dying art, add to that the rising prices of postage stamps, and the excitement of waiting for the postman to arrive and a letter coming through the letterbox addressed to a child is becoming a thing of the past.  However in this book children are introduced to the excitement of receiving a letter.

Little Rabbit was very upset, when the snowman he had played with all through the Winter disappeared when Spring arrived However when a postcard arrived from Snowman Little Rabbit was excited to read all about his adventures and eagerly waited for the next installment to arrive.

This is a great book, the story is well written and has lots of things to discuss - Snowman's adventures give lots of inspiration for circle time discussions or role play ideas, as well as adding to the story.  The book also includes six blank postcards which children can write and send to friends or family, each featuring Snowman in a holiday destination and a sheet of stickers, which all children will love. 

I really enjoyed this book and the added postcards and stickers make this a fantastic gift idea - either for Christmas or Winter birthdays but also could be given to a child who is going on holiday.

Thank you to the publishers, Little Tiger Press, for sending me the book to review.

One Starry Night by M Christina Butler and Tina Macnaughton

Little Hedgehog and his friends are on an exciting adventure to see a shower of sparkly shooting stars. But soon they find themselves in a spot of bother ...

Sequel to best-selling books, One Snowy Night, One Winter's Day, One Rainy Day, One Special Day and One Christmas Night.

I love Winter and Christmas time for many things, but one of the best things are the books published at this time of year. Children's books are especially gorgeous, a little bit of glitter here, a flittering there and lots of snow and sparkly stars are just a few of things that publishers and authors can add at this time of year to add to the magic of Christmas and Winter time.

One Starry Night is about Little Hedgehog, who one night spotted many shooting stars in the sky. He goes out and visits his friends, who all enjoy watching the stars and they all decide to try and catch one. However, they end up down an old badger sett and must find their way back out.

The story is a great story, there is an alternative version to the traditional rhyme, 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' which children will enjoy learning. The story is a simple one - friends going up a hill to watch, and try to catch, shooting stars - However, I am sure it will quickly become a popular one to share at story or bedtime.

The illustrations within the story are equally as good. Many children's books depict animals as cute and cuddly, almost cartoon like. However, within this book, the animals are lifelike and look more natural and realistic. The shooting stars within the book are all foiled and add a touch of luxury to the book.

I would recommend this as a beautiful gift for story-time now the nights are drawing in.

Thank you to the publishers, Little Tiger Press, for sending me the book to revoew.

Book Giveaway -

Alma Books are celebrating after being named 'Bookseller's Independent Publisher of the Year 2013' and are offering a set of their classic 'Evergreens; series to one reader of my blog. 

Their classics 'Evergreens' series is all about making great literature available to every reader at an affordable price of £4.99 each without compromising on production and design. The first four books that have been published in this series are Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli and Praise of Folly by Erasmus.

With the new Alma Classics series of Evergreen Classics, book lovers are able to own stylish and beautifully crafted editions of the greatest classics of all time, both English and in translation, for under five pounds.

Lavishly produced, with a wealth of extra material, new translations and a fresh editorial approach, the Alma Classics Evergreens will become the new standard editions for all students and lovers of good books

Alma Books will be adding more books to this new series following the series launch in September 2013.

For more information about Alma Books and Alma Classics, check out their websites: www.almabooks.com and www.almaclassics.com, or the Alma Books Twitter feed 

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