Dog's Colorful Day + Do-A-Dot Marker Fun

I had the little one home sick from school this week so I thought I'd share a fun activity that we did together to pass the day.

I came across some cute activities on Pinterest related to the book Dog's Colorful Day, by Emma Dodd. We don't have this specific book but we do have Dog's ABC (also by Emma Dodd) which little miss really enjoys so I knew she would recognize the character. 

I found some Dog printables online, took out the Do-A-Dot markers and let her get to work...

Check out these other blogs for more Dog's Colorful Day activities: Adventures in Reading with Kids, Make Learning Fun & Sunflower Storytime.

New "Mommy & Me" books for the little one...

With baby #2 fast approaching, I've been hunting for books to read to Little Miss in order to prepare her for the new arrival.

These are my favorites so far...

(R) I came across Baby and Me, by Emma Dodd at my local bookstore. It's a sweet pull tab book about a little girl who looks after her dolly as if it was her new baby brother. Little Miss enjoys interacting with the book and learning about all the different things she can do to help the baby.

(L) There's a HOUSE inside my Mummy, By Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban was also another great find at my local charity shop. I especially liked this part where the book offers up why Mommy falls asleep sometimes. I think I relate a little too much!

Finally, I have I"m a Big Sister, by Joanna Cole on order from Amazon. I found good reviews for this one all over the web so I'm looking forward to it's arrival.

Again no sewing has been done lately but until next time!

A book signing with Oliver Jeffers

This week, we were lucky enough to attend a book signing with Oliver Jeffers at our local Waterstones book store. Oliver Jeffers is one of our favorite children's authors and he was out promoting his new book, "This Moose Belongs to Me."

Little miss waited patiently in line so that I could get her a signed copy of the new book (he even drew the moose). The author was also kind enough to sign our copy of "Stuck" which is our favorite Oliver Jeffers' title. 

The kiddos waited patiently in the queue as my good friend, Mrs. Brown read "Stuck" aloud. 

I have such a great love for children's books and I'm so happy that I get these types of opportunities to meet our favorite authors and expose the little one to my love of reading as well. 

What's next? Another book signing by another favorite, Rod Campbell, in a few weeks time :)

New Toddler Books for the Summer...

With end of term and the summer holiday approaching I wanted to find some new additions to our book library...

1. I first picked up "WOW! Said the OWL" at my local library and fell in love with Tim Hopgood's wonderful illustrations. 

All by Tim Hopgood...

- "WOW! Said the Owl" (nice introduction to identifying colors)

- "It Was a Cold Night" (good introduction to counting)

- "Tip Tap Went The Crab"

2. A few Poundland (aka "Dollar Store") finds. Yes, each were only £1!

"The Tail of the Whale" by Ellie Patterson

"Oscar and the Cricket" by Geoff Waring

3. And because I like to "keep it real", a Disney Fairies sticker book because the little one is ALL ABOUT the "fairies" at this moment (£1 at Poundland too).

Now let's get this summer started!

Charity Shop Booty...Pat The Bunny Book Set

Not much time for shopping this week but I did manage to find this really great "Pat The Bunny" book set. Recently, a good friend asked me about book recommendations for her 9 month old daughter. I know her daughter is a bit young for this set but (IMHO) I think these books are classic for young children so I had to pick it up for her.

Little miss loved exploring all the textures and the stories themselves are very sweet as well. I hope my friend's baby will enjoy these just as much :)

Oh and once again, I'm sharing this blog post over at Simple Design as part of their "Share you thrift haul" series. It's a fun way to share and see other people's thrifted finds!

Charity Shop Booty...More Cool Books + Plastic Tiger!

I've had such good luck this week with finding a few great books at a local charity shop and church fair. Sometimes I wonder, who enjoys reading these books more? Myself of the little one :)

And again, I'm sharing this blog post over at Simple Design as part of their "Share you thrift haul" series. It's a fun way to share and see other people's thrifted finds!

(Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!)

In this week's collection: 

"Thank You for Taking Care of My Pets" by Tim Hopgood 

(Little miss currently loves "Wow! Said the Owl" by the same author)

"Eloise Takes a Bawth" by Kay Thompson

(I try to collect "Eloise" books as they are wonderful stories and my Sis' namesake) 

"The Curious Girls Book of Adventure" by Claire Gillman

(my favorite find, a collection of how-to's aimed at young girls)

Oh, and a plastic tiger that only my little one would love!

(she's obsessed with her plastic dinosaurs)

Books for Girls...Remember Little House on the Prairie?

I've been reading a lot lately about recommended books for young girls, both here and here.

With this in mind, I was in one of my local charity shops today and was lucky to find this Little House on the Prairie book set for only £5. I remember reading the series as a young girl and I was completely hooked on the TV series, watching after school religiously (can you say pigtails and blue gingham dresses?). It's missing 2 out of the 9 books but I'm sure I can find them on eBay. Nonetheless, I was super excited to find the set!

Remember little Laura Ingalls?

Still a good looking set.

What's this? Reading already?

I absolutely cannot wait for little miss to enjoy these books as much as I did!

Alice in Wonderland Color Board Book

I came across this gorgeous Alice in Wonderland board book at my favorite local bookstore. I picked it up and immediately fell in love with all the gorgeous colors and illustrations. Funny, I'm not sure who is going to enjoy the book more...little miss or myself?

The book is authored by Jennifer Adams, illustrated by Alison Oliver, and is published by Gibbs Smith.  They also publish similar board books for Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice and Romeo & Juliet. 

I'm looking forward to adding all of them to our bookshelf very soon!

Thank You for Curious George

Curious George, by H.A. Rey is a current favorite in our bedtime story routine. Little Miss has had me read it to her nearly every night this week. I picked up this particular copy from my local children's charity shop several months ago, but I hadn't noticed the inside inscription until tonight:

"February, 2000

For Curious - Lucas on your first birthday.

Love Aunt Fran & Uncle Marty"

A part of me is a little sad & nostalgic that this book was given away when it was an obvious thoughtful gift for a special little boy. But another part of me is very happy that it made it's way into our home so that Little Miss and I can enjoy it over and over again as a family.

So thank you to Aunt Fran & Uncle Marty (whoever you are) for the gift that keeps on giving!

New Year...New Charity Shop Booty

Now that the busy holiday season is over, I can focus on getting my blog up to speed for 2012 and get back into the swing of things. That includes a trip to my local children's charity shop! 

So I popped in the other day and came across some great finds...

Since we're huge fans of "The Gruffalo", I grab any books illustrated by Axel Scheffler (and it has pop ups too!). Little Miss loved "The Rainbow Fish" when I borrowed it from the library a few months ago and the number puzzle is a happy coincidence as we're just learning our numbers.