World Book Day with Asda - Review

World Book Day! These three words often strike fear into the hearts of parents across the land.  We all know the books our children love to read, but with lives ever increasingly busy making an outfit isn't always easy. Plus if a sewing machine is as alien to you as it is to me, then double-sided sticky tape and velcro can be our saving graces.

But have no fear this year Asda have come up trumps with a great selection of outfits, characters from popular books that have been around for years and then some more modern day ones too.



We headed over to Asda in West Bridgford, Nottingham to have a look at their range and purchase some outfits for World Book Day on the 1st March.
As we got to the top of the escalator, we could see there were outfits a plenty and the children had so much fun rifling through the rails to find their favourite ones.

My daughter had already seen some of the range in another Asda when she was out with her Nana, so she knew exactly what she was looking for. Well at least she thought she did, when she spotted the Alice in Wonderland outfit with a magic key that is also a pen she went as Mad as a Hatter with excitement.

My son was a little more apprehensive, not really know what he wanted to be. But he loved the Fantastic Mr Fox outfit, complete with mask, tail and a bag full of chickens.

With all your favourites from Alice in Wonderland to Gangster Granny, Fantastic Mr Fox to the Mad Hatter there is such a huge choice of outfits to choose from for all tastes, i'd certainly give the range a 5/5 for choice.

The range is reasonably priced at around £15 for the outfit, whilst I am sure you could make them for a lot less, for those that don't have the time or aren't able these are a great option. They are well made and each outfit comes with accessories which add to the overall effect. I'd give them a 5/5 for value and quality.

They look really true to their characters and I absolutely loved them all, the attention to detail on my sons Fox outfit is brilliant.

So if you are looking for some inspiration for World Book Day and some super fab outfits for your little ones then do check out the awesome range at Asda.

This is a collaborative post, all words and opinions are my own.

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars - A New Hope - plus Competition

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars - A New Hope, a film that changed the world of film forever.

For me, I remember many a Christmas where we watched Star Wars together as a family. I sat watching in awe at the lightsabers and stormtroopers and thinking how amazing Princess Leia was. The love story, the action and comedy in the films is what makes them so special, with a brother and two male cousins I fondly remember playing with the Millennium Falcon that my grandparents had at their house.

Fast forward some *coughs* 30 something years and it is the turn of my son to enjoy the films as much as I did, which he does if not more. With new films having been released since my day and more set for release this year it is a great time to be alive for any Star Wars fans.

My son loves to play with his lego Star Wars, making up scenes from the film and it has been something he has enjoyed watching with his Dad, it is great that it can be passed on from generation to generation and be something all ages enjoy.

With the 40th Anniversary though comes the release of some beautiful new books from Egmont, bound in a black cover and colourful page edges, these are books to take pride of place on your book shelf, they look simple, clean and contain the stories from the films.

My son who is 9 has thoroughly enjoyed reading them, his words are 'they are really good Mummy, just like the films only I can read them when I am in bed'

The books in the series are:
Star Wars: A New Hope Junior Novel
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Junior Novel
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Junior Novel
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Junior Novel

and the beautifully illustrated Galactic Atlas

The Galactic Atlas has been a particular favourite, allowing my son to sit and look at the pictures with his sister and hopefully encourage her to like Star Wars the same way, which she does a bit because it has a princess in it.

My son has started the series from the beginning, reading A New Hope which is one of his favourite films. An introduction to this intergalactic world and to the wonderful characters, my son has loved reading this book the most and I think that is purely because it is where it all starts, he loved reading some to his little sister who I am sure one day will be as in to reading them as he has been.

The Empire Strikes Back follows on from A New Hope in the same way the films do, obviously this is a bit darker than the first but still, it has been written in a way that makes it easy for younger readers without being too scary.

Return of the Jedi is my favourite story of all, mainly because of the Ewoks but I think ultimately because at the time it was the final chapter in a story that we had all grown to love. The book tells the story in the same way with the same familiar feeling on it ending. Since then we have The Force Awakens, I have only seen this film once and then I was making dinner, so I am not really that sure whether it follows the same story, but I have been informed by my son that it does.

They are all wonderfully adapted stories which make them great for younger readers, with some of the more difficult to understand elements of the story altered. The prologues set the scene and the beginning of each story cleverly offers up information about what is happening, as if you were actually watching the film.

These books would make absolutely wonderful gifts to any Star Wars fan, especially since it is the 40th Anniversary of A New Hope this year.

And if you fancy having a read yourself then I have a competition to win the four new junior novels, all you need to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below, T&Cs apply.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Egmont UK

Dressing Up with Pretend To Bee

World Book Day is upon us and it always seems to put the fear of god into some parents, whether you choose to make a costume or buy one, it doesn’t have to be difficult. It is all about choosing an outfit from a story you love reading with your children.

Ours have been, the rat from The Highway Rat, the witch from Room on the Broom as well as George from Georges Marvellous Medicines.

This year though we have been sent some wonderful outfits from Pretend to Bee, this fab local company have some wonderful outfits, not just for World Book Day but for dressing up at any time.

I
n our house my daughter can often be found dressing up in some of her outfits, just last weekend we went to Drayton Manor and she was dressed in her Thomas the Tank Engine Outfit.

Dressing up engages the imagination and allows children to be explore life through a different lens, it helps with self-confidence and my son who is currently attending Stagecoach Drama school loves dressing up.

Whether it is a princess, lion, robin hood or a robot Pretend to Bee have something for everyone and every occasion.

This year my daughter is going to be the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, with the release of Through the Looking Glass later this year it is the perfect time dressing up as the wonderful characters from this book and soon to be film.

The dress we were sent is really quite pretty and unusual, I love the detailing on the front and the fit around the back looks really lovely with the high neck.

For my son he is going as a possibly more untraditional character, however this character does feature in several of the books that we have read over the years from Each Peach Pear Plum to the one he has been reading with his Dad recently, Robin Hood and the Silver Arrow. 

Being from Nottingham this character has always played a huge part in our lives and so this outfit will be well used and loved, my son absolutely loved the arm guard and money purse which he immediately popped some of his money in and then found a sword he already had.

The outfits themselves are quite unique and they not something like you'd find on the high street, the little attentions to detail such as the chain mail on the arm, the velvet trousers and belt with purse and scabbard set off the outfit. 

With plenty more to chose from, there is something for all tastes, like this fab Thunderbirds outfit perfect for any little international rescue wannabes.

Or how about this, perfect for spring and summer butterfly outfit, this wonderfully bright costume would look great at a summer party or for just playing in the garden.

Whatever your child wants to be i'm sure you'll find something for them at Pretend to Bee.

NB: We were sent the outfits to form this review, all words and opinions are my own.

Happy Pony Stories Giveaway

Last week, we reviewed a wonderful new series of books called Happy Ponies, they were a welcome addition to our reading pile. These are such easy to read stories that you and your children can relate to, they have been thoroughly enjoyed in our house.

Best of all I am really excited to be able to offer the first three books in the series worth over £20 to one of my lucky readers, as well as five runners up prizes of a set of stickers from the series, perfect for those sticker loving pony fans you might have.

All you need to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below, T&Cs apply.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Ponies Book Review

We were recently sent some of a wonderful new series of books called Happy Ponies, this series of 20 books are based on real life ponies that live on a farm on the Isle of Wight. Gail, the author taught the ponies owner Nicola how to drive carriages pulled by the ponies and whilst out on their trips, Gail would imagine different characters and scenarios for the ponies.

The bright and colourful book colours are appealing to the eye and the playful ponies on the front were an instant hit for my daughter who coincidentally, is going on her first horse ride this weekend as a birthday treat from her best friend.

The stories themselves are well written and feature real life situations that children can not only enjoy but relate to as well. Our favourite being the story of Malt Loaf and the Tooth Fairy, my son lost his tooth a few months back so this was something we definitely understood.

We have been reading these as bedtime stories and they make the perfect lighthearted story for the end of the day, if I could change one thing it would be the layout. To have the text split over the pages with a few more pictures would have made them more engaging. However I more than made up for this with my silly voices, which it states are more than appropriate in the front of the book, very good.

At the end of each book is a picture of one of the real life ponies and a bit about them, their character and likes and dislikes, this is a really great addition and brings the ponies to life. My daughter has loved looking at these and then looking for them on the front of the book.

These books would make perfect gift for a pony loving child, whether they love to ride them or just have an interest in these wonderful and majestic creatures. 

The first 3 instalments of the Happy Ponies series are available to buy from Amazon, for just £6.99 each. These stories are sure to be a staple on our reading list and have definitely been a bedtime favourite for us these past few weeks. We can't wait to see what other adventures the ponies get up to in the future.

NB: We were sent these books for the purpose of this review, all opinions and pictures are my own.

My Daughters Favourite Book

At the moment, my daughter has me reading this book to her every night. It was a charity shop find, I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to get it for her.

Not only is it by the renowned childrens author Enid Blyton, it is also about a mouse, and we love a good mouse story in this house.

I love the name plate in the front of the book, it's so 80s!

My daughter really enjoys reading this book with me, I think she enjoys both the story and the pictures! I love that I can read with her an author that I enjoyed so much when I was younger.

The drawings in this book are really beautiful and even though this book is almost 30 years old it is still as fresh and inviting as it was back then.

Do you have a favourite book at the minute?

Passing on the Past

I have a love for all things 80s and am lucky that my mum and dad kept some of my old books from when I was younger.

I have added to the collection with some fabulous charity shop finds and although these are only a few I wanted to share their magic.

So, do you remember any of these?

The top four are ones I have found, I loved Rainbow Bright, the Gummi Bears and the Fluppy Dogs the Care Bears are back now so that shows how timeless they are.

The bottom three were mine as a child, I remember buying The Nite Glo Gang at a school book fair, the front glows in the dark and it is so well read, even now the kids both love it. Snow White and Sleeing Beauty are classics and my daughter loves to look at them. 

I love that I can still read these books to my children and that hopefully I can pass them on to my grandchildren too.

We were going through some toys the other day to giveaway and it suddenly dawned on me that I should save some, my husband still has a box of cars at his parents house, from when he was a child, they always get played with our the kids go round.

It is these moments that are magic, magic because I had them and now my children are enjoying them too.

Reading with Children

My son really didn't enjoy reading when he first started school, in fact it's safe to say he hated it and just couldn't get in to it.

But now he is a reading superstar and I love hearing him read, we didn't really push the whole reading thing and instead he just grew to love it.

He now reads to himself and is so enthusiastic about finding books to read, his current favourite are Beast Quest.

Reading is such a great gift for a child, for anyone in fact, it offers independence and is an important part of learning. There is a great video over on Netmums about reading with younger children and books for younger children, it's a bit of self promotion as I am featured on it but it also has some great tips from some other amazing bloggers.

Anyway I digress, this was about my son and the magic moment that is hearing him read. Sometimes it feels like after learning to walk and talk the milestones stop, but they don't, this is a wonderful milestone and a great way to enjoy time together too.

Linking up to Magic Moments on The Olivers Madhouse

A Novel Gift Review

I love bunting, it is a simple yet effective way of making a space look pretty and can brighten up a dull wall too.

So when I was offered a piece of beautiful bunting from A Novel Gift I looked forward to finding a new home for it somewhere in the house.

You can choose from several different books and several coloured threads and ribbons so you can personalise your bunting, I went for Sherlock Holmes as we love watching Elementary and Sherlock.

I chose purple thread and ribbons to go with our bedroom and also our dining room so I could choose between the two places to hang it.

In the end though I put it in the bedroom  above the bed, where it looks stunning and really breaks up what is currently an empty wall.

I really love the bunting, if you know someone that loves books this would make a great gift, it would also make the perfect bunting for a wedding or party.

Being made from old books it is the perfect up-cycled piece and is handmade to order, so you know you are getting something unique.

It's really light so can be secured with blu-tak or if you have some I used wash tape, it not only secures it perfectly but looks great too.

The bunting is £12 and has 10 flags on it, each with a button or ribbon in the centre. I absolutely love this bunting and have enjoyed reading the snippets of the book on each page

As well as this beautiful bunting, you can also find some gorgeous unique cards and prints all book themed. Laura who owns and makes these beautiful items also has a wonderful blog, it's a really lovely read so if you like to find new blogs to look at then do pop on over and say 'hi'.

Cooking with Mother - Ladybird Tuesday

I saw this fabulous link up over on Being Mrs Cs blog last week and decided I would link up today with a recent purchase of a fabulous ladybird book.

Cooking with Mother is a wonderful book which goes through step by step how to make several simple  dishes, with instructions for what is in the kitchen to ingredients and how to make the dish.

I really think we should bring books like this back to give out in schools, not to just borrow but to keep.

With childhood obesity on the rise and so many children not even knowing what or where a carrot comes from I think books like this need to come back into fashion!

Who doesn't love a cheese and pineapple hedgehog?

I love this idea, if only I could get my son to eat tomatoes in any other form than tomato ketchup.

I love the ladybird series and think they should bring them back...in book form not as an app, reading is becoming such a thing of the past and I often wonder whether children really appreciate books and what they stand for.

I find it much easier to follow a recipe from a book than from a computer screen, but maybe that is just me?

I love finding books like this and reminiscing over the past whilst thinking about how it could help the future ;)

Born in the 80s!

Today I saw a little girl picking a dandelion, that got me thinking about the old wives tale of wetting the bed if you picked them.

This led me on to thinking about dandelion and burdock, do they even still make it?

We then went to do a little charity shopping and I found these two books, although they aren't vintage I do have these exact ones at my mum and dads from the 80s. I think they might even be worth something now, I loved them so much I have bought these for my son (don't want him manhandling the vintage ones).

I do enjoy reminiscing about my youth, I'm lucky enough I remember it. My husband seems to have forgotten everything that happened in his!

I love my old school toys and stuff, after a visit to Wonder Years in Bude a few years ago I sought out this Fisher Price Activity Centre which dates back to late 70s.

I also have a couple of Keypers and my old Silver Cross dolls pram for my daughter when she is a bit older. I love that all of these things don't require any batteries, now days there is nothing more sad than the sound of a toy that's batteries are running out!

What do you remember from your childhood? Have you bought something because you had it?