I really love books.
No really.
I probably buy a handful of books a week (including ebooks.)
My happy place is a bookshop, which makes Oxford an ideal place to live since we have the sprawling, multi venue Blackwells, with it’s Bond villain lair ‘The Norrington Room‘. Plus a live in a bit of the city that is full of charity shops and people who read a lot, which means that a lot of our children’s book are second hand and we have stumbled across some great books that way.
Anyway… I’ve been wanting to add a bigger book element to the blog, and so I thought I’d show you some of the books that pass through our front door each month. They won’t be ‘finger on the pulse’ brand new stories, but they will all be books that we love and which I would happily buy for someone else.
I’m still trying to work out how I want to link to the books. I’m reticent to just link to Amazon (even though that seems to be the blogger standard), mostly because I have stopped using their main site, and have just stuck to using the smaller sellers in the Amazon market place, as well as supporting local bookshops. After reading various reports about how they treat their warehouse employees I decided that I couldn’t buy things that went through their warehouses any more. However I’m not sure that just posting the title, author and ISBN is enough?
Readers – what would you prefer?
Off to Market by Elizabeth Dale (ISBN 978-1847804389) about a community of people who go off to market on the local bus, and a small boy’s compassion and cheerful spirit. This book made me smile and the illustrations bustle with life.
A Street Through Time by Steve Noon (ISBN – 978-1409376446) My friend N recced this to me for my eldest, since her eldest was enjoying it and I agree that it’s a great over view book. Again, the illustrations are packed with drama and detail, and it’s a good over view of life in different time periods. After studying Vikings for much of this last year with FB and LR, it’s been useful for showing them what came before, and what came directly after. I can see us getting our own copy once this goes back to the library.
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (ISBN – 978-0547512914) i really like Steve Jenkins’ work (we also have bones and there is a Prehistoric version of Actual Size that I know will be a hit in our house.) This book show things the actual size that they are, which is great for allowing children to compare their physical selves with other animals. We spent a lot of time a gape while going through this book. 🙂
I am blessed to have a BFF who is an educational librarian, (actually I’m very lucky she is my BFF for countless reasons. The librarian bit is only one small one. ) This means that visits sometimes include books she has picked up for us, all of which (seriously) have been excellent.
She brought Shaker Lane by Alice and Martin Provensen (ISBN – 074452234X) the last time she visited, and it turned out to be a wonderfully simple but nuanced book about class and community.
I want my hat back by Jon Klassen (ISBN – 978-1406338539) is another of her presents, and her first reading of the book to the children sticks in my mind, and is the basis of my readings of it now. 🙂 I love picture books that tell you the story without actually telling you a story.
So there you go. 🙂 Do you have any children’s book recs?
Such cute books, I think “actual size” is definitely going on my wishlist. We buy at least ten new books each week, too, there is a little book shop in town that usually has a booksale.
I think isbn numbers are just fine, that way everyone can go and find the book wherever they like.
<3
thanks for the isbn support! 🙂
Books are totally my weakness (though i’m just as willing to donate any we don’t need to Oxfam, so we’re not completely drowning in them, thank goodness. Actual Size is good (Bones is also very good.)
I love I want my hat back – it’s slightly creepy. I bought it for Lyra at Christmas. Current favourites here are: sharing my shell (Julia Donaldson), dogger (Shirley Hughes), oh no George! And pretty much anything with a cat in it!
Loving your blog updates Xxx
I love sharing a shell! and shirley hughes as a favourite in our house too (as you might expect.) She is on my list to do as a post of her very own. I don’t know ‘oh no george!’ but our cat of choice (as far as our youngest is concerned) is scarface claw from the hairy maclary books. 🙂
HI! how are you? we need to catch up!
We have just come from a visit to Oxford (I’ve got a lovely souvenir skein of your yarn tucked in my luggage) and I wish I’d had more time in the bookshops! I love the Provensens. I wonder if you’ve seen Barbara Cooney’s work? She is iconic in the US. Miss Rumphius is a personal favorite, and also The Ox-Cart Man, which she illustrated for Donald Hall. And there’s a sequel to I Want My Hat Back called This Is Not My Hat that’s even better in terms of the visual joke. Plus Klassen illustrated Extra Yarn, which you’d have to know about, right? 🙂
Yay! I really hope you enjoy the yarn! (Isn’t Darn it and Stitch great? 🙂
Miss Rumphius is on my wish list, but i’ve still not read any of Barbara Cooney’s work. And I didn’t twig that Klassen had illustrated Extra Yarn (which, yes we do have. 😉 thanks for the heads up!
A Street Through Time looks fantastic – unfortunately not in our library but I’ll request it. The ISBN & title is plenty of info for me – I don’t use Amazon much for a variety of reasons, so I think what you’ve done is fantastic. Similar to A Street Through Time, we’ve been enjoying the Usborne ‘See Inside’ books – the famous buildings one is great, and we’re currently enjoying ‘See Inside Science’. Good introductions to more grown up topic for younger kids. And for the littlies, we’re still in love with Margarety Mahy, a NZ author who writes anarchic, brilliant children’s books. We love the Lion in the Meadow, Mr Whistler and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate, but she’s written stacks and we’ve loved every one so far. A lovely post – thanks!
The See Inside book are great aren’t they! I know the Lion in the meadow! but that’s the only one of her’s that i know. thanks for the rec!
Hi!
I have only come across the first of these, though I liked that, especially the illustrations. The others look great too. We’ll have to try and get hold of them.
The boys’ favourite book is probably You Choose by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt, though Chris and I are learning to detest it after so many readings, and the discussions about what to choose on each page can go on for so long we have had to ban it at bedtime!
I really like Nick Sharratt – we have a good early reader book of his called Mrs Pirate, which is just silly, and Toddle Waddle which he illustrated for Julia Donaldson. I’ve ordered You Choose and Stanley’s stick (John Hegley! I haven’t read any of his children’s stuff) from the library – thanks for the recs!
Yes. Some books just aren’t bedtime books! even if it’s just for parental sanity.
Ooh, and I forgot Stanley’s Stick. I love Stanley’s Stick.