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Comment by Rebecca Watkins on September 11, 2012 at 16:43

I have been told by an eminent psych, that this book is a must read!

Hold on to Your Kids

Order it through Nat Mothers Store and we get a 5% bonus and you pay no more! 

Mine arrives tomorrow.. and I'll let you know my opinion on it:-)

Comment by Rebecca Watkins on October 6, 2011 at 20:47

What a simple, happy little story, thanks for that Robin

Comment by Robin Scoville on October 6, 2011 at 20:00

Here's a story that my girls helped to make. They love it:

 

The Three Girls and Waggety     There were once three little girls. Their names were Eva, Imogen and Esme. They woke one beautiful sunny morning. The girls knew it was sunny because the sun was peeking in from under the curtains and their noses were warm where they were poking out above the blankets.   The girls were so happy! Their dreams had been filled with aeroplanes, stars and moons so they jumped out of bed and flew down the stairs.   In the kitchen, they found Daddy making breakfast. The girls sat down and ate bacon, eggs and tomatoes, which they washed down with apple juice.   Leaning back in her chair, her tummy nice and full, Eva said, ‘What shall we do today?’ ‘I know,’ said Imogen, ‘let’s get on the bus and go to the zoo!’ ‘Ga-ga,’ agreed Esme. The girls brushed their teeth, got dressed and went outside into the lovely fresh air.   The bus arrived after just a few minutes.  The girls jumped on, bought three tickets, and climbed up to the top deck. Up the hill the bus went. Over a hedge, Eva saw puppies playing in a garden. Out into the country the bus went. On a hill, Imogen saw cows eating grass in a green field. Down into the valley the bus went. In the top of a tree, Esme saw birds preening their feathers. What fun!   The bus drove into town, went around the corner and stopped. The girls jumped off in front of the zoo. ‘Wow,’ they said. In the distance, they could hear lots of different animals, and see a train puff puffing out of the tunnel. It was so exciting.    Inside the zoo, the girls emptied their pockets. They counted their money. ‘We have four pounds and fifty pence,’ Eva said. ‘Let’s buy ice-cream!’ cried Imogen.. ‘Goo-goo,’ agreed Esme.   Eva found a pelican with amazing eyes and a mouth full of ice-cream cones. She chose a chocolate one for Imogen, a strawberry one for Esme and a mint choc-chip one for herself.   Imogen played with the seagulls while Esme pretended to be a tortoise. The girls then sat down to eat their treats.   With smiles on their faces, the girls decided to look at the animals. Eva walked up to a big lion with yellow fur and a fluffy orange mane. The lion opened its mouth very wide and said, ‘Quack.’ It looked very surprised.   Imogen went to look at an enormous elephant with grey skin and flappy ears. The elephant lifted its trunk and said, ‘Oink.’ It looked a little bit sad.   Esme walked up to a long snake with shiny scales and a flicking tongue. It slithered along and said, ‘Roar.’ It looked very confused.   ‘How strange,’ said Eva. ‘It is!’ agreed Imogen. ‘Ooh,’ said Esme.   The girls wanted to help the animals and went to the Fun House to think about what they could do. Inside the Fun House they saw boys and girls laughing and playing while their parents watched them. There was a swing, big foam bricks and a climbing frame that was as tall as a house. The girls made friends and chased each other around.    In the middle of the climbing frame was a long, curly slide. It was yellow and blue, and ended in a pool filled with rainbow-coloured balls. The girls jumped in at the top and slid round and round until… splash! They landed at the bottom, scattering balls everywhere.   The girls lay back until they were covered by red, green and purple. Then they heard ‘Hee, hee, hee.’ ‘What was that?’ said Eva. Then they heard ‘Ho, ho, ho.’ ‘Who's laughing?’ said Imogen. Then they heard ‘Ha, ha, ha.’ ‘Gee-gog?’ said Esme, who was curious.   The noises were coming from the corner of the ball pool. Very quietly, the girls crept forward.  There, nearly hidden, was a pointy head, a purple hat with stars and moons on it, and a magic wand. Why, it could only be WAGGETY WIZARD, the naughtiest wizard in the world. ‘Waggety, what are you doing here?’ asked the girls all together. ‘I was bored by myself,’ said Waggety, ‘so I swapped the animals' voices around for fun.’ ‘We've got to get the magic wand,’ the girls called at once, knowing that it was the only way to help the animals.   With that, Waggety ran off, with the girls following close behind. Around the swing Waggety ran and the girls got closer. Past the bricks Waggety ran and the girls got even closer. Under the climbing frame Waggety ran and the girls could almost catch him. Then Waggety trod on a ball and slipped. He turned upside down and the magic wand span up into the air. The three girls and Waggety watched as the wand fell to the ground. When the wand landed, the magic escaped with a flash. Suddenly, the animals' voices returned. Everyone heard the happy roars, trumpets and hisses. They knew that everything was back to normal.  Just then Waggety's mum found him and mad him pick up rubbish for the rest of the day.     The end.

 

Comment by Kate Pease-Watkin on October 4, 2011 at 17:45

every time a young person reads "A Pig in the Pond" with me it's time to buy another copy for my bookshelf! beautifully humourous and illustrated

Comment by Rebecca Watkins on October 3, 2011 at 13:05

When our children were young, one of their favourite picture books was Baron Battleaxe and the Magic Carpet, by Kay Henwood and Michael Stringer. Now out of print, but still available to buy on the internet; this book, along with its sister-The Magic Carpet Adventure- are the perfect read-aloud picture books for young children!

The simple storyline tells of how a young  arabian prince and his friend- a servant boy called Ali-who together with the help of a magic carpet outwit Baron Battleaxe and his stupid crusaders. The author succeeds in bringing the words vividly to life and the illustrations are colourful with plenty of funny details to discover. These books were read to our three girls ,over, over and over again.  I highly recommend them both.

Comment by Carrie Scoville on September 19, 2011 at 17:51

That sounds like a really interesting read, Rebecca. Thanks - I might even suggest it to my book club girls tomorrow night. We all have daughters, and often discuss what it means to be growing up today.

Comment by Rebecca Watkins on September 18, 2011 at 20:28

A wonderful book that is really worth a read for those of you with daughters in particular is: Reviving Ophelia- saving the selves of adolescent girls.

A book written by Mary Pipher, it offers an insightful and painfully honest view  of the world of teenage girls  and the cultural pressures they face as they struggle to hold onto who they are, only to suffer from an inevitable self-detachment that so many undergo, in order to make themselves more socially acceptable. Although the research is based on Amercican teens, it is highly relevant to teenage issues here in the UK. It is a compelling, if somewhat harrowing read, I can recommend it without reservation.

Comment by Carrie Scoville on September 18, 2011 at 17:32

What's everyone reading at the moment? I've been so busy these last few weeks that I haven't read anything since July! (Unheard of for me.) Now that the evenings are drawing in, I'd like to get a couple of good reads lined up. Any suggestions?