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Our Library - Book Reviews

The Dinosaur Craft Book

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The Dinosaur Craft Book by Laura Minter and Tia Williams.

A meteoric craft book from the amazing award-winning bloggers Little Button Diaries


Front cover of the Dinosaur Craft Book, 15 Things a Dino fan can't do without
  • Paperback: 54 Pages
  • Authors: Laura Minter and Tia Williams
  • ISBN: 978178944841
  • Publisher: GMC Publications
  • Publication Date: November 2018
  • Price: £5.99 on Amazon

The Blurb

Out of the pre-historic mists emerges two mighty terrors that will stupefy and astound! It’s the award wining Little Button Diaries bloggers and crafting mums Laura Minter and Tia Williams who return this season with an amazing children’s craft book for all dino-mad kids out there – The Dinosaur Craft Book!

These pages have all the items your little budding palaeontologists and dinosaur hunters could dream of – whether they want to study dinosaurs or BE dinosaurs this book has it all. Containing 15 different dinosaur themes projects to make, the Dinosaur Craft Book will get your little ones crafting and creating in no time. Aimed and boys and girls aged 3+ years all of the projects can be made either from readily available items or from easy-to-source materials. Parents can have little to no crafting experience to help. As well as dinosaur costumes to wear and essential accessories,t here is also an epic Volcano Cake, perfect for any Party-saurus! Projects include: Dinosaur Paws, Pterodactyl Wings, and adorable snugglesaurus Cushion, a Spino Dino Cape, a Fundy Triceratops Pen Pot and a matching Magnetic dinosaur themed Pen Case.

So get ready to hunt down some terrible lizards with The Dinosaur Craft Book because there’s a Giganotosaurus amount of fun to be had with this book.

Our Verdict

Having reviewed some Little Button Diaries Craft books before, like The Pirate Craft Book and The Super Hero Craft Book. We were keen to take a look at the Dinosaur Craft Book.

As usual with these books the features we love such as big bright colourful photos and easy step-by-step instructions were on every page. However, with this book there are a bigger number of activities where the children can get involved. 

My Little Man is super keen to make a Papier-mâché mini jurassic land. This looks super fun and doesn’t need loads of materials that you probably don’t have lying around. The only thing you might need to buy is some green felt.

For younger children the footprint stamps look super easy and fun and great for the little ones to get involved.

I was taken back to the 70s with the nail and string art. This one is a little more complicated but I’d loved to make a board for my older girls to have a go at ‘stringing’ a picture. 

As always, the book ends with some great party ideas including decorations, games and food and fabulous Volcano Cake. Brilliant if you are planning a Dinosaur themed party. 

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review which I have done honestly.

Linking up with Talk of the Town from Jera’s Jamboree and Bookboodle

Teach Your Child Meditation

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Teach Your Child Meditation, by Lisa Roberts. Book review.

Front cover - Teach Your Child Meditation

The Blurb

Even Children need to learn ways to calm and centre themselves. With its hands-on exercises, Teach Your Child Meditation gives kids ages 5-12 important tools to relieve anxiety, cultivate mindfulness, and gain confidence. More than 70 illustrated exercises, which all have fun names like ‘Funny Bunny Breath’ and Elephant Shower’, are organised to highlight their special benefits: Choose from such categories as ‘Hocus Pocus, I Can Focus,’ ‘The Chill Zone,’ Stress Busters’ or a sections with group exercises that teachers and parents alike can use.

Whether the goal is for a child to sleep better, concentrate before a big test of game, or enjoy some much-needed relaxation, this guide helps anyone who loves an plays with children to introduce them to the many benefits of meditation.

About the Author

Lisa Roberts is a registered yoga teacher and a registered children’s yoga teacher, and holds a certificate in children’s yoga therapy. She has worked in the paediatric wellness field since 2006 and currently runs the inpatient yoga program at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Lisa offers professional training teaching kids Adaptive and Accessible yoga for paediatric professionals, parents and yoga teachers. In addition to Teach Your Child meditation, she has developed a line of teaching tools for paediatric yoga teachers, parents, and kids.

Why We Love This Book

I started teaching my older kids meditation when they were young to help them sleep and release their stresses. It was natural for me to continue this with my younger kids  years later.

I truly believe that all children should learn at least a few mediation techniques as it is a really useful tool to have at all times in life.

What I loved about this book is it’s simplicity. Each Section gives you the focus of the meditations and why they should be done. For example, breathing, focus, chilling, energy equalising, connecting and stress busting meditations. Then the exercises are set out in a real simple format spread over only two pages. It makes it so easy to just get stuck in.

Balloon Breath: What is balloon breath? How does it help? Simple Steps for kids.
Balloon Breath

Balloon Breath

What is Balloon Breath?

Balloon Breath is a breathing technique that slows down the breath while encouraging full and deep inhales and exhales to cam the mind and body.

How Does it Help?

Balloon Breath is great to use as a quick exercise to centre and calm oneself during activities or to refocus before or during class. Linking physical movement to the breath encourages mind-body concentration and self -regulation. The physical movement of raising the arms up overhead in this exercise allows more space in the torso to accommodate fuller and deeper breaths

Simple Steps for Kids

  • Begin sitting comfortably, either on a chair or on the floor with the hands resting on the thighs. Relax the shoulders, arms and face.
  • Or, begin standing, feet hip-width distance apart, arms resting by the torso, shoulders and face relaxed.
  • Begin to breathe in and out through the nose
  • Inhale, sweeping your arms up overhead. imagine you are filling up a giant balloon.
  • Exhale, slowly lowering your arms to resting your lap or by your side.
  • Repeat for several rounds.
  • Get creative: Imagine the colour of your balloon as you inflate it.Does thinking of a certain colour make you feel more relaxed? Visualise releasing your balloon into the sky as you exhale. Where does your balloon go?

Meditation and mindfulness is very popular these days and if you are thinking that it’s something that your child would never do then this book will teach you otherwise. In just five minutes you can make your child more relaxed or less stressed with these simple exercises that any child would find easy to acheive.

The book contains 70 of these fun and so simple ways to help teach your child the basics of meditation. They will learn how to control their breathing in stressful situations and how to relax when worked up, plus much more. 

Teach Your Child Meditation is dedicated to those who dare to teach beyond the mind and awaken the soul. 

Lucy At Home UK parenting blogger

Disclosure: I was very kindly sent a copy of this book to review, which I have done honestly. This post may also contain affiliate links.

24 Hours in Nowhere – Book review

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book cover for 24 hours in Nowhere, a desert background with a silhouette of children in foreground
24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling

The Blurb

When you come from Nowhere, can you ever really make it anywhere?

Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least liveable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue – but in return she had to give Bo her prized dirt bike.

Determined to buy it back, Gus agree to go searching for gold in Dead Frenchman Mine, joined by an old friend, on of Bo’s cronies, and Rossi herself. As they race to find the treasure before the most important biking competition Nowhere has ever had, they bond over shared stories of how hard life in Nowhere is – and they realise this adventure just may be their way out. Author Dusti Bowling (Insignificant Events in the Life of  Cactus) returns to the desert to create a gripping story about friendship, hope, and finding the power we all have within ourselves.

My Review

This lovely story is aimed at young teens who can all relate to friendship troubles and bullies. I loved reviewing Dusti Bowlings last book, The Insignificant Event in the Life of a Cactus, so I was happy to be able to review this book. I think they are both suitable for my girls aged 11 and 13 years. Boo has already read The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and enjoyed it.

As with her previous book, Dusti has left her chapters short and easy to read. More complicated words are introduced in a dictionary form. For example;

Abyss: a deep or seemingly endless chasm

These are not really a learning aid, they are presented as part of the story and the main character’s personality.

The four children undertake a difficult and dangerous expedition into a cave which collapses. The journey of their hopes and dreams is just as difficult and it’s interesting as they work out the answers.

If your child would love to join Gus and the Gang on their adventure in Nowhere the book is now available on Amazon in hardback edition for £12.99

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book to review for free but all thoughts and opinions are my own. The Amazon link is an affiliate link which will not cost you anything to click but may earn me a few pennies, so thank you.

cadburys gifts

Hearing Them Read #libraries Week

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a library, rows and rows of books arcing to the left

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash

The #Blogtober18 prompt today is all about reading and libraries. Something we as a family truly enjoy. So I’m going to take this opportunity to tell you about the books we enjoy. I do still listen to my younger two read, but mostly they are independent readers and like to read themselves. 

This post contains some affiliate links which may earn me a few pennies if you click through and purchase something. Of course you are under no obligation to click or buy and if you do it will be no extra cost to you.

Our Library

If you take a look up in my header there is a link to my page of book reviews that we have done as a family on this blog. But first let me tell you a little about our love of books. At the age of about six, I decided I wanted to be a librarian. I would loan out my books to my friends and write out little tickets just like they did in the library back then. Computers were not used, there were drawers with all the tickets in alphabetical order, it was a complex but well organised system.

I didn’t realise my dream until I was in my 30s and looking for  a job near home when I was a single parent of two. The local library had a pool where you could work when they were short staffed so I put my name down. I got trained in what to do and waited for the call to work. Then they had a part time temporary job coming up and asked me if I’d like to do it. I jumped at it and loved working there. The six month contract extended 3 times so I was there nearly two years before the permanent job was offered to someone else. Yes, I did apply for the job I’d been doing for nearly two years but they decided that some young girl with no experience had given a better interview. I left bitterly.

But, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because just a few months later I landed a fabulous job in a Music library at the local university. I loved every minute I worked there. 

Books, books  and books

Let’s start with graphic books, some would say they were like comics but they are often much more artistic and people read them for the art. My older children were ‘into’ Manga from their early teens and still buy them regularly. Now Star is enjoying them too. I was introduced to the wonderful Terry Pratchett by a graphic novel, but if I’m honest, I prefer just reading because the graphics slow down the story and I’m too impatient.

When I worked in the public library, if you wanted an audio book you had to loan a box full of cassettes. (Yes, I’m THAT old!) But now I can listen to books on my phone, or kindle and I love them! 

The Little Man still loves his Picture books even though he’s getting a little old for them now. I have to admit though,  I love reading them with him, especially rhyming books like Julia Donaldson. We even have some favourite picture books from when my older kids were young, on of Which is Mama, Papa and Baby Joe. I never tire of the weird and wonderful things you can find in the illustrations of this book. Some of the used copies on Amazon go for a huge price, my copy is over 20 years old but I couldn’t bear to part with it. 

What we are Reading Now

Star loves her Warrior Cats and she has already completed two series. I remember reading the first book with her and it’s an amazing series all based around feral cats and how they survive. 

Boo is also reading Warrior Cats but she is also a fan of Michael Morpurgo, and loves The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

The Little Man has recently read Kid Normal with me as part of his reading at home and we both enjoyed it. If I was to pick one of his favourite picture books though it would have to be Mr Big.

I’ve been getting through tons of books myself lately, most of which you can read in the ‘Our Library’ link above. One of my favourites lately though has been Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading over on the #Blogtober18 linky.

#Blogtober18
Mix It Up Linky
Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs

All The Beautiful Lies – Book Review

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All the Beautiful Lies

On the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father.

But who really is Alice, his father’s much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry’s in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening – will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?

Harry is devastated by the sudden death of his father, but was it really an accident. And who is the strange young girl who turns up at the funeral that no-one seems to know. As we follow Harry’s story of investigation into what happened to his father we also delve into the history of his Step-Mother Alice.

Alice lost her mother as a teenager and soon after began a relationship with her step father. They kept it secret, but some local residents had their suspicions.

As the plot thickens, Harry discovers the stranger at the funeral was having an affair with his father, but soon after his discovery she ends up dead. Harry suspects his Stepmother has something to do with his Father’s and his mistresses deaths but can she really be guilty. As we discover, her past is not so innocent.

In the second part of the book we discover the murderer and hear of a much darker history of the Stepmother Alice. Then to top it off there is even more twists to end the story.

My Verdict.

A dark psychological thriller which had me gripped from the start. An interesting take on a very difficult to talk about subject, interspersed with mystery and murder. It stirs up a lot of emotions and will not be an easy read for anyone who has been a victim of child abuse of a sexual nature.

Audible

I listened to All the Beautiful Lies on Audio Book and I get my books from Amazon Audible. I love audio books, I can listen while I crochet or even while doing the housework, it means I don’t have to put down my book. 

You can get any type of books in Audio, fiction or non-fiction. I love audible because you get the chance to listen to an sample before you buy. I like to do this because I have to be sure I like the voice I’m going to be listening to. 

Each month I get a free credit to buy any book I wish which can be great value. One month I chose the entire works of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry. I’ve got a lovely library of audio books that I can return to at anytime if I wish.

Boo has just decided that she likes listening to books to, so I can put the app. on her phone and she can listen to children’s books. 

When you sign up to Audible you get the first three months at half price and then it’s £7.99 a month which is usually less than the price of the book you can get with your monthly credit. It’s up to you if you buy more, I tend to stick to the one a month, although sometimes they have some amazing offers starting from just 99pence. 

Audible also offers some exclusive podcasts to listen to for free from the likes of Stephen Fry, David Mitchell and Sue Perkins to name a few. Whether you want to listen to comedy, drama or history there are so many genres to choose from.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate and this post contains affiliate links which will make no difference to your costs but may earn me a little money if used. Thank you