Lostmy.name

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name / The Little Boy Who Lost His Name

When I was 7, personalised stuff was where it was at. Personalised pencils, pens or pencil cases were the height of cool so imagine the look of wonder on 30 schoolchildren’s faces when Rachel Knight brought in her very own personalised book, a birthday present from Smarties no less! She featured in her very own story, wow! However, this amazement was surprisingly short-lived. As soon as our teacher began reading, my attention wandered. The story was boring, uninspiring and left me thinking that personalised books were definitely not going to make it onto my Christmas list.

Fast forward 20 odd years (ok closer to 30 but a lady never tells) and now with kids of my own, I was approached by the Lost My Name team. They sent me copies of their beautiful books and I finally found out just what a personalised book should be. I’m already a firm believer in the magic of storytelling and sharing stories but this time, I understood how exciting a story can be when your name is the star of the show. The look of delight as my children realised it was actually their name highlighted just how different the experience is from the competition – these are books that let your child be part of the adventure without scrimping on story, quality or production. The illustrations are just as enchanting too. 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost My Name tells the story of a child who has lost his or her name and who sets off on a journey to track down the missing letters. Along the way they meet lots of weird, wonderful and wise characters. Each offers the child the first letter of its name. As the sequence of each story is dependent on the name of the child (over 236 illustrations and rhyming stories have been created to cater for every single name), so every child receives a perfectly individual book.

 

These gorgeous books are gifts to be treasured; they are the perfect newborn or christening present plus the story will be enjoyed by 3 to 6 year olds as they embark on their reading journeys. And once grown up, it will be that book you want to keep on your shelf to remind you of those magical childhood moments when your imagination knew no bounds.

Save 10%! Type in BlogTour10 when you checkout at lostmy.name

 

 

Check out Read It Daddy! tomorrow for a guest post from author David Cadji-Newby

http://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/

All aboard! Sammy's Scrumptious Blog Sandwich

Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich is as heavenly as the delectable treats featured inside. It's a beautiful book in a large board format that begs to be picked up and read... Visually stunning, we loved the retro illustrations and all the luscious, colourful details that burst out from every page. Pieter Gaudesaboos has managed to combine 1950's style with contemporary digital design to create a timeless classic. Just look at this amazing spread full of colour and mouthwatering food. No wonder my 3 yo picked the tomatoes and pretended to eat them!

I read this with my own Sammy (no wonder I'm biased) and DD2. The board format is perfect for a inquisitive 16 month old who's only just getting to grips with turning pages. But the tasty treats inside make it an entertaining read for my 3 yo. We had lots of fun playing the I-Spy game - you can download this via the Book Island website http://www.bookisland.co.nz/en/books/sammy-and-skyscraper-sandwich

It gets the thumbs up from me for its celebration of imagination. And it's more than a first class read; it prompted food discussions with my 5 yo, had my 3 yo engrossed in look and find games and is the perfect length for my 16 mo. I also love the fact that it takes me back to my own childhood and reminds me of the classics I grew up with. Fans of The Hungry Caterpillar would love it!

So I have to confess. I'm organising the publicity campaign for this one... But before you disregard all my comments above, I'll point you in the direction of all the fabulous bloggers who have also been won over by Sammy's charm! Yesterday, the wonderful Book Sniffer kicked off the tour with a marvellous review http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/sammy-and-skyscraper-sandwich.html. And on Tuesday, Sammy will be stopping by Read It Daddy! http://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/. Then it's the turn of http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/ on Wednesday followed by a guest post on Thursday over at http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co.uk/. On Friday, author Lorraine Francis will be sharing her picture book recommendation at http://storysnug.com/ and finally on Saturday, http://www.arushoflove.co.uk/ will be Sammy's final stop. Plus check out Book Island's facebook page and twitter to join our celebration of the humble sandwich! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-Island/121391998004041 and @BookIslandBooks

Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich by Lorraine Francis & Pieter Gaudesaboos is published by Book Island and is priced at £12.99. Available from all good bookshops and Amazon.

Mouseton Abbey Scoop!

Breaking News... Exclusive chat with Lady Brie of Mouseton Abbey

Lady Brie, Countess of Mouseton, talks about THAT Alan Titchmarsh appearance and rumours of a new A-List friendship…

So, Lady Brie, we saw Mouseton Abbey on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on Friday, how exciting was that?

It was such a fun day! Lord Mouseton and I were allowed to meet Alan and we enjoyed a jolly good chat. Mr Tichmarsh is ever so sweet and he asked lots of questions the history of Mouseton Abbey. In the end, he showed our rather splendid book to the delightful Julian Ovenden but I was a little disappointed that our interview wasn’t aired. I blame my husband’s tendency to ramble.

We hear that you have a new celebrity best friend!

Oh, Sandra? Yes, she was over in England recently and we met up for tea at The Ritz. I gave her a copy of the book for her son, Louis. She’s a darling and has invited me out to LA for a shopping trip.

How has the publicity for Mouseton Abbey been going?

Well, it’s been exhausting to say the least. I’m going to need to book myself into Champneys to recover when it’s all over! There have been numerous interviews and meet-and-greets – I forget all the places we’ve visited. I’m excited that this week our fabulous blog tour kicked off. The lovely Read It Daddy ran a guest post with Lord Mouseton on Monday (http://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-mouseton-abbey-blog-tour-special.html) and Mrs Cheshire was interviewed by the legendary Book Sniffer (http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/a-peep-behind-closed-doors-of-mouseton.html). Luckily, she behaved herself and didn’t divulge too many of our secrets! Plus Nayu’s Reading Corner has an exclusive on our Summer Holiday coming soon (http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co.uk/ ). After all this, I’ll need another break!

Mouseton Abbey is available to order through The Book People and Amazon as well as all good bookshops

Best Books for a 1 Year Old

Okay, so I know I'm going to need to be a little more regular with my posts if anyone out there is going to read my ramblings! At the moment, it's all a little crazy with limited childcare and 2 jobs! Am holding out for after the half-term when our childcare will be back on track...

My little boy recently turned 1 and it's made me reflect on how time flys by so fast and how so much has changed. As the youngest of three, he's learnt to be patient and has such a happy, smiley personality. But I do feel an smidge of guilt that I haven't been able to spend as much one on one attention with him in his first year. I began sharing and reading books with my eldest at 3 months, starting with first black and white board books enjoying the cuddles and closeness that reading time would bring. And as I was so zombie like after the birth of DD2, the 3 of us would read books daily to encourage quiet time in my state of exhaustion! I'm hoping that my son will have soaked up our love of books via the overflowing bookshelves and I'm looking forward to sharing with him our favourite reads. 1 is such a great age to instil a love of reading of books so here's our list of books that have been tried and tested!

1) Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell - a classic lift-the-flap book. Ingeniously simple, kids will love to make all the animal noises!

2) Not a Box by Antoinette Portis - A small rabbit turns the humble box into a mountain, a rocket ship... Encourages the use of imagination in your little explorer.

3) Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray - Lovely retro style illustrations are matched with a cunning use of the alphabet. A nursery classic.

4) Chick by Ed Vere - Bold colours and simple graphics make up this funny novelty book about a chick's day. We also love Ed Vere's Banana!

5) I Love My Mummy by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd - perfect for bedtime... They might not be able to say it so this charming book does it for them! There's also a I Love My Daddy version

That's not forgetting all our other favourites for little ones; The Hungry Caterpillar, Usborne's That's Not My series, Emergency! & Roar! by Margaret Mayo, Mr Pusskins, Goodnight Gorilla... What are your favourites?

The Only Way Is Books

So I'm jumping on the book blog bandwagon, late to the party as always! Being Mum to 3 children 5 & under means lateness is the norm whether dashing to school or a playdate. I'd love to be more organised but for now, my main goal is for all 3 to leave the house dressed in semi decent outfits and with clean (or at least wiped) faces. However, there's one constant in our daily routine that I don't mind making us late. Books, glorious, books are devoured by DD1 (5), DD2 (2) and DS (11mths). Coming from parents of 2 children's publishing employees, they do have an advantage but I've learnt that picking the perfect story is no easy task. I spent over 10 years in children's publishing, attending acquisitions meetings where we dissected artwork and texts but it wasn't until I started on a reading journey with my own children that I discovered what makes a truly fantastic picture book. Each of my children are at a different stage on their reading journey and I want to explore and share all their wonderful book choices. I'll be blogging about their current favourites including the books that have made their ultimate 'read over and over again' list. We read every night before bedtime so my aim is to blog about our nightly pick and award each book a special rating. I may not blog every day though as most nights, I only have enough energy for an episode of towie and a glass of red wine... And expect my posts to be of a similar high brow nature...