• Booklists,  Nature

    Winter Stories

    The night is closing in much faster, the temperature is dropping, and frost is starting to appear each morning. Now is the perfect time to gather your collection of winter stories and snuggle up with blankets, steaming mugs of hot chocolate and lots of marshmallows! Before we dive into the glitter and merriment of Christmas, it feels nice to slow things down with some wintery tales. With a lovely selection of picture books and even a few non-fiction, I’m sure you’ll find the perfect choice for your bookworms.  Picture Books Non-Fiction Winter Solstice I hope you enjoy this list! Do let me know which books your little bookworms are loving!…

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    The Importance of Non-Fiction

    “One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” – Carl Sagan   Reference books open the door to the world around us and there are some amazing choices out there for every possibility. They are information treasure chests that create discussion and debate, expand our knowledge and give us a deeper understanding of our past, present and future. What they are not, is dry, dusty tomes that can be found at the back of a classroom cupboard – reluctantly dragged out and worked through (systematically of course) with a test at the…

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    Encouraging Developing Readers

    “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!     There are no hard and fast rules to learning to read – each child does it in their own way, at their own pace. Dangers can set in when we listen to uncertainty – they aren’t learning fast enough for their age, they aren’t learning the “proper” rules, they aren’t doing things “in order”, the neighbour’s son can already read War and Peace… These nagging thoughts can undermine the natural process of reading and stifle their curiosity.…

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    Welcome to The Curiosity Cupboard

    “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents” – Emilie Buchwald   Books come in all shapes and sizes and the transitions can be a joyful one – but stepping into the children’s section of a bookshop for the first time can be a little daunting! There are so many choices available and whilst there are no wrong choices, it can help to know which direction to point your focus towards. Books open up the world to children (and all of us!) – they help them navigate new topics, learn to process emotions and see the world through another’s eyes. My passion is books so it makes sense…