What Little Miss Read & World Book Day 2016

On Thursday it was World Book Day. As a kid, World Book Day was always one of my favourite days of the year because not only could we go to school dressed as our favourite book character (and back then no one went in store bought costumes) but you also got a £1 book token and at that age, that was a lot! And now it’s Little Miss’ turn to take part. In the “baby” room they just have to take their favourite book, but in the bigger room they got to dress up as their favourite character, just like I used to! So, in the back of my mind I knew who I wanted to dress her as.. but she’s getting to the age where it’s best to let her make her own decisions so I asked her.. and she picked Wendy Darling anyway. She’s 100% my girl. She has three Wendy dresses (as she wears them 75% of the time while we’re on holiday) so again, I let her pick and she went for her deluxe one she received for Christmas.. and she looked perfect. I know I’m completely biased.. but she did, and my heart melted. She actually makes a really good Wendy Darling, she sulky, sassy and a little mother to those smaller than her. She tried to convince me to let her take my leather bound copy of Peter Pan (the one in the photo, and yes, I’ve read it to her.. she’s no too scarred by how much of an ass Peter is in it) to school but in the end she settled on one of her Disney’s Wonderful World of Reading books.

She was in her element at school. I left her telling all the other children how much she loved their outfits and twirling with one of her best friends. When I picked her up she was still excited as she’d played Peter Pan that afternoon, Captain Hook had caught her and he was making walk the plank but then Peter had saved her. Usually she plays this game in my house and she plays all the characters but I think she really enjoyed having other children to play it with her. When I put her to bed on Thursday night she told me how it was the best day she had ever had at pre-school and she wished it was World Book Day every day. Bless.

Since this is already a book themed post, I’m combining it with the latest edition of What Little Miss Read. In case you hadn’t guessed yet, Little Miss loves when we get new books to review, this time we have five new ones which has made for some enjoyable bedtimes! It’s one of the only things I get the chance to review for Little Miss but since she’s such a bookworm they couldn’t be going to a better home than her bookcase.

So what has she been reading over the last couple of weeks?

This Is Not a Bedtime Story by Will Mabbitt*
We were really lucky to get our hands on an advanced copy of This Is Not a Bedtime Story and really it’s the perfect book for Little Miss. It’s all about a little girl called Sophie who doesn’t want a conventional bedtime story. Sounds familiar to me! I’m a huge fan of anything that breaks the standard boy/girl conventions as although my daughter loves princesses she also like pirates, space ships and dinosaurs. We both found it incredibly entertaining, both the story and the illustrations, which reminded me a lot of Quentin Blake. It’s definitely not a calming bedtime book, but sometimes kids need a little bit of excitement to wear them out before they go to sleep and that’s exactly what this book is. It will definitely appeal to both girls and boys as my nephew loved it just as much as LM and the silliness definitely appealed to him! It’s a great read and it definitely was a hit for bedtime!

Hello Little Egg by Puffin*
Another book we got a hold of an advanced copy of as like with the above book this was another one that was released on World Book Day. The first of no doubt many books following the adventures of a cute puffin pair Oona and Baba who live on Puffin Rock. My mum is in love with this book and as a pre-school teacher she feels it’s going to be a huge hit among children of pre-school age. Little Miss loved it for sure. It’s an incredibly cute story and it would actually make a really nice Easter gift for a young child if you’re looking for something other than chocolate to give. The illustrations are incredibly sweet as the story itself. Although it could be something you could read to a small child, it is definitely aimed at children who are starting to look for a story with a beginning, middle and an end rather than something that is repetitive and memorable. Oona and Baba are going to be characters you won’t be able to resist if you’re like me and someone who likes to collect books that come in a series (we have so many Angelina Ballerina books, and all the Large Family books). Puffin Rock is already an Irish tv show that’s shown on Nick Jr. and although I’ve never personally seen it because of this book it would be something i’d consider introducing Little Miss too.

Where Are You Blue Kangaroom by Emma Chinchester Clark*
The next three books are all from the same series, all about Lily and her blue Kangaroo. These books specifically appeal to Little Miss and I because she has a toy much like the Blue Kangaroo called Miss Mouse. Miss Mouse goes everywhere with Little Miss and even has a personality and a voice. I bought it for her when she was about 5 months old and I knew she was special to LM a further 5 months either when I caught my 10 month old using Miss Mouse’s paws to play a toy keyboard. They’ve grown closer and although at times I worry that she’s going to be in her 20s and still have mouse, but at the same time their relationship is endearing. This is why the Blue Kangaroo series has been so incredibly special to LM and I. LM is Lily and Blue Kangaroo is Miss Mouse.

This book is all about how Lily always looses Blue Kangaroo (which sounds so familiar as this happens in our house a lot too, and even in WDW when Mouse was forgotten on Dumbo!) It really touched a nerve here and we even got upset a one point because in the book Blue Kangaroo has such a lovely personality. It helps that unlike a lot of children in pre-school books who come across as bratty, Lily is a lovely kid and even reminds me of LM, not just because of her attachment to a stuffed animal. The illustrations are adorable and remind me a lot of Belle and Boo (another series we love). Thankfully there is a sweet ending and we didn’t end up too sad.

Happy Birthday, Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chinshester Clark*
This book follows in the same vein as the other one. A truly sweet story that left me upset at one point because it really touched me but again, had a lovely ending that gave me that warm fuzzy feeling I can only get from a childrens book. This time it’s Blue Kangaroo and Lily’s birthday, Lily wants a pink birthday but of course Blue Kangaroo is blue! Emma Chinchester Clark writes such beautiful stories with the illustrations to match. The book again has a real structure which Little Miss enjoys and the illustrations are so full of life that even if I don’t read the words Little Miss can describe what is happening in each picture which still makes for a wonderful story.

And the third and final Blue Kangaroo story;

When I First Met You Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chinchester Clark*
This book is actually number 9 in the series, but it’s actually a great one to read first as it tells the story of how Lily and Blue Kangaroo first met. I think out of all three of them this was our favourite and we’ve managed to read it twice in the space of a few days. Again, I got completely upset reading it and ended up telling Little Miss the story of how she met mouse. Much like the other two Blue Kangaroo books it’s a really lovely read, so heart warming and the characters are endearing. It follows the same structure as the other books but I honestly didn’t mind and it didn’t feel repeatitive at all. When all the books are released in the new format I can see myself buying them just so we can continue to follow the adventures of Lily and her Blue Kangaroo.

And here is Little Miss with her precious Miss Mouse.

What has your little one been reading recently?