What Little Miss Read July & August (and a Giveaway!)

So, the summer holidays are over already, can you believe it? I can’t. It just seems like 5 minutes since they started. We actually had a fairly busy summer, lots of quality time together which I’m so thankful for. Little Miss is still enjoying a story before bed (most nights) so we have some new books that we read over the summer to share with you all this instalment of What Little Miss Read.

Pom Pom is Super by Sophy Henn*
Everyone’s favourite little panda is back with his third story, Pom Pom is Super. Although this is the first Pom Pom book we have ever come across I’m fairly sure it won’t be the last. Pom Pom really is a lovable Panda and the story was very endearing. I really loved the illustrations, the colours were bright and definitely appealed to Little Miss. Despite having not too many words on each page it managed to hold a complete story which is enjoyable for Little Miss. I can already tell this will be one she’s reading herself before long and I honestly can’t wait. I really loved how Pom Pom was happy for all his friends turning up in costumes rather than getting stropy because he didn’t have one at first. He was willing to try and join in which is a great message for kids and not one you come across too often. Usually you have the character stropping and everything is resolved in the end, I really liked how Pom Pom was very gracious and in the end was rewarded with his own super character. I much prefer reading these sort of stories to LM as it’s a great example of good behaviour. Be happy for your friends and it’ll be your turn to be happy soon. We’ll definitely have to check out the other Pom Pom books.

The Safari Set & The Forest Folk by Jason Hook*
Remember in my last What Little Miss Read post I reviewed The Sky Guys? Well I was lucky enough to get a hold of two more of the Mibo animal books for us to look at over the summer. Like I said in that review, these books are truly beautiful and would make a wonderful gift if you’re kid is going to a birthday party. Not only are they incredibly informative teaching your child all about different animals but in the back you’re able to make the animals featured in the book. Cool huh? Little Miss is a real animal person, any animal really she’ll be drawn to (included snakes, but not including insects) so these books were some of her favourite to look at over the summer. The Safari set was all about animals that live in the Savannah, this was Little Miss’ favourite of the two as we do Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom so she recognised a lot of the animals featured. Each book as a fact or two about the animals so your child can learn something new along with where the animal lives. The illustrations are beautiful and even the actual feel of the book is very luxurious which is jut another reason I feel these would make brilliant gifts. I’ve bought The Marine Team for my nephew’s birthday this month as he’s water daft, I hope it goes down as well with him as they have with Little Miss.

Hey Duggee at the Beach*
This is the third Hey Duggee book we’ve had for review and Little Miss really loves them despite not being a huge fan of the tv show, which definitely proves books and tv can give your child two different things. We’ve already looked at The Best Scarecrow Ever and Cheer Up, Pup but I think this one is her favourite so far. It was the best book to read over the summer, especially as we went to the beach A LOT.I think this is why she enjoyed it so much. The book follows the same format as the tv show which is of course makes it a perfect book to read to Little Miss due to the great plot and resolution. In the back there are some activities so your child can also earn a Squirrel Club badge which LM really enjoys and she took great pleasure in telling she now has three badges. Duggee is a lovable character but my favourite characters are definitely the Squirrel Club members who really keep Duggee on his toes. Whether your child is or isn’t a fan of the show, it’s a really fun story in it’s own right.

Mira Forecasts the Future by Kell Andrews*
One of our absolutely favourite reads from over the summer was Mira Forecasts the Future. It was a lot longer than the bedtime stories I enjoy reading but Little Miss loved it so much I didn’t complain when she asked for it two or three times. There was more text, but it really made for a great structured story something I know Little Miss is ready for. Mira is the daughter of a famous fortune teller, but she doesn’t seem to have inherited the gift. However she figures out her own way to tell the future, forecasting the weather using science. Of course it doesn’t go as smoothly as that sounds because what kind of a children’s book would that be? It has a great message teaching all children that everyone has their own special abilities and they won’t be the same as everyone else. With Little Miss starting school this came in handy when I sat her down to talk about how she won’t be good at everything she tries but she will be good at something. It was another great way to prepare her for the next year. I love the style of illustrations in this book, it’s not baby-fied in anyway but it’s colourful and there is plenty going on for Little Miss to point out when telling her own version of the story.

Go Jetters: Summer at Stonehenge
Another great release this summer that goes along with the TV show (and writing the title just got the song stuck in my head). LM quite likes the show but what she liked about this book was that after we finished the story we could look up photos of the real Stonehenge and I told her we could go some day. It’s a small slim book perfect to pop in a bag if you need something to entertain your little ones when you’re out, we once took it to Tesco and LM could easily sit in the trolly with it and look at it herself. A great book for Go Jetter Fans.

Bertie Wings It! A Brave Bird Learns to Fly by Leslie Gorin*
I think of all the books we read over the summer Bertie Wings It! was my favourite. I loved the illustrations, the style really gave the birds a great look to match each ones personality. I wanted to give each one a different voice which is something I never do and it was great hearing Little Miss mimic me, we spent ages laughing. This was another great book that helped with preparing Little Miss for leaving our nest and going into full time education. It had a great message that although everyone else giving advice is great there is nothing better than following your own instincts. Another great story that had plenty going on on each page so Little Miss could tell the story back to me (so important as it’s the process the school uses to teach kids to read) and the story itself was enjoyable and well structured. Such a perfect coming of age story for little kids.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy by James O’Neill*
We both really enjoyed this new take on The Boy Who Cried Wolf, it was a perfect re-imagining but the moral was still in there, just with a little more entertaining padding. I like a book that both makes us laugh and The Wolf Who Cried Boy did just that. Not only does it keep the same values as the original fable it had another great message, that even if someone looks different there is a chance you might have lot more in common than you first imagine. It was a really lovely story I even ended up a little choked up at points. I really like the style of the illustrations too, they were child like and definitely appealed to Little Miss. Flipping a well known tale on it’s head is always a great idea for a child book especially with a classic as it will appeal to both child and parent.