Where Faith Meets Imagination

There is something about Beatrix Potter that is so wonderful, so timeless and so lovely that few have been able to compete. The stories are brilliant, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it is the illustrations that captivate our hearts. For those who haven't ever found Peter Rabbit here's why we love him; Peter is a naughty rabbit who never does as he is told by his mother. In his first book, he finds his way into Mr McGregor's garden where the veggies are plenty but the trou

Nothing was too good for Miss Splendid. She lived in a huge house surrounded by large gardens. Her bed was enormous with silk sheets and silk pillowcases. She had a gold bath and silver plates. Yes, she was splendid. At least she thought so, she thought a lot of herself, in fact that’s about all she thought of. One day she went for a short walk into town and on the journey, she met Mr Small who greeted her by raising his hat and saying, “Good morning”. Miss Splendid was rathe

Here are all our reads for the 0-5s age group. We hope you love them as much as we do and they become a firm fav on your shelf! We've tried our hardest to select books which are part of a series - cos, while it's great to have a favourite, it's also great to read something else once in a while too! (Look for the star) If you don't have a copy of any of these yet, then click the 10ofthose.com link, get hunting for a second hand copy or get an audiobook version! Week 1 A gentle

I need to thank one of my lovely friends for putting me onto this book - yes, I'm a terrible parent and never read it to my kids. Here's what happens... Elmer is a multicoloured elephant amongst a herd of normal coloured ones. He is the life and soul of the herd, making them laugh and joking around but one day gets bored of being different from everyone else and goes off in search of a solution. It is a story that is being told over and over, particularly today - a classic "b

This was a great read when our children were small, and the names of these roguish dogs lives on in our house in place of the actual dog breed names! Here's what happens... Hairy MacClary is a scruffy mix-breed dog who lives at the local dairy. He wanders round the town with his motley collection of friends sniffing the smells and getting into trouble! What sets these stories apart is, not just Hairy but his pack of chums as well, all aptly named to fit their breed. And this

Miss Helpful liked to help people but it didn’t always work out well. Mr Tall’s shoelaces became undone, but it wasn’t easy for him to sort out the problem. Who should come rushing up but Miss Helpful? “Let me help!” She certainly was keen, but what’s happened? She had tied Mr Tall’s shoelaces together. And he fell over and banged his head. “Let me help!” cried Miss Helpful and rushed off for some sticking plasters. In no time at all she’s back and got ready to stick it on Mr

Mr Greedy loved to eat. Everyday, all day he thought about food and more food. He made a ginormous breakfast that if he wanted he could have invited three people to share it. He didn't. One day he set off on a walk and came upon a castle. He didn't remember seeing it before but after going in he smelt delicious food and helped himself . No thought given to whose food it was and whether they were hungry. And so here is our human truth - we are greedy. I remember as a child dur

We are reading a golden oldie this week - Where The Wild Things Are is widely held up as a children storybook classic and is now over 60 years old! If you have never heard of this then here's the info... Max is a little boy who pops on his wolf costume and proceeds to wreak mischief of one kind and another until his mother calls him "A Wild Thing!" and he is sent to bed. During the night he visits the place where the Wild Things are and is made their king until he returns hom

This story is a classic take on that much used car game I spy. It was a favourite even when my kids could spot the person hiding on every page from memory. Here's the deal... Each page has a person from a well known nursery rhyme to spot, they are hidden in the scene (not as well as Wally is, but good enough to have a 3 year old looking for a while). It rhymes as well, which is always a joy! What's delightful about this classic is it's ability to draw you right into the illus

Mog the Cat is a timeless classic - not only does it have beautiful illustrations (I feel this will be said a lot on this site) but Mog herself is adorable. For those who haven't met Mog yet - here's the lowdown; Mog is a cat who lives with the Thomas family. She is a cat who gets a lot of things wrong, all the time. She's pretty forgetful. Which causes a lot of bother to the Thomas's. But who, in the end, saves the day by forgetting to use her cat flap. While Mog isn't actu

This book, along with the TV series that was produced from it, were a staple for our kids growing up. Little Nut Brown Hare wants Big Nut Brown Hare to know how much he loves him but everything he thinks of, Big Nut Brown Hare has a bigger example. They compare their love to the height they can reach or jump and to a distance of something they can see like down the road to the river. I’ll not spoil the ending but it’s very cute. As with all good stories, they connect with a d

While this may be the sequel to the much loved Gruffalo story, in our house this was the favourite for one of my children. Despite my best efforts to teach them that you needed to read the Gruffalo first then this one, they always insisted on this one first. I guess the only thing to beat a Gruffalo is a tiny Gruffalo? Here's what happens: The Gruffalo - now all grown up - has a child of his own and warns her many times not to leave the cave because there is a big bad mouse o

Before I read this book to my children, I used to sing it round the Brownie campfire. 10 year old me loved the stupidity of it all from the start - why go looking for a bear? This thought only deepened as I read it to my children - why would you let children do this without appropriate supervision... or at least a gun? For those unfamiliar, here 's the synopsis... A group of children set off on a sunny afternoon in search of bear. Along the way they encounter several changes

This story is fiction at it's most simple and effective. It was beloved so much by one of my children that it was immortalised in cake form for a 1st birthday. Here's what goes down... A child wants a pet so writes to the local zoo and asks them to send one. Every time they send a pet it's not right and has to be returned and exchanged until finally the right pet arrives. It's one for animal lovers everywhere, and for parents keen to discourage pet keeping. So what does it te

This is a book I had read to me as a child, a book I read to my children (we had the pop up version - amazing!) and a book I have bought for my nephews (also pop up - once you've popped you can't go back). If you have never read it... I mean... WHAAAAAAAT? Here's the synopsis... A tiny caterpillar hatches out of his egg and proceeds to eat everything in sight. He eventually gets a tummy ache but he then transforms into a beautiful butterfly. On the back of my first ever foray