Books

Just Choose One

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Here in Oxford, carol services are in full flow. Nativity costumes are being aired, Christmas jumpers are enjoying their annual frolic, turkeys are ordered.

14 more sleeps (as I write).

Christmas is nearly here.

If your to-do list is as long as mine, can I suggest adding just one more? It won’t make much difference to the list but it will help keep the magic alive for the independent readers in your life.

 

Choose a book.

Just one.

Gift of knowledge concept with a pile of books and reading glasses with Christmas ornaments

As the children wait impatiently for Christmas, rather than you getting overwhelmed by the endless festive titles adorning the shopfronts, or feeling burdened by the long lists pouring into your inbox, just choose one.

Let’s keep life simple, and dare I say it, a little more enjoyable.

Take time to just choose one book your child might enjoy as they wait for Christmas – it could already be sitting at home on a bookshelf collecting dust, or be picked up on a quick trip to the library or local bookshop, or bought online.

So as you scroll the list below — Just Choose One.

CHRISTMAS CHAPTER BOOKS

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Continue reading →

Over 30 Christmas Picture Books

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O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

— “We Three Kings”, John H. Hopkins Jr., 1857

Here in England, the evenings are ever darker, the warm glow of Christmas lights are emerging in the windows along our street, and the question I keep getting is, “what are you doing for Christmas this year?”. For families with young children, it is a busy month ahead, but in the midst of the preparations and plans, we need to take time to stop and pick up a book or two. I need this encouragement just as much as the next person. Reading stories makes us slow down and points us to bigger truths outside of the now. Continue reading →

Over 10 Books for Boys 11+

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“Books crowbar the world open for you.”

Rooftoppers, Katherine Rundell

As our children and teens grow up, their values and vision are forever being moulded. Reading, as we all know, plays such an integral part in their lives, “crowbarring the world open” to them. But with 1000s of books to choose from, and our busy lives pulling us in every direction, it’s more important than ever that we take some time to keep our youngsters reading. It might be a trip with them to a library or bookshop, browsing the bookshelves at home, encouraging them along to their school library, or buying them a book for Christmas. Continue reading →

Starting Out as an Independent Reader 6+

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Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, or a duty. It should be offered as a gift.

— Kate DiCamillo

I couldn’t agree more with Kate DiCamillo. So let’s get offering.

These early years of independent reading are laying down foundations for our children.  For a child to be immersed in a story and taken off to a faraway land will come naturally and be easy for some children, but many will need a helping hand or two. Continue reading →

Over 20 Books for 9-12yr olds

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“It is through the power and music and magic of stories and poems that children can expand their own intellectual curiosity, develop the empathy and awareness that they will need to tackle the complexities of their own emotions, of the human condition in which they find themselves.”

— Michael Morpurgo

Continue reading →

Christmas is Coming 2021

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…the most startling thing about this wonderful tree was that hundreds of tapers glittered like stars in its dark branches, and the tree itself, shining with an inner light, invited the children to pick its blossoms and fruits.

– The Nutcracker, E.T.A. Hoffman Continue reading →

Getting in the Picture

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“To really instil a love of art, children need to be encouraged to have a go and be creative themselves.”

— James Mayhew

In the last three blogposts I have shown how James Mayhew brings life to museums in Katie’s Picture Show, and now in this final post I want to explore how he brings life to the artwork itself.

Katie frame 1

Mayhew’s story begins in the Classical world. Continue reading →