Just Choose One

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

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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51nonw-ypql-_sx328_bo1204203200_

61cdkd8rivl._bg0000_fmpng_ac_sy320_sx320_

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51jwweqe08l-_sx336_bo1204203200_

51bewsentdl-_sx323_bo1204203200_

612pzspectl-_sx321_bo1204203200_

51ghea0yfll-_sx349_bo1204203200_

51emp4e5j1s._sx372_bo1204203200_

511uy17styl._sx324_bo1204203200_

51plidaotdl-_sx327_bo1204203200_

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51gskvfnpsl-_sx352_bo1204203200_

51doqsaxo5l-_sx324_bo1204203200_

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51z0Fu-Y8qL._SX323_BO1204203200_

51KjkQI3q5L._SX334_BO1204203200_

61OWbYrSo7L._SX341_BO1204203200_

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51aqxrhr6ll._sx350_bo1204203200_

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Continue reading

Christmas is Coming 2021

…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

“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

Over 10 More Children’s Books 9+

I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.

I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion. Continue reading

20 Children’s Books 9+

Those who write for children are trying to arm them for the life ahead with everything we can find that is true.  And perhaps, also, secretly, to arm adults against those necessary compromises and necessary heartbreaks that life involves: to remind them that there are and always will be great, sustaining truths to which we can return.

— Katherine Rundell, Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise

Rundell’s words are ringing in my ears. Continue reading

Introducing South Africa

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.

— Nelson Mandela

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South Africa is a country dear to our hearts. My husband and I lived in Cape Town for the first three years of our marriage and so I have always been keen to introduce something of the place and people to our children. (A visit one day hopefully.) Continue reading

Read Alouds for 5 year olds

“…the voice that tells us a story aloud is always more than a carrier wave bringing us the meaning; it’s a companion through the events of the story, ensuring that the feelings it stirs in us are held within the circle of attachment connecting the adult reading, and the child listening. To hear a story is a social act.” — Francis Spufford, The Child that Books Built

I love Francis Spufford’s reminder that “to hear a story is a social act.” Continue reading