Gerald wants nothing more than to go to the great Jungle Dance, but worries how he’ll fit in when he can’t do the two-step or the tango – after all, it’s a well known fact that giraffes can’t dance. However, a friendly cricket helps Gerald realise that he doesn’t have to conform to the dance styles of the rest of the jungle creatures – and letting yourself loose on the dance floor can be just as fun.

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The friendly cricket encourages him to create his own unique dancing style and Gerald surprises everyone with his elegant movements.
 

A beautifully illustrated story of us

I am a big fan of all Oliver Jeffers books. When I was pregnant with first baby, we were gifted The Boy Who Couldn't Catch a Star. This book has been firmly thumbed through and actually has a slightly broken spine from the amount of times it has been read.....

We absolutely love the Kipper series of book in our house and we are lucky to own quite a few. The stories are quite brilliant for younger readers and the illustrations are quite lovely...

Both my boys, but baby in particular, LOVE this book. It is a sure fire way of getting children to make animal noises each time the page is turned and the animal is revealed from under the flap...

I love Some Dogs Do, it tells the story of a dog who can fly.... Or can he? It's more about the fact he feels so happy he can fly, he feels lifted up and excited about life. But then when he isn't believed, he loses this ability. But his dad is on hand to remind him we are all special. And you know, if you want to fly, you do that....

If you have been following my account for a while you'll see that I am a big fan of mindfulness and meditation. And in particular I am so keen to teach these tools to my children.

So when I came across this lovely book by @calm_create_meditate I placed my order ASAP. I just love the illustrations....

I just wanted to share with you this series of books by Ian Whybrow and Tim Warnes.

Toddler absolutely love these. They are his go-to books when he wants something fun to read. And I love the fact they don't shy away from the animal's real names either! The illustrations are beautiful and really engaging.....

We're gonna catch a big one
We're Going on a Bear Hunt is a 1989 children's picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It has won numerous awards!
Five children and their dog go out to hunt a bear. They travel through grass (Long wavy grass), a river (Deep, cold river), mud (Thick oozy mud), a forest (A big dark forest) and a snowstorm (A swirling whirling snowstorm) before coming face to face with a bear in its cave (A narrow gloomy cave)...

The Tiger Who Came To Tea was first published in 1968 and it is written and illustrated by Judith Kerr.
The book is about a girl called Sophie, her mother and a tiger who interrupts their afternoon tea.
Kerr states that she thought of the story after visiting the zoo with her then 3-year old daughter and she was encouraged to turn the story she made up for her daughter into a book......

This week, in light of recent events, I looked at our book collection with new eyes and took note of how diverse the characters and stories are. As has been mentioned, it's not enough just to "not be racist" but I aim to better understand and actively be anti-racist. I want my children to grow up in a world where all humans (and animals actually) are treated with kindness. Regardless of gender, race, creed, nationality.......

So during lockdown we have been encouraging Toddler to use the potty and with varying success the "training" is kind of working.
So in preparation I bought some potty books to read to Toddler and let him explore to guide him in this new quest!....

Usually on a Tuesday, I discuss a book or a series of books that my children are interested in. This week however, especially in view of it being Mental Health Awareness week, I just had to share a short story I came across which is not for children. It is called 'A Pair of Silk Stockings' and it was written by Kate Chopin. Originally published in Vogue magazine in 1897, it is now freely available online to read....

One of Toddler's favourite books is the Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Indeed I am a big fan too. I love the morale of the story. That even someone has small and tiny as snail can make an impact in the world when he tries. And he loves exploring the world. The other snails were content enough on their black rock, but he wanted to find out more about his world.....