Books we love: Stuck

We LOVE love LOVE Oliver Jeffers.  Not just because he has an awesome name like our Oliver.  I've told you before how much we love him, like here.  So I thought I'd share another great book of his that we love.

Basically it is about a kid called Floyd.  Now Floyd has a small problem.  So he throws everything at it.  Literally.  Floyd's efforts at getting his kite out of a tree are laugh out loud funny and just when you think he has finally figured out a solution Floyd just goes and throws you (and everything else)!

Don't just take my word for it though, click on this link below to see the great man himself reading a short version of this story.  Such a good one.  I hope you enjoy it too. 

Books we love: Oh the places you'll go

This review is more than a just a book we love.  This is a book that means a crazy amount to us.

Throughout both of my pregnancies with my beautiful ratbags, my wonderful husband Nick would read this book to the babies in my tummy.  Then, on the day when they were both born he read this book to them (at some point, obviously not straight away as there was a LOT going on).  Now we read it to them on their birthdays.  It is a VERY important book in this house.

Why do we love it so?  Well, it teaches our children to aim for the highest of highs:

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to great heights.

But it also breaks the cold hard realities of life to them.  Life isn't always fair and they won't always be the smartest or the fastest:

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because sometimes you won't. 

Fear not though.  This book won't crush their little hopes and dreams.  What it will do is send them the wonderful message that they are the ones who can make those hopes and dreams come true.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.

You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Which is what I want for my kids.  I want them to be people who have every confidence in their abilities to rock the shiz out of whatever they choose to do.  But I also want them to realise that they won't be the best in the world at everything, or quite possibly anything.

This book is commonly quoted in college graduation speeches.  Early copies of it are sought out by parents as gifts for their graduating children.  I've even heard an amazing story of a father who had every single one of his daughter's teachers from kindy through high school write a message to her in the same copy of this book.  But we're not that organised.

Instead we will continue to read this book to our babies as they grow.  We will use it to bolster them up so they can meet the challenges of the world.  When the world is a little unkind and they need cuddles and a pep talk, we will again turn to this book to help them unslump themselves.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed)
KID YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Books we love: This moose belongs to me

I've told you before how much we love the books by Oliver Jeffers, so don't act surprised when I tell you about every single one of them.  Seriously, we love them THAT much!!

'This moose belongs to me' is about Wilfred, a rather small boy who seems to be able to wander around without any parental supervision whatsoever.  Thankfully, Wilfred owns a pet moose called Marcel.  Marcel does not like to follow the rules imposed upon him by Wilfred, such as "Rule 7 [subsection b] maintaining a certain proximity to home" but he is quite good at "Rule 4 not making too much noise while Wilfred plays his record collection".

You might be starting to gather that perhaps Wilfred does not really own Marcel at all.  This becomes even more apparent when Marcel trots off with Wilfred in tow to visit a little old lady who is calling him Rodrigo.  Shock.  Gasp.

This quirky little story about the nature of wild animals is accompanied by some seriously spectacular illustrations.  Jeffers' usual bobble headed people and scribbly text bubbles are set against the background of sweeping mountainous landscapes captured in oil paints.  It is an incongruous mix that somehow works well. 

You will be pleased to know that despite the potential for an unhappy ending, Wilfred manages to come to terms with the nature of his relationship with Marcel.  Or Rodrigo, depending on who you are talking to.  

Books we love: Caps for sale

This book isn't just a book we love in this house, but one that was loved in my childhood home about 30 years ago.  

In print now for over 50 years, 'Caps for sale' by Esphyr Slobodkina is the tale of a peddler who falls asleep under a tree with a pile of hats on top of his head.  Upon waking he discovers that his hats are missing.  Worse than this, they appear to have been appropriated by some very cheeky monkeys who are the occupants of the tree he fell asleep next to.

Not surprisingly, monkey business ensues.  The peddler shakes his fist, then both of his fists.  He stomps his foot, then both feet.  All the while those naughty little monkeys just copy him and say "tsz tsz tsz".

Many giggles have been had in our house when this book is read.  It is hard not to have a good belly laugh when trying to wave both fists, stomp both feet and say "tsz tsz tsz".  We have such a silly time that this book is not to be read at nap or bedtime, as it makes us all too giggly! 

As well as a great story, the illustrations are gorgeous and the colours used are positively dreamy.  This classic tale is an absolute winner in our house.  We hope you and your littlies love it too. 

Bookweek costume: The Gruffalo

Ol is a huge fan of the Gruffalo.  You might recall that his fourth birthday was a Gruffalo theme.

So when Book Week rolled around for 2014 I wasn't especially surprised that he requested a Gruffalo costume.

With time a bit thin on the ground and a budget of zero dollars I had to put my creative hat on for this one.  In the end it turned out quite well.  An oversized brown t-shirt that I put elastic around the bottom so it bunched up and created a rounded look.  I shortened the sleeves and made them the right size for his little five year old arms.  Add some purple felt triangles to the back (for purple prickles of course!) and that part was already done.

The detail was all in the head.  I used the same pattern that I created for our dinosaur dress up hats with the same brown t-shirt material and I stuck some ears on out of this fabric as well. The features were all cut out from felt and very sketchily sewn on by hand and I added a piece of velcro to keep it all secure to his head.

The super scary clawy paws were from a bear dress up costume that we already had.

Oh help. Oh no. It's a Gruffalo!!!!!

Books we love: Oliver Jeffers

Today's "books we love" isn't just about a single book.  It is about one author who has made many awesome books that we just love as a family.

We seem to like to collect things around here.  Not the usual things like china dolls or stamps, but if we come across something we really like, say a good book, then we might just have a little tendency to rush out and buy the whole collection.

Enter Oliver Jeffers.

Our first book of his "Heart in a bottle" was bought as a present for our Oliver.

The topic of this book - how to mend a broken heart after the loss of someone dear - wasn't exactly the right choice for our little guy, but it started our love of this author.

Jeffer's illustrations are a truly spectacular combination of many mediums - pen, coloured pencils, watercolours, oils, collage, handwritten text and computer imagery.  Each page is a different visual journey that kids (and adults) will delight in.

One of our other favourites "Up and down" is the story of two best friends, a boy and a penguin, and their quest to help the penguin fulfil his dream of flying.  Not surprisingly, being a flightless bird, this quest doesn't exactly go to plan.  He does eventually end up in the air alone after being fired out of a circus cannon! But some things are better shared with a friend. Thankfully it all turns out alright in the end.


Get yourself a taste of Jeffers' awesomeness with some of his great videos:
If you weren't already keen on him, watch this one to check out his process and to have a little giggle at what a funny guy he is.
And his one shows him collaborating with U2 (U2 - seriously!!!)

Then once you are suitably hooked, head over here to order some of his books for yourself.

Books we love: The boy who cried ninja

The title to this book, written and illustrated by Alex Latimer, had me hooked before I even saw the adorably quirky illustrations and highly original storyline.

A tale of a small boy named Tim who keeps getting blamed for for the cake eating ninja, tool stealing astronaut, tea drinking pirate, bookbag losing octopus, well the list goes on.  It is an entertaining little story that always brightens up our reading time. 

Ollie's favourite part of this book is the page covered with leaves where you get to spot little dog poops and tennis balls.  But then he is a four year old boy.

Books we love: The baby that roared

This little gem came home from the library with us this week and I think it is a winner.

Poor Mr & Mrs Deer crave a little baby deer so much that they don't seem to notice that their newly acquired baby is actually a little monster. (actually perhaps that is why mine are such little terrors?).

Luckily it all works out for the best at the end (don't they always?). But not without a bit a good belch which is pretty much guaranteed to get a good response from our little piggies.

Xx

An Awesome Book

We recently bought an awesome book.  Not just an awesome book, but "An Awesome Book".

This book was written by Dallas Clayton, a father who wanted to make a book for his son about the importance of dreaming big.

The book talks about how some people stop dreaming amazing dreams and lose all possibility of thinking super things.  Instead they dream of things like furniture, owning matching silverware or wishing for a car (not one that runs on jellybeans either).

Clayton has even made the book available to read online at www.veryawesomeworld.com

Go and check it out.  It is one of those amazing and inspiring books that make you remember when you were a kid and you thought absolutely anything was possible, as long as you could imagine it.  I'm not sure when it is that you stop feeling this way but this book is a beautiful reminder of the importance of believing in rocket-powered unicorns and teeny tiny trumpet players training pet raccoons.

/veryawesomeworld.com/