We are all absolute book worms in our house, and there is seriously nothing we enjoy more than sitting down and reading a good book with the little lady. So when Faber and Faber offered us the opportunity to review a couple of their lovely children’s books we leapt at the opportunity. Faber & Faber is not a publishing house that we’ve come across before so it was an absolute delight to discover them and the lovely range of children’s authors books that they publish.
We received two lovely paperback books which are both quite different in style, story and illustration, but equally a delight to read. Whilst I think there is something quite nice about the way board books look and feel, especially in our lovely little Potter Library Table, I’ve noticed over the last few weeks and months that the little lady is increasing starting to choose paperback books over board books. So it was the perfect time to add another two to add to our ever growing collection as the little lady starts to make the transition from board to paperback.
The little lady was so excited to open our little parcel of books and insisted on reading them that evening at bed time. We started with Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep by Katie Blackburn, a lovely story about a bear that wants to go to sleep, but can’t quite figure out how to and so takes you on a journey with him to discover the secret to sleep. I love how thoughtfully and cleverly the story has been constructed, told in a way that uses words and sentences that are rhythmic, repetitive and soothing to read and to listen to. The illustrations are surprisingly, but pleasantly abstract and completely compliment the story. I love how perfectly the book set the tone for bedtime and I loved seeing Ella so captivated by the story.
Next we read The Shrew that Flew by Julia Copus which looked and felt completely different to Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep. It is much more tale like and has beautiful, colourful illustrations to match. The story is told in clever, whimsical rhymes, not dissimilar to the style of Julia Donaldson books, although somewhat longer. Again, we really enjoyed the story of the little shrew that lost her hat on the way to a party with friends and tries to find a way to fly in order to get it back in time for the party. What I loved the most though, was the undertone of a lovely positive message for little ones about trying and persistence through adversity.
So its fair to conclude that both books were a massive hit with the little lady, and I was really pleasantly surprised that they both managed to captivate and hold her attention from start to finish as we rarely make it through a complete paperback book. But she absolutely adores reading and listening to both stories and has insisted on reading them at bed time each and every night since we received them which I think couldn’t be a more glowing recommendation from a two year old!
So if you are looking for some lovely new books for your little ones then we would definitely recommend both The Shrew That Flew and Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep which each retail at £6.99 at Faber & Faber.
Disclosure; we were very kindly sent copies of The Shrew that Flew and Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep to review for our Things We Love Series. However all views and opinions are my own.
These look lovely. I love books for children and think it’s sad that little ones often spend more time in front of the TV than with a book. We’re planning on expanding our Julia Donaldson collection this time and also need to get some of the classics that for some reason we don’t have already like The Tiger Who Came To Tea. #marvmondays
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Oh, they really are. It was so lovely to discover them, I love discovering new books and authors. We love Julia Donaldson books too, you really cant beat the classics 🙂
They look gorgeous. I have kept a fair number of the large picture books even though DD is now 10. I just couldn’t get rid.
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Oh I completely get that and expect that I will be the same! 🙂
Adorable, thanks for a sneak peek! Always on the look out for beautiful and brilliant books!
#MarvMondays
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Really lovely books, couldnt recommend them more! Glad you like them too 🙂
So sweet! Thanks – these look great. My little boy loves books, we’ll have to get these. Thanks fro hosting #MarvMondays too X
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Thanks, they are both really lovely books. We’d definitely recommend taking a closer look at them 🙂
We too are book worms in our house. These sounds lovely books, really sweet. X
Laura @dearbearandbeany recently posted…Living Arrows 12/52
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They really are, and perfect for little bookworms 🙂
We too are book worms and love a new book. These look and sound lovely #marvmondays xx
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Its so lovely to hear that there are so many little book worms out there 🙂 Really lovely books, definitely worth a recommendation if youre looking for any new bedtime stories.. x
Cute! My youngest has recently started reading her own bedtime stories (with a little help from Mummy) and these sound right up her street 🙂 #MarvMondays
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Oh its so sweet once they start reading books to themselves. I could listen to our little one read books to herself all day 🙂
Both of those books look great, I love the illustration on the cover of ‘The Shrew That Flew’ might have to check that one out! 🙂
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They are both really lovely and definitely worth checking out. Beautiful illustations and stories 🙂
Love Faber & Faber. I used to sell books so I was familiar with them and things they publish. It’s great that your daughter is starting to choose the paper book over board. Shows that she knows the stories are better in the paperbacks as boards are generally for smaller children. I love books! #MarvMondays
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We all love reading books here as well and the titles sound very interesting…The Shrew who flew! Great title. I actually enjoy collecting beautifully illustrated books even though my kids have long outgrown them. #MarvMondays
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Oh, then you’ll love these. The illustrations are really quite beautiful 🙂
You’re so lucky to review these gorgeous books it sounds like your daughter really enjoyed them. My son lives the paper back books now too, must mean they’re growing up, boo! But these books with a couple of paragraphs on each page and plenty of pictures is great for our toddlers
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Thanks, I think so! They really are quite lovely and the little one loves reading them all the time now. It does mean they are getting old like you say though 🙁 They grow up so quick!