BOOKS
Christmas Book Advent Calendar (Updated)
I wrote my first post for Babyccino on 29th November 2009 (I can’t believe it – almost 6 years ago!) and it was about an idea that I had to wrap up 24 Christmas themed books to create a Christmas Book Advent Calendar. Well the idea is still going strong in our house and as ...
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BOOKS
6 Easter Book suggestions
1. The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown is probably best known for Goodnight Moon but I prefer this story for Easter – a young bunny finds a curious object (an egg) and can hear some tapping inside it – what is it? The bunny sets to investigations – some of ...
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BOOKS
Matisse's Garden by Samantha Friedman & Cristina Amodeo
If you are anything like me you can’t resist a museum shop. I found this book on a recent trip to the Tate Modern and bought it as semi-compensation for missing their exhibition of Matisse’s Cut-Outs last year. I really love taking my kids to art exhibitions, even if it is not always their bag ...
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BOOKS
Our favourite Christmas books
We keep our Christmas books tucked away on the bookshelf behind our sofa all year long until the start of December when we dust them off and stack them up on our coffee table. I think the fact that they're hidden away for 11 months of the year makes it that much more special when we finally bring ...
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BOOKS
Rooftoppers
Coco is at a stage now where she takes herself off to read her books and I am not part of that world anymore. It is kind of sad, but also such an important part of growing up and building her own world. I still remember the pleasure of getting lost in a book at ...
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BOOKS
Craft A Day
I guess we are all really into crafting these days here at Babyccino Kids, as here is another recommendation for a craft book. I reckon the truly terrible weather we have been having is keeping us cooped up inside and crafting is the only way we are keeping our children (and ourselves) sane. I do think ...
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FOR MUMS
Choosing baby names
I am having the most difficult time choosing a name for our baby! I think it is especially difficult when you don't know your baby's gender... maybe because you can't really visualise your baby, or maybe it's just because you don't know what your baby is, so you don't become too attached to either the ...
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BOOKS
A lesson in birds (and watercolour painting)
My husband was introduced to Matt Sewell's illustrations through work, and somehow we ended up stumbling upon his charming little book entitled Our Garden Birds which highlights 52 different garden birds found in Britain. On every page is a different bird illustration and a sweet little description about the bird and its charming characteristics (cute for kids ...
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BOOKS
Family reading
A while ago I did this post for my blog and it was a great success, that's why I would love to share it here. The advice comes from Lara, the owner of the Bosque de la Maga Colibri bookstore in Gijon, Asturias. She is very sweet and knows a lot about these things: "One ...
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BOOKS
Puff, The Magic Dragon
For accommodation on our recent trip to Australia, we managed to arrange a house swap with a lovely family in Melbourne (have you ever done a house swap before? it was our first time and we LOVED it!). One of the best things about doing a house swap is you get to stay in a ...
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BOOKS
Snow White Round Up
Have you seen all the advertisement for the two Brothers Grimm-inspired movies (Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman) yet? It made me want to watch the Disney classic with my kids, and so we did! Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was one of my favorite fairy tales growing up, it’s no wonder I felt ...
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BOOKS
Pippi Longstocking
Do you remember reading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren when you were a child? It was my absolute favourite. Pippi was our superhero: an orphan with bright red hair and incredible stories to tell, who lives on her own with a horse and a monkey and does not conform to anything. I had totally forgotten ...
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BOOKS
ABCs from The Wild Unknown
I'm a big fan of the whimsical prints and calendars from The Wild Unknown -- I have this calendar hanging in my office and it's one of my favourite things in my house! So of course I was so excited to receive an email from them announcing their latest project: a series of art prints for children... ...
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PARENTING TIPS
SWAP - A reading game that works!
After getting math tips from my son's teacher last week, I then met with the reading support teacher who gave me all sorts of handy tips for helping kids with their reading. She introduced me to the game of SWAP... which has since become an obsession in our house (and has helped enormously with reading ...
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UNCATEGORIZED
Ploc Magazine
I just received a copy of Ploc Magazine, by the ever creative team behind Anorak, and love it, love it, love it! Not only was it illustrated by one of my favourite retro artists Alain Grée, but it is full of great little stories, colouring pages and games. I am quietly packing it away and stashing ...
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BOOKS
Taro Gomi's Play All Day
I love Taro Gomi's illustrations and we've always enjoyed his books (My Friends, Bus Stops and Everybody Poos) so I was really interested when I discovered Taro Gomi's Play All Day activity book. Since then, I have bought it for everyone I know -- I feel like I've found treasure! The book is basically the BEST ...
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BOOKS
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
I just asked Courtney if I could please write about this book. I was worried she'd pip me to the post and write about it before I did, and I just love it so much that I really wanted to be the person to enthuse about it. Courtney and I both spotted A Sick Day ...
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BOOKS
Monkey and Me
This weekend I started to reorganise my girls room at bit. They have so many toys and books that they have now grown out of. I completely understand Esther's feelings in her recent post -- I do feel slightly melancholic that all of these well-loved items are being packed away. Though I fair a lot better than ...
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BOOKS
Wild animals
Beautiful, these wet water colour animals made by Dutch illustrator/graphic designer Rop van Mierlo -- they're like works of art, really. The short video on the website is fun to watch because you can see how Rop creates his paintings, and he also quickly shows you the other gorgeous illustrations (I seriously love all of them). ...
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BABY
Stylish soft books from Coq-en-Pâte
Cute, these fabric books from Coq-en-Pâte, don't you think? I'm loving the fresh, bright colours and the retro look of them. And if your baby decides that chewing them is preferred to reading them (like Ava), don't worry because all of the Coq-en-Pâte products are made out of 100% GOTS organic cotton and non-toxic inks. ...
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BOOKS
Marie de Paris
Estelle from Nordinary recently introduced me this lovely series of books from Paris-based editing house, ABC Melody. The books feature children in cities all over the world, and they are really well done. You have Marie à Paris, Eva à Stockholm, Charlie from London and lots more. They beautifully describe each child's life: what they ...
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BABY
Ladybird Prints
As you may have figured by now, I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to children's books and I have a particular passion for old ones. That's why I love this idea from Ladybird Books ... Ladybird Books started during the First World War (actually near my home-town in Leicestershire). Their aim being ...
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BOOKS
A Balloon for a Blunderbuss
I really enjoy writing for Babyccino Kids. My favourite bit is reading the comments people leave on my posts -- it is so great to have a dialogue with like-minded mums and dads. Back in February I wrote about a great book I'd found, Sparkle & Spin. Tina left a comment and it was clear ...
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