Books We've Been Reading | July 2020

We haven't written a Books We've Been Reading post in a very long time. Largely due to the fact I had a rough 18 months where the blog lay abandoned but also due to the local library being struck by disaster...twice. Our town experienced extensive flooding in November, thankfully my families homes were okay but our wonderful local library was completely destroyed. A temporary library was set up in an unused retail unit in town but then Coronavirus made itself known and closed that! Those first few months with no new books were tough but thankfully our local The Works opened and took good care of us with their amazing 10 books for £10 offer. These are some of our favourites.

*please note that the books below were purchased in store and are not available to directly link online. I have therefore linked to the books elsewhere online. These links maybe affiliate links and may earn me a small commission but you will incur no charge. Thank you for supporting my blog.

The Bean Machine By Adam Bestwick

I can't believe this wonderful book only cost us £1. Excellent value for such a funny, well written book. We were initially drawn to The Bean Machine as it's a book covered in beans and Iris absolutely loves beans....almost as much as Jack does! This book is about Jack and his love of beans. He eats them morning, noon and night and creates a huge mound of empty tin cans. How can such a large amount of tin cans be dealt with? The book deals with the themes of recycling, machinery, friendships and beans and it does so in a humorous way. 

I like to read books that have a good rhythm and I love that this book contains so many cheeky rhymes. The illustrations are detailed and engaging and representative of the story.

This book has quickly become one of Iris and Mummy's favourite!

H Is For Happysaurus By James Dillon

We chose this book as Iris loves dinosaurs and she is very keen on learning the alphabet at the minute so a book to help her with that is brilliant. Though this book primarily deals with the alphabet it also deals with emotions which I think it very important. I love that it balances academia with emotional intelligence too. 

Each page contains a bright, bold image of a dinosaur, a letter of the alphabet and an emotion, an example being the letter K is for Kind-odon who is considerate and caring. The image for this one is of a Kind-odon holding an umbrella over a smaller dinosaur in the rain, demonstrating being kind and considerate. 

It's not really a story book to be read at bedtime but more of a book to read together and discuss. I think it's a book everyone should own as it's so multi-purpose.  

The Worst Princess By Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie

I hate to say it but i'm very much drawn to a book by it's cover and this one didn't immediately jump out at me. I didn't find the illustrations to be enticing but I did think the title of 'The Worst Princess' accurately reflected my daughter- she's very much a tomboy and not bound by the constraints typically associated with little girls. I chose the book as the title indicated it would reflect this part of Iris's personality and I was not wrong!

This book is hilarious. It introduces us to Sue, a somewhat unconventional princess who learns that the life we expected may not be as fun as we first thought. I adore the message that girls can break free of the societal chains placed on them. It's such a humorous book, cleverly written with a lovely rhyming style. It's become one of my absolute favourite things to read.  

Race To The Moon And Back By Hannah Campling

Meet Albert and Arthur, neighbours, inventors and friends???  A journey into space leads to an hilarious moon adventure complete with crashes, dashes and space ship munching aliens. This is a brilliant story about competitiveness, adventure and working together to overcome obstacles. It explores how our differences can work alongside each other to create an optimal outcome. 

This story has a lot of valuable lessons and portrays them in a fun and exciting manner. I think the style of illustration is very engaging. Each page is packed with action and there is plenty to discuss beyond the original story. 

Has your local library reopened yet? How are you finding it in this new post Covid world?

I believe our local library is in the process of re-opening on a click and collect basis for childrens books which is something exciting to look forward to!

Thanks For Reading,

 Do you love to read? Is there a must have book that you can't wait to share? Why not link your blog review posts up to my Books We've Been Reading blog link up? 

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