Double trouble!

I’ve got two reviews from the same publisher – one today and one next week.

How could I pass by the opportunity to review a book by another REES? So, just incase you were wondering, Izzy Rees is no relation. I’ve never even met her. So this is just a coincidence. From the title, The Boy Who Breathed Underwater, I expected an underwater adventure. The book is actually a classic version of the ever popular “which super power would you choose?” debate.

Like most publishers and editors, I can be a bit wary of rhymes. Setting aside the limitations they place on foreign translations, they are very hard to get right without resorting to the occasional clunky grammar. These rhymes, however, just trip off the tongue. Such fun to read-aloud.

But all of a sudden,

he let out a sneeze …

He lost all control and

fell hard on his knees.

Each scenario is totally made by the fabulous illustrations by Sarah-Leigh Wills. Annoyingly, the publisher hasn’t provided any details on the illustrator, but at least she’s credited on the cover (it’s a pet hate of mine when the illustrator/ narrator are not credited).

Blurb

When lying in his bed, a boy is visited by a genie. He is given a week to try out different superhero powers. What adventures will he have, and which power will he choose to keep?

About the author

Izzy Rees was born in West London, but has spent the last thirty years living in Derby. Ten years ago, when her three girls were young, she began work on a series of rhyming picture books, created in snatched moments, and initially written on small scraps of paper or whatever was available. She always intended to revisit them, and Covid and lockdown presented the opportunity; unable to continue her work as a neurophysiotherapist, working with vulnerable patients, she decided it was now or never! She has written six books so far in the ‘The Boy Who’ series, The Boy Who Breathed Underwater being the first one. The others will be published in the near future.

Hedgehoggy snuffles

I loved Mrs Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter and remember my dad reading it to me often. So a hedgehog book is always going to make my heart melt. But first, have a confession. I have never seen a hedgehog. In fact it’s on my bucket list. Preferably not one squashed on the road. Anyway, when I saw Hoglets’ Christmas Magic I invited the author Lynette Creswell for a chat about books and everything hedgehogs.

  1. Tell us a little about yourself. (How did you get started writing? What do you do when you’re not writing?)

Hi, I’m Lynette and I’ve been writing for over thirty years. Having suffered a dysfunctional childhood, I was compelled from an early age to write stories that took me to another place. I created new realms and magical creatures influenced by stories such as The Magic Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair, written by Enid Blyton.

Years later I wrote stories for my own children. It gave me such a buzz to see their eyes light up when they realised they were one of my crazy characters. My husband could see how much joy writing gave me and bought me a laptop. He told me it was time to live my dream and write something substantial. I couldn’t wait and in 2012 published my first YA book Sinners of Magic. 

When I’m not writing I tootle off to my static caravan in Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire. It’s a wonderful seaside town and my ‘happy place’. We’re situated right by the sea. I enjoy long walks along the prom, eating ice cream and paddling in the sea. I get inspiration for writing new stories there. 

2. Is this your first children’s book?

Yes. Hoglets’ Christmas Magic is written for children aged 5+. It tells the tale of Prickles and Primrose, two adorable hedgehogs.

3. What or who inspired you to write this book?

I actually published Hoglets’ Christmas Magic for my blog a couple of Christmases ago and the response was phenomenal. I received a mountain of messages and emails from parents and grandparents enquiring when the story would be published. I can’t deny it’s taken oodles of blood, sweat and a pandemic to get the book published. Yet, now the hoglets are here, I’m glad I listened to my readers and took the plunge.

4. List three interesting facts about yourself.

  • I’m scared of Daddy-long-legs.
  • I’m partially deaf.
  • I gave birth in 1985 to my eldest son in Berlin. The room was right above the medical bunker of Herr Hess, Adolf Hitler’s Deputy-in-Chief. 

How to help wild hedgehogs

Once I started raising money for Happy Hogs Hedgehog Rescue Centre, I realised I wanted to do more to help hedgehogs in the wild. I went online and bought a hedgehog house which I placed in a sheltered part of the garden. It has a slate roof and two rooms inside and I filled the bedroom compartment with barley straw, (straw is better than hay as it doesn’t get too damp). Next, I surrounded the hoggies new home with a few plants to make it slightly hidden from view. I also turned the entrance of the house towards the fence so that it made it harder for cats to get their paws inside. 

Once the house was secure, I needed to make a feeding station. This is because you mustn’t put food inside a hedgehog house, this must be separate. 

Here’s how to make a feeding station of your own…

1. For the structure of your hedgehog feeder, get a plastic see-through box at least 30 cm (12 inches) wide and 45 cm (18 inches) long.

2. You can turn the box either way but make sure you weigh it down with a heavy object so it doesn’t blow away. I used part of a broken patio paving slab.

3. Cover the floor with newspaper and acquire two small bowls. One for food and the other for water.

4. In the side of the box make an entrance hole. Usually the size of a CD disk and use thick tape to smooth the edges to make sure the hedgehog doesn’t hurt itself.

5. Place the bowls inside and away from the entrance. Use specific hedgehog food such as Brambles hedgehog kibble and/or soft wet cat meat (non-fish). Cat food is high in protein which hedgehogs need to survive. Remember NEVER give hedgehogs milk. They’re lactose intolerant and you could cause the hedgehog harm.

6. Keep it safe. Place the feeder a hand’s length away from the wall to prevent cats getting in and stealing food.  

Congratulations! You’re now the proud owner of a feeding station and you’re helping hedgehogs in the wild.

Tips for keeping hedgehogs healthy

A hedgehog’s natural diet mainly consists of slugs, ground beetles, caterpillars and worms. Please don’t use slug pellets in your garden. Hedgehogs eat these and can die.

Get more involved!

If you’d like to learn more about hedgehogs you can join the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. You’ll find them on Twitter under @hedgehogsociety or you can visit their website: http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk. The society’s great for sharing valuable information about hedgehogs and if you need help you can contact them directly.

As a parent or teacher who would like more information, there’s a great website People’s Trust for Endangered Species (ptes.org) have information on hedgehogs and on their site you’ll also find a link to Hedgehog Street. This is a website where you become a Hedgehog Champion. If you visit Hedgehogstreet.org you’ll find free downloadable resources, a photo gallery and forum.  

Thanks Lynette. Now I’m off to look into building a hedgehog house. Watch this space!

Animal magic

Before I even opened Animalympics, I was blown away by the gorgeous, eye-catching, richly colourful, hardback cover. I can see kids being immediately drawn to this and pulling it from book boxes around the country. Huge thumbs up to the illustrator Sarah Lou.

There are pages dedicated to separate sports from the well known sprinting and gymnastics, to sports that the younger readers may not be familiar with like fencing, steeplechase, and water polo. This book could be read as a story, but it’s really too long for a bedtime read so I’d dip in and out using it as a spark for classroom activities. And of course, in an Olympics year, it’s going to be an obvious choice.

The other thing I love it is that there is a sport for absolutely everyone, irrespective of size or shape- my personal favourite pic is the sheep hockey team.

The final surprise is the last page. Trust me, this is not an Acknowledgements page to skip. Not only was the book was a fundraiser for UK zoos in 2020 😍, but look at the 🏅 team who were involved. Each name on this list inspires a whole project:

  • Katherine Grainger DBE – rower
  • Hannah Cockcroft MBE – wheelchair sprinter
  • Ali Jawa – paralympic powerlifter
  • and more!

My only grumble is that currently, it’s only an ebook unless you order via the authors website. I’m hoping that changes soon as the hardcover is divine.

Competition!

Win a signed copy of Animalympics, an Animalympics gold medal plus stickers and bookmarks (Open to UK only) 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494447/?

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Blurb

Woodpecker Will presents the Animalympics! Whilst the humans stay indoors, the animal kingdom takes over to hold the sporting event of the century! Join the golfing ostriches, trampolining moles and weight-lifting gorillas (plus many more) in a fun rhyming adventure for all ages.

About the author

Josie Dom is a children’s author learning to embrace her individuality.

Join her in a world of imagination where anything could happen and the most important things are friendship and kindness.

Josie lives in the small town of Halstead in Essex with her husband Nic Phine (illustrator of the Lum books), their son and daughter, a mixed-up dog (LabLurchTrievOodle) Frank and a big fluffy ginger cat called Mittens.

Although Josie’s books are too young for her children now, it was their love of stories when they were little which inspired Josie to pick up her pen and create. 

After a lifetime in sensible office jobs, Josie is relishing the opportunity to explore her creative side.

Josie is passionate about supporting causes close to her heart.  Each year, Josie donates 15% of profit on book sales to a children’s charity.

In 2020, due to Covid-19, Josie penned an Animalympics which she used to raise funds for UK zoos.

Books and lists – what more could you want?

You might have noticed I like books. I keep my Goodreads lists up to date, and set myself targets every year. I also know Jennifer Gilmour, the author of The Book Review Log Book, has targets on Goodreads | you can see them here, although I suspect she’s using her log book now so it may not be up-to-date!

But the Goodreads system only lets you set a target number of books – I go for one a week because it requires no thought! Which is fine, but with the emphasis purely on quantity, it misses that for a reluctant reader, three books could be a huge achievement. That’s why I published The Book Dragon Club packed with fun reading activities and challenges for kids.

So, back to The Book Review Log Book. Now, full disclosure, I’m working on a grown-up version of my Book Dragon Club, so I was a bit worried I might be conflicted if I reviewed this book, but I’m really glad I did as I love it, and mine will be different so no conflict.

It starts with goal setting – yay! And it’s free form so you can tailor it to exactly what you want to achieve – another bug bear of mine regarding the Goodreads system.

The “To be Read” section suggests drawing spines on shelves, which I love as an idea instead of a list. There are 6 shelves, so you could even organise them by genre, or any other way.

And the inclusion of a “Book release calendar” is genius – unless I add a book to my Amazon pre-orders, I often lose them.

There is then plenty of space for 100 book reviews, and progress checks to celebrate as you go. Fun!

Blurb

Keep a track of your reading progress and your book reviews in one place:

  • Reading Goals
  • To Be Read List
  • Book Release Dates
  • Word Cloud
  • Your Reviews
  • Your Notes

Author bio

Jennifer Gilmour is an author and advocate for women in abusive relationships, using her own experiences of domestic abuse as a catalyst to bring awareness and to help others. Jennifer has published two publications, Isolation Junction and Clipped Wings which have both been Amazon Best Sellers and received awards. Jennifer speaks at events across the UK and continues to raise awareness through her blog posts, public speaking, radio interviews and social media. 

Most Informative Blogger Award 2018 (Bloggers Bash Annual Awards)
UK & European Award for using Social Media for Good 2019 (Social Day: Social Media Marketing Awards) 

Jennifer says: “Together we are Louder”.

Maths for babies – a book I wish I’d written

A little known fact is I’m actually an accountant – I’m a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales. So it’s not surprising that I thought Numberjacks was a great idea for a kids TV show, and I’m always curious about new maths focused books. What is surprising, is that I didn’t write 100 ways, 100 days to teach your baby maths myself! What a superb resource.

Blurb

Let your baby lead the way as you explore the wonderful world of maths together through 100 daily activities, stories, and songs. No flashcards, no worksheets, no right or wrong, and no maths anxiety Within this 100-day maths journey, you will discover:

  • Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.
  • Babies seem to be born with an amazing number sense.
  • Parents have the power to show their babies that maths is enjoyable and not something to be anxious about.
  • Babies can enjoy maths activities while boosting other areas of development.
  • The best time to start enjoying maths is in infancy.

What about the effect of gender, culture, sleep, diet—even the type of pushchair you buy? 100 Ways in 100 Days to Teach Your Baby Maths holds the answers.

“…use this book. It really will be worth it.”- Tony Attwood, founder, The Dyscalculia Centre“I loved reading this book. The approach is imaginative but also tied to everyday life, making the holistic integration of a maths-friendly parenting style something natural rather than forced.”- http://www.thebookbag.co.uk“The simple and well-researched activities and advice ensure that everyone can give their children the best start in life.”- National Numeracy

About the Author

Emma Smith is a Fellow of The Institute of Actuaries and a Chartered Accountant. She is a double academic prize winner with a First Class Maths degree and a lifelong lover of maths. She has worked freelance as an actuarial exam counsellor, an assistant examiner, and a writer. Her front-cover articles include “Your Baby is a Genius!” in Baby London Magazine. While writing, Emma is ably assisted by her dog, Button, her daughter’s cat, Princess Marshmallow, and her son’s cat, Squeezy Paws.