Playing by the book

Reviews of kids' books and the crazy, fun stuff they inspire us to do

A weekend full of stories at the Just So Festival

We’ve been very lucky this summer holiday to have collected many stories that will become part of our family folklore. New places we’ve fallen in love with (our allotment!), new things we’ve tried (hooray! M now eats those exotic food items known as toast and cheese), time spent together as a family doing even crazier […]

An interview with Ellie Sandall

Last week I reviewed a beautiful new picture book, Daisy plays Hide-and-Seek by Ellie Sandall. In August I’ll be getting to meet her face to face, at the Just So Festival, but over the last few days I’ve managed to spend some “virtual” time with her, finding out more about her work and inspiration. Playing […]

Playing Hide and Seek in pictures and words

I first came across author and illustrator Ellie Sandall last summer when her debut picture book, Birdsong, was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Award 2010. Birdsong’s stunningly beautiful, gentle and colourful illustrations made a powerful impression, and I immediately marked her name down as one to watch in the future. So when I saw […]

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