Playing by the book

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

Growing great stories

For the last couple of weeks our bedtime stories have come from Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairy Tales from the Storybag. This is an anthology of tales, some well known (Rapunzel), others less so (Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana!) told by a rich choir of voices. You can choose from Anne Fine, Jacqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman, [...]

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When is it ok to teach your kid to kill animals?

If you were reading Playing by the book earlier in the week, you might be concerned where this post is going. Let me assure you, M’s game of burying dead animals has not reached such heights she is now looking to create her own supply of animals in need of funerals. No, nothing of this [...]

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Bombmaking with children…

For the last couple of weeks any spare minutes of peace and quiet have been spent delighting in (the) Play Pen, a treat of a tome for those of us who love children’s book illustration. Written by Martin Salisbury, Reader in Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, this book has helped me discover many [...]

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