Never Take a Bear to School

I love a starting school story. It's such an important time for children - and their grown ups - and can often be fraught with worry, mostly on the part of the parents! Sharing books about a potentially worrisome situation is a wonderful way to start a discussion and soothe those worries away. Especially when...

Simon and Gaspard

Children (and indeed adults) often name pets after their favourite characters in books. As a child my rabbits were (rather obviously) Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontails and, if she'd been a boy, I would have really liked our dog to be named Timmy. A generation on and Mollie has her own rabbits and full freedom and...

Teaching your child to read – book bands, reading schemes and early readers.

The world of reading schemes, book bands, early readers and early chapter books can be a bit of a minefield and seems to have its own language. It can be particularly tricky if your child hasn't started school yet and you are working it all out on your own. I thought it might be useful...

Usborne Reading Programme

Mollie can read! She can select a book and read words by sight, mostly fluently. When she gets stuck she has the strategies to break words up, sound them out, read ahead and use the pictures as clues. Last week she fell asleep with a book that she had been reading to herself! (So proud!)...

Books matter! How books saved our week

I had such a lovely response to yesterday's blog post with lots of Twitter discussion about the importance of books in the school transition process. It all made me feel so privileged to have access to such a wonderful range of picture books to support my daughter, her friends, and the children from The Rainbow...

Fitting in – help with new places and faces.

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right moment. September is the month for starting school, moving into a new class or to a new school, getting used to new places and faces, finding out about yourself and making new friends. It can be a challenging and emotional time. What better way to help...

Martha and the Bunny Brothers – I Heart School

Today is a very special day - it's Martha's first day at school and she is SO excited! But first there are clothes to choose and a brand new bag to pack. But...what about Martha's bunny brothers? How will she stop them from missing her while she's gone? Could a Happy Bunny Club be just...