Children's Books > Z Children's Books

Advantages: Lots of seasonal activities
Disadvantages: Not for older children

It's Christmas Time Yes, it's all go here…Christmas cards in the process of being made, and little hands (not mine) involved in all manner of decoration making. To help get us in the spirit of things, every year, I tend to buy some seasonal activity books, and in the days when they were too young for the two eldest, I took them in to school. Now Little Miss can enjoy my festive buys. I bought this with a few more of the Ladybird books, tempted ...
...from discount book stores, so it's wrth keeping your eyes peeled. ~~OTHER BITS OF INFORMATION~~ ISBN: 0-7214-2209-8 Publisher: ladybird Books ~~WHAT WE THINK OF THE BOOK~~ We did enjoy the book. The activities are quite simple, and children will be able to complete most of them on their own. The whole book is child friendly, and allows children to try out a few different kinds of puzzles, and so begin to find out the type they enjoy. The ... Read review

Advantages: A lovely lift-the-flap book
Disadvantages: None

As it is coming up to Easter, I've been rummaging through my bookcase to find relevant books for the different age groups I teach. I have the Nursery children for a short spell once a week and happened upon this lovely book by Harriet Ziefert. ~ Harriet Ziefert ~ This author has written literally hundreds of children's books, mostly picture and easy to read ones. She was born in New Jersey and it is obvious from the books that I have read by her ...
...elementary (primary) school teacher. ~ The Story ~ It's a very simple story with Nicky's (a kitten) Mum sending her off an Easter egg hunt. The kitten looks everywhere: * in the tree * in the long reeds of grass * behind the rock etc Until she finally finds it in the Easter basket with her name on it. ~ Style and Format ~ This is ideal for pre-school / nursery age children. It has a very simple story, with a flap lifting opportunity on ... Read review

Advantages: Children love it!
Disadvantages: None

...the children in pushchairs. Harry plays on the street with the men digging up the roads and got dirty, then played on the railway and got even dirtier. When he played with the other dogs he got even dirtier and when he slid down the coal chute, he got dirtiest of all (look at the comparatives). Harry changed from "a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots". At this stage, Harry wonders, and the wonder he wonders is whether his ...
...loved him! So, I believe Harry has a conscience but then we learn that he is hungry and tired, and therein lies the real reason for his musings. He runs back home and it's a very different Harry we see now. Instead of bouncing along the pavement, "smiling" at people, this time, he slinks along, looking longingly at the people eating in the restaurant. Imagine his distress when he gets home, only to hear one of his people comment that there is a ... Read review

Advantages: Moving and sensitively written; a timely response to our very public issues of asylum seekers.
Disadvantages: None.

...devastating opening of Benjamin Zephaniah's Refugee Boy. The first two chapters are identical but for the setting and the parent, and without any further explanation of the conflict we immediately understand the plight of 14 year old Alem, the son of this family, who is both Ethiopian and Eritrean, who loves both his parents and both their countries, who is in terrible danger and unwelcome no matter where he goes. Alem's father brings him to England ...
...a strange land. The Refugee Council and the Home Office come into play, and Alem finds himself learning about British justice as much as British life. This is both a tragic and a positive tale. Zephaniah presents his characters in perhaps too much of a positive light (I'll come back to this in a minute), but they are realistic. Everyone is trying their best to deal with the situation at hand and in their own way. Alem makes the effort to learn as ... Read review

Advantages: Lovely illustrations, catchy story
Disadvantages: Maybe a bit too long for a younger child

The Princess and The Wizard - another wonderful book by Julia Donaldson. This is another one of my daughter's faves although perhaps the story is a little bit long for her at the moment but she loves the pictures, especially the glittery ones. It's the story of Princess Eliza, who gets captured & whisked away (on her 7th birthday of all days!) by a wicked wizard who likes turning people to stone. Luckily before she is taken away, her fairy godmother ...
...colour and changing her shape'. The wizard isn't impressed and replies 'changing her colour and changing her shape will never help Princess Eliza escape'. So Princess Eliza gets seven chances to escape and each day she changes herself into something new, such as a blue fish, yellow chick, green grasshopper... But the wizard always finds her and takes her back to his castle to do some horrible work for him. On her final chance to escape, Eliza realises ... Read review