All posts filed under: Book Reviews

What to get a seven year old on her birthday

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Emma has once again been very blessed this past few months and weeks by several PR companies, authors and company directors and she got to play with some of the most exciting releases so I thought of putting together a handy list for anyone facing a big 7th birthday in the months to come. As a list, the ideas below are pretty comprehensive as possible birthday or even Christmas presents and I hope you will find it useful. A personalised book I have written about personalised books before on the blog and we have already a number of them in the house, both for Emma and in Georgie’s memory. This summer, I have witnessed the exciting “birthing” of another beautiful personalised book called Message in a Bottle. Alongside a number of other mummy bloggers, we helped Tuire, the illustrator, decide on the graphics, the wording and the online kids’ club quizzes. I grew quite attached to Kiki, the lovable character in the book and was delighted to see Emma’s joy at discovering her name in …

What Emma Loved…in March

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Emma got some beautiful toys and books to to play with and review recently and it is time we told you all about them! First of all, as you know, she is in love at the moment with all things Zootropolis, she loved watching the movie and getting loads of merchandise from Disney Store, as we detailed in our last blog post. She loves them all but she has been having great fun with the Carrot recording pen, pretending to be Officer Hopps, down to a very heavy New York accent and all, hilarious! Alex splurged over Easter and got her also the Deluxe Figurine Set which has provided hours of role play fun already! Talking of sets, Emma was the envy of her wee friends these Easter holidays with the latest My Little Pony set. She loves watching My Little Pony on TinyPop and she had already in possession of the My Little Pony Pinky Pie’s Rainbow Helicopter. The latest addition, My Little Pony Swan Playset, can also play a little cheerful tune and proved …

Parenting with Purpose – Book Review

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Who do you go to for parenting advice? If you are like me, mothers are almost always the first port of call, followed by well-meaning friends. Without meaning no harm to the two groups mentioned above, I had come to realise that more often than not, they advise, yes, out of love and care but without the knowledge or expertise required and can do more harm than good. Back in 2012, when I was toying with the idea of starting my own little blog and I was the mother of a very headstrong toddler, who kept me on my toes and whose upbringing threw steep learning curves at me daily, I came across this amazing blog, called Sleeping Should Be Easy. I loved Nina’s approachable style immediately and found great comfort in the fact that, despite being a busy mother of a toddler herself, with a full time job, she found the time to blog about her parenting experience with grace and would always respond to any comments or questions I would have left on …

Book Giveaway: HOW TO CATCH A STAR, 10th Anniversary

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I am so honoured to have been chosen for this 10th anniversary giveaway! First of all, because How to Catch a Star is a brilliant book, can’t believe we haven’t heard or read anything by Oliver Jeffers before! Emma absolutely loved it and so did I, so simple yet so full of optimism and hope! Secondly, because as I found out once I did my bit of research for this post, Oliver Jeffers is from Northern Ireland, our country of residence at the moment and a place very dear to my heart!! So, here goes: Harper Collins have kindly sent me two copies of the story, one to keep and one to give away to one lucky boy or girl! In order to win it, all you have to do is like my Facebook page (if you haven’t already) and then leave a comment letting me know you have and to whom will the book go, were you to win it. I will run the giveaway for a week and then, next Saturday, I will enter …

Book Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

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A few weeks back (or more) I was visiting the local library with Emma when I noticed this book featured on a prominent entrance shelf. I was drawn to and intrigued by the idea as the book came with a special, The ONE Book bookmark where the back is left blank for people to fill in and return to the library with their impressions. The bookmark had also a couple of links and details for YourHealthInMind website which made me even more intrigued and curious for a nosey. Boy, am I glad I picked it! I have read over 100 books this year but this made the most optimistic and invigorating read I had in absolute ages! An absolute gem of a book centered around the “ordinary” story of a retiree which turns extraordinary by one simple choice: his decision to visit an old friend dying of cancer…Layer upon layer of significance, pain and then redemption and healing are brought upon by Stephen Fry’s spontaneous decision to take a walk across the country to see …