Curling up on the sofa and reading books with Alex is definitely one of my favourite things to do. We have a wide range of books, from silly to classic, including a couple from local publisher Nimbus Publishing. So when Nimbus contacted me to see if HRM Parent would be interested in hosting a review and giveaway of some of their wonderful children's books, I was thrilled.
I was sent five books – which means five chances for you to win! Here we go:
Back to the Beach, written and illustrated by Heidi Jardine Stoddart. If your little one is anything like mine, you will find yourself nodding and smiling in recognition of the basic theme in this book. Little boy Gus and his family go to the beach for the day, and Gus and his dog Sam spend their time exploring, finding driftwood, shells, rocks and lots more treasures they'd like to bring home! We spent a lot of time on the beach this summer – this is a wonderfully illustrated book that will help remind us during the cold winter of all the treasures waiting to be discovered again when we go back to the beach next summer!
I Spy a Bunny, by Judy Dudar, illustrated by Richard Rudnicki. This is a sweet story about Mandy and her Aunt Carla and their day at White Point Beach. If you've read Gracie, The Public Gardens Duck before, you may notice the style of the illustrations are similar, seeing as they are both the work of Richard Rudnicki. Alex and I got out our copy of Gracie and had a great time comparing the two books and talking about the differences and similarities between them, and comparing the illustrations to those in other books as well. This is also a good book for helping young children learn colours – Mandy plays I Spy with her aunt, searching for what is 'white' at White Point Beach.
Simon and Catapult Man's Perilous Playground Adventure, by Norene Smiley, illustrated by Brenda Jones. This book has a comic book feel to it, which was great since Alex had been wanting to read a comic book at the time we received this! Simon and his sidekick, Catapult Man, explore the playground – or rather, the galaxy. A climbing apparatus becomes The Impossible Space Tower, a swing is a Super Duper Rocket Booster and the sandpit is The Deadly Lunar Bog! The book's theme is playground safety, and is presented by IWK's Child Safety Link program, but it manages to steer safely away from being preachy and instead teaches playground safety in a fun way.
A Halifax ABC, by Yolanda Poplawska. This is a simple but fun ABC book focusing on local Halifax landmarks with cheerful illustrations. We enjoyed picking out scenes we recognised. This book would be good for the wee little ones as a simple picture book, but I suspect would also be enjoyed by older kids learning to read since there is just one word one each page to read. It may also introduce new words to your child – Alex's new favourite word is now 'zonked'! 🙂
Sleeping Dragons All Around, by Sheree Fitch, illustrated by Michele Nidenoff. I've been a fan of Sheree Fitch ever since I saw her present some of her poems at a reading a couple of years ago. (Her books are wonderful but if you ever have a chance to see her read them, go!) In this book, a little girl wakes up in the middle of the night and really wants some cake (well, who wouldn't?!). But to get to the cake, she has to make it safely through a house full of sleeping dragons! I really enjoy reading this book to Alex – it's definitely a tongue twister at times, but I enjoy the challenge! Heh. And again, the illustrations in this book are wonderful – big and colourful and so much fun. Definitely a new family favourite!
Nimbus Publishing have kindly offered one of each of the above books to giveaway. To enter, leave a comment below saying which of the five books you think your child/ren would like best (though I can't guarantee that it is the one you will receive if you win).
Other entries: Subscribe to the blog here or become a fan of HRM Parent on Facebook here and post a comment about it below.
Giveaway closes midnight on September 30, 2009.
(This giveaway is only open to residents of the HRM.)
Good luck!
