children

The Birthday Thief and Kingdom of You – a Wonderbly book review

My kids love books. (No idea where they got that from. Ahem.) So when Wonderbly contacted me to review the two books new to its range (having reviewed the first two books last year), I said, "YES YES PLEASE YES! I mean, ahem, sure. If you like, no ...

2016’s greatest hits

It is nearly the end of December. It is nearly the end of December. One more time for the people up the back: IT IS NEARLY THE END OF DECEMBER. Holy cow. What a year, huh? The world went nuts. NUTS. Satirists and comedians had a great ...

Interview with my children

Two years ago, I brought you Interview with a toddler. Last year, I shook things up with Interview with a pre-schooler (the dad edition). This year, I interviewed both of my children. At the same time. There were laughs. There was lots of talk ...

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name – a Lostmy.name book review

I have a confession to make: I don't usually like personalised children's books. Perhaps that's because when I was growing up, they just weren't that great. Did you ever get one? They'd be impersonal stories, semi-well-written but vague enough to ...

Toddler music group – bear songs

It's been a long time between music group programs. But they're finally back! (Confused? Not sure what I mean by music group program? Start here. Then come back... Welcome back!) This time around, I'm sharing a music group program about bears. ...

Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories – Dr Seuss (book review)

Hooray! I love Seuss! More Seuss! I was so exited when I saw Horton and the Kwuggerbug on the local bookshop shelves! But I was also wary. Needlessly, it turns out. Here are my thoughts. --- Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories ...

Encouraging literacy development in children – and book pack GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited about this post. I know I'm supposed to act all cool, calm and collected. I'm supposed to casually mention in passing that oh, by the way, here's a literacy expert I happened to chat with (okay, email) who gave valuable insights ...

Family quirks

I've been slack on the blog lately. Some of it's been work. Some of it's been life. But most of it's been ... sigh ... something ... else? I can't concentrate. Social issues are getting me fired up, particularly when they're close to home. ...

Click, Clack, Moo and more: A Barnyard Collection – Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (book review)

When my (now five-year-old) daughter was still a bub, I had a vivid dream. It was about a group of cows that were owned by Peter Combe, and they went on strike until their demands for juicy, juicy green grass were met. I shared this incredible dream ...

The week my five-year-old was my stylist

My daughter is a little fashionista. This will come as no surprise to those of you who follow me on Instagram. She loves mixing and matching colours, prints and textures. Each night before her bath, she pulls her clothes from the wardrobe, lays ...