Kids' book review : Discover The Leader In You (MyBookHeroes)

We recently discovered a series of children's books from a company called MyBookHeroes, which creates personalised stories to help boost the self-esteem of children around the world. We chose the title Discover The Leader In You, but there are also Discover the Determination in You and Discover the Courage in You.

As it says on the opening page, "We hope every child sees the hero in themselves and we promise to bring you beautiful stories that inspire all kids to be the best version of themselves". So far, so good !

When you go to create the book, you first need to choose the language (English or Greek - it would be good to have a wider choice of languages available), then select the sex and image that will represent your hero. There are only eight characters available - four girls and four boys - but I thought that the one we chose did look quite similar to Pierre. (You can compare with the photo on our sidebar, if you don't know what he looks like !) You might be limited if your children don't look like any of them though, so, again, it would be lovely to have a bigger choice of characters available. (In other similar choose-your-hero books that we've reviewed in the past, you can select hair, eye and skin colour, which may be a more universally appealing option.)

The story is quite simple. After talking to the Dragon Tree about what it takes to be a good leader, Pierre meets some new friends - Plato Panda, Silvy the Fox and Grace the Bunny. The new friends soon meet a Turtle King, who needs some help getting home before nightfall. Working together, they overcome the challenges - mission accomplished !

The whole story is written in rhyme, which makes it quite fun to read. The characters are appealing, even if they are not developed a great deal - I would think you would get to know them more if you bought the other books in the series. 

Pierre thought the book was fun and he particularly liked the fact that the main character had his name and looked like him. He did ask lots of questions though, that weren't covered by the book, but we had fun making up our own descriptions and explanations !

There should be a new title released every three months and each title costs €24.99. There is currently a free worldwide shipping offer that you can take advantage of too.

for more information : https://mybookheroes.com/

Disclosure : We received a free book, in order to share our honest opinions.

Daddy Hairdo with Vosene Kids (review)

Last week, the Madhouse kids were delighted to wake up and discover a pristine, white landscape outside the windows - woohoo, we'd had snow ! This involved them getting dressed and racing outside for lots of sliding about, giggling and throwing snowballs at each other before it melted. After that, there was just one thing they wanted - a nice hot bath to warm up (or a nice mug of hot chocolate as they waited for their turn to warm up !). This was the perfect time to bring out a package that Vosene had delivered to us, including three of their fruity shampoos which all of the Madhouse kids love using : Strawberry 2-in-1 shampoo, Melon 2-in-1 shampoo and 2-in-1 shampoo with Pomelo and Vitamin C. They smell gorgeous and are great for dealing with all hair types, from Pierre's cropped hair to the girls' long locks. I even use it myself as it smells so nice ! 

While waiting for Pierre's turn, we sat down with the book that was also in the package : Daddy Hairdo by Francis Martin and Claire Powell. 

We giggled as we looked at the proud dad,with his hair that was longer than his baby daughter's.

However, as she grew, so did her hair. After catching up with her dad's luscious locks, her hair continued to grow while his disappeared. Oops !

Her hair continued to grow and grow, until it started causing all sorts of problems in her daily life, giving her hiding place away when they played hide and seek or stopping her from getting in through the door of her favourite sweet shop ! 

But it was another case of Dad to the rescue - he popped her off to the hairdresser's and she got a lovely crop. He, on the other hand, remained bald - hee hee hee !

We loved the story and it was perfect for passing the time while waiting for the bath to become free. There was only one question remaining - Strawberry, Melon or Pomelo? Hmmmm decisions decisions !

Disclosure : We received a package of shampoos and a book from Vosene - many thanks !

Giveaway #710 : Win an Ultimate Eye Twisters book - closed - winner Samantha O' Donnell

Ultimate Eye Twisters is a bumper collection of crazy and mesmerizing optical illusions and visual puzzles, guaranteed to appeal to the whole family. It contains hours of eye-boggling, mind-twisting fun for kids who love the challenges of visual trickery. 

Pierre loves looking up optical illusions on youtube, so I was pleased to see that he is just as interested in book form. He was spoilt for choice and loved showing me the different pages.

From strange faces to colour-changing shenanigans, illusory moving patterns to visual paradoxes, your brain will be saying it's impossible but your eyes will still be seeing strange shapes and movements !

There are even examples and explanations to help you set up your own optical illusion photos, so you can still have fun even when you've finished working through the book.

Ultimate Eye Twisters | 9781783124480

Author: Gianna A. Sarcone

Paperback | £8.99 | Published: January 2019

Age: 7+

for more information : https://www.carltonbooks.co.uk/ultimate-eye-twisters-pb.html

Carlton Kids have kindly provided me with a copy of Ultimate Eye Twisters to give away to a lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Fill in your entries in the Rafflecopter widget below. 

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UK only. Closing date : 9/2/19

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Giveaway #708 : Win a Sharks book - closing 28/1

Giveaway #709 : Win a Space Record Breakers book - closing date 29/1

Festive picture books from Owlet Press (review)

Can you believe that in two week's time, we'll all be sitting around feeling bloated after eating too much turkey and too many mince pies and Christmas will officially be over ! Right now though, you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better be good, I'm telling you why ... Santa Claus is coming to town ! Oops sorry, I got slightly sucked in by the festive hype there, but seriously for a minute, if you're looking for new ways to keep the Christmas sparkle going in your house over the coming weeks, how about investing in some festive picture books to read with your kids? They'd be perfect for bedtimes in the run up to the big day or maybe you could start a new tradition and create a gift box especially for Christmas Eve with some funky pyjamas, festive nibbles and some well-chosen picture books inside. These two from Owlet Press would be ideal.

Our first discovery was Santa's Wish, by Samuel Langley-Swain. In this charming tale, you'll be swept away in the festive fun when two children visit Father Christmas and ask him what HE wants for Christmas. As you'd expect, he comes up with the perfect answer and tells them to give love. All together now - awwww !

The pictures accompanying the texts are understated, largely in black and white with just a few details added in colour. This works really well and we loved looking at the illustrations to point out all the cute little details, such as leaving out a carrot for the reindeer. The Madhouse kids loved the animals, both pets and wild animals at the North Pole, getting involved in the Christmas festivities, tucking into festive treats and decorating the trees.

It's a book that, with its close family unit and all the Santa magic. will leave you with a lovely warm feeling inside, whatever your age !

Our second title was The Christmas Next Door, also by Samuel Langley-Swain, along with T.A. Creasey.

Glancing at the back of the book had me giggling to myself : "Grandad's coming to stay for Christmas ! What could possibly go wrong?". Thinking about the Madhouse Grandad, I could think of a few things !

As is often the case, despite all the preparations, things don't all go to plan for the Christmas celebrations in the story. Daughter Lily, who has autism, suffers a meltdown during the school nativity play and, on the big day itself, Christmas dinner ends up being slightly cremated ! Grandad always has the perfect solution though and brings out a dvd with a special Christmas message from Granny, who has now passed away.

This is a lovely way of reminding us all about what really matters at Christmas - family and those we love - especially as this will be our first Christmas since Madhouse Daddy died. It is very easy, especially as an adult, to get totally wrapped up in unimportant details and forget about the true spirit of the season, so this is a lovely, heartwarming story to read together.

Santa's Wish has an RRP of £5.99 and The Christmas Next Door retails at £7.99.

for more information : www.owletpress.com

Disclosure : We received the books in order to write an honest review.

Giveaway #670 : Win The Story of Titanic For Children - closed - winner Claire Thomson Little

It was all the way back in 1912 that the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank into the icy depths off Newfoundland, with over 2,000 people on board. Even the mega-successful James Cameron film dates back to 1997, so I'm amazed to see how fascinated the Madhouse kids - born in 2001, 2005 and 2008 - have always been by the Titanic. I instantly knew that Carlton Kids' gorgeous hardback book, The Story of Titanic For Children, would be met with enthusiasm (and I wasn't wrong !).

Through the brightly coloured, attractively laid out pages, you can explore the beautiful sundecks, marvel at the luxurious design and relive the tragic sinking of the world's most famous ship. Over one hundred years on, the captivating story has lost none of its appeal and this stunning book explores real-life stories and little known facts that will absorb young readers.

 Beautiful images and bite-sized information bring the Titanic to life, from its construction to the victims and survivors after its tragic sinking. Filled with amazing facts and details giving insights into the "unsinkable" ship, The Story of Titanic for Children will satisfy even the most curious minds.

The Story of Titanic for Children |

9781783123353

Hardback | £8.99 | Published: February |

Age: 7+

Carlton Kids have kindly offered to send a copy of the book to one lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader - fill in your details via the Rafflecopter widget below.

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UK only. Closing date : 10/3/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray ! Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Giveaway #668 : Win My Perfect Puppy augmented reality book - closing date 24/2

Giveaway #669 : Win Hotel on Shadow Lake by Daniela Tully - closing date 26/2

Picture book review : A Spooky Tale : A Walk With Our Teacher - Sue Wickstead

A Spooky Tale : A Walk With Our Teacher is a fun picture book, based on a real-life walk about town with a group of children, the "class of 95 who helped write the story" mentioned in the author's acknowledgements.

Before you start reading, you can trace the route that the children will take, spotting all the places and creatures that they will see on the way. If you want to keep an element of surprise while reading the book, you may want to keep this part until the end, but for beginner readers, it's a great way of sounding out the words before getting into the story to help overcome any difficult words. This is a great way of building up the confidence of beginner readers who will stumble over fewer words if they are already familiar with them.

The story and structure reminded me very much of the well-loved classic We're Going On A Bear Hunt. On each page, the short text ends with the repeated line "That's why we didn't feel well", so even young children who can't read yet will be able to join in after a few pages.

The children really don't want to go out on a class walk and list all their reasons, from a haunted house and a dinosaur to a snappy crocodile and an alien attack ! They survive it all though, and all feel a lot better when they get back to the safety of school ... apart from their teacher who really doesn't feel well now and ends up in bed, presumably after all the stress of the eventful class trip !

The detailed illustrations really bring the simple texts to life and Pierre enjoyed pointing out all the details he spotted in the pictures as we turned the pages.

There's even a bus, which is surely a nod to author Sue Wickstead's other books, featuring a play bus. (You may remember my reviews for Jay-Jay The Supersonic Bus and Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure.)

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Age Range: 3 - 8 years
• Publisher: Sue Wickstead; 1 edition (31 Dec. 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0993073743
• ISBN-13: 978-0993073748
• Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 0.3 x 21.6 cm

Disclosure : We received a review copy of the book.

Picture book review : It's A Bright World To Feel Lost In by Mawson

One of the hardest things to do when you are a bear (or a child) is find words to express your feelings, especially the ones that cause you pain, such as grief, loss and loneliness. Luckily, Mawson, the big-hearted, soul-searching teddy bear, is here to help. Despite his existential ponderings, he won't find all the answers, but he will give you lots of heartwarming one-liners to soothe your soul.

My favourite line from the book is : "That squeezy bit in the middle of a hug? That's home." There are many others that made me stop and think though, that look at what it means to find The One (in the book, this means the bear's special owner, but you could adapt it to to suit all manner of complicated real life situations, such as waiting for an adoptive parent, splitting up with a boyfriend/girlfriend or a best friend moving far away) - "You can hear all the things they don't know how to say." "A Poem. Now I'm me. Instead of us. And it's still grand to be a bear." "You can almost hear the sighs of someone hurting."

It's a book that can be read on a number of levels, so it will appeal to a very wide audience. Children will fall in love with the cuddly bear and the funny advice he gives to his soft toy friends (and readers), while adults will see the wisdom behind his words and realise that he's a very intelligent bear.

The accompanying photos, showing Mawson the bear and his cuddly friends in a wide variety of situations, from sitting on a shelf waiting to be chosen by a new owner to looking up words in a dictionary, exploring new places by boat or balloon and writing everything from poems to "wurry lists", are sure to make you smile, whatever your age. They will also help children to engage with the words, as they might feel a bit bemused by the lack of a structured story.

It's a lovely book for children and teddy bear-lovers of all ages, especially those in need of a few words of wisdom to put some brightness back in the world . It's a small book packed with big emotions.

• Paperback: 50 pages
• Publisher: Publisher Obscura (22 Jun. 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1922200441
• ISBN-13: 978-1922200440
• Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 0.4 x 16.5 cm

Disclosure : We received the book in order to write an honest review.

Picture book review : Yoga Babies - Fearne Cotton

There's no stopping Fearne Cotton ! Not content with being one of the UK's most in-demand TV and radio presenters, captaining a team on Celebrity Juice, completing arduous challenges such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and cycling the length of Britain with David Walliams for charity, being the face of BaByliss, launching her own fashion range with Very.co.uk AND (arguably the toughest challenge of the lot !), being a mum-of-two, she has also just written a cute picture book called Yoga Babies.

Fearne completely understands the time pressures put on parents and kids in the modern world but she also believes that being healthy needn't be expensive, time-consuming or difficult, so she is on a mission to involve children and families from all backgrounds in activities that can improve their health and mental well-being, as well as promote a lifelong love of reading. Give the girl an MBE right now !

In the preface, Fearne says : "Yoga is such a wonderful activity for all the family and has a hugely calming impact all round. It's great for coordination as well as health and well-being. It's also lots of fun ! I love doing yoga with my kids but I'm not a yoga teacher. The text and illustrations in this book have been approved by a qualified yoga instructor, but Yoga Babies was not written as a 'How-To' guide."

The Yoga Babies are very cute. We had a good giggle when we spotted Sophie as well as Emily (my sister) among the names, but our favourite is George, running away squealing with his toys ! There are also Rex, Prakash, Maya, wild-haired Kit and the twins Sam and Tom. Whatever their looks and personalities, most young readers will find at least one that they can identify with.

The book, written in short rhymes, shows how yoga can be incorporated into your day without going to a class or making it into a big thing. The cute illustrations, by Sheena Dempsey, show the Yoga Babies striking a pose at a barbecue in the park, in the bathroom, in the garden or at Granny's house, amongst other places. It's a great way of bringing yoga to the masses, especially for those who might be put off by an official class, thinking you have to be extremely supple or invest in specific yoga clothes or equipment. Seeing how successful the mums and dads in the story use yoga to calm the kids down after a rough day or just before bedtime, if you fancy giving it a go yourself, there are a few simple (and above all fun) yoga poses that you can try with the kids on the back cover.

RRP : £9.99 (currently £4.99 on amazon)

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Age Range: 2 - 4 years
• Publisher: Andersen Press (7 Sept. 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1783445645
• ISBN-13: 978-1783445646

Disclosure : We received a review copy of the book.

Bubbles Blog Tour Author Guest Post : How life differs in France and the UK

As a dual-nationality French/English family, I was fascinated to learn about a charming new children’s book, Bubbles, written by Malcolm Howard & Steve Harrison (published by Clink Street Publishing, 2nd March 2017).

Inspired by his many years living in Chamonix in France and waking up daily to see the stunning mountains and countryside landscape, Malcolm Howard decided to put pen to paper to create the story of Bubbles. Initially written as separate stories for the children his then wife was nannying, their enthusiasm for the characters prompted Malcolm’s family to publish the book as a surprise for his seventieth birthday.

Beautifully illustrated by Steve Harrison, Bubbles will stimulate the imagination and bring a smile to children and adults alike as they join the escapades of Angelique and her nursery school pupils in the Alps..

The book blurb explains : Angelique has long thin legs, long thin arms and a turned-up nose on which sits an enormous pair of spectacles. Her spectacles are so big that they look like magnifying glasses and make her eyes look very large. She normally wears black shoes, a blue dress and a red scarf, and she has just been awarded all her Certificates and Diplomas to become a teacher. But she needs a job. Returning to her home village at the foothills of the French Alps, Angelique finds her childhood school has closed! All she needs is determination, enthusiasm and ten pupils to re-open the school and realise her dreams. But Angelique soon realises that her daily adventures have only just begun.

Author Malcolm Howard has kindly written us a post about life in Chamonix and how it differed from his home town in the UK.

*************************************

Home in England is Walton-on-Thames in leafy, suburban Surrey. It’s in the Thames valley, which is flat. The river meanders down from Windsor and Weybridge before passing Walton and flowing onwards to Hampton Court, Kingston, Richmond and, eventually, through London to the sea.

The river is picturesque and populated with rowers, pleasure boats, swans and geese. The towpath provides a trail for walkers, joggers and cyclists and riverside pubs ply a lively trade. But the area is liable to flooding in wild winter weather, which can be a bit of a bore.

Contrast Chamonix, which is mountainous. Melt water from the glaciers provides white-knuckle rafting rides down the River Arve, which joins the Rhone at the outflow from Lake Geneva and eventually reaches the Mediterranean sea.

Chamonix gained prominence as a mountaineering resort – it is not one of the best skiing resorts. The most adventurous skiing is off-piste with a cable car ride up to the Aiguille du Midi followed by a tortuous descent of an arête on foot, often requiring crampons, and then a guided ski run down the Vallee Blanche.

Slightly out of town, on one of the buttresses of Mont Blanc, is the village of Les Houches, which hosts the Chamonix World Cup Downhill Race. That is where the British Ski Academy is based and that is what drew me into the region.

The things we do for our children!

My son James liked most sport, but loved Alpine Ski Racing. There are few more expensive pastimes. I started Ski High School so that he and others could train in the Alps and also do their schoolwork. He made the British Junior Ski Team and then broke his ‘tib’n’fib’ and took up paragliding instead.

The British Ski Academy evolved from that. But in the preceding eight years we travelled all over the Alps, in France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. They were ‘heady’ times. But it cost me everything I had, so it was time to head back to dear old ‘Blighty’ (an affectionate term for Britain during the world wars).

I gained employment with the Surrey Probation Service and saw out my time until retirement organizing and supervising Community Service projects, dealing with offenders given Community Service as a punishment. It reminded me of my time in the army, and I would have wanted most of those offenders on my side!

I am now retired and have become involved with local politics. I have been elected to the local Borough Council and worry about things like local green space, and the river flooding. Oh for a white-knuckle ride down the Arve!

Picture book review : As Nice As Pie - Gary Sheppard & Tim Budgen

Maverick recently sent us some of their newest picture books to review, including As Nice As Pie by Gary Sheppard & Tim Budgen. When he laid eyes on the front cover, Pierre's first remark was "oooh she looks like Mamie" ! Well, I suppose there is a vague resemblance to his French granny !

Mavis is a lovely, kind lady who generously feeds the birds in her garden.

She even bakes them special cakes and cookies, but more and more birds keep appearing and she can't keep up. When the birds start getting too big for their boots and rudely demanding that she hurries up with their tasty treats, Mavis decides that enough is enough.

She cooks up an enormous pie and promises the birds a big surprise ... the surprise being that they are the filling ! Pierre gasped in horror at this point before giggling and deciding that Mavis was only joking (probably !).

She promises to let them go if they stop being rude, start being a bit more appreciative of her efforts and help her out. So they do ... and they all get their happy ending, helping Mavis turn her dream of owning a pie shop into reality.

 It's a lovely tale written in rhyme, with a double-sided life lesson, on the one hand reminding us all not to take people for granted while also showing young readers that you need to stand up for yourself and not be a doormat if you want to get on in life. It also extols the virtues of teamwork, sharing and generosity. We all love Mavis's malicious streak too, whether or not she was being serious about the bird pie !

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £6.99

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Maverick Arts Publishing (17 Nov. 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848862229
• ISBN-13: 978-1848862227
• Product Dimensions: 26.6 x 0.4 x 26.2 cm

Disclosure : We received the book in order to write an honest review.