An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

The party invitations for my Junior Infant(he's five) are usually joint ones - so we get one present and it is added to a black sack of gifts to be divided between the birthday boys. I spend between twelve and fifteen euros and if I'm organised, get books. (And if I'm not I wander around the Tiger and Tesco beside the party venue wishing I'd bought books.) Anyway, these arrived this morning in time for the party next week. I've already reviewed Petunia here - its perfect, and its my first time getting one of this lovely series. Its not my last though, I'll definitely be getting one or two more for our camping holiday.

An Egg is Quiet is great. Its one of those non fiction books that we all love - there's beautiful illustrations and its so interesting! If you liked Feathers, Not Just For Flying, you'll love this. If you liked Bird Bingo, you'll love this. Its just 36 pages about eggs - their colours and shapes and how they are cared for by their parents. It would have been a great addition to an Easter basket. I think I'll get A Rock is Lively next. Or maybe A Seed is Sleepy?

first two pages..

..last two pages.

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle buries its eggs beneath the sand.

Hummingbird eggs are the size of a jelly bean.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Lauren Child, Polly Borland and Emily Jenkins

Goldilocks and the Three Bears (this link brings you to the paperback. It looks like the hardcover is out of print.)

This caught my eye in the library yesterday. I had been reading about the Lonely Doll series, so books with photographed dolls were in my mind. I have never seen that series in real life so cannot accurately give an opinion but images I have seen give me the idea they are magical insofar as kids who have given their dollies real lives can actually see this in photographs, but the pictures can also look a bit creepy. They were, in fairness, first published in 1957. Anyway,  I thought this twenty first century take on the idea would be worth a look.

My five year and I LOVED it. The sets are designed by Emily Jenkins, photographs by Polly Borland and of course, the words are by Lauren Child.

And as a bonus, very pretty title page.

Calligraphy and textile design are by Benjamin Duarri.

Nicholas again!

Sorry. I know I have gone on about the Nicholas series a few times but it has occurred to me that they are perfect for anyone looking for a series for ages eight to twelve, for those who have got stuck on Wimpy Kid or Big Nate or that other one they get stuck on whose name escapes me. Anyway, they are all great but sometimes kids do need a nudge. My ten and really twelve year old are reading Nicholas at the moment. Reading and swapping and hiding the next one so it is waiting for them when they finish what they are on.

Its a quarter past eight in the morning, this boy should be dressed!

That's homework on the table. Underneath the book.

I like this picture. One building, one reading. (Two more upstairs watching Youtube, sadly!)

I love them because they are a change from the middle school, surviving adolescence stuff. They are set in France, and from what my boys say, funny. Really, they are the perfect addition to any classroom or home library. 

Get them here, here or here.

Nicholas, At Home in her Tomb, ice cream cake, boa constrictors in woolly suits

I know I have mentioned the Nicholas series before, when my eldest boy was reading them, but my ten year old has just started and I was reminded how great they are. This one below, was our first and purchased purely because of its lovely clothbound cover. The hardcovers are more expensive, needless to say, so our series is a bit of both. Anyway, he loves them all. Here they are.

Next, At Home in her Tomb, an expensive, award winning, really great quality non fiction book that sadly, made my son gag when he saw it. I've got a lot of different reactions from my boys when I show them new books, but this was a first!

It was one of the "surprises" in his 13th birthday pile but anyways, he has yet to read it. The problem was the photo of the amazingly preserved two thousand year old body of Lady Dai. If only her tongue wasn't poking out. So, its fascinating but I don't know when it will be opened.

Luckily, he loved his cake. It was a real chore to make. Not. I smushed two vienettas, one mint aero and a punnet of raspberries into a lined loaf tin and left it in the freezer for an hour. We could turn it out then and stick the candles on top. By then the birthday boy has his appetite back.

And by the by, I've mentioned these two books before, because they're great, but last night I read them back to back. And only noticed then that they are both about boa constrictors whose owners knit them their own suits. Now we love them even more!

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash

and Crictor.