Winter specials - Professor Astrocat, All About Theatre, Twelve Kinds of Ice

Professor Astrocat's Frontiers of Space was a Santa present for my ten year old. Its not only extremely cool looking and pinterest worthy, he loves it. Definitely worth the €16.50, its packed full of easy to read info. I can see us digging into this for a few years to come. For ages seven or eight to adult.

Equally lovely looking, All About Theatre was a library order. For anyone interested in drama, its pretty fantastic. Yes it has lots of mentions of Benedict Cumberbatch, but also, loads about stuff other than acting. So interesting and amazing value. Its only €16.88! Warning though, it will definitely have you checking flights to London and tickets to the National Theatre.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller!

A small and stunning hardback - poetry and art and perfect for this time of year. Twelve Kinds of Ice is exactly what it says - a description of all the stages of ice in a (I think) New England winter. I've just noticed its also available in paperback too. Its one of those books that my might seem a bit young for a ten or twelve year old, but it isn't. Its a keeper and should, if possible, be read aloud. With wonderful, wonderful illustrations.

Bird Bingo, Thin Ice by Mikael Engstrom and The Revolution Papers

 This is Bingo, with beauty. Instead of numbers, you get illustrations of birds, with labels. So you learn their names, if you want to, or just look at the loveliness. Bottom line, no one has yet objected to a game. We have the Bird version, but there's also Bug and Dog Bingo.

 I had to root my fourteen year old out of his bedroom yesterday to mind his little brother while I raced out to Tesco Metro. One of them watched Peppa Pig, one of them read this - Thin Ice.

And in Tesco, I picked up The Revolution Papers. Fascinating, but tiny, tiny print. Worth the squinting though.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

My kids found not a few books under the tree this year. And so far, this one has been read the most.

Nimona is a graphic novel. Its set in the future, but is medival-ish too. Its got magic, technology, shape-shifting and villains with a soft side. My ten and twelve year old's really, really enjoyed it. And will definitely read it again. That's the thing about graphic novels - kids do finish them far too quickly, considering the price, but the good ones are reread countless times. For ages nine and up.

Make Me a Cake! - a really very bearable small kids game

Just a wild guess, but I'm assuming this game - Make me a Cake! is marketed for girls. Which means I can't really risk giving it as a birthday present for a five year old boy. Even though it is PERFECT for five year old boys. I know, as I have been playing it on repeat with my own one.

Just flick the spinner (this game is very solid. It's going to last. Nothing irritates me more than a flimsy spinner.) and take what it tells you. A big tier, some icing, a topper - it doesn't matter, they all look great. And make your cake.

Once its finished, measure the cake and collect some rosettes. After about fifteen minutes, you have a winner. And honestly, its one of those rare games where kids enjoy the playing enough so winning doesn't really matter. For ages three to six or seven.

The Gates by John Connolly and The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

My fourteen year old doesn't rave about books (or rave at all, I hope!) Anyway, I grabbed The Gates

from the young adult section of our library last week. I don't usually get anything there as its predominantly "coming of age love story" 's, which are not his cup of tea.

Anyway, this "is really good." That's a rave review in fourteen year old boy language, by the way.

In the other bedroom, my twelve year old could not put The Silver Sword down, which made me very proud.

Such a great story.

books for teachers, best friends, husbands and in-laws

For teachers: At Sea and The Grand Duchess of Nowhere. Everything by Laurie Graham is both good and feel-good. I'm getting Mr Starlight for my mother in law too.

For best friends: Clothes Music Boys. According to reviews, this is a brilliant read and I LOVE the title. I met my besties last night and brought these along for them. We have all spent many an hour discussing clothes, music and boys over the past two plus decades, so it was the obvious choice.

These are for my husbands stocking. I wanted something exciting and something funny and it was a coincidence that they are both from the same series. Unfortunately, this edition of Three Men in a Boat has tiny text, too tiny for anyone over forty five, so I'm going to look around for a different copy. The Riddle of the Sands font is perfect though, and its pretty apt with the 1916 centenary coming up. I think he'll love them.

Oh, and I've ordered this and this for my father in law. Both reportedly very good reads.

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland's Good Fortune by P.J. Lynch

It has been said already that The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower is stunning, and it really is. I wonder has the phrase "visual feast" been used? Because it is that too. It seems unfair that an artist like P.J Lynch turns out to be a pretty great writer too. The voice of John is pitch perfect. How many writers could turn their hands to painting and pull it off this well?

All I can add is that what I liked most about this book was how the illustrations and storytelling synced so perfectly. Both the words and the pictures pull you right into the characters heads.

See, here are the lads talking about one of the girls..

And here she is, playing with the younger kids..

Maybe writers and illustrators  working closely do this too, but in this book it seems particularly perfect.

Here is young John, standing up to the First Mate. And the First Mate taking note.

Its an epic journey that does not end when he reaches America and really, falling  off the Mayflower was only one episode in an eventful life. 

Another illustration to dive into.

This is Samoset who welcomed the hungry Englishmen.

This a Thanksgiving story, a pilgrim story, a story of religious persecution. A story of tolerance and kindness and survival. I would only add that when I started reading this to my boys, they asked me, who were his "people"? And why did the King of England not like them? Some simple notes on this period of history and the Separatists would have been very useful.

It was my twelve year old who enjoyed it the most, so definitely a picture book for older kids. Even adult ones.