The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

Until I heard of this book, I only knew E.B. White as the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. (one of my favourite kids movies too - with Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie).

The Trumpet of the Swan first came to my attention on this Dinner A Love Story post about the best collection of books to give a new baby. I have most of them now but I think this one is my favourite.

If your kids are of the age when they can still for a half an hour each evening, and you need some kind of stress relief, just order this book. Get the hardcover (I wish I had) because its one that will be around for a long time. I read it on a camping holiday, so I did have a captive audience (no wifi, Nintendo DS out of battery, laptop out of charge, everyone in withdrawl) but my three elder boys, then eleven, nine and seven sat rapt while I read. We usually did it when our youngest was having a nap and my husband was deciding which incredibly cheap but delicious wine he was going to get in the nearby French supermarket. Happy Days.

For ages seven and up.

A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Betty Fraser

A House Is a House for Me is one of those books that because its out a few years, the price has gone right down. This paperback was under six euros. Its one of those books that should be bought in bulk and stockpiled for birthdays. Its great for both boys and girls and a good read aloud from age two. I'd say five is the upper limit for it to give as a present but really, if you are reading it to a four year old, its a guarantee that six and seven year olds will listen too.

Written as one big rhyme - an excellent one, it has these wonderful illustrations that just ask to be examined and reexamined. I first saw it on Pen Pals and Picture Books.

This was our favourite page.

Fast and very bearable family game - Quallop

We're not really a game-ish family. Vital pieces in our Mousetrap were lost before it was ever played, our Monopoly is used mainly by our four year old for some kind of money/skateboard/burger game that thankfully is a solo thing, and Twister lasted about eight minutes before I felt very much like snapping the arrow/board thingy in half. Which would have been very easy, it was so flimsy.

Anyhoo, in a way I want us to be a game-ish family. It just seems like a very good thing to sit down with our kids at a table and play something. (They will sometimes play together but more often than not, the main attraction of the whole thing is that one of us is involved.)

Which brings me to Quallop. It's great. Doesn't take too long, easy to understand (really - very easy. It's noughts and crosses with a few twists) and compact. (That's a folding board in the picture above. Its about two handspans wide and one high.)No cumbersome boards and big boxes. No tiny, vital pieces to lose. So far, it has made nobody cry and I have never felt like sneaking it into a charity bag.

Suitable from ages five or six to adult.
P.s. This isn't a sponsored post - I chose and paid for the game.

You're a Bad Man Mr Gum by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman

This is the first in the Mr Gum series and my three elder boys have read all the others too. Mr Gum picks his nose a lot and hates children. He lives in a big, disgustingly messy house where the carpet is the colour of unhappiness and smells like a toilet. His favourite televison programme is called Bag of Sticks, which is exactly as it sounds. An image of a bag of sticks. (The Christmas edition is a bag of sticks with a dead robin beside it.) I'm probably not selling this very well, but this series is really very funny and my kids loves it. If a new one comes out, its impossible to get from the library as the series is so, so popular around here.

As you can see, there's a very manageable amount of text per page, and plenty of funny drawings. Great from ages seven to ten. Also, the audio versions are a treat (although I can only find them available second hand.) We listened to Mr Gum and The Goblins, read by the author, (who is also a stand up comedian) about twelve times.

Laurie Graham

A Laurie Graham, a cup of coffee and a croissant. There's no nicer way to spend a Saturday morning. Her new book The Grand Duchess of Nowhere is next on my wishlist. The only problem is that I know I'll finish it too soon. Her books are both good and feel-good, the perfect combination.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, performed by David Hyde Pierce

This is the audio version of The Phantom Tollbooth, read by Niles from Frasier. I got it last Christmas for my then ten year old but up to now it has always been played in his bedroom. When he started putting it on the kitchen before school, I wasn't too happy. The hours between seven and half eight are spent concentrating hard on getting four boys fed, dressed, supplied with a lunch they might actually eat and out of the house. Usually I work in silence at the kitchen counter muttering..

Nutella sandwiches, drink, apple  oreos, soup, no, not soup, he won't eat it, peanut butter sandwiches, no, peanut butters all gone, nutella? Ham? Recorder, no not today, better put it in the school bag anyway. Please put your socks on. Bike helmet, lights? Sign journal. Find pen. 

Hearing David Hyde Pierce blast from the speakers the other day nearly drove me over the edge. Howandsoever, I must have slept well the night before because when I suppressed the screams, turned down the volume a bit and listened, I had to admit its pretty good. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it's thought provoking. And very entertaining.

This one is unabridged and four and a half hours long. Needless to say, it is read brilliantly. Highly recommended for ages seven or eight to twelve.

Moustache Tattoos

These might come in handy at Halloween or dare I say it, as a stocking filler. I got mine from Book Depository but they're available from Amazon too. Dover make them and loads more child friendly tattoo designs - cars, dinosaurs, little trains - check them out.