fractured fairytales—a great way to shake up stale thoughts and ideas

fractured fairytales—a great way to shake up stale thoughts and ideas

for all ages
If Goldilocks has to go back and apologise to the Three Bears, or if Belle decides she needs to go to university after seeing the Beast’s magnificent library, or if Jack enters into a partnership with the Giant and they build a theme park in the clouds…. you’re probably enjoying a fractured fairytale!

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rollicking farmyard fun when a pig goes swimming!

rollicking farmyard fun when a pig goes swimming!

ages baby to 6 years
Great for a birthday present!  A tremendously fun book about a hot pig who looks longingly at a pond. The ducks and the geese are happy and cool, but …’pigs don’t swim’. Finally, it all gets the better of her. She throws convention to the wind and dives in. It's not always to our advantage to follow the rules!
 

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funny situations can lead to complex reasoning in a non-confrontational way

funny situations can lead to complex reasoning in a non-confrontational way

ages 2 to 8 years
A really funny look at a donkey who lives inside!  (There are more positives than you might think.) Great for musing about how other people live—and the possibility that there could be more than one good choice in life.

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a lovely bedding-down story for the end of the day

a lovely bedding-down story for the end of the day

ages newborn to early childhood
In our house at least, Big Red Barn is a bedtime book. It’s the softly told story of farm animals bedding down for the night ... lovely, calming and reassuring. And elevating.

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there really are no pictures!

there really are no pictures!

There's quite the craze happening for this book - simply because it's heaps of fun! It really is a book with no pictures, but. There are typeface changes, colour changes and white space. Which all go together to give it plenty of life. It's funny and it's great. 

ages 4 to 8 but older kids will respond too / funnylanguage

 

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KING BIDGOOD'S IN THE BATHTUB :: this is crazy stuff, full of the absurd - a ton of fun to read!

KING BIDGOOD'S IN THE BATHTUB :: this is crazy stuff, full of the absurd - a ton of fun to read!

Ages baby to 8 years
Do you read to kids in the bath?  When ours were small, a couple of them simply couldn't see the value of a bath.  But they could see the value of a story. So I would read while they soaked away a day of grime.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub is one that’s a ton of fun to read – anytime really, but especially in the tub. There's trouble: ‘King Bidgood’s in the bathtub, and he won't get out!’

A poor young Page has the job of alerting all and sundry to the problem – and he does a terrific job. First the Knight, then the Queen, then the Duke, and finally the whole Court try to entice King Bidgood out of the tub.  It’s all to no avail and the King just conducts the business of the day in the enormous tub. (In the end it’s the Page who saves the day.)

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hooray for a decent prince and a woman with a bit of spunk!

hooray for a decent prince and a woman with a bit of spunk!

ages 2 to 12 years
A brilliant gift book. We have quite a collection of princess-and-the-pea stories, mainly because Alec (our second son) was called Princess for quite a few years after a camp where he slept on a whole pile of mattresses. This one is great. Prince Henrik needs to find a proper princess to be his wife - and he does! 

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