Parents' blog
What do Bookstart parents have to say? Find out more and add your comments.
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Download some free new John Prater bookplates
Posted Wednesday September 23rd 2009
by Nikesh Shukla
Keep your home library growing with these wonderfully illustrated bookplates by John Prater.Download your very own Bookstart bookplates to make your favourite books even more special.
You can either print them onto sticky labels; or simply print on paper, then use scissors and glue.
“You are never too young to start a home library of your very own books.It will start a love of reading to enrich your childhood and last your whole life.” Anne Fine, author.
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Is it a bird?
Posted Wednesday September 2nd 2009
by Natasha Baker
Is it a bird?…….. is it a plane?…… NO, IT’S SUPERBEBE!
But before I show you cute photos of my niece, aka Superbebe, I wanted to share how fantastic it is being an Auntie for the first time.
On June 6th 2009 Isabelle Rose (aka Superbebe) entered this world of ours and I became a very proud first time auntie.
Okay time for a cute photo:
SuperBebe – just 3 hours old. My eyes are closed because I haven’t got a handle on that whole x-ray and heat vision thing……yet!
It’s been 10 weeks or so since her birth and she gets cuter each time I see her, but don’t just take my word for it, see for yourselves (optimistically hoping for plural readers):
'Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, not around the eyes, not around the eyes, look into my eyes!'
And it’s fascinating to see how she is developing – for example, not only is she mildly interested in her crazy Auntie T singing nursery rhymes to her on a sunny Sunday afternoon (No that does…
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The Start of an Exciting Journey
Posted Tuesday September 1st 2009
by Megan Farr
I’ve just enjoyed a blissful ten days home alone whilst my partner and 3 ½ year old daughter, Bea, were away on holiday. It was of course wonderful to have them back yesterday and in particular the happy return to the bedtime story routine as I told Bea the tales of the Three Little Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff and The Gigantic Turnip before she fell sleep after an exhausting day of travel. So lovely to have her back, until this morning when she woke up at 6am, demanded cocoa pops, her red spotty dress, music to dance to (6.20am) and then had a strop when we said she couldn’t watch telly at 6.50am. We managed to appease her with a Snow White book and CD she’d brought back from holiday, and she was soon quietly pouring over the pictures and following the story, cocooned in her Thomas the Tank Engine tent.
One of the most exciting things about being a parent is witnessing the amazing journey of learning to read and I am really curious to watch the learning process. Bea is at the age where she is fascinated by the words and symbols around her, beginning to make the…
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Recommended Picture Book for September
Posted Tuesday September 1st 2009
by Nikesh Shukla
Our recommended read of the month for Bookstart parents is The Haunted House by Kazuno Kohara.
When a young girl goes to live in a magnificent, old house at the edge of town, she doesn't seem at all worried to find that it is haunted by not one, but many, floaty white ghosts.
Using only black and white on orange, the colours of Halloween, printmaker Kazuno Kohara has created a unique book experience for youngsters which oozes atmosphere without being scary. -
Milo gets his Bookstart pack
Posted Friday August 28th 2009
by Natasha Worswick
Milo and I picked up our Bookstart book pack last week. We were given it at his eight month review which he sailed through and it turns out he is very long for his age which is surprising as we are both quite short! Anyway, needless to say I was very excited by him getting his pack at last, and I think he was too.
The Bookstart bag is a common sight around these parts. I have been seeing mum’s wheeling their babies, toddlers and young children around with their bags attached to the buggy or slung over their shoulders for a while now. It sort of looks like they belong to a little club. Whenever I saw a mum with one, they always had an older baby and seemed so much more experienced at this parenting stuff than I was. Now I have an older baby, but I still feel like there is an awful lot to learn.
Instead of worrying about bad naps, development stages, percentiles and the like, I put a blanket down on the grass in the park, took Milo out of his buggy and sat him down to enjoy his new bag of goodies. We…
