Fun Kids Books & a Giveaway!

Boo had a very exciting delivery last month from Stripes Publishing. She was absolutely thrilled to open up a parcel and find it packed with books! That’s my girl!

So just a few books to be keeping her busy with then?! At 5, my daughter just loves her books, so she’s definitely taking after me so far. I was as excited as she was to get going on these!

As this was just a few weeks ago, we’ve not read them all yet, but we have made a start, and I wanted to share them with you and tell you a little about these titles, all from the lovely team over at Stripes Publishing. I have also got a rather special competition, too, so read on for more….

Maisie Hitchins:

The first in the series is The Case of the Weeping Mermaid, which we’ve yet to read. This gives you a feel for it:

Alice’s father is having a run of bad fortune – two of his ships have disappeared and he has lost a lot of money. Maisie is sure she can solve the mystery herself, so she heads down to London’s sprawling docks to investigate. Can she discover what is happening at sea and save Alice’s fortune?

I like the sound of this one. I like books set in  a different era and these are set in Victorian London. It will give Boo and I more to talk about, and consider what it would have been like to be a girl just over one hundred years ago. A mystery and a feisty heroine are always good fun, too.

Adventures of the Steampunk Pirates:

We’re reading one of these at the moment, and they’re unlike anything we’ve read before. They’re a lot of fun. We’re reading The Leaky Battery Sets Sail, and here’s the blurb to give you a feel for the story..

Causing chaos wherever they sail, the robotic Steampunk Pirates are roaming the high seas, hunting for gold! But the evil Iron Duke has other ideas… He’s determined to capture the pirates in return for a handsome reward from the King. Can the mechanical marauders stay one wave ahead of their enemy?

It opens with a handy who’s who type guide, and this is the first one in the series. It’s easy to read, chapter lengths are perfect for a bedtime read, with plenty of detailed illustrations sprinkled throughout that Boo likes to study at length! 

Knightmare:

This is a series of books by Peter Bently, and we have the first one, Life Stinks. We’ve yet to read it, but I think it’ll be next on the list as it sounds really funny!

Cedric Thatchbottom can’t wait to train as a squire, serving Sir Percy the Proud – a knight famed throughout the land for his glorious deeds. But this famous knight isn’t all he appears to be, and Cedric soon finds himself being run ragged around Castle Bombast by his new master.

In the first book in the Knightmare series, Roland the Rotten has challenged Percy the Proud to a duel. But the famous knight refuses to take part because he’s lost his lucky underpants. It turns out that Percy is lying to avoid the fight. With his new master’s reputation at stake, Cedric finds himself stepping up to the challenge…

A hilarious new series following the misadventures of a trainee knight. Packed with comical characters, battles, puns and poo, these books are irresistible to boys and girls aged six to eight years.

You want to read it now, right?!

Holly Webb’s Animal Stories:

There are plenty of these books to get into, and we’re enjoying having a few of them already to start us off.  To give you a feel for them, here’s the blurb from The Kitten Nobody Wanted..

Mia can’t get over her pet cat Sandy’s death, and can’t ever imagine replacing him. Over the Christmas holidays, she gets to play with her friend’s cat’s kittens. Then Mia’s parents surprise her by saying she can have the last kitten, Whiskers. But although Mia loves him, she feels guilty about Sandy. Can Mia bring herself to keep the new kitten?

We’ve read two of these stories so far, and Boo enjoys them. They’re easy reads, and though the story centres around the animals and the children’s caring relationships with them, they are very much about friendship, too. The two we’ve read have also interwoven other sensitive topics within them, as we’ve covered the grief of losing a pet in The Kitten Nobody Wanted, and then the upheaval of moving home and moving schools in Ellie the Homesick Puppy.

Competition Time!

Right, you’re wanting to hear about the competition now, aren’t you? Well, to celebrate the 31st Animal Story release from Holly Webb, one of my very lucky readers can win all 31 books!! And not only that, there will also be exclusive Holly Webb Animal Stories Bag, poster, bookmark and notepad to go with the prize bundle. What are you waiting for?!

To enter, use the rafflecopter below, letting me know what your favourite animal is. The give-away closes at 12am on 26th July 2015, open to UK entrants only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read any of these? What early chapter books do your children enjoy?

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