Our reading list – July 2014

Hello!  This is the first reading list post since lovely little R arrived and as was probably inevitable, it’s a little late…

HOWEVER, R has been busy elsewhere and has already managed (with a teeny bit of help) to guest post on the ‘Routes to Reading’ section of the Education Umbrella website, proudly showing off his shiny new library card.

In even more thrilling news, R has received his first ever loft treasure!  C and H were lucky enough to get signed books from the wonderful and generous Clara Vulliamy a while ago (read our post about it here) and so when R arrived, I contacted her to ask whether she might consider signing a bookplate that I could put into another of her books so that he’d have something similar.  Being the best example of a Good Egg (as my mum would have said), Clara went a gazillion times better and sent a signed copy of her latest happy-making book featuring Martha and the Bunny Brothers: ‘I Heart Holidays’.

N.B.  It was entirely unplanned for R’s outfit to match Clara’s wrapping paper and gift tag, but it makes me grin with delight every time I see that photo 🙂

R’s other bookish treat (he’s packed a lot into his first few weeks) was being given his first Bookstart pack, which contained the delightful ‘Busy Babies’ by Helen Stephens.  Given how much we hear about bookshops closing down, libraries’ funding being cut and children not reading for pleasure as much as they used to, it’s always nice to focus on all the positive stuff that’s out there and that most definitely includes the great work being done by people like those at Bookstart.

Since R has been on the scene, I’ve had a lot more Big Thoughts about my future as well (being up for all these night feeds does have its benefits) and it’s exciting to think about what work *I* might be able to do in the future to spread the reading love (which in the short term will hopefully be to finally publish some of my draft posts about the brilliant books we’ve come across recently).  In the longer term I have Some New Ideas, but R would clearly like me to share them at another point in time as he’s now gently* calling me to come and tend to him 🙂

So, here’s our reading list from July (which may not be entirely accurate due to my sleep deprivation, but is probably close enough) and our update for the #300PBs challenge, as well as our favourite reads for the month.

Me – ‘Mine!’ by Jerome Keane, illustrated by Susana De Dios

C – ‘The King of Space’ by Jonny Duddle

H – ‘Peck Peck Peck’ by Lucy Cousins

R – ‘Black & White’ by Tana Hoban

TTFN

*frantically and VERY loudly