Get in the mood for spooky season with these fab-boo-lous stories for children from Little Tiger Press.
With spooktacular stories for young and older children, these books are a magical treat.
What's Scarier than a Spider?
Written by Becky Davies and illustrated by Amelia Best, What’s Scarier than a Spider? (RRP £7.99 ISBN 9781801044783) is a fun book with a quirky twist.
A game of peekaboo – but not as you know it!
Spiders are SCARY, but they may just have met their match . . . Lift the transformative flaps to reveal ever BIGGER and BADDER characters in a series of hilarious showdowns. Children will hoot with laughter as they transform the seemingly sweet critters into truly terrific terrors! With bold, quirky art and a giant fold-out flap on the final page, this is the perfect book for amusing little ones.
Think you know which creature’s scarier? Think again!
This lovely board book is vibrant with colourful characters that little ones will love. The hilarious read will have them cackling with joy and laughter as they meet the creepy creatures.
You're My Little Baby Boo
From the range of ‘You’re My Little…’ books, You’re My Little Baby Boo (RRP £7.99 ISBN 9781838915537) is written by Nicola Edwards and illustrated by Natalie Marshall.
Celebrate your little baby boo this Halloween with this sweetly spooky rhyming board book. With chunky pages for little hands and die-cut parent and baby characters, this is the perfect seasonal bedtime read.
With raised board pieces and die cuts, little ones will love this chunky board book.
Cute and colourful, this boo-tiful board book filled with adorable characters and lovely words. Perfect for little boo’s, this book is definitely a treat!
Dreamweavers: Night of the Scary Fairies
Meet the ultimate Dream Team in this dreamy book written by Annabelle Sami and illustrated by Forrest Burdett.
Dreamweavers: Night of the Scary Fairies (RRP £6.99 ISBN: 9781788956000) is the first book in a fun, fresh and exciting new series, for fans of Laura Ellen Anderson, Star Friends, Peanut Jones and Witch for a Week.
When Tito becomes friends with the mysterious new girl at school, Neena, she introduces him to the world of Dreamweaving. Soon Tito and Neena are going on adventures every night – exploring dreams where quirky creatures called jinn roam. And when their classmates start acting strangely, they realise someone else is using Dreamweaving to cause chaos. Can Tito and Neena stop them before the dream world takes over the waking world?
This enchanting book will let older children drift off into the land of dreams and adventures.
Flip Flap Halloween
This spooky flip flap board book by Becky Davies and illustrated by Mike Moran is a spooktacular delight for younger children.
Flip Flap Halloween (RRP £8.99 ISBN 9781801044912) is a vibrant, interactive book perfect for Halloween.
Flip flap, who is that?
Turn the shaped split pages to lift the lid of Dracula’s coffin, peer past cobwebs and reveal your favourite Halloween characters feature by feature. Little ones will love to guess who’s hiding as they uncover a howling yowling werewolf, a blinking winking monster, and other spooky creatures. Open the page segments in any order and delight in the text that transforms for read-aloud fun!
The fun and colourful book has brilliant illustrations and a joyous Halloween themed tale that will get young readers squealing with delight as they adventure through the flip flap board book filled with tiny terrors and fun twists.
I'm Not Scared, You Are!
Written by Patricia Hegarty and illustrated by Thomas Elliott, I’m not scared, you are! (RRP £12.99 ISBN 9781838915766) is a rhymtastic creepy adventure tale.
The wild wind is howling,
there's a creak on the stair.
Are you feeling brave?
Follow me if you dare!
Join a cast of creepy creatures in this journey through a night packed with ghosts and ghouls, toads and trolls and bats and black cats! With 24 super-spooky sounds – are YOU brave enough?
With a fun rhyming text and 24 sounds, this is a spooktacular adventure!
The book is beautifully illustrated with a haunted, eerie vibe and has an enjoyable story that is packed full of spooky sounds, joyous rhymes and sentences that effortlessly roll of the tongue in an enchanting way.
Diary of an Accidental Witch: Stage Fright
A magical book for older children aged 8-12, Diary of an Accidental Witch: Stage Fright (RRP £6.99 ISBN: 9781788956086) by Perdita & Honor Cargill and illustrated by Katie Saunders is a fun story ideal for Halloween.
When Bea’s class is tasked with putting on the school play, she is excited. Her friends are nothing if not dramatic, and now her magic is getting stronger, perhaps she can use that create some special effects!
But before long the drama takes over the school – with overenthusiastic set design, nervous performers and transformation mishaps. It’s time for Bea and her friends to put their team work to the test and put on an unFROGettable performance…
A perfect potion of magic and mischief, DIARY OF AN ACCIDENTAL WITCH is THE WORST WITCH meets TOM GATES.
Make Halloween a special magical adventure with this spelltastic tale.
Enjoy Halloween with these spooktacular books from Little Tiger Press.
Outright Games and Nickelodeon have released Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers - the first ever video based on the hit animated series Blaze and the Monster Machines - available digitally and at retail for Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, Stadia and PC.
Join Blaze, his driver AJ and other fan favourites Starla, Pickle, Crusher and more for a fast paced, action packed kart racer experience! With customisable characters with unique abilities to activate, STEM educational features and auto drive with optional simple controls, this game is perfectly accessible to the very youngest players.
Last week when we were
on our summer staycation visiting Lee's side of the family in Leeds
we took our thrill-seeking boys to Lightwater Valley Theme Park in
Ripon, North Yorkshire.
Having never been to
Lightwater Valley before we checked out their website beforehand to
see what attractions the park had to offer. Much to their delight
they saw a number of rides and attractions they couldn't wait to try
including the Wild River Rapids and Jumpin' Jack's Pillows.
Asda have
a new range of Little Tikes toys which is exclusively sold at Asda. The new Little Tikes range of toys for little
ones consists of a number of colourful, interactive, engaging and fun toys.
From the
new Little Tikes range of toys Asda sent Bug the Little Tikes Hen Friends set to
play with.
Little
Tikes Hen Friends is an early learning toy aimed at little ones aged 12 months+.Hen Friends consists of four colourful hens that
click together to be stacked, nested inside of each other or played with as
four individual little friends.
Little
Tikes Hen Friends is a lovely stacking and nesting toy and great for little
ones to play with, learning as they have fun exploring, investigating and
playing with their four hen friends. I
think it is great that the Hen Friends can be played with in a number of ways
and I think the eye-catching hens are perfect for imaginative play, hand eye
coordination and developing motor skills.
I love how colourful and cute the hens are and I think the vibrant hens
are very appealing to little ones with the adorable hens making fab little
friends.
Hen
Friends are described as hens that ‘click closed’ and ‘click’ together,
unfortunately we have found that the hens do not click securely closed as such
they do not stay together when you move them and even when you nest them inside
of each other often when you open them up again the smaller hens inside are no
longer stuck together. The benefit of
this is that little hands will not struggle to prise the hens apart as they
would if the click connection was stronger but the downside is that one little
knock and the hens come apart and I have found little ones get frustrated that
their little hen friends do not stay complete especially when attempting to
move them.
As Bug is
2½ years old, even though he has played with the Hen Friends and has enjoyed
hiding little treats and his Lego Duplo friends inside of the hens, this
stacking and nesting toy is a little young for him so he has shared the hens
with his little friend who is 15 months old.
Bug’s little friend is at the ideal age to benefit from playing with the
Hen Friends and every time he visits for a play date he loves playing with the
colourful hens and giggles galore can be heard when Bug hides little treats
inside the hens for his little pal to find.
Overall I
think the Little Tikes Hen Friends set is a lovely stacking and nesting toy and
even though it is a shame that they do not truly click together, little ones
can still have lots of fun playing with the little hens which priced at £8 is
great value for a toy that provides entertainment, encourages imaginative play,
helps develop hand eye co-ordination and motor skills.
Along with
the Little Tikes Hen Friends set there are a range of other Little Tikes
products available now in Asda stores and online at www.asda.com.
A few of the other toys available from the Little Tikes range of toys exclusively
available at Asda include –
Little
Tikes 3-in-1 Pony Walker £35
Little
Tikes Wooden Alphabet Spinner £7
Little Tikes
Play Food Shopper £5
Little
Tikes Noah’s Animal Arkestra £18
Little
Tikes Pirates Quest £23
Little
Tikes Discovery Farm £26
As we love
Little Tikes with a great range of Little Tikes toys available exclusively at
Asda I think a visit to Asda is called for to get Bug a few Little Tikes toys
for Christmas….I know he would love the Noah’s Animal Arkestra, Pirates Quest
and the Discovery Farm.
* We were
sent this Little Tikes Hen Friends from Asda to review for free but all views
and opinions are my own and those of Bug and his little pal *
I love
books and have been a bookworm since I was a child. As I love books and
reading I want to share my passion for the written word with Bug and I am overjoyed
that he seems to love books just as much as I do.
Bug is a
little bookworm. He loves snuggling on the sofa and reading books
together, stories in bed for bedtimes are a must too.
As Bug is
becoming a keen little bookworm when we were offered the chance to join the
Parragon Book Buddies review club I jumped at the chance of signing Bug up to
be part of Book Buddies.
At the beginning of the summer when I got asked if I would like to review a slushy maker I jumped at the chance thinking it would be very handy to have for summer especially if we were lucky to get a hot summer. Unfortunately due to delivery problems and missing parcels we only received our review item at the beginning of the month…..just in time for the cold weather. Even though it has gotten colder after weeks of waiting to test the slushy maker and reading lots of other reviews on other blogs I was excited about finally getting to try it out and attempt to make a slushy myself using the Chill Factor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker.
“Chill Factor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker is a unique slushy maker which allows you to make delicious slushies in seconds! No ice, no blenders, no mess!It’s so easy to use – all you have do is put in the freezer, wait to free then add your preferred chilled drink and squeeze!Right before your eyes you will see slushy appear in seconds!”
Bug loves all things to do with firemen and fire engines. He was overjoyed when he got to sit in a fire engine when on one of our trips to Folly Farm there happened to be a fire engine there for children to learn all about fires and the fire brigade. Being a tad obsessed with all things fireman related he insisted on being bought a bright yellow fireman hat which he keeps in pride of place in his fire engine tent at home where he loves to sit inside and read books, draw and play with his Lego Duplo before tackling imaginary fires.
When we recently had the drama of a large fire on the farm we live on, Bug who was unperturbed by the chaos all around him as the fire blazed mightily loved seeing all the firemen and the 4 fire engines come to his home.
As Bug loves all things fire engines when we were offered the opportunity to review a new toy from one of his favourite TV shows, Fireman Sam I jumped at the chance.
The Fireman Sam Jupiter Drive and Steer is a remote controlled fire engine. The drive and steer Jupiter consists of the Jupiter fire engine and a remote control steering wheel.
I have recently revived my desire to lose weight and have a healthier lifestyle; as such I have been a good girl and cut out snacking on sweet treats and ‘rubbish’ food filled with additives and artificial ingredients. Missing sweet snacks and something yummy to nibble on I jumped at the chance of trying some Nákd bars in the hope of finding a healthier alternative to the sugar filled snacks I previously indulged in.
Natural Balance Foods sent us a box of their Nákd bars to try. Not only were they kind enough to send us a box of their bars to try but they also kindly sent a box for my friend to try too as she has recently had to change to a gluten and wheat free diet due to health issues and is struggling to resist snacking on treats that are no good for her health.
I must admit before being asked to try the Nákd bars I had never heard of the British company Natural Balance Foods and their Nákd bars so I promptly perused their website to learn about the Nákd way. Thoughtfully Natural Balance Foods have created a very informative page for Nákd newbies to learn all about Nákd bars and what makes their products different to the other snacks and cereal bars on the market that claim to be healthy snack bars.
I have
always endeavoured to use eco-friendly products and since becoming a parent I
think a lot more about the products I use.
In particular, now that I have a little one and cleaning has become even
more paramount than before I think twice about what cleaning products I
use. As I now strive to use products
that are eco-friendly and contain as little chemicals as possible for the
inevitable chore of cleaning, I was delighted when I was given the opportunity
to review some eco-friendly cleaning products from eco2life.
eco2life
produce a range of eco-friendly cleaning products that are inspired by an
Australian idea that became prominent over 15 years ago. With an aim to keep true to the original idea
“to create an environmentally sustainable cleaning system using ingredients
derived from corn, sugar cane, coconut, vegetables and citric acids” eco2life
have created a range of cleaning products with ingredients that are naturally
derived.
“eco2life
is a 21st century product with a 21st century eco-conscience…a range of eco
green products designed to pioneer new standards in environmental cleaning. eco2life's environmentally friendly cleaning
products include a refillable glass cleaner, a refillable bath cleaner, a
refillable floor cleaner and a refillable multi surface cleaner. Four green household cleaning products each
specially formulated from naturally derived, eco-friendly ingredients to
deliver high class cleaning performance…but with a smaller carbon footprint”.
I love the
sound of eco2life’s eco green cleaning products and I particularly love their
ethos of creating cleaning products that are eco-friendly in more ways that
simply consisting of eco-friendly ingredients.
“So…how do
we go beyond the eco-friendly ingredients to create an entire eco-friendly
cleaning system that ticks all the green clean boxes?
Easy. We start by leaving out one of the world's
most precious resources…water. Many
green cleaning products are mostly water. Water is heavy…and it's bulky. It requires
lots of packaging and makes major demands on transport and distribution. Instead, our eco cleaning system uses 'Small
Wonders'.
'Small
Wonders' are little bottles of cleaning solution which you dilute at home with
ordinary tap water…to make a full bottle of ready-to-use eco2life eco cleaning
product.
Next comes
the bottle that we provide for the ready-to-use solution. It's made of a plastic which means it can be
used 10 times…and has a trigger that's been tested for up to 10,000 sprays. That's long life performance. But we're not resting on our laurels. We're always researching…always developing…in
the search for even greener bottles to use.
And, last
but not least, comes other essential packaging. The philosophy is simple. If it's not needed, we don't use it. But, however hard we try, some outer packaging
is inevitable. Even then, we make sure
that whatever card or paper we are forced to use is fully FsC and PEFC
accredited and widely recyclable.
In fact,
every aspect of the product and the packaging is carefully sourced with the
environment and ethical consumers in mind.
So eco2life is the perfect way to keep your home spotlessly clean
without leaving your mark on the planet!”
eco2life’s
philosophy is green, clean and simple.
With an
ethos I whole heartily admire I was excited about seeing whether the ec02life
eco-friendly, green cleaning products had a cleaning power to match their
powerful eco-friendly attitude. I
received eco2life’s 4 green household cleaning products; a multi-surface
cleaner, bath and shower cleaner, glass cleaner and floor cleaner. In the set I was sent I had 4 empty 500ml
reusable spray bottles and 4 50ml ‘small wonders’ refill bottles.
I love the
fact that eco2life green cleaning products contain naturally derived
biodegradable ingredients and are free from nasty chemicals –
*No
Phosphates
*No
Silicate or Caustics
*No
Petroleum Solvents
*No
Paragons
*Chlorine
Free
As well as
appreciating the fact that the cleaning products do not contain nasty chemicals
and that their bottles are 100% recyclable I love the fact that the eco2life
cleaning products are safe to use around children, pregnant women and animals.
“The combination
of low volatile organic compounds/no fumes, a neutral pH level, no known
Carcinogens or health effects mean these products are a safe choice for use in
the home”.
I love
eco2life’s simple refill and reuse system, in 3 easy steps the green clean
products are ready to use –
1. Fill the
500ml reusable spray bottle with water until it is ½ full.
2. Pour the
50ml ‘small wonders’ solution into the spray bottle and fill it up to the top
with water.
3. Secure the
top on the bottle, shake well and start cleaning.
Multi-surface
cleaner.
As the
name suggests this cleaner can be used all over the house on different surfaces
and for different cleaning jobs.I like
using multi-surface cleaners as they are so versatile and the eco2life
multi-surface cleaner is brilliant at cleaning a variety of different messes
and surfaces.No cleaning job has been
too big for the multi-surface cleaner and it leaves surfaces smelling fresh and
clean with a fragrant hint of a lemon and ginger.The eco2life multi-surface cleaner is made
using naturally blended coconut, corn and vegetable derivatives with a lemon
and ginger fragrance.
Glass
cleaner.
I struggle
to find a glass cleaner that I like with many either containing chemicals that
irritate my skin or leave glass streaky so I was keen to see whether the
eco2life glass cleaner would be kind to my skin and make everything sparkle
with no streaks in sight.
Made with
ingredients derived from coconut and vegetables the glass cleaner has a lovely
lemon and ginger fragrance. Thanks to
the naturally derived ingredients the glass cleaner has not irritated my skin
and I am pleased to say it has left my mirrors and windows sparkling.
Floor
cleaner.
I like
that compared to other floor cleaners the eco2life floor cleaner does not
contain traditional chemicals; containing instead ingredients derived from
nature. The floor cleaner is made using
ingredients derived from corn, coconut and vegetables with a lemon and ginger
fragrance that leaves floors smelling clean with a delicate lemon and ginger
aroma.
I found it
a bit weird at first to be using a floor cleaner that uses a spray trigger
system as I am used to using floor cleaners that you tip into a bucket of water
but I can see the benefit of using a spray trigger system is that you will reduce
the amount of water you normally use to clean your floors. I am learning to love this new way of
cleaning my floors and I find it particularly useful if I need to clean up
spills or small messes as it saves having to waste a bucket full of water and
floor cleaner for a small job. Spraying
the floor cleaner directly onto the worst soiled areas of the floor is great
for making it easy to remove grime and dirt when cleaning floors, giving a
flawlessly clean floor every time.
Bath and shower
cleaner.
I hate
cleaning the bathroom as all bathroom cleaners I have used are harsh on my skin
and have a strong chemical smell that I hate.
As Eco2Life’s Bath and Shower cleaner is specially formulated with naturally
derived ingredients I was hoping to have finally found a bathroom cleaner that
would leave my bathroom sparkling clean without the need for harsh chemicals
and abrasives that would affect my skin and leave a pungent chemical smell.
Thankfully
for my skin the Eco2Life Bath and Shower cleaner does not irritate my skin and
is a welcome change to the harsh bathroom cleaners I have previously tried. The cleaner is also kind to my nose and
rather than a chemical smell often associated with bathroom cleaners it has
instead a pleasant lemon and ginger fragrance.
Even though
it is fantastic that the bathroom cleaner is kind to my skin and nose it is
also important that the cleaner made using ingredients derived from coconut,
sugar cane, vegetables and citric acid is also effective at cleaning, which
thankfully it is. I am very impressed
with the cleaning power that the Eco2Life Bath and Shower cleaner has
especially considering it is made using naturally derived ingredients. It removes dirt and grime easily and
effectively, leaving our bathroom sparkling clean with a fresh clean scent and
a subtle hint of lemon and ginger.
I am very
impressed with all of the cleaners and would highly recommend them. All of the cleaners smell the same to me
which is surprising as they are for different cleaning chores but even though I
would expect a different fragrance I like the fresh clean smell with a subtle
hint of lemon and ginger that they all leave.
I love the fact that the cleaners are kind to my skin and that they are
effective cleaning products that are safe to have around the house. I am very happy with the cleaning results
with all of the products cleaning effectively and leaving a clean sparkle. I also appreciate the fact that the cleaners
are made using naturally derived ingredients and are made in the UK.
Most of
all I love eco2Life’s eco-friendly ethos and their unique refill and reuse
system which is not only easy to use but also dramatically reduces land fill
and requires less packaging. You can purchase eco2life's cleaners on the eco2life website with starter packs costing £3.50 for a 5oml refill and a 500ml reusable spray bottle which I think is great value for money, additional refills cost £2.50. Currently on the eco2life website you can purchase a special offer cleaning box which contains one 500ml reusable spray bottle per cleaner, 2 of each 50ml refills and 4 different coloured high quality micro fibre clothes that are worth £5.99 for the fantastic price of £9.99 (plus £5.00 delivery).
We love Munchkin; their colourful and fun bath toys are great for water babies who love splishy, splashy bath time fun and their Click Lock cups are invaluable leak and spill proof cups. We fell in love their Click Lock cups when we reviewed them and they are now the only cups we use; Bug loves the bright colours of the cups which are a great shape for him to hold and drink from and I love the fact that even after being excessively used over a period of many months they are still 100% leak and spill proof.
As we love Munchkin we were excited about Munchkin’s exciting news that they have teamed up with Disney Baby.
“Munchkin Celebrates
The New Disney Collection
It’s the little things® that make these products magical
It’s finally here… the highly anticipated collaboration that’s set to excite and delight children and parents across the UK. The exciting worlds of Disney and Munchkin, Inc., the international baby and toddler brand, have teamed up to create a fun, clever and exciting new dining range for children. A beautifully designed premium collection of feeding products and Click Lock™ cups, the Disney Collection for babies integrates the rich Disney heritage, known and loved by generations, with Munchkin’s award-winning and innovative feeding products. Each item features a little something extra to help make parents lives easier and more enjoyable, whilst making meal times exciting for children.”
Both Lee and I adore music and enjoy a wide range of different genres, as such we hope to pass on our passion for music to Bug. We think it is important to expose Bug to different experiences and in relation to music we think it is important that he is introduced to a wide variety of music; as such we listen to an array of different music with Bug, spanning a wide range of genres.
Even though I think it is important that Bug listens to nursery rhymes and songs and songs for children and have embraced children’s tunes, children’s television themes and classic children songs for his sake and enjoyment I do find the cheery, bubbly songs annoy me and for the sake of my own sanity I often revert to my own music.
Wanting Bug to listen to children’s songs as I do think they are beneficial to him I am always on the hunt to find music for children that he will enjoy that will also not drive me crazy. When I was recently offered the chance to review an album of children’s songs I was keen to give it a listen to see if it would be the answer to my quest for children’s songs that are enjoyable for Bug and importantly different to the standard chirpy children’s songs that annoy me.
Arriving in a shiny silver parcel I was excited about listening to the CD were sent, Megson “When I Was A Lad...”. Megson are husband and wife duo Stu and Debbie Hanna who after forming 8 years ago took a break in 2011 to welcome their little baby girl Lola Wren into the world. Drawing heavily on their Teesside heritage Megson create a unique brand of folk music that has seen them nominated 3 times in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and being double winners of the 2011 Spiral Earth Awards.
