PRESENTS

Ned received some beautiful get well presents this week after having a little op in the Children’s Hospital. His gorgeous mate Oscar gave him a copy of this lovely fold out counting book, Zoo!…

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The text is rhyming and it has such lovely bright illustrations; the animals fold out of the book essentially making a four page spread and the paper is a heavy card that feels like it has a laminate on it so there won’t be any rips! Each animal has a rhyme and also an accompanying question to count objects on the page which will be fantastic for Ned when he’s a bit older. Is written by Lori C. Froeb and is published by Five Mile Press .

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On the afternoon we came home from the hospital there was a parcel in the letterbox from Ned’s cousin Charlotte which was a copy of Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French in the new board book format. Illustrated by Bruce Whatley this is the gentle tale of a wombats observations of the human family she wants to live with. It is a funny, adorable and subtly informative little book, it is pure joy.

And then today mummy had a present in the mail too. A present to myself from this fantastic etsy store, hownowdesign. A gorgeous necklace…

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I am also coveting these vintage blocks from the same store..

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It’s a Bing Thing

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I think Bing is the cutest rabbit in print. Created by author/illustrator Ted Dewan, Bing is the classic toddler; cute but testing. He explores his world with fervor but watch out when things go wrong! Toddlers love these books because they can relate to Bing and the challenges he faces, they love the bright illustration style that mixes drawings with photography of everyday items and Bing even has a toy he can’t live without called Flop – I’m sure this sounds familiar. As the reader I find them hilarious and they are such beautiful little hardcover editions that are just lovely to hold. Our favorite is Bing: Yuk, in which Bing will NOT eat a tomato.

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Bing.com has a blog with gorgeous photo’s of children from around the world appreciating Bing as well as some pics of some very well loved Bing books and Dewan has even included a page of downloadable images of Bing for use as iron on transfers.  

Livraria Lello – ola!

lelloeb1.jpgA highlight of my mum and sister’s recent visit to Europe was a chance encounter with an amazing bookshop in Porto, Portugal, called Lello. I was gobsmacked by their photos…

I would love to visit this shop, can’t get over the beautiful art deco decorations, the redlello-sb-2.jpg staircase, the rails for the book cart… Sigh!

Also came across this great blog, the Bookstore Guide – ‘an amateur guide to book shopping throughout Europe’. What a fantastic concept for a blog! lelloeb3.jpgPerfect for any booklovers travelling to European cities, you can search by city – big and small. (Although can’t say many of these bookshops look pram-friendly!) Their post describes the place and history of Lello in some detail.

Photos by my mum and sister, (c) 2008

We heart ETSY

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Beautiful collage by artist Lorena Siminovich currently listed in her etsy shop Petit Collage. I love how this photo shows her art being used as a gorgeous book end on a shelf. She uses maple plywood as a base and then collages with vintage and recycled paper, she is also releasing a children’s book this year. There are more details on her website here and also a list of some Aussie shops that stock her work.

DOG

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Ned received this wonderful book from his great mate Oscar for his first birthday, Oscar also has a copy. It is a beautiful interactive book by the wonderful Matthew Van Fleet, author of Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings.

Ned loves dogs. Mum has one, Monty, who he is not allowed to go near because Monty is old and rather snappy. He is a cairn terrier like Toto out of The Wizard of Oz but definitely does not have Toto’s temperament.

This book has all these lovely photos of dogs that then Van Fleet has added interactive elements to. Some dogs have fluffy ears, shaggy coats or sticky tongues, on some pages you can pull the tab and a dog will scratch or have a wee (or Pee!).

Today I also came across these on the net…

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 Aren’t they absolutely divine! Converse illustrated by artist and children’s book illustrator Camilla Engman for Bono’s Aids cause (RED). They are $52 US and 10 percent of the profit goes to the (RED) project. Camilla has a beautiful blog that features her beautiful art and some fantastic travel photos. 

Globes

Have a look at the collection of photo’s of globes on this gorgeous blog. I love globes and I really want to get one for Ned’s room but have been procrastinating about the right one.

The one that fascinated me is the paper globe. Made from 100% recycled card from this website in the UK, they are flat packed for you to assemble.

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While I was in awe of the paper globe I found this on the same site..

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The constellations have been substituted with characters from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass using John Tenniel’s artwork. The makers have gone to great lengths to link the characters with constellations and there are some amazing photo’s on the website of the painstaking work that goes into creating them. I think they are stunning and now I so want one!!

Book Hugs

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Ned with Goodnight Harry, a true favorite when it gets cuddles in your sleep!