Non-fiction

Tagged

11 March 2010 by Lou · 2 Comments

A while ago I was tagged in a game of sevens by Sandra who compiles the gorgeous and stylish Pass the Parcel. Sandra featured the seven books that inspired her as a mother and given that We ♥ Books is all about books and children I thought I’d copy.

My pile features:

Minus nine to one: The Diary of An Honest Mum by Jools Oliver – My beautiful blog partner and friend, Katie, lent me this book when I first had Ned. Jools, wife to Jamie, wrote this incredibly frank and funny book about her pregnancy and birth of their first child Poppy. Just like I had enjoyed having Kaz Cooke by my side while I was pregnant, I found Jools’ book so comforting as she writes about all the things I was feeling as a first time mum. There is a part in the book where she has just had Poppy and she talks about feeling like she is the only person in the world to be up in the middle of the night. She and a girl friend who was also a new mum decided that if they sent each other text messages while they were both up that they would feel a lot less alone. Katie and I also began to have VERY early morning text message conversations and I will never forget how that made me feel semi normal at such a strange time.

The book is also so beautifully published with gorgeous pictures of Jools, Jamie, Poppy and Daisy throughout. There are also some recipes in the very back. If you can, find the hardcover edition, it really is a very special book.

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule – The SouleMama blog has always been a favourite of mine because of the simple ways Amanda uses to bring creativity into her home and family. I’m not a big sewer or have any real creative bent and part of this book and her blog is sewing but I like it more for the crafts and ideas she gives you for connecting and enjoying with children. I particularly love the chapter on ‘living’ where she provides ideas for sharing nature with children, about seeking and finding and fairies – all things Ned loves and I love even as an adult.

Buddhism for Mothers by Sarah Napthali - I love being a mum and I have a gorgeous boy however like most of my friends I worry about being inadequate- in motherhood, in my career/business and as a partner. I have only just bought this book recently and keep dipping into it. It’s so easy to read and see the benefit in her advice. I have long been interested in Buddhism and find that there is so much to learn from Buddhist teachings about so many things in life.

The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease – I have used this book as a reference for a long time. I first picked it up when I worked for children’s specialist bookshop The Little Bookroom about 16 years ago and at the same time used it for Uni in my children’s literature classes. This book is a classic, it is one part guide to reading to children and getting them to enjoy books and second part treasury of more than 1,500 titles from picture books to novels that are the best to read aloud. I have always held storytimes where I have worked previously in bookshops and have always delighted in and seen the impact reading aloud has on children. This was even more apparent I found when I worked in the UK because of the reaction I had from the children to my accent, it really showed me the power of varing your voice while reading and how it captures children’s imaginations. Now I read this book as a parent and it reminds me to be in the moment when I read to Ned.

How To Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson – This book is stunning just like Nigella herself. I’m not a very good cook as many will testify to but I do love to bake. Cakes and desserts are what I’m best at and cupcakes are my all time favourite. This is the cookbook that I always return to. A really good investment.

The New Useful Book by Playschool – Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima and Humpty where all a huge part of my childhood. My little brother and I didn’t watch much television but my mum knew that she could trust Playschool to be educational and I continue that trust today. This book like the TV show is brilliant. It is packed with craft ideas (easy ones), games and song lyrics – which is really handy for when you forget a rhyme or the actions that go with it. And as a bonus the illustrations are by one of my favourite illustrators, Bob Graham. This is an absolute gem of a book.

We Love Foodby Kirsty Manning-Wilcox and Peta Heine – You will see from the photo I took that I actually only have this in manuscript form. This great book has just been published this month by Hardie Grant. As I mentioned I’m not the best cook and this is one thing that does make me feel pretty inadequate. I love this cookbook because it is easy, the food is interesting and it is all really nutritious. I enjoy using this book which is encouraging to someone who doesn’t enjoy cooking. The recipes are interspersed with pages that explain and ingredient, with notes on how to grow and harvest it. I have seen the published book and it is beautifully presented and photographed. It is a down to earth, everyday reference and the beef stroganoff is fantastic.

Although I should tag some others to play, I thought I might just say to everyone to please write us a comment and let us know the books that you value as mothers.

Filed Under: book related cool stuff, Non-fiction

Books for mums for kids…

27 August 2009 by Katie · 2 Comments

Favourite picture books at We ♥ Books are the ones that adults love to read, and kids love to listen to: those ones that bear repeated readings because big people love them too.

I’ve just discovered another category of book – instructional books of activities for kids that mums love to flick through, for inspiration and for pure eye candy…

Little Kitchen is subtitled 40 fun and delicious things that children can really make but the simply stunning design makes it so much more for mums. Candy colours, polka dots and gorgeous illos abound – not to mention the photos of little chefs in action and quirkily styled food.

Tuna pinwheels

Little Kitchen Carrot and Zucchini Cake

Little Kitchen Chocolate Pudding

Melbourne mums may know the Little Kitchen Children’s Cookery Centre in St Georges Road, North Fitzroy, which Sabrina established, and which is also home to a range of children’s cookware. We love her philosophy that cooking provides endless opportunities for ‘natural’ learning and is an activity that doesn’t distinguish between boys and girls. You can read more about it here in our store…

Handmade Home Amanda Blake Soule

Another book for big people centred on family and home, and equally delicious to flick through is Handmade Home. Readers of Amanda Blake Soule’s blog, soulemama.com will already be familiar with her much-anticipated second book. (If you don’t know Soulemama, go there now!) Amanda’s thoughtful reflections on life as a mama to four small children, crafting, thrifting and exploring her Maine coastal environment are invariably inspirational and always reassuringly down to earth.

In Handmade Home, Amanda not only presents easy-to-follow instructions for some beautiful handmade items, she describes crafting as a lifestyle. The underlying principles are consuming less and re-using more, appreciating the environment, and connecting to our families. She has included in the book a collection of 30+ projects organised by categories: Nourish, Nurture, Play, Seek and Retreat. Some of the projects are non-sew and many are designed to include children. All the crafts are simply beautiful and have Amanda’s gorgeous style.

Now I just need to find time to actually do as well as be inspired by…

||Handmade Home and Little Kitchen are available in the We Heart Books store||

Filed Under: Non-fiction, We Heart Books Store

A Walk In New York

21 August 2009 by Lou · 3 Comments

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We have a birthday party to attend on the weekend and I have bought this lovely book for the little fellow who is turning three. His parents have spent a bit of time in New York and adore it so I thought this picture book would be an apt choice for them to enjoy, as well as the birthday boy.

A Walk In New York is a gorgeous large format picture book that, as the title suggests, follows a boy and his father on a walk around Manhattan. Each page spread highlights a different part of the city and even the endpapers are a map so you can follow the journey the boy and his father take. Included, almost hidden, amongst the illustrations in a subtle font are little facts about the landmarks they visit; did you know? - ‘More hot dogs are eaten in New York than anywhere else in the USA’ or that ‘The library lions (at the New York Public Library) are called Patience and Fortitude. They’re made of pink marble from Tennessee.’

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I didn’t know either of those facts or many of the others that author Salvatore Rubbino includes in the book. His painting are gorgeous, colourful and funky – as illustrations of New York should be! He really gives the reader a sense of being on the ground with the boy aand his dad and conjurs up the smells and the sounds of the city. The scale he creates in his paintings is also wonderful with a fold out page of the Empire State Building a definite highlight.

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Rubbino has created a book which captures the spirit, the history and the excitement of a beautiful city. I’m sure the little boy whom I have bought this book for will fall in love with the city and dream to visit it one day in the future.

Filed Under: Age 3+, Art, Illustrators, Non-fiction, Picture books, Uncategorized, World

When We Were Little…

1 March 2009 by Katie · 4 Comments

practical-puffins-smells My copies of these two books show the tell-tale signs of love: dog-eared covers and well-thumbed pages. The distinctive style of writing and the simple line illustrations bring back memories of weekend projects making minty lemonade ice-blocks, pomander balls (from oranges and cloves), and estimating the hours to sunset by lining my fingers in the space between the setting sun and the horizon.

out-in-the-wilds-spread

My Practical Puffins were Smells: things to do with them and Out in the wilds: how to look after yourself, but other titles included the evocative Body tricks, Strange things and Cover-ups. They were kind of like the Dangerous Book for Boys of their era.

For me, while these books were practically oriented, they opened my eyes to new worlds. And in a way that may not even have been intended by their authors, they made me imagine – dreaming up experiments and adventures.

Later, when studying publishing, and reading Hilary McPhee’s memoir, Other People’s Words, I learned how important this series was in the history of children’s publishing – in Australia and beyond. It was nice to feel part of the generation of children who were the audience for this unique and novel publishing project.

The series was written and produced by Hilary McPhee and Diana Gribble, founders of the independent Melbourne-based publishers McPhee Gribble who went on to first publish some significant Australian writers, including Tim Winton, Sally Morrison and Helen Garner.

The concept for the books was to create practical books for young children, and the approach was, surprisingly, revolutionary at the time:

speak directly to children as if they were autonomous and sensible, capable of making up their own minds, likely to be imaginatively engaged if the projects were good ones, bored if they weren’t (from Other People’s Words).

smells-spread

The concept and its execution were incredibly successful and by the time the book was in page proofs, the books had large orders from the US, UK and Canada. The first printing for the initial six books was an impressive 585,500 copies. In all, it’s estimated that the series sold three million copies around the world. The series became the source of cash flow for McPhee Gribble that supported their publishing of new authors. You can only imagine how things might have turned out had this series not been dreamed up, and readily consumed by a generation of children.

We’d love to hear from any readers who remember their own Practical Puffins… Any memorable projects?

Filed Under: Age 7+, Australian, Non-fiction, When we were little...

Top 5 books to help kids deal with someone dying

23 September 2008 by Katie · 1 Comment

A guest post by Sarah, mum to Neve (10), Cissy (3) and Jemima (1).

I have had a difficult week, and it has led me to write what might seem a somewhat macabre list. In my bookselling days I have always said that it is so important to have a book about dying on the shelf because the moment that you need it is the one moment when you don’t want to be in the bookshop looking for it. Explaining death to very young children is difficult – and the real significance is often lost on them. I’m not sure that any books on my list are really for the under 4s, the subject is often dealt with in a very abstract way which is probably beyond them. Having said that here are the few that I think are worth considering – depending on your circumstances.

1. Badger’s Parting Gifts (Susan Varley)
This is the one I like the very best.

Badger is friend, advisor and the wise old creature of the woodland – and he knows it is his time to die. Badger’s friends are extremely sad when he leaves them, but find hope and comfort in their memories and also the gifts that badger has wisely given them before he dies. Their memories let badger live on.
This book is a bit of a tear jerker for the grown ups (unfortunately one of the traps of these kinds of books) but it is poignant and gently told. Highly appropriate for explaining the death of an older person – may not be so relevant for a more sudden loss.

2. Old Pig (Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks)

This is an Australian title and an award winner by Margaret Wild with gorgeous illustrations by Ron Brooks (of Bunyip of Berkley Creek and John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat). With the backdrop of the passing seasons, the story of Old Pig and Granddaughter unfolds. They live together and share everything. As the winter approaches, so does the inevitable passing of Old Pig. It is subtle, tender, gentle and beautifully illustrated. It is a book for the 4+ age group and its subtlety may be lost on some. Again it is more appropriate for explaining the loss of an older person – Old Pig has time to put her affairs in order and say goodbye to her life.

3. Lifetimes – or Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between (Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen)

With the decline of religion in many of our lives, it becomes harder to find solace in the loss of a loved one. How do we take away any meaning – and try to convey this to our children? Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie with illustrations from the wonderful Robert Ingpen (mentioned here just recently) is a book that goes some way to finding a religion-free, yet meaningful pathway through the topic of life: beginning, middle and end. And the book does exactly that, it takes nature and explains that everything has a life, a beginning and an end, with a lifetime in between – from the shortest life of a butterfly to the long life of a tree. Although abstract in nature, this book has a more general application and celebrates the lifetime – the living of life – which I think can be of some comfort to the grieving.

There are a host of other books out there for trying to explain death to children – inevitably it will be hard to find one that perfectly describes your situation at the time, but I hope one of the above might prove useful.

My last recommendation is for the grown ups – but it might help with the kids too.
4. Coping with Grief (Mal McKissock and Dianne McKissock)

This little book is really inexpensive ($11.95), written in Australia. It is a sensible, practical workbook to help you through the process of grieving. It has a section on Children and Grief and also has advice about how to cope with anniversaries, special dates and how to get support. A really good book to have on hand or to give to those grieving – it should be on all our bookshelves.

I hope this post doesn’t seem too much of a downer – I am taking comfort from the fact that the wonderful world of books has something for every moment in our lives, from the saddest to the most joyous and if we immerse ourselves in books the whole world is at our disposal!

[Editor's note... Sarah's post has reminded me that at the time Rowan's grandma died, we used a lovely book, which is perfectly pitched at the under 4 age-group. I'm adding it here as the final book in our Top 5 books on this topic.]

5. Ethan: What Happened to My Little Brother (Lisa White)

This little paperback has the look of a self-published edition, with simple line drawings and somewhat unconventional layout. But it is one of the best little books I’ve seen to help explain death to a toddler. It has been well-researched, adhering to the generally accepted advice available from early childhood and parenting experts. Toddlers are particularly prone to fears for their own death or the death of their mother or father after experiencing the death of a loved one, and this book helps to allay those feelings. It tells the story of the death of a little brother, who dies as a newborn in hospital. And although it depicts this particular scenario, we found it straightforward to adapt the story to our own situation of an older person dying after an illness. As part of the story, it includes a number of ideas for saying goodbye – such as letting off helium balloons and planting a tree – that younger children will be able to relate to. It might be a little hard to find a copy of this one, but it can be ordered direct from the publisher or via Seekbooks.

Filed Under: Non-fiction, Top 5

Top 5 books for busy boys

17 August 2008 by admin · 1 Comment

With the usual mid-winter bugs in our midst, we have two sick boys on our hands. But fortunately a guest post from Lisa is filling a breach left by our current irregular posting… Thanks Lisa!

A guest post by Lisa, mum to Finnan aged 3 years, and Daisy, 9 months

After watching my other mum friends go back for a second swing at the parenting thing, it’s now our turn. It’s been a fascinating, challenging and surprising experience already. We are suddenly recalling the forgotten peculiarities of our first child at certain stages of his babyhood, whilst learning everything all over again with the preferences of our new baby.

Thinking about this, I was wondering which books we’ve read to Finn will captivate Daisy? She already idolises her big brother – will she go so far as to want to sit and listen to readings from his extensive collection of digger books?! In honouring the wonder of sharing books with little people, I’ve compiled a list, in no particular order, of the books that have captivated my boy in the past year or so. I wonder which of these will make Daisy’s list in a few years’ time?

1. Duck in the Truck (Jez Alborough – see Katie’s previous post)
Finnan is known among our family and friends for his fixation with ducks. Add rhymes, great illustrations and a truck to the mix and this one’s a no-brainer for a long-term favourite.

2. The Big Busy Book of Richard Scarry
Even the most energetic toddler can be quelled into at least 10 minutes of quiet reflection when reading about the animal inhabitants of Busytown. This omnibus has had a hypnotic effect on Finn at very key times: on aeroplanes, long and short car rides and while waiting impatiently for Banana Milks and Ham Sangas in cafes. As a consequence, I will offer up thanks for the genius of Mr Scarry for many years to come…

3. First 100 Machines (Bright Baby)
This sturdy hardback (from Priddy Books’ wonderful First 100 series) has every truck, emergency and earthmoving machine a vehicle-mad toddler needs to know about. It’s been carted EVERYWHERE by Finn and still looks great. It has saved my life and sanity on numerous occasions, diverting imminent tantrums, preventing boredom at cafes so I can finish my coffee, and proving a salve at teary times.

4. Green Eggs and Ham (Dr Seuss)
This has edged out Seuss’ other classic, One Fish, Two Fish, as the night-time favourite for our rhyme-crazy toddler. Great fun to read, and endlessly amusing when Finn’s favourite trucks and cars repeat the rhymes to each other when he thinks no one’s listening.

5. Anything Thomas
Before becoming a mum, I vowed I’d always be available to read my children any requested book (which puts me in mind of a fun book for mums I found recently, called I Was A Really Good Mom Until I Had Kids!). When Finnan became yet another Thomas the Tank Engine devotee, I quickly renounced my vow and refused to read more than one Thomas story a day. Cruel I know, but there’s really only so much I can take of these little paperbacks. They’re small and cheap ($2.95), but I find the text clunky and TOO LONG for repeated readings. The Thomas and Friends series from the latest TV episodes are shorter and much easier to read. They’re sturdier little hardbacks, only marginally dearer ($4.95), with less text and very clear photographs. Finn’s dad Aidan is happy to read more than one a day, but I just can’t bring myself to go there, despite my pre-motherhood vows…

Filed Under: Non-fiction, Picture books, Top 5, Transport