Its time for my monthly book round up again. Each month I write about new books that I have introduced to Lily at bedtime and what we think of them. We always read around 3 books a night and most nights we end up reading the same ones with a few odd ones read in between. I find reading the same books helps Lily relax and not get over excited at bedtime but she does grow fond of the stories each month and is happy when I pull out the stories she enjoys.
You can read all our other monthly roundups here.
Of corse this time we had a slight theme to the books with it being the build up to halloween and I chose a selection of spooky stories to read to Lily. Luckily they aren't too scary and so Lily enjoyed her spooky bedtime stories.
Here is what we have been reading in October.
1. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
We have had this book on our bookshelf for quite a while now but last year I felt the story was a little too long for Lily. But this year it was perfect and so we got this classic halloween story out to read. If you don't already know the storyline. It's all about a witch who is out on her broom stick, but she keeps dropping things to the floor. While she is searching for these items she meets some new friends who all want to join her on the broom. In the end it is a really good job she meets these friends as they save her from the dragon who wants to eat her. It's such a great halloween story and is full of rhymes and is so nice to read. Lily did enjoy this story but strangely this wasn't Lily's favourite of the bunch this month. But it was definitely mine. You can buy this book from most book stores.
2. Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll
This book we picked up from a witch themed shop in Pendle. It is a classic and really does remind me of my childhood and so I just had to buy it to read to Lily. I do like how the book is nice and simple. It has a simple story line of a witch getting up, getting dressed and heading out to a party. It has basic witchy activities like potion making and has an emphasis on spooky words which go aside nice bold illustrations. This story isn't to long and so is perfect for a young child. There are also many other Meg and Mog stories in the series that you can buy. Lily did enjoy this story and loved that there was a cat in it. You can pick this book up online or try your local book stores.
3. Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
This is another story that reminds me of my childhood. I remember it so well that I could even remember the words to the opening paragraph. It talks about a dark dark town leading to a dark dark house leading to a dark dark cellar. There is lots of repetition in this book which is great for children to start learning words. The word skeleton gets repeated over and over as does the word dark. This is such a fun story about some skeletons going out to play at night time. They are taking the dog for a walk and plan to scare some people. It has a great story line and the illustrations are laid out almost like a comic book showing the different scenes. It also has some songs in it which are fun to sing. Lily loved the singing parts. It is quite a long story but as its a great one, it doesn't feel to drawn out and you don't get bored of reading it. I picked this up a few weeks ago at WH Smiths.
4. Who's Afraid of the Dark by Melanie Joyce and IglooBooks
This ended up being Lily's favourite story of the month. Although it's not a halloween story, the references to the things lurking in the dark make it quite spooky. But the good thing about this book is that it teaches you that those things that you are normally scared of, like shadows and noises that you see and hear in the dark, are actually nothing to be scared of at all. Lily is scared of the dark so I really enjoyed this story to help her try to understand she has nothing to be afraid of. It has nice illustrations and also a nice rhyme to it. After reading all the spooky stories for halloween, it was a nice one to read to show that not everything is scary. I would totally recommend this book if your child has a fear of the dark and you can buy this book from the Igloo Books Store.
Which of these books do you like the sound of?
Definitely Funnybones because my kids love watching this on YouTube and Who's Afraid of the Dark because like you my youngest is frightened of the dark and shadows.
ReplyDeleteMega and Mog always a favourite of ours too
ReplyDeleteSome fantastic looking books there, I'm a big fan of Meg and Mog.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Meg and Mog books for years, I loved them when I was younger xXx
ReplyDeleteRoom on the Broom.
ReplyDeleteRachel Craig
Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
ReplyDeleteThese are all great ones. I too am particularly fond of "Who's Afraid of the Dark?".
ReplyDeleteGreat choices. I loved funny bones when I was little
ReplyDeleteI remember reading meg and mog and funny bones as a child. Haven't heard of the others, but like the sound of room on the broom :) x
ReplyDeleteI love Meg and Mog but generally, have always loved the 'spooky' books for kids.
ReplyDeleteMeg and Mog sounds good, and I agree with Lily :- Nice that there is a cat in the story.
ReplyDeleteRachel Craig
Room on the Broom sounds good xx
ReplyDeleteEntertaining
ReplyDeleteA lovely selection. I particularly like the idea of reading Funnybones at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWe love room on a broom
ReplyDeleteLove meg and mog im sure I read them when I was younger
ReplyDeleteFunnybones, not a book I am familiar with. Though sounds worth a read.
ReplyDeleteRachel Craig
My comment
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of :- Who's Afraid of the Dark? Probably all children would benefit from the book.
ReplyDeleteRachel Craig