Is it Christmas yet? by Jane Chapman

Any parent of a young child knows that urgency and impatience with which our little ones wait for a big occasion like their birthday or Christmas. They cannot wait for the big day to arrive and keep pestering asking their parents "Is it my birthday today? Is it Christmas yet?" Sounds familiar? Then you will smile reading a lovely new book from Little Tiger Press called "Is it Christmas yet?"

This charming story is written and illustrated by Jane Chapman, and features two bears, Big Bear and his little son Ted. Little bear is very excited, rushing around in his Santa hat: "Christmas is coming". Not yet, his Daddy tries to reason with him, we still need a lot to do before Christmas arrives.

So, they wrap the presents together, and the little Ted is helping over-enthusiastically.
Both my younger son Eddie and I giggled, looking at the bear with the scotch tape all over him, as it brought back memories of our last Christmas gifts' wrapping session, when we also ended up unsticking the scotch tape from ourselves.

Then they have to bake a cake. And again, the mess in the kitchen looks very familiar. Whenever Eddie joins in my baking session, our working surface ends up covered with the flour and whatever dried ingredients we are using.

And then they need a Christmas tree... so off they venture in the woods to pick a perfect tree.

And by the time everything is ready, the little bear gets too tired. Aww.

As all the books from Little Tiger Press, this illustrated book would appeal to both children and their parents. It is a wonderful kind story with lovable characters. Parents and children would easily identify themselves in similar situations, and will chuckle together, reading this amusing and entertaining book.

Explore Little Tiger Press for more information.

Disclosure: I am a member of Parent Review Panel and received this book for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Wimpy Shrimpy (Little Tiger Press)

"Mama, what's a shrimp? Is it a sausage with legs?" (Eddie)
Eddie is a pre-schooler, and is still at an age when he enjoys the picture books a lot. Every evening we have the same routine of reading a few books before bedtime. What could be better as an un-winding activity? Little Tiger Press knows exactly what tots love: colourful picture books with an amusing entertaining storyline. Wimpy Shrimpy by Matt Buckingham is a lovely story of a little shrimp who is too hesitant and is lacking in confidence.

He is small and is scared of the big wide world. Those fears will resonate with little people who might be finding this situation familiar and can relate to it. Poor little Shrimpy is missing out on all the fun because his imagination runs wild and he is scared of being hurt.
Not my Eddie. If anything, he's over-confident when it comes to outdoor games and socializing. I am more of a Wimpy Shrimpy on his behalf, as I always worry what might happen if he is not careful enough.

Illustrations are very colourful and cheerful. Eddie and I go through all pages, pointing and naming all the sea creatures.

Will Wimpy Shrimpy be able to overcome his fears and join in the games with his friends? Well, you'll have to read the story to find out.

The blurb on the site says "With bright and bold illustrations, this is the perfect picture book for building confidence in three to six year olds". I would say, it is more of a pre-school book. Six-year-olds would most likely enjoy more complicated storylines.
It is a charming book, and it might inspire your own Wimpy Shrimpy to be that little more courageous in the playground.

Explore Little Tiger Press for more books and news.

Smiley Shark and the Great Big Hiccup!

Picture books are a great fun! Eddie and I love sitting on the bed or on the garden bench and sharing a story, especially when there are lots of colourful illustrations. It is such a fantastic bonding experience. I have already mentioned that Eddie and I have been chosen to join the Little Tiger Panel. Smiley Shark and the Great Big Hiccup! is our second book to review as panel members. 

This bright cheerful story is written and illustrated by Ruth Galloway. If you are a parent of preschoolers, you might have come across Smiley Shark already. This book is a sequel to the best-selling Smiley Shark story.

What is this story about?
One day the fish couldn't find their friend Smiley Shark anywhere. Finally they manage to spot him but he has the biggest hiccups ever!
If you ever had hiccups, you would nod your head reading the book, as you have probably tried the same methods to get rid of the hiccups. The fish make Smiley Shark do cartwheels, tickle him, ask him to hold his breath. Will these methods help?

The pictures below make me smile, as this is exactly what I do when I have hiccups- I hold my breath for as long as I can, and No, it doesn't work for me either.

Eddie loved this story, he giggles when I imitate the hic-hic-hiccup sound and repeats after me. We both enjoy that there are several characters, so we can read the story, using different voices and be as silly as we can be hiccuping and hooting with laughter at ourselves. A perfect book for play-acting. And it is educational as well, you learn the names of the sea creatures (angelfish, pufferfish etc).

We also enjoy discussing the book after we finished reading the story, I ask Eddie what's the story about, what has happened. We read this book quite a few number of times, and now Eddie can sit and "read" the story to me, i.e. tell me what is happening on each page in his own words.

When a friend came the other day to visit us and suddenly got hiccups, Eddie told me that Jen had the hiccups just like Smiley Shark and suggested we should scare her.

If you love reading to your children, you will have a good time following the story of Smiley Shark's hiccup adventures.

To find more about the range of books from Little Tiger Press, please visit their website www.littletiger.co.uk

If you enjoyed reading this review, you might like the following book review
Look Out, Ladybird

Look Out, Ladybird!

Lucky little man Eddie and I have recently joined the Little Tiger Panel. Our first book arrived a few days ago. Look Out, Ladybird by Jack Tickle is a new storybook from Little Tiger Press.
The story follows the little ladybird who is learning to fly, but "she isn't very good at it yet". She just keeps getting it wrong, tumble-bumbling into the elephant, boingy-boinging into the tiger's tail, dizzy-whizzing into the crocodile's nose. Will she ever learn to fly?
This is a lovely book for the pre-schoolers, which sends a reassuring message, that no matter how many times you fail, don't lose your hope, you will get there eventually.
The language of the book is simple to appeal to the younger audience, with a skilful use of onomatopoeias to describe each action. The font is pretty big and convenient to read for young learners.
The book comes with a surprise pull-out ending. And as the little ladybird is zooming straight at the bear's bum, Eddie was all giggles in anticipation (while I thought, That's a bit naughty). You'll just have to read the book yourself to find out whether she gets in a pickle with the bear.

The illustrations are colourful, bright and cheerful. Eddie loved the images and we had fun guessing together who the next animal would be.

As you can see from the smiley photo, Eddie enjoyed the story a lot.

To read what the other parents thought about this book, visit the Little Tiger Press page.

My Little Box of Bedtime Rhymes (review)

Lucky boy Eddie was a winner of a boxed set of My Little Box of Bedtime Rhymes by Little Tiger Press. This is a mini-library of traditional bedtime rhymes, with the classic favourites like Hey Diddle Diddle and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, just perfect for a little person who is starting to discover an amazing world of the nursery rhymes.

These books have charming illustrations by Sanja Rescek. Sanja Rescek lives in Zagreb where she studied graphic design and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. She has illustrated picture books for Random House, Scholastic, Campbell and many others and she has also illustrated cards for UNICEF. When she is not illustrating, she enjoys painting and designing children's furniture

The images are kind, loveable and soft. The books are small and chunky and just the right size for small hands.

Which one to choose? Choices, choices...