Child book recommendation: The Slightly Annoying Elephant by DavidWalliams

Sorry for not posting in a few days but my laptop is not working properly. It's at the doctors and I'm on the iPad which is not ideal for blogging. Well, not for me anyway. However I'm determined to give you guys a quick child's book recommendation.

 We have covered a lot of serious, sweet and spiritual books lately.  So I thought I would mix thing up a bit with a silly, fun book.  One of our favourite funny books is The slightly annoying elephant by David Walliams. David is a British comedian, and a well known face in the U.K.  I bought the book figuring it would be funny as I'm a big fan of his work on television.

The story starts with a boy named Sam opening the door to a very large, rather unexpected visitor. A giant elephant who knows his name! He thinks back and remembers filling out an "adopt an elephant" form at the zoo and immediately regrets the decision. He did not think an elephant would actually show up! 

Still Sam tries to make the best of the situation. He gives the elephant everything he demands. Even after he overflows all the water in the bath tub he still gives him all the food in the house when the elephant gets peckish.  When Sam asks questions, the elephant gives him patronising answers in an abrupt tone.  This elephant seriously sucks.

Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, what with the elephant breaking his brand new bike, things start to get real. Whilst the elephant is napping ( in Sams bed I might add) he gets a knock on the door. A whole herd of elephants is standing in his doorway claiming their friend invited them! So Sam has himself in a sticky situation. All the better for us though, as its great time watching the story unfold. 

I like to use a silly voice when saying the elephant lines and Scarlett always gets a kick out of that.  This book gives us a chance to loosen up and be silly for a couple minutes  out of our sometimes stressful lives. The pictures are colourful and very funny.  It gives our kids a chance to laugh, learn a bit of good manners, and most importantly ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT..

Childrens book recommendation (mothers day edition): The paper dolls by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb

Last night Scarlett and I read the book "paper dolls" and really enjoyed it.With it being Mother's day tomorrow (in America) I thought I would use it as my weekend child's book recommendation.

The paper dolls is by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb. Inside the book you meet a little girl. She has a very nice mother who makes paper dolls with her. She makes:

                              "Ticky and tacky and Jackie the backie
                               and Jim with two noses
                               and Jo with the bow"

They go on all kinds of adventures together. They danced with pigs, met a tiger, a roaring dinosaur and a crocodile! All whilst holding hands and chanting their rhyme of unity.

I like the way the mother joins in with the daughters fun and they play together. I also like the use of all the household objects ( Like a slipper as a tiger). The illustrations do a great job of showing kids ways to use their imaginations.

One day a boy  comes and snips all her paper dolls into little pieces.(darn boys sometimes. x)

What happens to them? what happens to the little girl? I think that the story has an adorable way of answering these questions. The book explains that the paper dolls become a memory. In her memory they come across mice, fireworks, starfish soap, and a kind granny. More and more things get added each day and each year. I just think that is so cute. especially the kind granny bit ( it always brings a tear to my eye).

Then comes Scarlett's favourite bit of the book. You get to see the girl grow up. First into a teenager, then into...a mother!

A mother who now sits down with her little girl and teaches her to make paper dolls.

I feel like this book is a gentle reminder that what we do today is going to influence the generations to come. All wrapped in a perfectly adorable, creative, and whimsical book. It would make a great mothers day gift from a child to a mom. (Or am I the only adult who like receiving children's books as gifts?).

 Why don't you have a go making your own paper dolls and giving them a funny rhyme? you could have a go at my DIY washi tape bracelets , or at the very least sit and enjoy a book with your child.why? Because as this book shows us, then they will do the same with their children. Those moments, that bonding, that's the good stuff right there. Have a great mothers day! And a very special  happy mothers day to my mom Sandy, who is, and will always be my best friend.

                                                                      Always, -Kass

check out some other child's book recommendations like, Mr. Tiger goes wild, Journey, or Buddha at bedtime

Child book recommendation: Mr Tiger goes wild by Peter Brown

Do you ever get sick and tired of being polite and following the rules? Mr Tiger certainly did.

 He lived in a very boring, dull town where everyone spoke properly and dressed...in,well,.. clothes.

They are wild animals though! Mr Tiger knows that, and he starts letting his "freak flag fly" more and more.

First he starts walking on all fours, and feels MUCH more comfortable.

Than he starts "roaring" in public.

Finally he takes things too far by stripping down to his birthday suit in an unfortunate water fountain incident.

This is the last straw for his friends who advise him to go live in the wild, if hes going to behave like that.

So Mr.Tiger runs off to the wilderness to be free, and wild. Hes incredibly happy catching fish and roaring as loud as he likes.

But Mr. Tiger has a new dilemma in the wilderness. Aaaand you'll have to read the book to find out  what it is.

Besides being a funny and easy to follow book, the pictures are gorgeous! They have a geometric looking theme throughout the book. They stay with a continuous muted colour pattern throwing in pops of bright colours to add interesting contrasts. The illustrations were made with India ink, watercolour,gouache,and pencil on paper, then digitally composed and coloured. The text was set in Rockwell, and the display type was hand-lettered by the author Peter Brown.

Overall this book is a quick, visually stimulating read for children and adults alike.

Thanks for stopping by!                                      Always, Kass

Childs book recommendation : Journey by Aaron Becker

Journey is one of mine and Scarletts favourite books ever. full stop. The story is an intriguing, captivating, and imaginative. It also happens to be a book with no words.

This was the the first book I have bought for my daughter that has no words at all. I was intrigued by the idea when I saw this book advertised somewhere and for the life of me cannot remember where. I thought it was a great idea letting the child make the story up as they go along. But to be honest it was a bit different then just making up a story. It was more like an observational journey you took with someone. Having to rely only on pictures and gestures to get clues as to what was going on and watching the story unfold.

Journey is the story of a young girl who is bored at home one day. Her family is seemingly busy doing other tasks, and activities.

(on the picture above Scarlett always reads it as her mummy is cooking ,her daddys working, and her sister is "on facebook".)

She finds a red marker on the floor and draws a door. A door that transports her to another whimsical steampunk world. Her first glimpse of this world is a magical looking forest. There are fairy lights and lanterns hanging from the trees and it is my favourite page in the book. The forest looks scary and beautiful at the same time. I would love to get lost in it for hours.

She gets to a pier and can go no further. She has to solve a problem using her imagination. Her decision leads her to a world filled with citadels, flying ships, and flying carpets.

She must overcome obstacles armed only with her marker and imagination .At one point in the book she even nearly loses her magic marker! A mysterious bird turns up and helps her along the way but where did it come from?

 I wasn't sure how scarlett would react to not having words in her bedtime book. She really took to it right away though. As soon as we were finished she asked "can you get me more books with no words?" Its amazing how observant kids can be! Little details I didn't think she would pick up she would notice right away.

 The pictures in this book are so beautifully detailed. I'm thinking of possibly getting some of the pages in print form to hang on the walls of Scarletts room. They really take you on a journey and tell the story wonderfully. I think everyone should  try a book with no words. With your kids or even on your own. Its okay to read kids books. I do. They are some of the best stories ever written. I'm just glad I have a child now and I have a viable reason to be hoarding childrens books.

You can purchase this book on amazon here. Thanks for reading. stay creative!   -Kass

Childrens book review: Buddha at bedtime

Hello everyone!I know, its been awhile. I've been pondering which way to carry forward with this blog. I want to do more than talk about art tutorials, products, and techniques. I want to discuss living life creatively and more passionately. That includes the foods we eat,the music we listen to, the books we read, and the places we go.In fact I aim to bring creativity into all aspects of my life. I invite you to follow with me. I pursue this life to keep me sane, and I feel when we strive to be creative we make the most of our life. We don't become as complacent, and forget to "stop and smell the roses". I hope maybe you who are reading this can get a few ideas to be more creative yourself.

So let's start with a children's book review!

Last week we started reading Buddah at bedtime by Dharmachari Nagaraja and Sharon Tancredi.

This book is a collection of stories written to get kids thinking about kindness, compassion, and empathy. It includes a section on who Buddah was and a little about practicing buddhism. We all know our children need to get out playing more and using their imagination.  Though its becoming increasingly difficult in a world full of apps, video games, films, ext. Im not saying those things are all bad. Far from that. I love a good crime drama, and im currently obsessed with instagram. I just think all of that is okay in moderation. This book helps us set aside a little time to sit quietly with our child, tell a story, and travel to another place. 

 I wasnt sure how my daughter would like this book as it reads as a chapter book and I was worried about lack of pictures. To my suprise though, she really likes it! They scatter smaller pictures along the edges to keep the reader intrested as they read along. I would stop every so often and ask questions like "why do you think Dinos was crying?"(because Arthur broke his promise). At the end of that particular chapter there is a few sentences about why its impotant to keep promises.

We arent finished with this book entirely but so far we are really enjoying it. These authors have wrote a second book on the same subject called The Buddhas apprentice we cannot wait to read! I really suggest this as a great book to read with your child.  

Remember this:

“it’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” –L.r knost

 Does anyone have any particular stories they like reading with their child? Id love to hear about them! We are always looking for new books to add to our list. They dont all have to be as thought provoking as this particular book. Another book we have on our shelf is called Walter the farting dog...but we will leave that for another post. Thanks for reading and stay inspired!


                                                                                                 -Kassandra