The Great Extendable Colouring Book is a fabulous idea – a book which the pages fold out so there’s enough space for more than one person to colour in. Read on to find out what we think.
The Great Extendable Colouring Book by b small books was sent to us way too long ago – and it’s fabulous. You see, H loves colouring in, but more often than not the book doesn’t stretch enough we can both colour in. Not so with the Great Extendable Colouring Book, as each page folds out so you get two extra sides of A4 of each picture – which leaves more than enough space for two of you to colour in at the same time.
So H and I have been doing that. She loves colouring in, although I’ve found she tends to rush sometimes. I feel she learns by watching other people, so I’ve been taking my time – and what actually happened was us sitting in silence both concentrating on our respective areas of the picture, but we were having fun!
The Great Extendable Colouring Book comes with seven scenes, Safari, Under the Sea, In the Jungle, In Space, Fashion Show, Sports in the Sun and Arty Street Party.
I’ve found that pencils are the nicest way of colouring – I like crayons and felt tips, but felt like it suited these books more – and it was also a good way of showing H how to use two colours on one thing (two different shades of brown on a tree trunk for example).
Each page has a small ‘can you spot’ type activity on it, and most importantly is fun! The Great Extendable Colouring Book costs £9.99 and is available from all good bookstores and Amazon.co.uk
We were sent a copy of the book for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.
Almost a fifth of the way through the year, and there’s plenty to write about.
Sunday 1st March. We had a gloriously sunny day, so headed out to Ham House, stopping by Teddington Lock on the way home, as it was just up the road. My Great Aunt and Uncle lived in Teddington, and throughout the seventies and eighties we’d stay with them when we visited London – and a walk to the lock was always a part of it. It was nice to introduce H to another part of my childhood. Weirdly, we never went to Ham House, something we’ve only done a couple of times in the last four or five years. We were also going out as we couldn’t watch the League Cup Final on tv, what with not owning any Sky channels. Probably for the best, considering the result.
Monday 2nd March. A good post day. I had a bit of a dilemma, as we wanted to see Big Hero 6 at the cinema, though most tickets worked out around £30 which is way too much for a film. Then I realised it was being released on DVD in the US a day or so later. We ended up going, spending £24 and another tenner on snacks. Honestly, I love going to the cinema and seeing the latest films, but I really resent paying so much money on it all. I still bought the DVD, which is hidden under the stairs for our next Movie Night.
Tuesday 3rd March. Stupidly busy day. I had a meeting at Google first thing, which meant I got to see some of London’s sights, as well as getting off at the new Tottenham Court Road station. That made me a bit sad though. As I headed down the second escalator to the tube, I was almost certain I was going through the old stage of the Astoria 2, which was underneath the Astoria. Two great London venues gone, with the 12 Bar soon to follow. I resent London and the way it’s taking away important parts of my past, leaving crappy venues (like Koko – why won’t someone take that one down? Awful place.). Anyway, I also saw Battersea Power Station with just the three chimneys.
Wednesday 4th March. Part of letting go of the fact you know you’ll never have another child is getting rid of things. We’ve sold the buggy and I didn’t cry. Now we’ve got the clothes down from the loft. It’s a horribly blurry picture, but you get the idea of how much there is. To think the money spent on all these clothes and they’re used for such a short time. So I’m working through batches, selling and giving them away. She’s only five and a half. I’ve already given away one bag of clothes, with two more that I’m getting ready. We’re going to keep anything which means something (like H’s Joy Division babygro and her skeleton one), and the rest needs to go. We need the space. I want to sell things to raise enough to buy a small trampoline for our back yard.
Thursday 5th March. It is no secret my favourite film is The Sound of Music. I have seen it on the stage more times than I can remember, and I’ve watched the film (and the German ones) even more times. We went to Salzburg for our first wedding anniversary. It’s a huge part of my life and something I’ve grown up with. Obviously I’m passing that obsession on to H. (though so far it has been “oh! It’s the music from that advert!”) It’s the 50th Anniversary this year, and I asked a favour of a friend whose husband works for Sony. He came up trumps! I’m hoping for lots of Sound of Music related birthday gifts (and I don’t care if I get them months later), as I obviously need a 50th Anniversary DVD – I’ve got the 35th, 40th and 45th, got to keep it going, right?
Friday 6th March. Book Character Day. Our school never tends to do the dress up on World Book Day which is fine as it gives me a day more to panic. Luckily this year we had two definite ideas – Annie and Shrinking Violet. In the end Shrinking Violet wasn’t practical – I was going to have H take a Lottie Doll into school with her, dressed similarly. However, I bought her an Annie style dress in the Next Sale. We have a Party shop near work which sells Annie costumes, but no wig seperately. The closest I could get was the bright orange one she’s wearing. Luckily she loved it, though became really self-conscious of it on the way in to school. By the parade at the end of the day she had it on again, and did us both proud. So here’s Little Orphan Annie. Next year I’m going to keep it simple and she can be Hermione from Harry Potter – she’s got the hair for it.
Saturday 7th March. A gloriously sunny day! Washing on the line and tidying up around the house. Starting to go through more baby things and maternity things and get rid. When we needed to play the Hungry Caterpillar Outdoor Chalks came out and we drew a little town in our yard. H was happy enough – she could drive around wherever she needed to. Simple outdoor play when you don’t want to go far but need to get outside anyway.
Today is a very exciting day for Blue Peter fans – the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 winners have just been announced in a special Newsround early morning bulletin!
The Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Winners are presented with their badges tonight on CBBC at 5.20pm – and H is extremely excited! She got ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’ for Christmas after it grabbing her attention by being nominated late last year. In fact, she didn’t stop asking for it – the storyline appealed to her sense of humour.
Think of the Blue Peter Book Awards as being like the Richard and Judy Book Club – but for under tens with the much-sought after Blue Peter badge as a prize. A whole new world of reading opened up to H when she heard about the books, and the last few weeks on Blue Peter have led up to the big day- the results! So who has won?
Well we’re super excited, here’s the official press release with the winners announcement.
Two teachers, who have written funny and silly books, are top of their class as they win Best Book with Facts and Best Story in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015, voted for by hundreds of schoolchildren.
Pamela Butchart, who teaches philosophy at secondary school, won Best Story with her latest title The Spy Who Loved School Dinners, which was illustrated by Thomas Flintham. (hurrah!!!)
Andy Seed, a former primary teacher and deputy head for 17 years, won Best Book with Facts with The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff, illustrated by Scott Garrett.
Both were delighted to be crowned this year’s winners and viewers will be able to see them
receive their awards on Blue Peter tonight from Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2013-2015 Malorie Blackman, as the show celebrates its 15th anniversary of the prize.
Pamela, who did a book-signing for The Spy Who Loved School Dinners on her wedding day, exclaimed: ‘WOW! Is this real-life?! I’m shocked and utterly over-the-moon about winning this fantastic award! It means the world to me that children voted for my book! Thank you.’
Andy, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: ‘To win a Blue Peter Book Award is a proper thrill not just because it revives all those happy childhood memories but because the show
today does a truly significant job in raising the profile of books and reading at a time when
this is needed more than ever. To win any award is a delight but to win the Blue Peter Book
Award sets my spine tingling like nothing else.’
The illustrators of the books also expressed their excitement about winning the prize. Thomas Flintham said: ‘Hooray! What fantastic news! It was exciting enough just to be nominated but to have won has forced me to do a little dance!’
Scott Garrett said: ‘I was so excited to hear that we’d won the Blue Peter Book Award! Blue
Peter was a big part of my early years. We’ve all grown up with it and to be part of it AND get an award is something very special to me – I can’t wait to get my badge! Illustrators don’t get inundated with awards, so I’m over the moon to have been awarded this one. Here’s to books!’
A panel of judges including Tom Gates author Liz Pichon, Rastamouse creator Michael de
Souza, The Bookseller journalist Anna James, and non-voting chair of judges, Blue Peter
editor Ewan Vinnicombe, selected the shortlist from publishers’ submissions.
These were then read and voted on by more than 200 children from ten schools across the UK to decide the winners in each category. The winners were announced on a special World Book Day morning bulletin of Newsround.
Pupils at Perry Wood Nursery and Primary School in Worcester said it was an ‘honour’ and
‘exciting as only ten schools in the whole of England can choose the winners of the Blue Peter Book Awards.’
The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards are managed by reading charity Booktrust, which works with schools to get more children reading for pleasure. The Awards celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.
Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter said: ‘It’s fantastic that in our 15th year of the Blue Peter Book Awards we have given 200 children across the UK the chance to vote for their favourite books. Pamela and Thomas, Andy and Scott should be really proud and Blue Peter will continue to promote children’s books and our viewers’ love of reading.’
So I had a little chat with H – and you can watch it too!
Sunday 22nd February. As all good Brownies and Guides know, it’s Thinking Day. I got mixed up and thought H had a party, so I didn’t put us down for it, which is a shame as they had a lovely craft day – instead we had a lie-in and a fairly lazy day. I’ve been told that H’s school do an Easter Bonnet parade every year, so I made a start on hers with plenty of time as I usually leave these things until the last minute. I fully expect the parade not to happen, now I’ve actually started doing it.
Monday 23rd February. Another week at work (which flew by, btw), I found two new Original Source types on my trip to Superdrug at Clapham Junction. I have always had this terrible addiction to things that smell a certain way. I also have a terrible addiction to buying anything Original Source put out if it’s vaguely quirky. Liquorice will do just nicely.
Tuesday 25th February. We were tired. H was super-tired and I was tired too. Swimming lessons were back on, and Swimmy came with us too for one last photo (hurrah!).
Wednesday 26th February. This ended up being an exhaustingly horrible day. H came home from school, her mouth clamped shut. Her latest wobbly tooth was at the point of no return, but she was terrified it would hurt, so refused to open her mouth or talk to me for an hour. Cue me going from concerned parent to extremely worried parent, and back to “what do I do now?!” parent. She wouldn’t eat anything, hadn’t eaten most of her school lunch and was shattered thanks to having no food. In the end I cuddled her until she fell asleep and pulled the damn tooth out myself – it took a milisecond, it was about to come out anyway. When she woke up I showed her the tooth, and we celebrated by being able to talk again. She was rewarded with a Princess DisGrace book by Lou Kuenzler. On my to-do list is a list of books she’s enjoying as she’s moving more into longer paperbacks, which we’ve found suitable for a five year old.
Thursday 26th February. My late day at work – but also the day I have a lunch break. I popped into Tiger Stores to add more bits to H’s Easter Bonnet. At first I thought about having the little eggs hanging down from the middle grass basket, but after thinking about it, we should celebrate her Australian side and have them hanging down from the bottom of the bonnet. H thinks this is brilliant too. Phew.
Friday 27th February. The sun came out! Now I’m not one for avoiding going outdoors, but with my back and all the aches and pains I tend to keep myself warm. Having said that, it was 8 or 9 degrees and sunny, and we all need some Vitamin D, so I got the outdoor chalks out (the Hungry Caterpillar ones we were sent to review), and drew a windy road around our back yard. The sun wasn’t out for long, but long enough to have a play, and for H to sit on it and get blue lines all over her clothes! Anyway, I chased her around the yard while she screamed giggly panicked screams in case I caught her. Every time I did she’d collapse in a fit of giggles. Got my little girl back after Wednesday’s hiccup, phew.
Saturday 28th February. Lawks, it’s March tomorrow. This is officially the longest I’ve managed Project 365. H had a superhero party today so we got her dressed in all the H&M bits we’ve picked up, so she could be Batgirl. She felt cool and I thought she looked cool, and it was perfect wear for a soft play party. Afterwards she insisted on getting her guitar out, and posed like this. I need to sort her some guitar lessons for summer term I think – she’s a natural!
