Category / Review

by jo

New Miffy Books? Almost… but yet they are!

Simon and Schuster are the new publishers of Miffy books. We’re long-term fans – they’re books I read when I was little and now H loves them too.

Miffy was first brought to life by Dick Bruna way back in 1955 by the Dutch artist Dick Bruna. We have a mighty fine collection and one of the things I’ve found the most charming is the not-quite-right translations of the books. Words that would never rhyme being used in the stories. I’m sure I didn’t care when I was young, I just read and got on with it.

So I have a sense of loyalty – and was a little wary when it was announced the books would be getting a bit of a revamp for modern times. I’m not a fan of change unless it’s for a good reason.

Fortunately, there is a good reason. The Miffy illustrations stay the same, and most of the rhymes stay the same or similar, but have a better structure. For example – there is a picture of a pear and some peapods, the original book mentions a cauliflower (probably to make the words flow better) yet it isn’t pictured. The new version of the book is much simpler and sticks to what you can see. See the two pictures for more examples.

Miffy

I quite like them too. I bought ‘Miffy’ and ‘Miffy at the Zoo’ today and have compared both versions we own. But yet it says the translations date back to the 1990’s – so what did we have before this? What did I read in the seventies? Would it be unreasonable to buy a third version of the books purely for my own curiosity?

If, like me, you weren’t sure what was going to be done with the books, rest assured, it’s fine. It’s a job done well and very faithfully. Would I buy all the books again? I’m unsure – as we own them all already it could prove quite costly. Fortunately they’re being made available in small batches (Miffy at the Gallery is the third in the series – which was published via the Tate Bookstore not that long ago) so won’t break the bank. I’m hoping that the last book, Njintje is Stout (Miffy is Naughty) will get a translation, as I’m fairly sure that’s the only book that hasn’t been.

Miffy at the Zoo

October is a bit of a cop-out with Miffy’s Dream getting republished! The only one without words – maybe new translator Tony Mitton needed a break 🙂 We like and have read a few of Tony Mitton’s books – though only own ‘The Somethingosaur’ which we reviewed a while back.

I can see there are also activity books available too, though didn’t buy those. It looks like Miffy is going to be well stocked in bookstores again which is quite frankly, a fabulous thing. You can find all the books over here  – Miffy – the New Books (contains an affiliate link).

DSC_0972-001-150x150

by jo

Scratch, Scratch, Headlice is Back. Lyclear Saves the Day

It’s one of the letters you don’t want to receive at school and one of the topics which provokes a reaction with almost everyone you talk to – usually they start scratching their head (like I am now) – the dreaded Head Lice letter. As luck would have it, Lyclear sent us a bottle just as we got our first letter this year! We’re no strangers to this wonderful world, but I’m always willing to try anything which helps!

Lyclear

Lyclear is available as a shampoo, spray and a new sensitive variety from most shops; I’ve seen it in a variety of places. It’s a simple spray on-comb out spray which claims to have a 100% success rate. H was showing all the signs she had them other than anything in her hair. I do know she reacts to some shampoos, but we couldn’t take the risk as other children had it, so gave Lyclear a go.

Step 1 – you check the hair for Lice using a headlice comb. Our shampoo came with a comb which is handy, though I do swear by the Nitty Gritty comb. It looks like all varieties come with a comb, it’s clearly marked on the front of the box.

Step 2 – Apply the shampoo onto dry hair. Make sure you cover the back of the neck and behind the ears. Leave for 10 minutes.

Step 3 – Wash it out – add water and work up a foam. Rinse thoroughly.

Step 4 – comb through the wet hair to collect all lice and eggs using your fine comb.

Don’t forget to clean the comb! This needs repeating after seven days to break up the life cycle of the lice, but two treatments should be enough.

So how does it work? So many other mums say they do the conditioner and combing routine because they don’t want to use pesticides on their child’s head, so what does Lyclear offer? From their official site : All Lyclear treatments provide a double physical action attacking both head lice and their eggs. Lyclear Spray and Lyclear Shampoo suffocate and dehydrate head lice and their eggs, whereas Lyclear Sensitive attaches onto the respiratory orifices of head lice and eggs to suffocate them and penetrates into the heart of the eggs to stop their development.

If you’re not scratching too much then there’s more information about head lice over here. While I’m not 100% sure whether H had it, we got the letter and treated her as she seemed to keep getting it at nursery, and her head is clear.

I like that Lyclear includes everything you’d need, so you’re not buying a separate comb (though I do swear by my Nitty Gritty one) so if you had to rush to the chemist to get stocked up once receiving the dreaded letter, Lyclear would be a good place to start!

We were sent a bottle to try out – all opinions are our own.

by jo

Heat Holders Thermal Tights

It’s cold. So cold. I’m cold all the time. At home it takes a while for me to warm up. At work I’m always freezing. I live in Uniqlo Heattech tops and jeans to try and stay warm before I give up and switch to thermals. Ah, thermals. Those unattractive undergarments you hide underneath your regular clothes to attempt to stay warm. Those attractive shades of beige, right?

Wrong! Read on to find more about the Heat Holders Thermal Tights I’ve been sent to review.

Heat Holders Thermal Tights

Heat Holders Thermal Tights are my kind of tights – thick black ones which don’t fall down (always a problem when you’re tall like me). I was offered a pair to review, and having bought a couple of skirts for myself in the sales I knew a good time to try them out would be on a trip to the park.

This wasn’t just any trip though. This was as the cold, icy winds were making their way towards London. Oh they were bitter. This would be the kind of weather I’d probably try and put my waterproof trousers on over my jeans for extra warmth. The park we visited is in the middle of Banstead, but still gets a lot of wind thanks to the open space.

Heat Holders Thermal Tights

The verdict? Freaking marvellous! I had such warm legs!! This was a whole new experience for me – tights I’ve worn in the past are generally 80 denier and vaguely warm until it gets chilly. This time I was toasty warm all over – and it was Shaun and H who both wanted to leave the park first due to being cold. I’m really impressed, they’re lovely and thick (140 denier), come in four sizes (small, medium, large, extra large) and have a tog of 0.52. We’re not talking duvet warm, but we’re talking warm.

The Heat Holders thermal tights wash well and so far I’ve had no issues with snagging. In fact, my only issue is that I need more pairs – at £8 they’re not cheap, but having tried them I’m going to get myself another pair, if only to be able to wear more skirts again!

Heat Holders Thermal Tights can be bought from the Sock Shop for £8 a pair.

Heat Holders Thermal Tights

We were sent a pair for the purpose of review – all opinions are my very toasty own.

by jo

Love Our Library – The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Wants A Puppy by Mo Willems is another in the wonderful Pigeon series, and one which we picked up from the library last week.

H’s reading is really coming on, so as an experiment (as we’re working quite hard on expression at the moment) I had her read the book and sound out any words she wasn’t sure about. There aren’t many words, but there’s a good story to be read.

The pigeon wants a puppy. He really does. He’d really love a puppy and he’ll tell you why, repeatedly. He’s SO in love with the idea of wanting a puppy that when he actually does get one he realises he didn’t actually want it at all.

Pigeon Wants a Puppy

Within the book there are plenty of exclamation marks, it’s funny, the pictures work well alongside the text, and for a four year old who is moving gradually into regular books it was lovely to hear her read it, not struggle with any words and giggle at the funny bits.

Pigeon Wants a Puppy

We only own ‘Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus’ plus another one of his books, though I spotted there’s a new pigeon book due in April which is VERY exciting indeed. In fact, there’s a whole website of goodness over here.

We love Mo Willems’ books, we really do. REALLY.

by jo

Reef 2 – Coming Out on DVD and Blu Ray!

Reef 2 is set to be released on the 17th February 2014 on DVD, Digital and On Demand from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Paramount Pictures in association with Empire Film Distribution Ltd Reef 2. TM, ® & Copyright © 2014 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Reef 2 is the sequel to the 2006 film Reef and brings the return of the little fish Pi (short for Pisces) who has to save his beloved reef. Troy the nasty shark that Pi saw off in his last adventure returns, with several of his friends just in time for high tide.

Pi’s family feature in this animation – his good lady fish Cordelia (voiced by Busy Philips) and their son Junior. Pi trains his friends in fish-fu to help defend themselves in case of attack. Things don’t quite run to plan when they find out Ronny is a spy for Troy. Cordelia is fish-napped leaving Pi and Junior to rescue her!

Reef 2 also sees the return of Nerissa, the wise old sea turtle voiced by Rob Schneider.

We watched Reef 2, and while some parts were a little scary for H, overall she enjoyed it. Think along the lines of Finding Nemo when that gets scary (shark teeth – eek!) and you’re close. There were several funny moments too, and we had an enjoyable movie afternoon watching it together. We were able to talk about the scary bits and what a big meanie Troy and his gang were which helped with her understanding of it all!

Reef 2 runs for 80 minutes and has a U Certificate. Reef 2 is released on the 17th February 2014 and is available for preorder now.

Watch the official trailer:

We also have some fun activity sheets which tie in with the release of the film – right click to download them!

 

We were sent a DVD copy of Reef 2 for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own and honest. This post contains an affiliate link.

by jo

Big Fish Little Fish Balham – Coming Soon!

We’re big fans of the Big Fish Little Fish events held in North and South London – nice social events where you can relive the music from your past with your kids at an acceptable volume, with themes and plenty of crafts to go with it.

Big Fish Little Fish Craft Room

Big Fish Little Fish Balham is about to launch – the Brixton events continue and now there’ll be further events held at The Bedford on Bedford Hill, a short walk from Balham tube and mainline rail stations.

Here’s the press release-

Big Fish Little Fish is a two-and-a-half hour afternoon rave for families with kids aged 8 and under. Born of a desire to create fun and friendly social events that adults and children could both enjoy, it brings together credible DJs playing quality music, craft activities for older children and a safe space for babies to chill out and play. Owner Hannah Saunders started BFLF to provide a place where music lovers of all ages could cut loose, enjoy themselves and meet like-minded souls. Her vision resonated so well with parents all over London that every single event in 2013 sold out.

We are pleased to announce that from January 2014 Big Fish Little Fish will run monthly in both Brixton (Effra Social, 89 Effra Rd, SW2 1DF) and Crouch End (Earl Haig Hall, Elder Avenue, N8 9TH) and from March in Balham (The Bedford).

Big Fish Little Fish dance floor

All venues have a fully licensed bar, two top DJs, club lighting system, free glowsticks, bubble machines, confetti cannons and a parachute dance. BFLF provides everything you would expect from a grown-up night out – but on a weekend afternoon, and with extras for the younger attendees. There is a cake stall, baby/chillout room playing a mix of music by Speakeasy D (with tents, tunnels, ball pool, inflatables etc), Happy Monkey craft room managed by child craft expert Captain Cookie, buggy park, full changing facilities and free healthy snacks (provided by Bear) and free smoothies (provided by Happy Monkey) for the children. There will also be a fancy dress theme each month.The craft area will have materials to make accessories fitting the fancy dress theme, temporary tattoo station and a giant mural that everyone can add to.

The Talent

The headline DJ for Brixton on January 18th was Frank Tope (Wild Geese/Rooty) and in Crouch End on the 25th it was Robin Hexstatic. In February in Brixton on the 15th we have Mark Force (Bugz in the Attic) and in Crouch End on the 22nd Jonny Trunk (Trunk Records). Our first Balham event  on the 2nd March will feature Mixmaster Morris.

At previous parties DJs have included: DJ Food (Ninja Tune), Will Nicol (Big Fun/Soulshaker), Nihal (BBC Radio 1/Asian Network), Si Begg, DJ Chefal (Rinse FM / Anti Social Entertainment / Deep Medi Muzik); JC (Queen of Hoxton); Joe Muggs (Mixmag; Sound of the Cosmos; Beat Hotel Glastonbury); Jody Thompson (Secret Garden Party) and Amanda Gettrup (Bestival).

At future events DJs will include Noodles; Mixmaster Morris and Altered Natives.

The Minnow Club

BFLF craft room leader Captain Cookie runs a craft and music cafe where parents and children can relax, socialise and have fun at the Prince of Wales pub, 469 Brixton Road, SW9 4HH on Thursdays from 10 – 12. Entrance £5 per family, no pre-booking.

BFLF Radio

Hannah and Natasha present a monthly magazine show on MEATtransMISSION (the new radio station run from MEATmission in Hoxton Market) with special guests, music and parenting chat.

 You can buy tickets for all events here

We can’t make it to the March Big Fish Little Fish Balham event, but will be there in April! Their website is over here.

Big Fish Little Fish Brixton

by jo

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie is coming to the UK – released in cinemas on February 14th 2014, it’s becoming quite a hotly anticipated event. We went to a preview screening earlier today, and these are our thoughts.

The Lego Movie Official Poster

The Lego Movie trailer has been one we’ve watched in awe, thinking the film was going to be amazing based on a minute of random footage. I happened to spot there were some preview screenings happening so booked us in for today – for a total of £30ish.

We went to Cineworld in Wandsworth and opted for the 3D version. So what’s to say about the film?

The Lego Movie plot is straightforward. Emmet is a normal kind of chap, the sort who tries to be friends with everyone, but as the film progresses is actually one of the people who seems to blend into the background. To everyone else he isn’t someone special – but to those who know about The Prophecy, he is the chosen one.

He lives in Bricksburg, “a humongous city built entirely out of LEGO bricks. Under the all-controlling leadership of President Business, everything in Bricksburg is done exactly by the instructions, from waking up and getting dressed in the morning to smashing old buildings and assembling new ones down at the construction site” from watching ‘Where’s My Pants’ on tv and listening to the horribly catchy ‘Everything is Awesome’ by Tegan and Sara which is played all day every day continuously to the residents (who love it).

He is declared a master builder; and it’s pretty apparent he’s not; by Vitrivius – and meets Wyldstyle who becomes his sidekick (and romantic interest), while escaping from Good Cop Bad Cop and the evil Lord Business and his dreaded Taco Tuesday. I’m saying no more so as not to spoil, but the final part The Lego Movie almost had me in tears – from craziness to one of those moments which really do make you come out of the cinema feeling that Everything Is Awesome. Oh yes. You don’t need to follow instructions, just open your mind.

Oh, and don’t expect to get ‘Everything is Awesome’ out of your head for at least a month or two. A special mention to Batman’s song too which made me smile.

Lego Jo

The Lego Movie is one of those films which appeals to Lego fans young and old – with plenty of nods to the past and numbers from various Lego sets. It feels like there’s a lot of Lego love and attention to detail that has been put into the film with scope for several more films in the future. It’s heartwarming too.

I feel like I’ve probably missed so much, I could waffle on about it for a long time.

The Lego Movie is released in cinemas in the UK from the 14th February, is 100 minutes long and certified U. Of course Lego has many things available alongside it (as you’d expect). I spotted a pretty impressive sticker book in Waterstones today too and plenty of stationery sets – and let’s not visit the new kits that have just come out..

Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheLegoMovieUK

Official Twitter page: https://www.twitter.com/TheLegoMovieUK

Legofy yourself over here

by jo

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit is the latest book we were sent as a Parragon Book Buddy. With a tagline of ‘Delicious cakes, pastries and desserts’ we were won over immediately!

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit comes from Parragon Books Love Food range, and is a collection of classic and new recipes using fresh fruit in all seasons. Actually, the best thing about the book was getting it out at the table with Shaun and H and watching them both coo over it, they look delicious!

We did a spot of foraging last year, and this year I want us to do some Pick Your Own from local farms. There are plenty of recipes in here which will cover the various fruits we can get too – from the complicated looking to ones which look quite simple.

We haven’t had a chance to try any recipes yet, but on the list is the Lemon Sponge Roll (although it includes gelatine so I need to find a vegetarian option), the Mandarin Cheesecake looks especially good, and I know it’s almost time, we need to buy a ring tin as the Cherry Marble Cake looks divine!

Oh and don’t get me started on the Lime and Raspberry Tart… yum!

As we head out of the post-Christmas slump, we’ve been inspired by the Great British Bake Off. H loves it too thanks to them repeating it over Christmas and the Comic Relief version in the new year. I think H fancies herself as a bit of a Mary Berry, and this book features the kind of recipes I know H will like to do too. There’ll be no soggy bottoms around here!

Baking With Fruit will sit perfectly alongside the Higgidy Cookbook which we bought and reviewed last year. While we’re still being very weight-conscious, I’d like to think these recipes aren’t going to be too fattening – plus it’s all down to portion size!

Baking With Fruit is available now, published by Parragon Books and has a rrp of £8.

We were sent the book for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The book image at the bottom contains an affiliate link.

by jo

Never Talk to Strangers by Irma Joyce

First published in 1967, ‘Never Talk to Strangers’ by Irma Joyce is as relevant these days as it was back then. The title says it all really.

‘Never Talk to Strangers’ tackles stranger danger in a way a four year old won’t find scary. With simple rhymes to show the difference between knowing someone and how to behave, versus not knowing someone that a four year old would understand, this is a good place to start when the subject arises.

If you are swimming in a pool
and a crocodile begins to drool,
Paddle away and repeat this rule –
Never talk to strangers.

Each rhyme is based around a character (usually an animal) and always finishes with ‘Never Talk to Strangers’. It introduces someone who isn’t a stranger by being someone that someone else knows, with the book finishing in a positive way.

The illustrations are nice, bright and colourful and most importantly of all, H enjoyed reading it (and joined in with me).

Our version of the book was published by Random House Children’s Books in 2009 and bought via The Book Depository for £2.49 via Amazon.

(this post contains an affiliate link)

by jo

Nogii Kids Snack Bar Launches in the UK

Do you keep an eye out for snacks which aren’t full of sugar, and have natural ingredients? We certainly do, especially as H seems to like picking chocolatey things (this is a recent thing, we’ve managed to avoid sweets for a long time) – it will always be at the back of my mind she could develop diabetes later in life (as could I), so I like to find a balance so she can be like her friends but not go too overboard on sugar. Nogii Kids Snack bars are ideal.

nogii kids snack bars

Nogii Kids Snack bars have recently launched in the UK. The bars are formulated with all natural ingredients, healthy Omega 3’s, premium protein, quality carbohydrates, and fibre. They’re also gluten free. Snacks are a BIG part of children’s diets, and Nogii Kids Snack bars have been given the thumbs up by H.

The bars are quite big – we received four to try. They’re the right size when you’re out and about, are individually sealed but most importantly of all aren’t full of sugar. At the moment they’re for sale at the Win Naturally website, owned by the footballer Phil Neville and his wife Julie – both are passionate about foods which are healthy for everyone, especially kids. They want to make healthy, organic food available to everyone.

nogii kids snack bar

The final word on the Nogii Kids Snack bar goes to H though, who said “I liked it. It tasted good, I liked the chocolate and marshmallow and I felt full afterwards too”.

The name confused me a bit, as I keep thinking No GI (as in low GI), so if it does for you too, think Gluten Free rather than low GI. (although the overall GI is pretty good)

Available now, keep an eye out!

nogii kids snack bar

We were sent a selection of the bars for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own.