#Spooktacular Warwick Castle is The Haunted Castle!

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We were lucky enough to get the chance to visit Warwick Castle this weekend.  I've always been interested in the site; anyone interested in the Kingmaker and the War of the Roses will visit just for the history.  But this Halloween Warwick Castle becomes The Haunted Castle with new attractions designed to scare and thrill right up until 9pm.  So we were interested to see if there's something for everyone this half-term.  There was!  It's a great day out anyway, but this half term in particular there are some new attractions and Halloween themed thrills!

We arrived at 10am opening time, as we like to maximise our day trips.  Our girls are now 8 and 10 years old.  Their favourite parts of the day were, and I quote; "The Flight of the Eagles show because the birds were HUGE", "The Horrible Histories Maze because you win a prize" and our 10 year old really liked starting the day with the Grand Tour, because "although you didn't go inside the castle, it was good to learn about the history of the castle itself and how and why certain bits were built".

Amazing! The new magazine for 7+ readers that teaches the curriculum in a Horrible Histories style! Plus Give-away!

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 Kids love disgusting! 

"Uuuurrrrrrggghhhhh!!! That's DISGUSTING!" were the first words from Princess Peppa, my 9 year old. (I may need to rethink her blog pseudonym now she's waaay past loving Peppa Pig). "That's COOL!" was the response from Little Miss George, the 7 year old. 

They couldn't be more different, but they both laughed, giggled, and uurrrggghhhed their way through our sample copies of Amazing! Magazine. From how to make your own edible bogie's; Yes; Really. To a guide to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; (it's not limiting itself this one); the magazine takes a fresh look at information we want our children to learn and presents it in a fun, clever, humorous and yes, quite frankly often disgusting, way. 

It's designed to link to the primary curriculum. Want to know if you'd survive as a Roman gladiator? Find out in the Ancient Romans edition. Want to learn where and when the first false teeth are made? Check out the Human Body edition.

How to survive the school holidays

To many parents, the prospect of 7 weeks of school holidays causes mixed and conflicting emotions. For working parents, on one hand there is an opportunity to spend more time with the children than the two day weekends usually allow, assuming, that is, you can book some leave. On the other hand, most working parents get less than 30 days annual leave a year, so the school holidays present a logistical childcare challenge.
You are torn between wanting to be delighted that the children are not at school, but actually feeling fairly gutted that the children are not at school.
This is also because the working parents amongst us don't get nearly as much childcare practise. We are just not used to entertaining the children, or indeed pointing them in the right direction of the garden/playroom/bedroom (delete as appropriate) so that they can entertain themselves. We spend our time getting very good at filling school bags with the right letters, prepping lunchboxes, prepping and distributing breakfasts and evening meals, bathing, stories and bed time. That bulk of time in the middle of the day that needs filling with other stuff? Well that's something of an enigma to us.

The New Hobby Dilemma

The New Hobby Dilemma: how many classes should you take before knowing it's not for you?

Children come with a host of undiscovered talents. We don't know what they will be good at. We don't now whether they will take to swimming like a duck to water, or if they will splash and cry and splash some more and scream the place down and try every trick in the book to convince us they don't need to learn to swim.

Whilst swimming is a non-negotiable for us (being a life saver it is compulsory attendance for our girls), other hobbies are all up for debate.

Ballet dancing, horse-riding, singing, piano-playing, rugby, karate, street dance, gymnastics, cheerleading....... They are some of the many childhood activities on offer for our children and our children may be brilliant at them.

They may also be rubbish.

So how many classes do you insist they go to before allowing them to say, "I don't want to do it anymore"? Should we insist they make the effort, as not everything will necessarily click straight away. Or do we assume that if it's their talent then they, and us, will magically know straight away?

Is there such a thing as "being a natural"?

And if they are brilliant at it, but hate it, what then?

What do you think?

 

You can also read the debate about the gender-specific nature of some childhood activities at "Why is it OK for little girls to love dinosaurs, but not OK for little boys to love Barbie?"

 

Christmas printables

So now Halloween is finished, all thoughts are with Christmas.  Whether it's present buying, organising whose house you are, or are not visiting on the day, which family members you are going to annoy (since you can't keep everyone happy) and what food you need to get stocked up with.

The good news is that it's the easiest time of the year to keep children entertained with craft activities.  Search for Christmas crafts on google and you are inundated with options.

My favourite find this year is the Activity Village Christmas scrapbook papers.  Simply download the A4 sheets of Christmas themed paper and print.  These reindeer's are lovely and are just one example of a vast range.

Be warned though; I used up all my colour cartridge printing about 18 sheets!*

And one further warning; this site has colouring sheets, word searches, advent calender templates, craft ideas galore.... you might need to grab a cuppa before you start browsing.



*Note:  This is not a sponsored post.  I just love the website. and wanted to share.

Paper Flowers Craft Project

How do I keep the children entertained during the summer holidays? 

I often plan in short little activities like this one.  It doesn't take long to set up, it keeps them busy between half an hour and an hour, and it's easy enough for the 3 year old to have a good go at too.

All you need is to provide them with a small selection of different coloured papers and tissue papers, a few straws, a couple of 'vases' (old mini cereal boxes, or jam jars for example), some glue, spreaders and appropriate scissors for the age. 

They'll also need three different sized bowls/cups to draw around to get the circles, which, in basic form, they just stick on top of each other, largest first.

I don't think there's much need for lots of instructions, as these are fairly self explanatory.  Younger children  may need help to add petals.  To do that, simply fold your largest circle of paper in quarters and open out again. Use the folds to ensure you draw even petal shapes around the edge  for them to cut out.

The pink rose is made by sticking the centre of many circles of tissue paper on top of each other on a circle of studier paper or card, then tease up the edges and let the glue hold the rose petals in place.


Simply stick the straws to the base of the vase by using the old sticky tac trick; a lump of sticky tac on the bottom of the vase to stick the straw in, or, if you are short of sticky tac, simply sellotape the straws to the edge of the vase on the inside.  Then fill the vase with scrunched up tissue paper.  They like scrunching up!

Have fun!

If you like this activity and you think your friends might to, then please share it with them on facebook, twitter or google+. 

I'd also love to see your creations! 

You can share them with me on the Yummy Mummy? Really? facebook page or send me them on Twitter @ymummyreally.

Have fun, enjoy the holidays, and bookmark this page to pop back later this week for a useful article on Starting School!

Fresh air and lots of fun!

Strawberry fields forever.....

Pick your own strawberries
A five minute drive and we were here.  Why I haven't done this before with my girls I don't know.  I am clearly an idiot.  Because the hour I spent with them, up on the strawberry field 'picking our own' at the local farm this week was the most enjoyable and relaxing hour we've had for a long time.

Not only did we all absolutely love it the fresh air, the views and the freedom; that pink spot in the middle of the photo is my girls by the way; we also came home with 1.5kg of freshly picked gorgeously sweet tasting strawberries for only £4.50, which included the price of the basket that you can bring back and re-use next time.


Try it.

How can you navigate a children's party with your principles intact?

Party games at children's parties have become something of a pet hate of mine.  Parties have become a battle ground anyway.  A battle of mums to provide the very best; in location, entertainment, music, party bags, games and cake. 

Growing up in the 80s parties were much less fraught with 'keeping up the Jones'.  They were very traditional affairs.  The expectation was limited to a game of pass the parcel, a single balloon with a piece of cake in a party bag, and a dance around to music in your mates lounge.

With a heaving trade in parties at a variety of locations you find yourself trooping off to bowling alleys, ski villages, soft play centres and steam railway centres.  That's to name just a selection of party venues I've taken one or the other of my girls to over the last couple of years.

But where ever you are there usually comes a point where there will be a party game.

When was it, and who was it, that decided that all the children who lost the party game would get treats?  Who decided this?  Since when did we celebrate those that lost more than the one that won?  Along with the usual "it's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts" speech, we are teaching our children to not care about winning?


With the Olympics coming to the UK I'm not sure this is the right message we should be giving.

Soft play centres are the worst offenders in my experience.  A game of pass the parcel deteriorates, as the children that take a layer off the parcel early in the game all receive a sweet, wrapped in the layer of paper they've pulled off.  Those children become uninterested in the game and disappear off to play.  There's no excitement about who is going to get to open the last layer.  It's such a shame.  My abiding memory of the game, the excitement as the parcel approached, and knowing it was nearly the last layer, but not being 100% certain.  Now, since everyone gets a prize, and often all of equal size, it really doesn't matter if you get the last layer, or indeed any layer, as even those that don't get to unwrap usually get to pick a sweet out of a box afterwards.

We've had a few parties at home for our girls and initially we caved to the pressure and wrapped mini presents within the layers, enough for all children, with a slightly bigger one in the final layer.

But I am tempted to rebel.  I am tempted to go back to traditional, nothing in the layers until the end, pass the parcel.  I am tempted to teach our children that they don't always win.  Surely we should teach our children to be competitive and want to win?
 
It was our daughter's 6th birthday this week. What did we choose to do to celebrate?  We went to the cinema with 9 of her friends.  At £1 a ticket, with a little extra for popcorn snack boxes and a party bag each with a little stationary set, balloon and party cake, it didn't break the bank and there was no need for games.  That's one way to side step the issue!  Maybe the rebellion starts next time?!

The National Trust: 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 years old

We have enjoyed some of our best days out at National Trust properties.  And my favourite memories of childhood are set outdoors; so I was really pleased to see that the National Trust's current campaign aims to get children back outside.

Climbing trees; building dams; making mud pies; digging for worms; these are activities that were pretty much all children did in the 70s, but which, in today's technology and health and safety obsessed age, seem to have disappeared, victims either to the lure of the DVD and games consoles, or to the wrap-in-cotton-wool mentality of parents.  According to the report commissioned by the National Trust three times as many children are taken to hospital having fallen out of bed, compared to falling out of a tree.  A third have never even climbed a tree and a shocking one in ten can't ride a bike.

You can pick up a scrapbook from any National Trust property and start ticking off the activities; then continue the fun at home; visiting the 50things website and earning points towards an explorer badge.  Although it would be slightly ironic if all the children simply 'logged on' to earn their badge, instead of actually getting outside!

This is a great idea; and if you want to get started; here's the list:

Sudbury Hall & the National Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you're flying in the wind
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Watch the sun wake up
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what's in a pond
36. Call an owl
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go wild swimming
43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Try abseiling
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

I'm afraid I'm fast approaching 40 years old and there are still 7 things on this list I haven't done yet.  I'll enjoy discovering those with my children.

Can you guess which ones?  Which have you done?

Chatsworth House Easter eggstravaganza! A review

If you are thinking of heading out for the day this weekend you wouldn't do much better than a day out at Chatsworth House.  The home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, this beautiful house is set in the heart of the Peak District in Derbyshire.  From the house, to the extensive gardens and grounds, to the farmyard and adventure playground, the farm shop and animal handling; there is something for everyone here.

And of course it's EASTER!  So this week, until the 15th April, Chatsworth plays host to the Easter Bunny (and cheeky he is too).  There are Easter Egg hunts throughout the day and with 2,500 mini eggs strewn all over a field (per hunt) it's a child's paradise!  There are Easter crafts in the Oak Barn, so that you can keep out of the rain (if it threatens) and make those all important bunny ears for yourself, or an Easter card for Nana.

The Easter Eggspress is trundling around the grounds at regular intervals throughout the day and it's from this brilliant tractor ride that you may spy the Easter Bunny himself.  Do you think he'll come over and say hello?  Of course he will.

If you manage to fit in an Easter Egg Hunt, Eggspress ride and craft session, you still need to leave time to enjoy the refurbished woodland adventure playground with new Rope Challenge finished only last week.

Tip 1:  But remember; take everyone's bucket and spade, wellington boots and spare clothes.  That sand gets everywhere and for some reason the children love the water!

For us, these activities filled the day; but you've still got the animal handling, milking demonstrations, farmyard daily talks, tours of the house, formal garden tours and a separate, more subdued, egg hunt in the gardens; where the eggs are less edible!

If you take a picnic, then a day out for 2 adults and 2 children (3yrs to 16 yrs) would set you back £17.10 for a family ticket entry to the farmyard and adventure playground*, £3 for car parking, £10 for four seats on the Eggspress and free entry into the Easter Egg Hunt (though you must remember to ask for your Egg Hunt tickets when you pay.  Easter crafting is free.  That's a total of £30.10 for a family of 4.  You'll also come home with children wearing bunny ears they've made themselves and with pockets full of mini Easter eggs from the hunt, as well as small bag of mini eggs from the Easter bunny!

On the basis of the smiles that were glued to our two girls' faces all day today; that's £30 well spent.

Tip 2:  HOWEVER, it's a very good idea to either arrive early (the farmyard opens at 10.30am, so be parked by 10am at the latest and queueing at the farmyard gate); OR, even better, book online and print your tickets before you arrive.

If you don't pre-book and arrive at around 11am, you'll be queueing for up to an hour.
If you do pre-book, there's a separate queue for that and you'll waltz right in.  (Chatsworth House members also get to use the fast queue!)

For details of the Easter activities and to book your tickets; click here. 

If you are travelling from further afield you can stay in Chatsworth's historic holiday cottages to give you more time to take in the beautiful surrounding countryside.  You'll find fine food and a bed and breakfast at the Devonshire Arms in Beeley; or indeed at the Devonshire Arms in Pilsley on the Chatsworth Estate.
 
And a final tip:  Take extra coats, jumpers, hats, scarfs and definitely gloves this weekend.  The temperature had dropped suddenly today and out there, in the Peaks, you notice it.  Go prepared.  The car park is so close, it doesn't matter if you end up popping them back in the car, just remember to get your hand stamped when leaving the farmyard, so you can get back in again!

For other ideas for crafts and baking activities to keep the children entertained this Easter please click here.

***

*£19.80 with gift aid resulting in a £2.70 voucher back to spend in the shop or restaurants.  If voucher is used, net cost is £17.10.  £18.00 without gift aid.

Please note:  this is an independent review based on our family's experience of Chatsworth House on Friday 6th April 2012.  No payment, gift or encouragement of any kind has been received by this author.  This blog prides itself on unbiased honest opinions of products and services.

Easter activities for the family

I am, for the first time, taking a risk and asking for fellow mummy bloggers to come over and share their Easter blog posts with us.

Be it crafting, cooking, taking a walk, visiting a particular tourist attraction in the UK; what are the best Easter activities this year to keep the whole family happy?

If you are a blogger and want to join in, simply write your post, link back to this page so that our readers can hop between entries, and click below to add your blog to the list, that I'll host here.

If you are visiting, then I hope you find some useful links appearing in the list below to fill your Easter with family fun!  And while you are waiting?  Try this list of activity songs to keep the children entertained or this recipe for Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Fingers crossed this works!  Enjoy!

How many after school activities are too many?

Gymnastics, Karate, Horse riding, Football, Rugby, Dancing, Swimming, Piano, Violin, Rainbows, Brownies, Scouts......the list goes on.

These are just some of the activities that mums ferry their children to on a weekly basis.  In the case of some of them, like dancing, it can actually mean three or four trips, as the basic repertoire of dance morphs into Tap, Ballet, Street and Acro (-batics), all on different days.

And it's expensive.  £40 for a batch of 10 Swimming lessons at the local leisure centre.  Similar amount for Gymnastics.  You are talking roughly £4 per class minimum.

2 children with 3 activities a week.  That's £24 per week.  And that's before the paraphernalia that comes with it.  For dancing it's £50 if your darling is going to perform one dance in the annual show; £100 if she's in two dances.  It covers the costume costs; which is funny because I distinctly remember the 80s when mums found a needle and thread themselves and rustled up the costumes for a few pounds.  And not only do you pay for the classes, and now the costume; you also pay for the privilege of coming to the show, 3 nights on the trot, not just to see darling perform, but to conduct your role of stagehand, getting them dressed and ready at the right time for the right dance piece.

Whatever the activity, be it football (boots, the latest kit (the 'right' kit), transport to tournaments and trips to watch the professionals), horse riding (riding boots, protective helmets and body armour, and... if you are not careful... an actual pony!?) or whatever takes your fancy; it's an incredibly expensive exercise to give our children the opportunity of discovering where their talents lie.  And I wonder where the limit is?

3 nights a week of activities after school?  4 nights?  When they are only 6 years old?  Are our children going to burn out before they hit secondary school?


What do you think?  How many activities are too many?  And at what age?

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Reading books for pre-schoolers.....

My eldest is currently reading a series of children's books at school about Biff and Chip.  It's an Oxford learning tree series and I'd never come across it before, because I obviously haven't read children's books for a good 30 years.

And so I've purchased the first six Peter and Jane books by Ladybird.  These are the books I remember fondly, and despite being a member of a family of hoarders, haven't managed to save.  I had to order them of course.  Books that are 30 years old don't tend to be regularly stocked on the high street!  But they are as good as I remember them, and seemingly completely unchanged and no worse off for it.  The eldest is enjoying them.

The process of thinking about learning to read though bought with it a strong, and sudden, memory out of seemingly nowhere.  A name popped into my head.  Billy Blue Hat.  And another.  Roger Red Hat.

To start with I didn't understand the memory.  The words came with a feeling of fondness, and a memory of bright colours.  So I did some quick research.  It turns out I'm remembering a series of 1970/80s books commonly known as the Roger Red Hat Books, but actually called the One Two Three and Away series.  More pictures on Childofthe80s.

Anyone else remember these!?  I'm wondering where I could now find a copy!

How to entertain two toddlers? Paint, paint and more paint!

It took 30 minutes, two newspapers, a lot of sticky tape and three aprons before I would allow my two girls (4yrs and 2yrs) anywhere near the large piece of paper that ended up being our 'underwater scene'!  The paper is made up of six sheets of smaller paper stuck together.  Newspaper protection was stuck across our kitchen floor and up the units to catch splashes.  The paper went on top (stuck down). We then spent the morning simply covering that paper with paint.  It's roughly 2 metres square!

It took two further craft sessions for us to draw the fishes and mermaids on coloured paper, cut them out, and stick on the tissue paper, cotton wool balls etc to decorate.  Cheeky Monkey No.1 drew the red fish herself.  The rest of the drawing she had help with.  Cheeky Monkey No. 2 sat stiller than I've ever seen her sit, simply staring at us painting, and occasionally dipping her fingers in a green paintpot.  Talk about well behaved!

I saw this done on Supernanny a couple of years ago, and it worked just as well for us as it did for them.

We did this months ago now, but I thought I'd share it before I take it down off the wall.  It's time for something new.  Watch this space!

Messy, but fun..... Let the painting begin!

Keeping Them Entertained.......

Found a fab list of tricks to keep the kids entertained.....

http://www.carrotsandkids.com/2010/08/summer-fun-7.html

How to keep the Children Entertained!

When the girls are winding me up. Or winding each other up. I firmly shout "Song Time" over the din.

Grab our cushions. One each. All sit down on the carpet in a circle and sing songs.

Not just any old songs. And not the current iTunes top ten. But traditional, action songs.

Here's my list. Sing loud. Have a dance. And above all be silly! Have fun!

Traditional
Incy Wincy Spider (involving lots of tickling!)
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Horsey Horsey
Old MacDonald had a Farm
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Five Little Ducks
I Hear Thunder, I Hear Thunder!
If you’re happy and you know it
Hokey Cokey
Ring O Roses
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Jack & Jill
One Finger, One Thumb, Keep Moving
This Old Man, He Played One
The Farmer’s In His Den
This Little Piggy
Round & Round the Garden
Humpty Dumpty
Pat a Cake
The Wheels on the Bus
Rock a Bye Baby
Oranges & Lemons
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Sing a Song of Sixpence
The Grand of Duke of York
Pop goes the Weasel

The Rest
Jingle Jangle Scarecrow
Red Tractor
Five Teddy Bears Jumping on the Bed
Five Little Speckled Frogs
Terrible Crocodile
Animal Fair
There were Five in the Bed and the little one said….
Roly Poly, Roly Poly
Wind the Bobbin Up
Five Current Buns in the Baker’s Shop
I’m a Little Teapot
Hickory, Dickory Dock
One Man Went to Mow
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Touch your nose….
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Teddy Bears
Here we go round the Mulberry Bush
The Sun has got his hat on
Two Little Dicky Birds

Children's Books - Which one's do I pick?!

I've been buying and reading books since before I can remember. I have always been a 'reader'. One of those children that, when I wasn't at dance class, always had my nose in some book or other. I love stories. I get so involved in books that, if someone asks me a question whilst I am reading, there's a short delay (while my brain processes the question, taps me on the shoulder, and asks politely if I want to respond to this particular question) and then I answer it, or more commonly, because by this point I have no real memory of the question, say "Pardon?". The delay makes my husband laugh, when it's not irritating him! It's like talking to me via satellite. I'm sure people think I'm ignoring them, or doing it on purpose, but I promise I'm not!


So what books do you select for a baby, toddler, little girl, when you are a big reader yourself, and have such a specific view on what you like and dislike?


Well, I've tried to be as open as possible. To regularly visit my local library (most libraries do a weekly 'story time' session for babies and toddlers which is free!). I allow my daughters to look through the children's books themselves (no matter what mess they make in the process - I simply do a quick tidy up when we're finished). I try and let my girls to pick the story books themselves and not 'edit' their choices with comments like "Oh, that one doesn't look very good ,love, how about this one instead". Though I still do that more than I'd like.


As a result of letting them pick, we've discovered some gems! I thought I'd share them here.


My 4 year olds' favourite story at the moment is "Fancy Nancy". Written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, published by HarperCollins Children's Books originally in the U.S.A in 2006, then in Great Britain in 2007, it's a 32 page picture book about Nancy and was a Number 1 New York Times bestseller. Nancy loves being fancy. Sparkly shoes, feather boas, flower covered hats and ACCESSORIES! It's a brilliant story that my daughter clearly identifies with. And there are another 5 in the series. Only, be prepared to get a little bit fancier yourself! http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/ (then enter Fancy Nancy into the Search engine on the top right.)


Julia Donaldson has obviously written one of the most famous of children's stories, "The Gruffalo". It's one that the elder has only just got into. But one of her utmost favourites over the last 3 years has been Julia's picture book "Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose". Illustrated by Nick Sharratt and published by Macmillan Children's Books, it's a 24 page picture book about a dinner party for animals. Good manners are few, but fun is had by all. It's a lovely, rhyming story, with excellent pictures and opportunity for practising animal noises if you want to get imaginative! Though I'm not sure what noises the Gazelle and Hyena may make! http://www.panmacmillan.com/ (and enter the title into the search engine)


A recent discovery for my 4 year old is "The Fabulous Fairy Feast" written and illustrated by Sue Heap and published by Egmont. A 32 page picture book (with 2 pages that open out to the side for the scene in the wood! This story is, again, beautifully written. It isn't a rhyming story, but it does have some lovely little rhyming sections. The pace of the writing is excellent, making it fun to read out loud. And I particularly like the fact that Lizzie Little-Fairy has a pet frog called Burp and a flying pink bicycle! http://www.egmont.co.uk/ (again search for the title)


Finally a couple of choices for the 1 year old in the family.


Firstly a set of books illustrated by Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo's illustrator!), published by Campbell Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Books. The collection of 4 books is called "Animal Rhymes", and contains "Freddy the Frog", "Lizzie the Lamb", "Katie the Kitten" and "Pip the Puppy". Short rhyming 8 page story books with beautiful pictures, with plenty for little fingers to point out. http://www.panmacmillan.com/ (search for title)


Secondly, the classic of course, Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". No need for fancy furry bits in the book. No need for flaps, or pull outs. Just a few well chosen holes where the little caterpillar has eaten. Watch the giggling start when you put your fingers at the back of the page to tickle your child's finger when they put it through the holes! It does mean that there is one particular page (where the caterpillar eats a long list of scrumptious foods) that is a favourite, and it's hard to get the story moving past that page! Oh well. Never mind! http://www.puffin.co.uk/ (search by title)


I hope that gives you some ideas. I've added the links to the book publishers for more information, and if you like the look of them you should be able to get them from local libraries, even if you order them (which you can do for free!).


Have fun reading!