Sharing Stories ~ MARCH 2024

All the stories we shared with families at our Stay and play sessions this month.  For loads of great story inspiration keep reading...

What I Read ~ MARCH 2024

Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson and illustrated by the award-winning Tim Hopgood. Thos is the first in a new series from Magic Cat Publishing called Picture a Poem, introducing little ones to the world's best loved poems, brought to life in pictures to inspire conversation, curiosity and a love of language. I absolutely love this - Tim Hopgood is one of my favourite picture book illustrators and expanding the reach of poetry is one of my goals for 2024.  

Story Café ~ MARCH 2024

Story Café is a stay and play  session with a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion.  This month we shared...

Barbara Throws a Wobbler by Nadia Shireen. 

Published by Penguin Books. Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/b/barbara-throws-a-wobbler/. Thanks to Book Trust for an extra copy of the book to gift to a local family. This is a brilliant story about emotions, letting the wobbler take over, and calming the wobbler so they go away.  Barbara throws a big one, so big she doesn't even want an ice cream or a hug.  But she soon gets to know the wobbler and learns how to make it go away.  Will it come back though? Almost certainly. 

Here's what we did... 

Sharing Stories ~ FEBRUARY 2024

All the stories we shared with families this month.   Read on for more...

Sharing stories with families at First Steps Norwich CIC. Part of the NR3 Stories for families project, supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and Norfolk's Early Childhood and Family Service. 

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What I Read ~ FEBRUARY 2024

Story Cafe | FEBRUARY 2024

These sessions have a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion. 

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson.

Published by Walker Books. Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/o/owl-babies/ 

Sharing Stories ~ JANUARY 2024

Sharing stories with families at First Steps Norwich CIC through stay and play sessions and special Story Cafe sessions, and with local childminders at our Childminder Support Group.  

Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara

If you're happy and you know it by Jane Cabrera

Polar, Polar bear what do you hear? by Bill Martin KJr and illustrated by Eric Carle

Angelica Sprocket's Pockets by Quentin Blake

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

Where's Mr Astronaut? by Ingela A. Arrhenius

Zoom to the Moon, a Space Baby pat-a-cake book illustrated by Kat Uno

Blog | www.itsallaboutstories.blogspot.co.uk

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What I Read ~ JANUARY 2024

All my book reviews and everything I read in January 2024.

What I Read ~ DECEMBER 2023

Childminding Stories | Supporting local Childminders in 2023

 

2023 saw the launch of our Childminder Support Group at First Steps Norwich CIC.  

What I Read ~ Best of 2023

 

My selection of fiction, nonfiction, children's picture books and more ... from 2023 ... in pictures.

Board Book - That's how much I Love You bu Julie . Rudi and Tiphanie Beeke (Graffeg)

A Story Cafe | Aliens love Panta Claus

 

Today we shared Aliens love Panta Claus bt]y Claire Freedman and Ben Cort.  The children all love space rockets at the moment so this is a lovely choice with a Christmassy take on the Aliens love Underpants stories.

Here's what we did in pictures...

What I Read ~ November 2023

All I read in November 2023, novels, nonfiction, children's pictue books and more...

A Story Cafe | Luna loves Library Day

 

This time we shared Luna loves Library Day by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Fiona Lumbers.  It's a lovely story of a little girl called Luna whose Mum drops her off at the library to meet Dad, all ready with her book bag, library card, and books to return.  Luna and Dad look at some books and chose some for Luna to take home.  In the middle of the book, we are treated to a book in a book - the fairy story that Luna's Dad reads to her at the library.  One of the lovleiest moments in the book is when Luna chooses a book about magic tricks to take home - maybe she can magic Dad back home with her and Mum.

A Story Cafe | The Happy Hedgehog Band

 

This week at Story Cafe we shared The Happy Hedgehog Band by Jill Barton.  

What I read ~ September and October 2023

Summer by Ali Smith. Set in Summer, in different years, but partly in 2020, beautifully articulating lockdown. But also about brothers and sisters, in different times and from different places, with the common thread of change and coping with change. Part of the author's Seasonal Quartet, and one of the first novels to tackle Covid and all it brought.  Published by Penguin Books. Find out more here - https://www.waterstones.com/book/summer/ali-smith/9780241973370

STORY CAFE ~ The Paper Dolls

This week, we shared The Paper Dolls  by Juila Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb.  Here they are (the paper dolls not the author and illustrator...) - Ticky and Tacky and Jackie the Backy and Jim with 2 Noses ans Joe with the Bow.

And on their adventures they meet ... a tiger, a crocodile, a dinosaur, the pigs at the farm, a jar of honey and a bus, and they lie down in the green grass.

STORY CAFE ~ Cock-a-doodle-doo! Farmyard Hullabaloo

Story Cafe is about inspiring a love of books and stories within families and early years settings.  

What I read ~ July and August 2023

A Story Café | How do Dinosaurs go to School

Some of the children who come to Story Cafe are off to big school in September, some are off to nursery or preschool, and some will be coming back to see us in September.  So our stories today are about transitions to school, or nursery.  But babies, toddlers and young children go through many transitions just within a day, going out of the house to go shopping, going to the childminder or Grandma's house, going for a nap or to bed at the end of the day.  Sometimes it's good to remember that we all deal with transitions like these in different ways, all of which are OK, and sometimes it's hard, anmd someines we just need a little bit more time.

A Story Café | Nen and the Lonely Fisherman

At today's Story Cafe we shared the lovely tale of a Merman called Nen, and a lonely fisherman called Ernest, written by super picture book author Ian Eagleton and illustrator James Mayhew, and published by Owlet Press.  We need to say a massive thanks to Sam from Owlet Press who sent us a copy of the book to gift to one lucky family whose name was drawn out of the hat.

We started off by having a chat about children's communication and language development, using the pyramid model.  We emphasis that early communication and language development is all about chatting as you play and go about daily life - as we do this, children develop their listening and attention skills, and then begin to understand  as they connect words with objects, people and actions.  

We shared the story, with some fishy props, and when the big storm came, and Nen was searching for Ernest, the children were really excited to spot him in the sea.  We sang "12345 once I caught a fish alive" as that was the only fishy song I could remember!  

What I read | May and June 2023

We're all wonders by R.J. Palacio. A picture book from the author of Wonder, and illustrated by the author. It's the story of a little boy called Auggie who knows he's not an ordinary kid, he feels ordinary but doesn't look ordinary. His feelings are hurt everyday by people's words and gestures, so putting on his NASA space helmet allows him to zoom off to imaginary places, where he sees that actually everyone is unique and different . His dog, Mum, Dad and sister Via all think he is amazing. But the message is powerful. Auggie can't change the way he looks, but people can change the way they see. And if they do they will see that Auggie is a wonder, and that they are all wonders too. 

Empathy Week June 2023

A pictorial guide to the picture books we shared this week, some basics about Empathy, and links to further resources.

What is Empathy?  "The ability to understand and share the feelings of another", including 

A Story Café | The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This time at Story Café we shared The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  The classic story of an egg, a caterpillar, a cocoon and a beautiful butterfly.