New Picture Books | from Penguin Random House | Christmas 2016

I have strayed away slightly from my usual remit today, and am reviewing a couple of gift books for Christmas for families with children of all ages.  But I don't mind because these are really lovely.

A Labybird Book of Colouring.

This is pure nostalgia as well as being a beautiful colouring book.  It's hardback cover and cover illustration make it instantly recognisable as a Ladybird classic.  But open it up and there are 24 original cover designs from ladybird books over the years to colour.  This would make a lovely present for fans of Ladybird books or those who love to colour.  Cover illustrations include Cinderella, The Ladybird Book of London, Learning to Sew, and How it works : The computer.  Reminds me of all the Ladybird books I had as a child, and you can even colour in the old classic "Easy to make puppets" which I still have on a bookshelf somewhere here!

The Very Arty Box,

... is a box, not a book!  But it really is a "box of delights".  Open it up to find 52 postcards and activity cards, one for each week of the year, covering all sorts of things from colouring-in and creative writing prompts to things to make.  All of this inspired by pieces from the collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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[Thanks to the publishers Penguin Random House for sending me these books]