Sep 23 2014

2014):

Posted on September 23, 2014 by admin

Any Gruffalo fans out there? Yep, thought so!

How about winning this then?

A goody bag,15th anniversary edition of The Gruffalo book, DVD, plush toy and the app - worth £25

It just so happens that our most loved children’s character is also venturing out of his cave and onto our screens once again with the launch of The Gruffalo: Games mobile app

With this super cool app, children will be able to test The Gruffalo’s quick-thinking and super smart moves in a series of simple but classic games, helping complement the key skills they’ll learn at pre- and primary school. The Gruffalo: Games mobile app has been designed by Oscar-nominated entertainment company, Magic Light Pictures, and is based on the much-loved picture book, The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It’s the follow-up to the popular Room on the Broom app which was launched by Magic Light Pictures in October 2013The games are based on traditional and well-known children’s games that everyone will be familiar with, including snap, three-in-a-row (otherwise known as noughts and crosses), matching and jigsaws – but each with a monstrous twist! Even better, in two of the games, 3 In A Row and Snap, children are able to play against The Gruffalo himself, who, despite his terrible tusks and terrible claws, is surprisingly good at card games. Children will find plenty of challenge trying to beat him!

The beautifully designed and illustrated app is aimed at 3-7 year olds and features six games set to music from the films. The Gruffalo: Games mobile app captures the essence of the stories by featuring both The Gruffalo and other popular characters from the book, including Mouse, Owl, Fox and Snake.

It seemed a great time to launch the The Gruffalo: Games mobile app this year as it coincided with The Gruffalo’s 15^th anniversary celebrations… The games are fun, challenging and encourage imagination and we’re thrilled that The Gruffalo’s many fans will be able to enjoy them as much as we do! Martin Pope, co-founder of Magic Light Pictures

Dexter’s been loving this app even if at age 2, he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing! We’ve read The Gruffalo to him since he was a baby and it’s a frequent bedtime story request. The colours are so bright and vivid, they perfectly complement the imagery within the book. For Dexter it’s like entering its pages and he gets so excited whenever the Gruffalo’s paws appear.

The Gruffalo: Games mobile iOS app is available to download from the App Store now and is priced at just £2.99.

* GIVEAWAY *

As a celebration of its launch, the kind folks at Gruffalo HQ have had a rummage around in his cave. They’ve put together the most wonderful bundle of limited edition goodies for one lucky fan! To recap, you’ll win a goody bag,15th anniversary edition of The Gruffalo book, DVD, plush toy and the app - worth £25!

To enter, just follow the rafflecopter form below. Good luck guys!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T&C’s – a.k.a – the boring bit!

Only 1 option is mandatory (leave me a comment) – the rest only improve your chances of winning so just complete as many as you feel like
UK entrants only – you must be over 18 too (sorry)
The winner will be contacted by email and must respond within 1 week of having been emailed (I’ll try all known avenues to contact them) or a new winner will be drawn
When the giveaway is closed, Rafflecopter will select the winner completely at random
The winners name will be published on this site

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Sep 19 2014

Back to School with Collins Learning Resources!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by admin

I’m desperately late posting this. I can only blame it on the fact that Dexter is not yet at school, and I don’t drive so haven’t had school-run traffic to remind me that little people everywhere are once again donning pinafore dresses and nylon ties. Yep, whereas every other mum is back to work and going through the trauma that is The School Morning Routine, I’m still in bed at 9am!

Before you all douse your laptop in orange juice as a dirty protest, I do have something useful to share with mummy’s of school age children; A range of books from Collins Back to School Learning Resources …And I better crack on with this review before the very beautiful PR girls start dishing out slapped wrists!

I signed up a few months ago to review a couple of their books. I was expecting a few pre-school workbooks and one of their award-winning picture dictionaries and atlases. I was therefore shocked & chuffed to bits by their generosity when this lot arrived! They’ve provided me with a selection of books from the KS1 and KS2 range, covering Dexter academically from age 3 right up to age 11. It includes…

Collins Children’s Picture Atlas

Collins Primary Atlas

My First Dictionary and Children’s Junior Illustrated Dictionary (6+)

Collins French Club & Spanish Club (for foundation level languages)

Collins Junior Thesaurus

Collins Easy Learning French, English and Maths (Ages 5-7)

Collins Starting School Books - 1 & 2 (For Preschoolers)

From preschool right up to A-Level, Collins covers every stage of a child’s education. Whether it be a trusted dictionary, accompanying thesaurus, handy atlas or appropriate learning book, Collins definitely has it covered.

As you can see, it’s a real bounty of reference & exercise books for Dexter! I’m seriously impressed with the quality & variety of exercises provided to support Dexter’s learning. I love how children are encouraged to work inside the books and make them their own. Although this means you’re unlikely to pass them down to the next generation, it means Dexter will be taking some responsibility for his own learning. It also means Craig and I can tutor Dexter alongside his academic studies.

When I went to primary school, foreign languages weren’t on the curriculum. I’m so out of touch with this, that I didn’t realise they are now compulsory for children at KS2 (7+). This is a very welcome overhaul in my opinion. I speak semi-fluent French (I can order a round of alcoholic drinks in a bar at least!) and love the idea of kids being given the opportunity to get a head-start on their secondary school language studies. The French Club series (available in other languages too) is fabulous as it comes with an audio CD and stickers too - adding an element of interactivity to their learning.

This is what makes these books exceptional in my opinion. It’s difficult for parents to stay abreast of every curriculum change - even big ones like the addition of new subjects! Collins books are completely up to date with the latest curriculum and allow mum & dad to better support their child’s learning - all in a user-friendly package for children. The illustrations (particularly in the picture atlas) are really engaging, and the exercises are clearly explained.

Here’s a video review to explain all the books in more detail. Dexter was supposed to join me for filming, but was on the naughty step for painting his baby sister in chocolate mousse! Apologies for the shaky video - I’ve sacked the cameraman!

Without a doubt, Collins have surpassed expectations for me as a parent. I always knew they were a tour de force in the educational arena - but I’m shocked just how relevant, interesting and thorough these resources are. I can’t wait to get started!

Collins is offering parents the chance to get 30% off their range of Back to School books until 30 September 2014. Simply use promo code SCHOOLBAG30 at Collins.co.uk

What’s more, parents can enter a competition to win one of 50 bundles of books for their child in a Collins branded school bag at Collins.co.uk/backtoschool

May 14 2013

REVIEW: Penwizard Personalised Publishing: Ideal Present for Birthday Boys & Girls

Posted on May 14, 2013 by admin

I recently blogged about what a wicked mother I am, and my plans to blag my way through Dexter’s first birthday. It’s so tough deciding what to buy for a first birthday - friends and family are bound to go overboard on clothes, you already have enough toys to open a charity shop in your lounge, and they’re too young for bikes and mini scooters. My initial instinct was to simply not bother, but looking at his little face every morning, I can’t stand the thought of not getting him anything.

When Penwizard contacted me about reviewing a personalised Peppa Pig book, I was really excited. I’ve read dozens of reviews on Penwizard Personalised Publishing before, and had always meant to Dex a book. I love the idea of reading him a story that he features in and was instantly drawn to the Peppa Goes to Your Childs Party book - could this be any more appropriate?

Your child stars in the words and pictures of her own personalised birthday book sharing her birthday with Peppa Pig and George. The three of them deliver party invitations with Mr. Zebra in his van before being joined by Suzy Sheep, Danny Dog, Rebecca Rabbit, Pedro Pony, Emily Elephant and Candy Cat at your child’s birthday party.

How seriously cute is this?! Could this be the perfect present to buy a birthday boy or girl? At just £14.99 it’s a great value little keepsake for tiny tots to mark their special day, from mummy and daddy, or indeed grandparents.

Creating the personalised book was easy. Penwizard have a 1 page editing suite so you are not scrolling through pages and pages to complete the process. You can specify your childs gender, hair, skin, and eye colour, add or remove glasses, and of course enter the all important name and age. This suite is so simple and faff-free that it takes less than a minute to move through to the checkout.

Additional features I simply loved was the option to add a short message to your child on page 1. This is an extra layer of personalisation and just makes the gift extra special. I have a memory box for Dexter that is filled with things I’ve collected throughout his life; from sea shells from holiday, to his birth band, to newspapers from the day he was born. I’m sure in a few years time this book will make its way into his box - it’s the first ever book that has been ‘dedicated to him’ (hopefully he’ll marry the next J K Rowling, or publish his own auto biography when he plays rugby for England and there’ll be plenty more!).

The book is 21 x 28 cm, with a glossy cover, which is great for reading to children. The illustrations on all the pages cover the entire page so there’s plenty for tiny readers to absorb and engage with. There’s also a healthy amount of text spread over 24 pages which is good to see in a children’s book. I’m often offering Dexter 4 books a night as they’re over so quickly.

All in all, I’d have to see I’m impressed. My only criticism *** would be that I’d like to see the books offered in hardback too. Dexter has a tendency to eat paper (his daddy’s tax return was a personal highlight) so this tends to deter him from lunging at the pages with the fervour of an Augustus Gloop reincarnation let loose in a Haribo factory. As a book to read with supervision, and cherish for a life-time though, it’s a big thumbs up from us.

*** I’m told this will be happening in just a few weeks and you’ll be able to have them in hardback - Whoop!!!!

There are plenty of other titles available including: Personalised Peppa Pig: Your child and Peppa go to Playgroup, Personalised Peppa Pig: Peppa and Your Child go Swimming, Personalised Football Book: Your Child Plays for <Insert Team>, Personalised Wizard Book: Your Child at Wizard School, Personalised Fifi Books: Your Child in Flowertot Garden.

If you’d like to order one, head on over to the website, follow Penwizard on Twitter, and like them on Facebook. There are also a number of other reviews available on their G+ page (well done Penwizard for embracing social media!).

DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Penwizard we received this book in time for Dexter’s birthday. This was complimentary in return for this review, and spreading the word about their fabulous range of personalised books. Thanks Penwizard - you’ve made my little birthday boy very happy!