Children's Book Review :: The Safari Set

The Safari Set is a stunning children's book from designer Mibo.  Written by Madeleine Rogers, The Safari Set is part of a collection of bright, design-lead children's books which also includes The Polar Pack and The Jungle Crew.  The books each include a set of paper pop-out animals to make a secne that matches the story.

The hardback book of The Safari Set is filled witch striking colours, bold shapely designs and fun animal characters.  I felt that the design was brilliant and eye catching but that the content was a bit lacking.  The text is a bit like a poem; short rhyming verses about each of the safari animals - lion, giraffe, zebra, hippo and elephant.

Lara (age 5) is easily able to read this story and she had enjoyed reading it (complete with ROOAARRRRRS) to her little sister (2).  I think this would be a fun picture book to read to a baby or toddler because of the bright colours and the recognisable animals.

At the back of the book is a little paper pocket which contains sheets of printed paper with pop-out patterns to make paper animals to recreate the story and its scenes.  This is the most fun part of the book.

Lara was able to cut out and shape the animals herself (although her little sister's help wasn't really appreciated) and it really bought the book to life for her as she cross-referenced each animal to the parts of the book that describe their behaviour.

The Safari Set is published by Button Books and costs around £12.99.

  

Kid Zinger - Juice Water Maker Review

The Kid Zinger is a clever little drinking bottle that helps your children make their own flavoured water.  I've noticed a lot of the kids in Lara's class take a bottle of water or fruit squash to school with them and I think the Kid Zinger would make a perfect school flask as well.

The Kid Zinger is a combined water bottle and citrus press.  Put your favourite citrus fruit into the base, give it a little squeeze and then leave to infuse.  You can leave it in the fridge for as long as you like to take on the flavours.  You're not limited to citrus fruits though, the base at the bottom has a course filter so you could put lots of different fruits, vegetables, spices or herbs into the base so that they can infuse into the water.

I think the Kid Zinger is a great idea for helping us to reduce the amount of fruit juice and squash that my two girls drink while keeping them interested in water.

Start-Rite Shoes - a School Shoe Update!

4 weeks into term and I thought I would update you on how Lara's Start-Rite Shoes are coming on.

Firstly, as suspected, Lara refused to wear her shoes for the whole of the first week of term.  This is not unusual for Lara who is VERY fussy when it comes to shoes, clothes and underwear!  I think Lara was a bit wary of the squishy heart under her sole as she had never felt anything like it but after convincing her to try the shoes one morning on the walk to school, she realised that it was actually incredibly comfortable and was an instant convert!

So, the school shoes have been worn every day for three school weeks. There has been hopscotch, skipping and a new found passion for walking to school with Daddy.  Lara loves these shoes now.

Week one

Week two

Week three

The shoes are coping well.  There is a bit of wear on the very tips of the toes which makes me think I may need to polish them some time soon (not something I'm in the habit of!!!).  We have also already had a shoe casualty with one of the little shoe charms having sheered off; Lara saved the charm in her book bag but it wasn't recoverable so I'm going to have to find her another charm to clip into the side of that shoe.  There are a couple of loose threads but the shoe structure is sound and the shoes still look smart, with no unsightly creases in the leather.

You can find out more about fitted shoes and foot measuring from Start-rite on facebook and twitter.