Turn it Up Doris!

Sam Lloyd
Templar Publishing
ISBN: 9781848774650

Turn it Up Doris!

You might remember Calm Down Boris!, a puppet book selected as a highlight by Richard & Judy. This is the follow-up - Boris' little sister Doris who, unlike Boris, is very quiet.

Doris's mouth, like Boris's, is a furry glove which the reader uses to animate the story with singing, shaking and shivering. Children are encouraged during the story to stroke Doris' furry face to encourage her to be a little braver - and louder.

I've tested the book and it works, young children get totally absorbed by Doris and are very willing strokers. This is a fun book with bundles of entertainment value.

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The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes for Your Baby

Mary Ann Hoberman
Hachette Children's Books
ISBN: 9781408304587

The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes for Your Baby

This collection of classic nursery rhymes, beautifully illustrated, will be a welcome gift to mums with young babies - one that they can revisit as their child grows. As well as being fun, nursery rhymes are a great introduction to the rhythms and sounds of our language.

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Black and White Buggy Buddies - Baby's Day

Jo Moon
Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9780230743458

Black and White Buggy Buddies - Baby's Day

Black and white books are perfect for babies as the high-contrast images helps them to focus their eyes and begin to understand objects in the world around them.

This book is also a 'buggy buddy' version, so it can be easily attached to a pram or be grasped by little hands when you're out an about.

The bold and chunky books is one of a series and it has a high quality mirror at the end to show baby whose day we are talking about. The images are simple and high contrast combined with patterns that increase in complexity as you go through the book.

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Ants in Your Pants

Guy Parker-Rees
Hachette Children's Books
ISBN: 9781408305249

Ants in Your Pants

This is the kind of book that will appeal to toddlers and which they can continue to enjoy as they get older. It has everything - pants, bottoms, ants in pants and a birthday party!

It also has a great rhyming text by Julia Jarman, something that always gets the interest of young children who love listening to the rhythm of language.

'Cool' leopard is throwing a party and decides to invite all the animals, except Aardvark who 'only eats ants and cucumbers... And he slurps them down in one go!'. Leopard also makes the mistake of not inviting the ants - so Big Ant decides to exact his revenge by getting all the ants to play his favourite party game, biting bottoms, until Aardvark saves the day.

Guy Parker-Rees' illustrations are also spot on with plenty of humour and bottom-scratching animal fun!

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Maisy Goes on Holiday

Lucy Cousins
Walker Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781406323702

Maisy Goes on Holiday

Sunhat, camera, books - Maisy is packing for holiday and she's very excited. The story shows Maisy on her journey from the train station and all the way to the sea.

There's lots for Maisy to do at the beach and she loves staying in the hotel.

Like the other Maisy 'first experiences' book, this is a brightly coloured, simple introduction to going on holiday that glances at all the exciting things to do while staying by the sea with an emphasis on friendship, fun and activities.

It is a gentle and reassuring book for any small child who is about to enjoy their first holiday - or to reflect on their experiences once they are home.

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Moomin's Little Book of Words

Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780141328744

Moomin's Little Book of Words

Based on the iconic Moomin books by Tove Jansson, babies will enjoy seeing everyday objects such as book, moon, apple and cup brought to life by this playful little Moomn. Each spread is created with bright, contrasting colours.

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Hide and Seek First Words

Dk
Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781405351737

Hide and Seek First Words

This is an enticing book of surprising and colourful photographic spreads that encourage toddlers to learn a variety of everyday words and objects. Each spread is themed according to the everyday world of a toddler, including clothes, vehicles, bathtime or animals. The images are on the left of the page and children are challenged to find the same image in the photographic picture on the right of the page. When they find the object, they say the word.
This isn't a bedtime book, it is for sharing during the day when young toddlers are looking for a challenge and an exercise that will keep a carer's attention fully on their achievements. Great fun, and beautifully presented.

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Dear Zoo Buggy Book

Rod Campbell
Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 0230747736

Dear Zoo Buggy Book

It's great to see this classic story being made available in a 'buggy buddy' format. A boy goes to the zoo to find a pet. The zoo tries to find the best pet for him, sending him one after another, but the elephant is too big, the giraffe too tall, and so it goes on.
Children will love gradually coming to recognise and learn the names of all these different animals and lifting each flap to find out what animal is in the box or cage.

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Not Me!

Nicola Killen
Egmont Childrens Books
ISBN: 9781405248303

Not Me!

'Who's been eating all the cake? Not me, said Jake'. Jane hasn't been playing in the rain and Bertie hasn't made the carpet dirty... A gorgeous book that celebrates everything that mucky young toddlers can get up to from dirt on the carpets to handprints on the wall.

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Squeaky Book

Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 140930051X

Squeaky Book

Babies and young toddlers will enjoy exploring the touchy feely elements on this page. The squeaky element is given a fresh look on each page, enticing young children to enjoy the noise again and again.

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Mr.Pusskins Feelings

Sam Lloyd
Hachette Children's Books
ISBN: 1408300451

Mr.Pusskins Feelings

The Mr Pusskins picture book character is now available in board books for younger children. Mr Pusskins and his friends grapple with a range of emotions in one of these first concept books. Also see Colours, Numbers and Opposites.

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Dogs

Emily Gravett
Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 0230704220

Dogs

For those that love dogs - good dogs, bad dogs, big or small - and those that don't. This is a wonderful introduction to opposites that will have children and grown-ups alike giggling at the illustrations and the twist in the tail....

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Old Macdonald!

Emily Hawkins
Templar Publishing
ISBN: 1904513654

Old Macdonald!

This traditional song is given a modern baby twist in this board book with bold, colourful designs on each spread and 'touchy feely' patches that your child will love to explore.

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