Allotments 4 All

My Grand-daughter, aged 4, has enjoyed a very old Paddington Bear picture book (belonged to her uncle), very old fashioned but great fun.  She also loves a book by Pippa Goodheart called "You Choose", packed full of illustrations with lots to talk about on each page.  We both have a lot of fun with "The Smartest Giant in Town" (same author as the "Gruffalo"), especially when we sing the giant's song together. 
If you would like a book about Christmas, I thoroughly recommend "Mary's first Christmas" by Walter Wangerin.  The illustrations are superb, and the book gives a very different perspectective on the Christmas story (Mary tells the story of his birth to the child Jesus, as a series of bed-time stories. ) I started reading it to Ella at the weekend, and she loved it, although I think an older child would get even more out of it.

 Wow! Thank you all so much for the super response, you have given me tons of ideas and links , I am so very grateful to you all. Years ago I used to always buy books at Christmas for children and had sort of got out of the habit, with all your help I hope to put that right this year.

Digeroo.. no I wouldn't be offended as I would presume there was a good wholesome reason for the request. Without going into too much detail, which would be inappropriate  here,I need to find an author who  can relate to a child from a mixed marriage that is surrounded by books which only have white children in them and it is causing him a problem.

Thank you all again.

XX Jeannine 

Try here for mixed race childrens books.  http://www.intermix.org.uk/books/Books_child.asp

Have been looking at childrens books for my niece recently and they all seem so much more gender stereotyped than they used to be. I used to love action-adventure stories, but now they are all filed under boys stuff. And dont get me started on toys.... my neice's favorite toy is a pink vacuum cleaner [Aunty beats head against wall]

I like to go into the children's section and have a mooch and choose what I find appeals to me.Sadly my youngest Grandchild only wants to know Thomas The Tank at the mo,I am an expert on Thomas and his mates now   ;D

When I was a kid I loved Enid and found her books a world away from my inner city surroundings.I loved that.Then the experts told us that people should only have books that related to the kids .I never wanted that.I could live inner city everyday.I wanted my books to tell me about something else.  :)

Later on in childhood discovered the old children's writer Malcolm Saville,loved his books,went to Hay one year and found out that there was Malcolm Saville Society,joined up quick.We have an AGM weekend every year and explore the locations of his books and eat lots of food and generally enjoy ourselves,my fave location is Rye.

Thank you all again!! With all your help I have managed very easily to get 6 books from Amazon CA and they will be delivered in time for Christmas. Your ideas gave me some wonderful starting points plus I almost bought myself some Enid Blyton after the prompts(still might) I remember well reading those as a child  and felt very nostalgic but needed more time to decide.

I really am very grateful to you all.  I am unable to physically Christmas shop for more than an hour or so it was a feel good day when I completed the order.

You are a good bunch you know XX Jeannine

Oops forgot to tell you what I got!!

Where the Wild Things are.. bang on right for the child I bought  it for.

In The Night Kitchen, again a super story set in a bakers, absolutely right as most of the family run bakeries!!

Stellaluna for my darling little friend who loves bats and birds.

The New Way Things Work, for the potential scientist in our crowd.

For my two mixed race grandchildren I bought

Please Puppy Please, a story about a new puppy .It is perfect as I bought a much wanted  poodle puppy for the family to replace an older who had passed away. The smallest boy has bonded very close to the puppy but gets very exasperated when it misbehaves.

For the older boy I bought He Has The Whole World In His Hands a rather nice book that will fit this child to a tee.

The illustrations in both of the above are very appropriate for them.

Thanks yet again XX Jeannine

sounds like a perfect selection Jeanine, but I think the greatest gift these children will receive is the care you have taken to get them something just right for each one of them- they are so blessed to have you in their lives!

I have ordered from Amazon some "Let's read and find out science" books for my grandchildren, stage 2 for the four year old and stage 2 for the seven year old. 

My granddaughter, who will be 5 in January, is very observant and always asking questions.  When she was with me a couple of weeks back she was watching the news.  A man, who was doing a favour for his mate,  hit a woman over the head with an iron bar and threw her in the canal.  Fortunately another man came along and rescued her.  Then came the questions:  "Nannie, what's an iron bar?  The lady didn't die did she.  Is she all right now? Is murder the same as dying?"  and finally "Nannie, what's it like in prison?" 

I am sure she will benefit from the books I have bought her which are about the lives of butterflies and frogs.  The third is "What lives in a shell".