The Lousy Animals Colouring book

Who says kid’s colouring books have to be perfect?

Try the Lousy Animals Colouring Book for proof.

Bookmooch – The barter system is alive and well.

What a great idea!

BookMooch is a community for exchanging used books. BookMooch lets you give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want.

Give & receive: Every time you give someone a book, you earn a point and can get any book you want from anyone else at BookMooch. Once you’ve read a book, you can keep it forever or put it back into BookMooch for someone else, as you wish.
No cost: there is no cost to join or use this web site: your only cost is mailing your books to others.

Find out more

Free Classic Audio Books

Here’s an online license-free classic book collection to download for burning to cd or transferring to ipod. Make your next long car journey more entertaining for the kids, or play as a great substitute for the TV on a rainy afternoon. Stories include Alice In Wonderland, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn, The Swiss Family Robinson and more. There’s several literature classics there for the parents as well.

Free Classic Audio Books

Eric Carle

Eric Carle – I bet there aren’t too many households containing small children that don’t possess at least one of this legendary children’s author and illustrator’s wonderous books. Published in 1969, his best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 45 languages and sold over 25 million copies. As of 2005, a copy is sold roughly every 57 seconds.

The original title of the book was to have been A Week with Willi Worm, featuring a bookworm named Willi. However, Carle’s editor advised that a green worm would not make a very likable protagonist. There are rumours of the film rights having been sold for £1 million.

Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 75 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Hungry Caterpillar Block Puzzle

AWARDS: 2007 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Platinum Award; 2005 iParenting Excellent Product Award available here

Here is an interview with Eric conducted in 2007.

Read more about this brilliant man over at the Official Eric Carle Website

Monkeeeeyyy!

APE – by Matrin Jenkins

Swing from the trees with an orangutan, play with a gang of chimps, feast on figs with a bonobo, and snooze with a gorilla!

Explore the world of the great apes through fascinating facts and beautiful lifelike illustrations. You may discover that you have more in common with these magnificent creatures than you ever realized — after all, the fifth kind of great ape is you!

Hardcover, 48 Pages
Ages 4-8

Good price here

Steve Mack’s Spot Illustration

Wow! Check out the awesome illustrations over at Steve Mack’s blog Spot Illustration. So much fun in that retro style that is much harder to reproduce than it looks.

The images above come from his book “Eat Your Way From 1 to 10: A Self Help Book For Toddlers” other books by Steve include “Jurrassic Poop: What The Dinosaurs Left Behind” and “The ABC Book”.

The Octonauts

These guys have been around for a few years now, but I thought i’d mention them again for the uninitiated. Full of colour and beautifully drawn, ” The Octonauts are a crew of adorable animals who roam the ocean in search of adventure and fun! From their undersea “Octopod” base, the eight talented critters (including a valiant polar bear, daredevil kitten, and big-hearted penguin) are always ready to embark on new exciting missions.

There are two books available: The Octonauts and The Only Lonely Monster & The Octonauts & The Sea Of Shade. You can buy them online at the Octonauts Website

Sparkle & Spin

I may have gotten somewhat ahead of myself when I recently purchased this book for my 10 month old son (recommended ages 4-8yrs!). It is however, a fine example of the husband and wife team, Paul & Ann Rand’s brilliant writing and design style, and not out of place within my book collection. I love Paul Rand’s use of bold colour and simple handcut collaged shapes. You can see why he is so revered as a design trendsetter. I picked up my copy at an independent bookstore in Balmain, but via Amazon etc, it’s easy to find online.

Great book – D.I.Y. Kids

“D.I.Y. Kids aims to trigger imaginative play, without requiring fees, teams, or a minivan. It’s for parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, friends and baby-sitters, neighbors and citizens—anyone who wants to create a better world not only for, but also with, the next generation. Most of all, it’s for kids who want to make their mark (and make a difference) by exercising the arts of design with wit, intelligence, and style.” – Ellen & Julia Upton

One of Scholastic Book’s best of 2007, D.I.Y. Kids is the perfect companion to an uninspired rainy day stuck indoors with your kids. What a great way to get the creative juices flowing and a vehicle to interact on a really fun level. Rather than turning on the telly or the latest electronic toy, why not recycle old household objects and packaging to create something entirely unique.

A great place to get extra materials here in Sydney is at Reverse Garbage located in Marrackville. Reverse Garbage is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells industrial discards, off-cuts and over-runs to the public for creative and practical uses, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Try some exaples of how to over at the D.I.Y. Kid’s Blog.

Buy It Here