We Like to Read - Welcome to Mamoko

Welcome to Mamoko by Aleksandra & Daniel Mizielinski is a fantastic book but I struggled with whether I should include it in the 'We Like to Read' series as the story isn't actually written; there are very few words and the 'reader' is encouraged to make up the story themselves. But it is such an original book, and a firm favourite in our house I wanted to share it.

 

The first pages of the book introduce you to a whole range of characters, with amazing names such as Olaf Brown, Claude Van Clue, Cecily Beak and Edwin Drench. The following pages are crammed full of fab illustrations, almost like 'Where's Wally' or 'Find Foxy' from Okido. The idea is to pick a character from the front and then search and follow them throughout the book to discover what their story is. Each one intertwines with others, and there is something new to notice each time. We have literally spent hours looking at this book and Wiss even loves to read it by himself too.

 

 

There is a new book out too, 'Mamoko in the Year 3000' which is definitely on our wish list!

This post will be linking up with Tigerlilly Quinn so please do check out all the other great books recommended in this series and I'll be back with another book tip next month!

This post is disgusting!

Wiss is growing up so fast I can't quite believe it. He is learning so much, so quickly it is amazing to be part of it. He is fascinated by letters at the moment and as well as trying to write, he wants to know how to spell words. I've been sounding them out with him so he can start to work it out for himself. Here are some of the words he requested we spell...

Oh yes, that's one of the other things he's really into at the moment...toilet humour! Farts, poos, bums, wee-wee, they're all a source of great amusement at the moment in our house. I say 'at the moment' but actually, they're pretty funny all the time aren't they? (I hope it's not just me, or this post is going to be a bit odd!)

If your child is like mine, or you just want to indulge in a little yukky humour yourself then try out these brilliant books. Warning, they're not for the faint-hearted!

Bertie is a normal little boy who just happens to like picking his nose, weeing in the bushes and licking the dog. David Roberts' illustrations are brilliantly funny and appeal to Wiss as much as me. There's lots to spot on all the pages, and then there's the disgusting finale that never fails to make Wiss laugh!

In this book Bertie lets off some stinky farts in all sorts of places, much to the disgust of his family. But then he discovers that actually, we all do it! There are some hilarious turn of phrases for breaking wind, that maybe amused me a little bit too much, and the same great illustrations of Bertie and his family.

This is the story of Bernard the Robot who loses his bottom! The story is basically just a build-up to the fab punchline "I'm not a robot, I'm a No-Bot!" but it is hugely entertaining too. This has both Wiss and I giggling every time we read it, especially as they do the same bottom-wiggling dance that is popular in our house at the moment. (Please say we're not alone in this too??!)

Finally we have THE most brilliant book about poo. Yes, honestly! I was told about this book by a Dutch friend of mine who couldn't believe I wasn't already aware of it. In Holland, it seems, this book is the norm. It's as famous as the Hungry Caterpillar is here...

The Mole in this story is having a bad day. He pops his head above ground only to have a huge poo land right on top of his head. Yep, that's a bad day alright! He sets out to discover who has done his business on his head, and along the way we get to see all sorts of different poos. We got the 'Plop-Up Edition' and Wiss loves making the various types of 'business' appear, and I love the very descriptive and flowery language used!

As well as being truly yukky and hilariously funny, it's also very educational (well that's what I told my Mother-in-Law at least!) It has sparked lots of conversations about why the poos are different, reinforces the fact that everybody does it and now Wiss is able to spot every bird and dog poo in the park and he shouts them out to let everyone else know too! So kind, my son!

If you have any favourite yukky books I haven't mentioned then please let me know. I've got a feeling this kind of humour is going to last quite some time....

World Book Day Event Part 5

Welcome back!

It's Monday which means we are on day 5 of the week long

World Book Day event here on This is Wiss.

Today's special guest is...well, me! I'm back to give you some ideas on making your own books. I know that World Book Day is about celebrating the best in children's authors and illustrators, but why not have a go yourself? Of course, if you fancy turning your hand to actually drawing your own pictures, or even writing a story then by all means do it, you can get as creative (or not) as you wish. But these ideas use photos so are even more easy to produce.

The first book I made for Wiss was about our/his family. My mum lives in Suffolk, and my brother in Australia so they aren't able to visit every weekend! But even the people who live close aren't around on a daily basis either, so I wanted to make sure that Wiss grew up knowing who the important people in his life are.

I used a plastic slip-in photo album from Muji (similar to this one) so it could be wiped clean! I printed out the names of the people to go alongside each photograph, and used thin card to make the bages a bit sturdier and easy for little hands to turn.

Everybody features in the book, including our cat Raoul! We have the grandparents, uncles, pets and a couple of close friends and our neighbour. Wiss really seemed to like the photos that showed him with that particular person. Finally, I included a couple of 'line-ups' from our wedding day. Wiss loves these as he has to search out each face! First we had to point out each person, then he was able to do it himself, and now he can name everybody too. This book has provided great opportunities for discussion, even from a really early age.

That book was such a success that I wanted to make more. I am a member of Groupon and when they had an offer from 2M Books to make personalised photobooks I jumped at the chance. The deal was great: £3.99 for £25 to spend on making up your own book. You download a software package and then you are able to drop in your own photos, pictures, captions and text and format each page as you wish, including the hardback cover.

This book is a fairly typical alphabet picture book but I used lots of photos of items from our everyday life to illustrate it. I thought Wiss would like to be able to see the image in real life and compare it to the one on the page. And of course, there are lots of photos of him too!

The possibilities are endless and other ideas I've had include, Emotions, Numbers, Colours, and Where We Live (with family members pictured outside their own houses) etc etc! Wiss really likes looking at his personalised books, and I'm sure they will make lovely keepsakes too in the future. I'd love to hear from you if you've made your own books, or if you've got any more ideas for topics. Please leave a comment below...

I'm sure you've all visited by now, but if not then check out the Official World Book Day

website for loads and loads of great ideas, games and listings of events near you all celebrating books!

Tomorrow is the penultimate day of my week long event and I have asked another fantastic blogger to write a guest post. Lisa will be writing about a great craft book that has provided lots of inspiration for her and her two-year old son. Have a brilliant day and I hope to have you back tomorrow.

This is Wiss Celebrates World Book Day 2012

Next Thursday, March 1 is World Book Day!

World Book Day is a celebration of books, illustrations and reading which takes place in over 100 countries (apparently!) Since having a child I have (re)discovered a whole world of fantastic books, and we read every day. Often we read the same book over and over every day....but hey, that's part of the fun too! Reading is one of THE most important skills we can teach our children, and it will give a lifetime of pleasure.

I want to join in the celebrations here on This is Wiss, and I've asked some very special guests to participate! Starting on Thursday 1st March there will be a whole week of posts from me and some of my favourite bloggers, including Beth from Miss Magpie Makes, Emma from Lemons for Lemonade, Lisa Rye, and Kelli from Tales From Homemade House plus others.

I am very excited about this collaboration and know that there will be great posts to read and inspire you so please make sure you come back and visit every day starting from the 1 March!