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Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering #Review

  It is a pleasure to feature Jane Lovering's  Once Upon a Thyme which was published by Boldwood Books on June 24th.   All her life, Natalie Fisher has been taught not to ask questions. Why risk uncovering uncomfortable truths, when you can stay in the safety of blissful denial? Since taking over the family herb farm, Natalie has stuck with what she knows, rarely venturing much further than the nearby village where her invalid mother now lives. But then, one day, everything changes with the arrival of unexpected visitors. First comes Zeb, employed by Natalie’s mother to help with the business but soon hinting at other motives. Then comes Simon with the famous band he manages, wanting to film in Natalie’s beautiful garden. The band causes chaos and the attitude of one particular member throws Natalie’s ordered life into confusion. Over one magical summer of revelations and of uncovering secrets, Natalie starts to blossom and by the time autumn arrives she knows n...

The Julia Donaldson Story Collection

 


Today on the blog I have the Julia Donaldson Story Collection. These picture books will appeal to 5 - 7 year olds. The beautifully illustrated rhyming books are long standing favourites with many families. Of her numerous books, The Gruffalo is the most well known and has been translated into 43 languages.

You can order the collection here: Books2Door

Titles in the Collection

  
 


  
The Gruffalo

    The Gruffalo's Child

    The Snail and the Whale

    Room on the Broom

    A Squash and a Squeeze

    Cave Baby

    The Paper Dolls


    Charlie Cook's Favourite Book

    The Smartest Giant In Town

    Tyrannosaurus Drip

 

 

 

 

 

My Thoughts

This is a lovely collection of picture books which many young children will recognise as old favourites. They all bear the hallmarks of Julia Donaldson's rhyming stories which are so suitable for reading aloud. They are tailor made for sharing and there are so many opportunities for language development and empathy. Packaged in a colourful book bag, they are perfect to carry along especially with the summer in mind.

    My particular favourite is Charlie Cook's Favourite Book which has a wonderful cyclical structure as it moves through different genres of stories. There is plenty to notice in the illustrations and as this photo of a double spread from A Squash and a Squeeze shows, even the youngest child will appreciate the humour in the stories.

 

About the Author

 
Julia Donaldson is an extraordinary author of children stories, prior to Donaldson releasing her first book, she was in fact singer / songwriter for children shows. The song Squash and a Squeeze was then changed into a book with pictures in 1993, during this time she actually collaborated with the amazing illustrator Axel Scheffler, 6 years later Donaldson published the famous The Gruffalo. Julia Donaldson has made a strong impact in the world of children's publishing, being a Children’s Laureate between the years of 2011 and 2013. Julia Donaldson has written over a massive amount of books of more than 180, some of which includes the Songbirds books as part of the Oxford Reading Tree series.

 ISBN: 9781509801251 

Book link: Books2Door

Thanks to Books2Door for a copy of the collection. 

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