Tag: books for all ages

Posted in Gifted, product review, reading

Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus Review

Posted on by Amy

Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus is the first children’s story written by TV producer Sonia Beldom – who in 2018 fulfilled her life long dream of qualifying as a bus driver! Sonia decided to write this book to raise funds for bus-related charities during COVID-19 and we’ve been given a copy to read and share our thoughts on.

Synopsis:

Granny Franny is always surprising her grandchildren with sensational stories and surprise days out. One day she decides to do something super special for their birthday. She buys a big red bus to take them on a magical tour of London; what she’s forgotten is that she can’t actually drive a bus. Then she meets Thinkerbell, the talking bus bell and everything changes.


First of all, as always, Ellie got very excited when she realised she had a new book to read. She looked at the front cover and read the words “big red bus” which was made her even more excited to read it together. We talked about what she thought Granny Franny might be doing and decided she was going on holiday.

Ellie is very intrigued by rhyming words at the minute and is always trying to rhyme words when she is mumbling to herself (her favourite being “wee wee, pee pee, tee pee”) so we talked a lot about the different rhyming words in the book and she tried to spot them herself.

While reading I noticed the illustrations are big and colourful – perfect for young children. Granny Franny is aimed at children aged 3-7 but could be shared to younger children and primary aged children too.

I thought the book was great, there was a clear message of love between Granny Franny and her grandchildren, a sense of family and compassion. There were so many talking points throughout too such as the other vehicles helping Thinkerbell.

Ellie’s Thoughts:

I asked Ellie what she liked the most about Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus and her reply was:

Thinkerbell is funny and has a silly voice and does lots of rhyming words. I liked the bus getting stuck in the sticky mud and the fire man coming to save the day.

Disclosure: I was gifted a copy of Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus in exchange for an honest review. All views, opinions and images are my own

Posted in Gifted, product review

In The Book – Review

Posted on by Amy

In The Book is an online book company specialising in personalised books for children and adults of all ages. They have a wide range of books and there really is something for everyone; Disney, Peter Rabbit, Marvel, The Hungry Caterpillar, Beano and so many more. This isn’t including their own range of personalised stories. We have been very fortunate to have been gifted two of their books to review.

These stories are built around you (or your child); giving them the fun and excitement of seeing their own name built in to the story. I loved this idea as not only is the name written in the illustrations but it is also the main character in the story too.

The website is extremely easy to use and navigate, the hardest part is choosing which book to personalise. There is the option of A4 softback, A4 hardback (both available in the standard cover) and the classic hardback which is bound in a premium hardcover with gold embossing.

Once chosen there are three steps to personalising the book:

When our books arrived I was absolutely amazed at the quality and size. I obviously hadn’t read the A4 sizing and was expecting a smaller book which I was worried would be too small to keep Ellie’s attention. These are the perfect size for all readers, big and small. Each page is beautifully illustrated and the story is just magical.




“Ellie’s Unicorn Adventure” is a wonderful story about a Unicorn (with your child’s name) who gets bored in the meadow and goes off on an adventure to find new places. From a pink candyland to the snowy mountain tops this story takes the reader to so many wonderful places.

Ellie’s Thoughts:

I asked Ellie what she liked the most about the Unicorn’s adventure and her reply was:

I like the Unicorn because she has the same name as me. She is cheeky. My name is in the sky. See E, L, L, I, E it says Ellie! The Unicorn likes the snow, it has footprints to go back home so she doesn’t get lost.

We also received a beautifully illustrated “Book of Nursery Rhymes” Ellie loves to sing and she has always loved nursery rhymes so I knew she would love this one so much. The book of nursery rhymes is packed full of songs little ones will already know and love such as Humpty Dumpty, The Wheels On The Bus and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, there’s even a few Mummy doesn’t remember!




Similar to the Unicorn book, Ellie’s name is on the front cover and appears throughout the pages in the illustrations. We’ve had lots of fun getting Ellie to find her name hidden on drain pipes, buses and even on pies. She gets so excited when she’s found it. It’s a great way to get them to recognise their name in written form!

For me, the best part is that you can include a picture of your child on the back page. I love this as it’s a way of remembering how old they were when they received the book. Ellie couldn’t believe her picture was in there too, she told me it must have been magic. I know that even when she is too old to be singing nursery rhymes and believing in unicorns I will always remember the smile on her face when we would read them together.

Disclosure: I was gifted these two books in exchange for an honest review by In The Book. All views, opinions and images are my own.