Thursday 16 July 2009

RING THE CHANGES

I don't know how we came across them but they're just fantastic. I found one on our book shelf the other day, liked the title and read it to Nat as a bedtime story.

He laughed and thought it was "well cool and well busy", his line for something great.

And so, when I was in Borders the other day, I searched for more in the same series and wow, there are loads of them. Top!

What am I rabbiting on about you ask? Well maybe you didn't but I'll tell you anyway. I'm talking about a load of books loosely based on the traditional Goldilocks and the Three Bears type stories that we all grew up with and came to love, and know off by heart.

These books however, ring the changes, and are as Nat described them, just "well cool and well busy".

Tonight, I read Cinderboy to Ben and Lauren - we laughed out loud at the silly story of a boy who was at the beck and call of his ugly stepbrothers but whose life was changed for the better by his TV Godmother. Clever stuff.

And then there's Daft Jack and the Bean Stack. Jack and his mother have a cow, but they're sick of drinking milk. The giant is sick of eating children and really wants beans instead, and when he meets Jacks mother they fall in love and live happily ever after. Superb writing.

One more before I give you the author etc. - Eco Wolf and the Three Pigs . The wolf is the so-laid-back-he's-falling-over 'goody' in the story and the three pigs are the thoughtless moneymaking 'baddies', out to ruin the environment.Engaging to children and adults alike.

I've got to tell you the best title : Rumply Crumply Stinky Pin, we love the name in our house, and the story is just hilarious too.

They're a must if you fancy something light hearted for the kids before bed, or at any time for that matter. They work for all ages too. Ben's nine and he loves them just as much as Nat who's five. Lauren has memorised most of them and likes to join in with me in 'reading' them.

If you fancy reading one of these Seriously Silly Stories, they are by Laurence Anholt and Arthur Robins and are published by Orchard books. Probably available from Amazon.co.uk but I found Borders (near Ikea) have virtually the whole series.

Some other titles include :
Mary,Mary, Fried Canary
Old King Cole Played In Goal
Ding Dong Bell What's That Funny Smell?
Little Bo Peep Has Knickers That Bleep

Hope you get as much out of them as we do.
RX

Thursday 9 July 2009

The King Of Pop

"So who is the king of pop mummy, is it Michael Jackson or Elvis" , asked Lauren tonight when she got in from school.

"Err, well that depends" I replied, "probably on how old you are".

"Well the boys in my class and I were chatting at break time, and we think its Michael Jackson because we don't even remember Elvis".

Fair enough, can't argue with that.

Lauren is totally and utterly engrossed in the whole Michael Jackson deal since his death. She was introduced to him about six months ago when Chris downloaded Man In The Mirror and played it to the kids in the car one day. They loved it, learnt all the words really quickly and requested it on all journeys, over and over.

Last summer it was Angels by Robbie Williams that we played to death, whilst on holidya in Cornwall, and then Pretender by The Foo Fighters, so we've moved on to a new thing with Jacko.

Lauren also asked me after we spent last friday night viewing videos, mainly Thriller and Bad, the longer versions, " How come he was black when he was little and white when he was an adult". That took some explaining!!

We've even had a Michael Jackson tribute concert in the playroom put together primarliy by Ben but with Nat and Lauren being given supporting roles! Ben was Micheal, complete with half mast black trousers, white fluffy socks and a large red shirt - he even got the moon walking moves off to a tee. Very entertaining.

Laurens got Bad on her Ipod and wanders round the house singing loudly with the headphones in her ears unable to hear herself, and tonight she fell asleep to him seranading her.

Wonder how many people around the world are doing what my kids are doing right now. Funny thing death.
RX