Vote for your favourite children’s book from 2011 in the Red House Children’s Book Award at www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk

The full shortlist for the Red House Children’s Book Award 2012 is as follows:

Books for Younger Children

Rollo and Ruff and the Little Fluffy Bird by Mick Inkpen, published by Hodder
Don’t Worry Douglas! by David Melling, published by Hodder
Peely Wally by Kali Stileman, published by Red Fox
Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice by Chris Wormell, published by Jonathan Cape

Books for Younger Readers

One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson, published by Marion Lloyd Books
Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis, published by Oxford University Press
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon, published by Scholastic

Books for Older Readers

Grace by Morris Gleitzman, published by Puffin
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, published by Walker
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, published by Orion

Voting is open until 20th January 2012

Some of the biggest names in children’s fiction are joined by exciting new authors and illustrators on the shortlist for this year’s Red House Children’s Book Award, the only national award for children’s books that is voted for entirely by children themselves.

Who will win? It’s up to children everywhere to decide. Voting is now open and the Red House Children’s Book Award would like to encourage every child in Britain to check out the shortlisted titles and vote for their favourite! The category winners and the author of the best children’s book published in the 2011 nomination period will be announced – for the first time ever – at a glittering awards ceremony which takes place in the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre in London on Saturday 18th February 2012.

A dedicated website www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk showcases all the shortlisted titles and featured authors. Any child can vote here for their favourite book until 20th January 2012.

Gorgeous gifts for babies…

Numbers & Colours by Orla Kiely

From a small collection of accessories, commissioned by Harrods following her graduation from the Royal College of Art, the Orla Kiely range has grown to include a complete ready-to-wear collection, travel, homeware and stationery, making her one of the UK’s most eminent designers. The creative world of Orla Kiely was founded in 1995 to express visually, her love of pattern, colour, texture and rhythm, which as components all play and work together. Her instinctive graphic discipline to simplify and stylise everyday motifs and forms adds another dimension. Her work achieves strength with a very modern quality, while her nostalgia for all things mid century, help make her patterns charming, uplifting and instantly recognisable (from Amazon)

These books are very cool and gorgeous, and my sister in law was desperately trying to take them from us (despite her youngest being 9, so there was no excuse, other then her love her all things Orla!). The covers are a lovely texture, that makes you want to stroke them, and then in contrast, the pages are all sleek and shiny. The illustrations are great, and what struck me is that they weren’t your typical board book choices – the colours include grey, brown and black along with all of the bright colours, too, and in the Numbers book we count cups, forks and leaves amongst others.

My daughter likes to look through these books, naming the colours and counting the shapes, and it’s very unique design really stands out from her other books, as it almost seems less babyish, yet holds her interest just as well. I like them, and think they’ll be the books your child will enjoy and learn from, and don’t look out of place stylishly arranged on a coffee table!

Thanks to Egmont for sending us copies to review. You can buy yours here now…

Today we’ve a book for little ones…

Monster Mates: Ernie the Eye Monster (Mini Monster Mates) by Sam Lloyd

Meet the Mini Monster Mates, from the creator of the award-winning Calm Down, Boris! Ernie the Eye Monster is looking for his mum, but every monster-mum that he finds is the wrong colour. Help him find her by looking at all the different colours in the park. Also available is Nosey Norman who is sniffing out numbers. These appealing, interactive finger puppet books are a perfect introduction to simple concepts, and come with texture patch on the final spread.

This book is just a few pages long, so perfect for a quick read before nap time, and features Ernie, who has lost his mummy in the park. Each page has Ernie looking round for his mummy, and they are colour themed, so for example, one page sees Ernie spotting a blue monster mummy, a lost blue shoe and a blue butterfly. It’s great for teaching or embedding learning about colours, different objects and it’s fun with Ernie looking about. Of course, it has a happy ending, as Ernie’s mummy is not far away and they meet with a hug and a kiss!

My 2 year old daughter loves this book! She likes to ‘read’ it to herself, trying to pop her finger through and make Ernie wiggle, as well as listening to it, transfixed, practically every day! It’s an easy, fun read, and has fast become a favourite in our house. It’d make a fun Christmas present for any toddler.

Thanks to Templar for sending us a copy, and you can buy it here now…

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Pamela…

The Dragon Princess is an awesome bumper back of three tales of magic, action and true love.

Join Emma and Eadric as they battle against the odds to prove their love and determination to be together, all the while trying to rescue Eadric’s younger brother in No Place for Magic. Grassina will charm and amuse you in The Salamander Spell as she struggles against feeling neglected and useless and what it really means to go back home again. And of course, Millie, the Dragon Princess, who is determined to control her dragon nature.

The Dragon Princess is packed with adventure, mythical creatures like vampires, werewolves, trolls and fairies. It will charm and delight its readers with laugh-out-loud hilarity and sweet tales of true love. Not to mention having them on the edge of their seats at the epic adventures.

Thank you Pamela and thank you to Bloomsbury for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Wendy…

This is a sweet simple little tale about a brave knight known as the Golden Prince. The story is short and based on what knights do such as hunting wild beasts and locking traitors in dungeons whereas the illustrations are off a little boy in fancy dress hunting his cat and playing with his little brother in the playpen. The imagined fantasy world is something that all parents and children can relate to.

I thought my children who are 4 and 6 would find this book too simple but they think it’s funny and is a much requested read. As the writing is simple it also would make a good early reading book.

Thank you Wendy and thank you to Inside Pocket for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Wendy…
The first thing you notice in this book is the lovely illustrations all done using a simple pallet of browns, blue and black with touches of red used to great effect especially on a pouncing fox. The writing is interwoven within the pictures and these pictures are split between what is happening over the snow and under it. The effect of the illustrations is to make you feel like you are in the cold snow.
The story is about a little girl and her Dad skiing over the snow and her asking questions about where the animals go to under the snow. Her Dad explains to her all about the secret kingdom under the snow, such as a black bear snoring and a queen bumble dozing waiting to start a new colony in the spring. It is a very informative book and at the back there are notes by the author about the real kingdom under the snow and the animals that live there.
My children found the book interesting and informative and made them wonder what it would be like to be an animal living under the winter snow. This book would also be a good one for schools to use when studying animals and habitats.

Thank you Wendy for reviewing Over and Under the Snow for us and thanks to Chronicle books.

Sister, Missing is the sequel to Sophie McKenzie’s award winning 2006 debut novel Girl, Missing. I haven’t read the first book and was worried that I might have jumped into the story too soon. However, this was not the case at all and I think it is fine to read as both a sequel and as a standalone book.

The story is set two years after the events of Girl, Missing and follows sixteen year old Lauren and her younger sister Madison after a proposed morning at the beach turns into a nightmare. Lauren’s younger sister Madison is kidnapped from the beach in scarily similar circumstances to her own kidnap two years earlier. The book follows Lauren’s race against time to find her sister and find out who her sister’s kidnappers really are.

There are several prominent characters in this book and I think one of Mckenzie’s strongest traits is that you don’t really know who they are – there are some real shocking surprises in the novel that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I adored Lauren’s character and thought she seemed brave and friendly despite all of the things that she had been through.

This story is so gripping and fast paced that I found it difficult to put down, I got into the book so much that I actually felt I was really on Madison and Lauren’s terrifying journey. I will definitely be reading Girl Missing and looking out for more books from Sophie McKenzie after reading this fantastic book.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.