Hannah The Spanner and the Polar Bears | Giveaway

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links - purchasing an item through an affiliate link adds no extra cost to you but might earn me a few pennies. 

This year we have been doing a Christmas book advent calendar and little J is loving opening up a Christmas story each night before bedtime. Today he will be opening Hannah the Spanner and The Polar Bear which I know he is going to love! Hannah the Spanner and the Polar Bears is the latest addition to the hugely successful Hannah the Spanner series of children’s books and I am giving you the chance to win a copy in my latest giveaway.

Our giveaway may be closed but you can still enjoy Hannah The Spanner and the Polar Bears which is available to purchase on Amazon.

Win Hannah the Spanner and the Polar Bears

Michelle

Competition closes on Thursday 19th December 2019

Entrants must have a valid UK address. 

Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified. 

All entrants and entries are checked and verified. 

1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. 

Playdays and Runways will contact the lucky winners within 7 days of the competition closing. 

The winners will be emailed to the email address given at the time of entering. 

The winners will not be announced on my blog or social media until they have agreed that their name can be displayed. 

The winners must respond within 28 days, if no response a new winner will be chosen. 

This prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative 

The Prize : Hannah the Spanner and the Polar Bears Book

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June Bedtime Stories | Our Favourites

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Disclosure - This post contains affiliate links

This month we headed to the library so that little J could choose some new books to read at bedtime. There were so many to choose from however he did manage to narrow it down to just 12 and these are a few of his favourite bedtime stories.

Animal ABC
Learn the alphabet and meet amazing animals along the way using the lift and flap.

Little J really enjoyed this and it introduced him to animals he had not heard of before such as Quokka, Uakari, Ibis and a Yak.

Lunchtime
It's lunchtime for one little girl, but she's just not hungry. A visiting crocodile, bear and wolf however are starving. It's just as well that children taste revolting.

We love this story all about food, friendships and fun.

Mixed
In the beginning there were three colours, Reds, Yellows and Blues. All living together in harmony until one day Red says he is the best. No longer happy with living together, the colours decide to divide but just as it seems there's no turning back, cool blue and bright yellow save the day.

This is a really lovely story about understanding, love, acceptance and also shows what happens when colours mix. 

Something Fishy
There is something fishy going on, but not in a good way. When a cat wants fish, nothing else will do and bringing home a new baby really doesn't help. Who saw that coming?... not the jealous cat.

Little J loves this story and insists that John reads it to him with funny voices. I love listening to him chuckle. 

You Choose in Space

Zoom into Space for an adventure where you choose what happens next. Which alien would you most like to be friends with? What fantastically freaky food will you munch for lunch?

After reading You Choose in Space little J also wants to try and find You Choose and You Choose your Dreams too.

What stories have you been reading this month?

Michelle

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May Bedtime Stories

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Disclosure - We were sent the books below however we were not asked to write about them or share them on socials. This post contains affiliate links.

This month we have been reading lots of bedtime stories after having a huge clear out of little J's books. Here are a few of our favourites this month.

Harris Finds His Feet

Harris is very small with huge feet. Grandad shows Harris how to hop high in to the sky, climb to the tops of mountains and how important it is for him to find his own feet.

A lovely story about the relationship of a small hare and his grandad.

The Story of Rap and The Story of Rock

From Elvis Presley to Beatlemania, rock has transformed through generations, this book introduces the rockers that started it all.

The Story of Rap has rap artists from Grandmaster Flash to Jay Z and will have your little one bopping along. 

As these books are designed for babies I thought little J wouldn't be interested however he loves them. He is a huge music fan so these books were perfect for him.

Goodnight World

When the day's at an end, up to bed we go, The Sky becomes dusky and so the night grows. When the bright golden sun sheds the last of its light, we turn to each other and we say, Goodnight.

Goodnight World teaches you how to say goodnight in a variety of world languages as you share this gentle rhyming bedtime story with your little one. 

Little J has always been interested in languages and is the French councillor in school so he was really interested in this book. I love how it breaks down the 'goodnight' in other languages so you can try and say it properly.

For example in Spanish, Buenas Noches is Goodnight and you can say it like this. 'Bwen-oss no-chez'

What stories have you been reading this month?

Michelle

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Days Out | The Very Hungry Caterpillar Live

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Disclosure - We were gifted tickets to the show for the purpose of this post. Thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.  

A few weeks ago we took little J to the theatre for the first time to see The Twirlywoos live. He loved it so much so last weekend we headed back to The Theatre Royale to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. 

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Our Favourites | April Bedtime Stories

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Disclosure - We were gifted the products however we were not asked to feature these on our blog. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

We were away for most of April however just before we left we were sent some lovely books by Little Tiger. As you will know if you read our blog we love reading a story at bedtime and it's a huge part of little J's routine. Here are our favourite bedtime stories this month.

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Our Favourites | March Bedtime Stories

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Here's a look at our top five favourite bedtime stories this month.

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Parenting | The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities

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It is World Book Day today and although little J's school isn't offering the chance for him to dress up, we have been making The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities for him to enjoy at home.

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Christmas 2018 | Gift Guide - The Book Lovers

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As a family we love books. Whether it's a bedtime story for little J, A rom com for me or a game guide for John we love reading. Here's a few of our favourites this November.

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Our Favourites | Bedtime Stories - Autumn 2018

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Ever since I can remember little J has had a story before bed. It's part of his bedtime routine and no matter how tired he is or how late he's gone to bed he has to choose a book for us to read.At the moment he does have quite a few favourites so I thought I would share with you what we have been reading as it is Libraries Week.

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Our Favourite Bedtime Stories

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Story time is a huge part of our bedtime routine. It was something we used to do together with big J and now little J too. Once little J has had his bath and is in his PJ's we climb into bed with him, snuggle under the duvet and read a book. Over the years we have collected so many great stories and our favourites do change all the time, but here is our top 6 stories we are reading at the moment. 

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Win Little Tiger Press Christmas Book Bundle

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On The 6th day of December I have teamed up with Little Tiger Press to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Christmas book bundle.

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Signed Tigeropolis Books Giveaway

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On The 1st day of December I have teamed up with Tigeropolis to offer one lucky reader the first two Tigeropolis books signed by the author.

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Signed Copy Of The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher Giveaway

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Anyone who reads my blog or follows me on social media will know that I am a huge fan of McFly and have been since the beginning. Big J grew up listening to their music and now little J does too. Over the years I have followed them outside of McFly too. Whether it is watching Tom's You Tube videos, reading The Dinosaur That Pooped books to little J, McBusted and now Tom's latest venture The Christmasaurus.

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Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan Giveaway

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I made a promise to myself that I will read more this year and so far I'm doing quite well. Being a Mummy I don't get lots of spare time but when I do I've been reading Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan.

 The title appealed to me straight away as my favourite movie is Sleepless in Seattle so I imagined lots of love and romance and so far it hasn't disappointed.

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Thomas & Friends Personalised Christmas Book Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the product below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. 

I have mentioned before that I love personalised gift. I always find that personalisation adds 'that little bit more' to a gift idea. When I was younger I had a Snow White book and I was in it. My name, date of birth, friends etc had all been added to create a story. I loved that book so much and I still have it somewhere. When we were offered the chance to review a Thomas & Friends personalised book from Egmont I knew straight away that little J would love it. He loves books and starring in one makes it so much more fun.

Ordering was simple. We chose the book we wanted and added little J's name. We could also add a friend so decided to add big J. There is also an option to customise the character. We could change the hair, skin and eye colour to match little J. Finally you can change the colour of the coat. We chose blue.

Although little J looks at books throughout the day at home and nursery, books are usually for bedtime. This book is a perfect bedtime story. It's just the right length to be enjoyed before little J starts losing interest. Usually once we have finished our bedtime story he will usually choose a book to look at before falling asleep. The illustrations in the book are bold, colourful and interesting so lovely to look at too.

Personalised books are always great fun and I find the child is always more engaged when they are the centre of the story. We will definitely be adding to our personalised book collection from Egmont very soon. I love the birthday book too.

If you would like to order the Thomas and Friends Christmas title use discount code pblogger20 for a 20% discount.

Michelle

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Roald Dahl Storytime At McDonald's

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Disclosure - We were invited to the event at McDonalds for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

To celebrate McDonald's teaming up with Roald Dahl for their Happy Readers Campaign we were invited to a very special Roald Dahl story time at McDonald's in Liverpool. Over the six weeks McDonald's will include a book featuring extracts from Roald Dahl books in every happy meal. An estimated 14 million books will be given away.

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Bedtime Stories Perfect For Halloween

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

Do you have a collection of seasonal books for the kids? We have lots of books and I try to keep collections together so that I can get them out depending on the season. As Autumn is here it's time to dust off our Halloween books and start reading them before bed.

We have two favourite books at the moment Boo and Ten Spooky Skeletons

Boo is a fun novelty rhyming story all about finding out who is saying Boo. Each page has a different character on, Pumpkins, Wizards and little witches and each page says the same. for example "Spider, Spider was that you? Were you the one who shouted Boo?" Then there is a picture of the spider saying "it wasn't me" Little J loves this and as each page turns there are holes were the eyes should be so when I am just about to read out Boo I look through the holes and shout Boo. He finds it so funny. We love Little Tiger Press books and I can't wait to dig out some of big J's old books because I know we have lots similar to Boo that little J will love.

The next bedtime story is Ten Spooky Skeletons. Similar to Boo there are peek through holes on each page as one lonely skeleton goes on a search to find more skeleton friends. I always pop my fingers through the little holes which little J finds very amusing. A lovely story and a great way to talk about numbers and counting as each page starts with the number of Skeletons and a new skeleton is added every time. One, Two and so on. There is a lovely glow in the dark finale too.

I'm sure little J's favourites will swap and change all the time because I remember big J having a new favourite every night. I think reading to our children is so special and a lovely way to spend those last few moments of the day together before sleep time.

Do you read to your little one? What is their favourite story?

Michelle

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My Stinky New School Giveaway

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September is a hard month for most parents because it's the start of a new school year. Whether your child is starting a new nursery, school or even just moving up a year it can be tough. I always remember preparing big J for nursery and also preparing myself because my little boy wouldn't be with me anymore.

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An Evening With Giovanna Fletcher

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Last night I attended an evening with Giovanna Fletcher at Waterstones. I have never been to anything like this before because if I am being honest I am not a big reader. I do like reading but I always have something else to do so although I have lots of books, they just sit there gathering dust. So I assume you are wondering why I went to a book event then if I'm not really a book lover. The truth is I do like Giovanna's books and have all four of them but I actually like her as a person too. I know that might sound crazy as I have never met her (until last night) but I follow her on you tube and I really enjoy watching her vlogs.

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Our January Monthly Review Round Up

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So January has come to an end and I am looking forward to February. I love February because its only a short month, the children have half term and its the month of love with Valentines Day on the 14th.  I managed to read a book this month which I am shocked about really because over the last few months I just haven't had the time to do anything for myself really.

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