0 Books for the first 24 months : My Favourite Thing

Part of the #Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

My Favourite Thing

This is another category which can work magical wonders with babies who are already interested in reading and also can encourage the reluctant readers - can be thought as a bribe technique. Get a book on the child's favourite thing - could be a toy, an animal or just about anything. A picture book centered around that favourite thing or just featuring it can bring immense joy to the reader.

There are any picks from us in this category since to each his own favourite exists.

But some of our favourites reviewed in the blog earlier are

Babies fascinated by the dogs : Could do Emily Gravett Dogs.
Those by elephants could do : Elmer
Those by teddy bears could do ;Knuffle Bunny
Those by caterpillar could do The Hungry Caterpillar
Fascinated by Cats could do Matilda's Cat.
Those by Fishes/Sea could do Commotion in the Ocean ; Giles Andreae

0 Books for the first 24 months : Books with repetitive text

Part of the #Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

Books with repetitive text

This is another hit category as it offers the chance to the little ones to start picture reading. Books which have the same set of lines being repeated often are a joy to discover the capability of the child to say out those sentences easily - a moment of pride for the child and the parent, this!

These books , when read to, is best when paused at the repeated text and prompting the child to say it in baby-talk! So many picture books which offer scope for this in excellent style.

Our picks:

Pete the cat, I Love my White Shoes : Eric Litwin : 

The text , "Did Pete cry?, Goodneess No! He kept walking along and singing his song " followed by the "I Love by White shoes.." is great in this category. We have raved about Pete the Cat in the category of Singable, Danceable too. Our detailed review here.

Have you seen my Cat ? : Eric Carle.

 A boy who loses his cat goes around looking for his cat. The text "Have you seen my cat? and "This is not my cat" is repeated all through and is an adorable classic.

0 Books for the first 24 months : One laugh out loud book

Part of the write31days

Laugh out loud

Another must have category since the profound joy of giggling and laughing out loud with the child at this age is blissful. While we might be led to think that they may not take to humor, they can take us by surprise if we introduce in the right way , what more right that a picture book!

Our pick

no!David: David Shannon: a complete laugh out, this one, with only the 2 words No David, this is the book that every child at they age can best relate to. Amusing illustrations , everyday situations and the simplicity : this book is sure to be a laugh riot.

Detailed review here. ( posting from phone ) 

0 Books for the first 24 months : Books on Colors

Part of the #Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

Books on Colors.

Not for the only reason of knowing and learning colors, but for the sheer beauty some of these books bring - with its colorful pictures.

One book on Colors - A beautifully illustrated one at that - is a must have in a child's library. Take the "learning" colors bit as a bonus after your devour the pretty illustrations on these.

Our picks:

Blue Chameleon : An intelligently illustrated book on colors, with some bits of textures thrown in and also a book to show how a Chameleon changes colors - If your child can take his mind off the pretty, crafty illustrations - then there is more than a lesson on this by. Our detailed review here.


Freight Trains - Donald Crews : Another beautifully illustrated book on Freight Trains and its journey through the bridges, city and the night and day. Our detailed review here.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Going to bed books

Part of the Write31days series.

Going to bed book

In many of a household , books are used to ease the bed time
Tantrums. But, there also exist picture books which feature those tantrums or those that depict stories / pictures about going to bed.

Our picks

Tuck Me in : a beautiful lift the flap which brings out how animals get tucked in to bed. The cover page featuring a zebra being tucked under a end sheet is cuteness overload.


Going to bed: Sandra Boynton: in true Boynton style this is a great book with pretty illustrations and excellent rhyme.

The above 2 were loved in our home.
Detailed review and links will be updated soon
P.s: posting from mobile phone. 

0 Books for the first 24 months : Wordless

Part of the #Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

Wordless Books

Most of us might be skeptical about introducing wordless books at this age - We might think that to the child who can't yet read, a wordless book is as good as a one with words. But, one wordless book is a must own for your own good and it will grow on the child. 

Wordless books are a class part when it comes to illustrations and it is sheer joy to discover a wordless picture along with a child - especially ones older than about 18 months. As a parent, this has left in complete awe - the imagination that it gives to as a parent when you narrate it to a very young child and then as the child gets older letting him/her discover the story by themselves.

Though some wordless picture books should wait for advanced readers - there are a few which we can introduce that a very young age.

Our picks for the first 24 months:

Have you seen my duckling? - Nancy Tafuri

One of the ducklings wanders away and the momma duckling goes looking for it only to discover that the duckling has been all the while close to her - only she couldn't see it. The bubbling at as young as 18 months when read this book actually thought that the little duckling was playing a game of hide and seek with the mum. That is a true wordless book - left to the imagination of the reader.

Our detailed review here.

We have enjoyed this book to bits.

Where's Walrus? - Stephen Savage

Another wordless book for the very young - this one is hilarious too. A walrus escapes the zoo and disguises himself amidst dancers, painters, firemen , business men to fool the zoo keeper who is on the lookout for him. Intelligent illustrations and the imagination make this a lovely read. 

Our detailed review here.

0 Books for the first 24 months: Black and White

Part of the #Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

Black and White Pictures

Another perfect choice fort he wee-baby days. Babies first see black, white and shaded of grey. Books with black and white pictures will sure simulate them. In the little time that they stay awake during these days, these books are a perfect choice to keep them engaged.

Our picks:

Look! Look : Peter Leninthal : Has lovely black and white pictures of children smiling, hands reaching and the sun shining - very visually appealing pictures and is such a great choice for the first book.

Wee Gallery - Art cards : We haven't personally used these but have chanced upon them in bookstores and just love them. Beautifully illustrated penguins and pandas - these as cards make it perfect for the first few months.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Read, Sing and Dance

Part of the #Write31Days series in October.

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.

The next category is : Read, Sing and Dance.

Books which have verse that can be made up into a song of your own and even a couple of dance steps is great for babies - especially post 18 months and with those who wouldn't sit down to read a book.

Our pick is this category is undoubtedly Pete the Cat - He is lovable, singable, danceable and over all - Plain awesome. Pete the cat has been a huge success with the bubbling.

Our detailed review here and our #LoveBooks exchange package [orgainised by The Eductors' Spin On it ]was based on Pete the cat and On-Board the Mommyship loved it as much we did.

0 Books for the first 24 months: Touch and Feel books

Part of the Write31Days challenge.
Book categories for the first 24 months.

Touch and feel books

These are really great for this age group , especially during the baby months for the child to touch , feel and explore textures in the books. Touch and feel books are available in bright pictures which feature just about everything : toys, animals , babies ,: the key is to choose the category that your child loves.

Our picks

Peek-a-boo Moo: a lady bird book: this features farm animals and parts of the animal picture has textured touch and feel elements and was a great hit since the bubbling was a cow-lover .

This little fairy : this is a series which has " this little .." , we bought the fairy one since it had a lot of glittery wand and soft dress .

Posting from the phone , hence no links. Will update once access to laptop.

0 Books for the first 24 months: Books on Toys

Part of the #Write31Days series in October.
This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.
Got to know from the Arts Tales FB page that today is "Take your teddy bear to work" day. Hence moved this category for today.

Our next category is "Books about Toys"

When it comes to picture books in the first 24 months, it is great to choose things that a child can best relate to, books based on things that an essential part of the child's everyday life - Isn't toys a good choice then? A blanket buddy, a soft toy, a rattle, a teether, a pounding toy, blocks , sometimes even books as toys - it has been a integral part or else atleast a passing phase in your baby's first 2 years.

Our pick:

Knuffle Bunny : Mo Willems : The first book that comes to mind when I think about toys. It is a 3 books series that is centered around Trixie from her toddlerhood to being an older child and how she always misplaces her loved, one of a kind Knuffle Bunny. (pronounced with the "K" not being silent). The first book is probably the best suited for the first 24 months since Trixie is a toddler who can't yet speak in legible full sentences in that book and struggles to get her dad to understand that she misplaced her Knuffle Bunny. Our detailed review here.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Momma Child Books

Part of the #Write31Days series in October.
This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.
Our next category is Momma-Child book.

Well, if we talking about babies, they bond most instantly with the mum. Mum's kiss, hug, cuddle - well yes, mum's the word at that age. So can a picture book featuring momma and baby go wrong.

One momma-child book is a must own in your child's first library and there are so many beautiful books out there - written and illustration just as beautiful as the mother's love for the baby.

Our picks for the first 24 months in this category

1. The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown : The story line is about a baby bunny which wants to run away from the momma and how the momma answers back on the forms she will take to be with the bunny, to protect the bunny - come what may. Doesn't it say it all? Till the baby reaches the stage to really get the story line and be touched by it, this book serves as a beautifully illustrated one to just watch the pictures - with alternate black and white illustrations - It is an treat to the eye. Later on, a game of identify the baby bunny who disguises himself among plants in the garden, snow in the mountain and a fish in the pond is a sheer pleasure with a young child. When you a growing reader, the re-read will guarantee touchy, cuddly and may be even teary eyed moments.
Our detailed review here.

2. A Bit Lost : Chris Haughton : Another beautifully illustrated, simple with repeated text book which is a story of a baby owl who falls off a nest and goes around describing his mother. A squirrel helps find the mother with all the identifications like big, pointy ears and big eyes.
The book can be fully picture read by a child who doesn't even know alphabets. Such is the effect of the subject in the book, repeated text and power of illustrations

 

0 Books for the first 24 months : Books on Animals

Part of the #Write31Days series in October.

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.


Books on Animals

After bright colorful pictures and faces of babies, children of less than 24 months take to animals very well. A book on animals or any one particular animal/pet the child loves is a must-own in your little one's library.

Our Picks:


Dear Zoo : Rod Campbell : A cute classic that doubles as a lift-the-flap is a story of a little boy who writes to the zoo asking for a pet. Zoo sends him an animal one by one in the mail box - the little ones delight by pulling up the mail box to see which animal. The boy then rejects each of them giving a reason - this gives opportunity aplenty to emote with the young ones with the snake being scary and a giraffe too tall and so on. Finally , the boy is happy with a puppy. 

Hippo has a Hat : Julia Donaldson : This is one of the few Julia Donaldson's which isn't a full fleged story book. This book also doubles as a humorous read. The book's illustrations feature a rather modern take on the animals having each animal dress up in clothes since they are on a shopping trip to shop for clothes for a party. One of our first book and loved to bits by the bubbling till today. Our detailed review here.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Lift the Flap/ Pull the tab

Part of the #Write31Days series in October. 

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.

Lift the Flap / Pull the Tab Books:

Roughly over 6 months, lift the flaps are great. Babies of that age love Peek-a-boo as a game and doing it with books makes it all the more fun. For a parent who seems to find difficulty with getting the child to get interested in books, a lift the flap one would do the trick.

While choosing lift the flap ones, there is no best pick. It is best to choose the ones that involve the objects/characters that your child likes. Choose ones which have babies hidden under the flaps, or a park scene with objects found in the park hidden under the flap or a one with animals. Gauge your child's current fascination and choose a lift the flap one in that category.

Our favourites have been 

1.  Peek-a-boo Happy Baby by Busy Baby : This one has been read, flaps lifted a zillion times and has had us giggling, cuddling, laughing and of course playing peek-a-boo for a long time since the first time we bought @4 months. The bubbling was baby crazy then. 

2. I feel Happy : Little Learners: This is a pull the tab book which talks about emotions on each page , also introduces the child to family members and friends . Our detailed review here.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Birthday Books

Part of the #Write31Days series in October. 

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.

Happy Birthday Book

Children around 18 months who start attending birthday parties of friends/family develop a love that is magical for birthday parties. While most babies' first birthdays are those that less involve them and mostly the parents', second birthdays involve the child a bit more.

Personally, at our home, this worked since we attended a few birthday parties after the bubbling was 18 months old and she had a fascination for parties, balloons, cake cutting and the likes. At this age, books that relate to real world incidents which the child identifies with work wonders, as did a birthday book at our home.

At younger than 18 months or so, even if the child doesn't still get the birthday concept, our picks double up as a good options to simply view the illustrations and later on to enjoy the birthday bit.

Our picks:

1. Happy Birthday, Biscuit.

This is part of the Biscuit puppy series and shows the whole day of birthday festivities that a girl plans for her puppy, Biscuit. We have loved this since the bubbling's fascination for birthday and puppies had her immediately take on to the book. We have reviewed this here.

2. Happy Birthday Mouse by Laura Numeroff.

This is by the author of the "If you give a .. "series - Laura Numeroff. Laden with pretty illustrations this book is about what the mouse wants to have for his breakfast on his birthday. Taking on from the most famous book of the If you give a series - which is If you give a mouse a cookie - the mouse wants a cookie for his birthday breakfast, The illustrations are lovely and has most of the breakfast items that a child can easily relate to.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Cloth Books

Part of the #Write31Days series in October. 

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.

Cloth Books:

In the first few months, cloth books are the best bet. The child can see colors, feel textures and also use as a snuggle pillow. With no fear of pages tearing apart or the fear of putting them into the mouth, these are a very good option to introduce to the child.

We have had a few cloth books while the bubbling was young and we still love how colorful and fun they are. There are also cloth books with rattles, teethers, crinkles to additional serve as toys and chewers for the babies.

Our picks:

Where is my Belly Button?: The original book by Karen Katz is a lovely one indeed. The abridged version of this in a cloth book was much adored in our home. The book will grow on the child with the lift the flaps and the body parts learning bits.

LaMaze Cloth Books: We had this black and white crib toy and have loved it.

0 Books for the first 24 months : Hugs and Kisses Book

Part of the #Write31Days series in October. 

This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.

I strongly believe that any book that you introduce your child to in the first 24 months will work, if not on the first read, on repeated reads it surely will. But there are some that you just can't go wrong with. It is guarenteed to be a success , sometimes even in the first read. You just get lucky, if you happen to do these books with them. This series is to list such categories that we @ The Bubble Ink household think are sure hits and the ones we have loved in that series.

Hugs and Kisses.

Books with hugs and kisses work from Day 0. Hug is something a baby as young as a few hours will respond to. Hugs and kisses are special always and if they come along with picture books, they sure a win-win combination.

Advantages of books based on Hugs and Kisses are 

1. They feature baby faces - sometimes mumma-papa-baby characters which a child loves seeing.
2. They offer a lot of opportunity to  hug and kiss your little ones.

Our picks in this category

1. Huggy Kissy : Leslie Particelli - Featuring the one-haired baby of Particelli fame, this book has pictures of the baby hugging and kissing all members of the family , even the dog and the fishie.
This is one of the first books bought at the Bubble Ink house hold and the bubbling took to it immediately. 
It is a bubbling full five . Check our review here.

2. Counting Kisses - Karen Katz - Aptly called "Kiss and Read" book, a perfect book for read before sleep time. The book has each member of the family taking turns to kiss the baby on each body part by couting from 10 to 1 last kiss on the baby's sleepy , dreamy head.

0 Write 31 days : Our favourites in the first 24 months

Bubble Ink, being a book blog hasn't featured a book list yet. I have personally bookmarked, pinned , checked off items in booklists across the internet to build my home library of picture books for the child and using that excuse built a library  for myself.  But, somehow never felt I could do justice to a book list. I kept shrugging off the idea thinking "It's going to contain only our favourites", "Am never going to able to get the right number, 10 must read, no 20, no 50" . However, having come to know so many kid-lit websites, FB pages and benefitted by them, it is only fair to pay back by making my own list.

This is a book list of a different sort for the reasons that I find it extremely difficult to list "X" must-have books for "x" year old - So I decided to list a category of books that you might want to introduce your child to in the first 24 months – suggest one or two in that category.

As a new parent aspiring to introduce the best books to your child , or worried about not being so-well-read yourself, or groping around websites or bookshops  without being sure of what to pick, there is just one thing I have to say :  if you read and enjoy children's literature yourself, you will soon sense your child's pulse and develop a knack yourself for the books that your child will love , or better than that your child will just take the lead soon to choose on his/her own. Either way, it works, it just works!

Now such a book list has been on my mind for quite a long time –When I started drafting the blog for the last couple of weeks, it was intended to be “12 Picture book categories for the first 24 months”  - but as I listed it grew to be more than 12. So jumped on Write31Days opportunity to take the plunge, revive the blog and do this long pending book list.

I know, I know, the 30 authors’ one is left at the letter “N” – that is coming soon too!

What you can expect on the Bubble Ink blog for the next 31 days of October is a book category per day – books that we have loved in that category – only books read to/enjoyed by the bubbling will be featured here. I am going to call call it “Our favourites in the first 24 months”. The review of the books under the category might be short unlike a full length Bubble Ink review. If the book has already been reviewed, I will link to the post.  If I fall short of 31 categories, then I will continue to review books for the rest of the days.

0 Love Books Exchange : The Tantalizing Turtle's Tall Tale :

We received our package from A Spoonfull of ideas - An awesome pairing fitted to the "T" to the non-crafty Bubble Ink. Like we said in this post, A Spoonfull of ideas is one of those crafty-blogs we have been pinning and bookmarking for the simplicity in her craft ideas. The blogger being India based, the craft supplies are also easily available and all her activities seem so doable and are creative too.

We received Turtle's Tall Tale* and 2 activities in our package. 
*Buy your copy here on Amazon or on Flipkart
The Book:
A lovely story by Aimee Sald and illustrated by Lisa Kerr - a story of a turtle who loves exploring in the ocean and is always on adventure journeys. The turtles friends dismiss his adventures and explorations as "Tall Tales", till one day they decide to follow him and are surprised with the Sun Fish . From that day on, they indeed start believing his stories. 

The book with its repetitive text and the bubbling's love for fishes was a great hit. We loved the beautiful illustrations too. 

The Package:
The package was very well planned with 2 activities. 

Make your own turtle with Walnut shells:

We got 4 walnut shells( to give us enough tries to break the shell in exact halves) , green foam, googly eyes and a turtle template to make this one. The Bubble Ink got to eat the walnut too with the bubbling dismissing it , being eager to do the activity. 

With the bubbling so much into googly eyes these days, this activity was an instant hit and she waited patiently holding those googly eyes for me to cut the turtle template. 

Foam sticker activity:
This went perfectly with the theme of the books, with octopuses and fishes as foam stickers to take off and stick on to reproduce an ocean scene. With a little help, the bubbling was all engrossed and finished an octopus and a fish at one go.


A Spoonfull of ideas had it all right with the bubbling - Her love for fishes, her recent fascination with googly eyes and her i-never-get-bored approach for stickers. We loved every bit of the package. 

It was a lovely experience packaging something like this for another kid - a surprise package, that too a one involving books and activities for them to enjoy! This was part of the Love Books exchange 2014. See all other packages here to get do them at your own home. 

See a Sneak Peek of what we sent to On Board the Mommyship -  blogger, story teller and a superb crafter herself - See her work here.

0 Love Books exchange : Sneak Peek - Because it's all Good

We @ The Bubble Ink love books and have been always been a teeny-bit guilty of giving other equally enjoyable things a lesser priority - one of it being Crafts. While we bookmarked and pinned a host of websites - we didn't get down to doing them as often as we would have liked to. One such website was The Educators' Spin On It. We really love how they make books, activities and the whole deal of bringing up toddlers - so enjoyable. The website really creates that vibe in you to get you enthused about kid-lit and craft related with children.

When I came across the Love Books that they have been hosting - I was interested in participating in it even cross country - By making arrangements to deliver and receive my package through close family living in the USA. I wrote to them and to my surprise, they agreed to host an exchange India, provided I get a few interested bloggers in India. [Kim had agreed to host it even if there was 1 other person to play exchange with me]. But, when I have these awesome bloggers in my network like A Spoonfull of ideas, Cuddles and Reads, Parenting Mantras, On board the Mommyship, Chooku Booku and Prajakta - All of them book lovers and most of them even story tellers. It was a super response and the exchange happened for the first time in India with 7 participants.

More than half of the participants were those with whom we have already been exchanging books especially Parenting Mantras, Chooku Booku and Cuddles and Reads. So we wished to send it to the awesome story teller, lovely crafter and a blogger:  "On Board the Mommyship" from Golpo whose blog and articles on Parentous I have been following for a over 2 years. The wish came true, Kim paired me with her.

We love what Golpo is doing - the choice of books, the stories, the craft - the pictures say it all. 

Our package :

The child to whom we are sending the package is around the same age as the bubbling - So we chose to send the book which was an instant hit and is still her favourite. We also believed the book can serve as a great choice for Golpo sessions, if On Board the Mommyship prefers it to be. The choice of the book was an easy one, we were lucky to find a copy easily too. Every day, since the last 1 week - making the package has been at the back of the mind. I had been mentally planning this throughout last week - with each day giving me a new idea. With On Board the Mommyship, being an awesome crafter and a creative story teller herself, we wanted to make it extra special for her. Hope she and her son enjoy the package as much we did making it for her.

Here is a sneak peek of what we sent, We just have one statement to say,
"Because it's all good"

A note of thanks to The Educators' Spin on it for this idea - It is such a lovely gesture making a package like this for a kid! -

Now does anyone want to guess the book!

0 Doodle with Dad : Father's Day

Doodle With Dad
Celebrating Daddy Dearest with our Dearest things Books.

Doodle with Dad - Theme being Art.


Bubble Ink Book Picks : These are picture books which feature dad and/or those have art in them.

Beautiful Oops : Barney Saltzberg : A beautifully message and intelligently crafted book. When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful. The book lists all such mistakes and what creative and beautiful things they can be turned into.

The Dot: Peter Reynolds: A story of a girl who thinks she can't draw but her teacher believes she can. She starts off with one little dot which starts her journey as an artist.. A lovely read for any wanna-be artist. Self discovery!

Activity Ideas:

Beautiful Oops:

http://imaginationsoup.net/2010/09/beautiful-oops-moments-barney-saltzberg/

http://alittlezhuzh.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/beautiful-opps/

The Dot:http://www.lifelessonsforlittleones.com/the-dot-by-peter-h-reynolds-book-review-and-activities

0 Dine with Dad : Father's Day @Bubble Ink

Dine with Dad:
Celebrating Daddy Dearest with our Dearest things Books.

Dine with Dad - Theme being Food.

Bubble Ink Book Picks : These are picture books which feature dad and/or those have food in them.

Every Friday - Dan Yaccarino - Story of a father-son who go for breakfast together every Friday morning - the book narrates their walk down to the diners. The book is beautifully illustrated to show how the father-son slow down their busy life, taking time off to watch things around and it ends beautifully to say "Can't wait for the next Friday"!


The Tiger who came to Tea : Judith Kerr - A beautiful story of a Tiger who comes for Tea and eats and drinks up everything in the house leaving neither dinner or anything in the pantry to cook a dinner up. The father frets not and takes the family out for dinner and shopping to buy Tiger Food.

Activity Ideas:
Tiger who came to Tea : http://rainydaymum.co.uk/the-tiger-who-came-to-tea-fun

You can cook up a meal or go for a Saturday breakfast with the daddy - That counts too!

As always, not mandatory to read only Dad-child books , not mandatory to read only Food related book, not mandatory to read only with the dad.

0 Date with Dad : Father's Day at Bubble Ink

Celebrating Daddy Dearest at Bubble Ink - Today we Date with Dad.

"Love you to the moon and back" - Guess How much I love you - by Sam McBartney and Anita Jeram - 

- If saying those words to your little one everyday is not enough, then go on a Book Date. 


Date with Dad picks from the Bubble Ink. The Theme is "Love".

1. Guess How much I love you. - by by Sam McBartney and Anita Jeram  - A lovely story featuring a father bunny and little bunny in which they tell each other how much they love each other. Every time, the little bunny stretches his arms or feet to show "This Much" - the father bunny goes higher, longer and much more than the little.a Father-child love that!
and the book ends with "Love you to the moon and back". 

2. Papa, Please get the moon for me. by Eric Carle - A daughter wants to play with the moon and the father sets out to get her the moon - Is he able to? How does he solve the problem - A lovely story that reminds us of all that daddies are ready to do for their children. They say, Don't call it lost till Mom can't find it. Don't call it quits, did Dad can get it for you, Even, The Moon Be it!

And if your birthday is nearing, this is an excellent read too
3. How many sleeps till my birthday by Mark Sperring and Sebastien Braun. A story of a father bear planning a surprise party for the baby bear and how the baby bear goes on tirelessly to ask How many more sleeps till my Birthday? - Lovely gesture that.
Read CuddlesAndReads' Review here on Divya's blog.

Here are some more that we shared for our "Daddy Dearest" during our 30day reading challenge.

Activity Ideas:
These are links from various sites across the internet.

Guess How much I love you http://havingfunatchelleshouse.blogspot.in/2013/02/guess-how-much-i-love-you-book-and.html

Papa, Please get the moon for me: 
http://mstremlsteachingblog.blogspot.in/2011/07/papa-please-get-moon-for-me-by-eric.html


You could read any of your favourite books on this book-date with daddy. You could read your daddy's favourite too. You could read any book on love theme. You could read just about anything!!

There is a maximum of 5 points to be won for this theme.

It is not mandatory to read these same books or do the same activities. 

Reading any book gets you 2 points.
Reading a book either on "Dad" as theme or with "Date/Love" as the theme gets you 2 more points.
Doing any activity on any theme gets you 1 point.

If the dad does any of these with you, give him a Hi-Fi instead of an additional point!

Send us an email to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com with your reads as text or pictures or post on our FB Page post.

0 Father's Day @ Bubble Ink

Bubble Ink celebrates Dad's Day with our dearest things, Books. We will read and share with each other books that we read, book or craft related activities that we do.

Date, Dine, Doodle and Dine with Dad!. For each of these these, we'll post book picks / reviews along with links from the internet for activity ideas.

Date With Dad:
Go on a book date with Dad. The theme is "Love". Read the book you love, a book about parent-child love,pets-love, toys-love anything, adventure-love, sports-love or just read anythings - as reading is all your love. Take your dearest book to Daddy Dearest to gain those extra points.
Eg: Love you forever , Guess How much I love you.
Also books like We're going on a Bear Hunt - which features the father going on a adventure with the family.
Activity idea: Make a card for Daddy.

Dine With Dad:
The theme is "Eat/Cook". Read any book related food. Cook a meal with him. 
Eg: The Tiger who came for Tea, Gruffalo is good too :).

Activity idea: Host a pretend play tea/dinner party along with your favourite book character. Cook up a dish for daddy. Create any craft around food theme. 

Doodle with Dad:
The theme is "Art". Read any book related to art. Make a doodle with him. Draw your favourite book character with him.
Eg: Beautiful Oops, Harold and the Purple Crayon, ish.

Doze with Dad:
The theme is "Sleep". Read any sleep theme book or any book at bedtime with daddy or a book having dads putting children off to sleep.
Eg: Ten, Nine,Eight by Molly Bang 
Interrupting Chicken by Erza Keats
Owl Moon - Jane Yolen.

The blog post for the day will detail the theme for the day and will include picture books featuring dads or which relate to the theme . It can occasionally include internet / Pinterest links with activity suggestions. Doing the very same activity or reading the exact books in the blog are not mandatory to qualify for the points.

Rules:
1. It is not mandatory to read only "Dad" themed books, neither is it mandatory to read only with the "Dad". Like we always say, Just Reading will suffice.

2. Every day starting Wednesday June 11, a blog post and a wall post on the FB page will be made announcing the theme for the day. Books read/Activities done can be posted as a comment there or can be sent as an email. The comment can be pictures or simply mentioning the book and the activity. There is no time restriction to post or email. The contest will run till June 17. Any theme can be done on any of the days. Doing multiple themes on the same day is allowed too. If you are not doing that same activity as in the blog, it is easier to email the activity to us than looking for the right FB post. We would appreciate if you send email(s) for the theme. 

3. Each theme can win you a maximum of 5 points. 
Break up of points:
Read any book : +2
If the book is on the theme like Dining/Doodling/Dozing/Dating or if it is dad themed :+2
Do an activity around the book or the theme : +1

So a maximum of 20 points for the 4 themes mentioned above.
The points table will be posted on a timely basis.

4. The one who gets maximum points will win a Rs 200 flipkart voucher. International participants can opt for a equivalent 5$ voucher on amazon if available in their country or will have to go with the INR voucher. Indian residents can also opt for a book of their choice to be shipped. In case of a tie, a lucky draw will be done to pick one winner. Prizes are self sponsored by Bubble Ink and have no association with Flipkart. If the contest sees very inactive participation, Bubble Ink will decide not to give out the prize voucher.

5. The contest closes on 17 June 2014 and winner announcement will be made on or before 22 June 2014.

0 N is for Nancy Tafuri

N is for Nancy Tafuri
Nancy Tafuri is best known for her "Have you seen my duckling" which is a 1985 Caldecott Honor.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?, You are special, Little One.

Books read to the Bubbling:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?

Bubble Ink pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Bubbling Pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Some more that we think are great:
Good night, My Duckling.

We will review "Have you seen my duckling"


The Book:
Have you seen my Duckling is written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri and is a 1986 Caldecott honor

Buy yours here on Flipkart.

The Bubble:
The story is told in illustrations than in the words. The first page has the text "Early one morning.." and shows how a duckling wanders away to catch a butterfly and his sibling ducklings calling out to him. Mamma duck goes around asking everyone "Have you seen my duckling". While the Mama duck asks everyone, seen in the illustration is the duckling hidden away so subtely but the mama duck unable to see it. There is a also a page in which the duckling is just behind the Mama - Brilliant that!

A mom-child theme book where the story is told by illustrations.

Bubble Ink Verdict:
We love this almost wordless book with a simple story line yet wonderful. We love picture books that double as a game of hide and seek. Our love for the book is the reciprocation of the bubbling's delight in the book on its first read and every subsequent read.
We love the first page that forms the basis for the entire story - the duckling wandering away to catch a butterfly and the other ducklings calling out to it.

This is one of those books that can very well be your child's first book and the most loved one. A must-have in every child's library.

For us, it is on the list of the Bubbling's favourites.

We borrowed ours from Hippocampus, Bangalore.
We give it 5-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
It is undoubtedly a bubbling-full-five.
This is one of the books that she just didn't want to return back to Hippocampus. We brought it back the first time we went to return it. Bubbling is a lover of lift the flaps, pull tabs and she loves surprises. She delighted at finding the duckling on every page , even in the subtlest of the hiding places. She used to squeal in delight and we have read this one atleast 8 times back to back on the first read and one every other day for all the days it was with us.
Somehow, the bubbling thought that the duckling is hiding from the Mama and did not think that it got lost. Well, wordless books are wordless for this reason, it is left to the imagination of the reader.

0 M is for Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak : Caldecott medal for "Where the wild things are" and 7 times Caldecott honors - Is an author and an illustrator.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Where the wild things are, Outside over there - Written by him
Little Bear, Little Bear's visit, What can you do with a shoe like this - Illustrated by him

Books read to the Bubbling:
Where the wild things are.

Bubble Ink pick:
Outside over there.

Bubbling Pick:
Little Bear.

Some more that we think are great:
Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present.

We will review Where the wild things are

The Book:
"Where the wild things are" is written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak and is a 1964 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Buy yours here on Flipkart or Amazon - Great price.

The Bubble:
The book is about a mischievous boy named Max who was called "A wild thing" by his mother and on telling her back "I'll eat you  up" was sent to bed without supper.
In his bedroom , Max imagines up a world on his own with wild things and has the time of his life with them. He gets called the king by them, they do the wild rumpus and Max even gets to send them to bed without supper. Before long, Max starts feeling lonely and gives up being King of wild things and returns back home to find true love.

We love the illustrations showing the emotions of the wild things , the rumpus and Max in his wolf suit. 

Bubble Ink's verdict:
Love books like these which show the imagination of the little boy and the subtle and yet powerful way in which the mother's love is fed into the story. The mom who sends the child off to bed without supper keeps the food warm when he gets back from his dream world. Touching instance,that! We also love how in the dream, Max gets to send his wild things off to bed without supper. Children - they will be! 
The rumpus pages are great!
We bought ours at a book sale. 
We give it 5-bubbles

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling is not into monsters , so did not take to this one that well. However , she loved Max in the wolf suit and relates the monster pages to another favourite of her, The Gruffalo - she recollects the terms terrible teeth and terrible claws.
It is a bubbling-tantalizing-three.

0 Children's Book Week : Arts Tales with Arthi Anand - Favourites

Arthi Anand of Arts Tales shares the favourites in their household and the reading journey with her girls


Arthi Anand Navaneeth is a marketing professional with a fragrance MNC , mother of 2 girls and a writer.
Have You Seen This? and Ranganna are her picture books published by Tulika.  She also is the creator of Mister Muthu for Chandamama.

She is a children's book reviewer at Saffron Tree and a weekend storyteller. She blogs about her storytelling adventures at Art's Tales and  her FB page is https://www.facebook.com/artstales

P for Picture books

My earliest memory of narrating a story to Anushka, was The shepherd boy who cried wolf, when she was around one year old.
There on we added Goldilocks and soon The big pancake made it a trio.

We ( Navy, me and my mother) often improvised and made up stories with Anush as a character- to get over some fear or even to explain traffic rules.

Well, she did have some board books on Winnie the Pooh and words and numbers and a beautiful bath tub book of a little fish and a shark
But we largely stuck to the oral tradition and read aloud books only much later.

As an easy gradual step up, Karadi rhymes came into our home by the time she was two and Jalebi curls from Tulika entered our library.
Everyone in the family, including slightly long term visitors learnt the Karadi songs.
We bought every Tulika title we could find- Mountain who loved a bird, Brahma's Butterfly, Gajapati Kulapati are much thumbed copies.

We bought a few Tara and Katha books as well.

A visit from my aunt in the US saw Dr Suess enter our home in a big way- Anush was around 3 then.

I had never read Suess till then and frankly found it overrated to begin with.
But when Anush began to read One fish, Blue fish by herself I was a convert.

Eric Carle ( we began with The Very Hungry Caterpillar) , Julia Donaldson ( started with a Squash and a Squeeze), tales from multi cultural contexts ( began with Handa's Surprise), were loved and embraced thanks to Safrron Tree and a good friend Chox who was overseas then.

I began as an ST fan and ended up a contributor.
Around then, I became an active picture book hunter and Anush graduated to chapter books.
We got Anush picture books in Hindi and most importantly now we had Aditi to read to and she had us and her big sister to enjoy stories with.

We moved to Bangalore and discovered Pratham books- Too many bananas is still a favourite

So the love affair with picture books has turned into an enduring relationship............helping me along in my roles as mother, writer, storyteller and blogger.

0 L is for Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni is an author and illustrator who has won Caldecott honors - 4 times for his works, Alexander and the Wind up mouse, Swimmy, Inch by Inch and Frederick.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.

Books read to the Bubbling:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.


Bubble Ink pick:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.


Bubbling Pick:
- [A very recent read to her]

Some more that we think are great:
Inch by Inch, Frederick, A Color of his Own, Swimmy, It's Mine.

Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse

The Book:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse is written and illustrated by Leo Lionni and is a 1970 Caldecott Honor.

Buy yours here on Flipkart and his other works here.

The Bubble:
The book is a story of friendship between a real mouse and a toy mouse in a household. A real mouse who scoots around, escaping his threats like a broom chasing him, mouse traps and the flying saucers. The wind-up mouse Willy can only move if wound up but is very happy feeling safe and loved in the household. An endearing tale of friendship between these two mice is brought out beautifully in the book. Alexander wishes to be a wind-up mouse Willy, who is always loved and cuddled. He comes to know of a lizard who can transform anyone to anything they want. Does Alexander get his wish fulfilled? Does 

Only genius illustrators can make mice look adorable and only on picture books can you love them and appreciate a story of friendship between mice.

Bubble Ink's verdict:
Loved this book. A beautiful story of friendship. The mouse with wheels is cute overness - We can't believe we are saying that. But, it is picture book world, you see!
Anything from monsters and aliens to mice and lizards can be made to look cute. Yes, the book features a lizard too.

The book brings a smile on your face and also memories of the feelings "I wish I was like that" and the endearing things we ourselves have done for our friends.

We bought ours at a book sale for a throw-away price. Serendipity strikes the Caldecott Collector.
We give it 5 bubbles

Bubbling verdict:
A very recent read to the bubbling - so no verdict yet. But she loved the two mice and their friendship. Did not yet the entire essence of the story.

0 Children's Book Week @ Bubble Ink

For the love of Books, specifically Children's books, we celebrate Children's Book Week with a book or a voucher to take away and some fun stuff.

1. Book Exchange.
Very similar to our earlier Exchange party with the only change being that we don't want to do it internationally this time unless there is a very specific request.
Please use this form to register for the event with your wishlist and the books that you have to offer. As earlier, you can choose to offer an used book that your child has outgrown, your extra copy of a book or even buy a new book online and ship to your exchange partner. List on the form your preferences to help us work out the partners in an easy and smooth way.

2. List your favourites.
We would to hear from you on the books that you have enjoyed at your home. Your personal favourites as a parent, your child's favourites over the growing years, your current wish list.
If you are a blogger, we would encourage you to write a blog post on your faourites, your reading journey with the child. Share with us the link to your blog.
Here are what we would like to know
1. Favourite characters from Children's Book. eg: Fern from Charlotte's Web
2. Favourite series e.g Spot.
3. Your child's favourites over the growing years.
4. Your personal favourite as a parent.
5. Your current wish list.
6. Your favourite quote or lines from any children's Book.

Most details on the form here.

Submit your favourites here, we will create a collage poster with these on post it on the Bubble Ink page for other parents to benefit from.

3. Celebrate Authors and Illustrators:
On any of the days this week, we would like to celebrate our favourite children's book authors and illustrators. For this, we would encourage you to pick an author or illustrator for a day and celebrate them. Read multiple books from the chosen author/illustrator, draw a similarity in their writing style or illustration style and try an artwork or a small piece of writing based on their style. 
Be inspired by others - Share the resources that you find on the internet.

E.g: Julia Donaldson - With an older child, you can try a small piece of 4 lines with her rhyming style.
Eric Carle - Try a craft with this collage style illustration
Dr Seuss - Try his classic red and blue illustrations.
It can be as simple as even a coloring page or a craft. 
We will post on the Bubble Ink page some inspiration from over the internet and you can post back what you did around the same on our page. We also encourage you to share the inspiration that you find.

4. Win a Book
We love giving away books and we love helping you tick-off your wishlist. If you participate in any one of the above 3 activities, you stand a chance for a lucky draw to win a book or a voucher. The value of the book or the voucher will be limited to Rs 200 INR. For international participants an equivalant 5$ amazon voucher or an Indian Shipping address or the option to take the INR voucher will be requested. Please bear with us for this limitation. If we are able to procure the book on your wish list, we will work out with the individual winner if an used book is ok and can get you that. The option to choose a book or a voucher lies with the winner.
The lucky draw will be done on 20th May 2014.

Now pass the word around and get going.