BOOK REVIEW: Holiday time with Random House Children’s Books

SCHOOL’S out for summer and time to sort out holiday reading and activities for the youngest members of the family.
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Cupcake

Random House Children’s Books have been cooking up a real treat with their new Fairies of Blossom Bakery series which delivers delicious adventures and the chance to help bake some very special cakes.

There’s also a fun-filled sticker and activity book from those clever CBeebies boffins and a colourful tale of three friends on a picture book picnic.

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Fairies of Blossom Bakery: Cupcake and the Princess Party by Mandy Archer and Kirsteen Harris-Jones

Over the hills in a land of sweetness, little fairies bake and play. Would you like to peep at their secret, scrumptious world? Make a wish and then step into the magic of Fairycake Kingdom.

What could be better for little girls than this sparkling new series about fairies and baking? Author Mandy Archer’s enchanting stories are brought to life by Kirsteen Harris-Jones’s warm and endearing illustrations full of fairy magic, special friendships and crumbly cakes.

Each book has a mixing bowl of magical stories featuring fairies with their own quirky personalities who together explore the highs and lows of being friends. And on the last page of all the books there is a simple, easy-to-follow, illustrated recipe to try out with mum at home or with the class at school.

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In Cupcake and the Princess Party, an important messenger arrives at the Blossom Bakery on opening day asking Cupcake and her fairy friends to make a cake for Princess Crystal. They can’t wait to get started but things start to go wrong and as the pressure mounts, the fairy friends realise they need to work together to make the magic happen.

And in Cookie and the Secret Sleepover, fairy Cookie organises a secret sleepover with Cupcake but when she’s invited to tea with her other fairy friends on the day of the sleepover, she doesn’t know what to do. Will she tell them about her secret?

Fairies of Blossom Bakery is a wonderful collectable series full of fun, adventure and baking for children aged three and over.

(Corgi, paperback, £5.99)

Woolly and Tig: Have Fun with Woolly Sticker Book

Keep little hands and minds busy with this must-have activity book featuring the adorable stars of the smash hit CBeebies show which had over 10 million iPlayer hits for its first series.

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Three-year-old Tig is exploring the world with her cuddly toy spider Woolly. From building sandcastles to Tig’s first day at nursery, there’s so much to look at and learn here. Get involved in splashing about in the swimming pool and playing games at birthday parties with this fun-packed book.

As well as over 100 stickers, there is an amazing maze puzzle, a building blocks challenge, a supermarket shopping list to complete, a super dooper ‘making a mess’ page and party puzzles to get little ones guessing.

Woolly and Tig explore the feelings that pre-school children have when faced with new experiences and teach little ones to make their own decisions and use their own initiative. A brilliant activity book that is both entertaining and educational.

(Bantam, paperback, £3.99)

We’re Going on a Picnic by Pat Hutchins

Pat Hutchins’ much-loved picture book classic gets a new format and a gorgeous new cover for this hilarious tale of three friends on a picnic.

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It’s a perfect day for a picnic so Hen picks some berries, Goose gathers some apples and Duck finds some pears. The three friends then set off to look for the perfect spot to enjoy their feast but they aren’t the only ones who are hungry. As the picnic basket gets lighter and lighter, little ones will be laughing harder and harder as they are let in on the secret.

We’re Going on a Picnic is brilliant laugh-out-loud tale from the creator of Rosie’s Walk, first published in 1968, and Hutchins is now one of the world’s most popular picture book creators with over 30 children’s books published.

The delightfully original drawings catch the eye with their vibrancy and character while a simple but charmingly effective story is one that children can learn, love and repeat. A guaranteed bedtime favourite with its endearing animal characters and funny, funky story.

(Red Fox, paperback, £6.99)

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