Kitten Corner: More Fabulous Flaps!

We’re still absolutely loving interactive board books chez Cup of Tea, so here’s a little round up of some of the newest flappy favourites on our shelves! All of these books were sent to me for review, but that doesn’t affect my opinions.

Where’s Mrs Car? by Ingela P Arrhenius

The latest book in the Felt Flaps series is another winner! These are so simple, but so well-executed, with five large and tactile flaps that babies will love to grab. This one, as you can probably guess, features an array of cute vehicles, and the mirror at the end is a particular favourite. Definitely a series to get your hands on if you need to entertain a little one!

Kitten Corner: Animal Books!

I realised the other day that a lot of the books we’ve been reading recently have had an animal theme, so here’s a little round up! All of these books were sent to me for review by Little Tiger Books, but that doesn’t affect my opinions.

Sea by Patricia Hegarty and Britta Teckentrup

This book is full of gorgeous underwater scenes and enchanced with cool cut-outs that reveal different creatures on each page, which makes it feel full of depth and mystery! It’s accompanied by rhyming text that tells you a bit about each of the fish and animals, and has an overt moral about keeping the sea clean to protect ocean life, which is very important. All the sea creature favourites are here, from sharks to manatees, and kids will love spotting them in the detailed background as well as when they’re the focus. A very pretty read!

Kitten Corner: Ancient History

Just a few books today, but they all ended up on a historical theme! These are all perfect for slightly older readers as they have more delicate and intricate flaps and plenty of interesting historical info to learn – so let’s take a look! All of these books were sent to me for review, but that doesn’t affect my opinions.

Find Tom in Time: Ancient Rome by Fatti Burke

I’ve already said I’m a huge fan of this series (my review of Tom’s adventures in Ming Dynasty China is here, and Ancient Egypt is here), and I was really looking forward to the Ancient Rome book as that’s my area of expertise! This Where’s-Wally-esque book is a fabulous peek into the past, covering loads of different areas of Roman life in bright, chaotic detail with the added fun of looking for Tom and his cat Digby! You could pore over this for hours to find all the fun little tidbits hidden in the scenes – it’s a great addition to the series!

Kitten Corner: More Books About Feelings

This time on Kitten Corner I wanted to highlight some beautiful picture books that tackle the subject of feelings, friendships, and other emotional issues – there’s been a gorgeous selection published recently, so if you’re in need of a book that speaks to your and your little ones’ hearts, this is the post for you!

All of these books were sent to me for review, but that doesn’t affect my opinions!

Sometimes by Stephanie Stansbie and Elisa Paganelli

Published by Little Tiger Books on 1st April 2021

Kitten Corner: Illustrated Books for Slightly Older Readers!

I have just a few books in today’s Kitten Corner round-up, but I think that this is one of my favourite kinds of book – gorgeous, informative picture books with tons of detail for confident readers who need a bit more meat in their stories! All of these books were sent to me for review, but that doesn’t affect my opinions!

Kitten Corner: More Interactive Books!

Flaps are still king in this house, so here’s a round-up of a few new board books with fun interactive elements! All the books in this post were sent to me for review, but all opinions are my own (or accurately reported, in the case of my little one!).

Hatch and Grow by Isabel Otter, illustrated by Pau Morgan

Published by Little Tiger on 4th March 2021 and 1st April 2021 respectively

The books in the Little Nature series are made of 100% recycled board, which is genius – as a parent I’m very concerned about the amount of plastic and other waste babies and toddlers create. It seems pretty much unavoidable, so I’m thrilled that this series proves that something more eco-friendly is possible, and it definitely doesn’t mean the quality of the books has been sacrificed – these are beautifully made and feel substantial. I love the more muted colours that come from being printed on the recycled paper, and the cutouts make this fab for a baby who likes to be in control of page turning. There are a couple of sentences on each page which offer simple facts, as well as the lovely illustrations, and I appreciate the nature themes; Hatch looks at four creatures who hatch from eggs (chicks, tadpoles, caterpillars, and turtles) and Grow focuses on plants and the animals and people who grow them (a squirrel plants an acorn; bees pollinate flowers; a bird drops a blackberry; a boy plants a tree). They’re calm, beautiful books, and will inspire curiosity about the natural world from the very beginning.

Kitten Corner: Funny Picture Books!

This time on Kitten Corner I wanted to take a look at a few of the funniest new picture books we’ve been reading recently! If you’re after zany situations and humour-filled illustration, then read on for some of my favourites from the last couple of weeks.

As always with these posts, any books I received for review will be marked with a *, but the fact they were sent to me doesn’t affect my opinions!

Don’t Mess with Duck! by Becky Davies and Emma Levey*

Published 4th March 2021 by Little Tiger

Duck just wants some peace and quiet, but every pond he tries is filled with irritating neighbours! He’ll have to learn to compromise and tolerate others if he wants to settle down somewhere… The story is good fun, with a lovely moral about making friends and not demanding the impossible. The art is hilarious, as Duck tries pond after pond to find his sanctuary – I particularly loved seeing him bothered by macaques in the hot spring! I feel like this would be great for fans of Oi Frog! and its sequels – it’s not a rhyming book, but the combination of grumpiness, humour, and rules just gives me a similar vibe. It’s a lot of fun!

Kitten Corner: Books About Feelings!

This time on Kitten Corner I’m featuring a selection of books that look at a range of emotions, good and bad, through sweet animal stories. If you’d have asked me a couple of months ago, I would have said that was quite a narrow niche to find books in, but it just so happens we’ve read quite a few recently! As always with these posts, any books I received for review will be marked with a *, but the fact they were sent to me doesn’t affect my opinions.

Love by Emma Dodd*

Board book published on 14th January 2021by Nosy Crow

Oh, this is one that will make you cry if it hits you on the right day! This is a sweet, simple rhyming book that describes lots of different things that love is all about, accompanied by beautiful art of two rabbits, a baby and an adult. There are no genders assigned to either rabbit, and no explicit mention of who the adult rabbit is to the child (except in the blurb, where it says “mummy”, but I wouldn’t tend to read that with a child), so this would be a beautiful one to read together no matter what your relationship to your young reading partner is – mum, dad, grandparent, or any other caretaker, this book makes it clear that love is simple and pure and brilliant. It’s a beautiful book in both sentiment and illustration, and one I’ll be buying for many people, I think.

Kitten Corner: Non-fiction For Babies!

For this instalment of Kitten Corner I wanted to highlight some of the beautiful non-fiction books we’ve been enjoying recently. While I do love a good story, there are some wonderful books out there that look at interesting topics like wildlife and history, and they can be just as gorgeously designed and illustrated, and just as captivating, as fiction!

As always with these posts, books marked with a * were sent to me free of charge by the publisher.

The Castle The King Built by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Tom Froese*

Published 14th January 2021 by Nosy Crow

Review: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes and Poems

This beautifully illustrated collection of traditional poems and nursery rhymes would make an amazing gift for any little ones!