A beautiful wedding and St.George's Day

This weekend was beautiful wasn't it? We went to a stunning wedding at Pinewood Studios (home of 007!). Honestly, everything was perfect. The atmosphere was electric and the mood relaxed. As my friend texted me yesterday: "Actually the best day EVER!"

So I did a bit of research and found two wedding related books by Usborne for any little budding bridesmaids or mini guests for a big day this year:



£8.99.

Girls will adore dressing and accessorising the beautiful brides, bridesmaids, and handsome grooms for their fairytale weddings.

With over 750 stickers to dress brides and grooms and bridesmaids as they prepare for their big days.

 There is another one called Sticker Dolly Dresing Bridesmaids for only £5.99.

Let me know if you want one.

Oh yes, and today was St. George's Day. One for the boys, perhaps!? (James loves knights and dragons).

This is a picture of us at Dover Castle earlier this month (I don't know why I look so haughty!). I bet there was a lot of activity there today.



£4.99 In stock at Amy's Books



Usborne sell a huge range of books related to knights and medieval times, for all different ages. Did you know that I can advise on the best choices for the lad in your life? Or lass for that matter.

Making stuff from rubbish!

Hi!

James and I are having a lovely day. Right now, James is taking time out to spend time in his Playmobil world and I thought I would make a coffee, sit down and blog.

This morning, James had his hair cut and I had my brows tidied - a fair deal I thought.

Then, we took a trip to the Nottingham Contemporary, which has really given me a boost. When we got home, we decided to raid the dry recyclable bin for stuff we can use to get creative and make new stuff - like robots, trees and animals!

Here are some pictures from our fun day and the books we could use to guide us (I'm afraid I'm big on imagination, lacking in skill or talent).



£12.99 5+




Stuff made by a variety of children (& their parents)





£9.99 5+



And for the littler ones...£4.99



More inspiration can be found at the Nottingham Contmporary Online Gallery:

www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/families

For the rest of this week, you can still drop into the Contemporary to take part in more free family activities. Draw, explore, make, play and let their imaginations run wild.

Amy x

50 Things

Hi everyone. I really want to tell you about a great website for children under 12 and their mums & dads. It is really inpiring and really compliments the Amy's Books way.

https://www.50things.org.uk/

This website is run by the National Trust but you don't have to be an NT member to appreciate it. It talks about some of the things our children should do before they get to 11 and 3 quarters. It encourages children to get outdoors, get messy and enjoy nature.

Here are some pictures of us doing just that at Calke Abbey and the Usborne books that always help us along the way.





£12.99





"50 Things..." says climb a tree. Here's James making a good start.




A delightful little guide to the towering world of trees. £5.99.

 



What animal can you spot?

  


Chidlren will enjoy learning to identify mammals, birds and creepy crawlies. £4.99.

 



Mammal. Spotted.

  

Have you browsed the Usborne catalogue yet? (www.usborne.com). For free delivery, order through me:

07806318789

www.facebook.com/agethingsbooks

agethingsbooks@hotmail.co.uk



Happy reading (& send me your photos of your own family adventures and reading fun if you get time).

Amy x

Back to Dungeness

Today this post has a seaside/holiday theme. I have also promised myself that I will write a little more text today. I do apologise for the lack of text, it's just that I feel the photos do all the talking and do not need ruining by my mind babble!

Inspired by this Usborne book, we ventured out onto the Dungeness headland, in search of things we only come across on holiday.

The wind was gusting and bitterly cold. But the sky was bright blue and the sun surprisingly warm. Here are our best holiday things FOUND and documented for you to enjoy.

Hot chocolate isn't in the book, but it's a must for us when out and about. I suppose in the warm months, it will be chocolate milkshakes and ice-creams but we weren't in the mood for either on this day.

Amy x

www.facebook.com/agethingsbooks



Easter Greetings

Aunty Lissie reads with James. This is "Stories of Robots" from Usborne's trusty Young Reading Series. At the moment, we wouldn't think to travel without it.

I hope you have found time to read this Easter weekend.

We are in the middle of a break from Nottingham. Today we waved cheerio to one set of grandparents (Hertfordshire) and hello to another (Kent).

Amy x

Not-Spring at Waddeston Manor

This Easter Saturday was a day of withdrawal from Abi's pushchair. We went somewhere without it. We missed it.  



And look what I found in the gift shop...

Just couldn't help myself. Love to see Usborne out and about. Usually do see them at National Trust gift shops and also art gallery shops. Says a lot, I think. And makes me feel a bit proud.

As this month comes to an end, Amy's Books is entering a new phase in which I hope to spend more quality time with parents/carers at toddler groups. I also look forward to working with schools, attending school fetes and throwing some book parties. Think I am relaxing into this Usborne thing...still no regrets. Still just looking forward to the next challenge.

http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/

Amy x

4 book displays & a Hen Do later...

It's the end of a very busy and enjoyable week. I am ever so tired from all my Amy's Books trips around Nottingham (The Park Estate, Bingham, Mapperley and Woodthorpe!). And then I went to one of my very best friend's Hen Do in London.

So because I am feeling so lazy (and yes, a little hungover), here are some links and photos for you to peruse. Enjoy!

Little Lamber Jack and his daddy enjoying a great Usborne book at Little Lambs Easter Party on Friday (My First Atlas, £9.99):

http://www.facebook.com/littlelambswoodthorpe?fref=ts

I hope you agree this is a lovely picture which really captures the spirit of Usborne and Amy's Books. It also goes to show that Little Lambs Toddler Group in Woodthorpe is a great play group with loads of space to relax and do your own thing with your child. Thanks to Claire from Tiny Talk Nottingham Central & Rebecca Burke for this photo.

Yesterday afternoon at the Hen Do, we all attended Introduction to Perfume Making with Afternoon Tea. For those of you into your crafts, this company also does all sorts of craft workshops including children's craft sessions.

 http://www.homemadelondon.com/ 

 My favourite scents for my very own unique perfume.



Guanabara Brazilian restaurant and entertainment venue www.guanabara.co.uk/

Amy x

Let's party this Spring. Wherever Spring is...

Spring is being elusive this year and this is not putting people in a sociable mood. In fact, I get a sense of us all just being a bit FED UP.

So talking about book parties this week has seemed a bit, well let's just say difficult.

So I wanted to post a blog about book parties this April/May. Because during these months I would like get as many free Usborne books out there as possible and helping people organise a book party is one of the best ways to do this.

So here it is: Benefits of Holding A Book Party. The facts.

1) You & your guests relax, chat, browse & buy in the comfort of your own home.

2) You receive 10% of the total order value in FREE books (that's at least £10 worth)

3) You choose a FREE gift from a selection of brand new Usborne titles

4) You have fun!

I will take care of everything - I arrange FREE delivery, take orders, collect payment and .... make the tea if you like?

So this April & May, get some free books for your kids. Invite your friends round and get to know your neighbours better. Let Spring in!

.

Amy x

Howdi West Bridgford Library

As my friends will know, I have a "Mathilda"-esque preoccupation with libraries and my excitement over the opening of West Bridgford Library reached it's pinnacle today when I actually crossed the threshold at last!
 
I only had 5 minutes left of my lunch break, but managed to bump into Husband and Abi, which was a bit of a surprise. Here is a photo of the little lady herself, that Husband took in the library (yes they are salapettes - it was cold today).

It took us all of 30 seconds to find an Usborne book, which isn't surprising as any children's section in a library would surely be incomplete without.

For those of us developing a home library, this is a huge advantage because we can try before we buy! I hate to buy a book for my son or daughter and then find that they dis-like or are dis-interested in the content. (By the way, this very rarely happens but there have been occasions where I have bought a book and found that James is scared of a picture in it, for example a picture of a spider or a vampire and he hasn't gone near them since!).

Don't you agree that it's much better to allow our children to lead the way when it comes to choosing books? Libraries are such a relaxed environment in which to do this (and surely preferable to a book shop). Observe the types of books your child makes a bee line for. Special interests reveal themselves in children from a young age.

As for James, spiders/vampires are out for now...dinosaurs and space definitly in.

Welcome

Hi, my name's Amy. Welcome to my Usborne children's books blog.

I'm so excited to share some of my stories with you as we discover the world of Usborne books together.

From Amy's Books H.Q. in West Bridgford, we like to get out and about to visit lots of different baby & toddler groups in the Nottingham area. Maybe you've seen us around? This is the best bit of my job: I get to talk with the grown-ups (often about Usborne books but not always) whilst my daughter Abi (2) has the opportunity to explore & make her own little friends.

So, do you love reading charming & educational books to your chidren? Do you want to be involved in their learning? Then Usborne is the children's publisher for you. And Amy's Books is all about getting as many Usborne books into children's hands as possible; especially the free ones... 

The best way to find out more is to come & meet me.

My next Amy's Books event is this Wednesday 20th March, 10am - 12noon at Nottingham Squash Club, Tatershill Drive, The Park Estate, Nottingham. This is a weekly baby & toddler group who are a bit low on numbers and so they are looking for more parents/carers/grandparents to mosey down for a play and a natter.

http://www.nsrc.co.uk/

We hope to see you.

Amy & Abi xx