A Strong Coffee

This month Parragon sent me something a little different, and something to keep my brain active. I have to admit I am the kind of person who gets really annoyed when I receive one of these little metal puzzles in a Christmas cracker as I can never work out how to do them. Well fear not, I now have a book to help me! The book also has lots of other puzzles and riddles (complete with answers!)

It is a great little gift with Christmas coming up. I am sure big man will be dazzling everyone with his puzzles at the table over Christmas.You can purchase Professor Murphy Metal Puzzles from Amazon.

I also have a set to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/metal-puzzles#sthash.btJ09dPp.dpuf

I took this book on holiday with us for big man to read. Then I had a flick through and started reading it myself. In all honesty I think it is a little advanced for big man. I would suggest it to a confident 8/9 year old. It is also suited to girls who love Disney films and fairytales. If you are the kind of person that likes Malicifencet or Wicked then this book may interest you. Rather than the story before the fairytales it tells the story after. It does require a good knowledge of a lot of fairytales to fully appreciate the story. It is also the prequel to Disney Descendants which was released this year on the Disney Channel.

The story is set in the kingdom of Auradon where the evil villains were banished to the Isle of the Lost. It is a dark and dreary place protected by a force field that makes it impossible for them to leave. The story focuses on the next generation. Stripped of their magical powers, the villains and their children now live in total isolation, forgotten by the world. But hidden in the Forbidden Fortress is a Dragon’s Eye: the villains’ only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest villain can find it. In the quest for the Dragon’s Eye, the villains’ kids learn that being good ain’t so bad, and sometimes it even helps!

Disney Descendants: The Isle of the Lost can be purchased from Amazon here.  Parragon have also offered a copy to giveaway to one of my readers. It really would make a lovely gift for an older child who knows their Disney films. Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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Don't forget to enter my other giveaways including the chance to win £150 Smyths Toys Voucher!

Competitions at ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/disney-descendantsisle-lost-book#sthash.zeuqxXpl.dpuf

There is something about stickers that children love and this sticker book from Parragon will not disappoint. This book may have 2000 vehicle themed stickers but it is more than just a sticker book. It has a variety of activities including spot the difference, colouring and sorting activities. 

The retail price of the book is £8 which is quite high but I feel is fair for a book that will keep your little one entertained for hours. Whilst it may be primarily aimed at boys, I am sure that it would also appeal to girls as they are well represented in the pictures. Busy Busy Things That Go is now in the shops and online. Parragon have kindly offered a copy to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck! 

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Competitions at ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/busy-busy-things-go-sticker-book#sthash.v4S3z3Ae.dpuf

As a Parragon book buddy I was sent some stationary from their Life Canvas Range to review this month. I don't know about you but I write a lot of lists. Having made the mistake of doing them on sheets of paper and losing them all around the house, I now opt for a notebook instead. The Wild pocket notebook is a perfect size for jotting down all the things on my to do list.



The notecard set is also nice. They are like postcards with feathers as the picture and a coloured back.



I always like to write a little note when the boys send thank you letters for Birthdays so this is perfect. You can see other products in the Life Canvas range here.

Parragon have kindly offered a set to giveaway to one of my readers, all you need to do is complete the rafflecopter below.

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On other Parragon related news, I thought I should update you on big man's Gold Stars challenge. In short the Gold Stars books are designed to help bridge the learning gap over the 6 week holiday. I have to say they have been great (we bought the Maths one too.) He does a couple of pages at a time and enjoys them. He isn't particularly keen on doing lots of work so having books like this where he can complete them little and often is excellent. Unfortunately having me as an ex-teacher as him Mother probably isn't the best as I mark very hard and I hope he is also gaining some exam practice tips for the future too!


We are part of the Parragon Book Buddies and have received these products to review.



- See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/stationary-bundle#sthash.YuKFGeWA.dpuf

The moment this book arrived I knew that it was going to be a hit with big man. He loves his non fiction books and always comes back from the school library with one. Our current library book is levers. This book is filled with interesting facts. He was immediately drawn to fact #0017 Fieldfares scare off enemies by dive bombing them with their poo (well that's a boys sense of humour for you!)

It is lovely finding him reading it. He sometimes needs help with some of the words, but it is great seeing him so interested in reading.

The book is packed with pictures and is organised into topic too. I must say even I have enjoyed flicking through. As they say "you learn something new everyday" and here you could for 1000 days. Who knew that #0242 The biggest blood sucking leeches are as long as your arm and as wide as a banana!?!


I think this is a fantastic book. We have some other non fiction books from Parragon that we also think are great such as Sharks and this is another great addition to our collection. I am pleased to be able to offer one of these fantastic books to one of my readers. Just complete the rafflecopter below.
Good Luck!


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I also wanted to let you know about the Gold Stars challenge that big man is going to be doing over the summer. I have to say he was less than keen on the idea when I told him I was signing him up to do some work every day for 30 days over the summer holidays. However, once he saw the book, he was much happier about the idea.

The theory behind the challenge is that over the summer, pupils can experience "summer learning loss." So by completing a page a day for 30 days, I am hoping that big man will go into Year 2 having remembered all his hard work this year. We were given the English book, but I think I will also get him the Maths one as well. I will keep you updated on how it goes!

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/1000-facts-you-wont-believe#sthash.M2Gyp8e8.dpuf

This months Parragon book buddies book is the Football Superstar Sticker Scene. Whilst football may not interest me that much, my boys like it and they were pleased with this book. I particularly liked that the pages unfold to make 8 long scenes. Not only was this something different to most of the sticker books we own, it also meant that the boys could share putting the stickers on, each having their own part of the scene.


The book is also designed to get your child thinking. For example they can pretend to be the manager can and have tips on how to make team motivated. You can even make up your own winning chant!



This is a nice book with an rrp of only £4.00. With the 2014 FIFA World Cup on it's way, I am sure that girls as well as boys will be becoming even more interested in football. You can purchase the sticker book here. Parragon have kindly offered a sticker book for one of my readers to win. Please just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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I received a copy of the sticker book for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

As Parragon book buddies we were excited to receive two titles from the Dino Supersaurus range. Four dinosaurs with super powers are on a mission to defeat T-Rex and the evil sinistaurs and save New Dino City. We recieved the 2000 Stickers and Doodlesauraus books. Both are very good for any little dinosaur fan or a bigger one! The sticker book has like it says it the title a whopping 2000 stickers. Some small stamp like ones (big man loves these when he writes letters) and some that can be used on the scenes throughout the book. It adopts a comic style and is also packed with puzzles and colouring.

Dinosaurus 2000 Stickers

Out of the two books we enjoyed the Doodlesaurus book the most. It comes with two rubbers that have moving legs. Middle man immediately wanted these. The rest of the book is filled with half drawn pictures and scenes to complete as well as 4 pages of stickers. This is great at it helps get their imaginations going. Here is big mans completed picture of science lab.


Other titles in the series are Stickersaurus and Superpower Colouring. The series is aimed at children aged 6-12. I think they would make a great gift and are perfect to take away with you if you are going on holiday as the activities within the books will keep your little ones entertained on a long journey. Parragon have kindly offered for me to run a giveaway of these two books to celebrate my blog turning 2! Just complete the rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

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Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Our Parragon Book Buddies book for December was The Carrot Cake Catastrophe by Elizabeth Dale and illustrated by Gemma Raynor. It tells the story of Jenny the Rabbit who with the help of her Grandad bakes a carrot cake for her mother. I was concerned that as there was pink on the front cover, middle man would dismiss the book as being for a girl. However, middle man likes cooking and was keen to give the carrot cake a go!


I was half expecting our carrot cake to turn out as a catastrophe but it was actually really tasty! I particularly liked the recipe at the back of this book. With the rabbit theme it would make a lovely Easter gift instead of an egg. (I am sure there must be Cadbury's cream eggs in the shops by now.)

I was given the book to review as part of the Parragon Book Buddies scheme but the opinions here are my own.

Wonderful Wildlife 123 is a lovely rhyming and counting book by Charkes Fuge's. The illustrations are beautiful and got big man asking lots of questions. I particularly like that the book goes up to twenty, as most counting books I have seen before stop at 10.


The story is quirky and appeals to adults as well as the children. The book is aimed at pre school children and little man chose it as his bedtime story tonight. It has an rrp of 5.99 and you can find it on Amazon.

We received a copy of this book as we are Parragon book buddies, but the opinions contained here are my own.