Poo In The Zoo. Ada Grey. A funny book set in one of our favourite places. And it’s all about poo – Sophia’s favourite word at the moment! It’s a nice book, but I think it’ll take me some time to crack the rhyming patterns.

Look Inside Trains. Alex Frith. A good book with loads of flaps and so much information crammed into every page. It might be a bit beyond Sophia at the moment, but I know plenty of adults who are going to get a lot out of it!

A Death In the Parish. Richard Coles. I was somewhat underwhelmed by the first book, so I’m not sure why I expected any better. Unfortunately, I spent a good portion of this book looking forward to it being over. I did like the emerging romance storyline, and I could feel how much Rev’d Coles loves church and many of its traditions. But, as I read on my kindle, I can tell how far through a book I am, and I can say that apart from the murder right at the beginning, this book didn’t get interesting until 72% of the way through. Not for me, and I’m not sure I’ll bother with the next one.

Where do babies come from? Katie Daynes. Sophia is very interested in this book! She likes looking at the big sibling asking questions about their new baby. I appreciated the honesty of the answers and no-fuss language used. There are so many flaps too. A good book for any child expecting a sibling.

The Invisible String. Patrice Karst. A beautiful book which Soph and I both enjoyed. It’s all about love and how love is more than being physically present with each other, and like an invisible string.

You Had Me At Hello. Mhairi Mcfairlane. It seems like an age since I last got stuck into some fiction and really enjoyed it! This is a nice rom-com. That being said, I was a bit uncomfortable with the easy way in which marriage seems to be done away with. Still, I’m looking forward to the next one, though!

Quiet! Paul Bright. A funny book which Nathan and I can definitely relate to, in terms of people being loud around a sleeping baby, and hunger too!

Tales of Tails. Ann Garrett and Gene-Michael Higney. Sophia loved the flaps and the rhyming and although she was initially confused by the baby at the end, it’s now her favourite bit!

After Hello. Mhairi Mcfairlane. I enjoyed this short story – she fit a lot into a short book! I’d love more on Rachel and Ben.

The Stinky Sprouts. Rosie Greening & Stuart Lynch. We enjoyed this funny book about different vegetables and how important it is to include everybody.

The Prisoners Earthquake. Bob Hartman. A good book all about God using people and song to change lives. Beautiful pictures and definitely one to return to!

Oh The Places You’ll Go. Dr Seuss. I’m a fan of a Dr Seuss, although we don’t actually have that many of his books! I hadn’t come across this until recently, but I really enjoyed it. The tongue-twisting clever words and phrases made me think, and this is a beautiful book with a powerful message.

How Much Do I Love You. Isabel Pope. We adore any book like this! It explains how I feel about my children to my children, as well as teaching them more about the world around them.

Who’s That Girl? Mhairi Mcfairlane. Another funny romance book by this author. I enjoyed watching the romance blossom as well as the relationships between other characters be healed. I thought Edie getting rid of Jack once and for all was brilliant! Looking forward to the next one.

The Sad Story of Veronica Who Played The Violin. David McKee. Now, I appreciate any attempt at solving The Problem of Evil as much as the next person. But for me, this was a weird book, especially so as it is a children’s book. It’s a no from me, I’m afraid!

Jesus 100. Robin Gamble. I can confirm that this book is best read in the order it’s written in, rather than the order I suggested to make it fit in with the lectionary earlier this year! It is great either way though. I’ll be using it again and again as the years go by, I think. Robin gives short but profound thoughts on 100 passages from the Gospels. A great read for those exploring faith, long term Chrisrians, and everybody else.

Centipede’s 100 shoes. Tony Ross. This is a cute story about a little centipede and his quest for shoes!

I’m a Big Sister. Joanna Cole. What a gorgeous book for our Soph as she gets used to her new role! Really helpful and beautifully illustrated.

The Rescue Party. Nick Butterworth. We love our Percy the Park Keeper stories and this is such a funny one! A lovely story about a bunny who needs rescuing, with an interesting pull out in the middle.

Mrs Noah’s Pockets. Jackie Morris. A lovely way of telling the Noah’s ark story. I’m familiar with the weeping and gossiping Mrs Noah from Mystery Plays and the like, but this is far from that and it is a sweet interpretation of the story.

The Posey Ring. Bob Graham. This is a beautiful book and it was given to Sophia at her Auntie’s wedding. I’m hoping that she’ll keep it forever. It’s a gorgeous story about the adventures of a Ring that gets lost – like Lord of the Rings but far, far nicer! The illustrations make it all the more captivating, and I can’t wait to read it more and more as the years go by.

You Belong With Me. Mhairi McFarlane. The second installment of the story of Edie and Elliot. I love these characters and the way they navigate the storms that come from their having very different lives. They’re both so sharp, and I love the way they speak, even if I had to look up a few words! It’s a good read.

Little Miss Somersault. Roger Hargreaves. We liked Little Miss Somersault and her daring antics. Sophia empathised with her longing to jump around!

Dear Dinosaur. Chae Strathie & Nichola O’Byrne. We’ve been big fans of Dear Chocosaur for a long time so it’s lovely to add this one to our collection! The real letters in this story are a big hit.

My Bedtime Book Of Favourite Princess Stories. Roger Priddy. We’ve loved this book for a while. The only issue with it is that there’s 4 stories and Sophia always wants to read the whole book! But we love to read along using the little pictures in the text. Each story on its own is just long enough.

Guess How Much I Love You in the Spring. Sam McBratney. This is a super cute version of Guess How Much I Love You. We love the story line of everything changing and getting bigger. A really lovely read.

Guess How Much I Love You in the Summer. Sam McBratney. We really enjoyed reading about Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare playing a kind of eye spy with all the lovely colours of summer!

Candle Bible for Toddlers. Juliet David & Helen Prole. A must-have for Christian parents with young children. The stories are short and accessible. The illustrations are very good. The overview of the Bible is helpful, and the stories are phrased in such a way that small children can engage with it. We’ll have it as part of our bedtime routine over and over again.

The Christmas Book Hunt. Jenny Colgan. A very sweet story for book lovers to get you in the Christmas mood! I’d love a second installment.

You, Me and Our Whole Wide World. Bridget Marzo. A beautiful book about how we are all unique and yer connected. Lots about having grown up and learned to do things, but the tenses are easily changed, so it can be tweaked to the child you are reading it to. It’s also got beautiful illustrations, showing diversity.

Zog and the Flying Doctors. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Another fab Julia Donaldson with beautiful illustrations and a great story. Loved finding the Gruffalo in this one too!