Tag: animal books

Bedtime Stories

Even though my own reading progress has been slow and sporadic this year, I’ve been reading much more consistently with our 3 year old daughter who loves her bedtime stories and we usually read at least two but often four or more picture books together every evening and wanted to share some of our current favourites.

A Dress With Pockets by Lily Murray, illustrated by Jenny Lovlie

This is a mostly rhyming story about a little girl called Lucy choosing a new dress for her birthday who eschews a dazzling choice of sparkles, frills, feathers and everything in between for a dress with pockets to store all the curious things she finds on her adventures. We love this story because much like Lucy, my daughter loves dresses but couldn’t be less prissy and enjoys exploring on her own little adventures.

‘A Home’ Series by Peter Bently, illustrated by Charles Fuge

A trilogy of books about a badger called Bramble and his friends, I found the first one in the library then bought the whole series second hand. These are lovely rhyming stories about kindness and friends helping each other out from investigating when the local river runs dry to inviting his friends to stay when a storm wrecks their dens and celebrating birthdays together.

Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss

A cute and cosy story about a bunny who loves reading so much that he starts sneaking into the library every night to borrow books, before long he starts including his animal friends in his after dark heists until one evening the librarian catches them in the act.

Where Happiness Lives by Barry Timms, illustrated by Greg Abbot

Another rhyming story of three little mice who all live in very different homes from a little cottage to a huge mansion, and the risk of assuming that bigger must be better. Where Happiness Lives is a really lovely story that reminds us to appreciate what we have and to avoid comparing, a message that feels so important to learn early in the era of social media.

Usborne Farmyard Tales ‘Poppy and Sam’ Series, illustrated by Stephen Cartwright

A simple series about two children, Poppy and Sam, who live on Appletree farm with their parents, Ted the farmhand and a range of farm animals from their pets Rusty the dog and Whiskers the Cat to Curly the piglet and, my daughter’s favourite, Woolly the naughty sheep, and all the little adventures they have together.

Our 5 month daughter also likes stories, and we’ve enjoyed a few stories together including books from her baby box, as well as a few That’s Not My, lift the flap and board books she got for Christmas too.

I really love reading bedtime stories together, it’s a lovely activity to help our boisterous oldest girl calm down before bed, and often one of the highlights of my day. I’ve loved discovering so many new stories with both my girls and look forward to sharing more of our favourites soon. Have a lovely week. X

Review of ‘Close Encounters of the Furred Kind’ by Tom Cox

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Close Encounters of the Furred Kind starts not long after where The Good, The Bad and The Furry (reviewed here) left off, with Tom Cox and his partner contemplating moving their lives and their four cats from Norfolk to rural Devon.

Much like his blog and other books about cats, Close Encounters of the Furred Kind is laugh-out-loud funny in places as Tom describes the upheaval and stress of moving across the country with his four beloved felines, his attempts to domesticate and adopt a local feral cat, taking up dog-walking as a hobby, conversations with his parents and interactions between his feline friends. Yet I find Tom is at his most eloquent when contemplating the ageing and mortality of the cats with whom he shares his home and around which his life revolves, it is perhaps the knowledge that most of us will outlive our pets that makes us love them all the more fiercely.

Sadly since this book was published, two of Tom’s cats, The Bear (a soulful philosopher) and Shipley (a cantankerous chatterbox) have passed away, but they will live on through these books in his vividly captured descriptions of their personalities and mannerisms.

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It was about six months ago that we found a mast cell tumour on our own cat’s tail, and although it was removed before it spread, she is still at a higher risk of developing another tumour than other cats and is currently in a period of monitoring. As grateful as I am to all the vets who have treated Mara, I always feel anxious whenever she goes for check-ups and tests (which are not without risks), and about what the results might reveal, but I’ve drawn comfort from reading books like this from other animal lovers who understand just how much our lives are enriched by the affections and companionship of our pets.

After a busy week I’ve enjoyed spending a lazy weekend at home curled up on the couch with my husband, Mara snoozing across our laps and Close Encounters of the Furred Kind to amuse me. Have a lovely week.