Hobbies and Sports – THE INQUISITIVE NEWT

1559035678232153837618

The Usborne Write Your Own Story Book was recently gifted to Daughter and not only am I seriously impressed by its contents, I’m also a little jealous that I didn’t have a copy growing up.

I think what I like best about this book is how it manages to convey important elements of writing in a way that is simultaneously child-friendly and technical. It also manages to offer a range of activities for budding authors to practice on, without making them feel like work-sheets.

1559036360509229568127

There’s a wonderful sense of fun to all of the suggestions – a cheekiness that Daughter just loves. I really like the fact that the reader is encouraged to write in the book, meaning that there’s a record of work to look back on at the end – it essentially becomes a DIY short story compilation. As someone who wrote prolifically as a child but who has few remaining examples, I feel as though this will grow into a lovely keepsake.

Which childhood hobbies have you maintained? Are there any books out there to encourage more young people to engage in them?

Farn ❤

rosy1

Rosy’s Garden by Satomi Ichikawa should be a classic. I know that’s a pretty bold statement, but bear with me…

I happened upon our copy in a charity shop when Daughter was around two and ever since, we’ve read it regularly. In itself, this isn’t at all unusual. The difference between Rosy’s Garden and just about every other book, though, is that I have never once thought, “Oh, not again…” Time after time, this has been eagerly brought to me and time after time I’ve said – just as eagerly – “Ooh, good choice!”

At its core, the book chronicles the titular character’s summer holiday at her grandmother’s house. There’s no singular main event, nor is it a series of Milly-Molly-Mandy- esque episodes as I had first presumed on finding the book. The best description I can think of to describe the layout is a journal-cross-scrapbook. There are little notes about flower names, the language of flowers, how to make rose water, how Granny and Grandpa met, how to gather seeds…

rosy2

I think that’s what I love most about the book – the little snippets of information that is genuinely new and interesting. There are so very many books about planting a seed that grows into a flower but so few about the culture that surrounds our gardens and the things we plant. This book perfectly fills that gap.

And perfect as the writing is, the illustrations still manage to make it even better. Some of them look like botanical prints, they’re so accurate. But at the same time there’s so much character and warmth in them – so many details to spot.

The more I write about this book, the more I could write so I’m going to leave things here, before I get carried away. I maintain what I said though – this really should be a classic.

What’s your list of ‘would-be’ children’s classics?