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Tony The Turtle

Tony the Turtle Books 

 Tony the Turtle Books set of 3

 

Created by Valerie Sheehan and illustrated by Susan Meaney

These books have been created to help children with Autism with everyday activities, through the stories of Tony, children can see how Tony feels about going shopping, trying new food or going swimming. The books are great for children and parents or siblings to enjoy together and visualise situations and help both children and parents in these situations.

Visual learning is a very important tool for children with ASD.

It helps them to focus on and remember information. The language is kept direct in the books with very clear visuals so children can follow the stories themselves if they want to look at it. Tony's expressions are easily recognisable and these clear visuals make it easy for the child to follow the story and understand how Tony is feeling.

With ASD, children's senses can be overwhelmed by unfiltered information.

The world can be intensely noisy, blinding or filled with strong smells. It is harder for them to focus on words and hold conversations. Their main difficulties typically present in three core areas: social interaction, social communication and imagination and play. These difficulties can have a huge impact both on the child and on their family. They can affect the child’s relationships with their parents, siblings and peers.

Tony the Turtle stories focus on specific social skills that children with ASD may find difficult.

Through her vast experience as a home tutor, Valerie has learned many ways to support children and develop their skills.

This series of books provides a range of strategies that the characters in the books implement in order to help them learn what to do in a range of social situations in a positive manner.

Tony Goes Shopping

Tony Goes shopping

"Tony goes shopping" Going shopping with kids can be a chore for any parent but if your child has autism a “simple" trip to the supermarket needs some planning!

Tony Goes Swimming

Tony goes swimming

Swimming has great benefits for all children but for children with autism it can be very calming and therapeutic.

Tony Tries New Food

This story looks at trying new food without pressure in the hope that curiosity will take over and the child will choose to try it him or herself.

“Valerie has created a wonderfully child centred series of books which demonstrate many of the strategies that we recommend for helping children with ASD to understand the world and communicate more effectively”

— Michaela Connolly, Senior Educational Psychologist

“Valerie has extensive knowledge of and experience in working with children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has used this wealth of experience to create an enchanting series of books which aim to help support parents and their children in a range of different social contexts and in their ability to learn new skills”

— Charlotte Cogan, Senior Speech and Language Therapist

For a set of the 3 books its fantastic value at €18.99 with free shipping in Ireland

individually they are €7.99

 

Beast Quest Books by Adam Blade

Beast Quest 

Picture of Ferno   Picture of Falra the Snow Phoenix   Picture of Beast Quest Adventurers Handbook

This series of books are created by Adam Blade, who created the character Tom from his childhood imaginations of a brave boy warrior who slays dragons and beast from a fantasy world. Adam grew up in England his mother and father were history teachers and amateur artists used to have an ancient sword and shield which hung in his office which was said to be a family heirloom, that with the ancient pictures which hung throughout the house of old battles, Adam used them to create a fantasy world where Tom was the hero warrior.

Adam started writing stories based on this Tom character as he thought young children would like to go on adventures as he imagined as a young boy.

Beast quest books are written by several authors all going under the Pseudonym of Adam Blade, there are over 90 books now published. The books are aimed at boys aged 7 and up.

The Beast Quest Series - The kingdom of Avantia is depending on Tom and Elenna his best friend and their courage, together with their companions Storm the stallion and Silver Eleena`s Wolf they will try to overcome danger and evil.

Ferno the Fire Dragon this is the first book in the series. As things start happening in the village which no one can explain people are starting to get really worried. The river dries up; a crop is burnt to the ground.  Soon they discover that this isn’t just happening in their village the whole kingdom is affected, Tom vows to the king he will go on a quest to find the Beast.

The latest book in the series is Falra the Snow Phoenix, each book is full of new adventures and stories to entertain and capture the imaginations of young minds; they are action packed and full of fantastic fantasy beasts and adventures.

These are great books to encourage young readers to get into books they have been described as “clearly and simply” written with the right balance between adventure and storytelling, a great series to get boys reading who normally wouldn’t be into reading.

There is also another series by Adam Blade called Sea Quest an underwater world of adventure with 16 books to date. All kinds of underwater new deadly Robobeasts, sure to be a hit with fans of Beast Quest.

Top Children’s Books Of All Time By Age

Top Children’s books of all time by age Group

Reading to young children is so important to creating a love of books and reading.  Reading a little bed time story to your child at night is a lovely way to finish off a day and settle little ones down and get a much loved cuddle.

Reading to them from a young age will encourage them to start reading and build a love of reading for them to enjoy for the rest of their lives.

Children who are read to from a young age tend to read earlier learn faster and understand concepts better than children who haven’t had the opportunity to have books in their lives from a young age. 

My children love to have their favourite books read to them over and over and even from a very young age when they could barely talk they would say “again” “again”. It’s hard to resist when they get so much joy out of the story and the pictures.  Books are such a great way to grow their imaginations and spend some quality time together.

I have compiled a list of top children’s books of all time, so there are some classics and some new ones in here too.

It’s hard to narrow it down as there are so many fantastic books to choose from, here is a selection by age categories:

 

0-5 years olds

 

Picture of The Pop-up Dear Zoo     

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Picture of The Very Hungry Caterpillar

 The Very Hungry Caterpillar  by Eric Carle

Picture of Room On the Broom

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Picture of Lost and Found

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

Picture of The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss

Picture of Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are  By Maurice Sendak

Picture of The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo  By Julia Donaldson

 

6-8 year olds

 

Picture of The Enchanted Wood

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton

 The Worst Witch

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy 

Picture of Horrid Henry

Horrid Henry  by Francesca Simon & Tony Ross

 Picture of Charlottes Web

Charlotte's Web  by E B White

 Picture of Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking  by Astrid Lindgren

Picture of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid  by Jeff Kinney

 Picture of Five On a Treasure Island

Five on a Treasure Island  by Enid Blyton

 Picture of The Bfg

The BFG  by Roald Dahl

 

 9-11 years olds

 

Picture of The Witches

The Witches  by Roald Dahl

 Picture of Matilda

Matilda  by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake

Picture of The Black Island

The Adventures of Tintin  by Hergé

 Picture of Journey to the River Sea

Journey to the River Sea  by Eva Ibbotson

 Picture of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe  by C S Lewis

 Picture of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  by J K Rowling

Picture of Holes

Holes  by Louis Sachar

Picture of The Story of Tracy Beaker

The Story of Tracy Beaker  by Jacqueline Wilson

Picture of The Hobbit Or There and Back

The Hobbit  by J R R Tolkien

Picture of The Little Prince

The Little Prince  by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

12-14 year olds

 

Picture of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas  by John Boyne

Picture of The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins

Picture of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time  By Mark Haddon

Picture of Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker  by Anthony Horowitz

Picture of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings  by J R R Tolkien

Picture of I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle  by Dodie Smith

Picture of How I Live Now

How I Live Now  by Meg Rosoff

 Picture of Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom  by Michelle Magoria

 

 

Picture of Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables  L M Montgomery

Picture of Boy

Boy  By Roald Dahl

Picture of Claudine at St Clares

Claudine at St Clares  By Enid Blyton

 

The Fault in Our Stars Latest book by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars Latest by John Green

the fault in our stars

The story is about Hazel a 16 year old teenager who has been sick and terminal with Cancer, her parents insists she attends Cancer for kids support group. While there she meets a guy, Augustus who is there to support his friend Isaac who has cancer and has had to have an eye removed. Augustus himself had a leg amputated but is now cancer free.

Hazel and Augustus get talking, there is a spark between them; they discuss their favourite books and decide to read each other’s favourite novels before meeting up again.

 Hazel and Augustus become good friends they both like each other a lot, they are plotting how to find out what happens to one of the characters mothers in Hazels favourite book and Augustus has been in touch with the author and is trying to organise a trip so that Hazel meets the author in person and will find out what happens the mother. But as she is deliberating she has a serious episode and she is taken to ICU.

After she gets home she finds out that Augustus never left the waiting room the whole time she was in ICU and they decide to go to meet this author with the support of one of the doctors.

While on this trip romance blossoms, they share a kiss and things go from there. While they are away Augustus confides in Hazel that he had a body scan recently and his cancer has returned and spread everywhere.

They return home to Indianapolis where his condition deteriorates and his form isn’t what it used to be and he is vulnerable and scared but Hazel still loves him as before.

Augustus plans a pre funeral for himself in his final days and Hazel and Isaac give eulogies, she says how much she loves him and how she wouldn’t trade any of the short time they have had together for anything in the world.

Augustus dies 8 days later and at his funeral as requested by Augustus is the author of the novel Hazel was looking for answers from.

This book is beautifully written, a friendship and relationship between two teenagers with a different outlook on life. The fault in our stars is an amazing book, beautiful and heart breaking at the same time. It’s not easy to read about sick children who are dying but the story between to two characters Hazel and Augustus is beautiful it will have you laughing and crying, and the same again.

The Fault in Our Stars is now a major movie too

Children’s Books Ireland current Popular Reads

Popular Books for Children in IrelandJust a quick blog on what is popular at the moment in children’s books. What childrens books are selling well in Ireland and if you are looking for inspiration for some holidays reads for your children’s, this article would be a good place to start.
The most popular book at the moment is the fault in our stars. It's a great book, number one in Children's books at the moment, as they are launching a summer movie based on the book. You may have seen the trailers, check them out here. The basic storyline is around Hazel and Gus two teenagers with a disdain for the conventional. The story is a love story between the two characters. Their relationship is against the odds as Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank. The two characters meet and a cancer support group and then fall in love.


The other popular children’s book is the City of Heavenly Fire. A lot different to the book above, the story centres on the Shadow Hunter world. The main characters are Clary, Jace and Simon. These main characters band come together to fight evil. The evil coming in the form of Clary's brother. Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final instalment of the Mortal Instruments series?


Divergent is still as popular as ever, and is currently our number three best seller. The book is based on a sixteen year old girl called Tris. Tris is venturing out alone, to find her true place in the world, leaving her family behind. The world that Tris lives in is divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she's Divergent and won't fit in. She then discovers a plan to destroy allDivergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late. A great read, definitely for the older children.

The Official Beginner's Handbook is trending around number four, for popular childrens books.
I blogged about Minecraft for Dummies last week, check it out. This book is aimed at a similar standard of Minecraft user.
Learn how to make a shelter, find resources, craft tools, armour and weapons, and protect yourself from monsters. With tips from Minecraft experts, as well as creator Notch himself, this is the definitive guide to how to survive your first few days in Minecraft.

diamond aka hetty feather by jacqueline wilson - 9780857531087

Diamond 9780857531087Diamond is another fantastic book by Jacqueline Wilson. This book is based on the other Wilson books relating to the Hetty Feather Trilogy. It had a lot to live up to, as the other three books were excellent and personally I think Diamond did live up to expectations. This really is an excellent book.

Diamond was not always a circus performer. Before she joined the circus, she ws born into a very poor family. Before she was born, here parents hoped for a son, but instead Diamond a small fragile little girl was born into the family. Her  for parents were not very happy about this.

Anyway moving swiftly on, as she grew up Diamond discovered she had an amazing talent for gynastics and arcrobatics. Something which her mean father profited on, when she was seen doing her act at a local fair, he sold poor Diamon to a traveling circus guy for five guineas. shame !!!!

Anyway she became an acrobat at  the Tanglefields Travelling Circus. The crowds loved Diamond, but life behind the velvet curtains is far from glamorous. Her master kept pushing Diamond, making her try ever more daring and dangerous tricks. She was pushed so much she was scared to step into the ring.

But the good side of things true friends to be found at the circus, too: the kind and trusting Mister Marvel; the very kind Madame Adeline; and the excellent friend which she made Emerald Star, Tanglefields brand-new ringmaster, and Diamonds saviour. When life at the circus becomes too dangerous to bear any longer, what is the future for Diamond? And will her beloved Emerald be a part of it?

 

Diamond (9780857531087) is a great book, my daughter loved it, great book to start getting into reading.

Minecraft for Dummies - Create your own world

As a parent I wanted to know what all the fuss was about with the Minecraft game. The last time I came across something as big as Minecraft, it was Second life. I didn't know anything about that either, so this time I wanted to get a bit of knowledge.

Minecraft for Dummies - For a DummieI was looking for a book which would give the basic knowledge without going into too much detail, because I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea. Minecraft for Dummies is that book, maybe not for the hard-core player, the Redstone handbook might be a better place to start.

Anyway as with all the dummies books, the text is nice and clear, the author goes to great lengths to explain all the Minecraft terminology and abbreviations etc.

Over the last few months I’ve been dipping in and out of the game without getting anywhere or progressing, with this book I have learned more in the last 3-4 days , which is how long it took to read it, that I have in those first couple of months. I have to admit with the knowledge gleaned over the last I have started to enjoy the game, not only a bit of fun in the evening but from a parents perspective I think it would benefit any teenagers out there, as it`s educational and also involves some good problem solving.

Anyway the point of the blog is to review the Minecraft for Dummies book, not the game Minecraft itself. So to recap, as with all Dummies books, its excellent got getting up to speed really fast, it will teach you fairly advanced techniques in a short space of time. You could, potentially be building mansions, crafting new items and exploring strong holds in a short space of time. This all helps to increase the enjoyment of your playing experience. That the pro’s.

The cons are pretty much the same as the pros, in that the amount of time to “grow” out of the text would be fairly fast. At the same time, if you haven’t been using the game for a few weeks, it’s a great reference guide for getting up to speed again.

 It's a must have for new Minecraft players, I would highly recommend it. The Redstone handbook might be a better option for those with a couple of months playing experience under your belt.

So get out there and recommend it to all the Minecraft players. I've a suspicion that older (younger people, playing the game longer) players will fly through the book, but as a relatively inexperienced "Minecrafter"  , it will help to bridge that gap.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Charlotte`s Web

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Charlotte's Web is the classic children' story by E B White.

"I don't want to die!  Save me, somebody!  Save me!"

The tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.

An affectionate pig named Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte, who lives in the rafters above his pen. In this story of friendship, hardship, and the passing on into time, White reminds readers to open their eyes to the wonder and miracle found in the simplest of things.

E. B. White was born in New York in 1899 and died in 1985. He kept animals on his farm in Maine and some of these creatures crept into his books, such as STUART LITTLE which was recently made into a blockbusting film.  He received many awards including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1970, an award given every five years to authors who have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White available on: http://www.lovekidsbooks.com/charlottes-web-p-b

The Gruffalo`s Child by Julia Donaldson

The Gruffalo`s Child

The Gruffalo`s Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

The bestselling sequel to The Gruffalo

The Story is about the Gruffalo`s child who disobeys her father’s warnings and ventures out into the snow to the “deep dark wood”. After all, “the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist . . . does he?”

She encounters the tracks of snake, owl and fox from The Gruffalo, each of whom she first suspects to be the "big bad mouse", but who in turn tell her where she can find the real "big bad mouse".  With no sign of the “Big bad mouse” she is disheartened and feels she has been tricked into believing he exists, just then she encounters the little mouse from The Gruffalo, who previously tricked her father.

The mouse invites her to meet the "big bad mouse", which he re-creates by using moonlight to project a tremendously enlarged, fearsome shadow. Believing the shadow belongs to the real "big bad mouse" and is frightened by this big mouse, she flees and returns to the Gruffalo cave with faith in her father restored.

If you’re a fan of the Gruffalo you will really enjoy this story too, with great illustrations from Axel Scheffler to match the Gruffalo.

 

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

Author: ZUSAK MARKUS

The Story

Set amidst the frightening and unsettling political background of 1939 Germany The Book Thief beloved international bestselling book, is the heart breaking account of Liesel Meminger. The narrator of her story is Death who encounters Liesel on three separate occasions. First, when he comes to claim her younger brother Werner on a train taking them to meet their foster parents.  Second, when he comes to claim souls after a bomb is dropped on her town, and finally, when he visits Liesel as an older woman. Death finds the book Liesel was writing during the bomb raid and uses it to tell us her story.

In 1939 Liesel arrives in the town of Molching Germany and is taken to the home of her foster parents, an elderly German couple named Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans Huberman finds Liesel's first stolen book and teaches her to read and write. Liesel's passion for books leads her to steal one book from the mayor’s wife and another one from a book burning.  

An emotional turning point in the book occurs when the Hubermanns take in Max, a Jew, and the son of the man who saved Han’s life during the Great War. Hiding Max in their basement is a dangerous undertaking for the Hubermanns. 

Already in danger of hiding a Jew, Hans Hubermann risks punishment when he offers bread to a Jew. Now under suspicion, the Nazi police want to search the Hubermann home forcing Max to flee and Hans to join the German army.  With both men gone Liesel brings comfort to her neighbours by reading to them. She is in the basement of her home writing the story The Book Thief when the bombs begin to drop. 

The Book Thief has won lots of prestigious awards since 2006 across the world and has been translated into many languages.

Now a block buster movie and was nominated for an Oscar

Best suited for young adults 14 years and up; mature readers who can handle advanced literary writing and difficult subject matter.