National Trust: The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes Unicorns and Rainbows by Rebecca Jones (Activity book, Non-Fiction, 10E/10E)

September 2017, Nosy Crow, 74 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Summary from Nosy Crow

Get creative with this super-cute colouring book, the newest title in the bestselling Colouring Cards and Envelopes series. The twenty-four gorgeous designs include magical unicorns, adorable kittens, charming rainbows and more, and are perfect for all ages to decorate and send to family and friends. Pick up your pencils and experiment with your colour palette or try different materials to make each card truly unique! With enough blank space inside for a message, envelopes to customise and cute stickers to seal your card, each book is the complete creative package!

Nayu's thoughts

I tend to say yes to any colouring book that is pink and cute, and as you can see this book meets all the criteria! While it says it's for 2 years and up, I didn't put Children as a keyword for this review because it is for all ages, and some of the colouring is quite intricate. Taking time to colour in a cute card is really relaxing, and while I haven't yet created an envelope, I can show you what I did: 

The very back says 'hand made by' with cute clouds but I hid it because I'd written my name on, and despite my DS stylus covering it up it was easier just not to include in.

It is really easy to take out each card without tearing the other cards from the page, something which can be an issue for these type of books. The cards are sturdy, can probably be coloured in with any material you like (including glitter glue! I don't have any but I think it would add pizzazz to an already great activity book), I happened to use a mix of coloured pencils and felt tip pens because of the effects I wanted to achieve, both apply and dry fully on the card.

Unfinished but super pretty inside! Considering I almost always add stickers and little drawings to my cards, this is perfect for me.

The highly detailed designs make it a project you can easily dip in and out of if you want (I had to as I can't do much colouring at a time due to weak hands), and it's something that can be shared with family and friends (with perhaps friendly rivalry about whose card is prettiest - the answer is all of them!). I love the range of designs using animals and objects that I like, which isn't always in the shop when I need a card for my friends. At the front of the book there are clear, easy to follow instructions on how to tackle each card which is a nice touch, something not always in an activity book. And a few cute stickers at the back.  What colour will you use for your unicorn?

You can see more of Rebecca's work on her website, and find out more about the National Trust on it's website. 

Suggested read 

Another fun unicorn activity book I've had fun with recently that makes items to put into a mobile or simply decroate your home  is Press Out and Decorate Unicorns by Kate McLelland (Non-fiction, Activity book, 10E/10E)

Etchart: Secret Sea A J Wood and Mike Jolley (Non-Fiction, Activity book, 9/10E)

October 2017, Wide-Eyed Editions, 20 pages, Hardback, Review copy

Summary from Quarto

Embark on a journey through nature with this stylish folk-art inspired activity book. With your stylus, etch away at nine beautiful underwater scene to discover fish, seahorses, dolphins, octopuses, and other marvellous marine beasts hidden beneath stunning artwork made up of panels of special scratchable ink. With your stylus, remove all the ink, or create swirls, dots, and other patterns to personalise your very own piece of art. Let yourself be absorbed by this new mindful, creative hobby as you reveal the hidden beauty in each scene – and the artist in you!

Nayu's thoughts

When I was little my older sibling received this type of activity on their birthday, which I always wanted to try but never did, so I jumped  at the chance to finally achieve that childhood wish. Admittedly the lower grade is because at first I struggled to use the etching tool correctly. This has nothing to do with the book or the tool, it is because I have very weak hands and arms, which affected how well I could etch off the black more than I expected. When I managed to do it it was as fun as I thought it would be!

I did the left side, leaving the right side blank so you can see the difference. It is mostly similar to the cover, apart from the covers being different which was a little disappointing. And the eyes...not so cute.

Aside from the seahorse faces not quite being like the cover (and looking a bit evil) I absolutely loved this book! The different animal scenes came alive as I remove the blackness which is a good contrast to the wonderfully coloured pictures. The fact that how much you remove is up to you means that while they are the same picture, every person will have a unique copy of the image once they finish etching it. It is as enjoyable as a sticker book amd a colouring book, although if you have strength/dexterity issues it may take time to figure out the best way how to etch, and maybe leave it on your not so good days to reduce frustration. The pages are sturdy and made of a wipe clean material so you can easily clean up the shavings/remains of the black ink. I think the book could have benefitted from a brief 1 pages guide on how to etch-I had to go online to figure it out. There is a dedicated YouTube video specifically for this book which helped me and it features another book in this series - watch it here.

 

Press Out and Decorate Unicorns by Kate McLelland (Non-fiction, Activity book, 10E/10E)

 October 2017, Nosy Crow, 24 pages, Hardback, Review copy

Summary from Nosy Crow

Each press-out design is intricately decorated with pink foil and perfect for all ages to decorate. Featuring 20 unique designs, the press-out pieces can be slotted together to create magical three-dimensional hanging ornaments or threaded together to make a super-cute garland. 

From flying unicorns and shooting stars to fluffy clouds and rainbows, these gorgeous press-out pieces look elegant in white and pink, but even better as a decorated collection of flying unicorns.

Nayu's thoughts

I'm very late to the unicorn trend, but have always liked them as they are pretty and magical! Ive seen a few in fiction both books and anime, so had an idea of the sort of colours I wanted to colour them in. I took a bit of inspiration from the TV series My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and felt the colour in the unicorn's mane/tale are related to their magical power like the friendly ponies do (every unicorn has magic in my eyes), so I made sure to use those colors on the hooves and leg patterns. 

Unicorn plus wings in the book before being poked out.

She flies!!!!! Sort of. ^u^

So far I've done 1 side of 1 unicorn, but you get the idea. It is easy to pop both the unicorn and the wings out from the page in their perforated holding parts, and slot them together for their mobile function (mobile the item not mobile phone!) It really is easy to put them back in their places and they stay there well too, just as the book says. As well as more winged unicorns there are clouds, pretty shapes wih unicorn features and other pieces to colour in and decorate your room. If you love all things unicorn, pink and sparkly this is for you! (The unicorns don't have to be pink, you can colour them anything you like!) 

Find out more on Kate's website.

Suggested read

Another magical activity book is Princess Snowbelle's Activity and Sticker Book by Lucy Flemming (Children's, Activity book, Sticker Book, 10/10E)

 

Look for Ladybird in Plant City by Katherina Manolessou (Children's, Picture book, Activity book, 10/10E)

 

 September 2017, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 32 pages, Hardback, Review copy 

Summary from Quarto 

Join in the hunt and help look for Ladybird! Daisy's pet Ladybird goes missing, so she visits super-sleuth Basil, the best detective in Plant City. Can he help her find Ladybird? Follow Daisy and Basil as they look for Ladybird all over Plant City. Is he in the museum, the fun fair, the train station, the school, the concert or the restaurant? 

Nayu's thoughts

This book is exactly my kind of search book, with so many characters to find. Each page has the same animals  to search for, then within the story for that page more animals need to be found. I didn't hunt for everything because it really would have taken a few hours (more if I then decided to find other animals eg see how many monkeys or crocodiles there are), but there is an answers guide on the back page if you get stuck. 

Everything including the atmosphere in the various animal places are vibrant and teeming with life. The way scenes are set is clever, using the environment to incorporate everyhing that we take for granted in life to be available for animals. My favourite scene is the The Restaurants-I loved the juice bar and the root pizza area which is sheer genius in terms of imagination, and also The Riverbank where everyone seemed super happy and occupied with having fun by the water. 

The only part I had a problem with was that there are quite a few snakes, which sucked becaiuse even though they were brightly coloured I was still afraid of them. That's why it didn't quite get full marks, which it does deserve. 

 Find out more on Katherina's website.

Suggested read

If you enjoy search and find books try the less cute Dinosaur Detective's Search-and-Find Rescue Mission by Sophie Guerrive (Children's, Activity book, 8/10E)

Princess Snowbelle's Activity and Sticker Book by Lucy Flemming (Children's, Activity book, Sticker Book, 10/10E)

 September 2017, Bloomsbury Activity Books, 24 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Summary from Bloomsbury

 Far away, in a castle that glistens as white as snow, lives the beautiful Princess Snowbelle. When she's not out exploring the enchanted wood with her pony Icetail, she's attending royal snow balls with her family or gliding over the frozen lake on ice skates with her best friends.

Nayu's thoughts 

I squeaked with joy as I opened this in front of my family-I love this amount of girliness! With pinks and purples (and other colours) on every page, the adorable Snowbelle who I've never met before but who does have other books with her adventures became lodged in my heart. She has such fun adventures by herself, with friends, family and her faithful pony. 

I liked the sheer variety of thigs to do. While I haven't seen many activity books in recent months, I honest don't remember seeing a scene like Snowbelle's where using a grid for reference the reader is asked to draw the picture they see. That alone will take a good 30+mins (depending on the skill, patience, perfectionist tendencies of the artist). There are flowers to decorate on the castle (nope, not flowers snowflakes...which I was surprised to see on a bright pink backgeound which doesn't blend into the palace at all!) I loved figuring out the path Snowbelle needed to take to places...although sometimes it wasn't clear which path went where, and there were 2 blue like mountains! 

That aside there are heaps of stickers to put where you want (maybe on yourself?) and other puzzles that truly make this book provide several hours of fun! I want a sequel now! 

Find out more on Lucy's website. 

Suggested read

For another cute sticker book check out Fairy Princess Party Time Sticker Activities (Children's, Activity book, 10E/10E)

Fun Chess Book & App! The Foolish King: The Secret Story of Chess by Mark Price & Martin Brown (Children's, Non-ficiton, 7 years +, 10/10E)

As a special feature post requiring hunting down info rather than simple copy and paste of a review this is a delayed post due to life happening so the dates have obviously taken place, but the info is still very much in date!: The app was released last summer (I think). I haven't played the app, but because I enjoyed the book I wanted to share news about the app with you too! 

The review I wrote for The Foolish King book last year can be seen here. I loved it especially because Martin Brown did the illustrations for Horrible Histories, a series that I think started when I was little and which always made me laugh. I'm not brilliant at chess, but the moves in the book were simple to understand, and the story very charming.

 

In game screen

The illustrations are from the app, and everything below this paragraph is from the press release info. Do go check it all out! (Please excuse the formatting, despite me telling Blogger to centralise all text it didn't happen. Technology!)

THE FOOLISH KING: The Secret History of Chess

MARK PRICE, illustrated by Martin Brown

Paperback, second edition, published by David Fickling Books on 6th July 2017, £8.99

 

Image from the app

Since last summer Lord Mark Price’s THE FOOLISH KING online game has seen young chess players competing from across the world to get to the top of the leader board. Now the winners of the winter and spring league have been announced on the ‘Board of Fame’ and the summer league starts just in time for the holidays on 14 July!

Lord Mark Price, has also announced his support for The Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge, where he will be donating copies of THE FOOLISH KING book to help promote the game of chess to young people and inspire children to become the chess champions of the future.

 

New games and puzzles image from the app

THE FOOLISH KING LIVE online game was launched in 2016 and is available to play via the website www.thefoolishking.com and the free app for iPhone and iPad. The online game was inspired by the critically acclaimed book, THE FOOLISH KING: The Secret History of Chess, by former Deputy Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and current Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Mark Price, and published by David Fickling Books. The aim of the game is to enable young players aged six and above to learn how to play chess - one of the world’s most popular games estimated to be played by 500 million people in 167 countries.

Another in app image

The interactive, smartly-designed app and website offers children the ability to play against the computer (1 player mode) and against another player (2 player mode). Using the same illustrations and characters as the book, the game has three different levels (easy, medium and hard), features clear tutorials and provide tips on how to improve your technique and suggestions for chess moves to try.

THE FOOLISH KING GAME updates this summer:

·       Build your own league section - Being able to share the results of your game with your friends via social media and invite new players to play.

·       ‘Zapping’ people you are playing with to encourage them to make their move

·       ‘My Games’ section where you can review your past games and improve on them. The games are:

-  Game Openings - helping players to play their best moves first and have a great setup for the   rest of the game.

-  Mate in One - learning how to make the best move to win the game. There are 50 levels for players to try out.

-  Mate in Two - learning how to make the best two moves to win the game. There are 20 levels for players to conquer in this section.

·       The Bank of Stur - the Foolish King’s very own currency for Foolish King chess players all around the world to buy ZAPS to prompt opponents to play, or improve their game with The Foolish King in the Learn and Improve section. You can gain currency by winning games in the FKLive Worldwide league on the app - it’s free to play.

There are more opportunities for young people to get involved in chess through The Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge, the UK’s leading junior chess competition owned by previous UK Chess Champion, Sarah Hegarty. The challenge has been running for 21 years and has seen over 1,100 schools sign up to take part this year.  Lord Mark Price will be adding his support and sponsorship to the Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of chess to young children. Mark has sent a copy of his book, The Foolish King, to every school that has signed up to the challenge for them to house in their school library for children to read and explore the world of chess. In addition, over 200 copies of his book will be sent to each Megafinal (the regional heats), for attending parents to read to younger siblings, whilst waiting for their child to compete. (Nayu: The 2017 one has finished but you can sign up for the 2018 challenge!)

Mark also attended the Terafinal on the 13^th August and will present the UK schools’ champion and runner up with their cash prizes. Find out more at https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/

 

App image of the Board of fame

THE FOOLISH KING: The Secret History of Chess original story book is also available in hardback (£10.99) and as an eBook (£7.99). The book can also be bought as an in-app purchase through the iPhone and iPad apps (£4.99).

 

About the Author and illustrator:

Mark Price joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1982. He spent 17 years on the board of Waitrose, becoming Managing Director in 2007 and held this post until 2016. He was also Deputy Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership from 2013. Mark was appointed Chairman of Business in the community in 2011 and Chairman of the Prince’s Countryside Fund in 2010. In 2016, Price was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Investment and a life peer. Price is the author of THE GREAT BRITISH PICNIC GUIDE and in 2016 he published THE FOOD LOVER’S GUIDE alongside his first book for children, THE FOOLISH KING. Mark will publish two new titles for adults in 2017, FAIRNESS FOR ALL: Unlocking the Power of Employee Engagement (May 2017) and PRICE’S WORKPLACE FABLES (October 2017).

Martin Brown is best known for his illustrations of the bestselling Horrible Histories series. He has also written and illustrated Lesser Spotted Animals, published by David Fickling Books.