It's a Sad Tale of Woe


It's a sad fact that children are being lured away from the magic of reading by the technological revolution. Parents are so busy these days that it is all too easy to let their kids sit in front of the television playing games, watching cartoons and movies for hours on end. Don't get me wrong - there is a place for this rather entertaining and alluring visual media, but not at the expense of reading literature.

I feel modern parents need to realise how vital reading is to their children's creative and intellectual development and encourage kids to read. There are so many beautiful stories out there waiting to be devoured by young minds. Encourage your kids to go to the library and  ask the librarian to help them to find books that interest them - trust me, there are books written for every kind of child out there. Start reading with your kids early on - this will develop a culture of reading in your home and this will soon grow into a love for stories (I've seen it happen with my own children). For really busy parents, there are lovely book and CD combinations available or just ask Granny - you know she can't say no. Lets create a reading revolution amongst our kids and save our libraries from extinction - or human creativity might just become extinct along with them.


In a reaction to library closures all over the world, children's laureate Julia Donaldson has written this poem in support of Libraries.

Everyone is welcome to walk through the door.
It really doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
There are books in boxes and books on shelves.
They're free for you to borrow, so help yourselves.

Come and meet your heroes, old and new,
From William the Conqueror to Winnie the Pooh.
You can look into the Mirror or read The Times,
Or bring along a toddler to chant some rhymes.

The librarian's a friend who loves to lend,
So see if there's a book that she can recommend.
Read that book, and if you're bitten
You can borrow all the other ones the author's written.

Are you into battles or biography?
Are you keen on gerbils or geography?
Gardening or ghosts? Sharks or science fiction?
There's something here for everyone, whatever your addiction.

There are students revising, deep in concentration,
And school kids doing projects, finding inspiration.
Over in the corner there's a table with seating,
So come along and join in the Book Club meeting.

Yes, come to the library! Browse and borrow,
And help make sure it'll still be here tomorrow.



Happy Reading :)

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Happy Egg Hunting!

The Next Big Thing 

With a 5 star cast, including teen beauty Jennifer Lawrence in the lead and the theme song by Taylor Swift, move over Twilight and Harry Potter - The Hunger Games has arrived!

This is a riveting book with all the makings of a cult hit and your Teens should read it before the movie makes landfall in south Africa. In a nutshell, the story goes something like this:

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tributes" must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she's ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Get it at www.imagikids.co.za before all pandemonium breaks loose!

The following two books in the Hunger Games Trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are also currently available.

Happy Reading :)

Gruffalo's Mommy is Crowned Children's Laureate

Julia Donaldson, who is known by millions of children the world over as

the creator of the Gruffalo has been appointed the new children's laureate.

Donaldson takes on a role that was dreamed up by Ted Hughes, then poet laureate, and his friend Michael Morpurgo, to mark a lifetime's contribution to children's literature and highlight the importance of children's books.

"The laureateship is an honour but it's not the kind of honour you can just bask in, so I'm planning to have quite an active two years," she said. "I'm hoping to bring some drama and music to the job. I always act out my own stories with lots of audience participation so I'm planning to do lots more of that. I hope to encourage and inspire children to act stories out, though it's too early to say whether there will be one major theatrical event." 

Donaldson, who is so clever and funny, has written 120 books for various age groups. But her unwavering superstar is the outwardly ferocious Gruffalo, written in deceptively simple verse with illustrations by Axel Scheffler.

With only 700 words across 32 pages, the tale of an anxious mouse struggling to keep his courage up and a cowardly monster was instantly recognised as a classic. It has won several awards and has now sold more than 10.5 million copies and been translated into languages including Polish, Hebrew, Lithuanian and Russian.

The sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, won a best children's book award in 2005 and the original was voted the best bedtime story of all time by BBC radio listeners in 2009. The Gruffalo has recently sparked a multimillion pound merchandising operation on a scale that gives Paddington Bear a run for his money.

You can find a range of Julia Donaldson’s books at www.imagikids.co.za

Happy Reading :)

Introduce Your Children to a Colourful Land of Living Letters

When my little girl came home with a colouring-in of an ‘A’ dressed like an Apple and started jabbering about Annie Apple, Bouncing Ben and Clever Cat, I was intrigued. This looked like a well thought out way of helping children to remember the alphabet both audibly and visually. So I did what any modern Mom might do – I looked up Annie Apple and I uncovered the wonderful world of Letterland. 

Letterland, originally developed by Lyn Wendon, is a  phonics based approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling for to 3-8 year olds. Children are taught shapes and sounds of letters by giving them imaginary names and shapes and presenting them as living things in the fictional land of Letterland. Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into pictogram characters. By translating the full range of dry phonic facts into engaging stories, children are motivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter shapes and sounds, allowing children to progress quickly to word building, reading and writing. 

Children find Letterland to be exciting and colourful and it is used extensively at pre-primary level in South Africa. It has also been used to help teach young children English in foreign language countries like Russia. The pictogram characters of Letterland provide teachers with opportunities to use English in an engaging, conversational manner when teaching children and this leads to an expansion in vocabulary and grammar.

Mom’s can order a range of Letterland books at www.imagikids.co.za and use them creatively at home to reinforce what their children are learning in the classroom as they take their first steps towards learning to read.

Happy Learning to Read :)

The Enchanted Wood: 

A Perfect Place to Escape to After the Bustle of a Busy Day!

The Enchanted Wood is one of Enid Blyton's most memorable and truly imaginative stories, capturing a world where almost anything can happen if you just believe in the magic of nature and its creatures.

Many moms will have fond memories of discovering the world of The Enchanted Wood. There was the delightfully gentle Silky the Fairy, the wonderfully jolly Moon-Face the truly bizzare Saucepan man covered in clanking pots and pans, who along with a host of other strange and mysterious folk, live among the branches of The Magic Faraway Tree.

I must admit, I was a little jealous of Jo Bess and Fanny when they discovered that they had all of this wonderment and adventure right on their doorstep. What child wouldn’t be envious of visits to the Land of Presents, the Land of Goodies or the Land of Do-as-you-Please! Then of course, there are all the delicious treats made by Moon Face and Silky….Google Buns and tea, Toffee Shocks and Pop biscuits oozing with honey. And after all of that, they still get to ride down to the bottom of the tree on the Slippery-Slip!

In the updated version of the Enchanted Wood, some of the more old- fashioned names have been changed to suit modern childrens’ perceptions. Fanny’s name has been changed to Fran and Bess is now Beth and of course, cousin Dick is now Rick. The new illustrations are less attractive but the original story has been preserved in its entirety and I still found myself being swept away into the magical lands, along with my two children, who could not wait for story-time every night so we could find out what was in store for the folk of the Faraway Tree.

All of the books in the The Faraway Series are available at www.imagikids.co.za
Happy Reading :)

Authors Who Rock : Michael Morpurgo

From Vital Imaginings and Inspired Daydreams, 

Great Stories are Born…

Michael Morpurgo is one of those authors who writes with such clarity and lyrical beauty that his words seem to reach out and pull you in so far, that you can almost feel, taste and smell the world that he his telling you about. 

This gifted man grew up in England and started his career off as a Primary School teacher. It was while reading to his pupils everyday, that he began to make up his own stories which the children found far more captivating than the mundane books provided by the school. He quickly realised that storytelling was magical for him and was definitely his true calling.

Today, Michael lives with his devoted wife Claire and a whacky Cockerel called George who just loves to scratch up all the flowers in their garden. Michael is barred writing at home as he loves to write on his bed, propped up by pillows with his notepad on his knees and has stained one too many sheets with ink and sandy footprints. So with Claire’s help, he has built his own storyteller’s hideaway in the country, where he now immerses himself in his story writing.

Michael stokes up inspiration for his stories by keeping his eyes and ears open and his heart fresh. He draws from the children in his life, people and places, history, listening to Mozart and he spends a lot of time daydreaming while he works on his farm. 

“For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out. The writing down of it, I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers,” says Michael.

Michael was chosen as Children’s Laureate (Distinguished Children’s Author) from 2003 until 2006 and has written over 100 books, among which his favourites are Butterfly Lion, War Horse and Private Peaceful. You can get all of these books at www.imagikids.co.za along with a host of other hugely successful books written by this legendry children’s author.

Recommended Books :

Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea

Butterfly Lion

War Horse

Kaspar

Running Wild

Kensuke’s Kingdom

Dancing Bear

Private Peaceful

Shadow (Latest Release)

Happy Reading : )