Category Archives: Giveaway

Just Like My Dad App News plus Book Giveaway

Posted on 13 June, 2013 | 7 Comments

For those new to the blog, you may not know that I we are huge fans of David Melling in the Chaos household. This addiction goes back six years, when I purchased a copy of Just Like My Dad from one of our local bookshops for Mr Chaos’ first Father’s Day when MG was only a few months old.

That book is enjoyed as much now as it was then. Well, technically it’s enjoyed much more as there’s only so much a four-month old gets out a book, and we’ve double the children now! But I’m sure you understood what I meant before I decided to add needless clarification…

Just Like My Dad app screen

Today, 13th June 2013, Just Like My Dad is being released as an app. Perfect for Father’s Day sharing, it includes burp and fart sounds. What more does any self-respecting 2-8 year old want than burp and fart sounds? Apparently this also applies to most dads too, but I try to avoid gender stereotyping…

I don’t have anything to run apps on, so normally leave app reviews to the wonderful CApptivated Kids. But the fact that the app includes David Melling illustrations and is based on Just Like My Dad would make it worth the £1.99 price tag in my opinion!

Just Like My Dad app screen

The Just Like My Dad app is released in iOS and Android versions, and is available from the iTunes AppStore and Google Play in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America. I’ll add links as soon as I get them.

I normally ignore press releases in my reviews, but as this isn’t a review here’s some facts from the press release:

  • Narrated by a child actor to appeal to children using the app
  • ‘Read to me’, ‘Read by myself’ and ‘Record myself’ options
  • Available in all options, each screen has automated and touch-activated animation
  • Available in all options, each screen includes touch-activated sound effects, including farting skunks and burping dad and son lion
  • Children get to torment ‘dad’ by ripping plasters off the dad lion
  • ‘Record myself’ option allows a child and father to have fun recording the story together

Sounds like fun. I think my two would particularly like the ripping plasters off dad lion part! Amazingly I haven’t actually reviewed Just Like My Dad yet, but for an idea of the style I have written about Just Like My Mum.

Just Like My Dad app screen

To celebrate the release, Hachette have offered me five sets of the Just Like My Dad board book plus toy lion to giveaway. If the lion is anything like the mini Hugless Douglas from his book/toy set then it is cuter than cute (and small enough to smuggle into schoolbags for a bit of comfort away from home…) I wish I could enter my own competitions!

Just Like My Dad Book and Toy Box Set

To be in with a chance of winning one of these book/toy sets, please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. The prizes will be sent direct from the publisher. Obviously they won’t arrive in time for Father’s Day, but this is a book to be enjoyed any day of the year. The deadline is midnight on Tuesday 18th June. Open to UK addresses only. Winners must reply with addresses within 5 days of drawing, or another winner will be drawn. Five prizes on offer.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd WITH GIVEAWAY!

Posted on 24 January, 2013 | 19 Comments

Cinderelephant: Emma Dodd (Templar Publishing, 2012)

Cinderelephant: Emma Dodd (Templar Publishing, 2012)

Cinderelephant is a Cinderella tale with the main parts taken by Elephants. The Warty Sisters are the step-sisters (or warthog cousins in this version); there’s a Furry Godmouse (a male one at that); and lots of elephantine puns!

As well as being full of anthropomorphic animals, this is a modernised Cinders with a glossy white limo and sparking pink high heels. Prince Charming Trunky reminds me of Babar (although I was remembering incorrectly because Babar doesn’t wear green pinstriped trousers other than in my head apparently!)

...and it's a big but...

The enormous shoe is obviously, ridiculously, too big for all the ‘girls’ who try it on, which adds another lovely comic touch to the imagery. I would have prefered something other than “[they] were married the very next day” at the end, but it’s a minor quibble. The art is gorgeous, and it’s a lovely alternate-Cinderella addition to fairy tale loving children.

I am thrilled to be able to offer a SIGNED copy of Cinderelephant to one lucky reader. All you need to do to enter is click the widget below and add a comment. The prize will be sent directly by Templar, and you need a UK address to enter. As with all good things, the giveaway ends at midnight… on 29th January. I’ll press the button to get the random winner in the morning of Tues 29th January.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were sent an e-copy of Cinderelephant by Templar Publishing for review. No other financial reward was given and the opinions are my own. I was not asked to review the book, just to offer a copy to give away!

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National Hug Day with Hugless Douglas

Posted on 16 January, 2013 | 34 Comments

Hugless Douglas in London looking for hugs

Monday 21st January is the most depressing day of the year, according to some made-up calculations. It’s also National Hug Day, which seems like a much better idea. In honour of this, a giant Hugless Douglas will be out and about in London all day. He’ll need all that fur with snow predicted. Brrrrr!

David and Douglas’ London Schedule:
8.30am Hugless Douglas at Watermark bookshop, Kings Cross Station.
10.00am Hugless Douglas at Buckingham Palace.
11.00am David Melling and Hugless Douglas at Waterstones Piccadilly signing books and giving hugs.
2.00pm David Melling and Hugless Douglas at Netley Primary School giving 117 free books to the children!
4.00pm David Melling and Hugless Douglas at Watermark books, Kings Cross Station signing books and giving hugs.

If you’re out in London and take a photo of your hug with Hugless Douglas, tweet it to @hodderchildrens and you could win a Hugless Douglas plush and signed book.

Signed books and slippers

If you’re not in London, how about a set of signed books and fluffy Hugless Douglas slippers? This wonderful prize comes courtesy of Hachette Children’s Books and I wish I could enter because they look so lush! Fortunately there’s a second chance to win with Book Sniffer too.

For one entry into the draw, let me know about your favourite kind of hug. For a second entry, do some social media sharing or tell a friend about National Hug Day and Hugless Douglas. Winner chosen via the Rafflecoptor widget below so make sure your entry counts! The competition closes at 12am 22nd January.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Look at those slippers, aren’t they gorgeous?

Slippers!
If you’re on Twitter, follow @davidmelling1 and @hodderchildrens because they’re awesome, and for notification of other competitions throughout the week.

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Hugless Douglas Week: Giveaway

Posted on 1 October, 2012 | 7 Comments

Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep: David Melling (Hodder Children's Books, 2012)

To celebrate the publication day of the paperback of Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep on 4th October I will be having a week of Hugless Douglas posts including reviews, activities and where to download colouring sheets etc.

To start the week off, I’m opening a giveaway for one hardback copy of the third Hugless Douglas book plus a copy of the activity book you can usually only get by attending an event. You can read my original review of the book here, or the edited re-post is below.

Before you read that, let me point you in the direction of Hugless Douglas events with David Melling coming up very soon:
6th October 2012: Cheltenham Literary Festival
(SOLD OUT, Sorry!) 7th October 2012: Bath Literary Festival
12th October 2012: Wimbledon BookFest
31st October 2012: Wessex Festival
10th November 2012: Leicester Festival
See www.davidmelling.co.uk for more details.

UPDATE: Thanks to the generosity of Hachette Children’s Books and David Melling, more prizes added plus all books can be SIGNED if wanted. Giveaway extended until Tuesday 9th October due to extra prizes.

Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep is the third in the Hugless Douglas series, and I think it might just be my favourite of the three. To recap: In Hugless Douglas (Hodder 2010), Douglas wakes from a long sleep and tries to find a hug that suits him, looking for big tall and comfy hugs in all the wrong places until Rabbit takes him to the best hug of all. In Don’t Worry [Hugless] Douglas (Hodder 2011) Douglas gets a new hat from his dad but in his excitement the hat gets ruined. He looks for advice about what to tell his dad, before finding out that telling the truth is the best option.

In Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep, Douglas is heading for a sleepover with Rabbit: “There’s plenty of room at Rabbit’s.” But not before choosing what to take with him, getting lost, picking up some friends along the way and ending sleeping not quite where originally planned…

It’s the attention to detail that make me love these books so much. This may be why I like Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep so much, because it brings themes from the original Hugless Douglas book: the honeybee pyjamas, the bush with eyes, the owl saying “Twooooo Twit!”. I also love how the sky subtly darkens throughout the book with a sunset sky before night falls – something that you can even see in the storyboard:

Kind permission given by David Melling to use storyboard sketch

Kind permission given by David Melling to use storyboard sketch

Poor Douglas. They pushed... ...and they pulled.

This double spread also has that Winnie-the-Pooh trapped in Rabbit’s house feel, except in this case Rabbit is very happy for Douglas to visit and the problem is getting into her house, not out of it. (And I just love how this Rabbit instantly just decides to dig a bigger hole because she is, after all, a rabbit…)

The attention to detail really is just fantastic: there are always ten sheep (even when they’re just eyes in a bush), Douglas’ storybook front and back cover is an exact match to the first Hugless Douglas book, one of the sheep is pulling the pyjamas out of the bag before Douglas is shown wearing them (though how he gets them on must be a book in itself!)

The final double page spread of “things to take on a sleepover” is packed with humour (especially the cuddly toy), but I think my favourite has to be: a friend. Hugless Douglas can be every child’s friend so off you go now, grab yourself a copy and enjoy. And don’t forget to read it to your children once you’ve enjoyed it…

Don’t forget to pack a friend…

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And the winner is…

Posted on 8 May, 2012 | 4 Comments

Thank-you so much to everyone who entered, re-tweeted, liked and looked at my very first giveaway! Sadly there can be only one winner…

I did this the old-fashioned way: wrote names onto paper, folded up really small so you couldn’t read them (even if DG could read!), shook them up in a container and gave to DG to choose one:

The winner is @aitcheldee Helen! Congratulations! Send me your address and the books will be winging their way to you later this week.

However, I prefer competitions where everyone wins, so I’m offering runners-up prizes to @liveotherwise, @playbythebook and @menain of your choice of Quentin Blake picture book from this selection:

Patrick, Snuff, Simpkin, Angelo, Mrs Armitage on Wheels, Cockatoos, Mister Magnolia, Mrs Armitage Queen of the Road, Angela Sprocket’s Pockets, Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave.

Please send me your first and second choice (in case you all chose the same one!) and address and I’ll post those out too. My e-mail is on the left hand side, or DM me on Twitter.

Again, huge thanks to everyone who looked and liked, and biggest thanks to the entrants. I wish I could send all of you the Martin Waddell books but I only have one copy of each :-)

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Picture Book Giveaway

Posted on 29 April, 2012 | 15 Comments

To celebrate over 500 Twitter followers (wow), as a pay-it-forward thank-you for picture books I’ve been very kindly sent, and to pimp this blog and facebook page I’ve decided to run a small giveaway.

Any regular readers may have guessed I’m a teeny bit addicted to books. I like to support local independent bookstores and charity shops, but acquire books from many different sources. I recently purchased a Martin Waddell picture book collection from The Book People but we already had two of the books. These are what I’m offering as a giveaway :-)

Martin Waddell writes a huge amount of varied books, many of which are well deserved classics. The two books offered in this giveaway are definitely classics: Owl Babies and Farmer Duck.

Farmer Duck (1991) is illustrated by the amazing Helen Oxenbury. It tells the story of a lazy farmer who overworks the poor duck, until the other animals come up with a plan. Beautifully illustrated and a firm favourite with children.

Owl Babies (1992) is illustrated by Patrick Benson (they also collaborated on one of my Fiction Fridays favourites, The Tough Princess). It is the classic tale of separation anxiety – three baby owls wake to find their mother missing and wait for their return. It’s probably the scariest scenario for small children but fortunately all ends well and Mummy Owl reassures that she said she would come back.

In order to be in with a chance of receiving these two books, you must have a UK address for the books to be posted to, and:

  1. Leave a comment on this post
  2. Follow Child-Led Chaos blog
  3. Like Child-Led Chaos on Facebook
  4. Tweet about this giveaway
  5. Write a blog entry about this giveaway

That gives up to five (optional) entries per person. For each entry, please leave a separate comment on this post. I’ll write the names and get MG or DG to pick one out randomly – nothing but the highest technology here! The closing date for entering this giveaway is midnight Monday 7th May. The winner will have one week to claim the books. I’ve not done this before so bear with me if I make mistakes!

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Montessori Print Shop Giveaway From 1+1+1=1

Posted on 29 August, 2011 | 1 Comment

Have I mentioned I like Montessori Print Shop? If you follow my twitter, you might notice I retweet them a lot! I forget when I first stumbled upon the site, probably via a yahoo group post on a Montessori list. To start with, I downloaded some of the free printables. Then I purchased a couple of the other printables when they were on offer. Then I bought files that were so much cheaper than wooden materials (and just as good for home use) and a teaching manual. More recently, the site has expanded its information and has a list of some of the best Montessori oriented blogs around, books worth reading, an idea of Montessori ‘curriculum’ (e.g. Maths), guidance on using Montessori principles at home, Montessori terms and theory in bitesized chunks, how to prepare and use their printables and not forgetting the blog full of activities, ideas, information and giveaways. Montessori Print Shop are very generous with their giveaways.

I have not been asked to write this post, I have not been given anything to write this, I’ve not even ever won a giveaway! I just wanted to share a resource I find really useful (even though I don’t utilise what I’ve learnt as much as I want to!) and share a fantastic giveaway.

Homeschool blog 1+1+1=1 is hosting a giveaway for the entire Montessori Print Shop catalogue: almost 1000 files. I’m not entirely sure I’d know what to do with them all, but I’d certainly have a go: my girls will love helping with the laminating and cutting :lol:

I think this is a fantastic resource and a great giveaway. Click here to enter (but please let me win!) :lol:

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Montessori Madness! again!

Posted on 26 July, 2011 | 1 Comment

Lori from Montessori MOMents blog is offering the Montessori Madness! book by Trevor Eissler in a giveaway. The rest of her blog is well worth reading too! Click here for a direct link to the giveaway.

See my previous post on why this book is worth buying. And because it’s so fab, here’s the video again:

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Montessori Madness!

Posted on 15 July, 2011 | 2 Comments

I first read about Montessori before I had any children or had started planning to have children and was ‘sold’ on the philosophy from the start. The more I read, the more involved in Montessori education I want to be.

Last week, I saw this video for the first time:

Ever since, I’ve wanted to share it with everyone I bump into. Trevor Eissler’s book, Montessori Madness is being offered in a worldwide giveaway by the fantastic Montessori Print Shop (load of info on their blog and site on use of Montessori principles, as well as printables that reduce the cost of buying materials that aren’t needed in a home environment). If the contents are anything like the video, it looks like a book I’ll be gently lending to all the parents I know (after I’ve devoured it myself) ;-)

To enter their giveaway, click here.

My answer to the question “Why is the best product in the world (Montessori Education) so poorly and timidly marketed? How can we change this?“ is: I think one of the problems is that anyone can use the word ‘Montessori’ without really knowing what it represents. When I told other parents that I was thinking of home educating using Montessori philosophy, many of the comments were along the lines that it’s very prescriptive (certain materials used in certain ways) or that Montessori ‘hated imaginative play’ or that it’s just for pre-schoolers. In the UK, we have an early years framework that requires play based learning until age 6 with children free to choose activities, so those parents who are aware of Montessori also think this is ‘the same’ as Montessori. Montessori schooling is considered an elite choice, so many don’t even think to look into it – and that’s from the small sub-set of parents who look into any alternative to State education for their children.

It seems strange that Montessori education should be such a ‘hard sell’ but I think sadly it is to do with cases where the word ‘Montessori’ has just been added to a school run by people with only a vague idea of what the philosophy is about. It seems like the connection between MMR and autism – there’s no link but people think it’s there because of media exposure; Montessori and hot-housing seem to be linked inextricably in people’s minds. The solution? I have no idea, but I think Trevor Eissler’s video is a very good step in giving the world a bite-sized introduction to what Education could be like.

But on thinking more, I wish I’d added that parents need to be made more aware of alternatives to state education, and that alternatives are not ‘hippy’ or ‘out there’ or just being alternate for the sake of it. How much media coverage is there on “X% of school/college leavers can’t <insert basic skill here>”? I don’t think the media is helping anything but instead of blaming schools, teachers,  parents, ‘the youth of today’ maybe more debate on the value of testing, tables, standardisation etc should be in the mainstream so that there are a variety of educational choices?

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