Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
Alph and Betty’s Topsy Turvy World is the first in a series of motion adventure books for iPad from Stephen Cavalier, the author of The World History of Animation. Alph and Betty was created by Electric Circus, an award winning team of writers, animators, artists, actors and programmers with experience ranging from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Beano, award winning online and console games and Doctor Who.
It was 3 years ago that we found Portable North Pole, by word of mouth through a friend. Since then, we’ve created a video for Mr K each year. I will always create a naughty list video 3 weeks before Christmas to warn him to be good and only then will he be moved to the good list. It has been a few weeks and he has been asking if he has moved on to the good list. He knows that Santa is not real but he still believes in his magic and that he will get his presents if he has been good.
I come from Singapore and we did not use phonics during my school time. So I had absolutely no idea what phonics was, let alone teach Mr K. Having apps on the iPad is always so handy as they can learn phonics if they are not playing outdoor or in a car journey. This app that I had downloaded is called Twinkle Phonics Suite where you learn British Phonics – Reading, Writing & Spelling.
Ms C has been ill for two days now. Luckily, today I was able to download the brand new Woolly and Tig App. As part of the launch, Brands With Influence has teamed with Evolution PR and UKMums.tv and recruited 50 bloggers to test drive the new app. Ms C loves the Woolly and Tig show from Cbeebies and hoped this app would keep her company. We had also reviewed their First Day DVD, One Step at a Time DVD, sticker and story book previously.
There are only 6 shopping weeks left before Christmas! Have you started your shopping yet or is it going to be a last minute dash? How about get your children into the mood by being Santa’s little elf and helping him? PNP Santa Sprint app has been released by the makers of Portable North Pole. In this game, you are a little elf helping Santa to prepare for Christmas and you unlock exclusive video story tales featuring Santa Claus himself upon completing levels.
Do you always find that there is always a missing sock when you tidy up your laundry? Or always find an odd sock? It is strictly no outdoor shoes in my house and sometimes I have noticed some guests wearing mismatched socks! Maybe you have a sock monster at home? Sock Monster is a quirky storybook adventure for iPad with original hand-crafted artwork by exciting new author/illustrator Lorna Freytag. It is suitable for ages 2 – 5 years old. Lorna is a working mum and managed to create and produce Sock Monster whilst illustrating another book for a publisher, looking after her nearly-two-year old daughter and being pregnant with her second baby.
I’ve always loved Ladybird books since young. They have so many classic stories and I recall I owned a series of hardback books with a ladybird on the side. Now Ladybird have turned some classic tales into ebooks. Ebooks have become increasingly popular nowadays as you have the potential to bring your whole library of books along on your travels. I personally have so many different ebooks for children on my iPad already. So what makes Ladybird so unique?
The NEW Zappie app is set to amaze pre-school children by bringing to life their bedroom walls, furniture and clothing in a wonderfully magical and interactive way. They use the latest augmented reality technology to launch a series of colourful animations from a set of cute products and images which can be placed anywhere from walls to T-shirts – making it irresistibly fun for both parents and kids to play and interact with.
Me Books store is an app that allows you to buy your favourite children’s books and customise the audio content in them. The ebook that I download is called “The Brave Beast” which is written by Chris Judge. Each page is beautifully illustrated, bright and colourful. This is a story which follows on from “The Lonely Beast”. The Beast is asked by some islanders to help investigate a mysterious noise on their island. He sets off by jumping down the air plane and then swims ashore. Next, he wanders through the quiet island to investigate the strange noise. He goes up and down the tunnel and through a forest. He then sees a tiny little bird who is lost and crying. In fact, the tiny little bird is the scary noise on the island. In the end, the islanders invite the bird to stay and gives him a job in the lighthouse.
When I Dream of Christmas was written by Oakley Graham and illustrated by Patricia Yuste. This children’s paperback book was first published on the 1st of September 2012 by Top That! Publishing. It is suitable for ages 3 – 5 years old. There are 27 topics that take children on a magical journey of discovery on the traditions of Christmas. It is a big book (254 mm x 254 mm) and I found that it was easy to hold and turn the pages.
I first heard about phonics through my son attending preschool. It get me wondering whether I really have to learn this. I come from Singapore and we did not use phonics during my school time. That was at least 20 over years ago. At that time, I had absolutely no clue what phonics was.
