One of the best things about writing this blog is that we get lots of lots of book parcels in the post and if you have seen our Instagram ac...

A Monthly Delivery of Book Post

Tuesday, October 18, 2016 BookBairn 8 Comments

One of the best things about writing this blog is that we get lots of lots of book parcels in the post and if you have seen our Instagram account or read our post 'Stalking the Postman' you will know how much BookBairn loves to run to the door and collect the parcels, even the heavy ones, and drag them to open. Today she had a lovely moment as I spotted the postman walking towards the house and we ran to greet him. She took the parcel and politely said "ta" and I really hope that she made his day, because the post definitely brings BookBairn much joy.

But you can share this 'book post' joy with your little ones as there are now some new and fantastic book subscription services available in the UK. I have long been jealous of some of the subscription boxes available in Australia and the US but the postage is just extortionate. But now I'm delighted that we can join the fun in here too!

The Little Reading Club

Now, before we go into saying much about this subscription service, can I just say how amazing the packaging is? What little kid (or big kid) could resist the bright shiny red padded envelope! Anyway, not to be distracted by shiny things...

This service provides a monthly delivery of three books based around a specific theme for the month. I was concerned about joining any subscription services as we have quite a lot of books already and are sometimes sent new books by publishers before their release, which made me concerned about duplication. But of the books we received we only got one doubler and it's so good I'm going to re-gift it anyway. The three books chosen in the 'friendship and kindness' theme are beautiful, funny and sweet.

Firstly, 'Have you Seen Elephant?' by David Barrow is a cute and funny story about an elephant who wants to play hide and seek, but, of course, being an elephant, he's not very good at hiding. The little boy plays along nonetheless. It also has an adorable ending featuring a tortoise who wants to play chase! 'Grandad's Island' by Benji Davis is one that I have had my eye on for a while and it didn't let me down. A magical tale about a little boy who goes on an adventure with his grandad to find a beautiful tropical island, reminiscent of the old man's adventure in the Disney film 'Up!' When Grandad decides to stay, the story beautifully, softly and subtly, shows us that no matter how far away the people we love are, we still hold them close in our hearts. Yes, it's a tear-jerker. And Benji Davis's illustrations are wonderful! Adorable characters, bright and colourful scenery and tropical animals for BookBairn to spot - this is a perfect combination of beautiful storytelling and magical artwork. The final book in the parcel was 'The Smartest Giant in Town' by the dynamic duo Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Written in Julia Donaldson's trademark style mixing fabulous prose and rhyme, the book tells the story of George the giant who wants to be the smartest giant in town. But as it turns out he's not that smart. But he stumbles through and find himself a new, more appropriate title, the kindest giant in town. And paired with Axel Scheffler's illustrations it is a delightful tale!

To add a little sparkle to this book service (as if the envelope wasn't sparkly enough), alongside a list of the book titles and why they were chosen, is a little gift and activity for wee bookworms. As this month's theme was 'friendship' we were given two started friendship bracelets one labelled with BookBairn's name and another to give to a friend. Perhaps not the easiest for little fingers still developing their fine motor skills but I finished the bracelets for her and she can now share with her bestie.

The Little Reading Club have several subscription options available to view on their website here.

The Happy Book Club
The Happy Book Club is more than just a book subscription box - it's a rainy day lifesaver! Each month is themed and includes two books with a huge suggestions of activities included too. We received their 'Imagination' themed box and what an absolute delight it was! You can see BookBairn enjoying collecting it below!


Firstly, the books: this parcel included two wonderful books - one of which I have wanted for a while, and another of which I hadn't even heard of. 'The Wonder' by Faye Hanson is the magnificent story of inside a little boy's imagination. Simply using a muted colour palette for the 'real world' in contrast to the spectrum of colours used in his imagination, Faye Hanson beautifully crafts a story about what it is like inside the mind of a child. You could pour over these illustrations for hours. Also included in the box was 'Use You Imagination' by Nicola O'Byrne where a wolf and a rabbit make up a truly ridiculous story as they go along. This makes me think of trying to encourage children to write stories at school as they come up with the strangest and most brilliant ideas when telling stories! Bright and colourful with a huge pull-out spread at the end, this is a delightful and imaginative book that will encourage little readers to make up stories of their very own.

Also included in The Happy Book Club parcel was a little brown paper bag packed with crafty bits like pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, pop poms and feathers to create whatever your heart, or imagination desires. Perfect for a rainy day! The newsletter included as has a long list of activity suggestions to help explore your children's imagination as well as a competition based on the crafts. One of the other lovely things that makes this subscription service stand out is that every month they donate a proportion of every delivered package to a charity, which changes monthly.

The Happy Book Club have several subscription options as well as a special Christmas Book Package that would make a great gift for little bookbairns. You can find their website here.


So a great choice of services for little bookworms! These subscription services would make great gifts for Christmas as the children get to enjoy the magic of a monthly parcel in the post just for them!

BookBairn is certainly awaiting the postman's arrival tomorrow, let's hope there is a parcel in the post for her!

Love Mummy and BookBairn xx

*Disclaimer* We received both of the book subscription services free for one month in exchange for sharing on our social media and writing an honest review. The words and opinions are my own. To read more about my review policy click here.



8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, these all look fantastic. Can't wait to get to the favourites shelf!

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    1. So many stories and so little time (well, BookBairn would read as many as she can get away with at bedtime but we have to draw the line somewhere!).

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  2. you know I love the happy book club and we had a ball (did you see our hot air balloons?). Not heard of the other one but sounds fab x

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    1. I loved your hot air balloons! And I'm sure the kids loved making them. x

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  3. Oh boy!! This must be up there for the longest blog yet. So many parcels and books. What a great supply BookBairn has. I'll bet the Postie was chuffed when he got his "Ta". Of course, I'm really looking forward to reading Grandad's Island.

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    1. Thanks Papa C! The postie is owed more than just a "ta" for the amount of heavy parcels he brings but I hope it brightened his morning!

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  4. These look fab and love the Happy Book Club's policy of replacing any duplicate books 😃

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    1. It's great! I was worried with book subscription boxes we might get duplicates as we get sent them by publishers too. Really good service!

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