Welcome
Hello and welcome to the new blog for Newton and Willow's Little Library. As this is my first post, I'll start by introducing myself and explain the reasons why I've chosen to become an Usborne Independent Home Organiser. I'll also share which of our books are my ultimate favourites.
Introduction
I'm Emily. I come from Andover in Hampshire, but I live in a town in the North West called Newton le Willows, hence the name of my Little Library! I moved here with my family two years ago, my husband, my two children (Eva, now 9, and Jax, now 6) and since we've moved, we've had a baby called Mila. She's one this month, and my god, that year has flown by!
Books are, and always have been, a huge part of my life. As a child, reading allowed me to go to many different worlds in a short space of time, it fuelled my imagination and encouraged me to let it run wild with my own ideas and write my own stories. As an adult and a parent, I've shared that with my children, and we all love to read all types of books together and on our own (although on my own, sometimes not as often as I'd like!) and my eldest daughter also loves to write in her journal and write her own stories, like I used to.
So meet Newton and Willow, the namesakes of our Little Library. When we moved to the North and the children started a new school, we gave them these two mice - the one in the green is Newton and the one in the purple is Willow, so that they would feel at home here. They come on many an adventure with us, so we have brought them along on this one too!
Why Usborne?
Usborne aligns perfectly with my lifestyle and it's really just me sharing my love of books with all of my friends, and helping to get books into the hands of all of your children (and my children, as I just can't help myself!).
Literacy and reading ability is something that's really important to me, and I think every child should have their own library of books to enjoy. The benefits of this are tenfold - it helps them to develop stronger social skills, vocabulary and writing skills, and helps them to better understand and process more complex ideas. Reading also expands their ability to build knowledge overall – not just in subjects like English, but in a broad range of subjects areas.
I'm not naturally a sociable or confident person, so I did umm and ahh quite a lot before deciding to sign up. The main thing that I've had to overcome is putting myself out there and talking to people in a way that I wouldn't normally do, for example, doing live videos on Facebook/Instagram makes me very nervous, but I'm getting better each time I do it and it gives me a great confidence boost!
And the benefits outweigh the nervousness. I have so much passion for these books. There are so many subjects and genres, and all are engaging, innovative and educational, whether fiction or non-fiction; and many are full of beautiful, eye-catching illustrations. The fact that I get to share these with everyone makes me happy every day. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
My favourites
So, to complete this small blog post, I just wanted to share with you which books in the Usborne range are my favourites.
Peep Inside...
I love the Peep Inside... range. I first enjoyed these with my son when he was around two. His nursery was on a farm and he loved all aspects of the farm - the goats, feeding the animals, the tractors, the shop. So i randomly bought the Peep Inside a Farm book, and it ticked all the boxes. It was like he was going to the Farm every night before bed! After that, we started to collect as many of them as we could - Peep Inside the Garden, Peep Inside Nighttime, Peep Inside Space, Peep Inside Dinosaurs.
When he was two, he loved to lift all the flaps and listen intently as I read them aloud to him. Now, as a six year old, he sits and reads them to himself, only stopping to ask 'Muuuuuuuum!' the occasional question.
I can't recommend them highly enough, they are beautiful books which grow with your child.
STEM Scribble Books
The Scribble Books are activity books which cover a range of subjects within the 'STEM' category: Architecture, Inventions, Technology, Maths, Engineering, and Science. They're aimed at age 7+, but honestly, I could have hours of fun with these books.
I have the Architecture one at home. If you're a fan of interior design programmes or building programmes on TV, you will absolutely love this book - and of course, there are the additional benefits of encouraging your children to learn more about architecture...
I enjoyed this one so much that I plan to get the rest of the series over the next few months.
Mental Health Books
One thing that I have been really impressed with since joining Usborne is the range of books which help with children's mental health - sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly,
We have 'The Unworry Magic Painting Book', a way to help you put your unwanted thoughts to one side and focus on the here and now instead, by simply sweeping a wet paintbrush over the pages and watching them burst into colour.
'The Unworry Book', a toolkit full of ideas to calm you down and places to put your worries - normalising worrying and anxiety as it happens to all of us! (Aimed at age 9+)
'Looking After Your Mental Health' which covers everything from friendships, social media and bullying to divorce, depression and eating disorders. (Aimed at age 11+)
And a small range for younger readers too - 'All About Feelings' and 'All About Friends'.
Talking about mental health is so important, and should be normalised within the younger generation. Seeing it in print will do just that, and they are especially important if your child is struggling with anything themselves - they can help you to discuss difficult subject areas. These books approach the subject gently and in an age appropriate way, so you can either read with them, or allow them to digest the information themselves and come back to you with any questions.
Keep in Touch
I hope you enjoyed my first blog post, there will be more to come over the next weeks and months. If you have any requests on things you'd like me to showcase, just let me know and I'll schedule it in! Remember, you don't have to wait for me to post if you have any questions, you can message me any time and I will respond as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading!
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