Mumszone - A site for all parents

Written by: Elaine Lambe of www.littlesheep-learning.co.uk

Usborne books publish some of the most popular children’s books. I’m sure that many of you have Usborne Books for your children already, maybe one of the ‘That’s not my…’ range or maybe one of the first words books, you might have a collection of the Farmyard Tales books, or use some of the craft and activity books. As an Usborne Books at Home Organiser I have written this article to look at the different books Usborne publish and how you and your child can enjoy them.

For babies the range of cloth books and bath books are a lovely safe introduction to books. They are lightweight and easy for small fingers to manipulate. Cloth titles, include ‘Car’ and ‘Fish’ and have different textures and sounds to experience. The bath books are fully washable so are so ideal for babies to dribble on!

The next stage of books is board books. Usborne Books have several board book ranges; a range of touchy-feely books, the popular ‘That’s not my…’ range plus titles including ‘Dinosaurs’, ‘Diggers’ and ‘Puppies’. These books have exciting bright illustrations, very simple stories and lots of textures to explore. Other popular board books include the award winning ‘Look and Say’ topical picture books, the ‘Lift-the-Flap’ range and the little ‘Chunkies’ board books. For children enjoying jigsaws there are jigsaw books suitable for children from 18 months.

As children start to enjoy stories, the ‘First Stories’ range of fairy tales, the ‘Jobs People Do’ books, the phonics based ‘Easy Words to Read’ stories, the First Experiences’ and the ‘Farmyard Tales’ books will all make reading fun. They all have with two-level text (a simple sentence on each page for the child to read and more complex text suitable for reading by an adult or a more confident child) and have the trademark ‘yellow duck’ to find on each page. There are further reading ranges with ‘Young Reading’ selections for KS1 children and for KS2 children, books retelling of classics, true stories and the ‘Fabulous Fiction’ range.

Usborne also publish non-fiction titles for children of all ages. As an introduction to non-fiction the ‘Beginners’ range includes titles such as ‘Dinosaurs’, ‘Farm Animals’ and ‘Sun, Moon and Stars’, and the ‘First Encyclopedias’ are aimed at reception and key stage 1 children and contain lots of illustrations and photographs. For older children there are non-fiction books on every topic imaginable, from computers and trains, to pyramids and sharks, many of them with special internet-linked pages to further learning. There are also publications to help teach languages, dictionaries, games and more recently popular titles translated into French and Spanish.

For things to do ‘The Big Book of Playtime Activities’ and ‘The Big Book of Things to Do’ are combination volumes that ideas of things to make and do. Topical ‘Things to Make and Do’ books include ‘Farmyard Tales’, ‘Fairy’, ‘Pirate’ and ‘Mermaid’. All of these contain lots of ideas to keep children entertained over the summer holidays! The ranges of dot-to-dot, puzzle and sticker books also are great for keeping children busy.
As well as books Usborne sell a range of jigsaws and games. Including board games such as ‘Lotto’ and ‘Snakes and Ladders’, ‘Dominoes’ and card games, for example, ‘Snap’ and ‘Happy Families’.

This article hopes to have helped you see the variety on offer to your child whatever their age. There are literally thousands of titles to choose from so this can only be brief introduction. As an Usborne Books at Home Organiser I am happy to provide further information and advice on choosing and buying suitable Usborne books for your child.

Elaine Lambe
Useful sites:
www.littlesheep-learning.co.uk
www.usbornebooks.com