Kids Love To Read
March 1, 2010
Sales of children’s books have seen a healthy increase with a rise of almost 5% with picture books sales increasing to 13% on 2008 figures. In the UK last year more than 60 million books were sold generating more than £293m to the book industry.
Taking the top 5 spots for best selling books were Stephenie Meyers Twilight series of books contributing £29.3m in sales. Her series of books of modern day vampires have been a massive hit.
National Year of Reading and World Book Day usually held in March are now regular events with schools participating in after school book sales. Children usually receive a £1 book voucher as encouragement to buy a new book. Also many campaigns have encouraged parents to read to their children from an early age particular introducing babies and toddlers to to picture books.
Anthony Browne, Children’s Laureate says “The best picture books leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader’s imagination”.
Library lending is also on the increase with children borrowing more books than 3 to 4 years ago. Libraries are also playing an important role in encouraging children to read by staging more events for children to join in on such as meet the author sessions.
The best selling young children’s books were
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Tyrannosaurus Drip Song by Julia Donaldson
Stick Man by Julia Donaldson
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sandak
The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson
On a footnote my 5 year old read a book to me yesterday for the first time. We were waiting in the car for his big sister when he proudly read Hide and Seek to me. What a joyous and rewarding expereince that any parent can relate to – sharing quality reading time is truly one of the most pleasurable moments of the day.
Healthy School Lunch Boxes Ideas
October 30, 2008
It’s estimated that about five million lunch boxes are prepared by British parents every week day. In a recent survey the Food Standards Agency published some startling facts – three out of four packed lunches were likely to contain food that was too high in saturated fat, salt or sugar. Most didn’t contain a piece of fruit but did include chocolate, biscuits, sugary drinks and crisps.
Experts say that we should not under estimate the importance of a eating a healthy lunch. Putting the right lunch box together can improve your child’s attention span, behaviour and learning ability throughout the school day. One third of a child’s daily nutrients should be in a school lunch box.
It all sounds so easy! However most of us if we’re honest espicially if we have fussy eaters can sometimes struggle with this advice. So what should we putting in our lunch boxes? Here are a few tips.
Protein – sandwiches using protein fillers such as chicken, ham, egg, tuna, cheese or chicken salad, tuna pasta salad keep children alert.
Carbohydrates – choosing complex carbs such as wholemeal bread, pasta, banana or rice release calories slowly so help to keep up energy levels and concentration. White bread, cakes and biscuits otherwise refined carbs only provide instant, short lived energy.
Calcium – some excellent sources are smoothies, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais and milk shakes for healthy bones and teeth.
Fruit and vegetables – Self explanatory really! Dried fruit is also a good source of vitamins and minerals.
What to avoid – Cereal bars, flavoured yoghurt, savoury snacks, real fruit snacks and fruit juice drinks – all contain too much sugar, salt, artificial flavourings, sweetenrs and colourings.
Netmums have some great ideas have a look here
Using The Eatwell Plate will help you get the balance right. Click here for the Eatwell Plate it shows you how much of what you should eat should come from each food group.
And finally our range of lunchboxes and bags will make your child want to carry his/her lunch to school with the latest fun character or super hero!