books – Page 3 – Chicken and Frog Bookshop

Bits and Bobs

Posted on December 15, 2015 by chickenandfrog

Hello all. At this time of year, with preparations in full swing for Christmas and New Year parties, the shop is looking very festive. A ridiculously over sized Christmas cracker adorns our window,

This is what happens when you don't measure things first... — This is what happens when you don’t measure things first…

and the shop is jam-packed full of glorious books waiting to be bought, wrapped, unwrapped and cherished. If you can’t see what you want, there’s still time for us to order in especially for you. Remember, we can order in books for grown ups too. If it’s in print, we can get it!

As well as the lovely books, the Santa hunt is still on. There are 16 Santas hidden around Brentwood Town Centre, waiting to be found. Forms are available here, French Quarter and The Brentwood Kitchen. Solve the riddle and enter the free prize draw by close of play on Christmas Eve. Here’s our cheeky chappie:

Once the holidays are done and dusted, we’ll be kicking off 2016 with the Lego Challenge and Book Club, followed by Creative Writing Club on Saturday 2nd January. The author of January’s Book Club book will be popping in on Saturday 23rd January – check out the events page for details. And of course, tuition will start up again from Monday 4th January.

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Bookshelves

Posted on November 14, 2015November 14, 2015 by chickenandfrog

We have exciting news! Local artist, Russel Newton, has been commissioned by our good-selves to add a bit of interest to our wall and stairwell. Stairwell sounds very fancy – it’s literally three steps and a handrail!

At the moment the walls are purple and in need of a face lift. As neither myself or Mr Frog are overly handy with a paintbrush, plus the fact that we wanted something more inspirational, it was over to Russell for ideas. Russell has created a beautiful book-themed mural at Holly Trees Primary School,

So we know that he’s the perfect man for the job. In hindsight, this may not have been the best time of the year to start out on such an endeavor, but it’s coming along beautifully nonetheless.

Here’s the mural so far…let’s hope that rain doesn’t stop play for too long!

We’ll let you know when it’s finished!

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Not Without My Whale

Posted on October 24, 2015 by chickenandfrog

We welcomed another author into Chicken and Frog today. Billy Coughlan is a local author, who has had her first picture book, Not Without My Whale, published with Maverick Books. We’re very please to say that another book is due on the shelves in 2017.

Not Without My Whale is a super, gentle book, about coping with daunting situations. It’s a great tale for starting discussions about trying out new things – thankfully Arnold has his whale, as well as a very resourceful friend in Dora.

Billy really worked hard today, sharing her story with three groups of children, including our Creative writing Club. Each session was highly interactive, with actions and cheeky sound effects!

We also found out a lot of interesting whale facts, including the fact that they can hear each other from 500 miles away and that the Cuvier’s Beak whale is one of the smelliest creatures in the ocean! Did you know that a Blue Whale’s tongue is as big as an elephant, or that its heart is the size of a car? Neither did we until this afternoon.

Thank-you to Billy (and to her family for letting us borrow her)- we had a brilliant time and are looking forward to seeing her again soon.

Billy is keen to visit schools in the New Year, so if you’re interested in booking her, just pop in or email us.

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Too early to read to my children?

Posted on April 10, 2012 by chickenandfrog

I read an article today in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/apr/10/book-doctor-baby-books?CMP=twt_gu which gave advice on how to engage your young child with a book. For me, it seems an odd concept. I have read to our three since they were in the womb, so the idea of not knowing how to engage a young child in the wonders of a book is an alien concept. It is true though that many parents don’t know where or when to begin. Perhaps their own experiences have been limited or they are simply overwhelmed by the amount of ‘advice’ bandied about. For me, it’s not just about the physicality of the book, although that is key, it’s the art of being able to craft a story which captures your child’s imagination. It can be about anything. Seriously, I remember making up stories about cooking the tea, when our eldest was a toddler and our middle one was a screaming (but very beautiful) babe in arms.

Once you have them hooked on the pattern of words, they will want to explore for themselves. Cloth books, board books which become lovingly chewed to pieces, you name it, your child will love it, if you read it with feeling. Try it, honestly, it works! I have read the complete ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to a newborn and repeated the tales of my grandparents to a class of challenging year 6 pupils. The stories jump into life without the aid of a screen or app (although technologies most certainly do have a place within our children’s experiences). What engages them is you. You are the teller of these wondrous tales and children want to be mesmerised by other worlds.

At Chicken and Frog we aim to do just that, create other worlds for children and parents/grandparents…to immerse themselves in. We already have a programme called ‘Discover a Book’ booked in with the wonderful @ClaireMackaness from Beautiful Things http://www.clairemackaness.com/, which allows parents and children to find out about a book and hone some crafty skills which can be used together at home.