tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47756331157323578082024-03-28T09:30:52.552+00:00 Janay BrazierMe, My Books & My Everyday Life...Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.comBlogger447125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-80693952206461930682024-03-25T17:00:00.069+00:002024-03-25T17:00:00.133+00:00Reading Update: What I've Read Recently<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Bellota;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghs5b922Zt3fumjQS3cqEDalu0AGY2IdR8Yz2_t7VEJFkFtboLrf84QF64I484mKaslWM3R53j7Au1p9q2NIfI_DqaLqUN_zwmAHm6mdCB7FGrXrCK7Wmi-jH5PeMxzR2VkuySlVGonVTRfD4mSlAC0nl2DvuVbWCXWwXg7Q91PGlpsamQrh5jrg47FhXW/s1280/595C86C4-6021-466F-9790-62C138115D9B.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghs5b922Zt3fumjQS3cqEDalu0AGY2IdR8Yz2_t7VEJFkFtboLrf84QF64I484mKaslWM3R53j7Au1p9q2NIfI_DqaLqUN_zwmAHm6mdCB7FGrXrCK7Wmi-jH5PeMxzR2VkuySlVGonVTRfD4mSlAC0nl2DvuVbWCXWwXg7Q91PGlpsamQrh5jrg47FhXW/w640-h360/595C86C4-6021-466F-9790-62C138115D9B.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Bellota; font-size: large;"><br />I've had a pretty good start to 2024 when it comes to reading; I've already finished 14 books as of writing this post. I'm also currently reading 3 books, which sounds like a lot but one is for school, one is an audiobook and the other is bedtime reading. They'll probably feature in my next update, as I love them so far! Here are a few of the books I've read so far this year and what I thought of them...</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a name="more" style="background-color: white; color: #d0b8af; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; max-width: calc(800px); outline: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;"></a><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></span><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Fourth Wing </i>and <i>Iron Flame </i>by Rebecca Yarros</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I got around to reading both of these books in January after <i>so </i>many people recommended them to me towards the end of 2023. I finally caved and read them when my boyfriend told me I had to read them. He was convinced I would love them because we do like similar books when it comes to fantasy, so I trusted him and jumped straight in. He was right; I loved them both! They were both very easy reads, both had me wanting to drop all other responsibilities so I could just carry on reading. I'm now incredibly excited for the next instalment!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Glassborn </i>by Peter Bunzl</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I devoured this book in only two sittings. The first was at the spa, where I laid down on a lounger after lunch for nearly two hours. The second was when I got home from the spa. This was just such a lovely read. I loved the characters and the fantasy storyline, with magic and fairies and wolves... It's the kind of book I would have fell in love with as a child and I can really appreciate that even now, in my thirties. I've recommended it to so many children in my class too. I loved Peter Bunzl's <i>Cogheart </i>series but I would rate this book even higher!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Until the Road Ends </i>by Phil Earle</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I went on a bit of a Phil Earle binge after I read <i>When the Sky Falls </i>with my class at the end of 2023. It was my second time reading <i>When the Sky Falls</i>, which my class loved, and this made me want to delve into his other historical books. I read <i>While the Storm Rages </i>and loved it but it was <i>Until the Road Ends</i> which really captured my heart. I never imagined I would love a book told from the perspective of a dog, a cat and a pigeon this much! Especially the pigeon - there's a special place in my heart for him! </span></span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: large;">I read the whole book in one day while I was off work with COVID. </span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: large;">This is easily one of my favourite books of the year so far!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><i>The First to Die at the End </i>by Adam Silvera</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I remember reading and really enjoying Adam Silvera's writing in <i>They Both Die at the End </i>a few years back. When I heard about this prequel, detailing how DeathCast came about, I wanted to read it but I wasn't in any rush. However, I finally picked it up earlier this year, whilst I was ill with COVID, and read the whole book in one day. I like it and it was interesting to see the starting point for the plot in the original book but I did find it a bit too similar and it definitely felt like it could've been shorter.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Divine Rivals </i>by Rebecca Ross</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another book that has been recommended to me non-stop! The second book of this is actually one of my current reads. <i>Divine Rivals </i>had been popping up all over my social media, so I finally ordered my copy back in January. It was definitely an enjoyable read with an interesting concept. There were certain bits I wish had been a little slower, like the romance blossoming, but I understand it was heightened with the pace of the war and it needed to keep in time with that plotline. It was an enjoyable read but it is on the younger side of fantasy to what I'd usually go for.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm currently reading:</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3n37aUSvRlJwQVCbFcsuY1HDXBBIt_9BFk1CECpS0_dZJ4U8A6Fo3Qay3gNj4CaTmovLT6OA6hGFUQGKQb7U9KCMjB1ERflLn1iuM_48ZgGhlzRA_TXq3sh0yMqlT-7tavUnyM7WSjD3KokPA0Cv1wFjIRNWWpc8FolvZPxF1d6EHYWjE0gBu0TOJD8s/s1500/PHB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="981" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3n37aUSvRlJwQVCbFcsuY1HDXBBIt_9BFk1CECpS0_dZJ4U8A6Fo3Qay3gNj4CaTmovLT6OA6hGFUQGKQb7U9KCMjB1ERflLn1iuM_48ZgGhlzRA_TXq3sh0yMqlT-7tavUnyM7WSjD3KokPA0Cv1wFjIRNWWpc8FolvZPxF1d6EHYWjE0gBu0TOJD8s/s320/PHB.jpg" width="209" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">As I said earlier in this post, I am currently reading three books. I have chosen to talk about this one as my "current read" because it's the one I've read most of and I'm certain the other two will be in my round-up of books next time I post something like this (probably in June as I might do this kind of post every three months).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I am reading <i>Pig Heart Boy </i>by Malorie Blackman ahead of reading it with my Year 6 class after Easter. We are learning about the circulatory system in science next half term and I like to have a book with a link in some way. We will also be writing persuasive arguments, so the topic of this book will be a great one to discuss as an example.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">The book is great so far and I got into it really quickly. I think I read the first 100 pages in about an hour because I couldn't put it down. I was reading this book with my teacher hat on but I also enjoyed the story and just sitting down with a book. I love it when I enjoy a book that I'm about to share with my class - it means I'm more likely to be passionate about teaching it if I enjoy it!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I only have about 50 pages left, which I will probably finish next weekend. I've loved the books I've read previously by Malorie Blackman but I think this might be my new favourite of her work!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Have you read any of these books? Have you got any book recommendations for me?</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #353535; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJubtI5GNETHkhvjSv_EoSBYvyPV7NqZ-GA2m97DZSHlGNjQlbtQMyUvsRTi2OSSxhs9kjnr6vn2lgoyTYH2yC_ldNZq4LAerKGlbthJPgavviS5O1GXv_6G5nNxwV7qr-KHkXVWUkZP63xuQNdVlor37ylbLoTlyDj9vP-En5JUqoQLxjQHydODODdtV/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJubtI5GNETHkhvjSv_EoSBYvyPV7NqZ-GA2m97DZSHlGNjQlbtQMyUvsRTi2OSSxhs9kjnr6vn2lgoyTYH2yC_ldNZq4LAerKGlbthJPgavviS5O1GXv_6G5nNxwV7qr-KHkXVWUkZP63xuQNdVlor37ylbLoTlyDj9vP-En5JUqoQLxjQHydODODdtV/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></span></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-83074041309550788882024-03-20T15:00:00.158+00:002024-03-20T15:00:00.235+00:00Wellness & Fitness: Going to the Gym<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl58f3OTq3b_ghmk8YYMtYWiTSjyRT2tNSZOkuAF9W7dBJUQLzM8WAw1Jrez_F-0ojo8od4RcDwsGMGv9sKB41LYzYVrHtq3QpVNAz-SeMng0H33OUhEWBOCeubE8B4KLzHIK39Eyr2n4LJog-fMU--v9JI9ubCpVM_s035wJB_9YpZb9O0ZfQchOA3VN-/s1280/image0.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl58f3OTq3b_ghmk8YYMtYWiTSjyRT2tNSZOkuAF9W7dBJUQLzM8WAw1Jrez_F-0ojo8od4RcDwsGMGv9sKB41LYzYVrHtq3QpVNAz-SeMng0H33OUhEWBOCeubE8B4KLzHIK39Eyr2n4LJog-fMU--v9JI9ubCpVM_s035wJB_9YpZb9O0ZfQchOA3VN-/s16000/image0.png" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I've been going to the gym for a little while now. I had a few periods where it was on and off (with some long periods of "off") but recently - after getting over my second bout of COVID - I've been trying to get back into a routine.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">It's not perfect, but that is exactly why I wanted to share it on my blog. So many of the people who post about their gym journey online give this image of it all looking so put together. There are some great pages out there that show the true picture of working out and what time in the gym can look like, which I love! I want to be a part of that by sharing what my gym experience has been like so far and what I've been doing.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>When do I go to the gym?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">In an ideal world, I would be able to go to the gym at least 4-5 times a week. I do enjoy it and even though I sometimes don't love the thought of going, I really do like it once I'm in there.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">However, this isn't that perfect world; I have a full-time job and other aspects of life sometimes take priority over the gym (unfortunately). On a good week, I get to the gym three days a week. At the moment, work is busier and requires a bit more of my attention, but in a couple of months that will calm down a bit and I will be trying to go back up to four times a week... but, for now, three is what I'm working with.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">The first day I go to the gym in the week is usually a Wednesday - which I call "Wellbeing Wednesday". I try to leave work as soon as I can on a Wednesday so I can spend a bit of time doing some things for myself. This usually involves going to the gym, a long bath with some skincare and doing an activity that I see as relaxing (e.g. reading, journaling, blogging, playing Dreamlight Valley, etc.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">The next day I get to the gym is a Friday. This is mainly because I teach PE on a Friday so I am already in gym clothes and ready to go. It also rounds off my working week and I know I can then relax and enjoy my Friday evening and my Saturday lay-in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I take a break on Saturday, but will always try and do something like a long walk or some kind of yoga activity at home. I then hit the gym again on Sunday, usually early in the day so I can enjoy the remainder of my weekend before the working week starts again.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: Bellota;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What do I do at the gym?</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Again, I am not someone who is gym-obsessed and has a set routine but I do try to cover different areas on different days. If I go to the gym three times a week, I try to do one day on upper body, one day on lower body and one day on cardio. Sometimes this changes and I swap out one of those days for abs and core. It's not strict and I will deviate from it sometimes. If I don't fancy doing the upper body day, I'll spend an extended time on the treadmill or StairMaster. It's still better than nothing!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">My favourite days are lower body and abs/core. I don't love upper body but I still do it - I was referred to as "Twiglet" at school for my skinny arms so maybe that's why I find it harder and enjoy it less. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">It took me a while to get confident with using some of the machines. Luckily I had my friend Caitlin with me when I first </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">moved to my current gym. At my other gym prior to this, I literally only used the treadmill at walking speed because I felt so self-conscious about trying new equipment. It felt like you were always being watched or judged, especially as it was so bright and open. However, the new gym that I'm at now is more dimly lit, more relaxed and I've never felt like I've been watched whilst working out or felt uncomfortable about going there alone to use any machines.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>What is the end goal?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">There is nothing in particular I'm working towards. I do want to feel comfortable and confident on my summer holiday, so I guess that is something I'm aiming for but that isn't the "end goal". The overall aim is to feel happy, healthy and confident and I will continue to go to the gym as long as it helps me feel all of those things.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I look forward to sharing more of my gym experience in the future, maybe being a bit more specific with workouts and how fitting in the gym happens as a working girl (once I have a more established routine and have it figured out a bit more). But whatever your fitness journey looks like, know that it's making a difference and that any step towards this lifestyle is better than none at all.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOTe4ipNaCb0HIyigXh6GckGMlHrBFtoo0Cj2Gv8psszNTrsFmyn54yPYE4BkDfCMeVW80X7-iyGrn8rBThs_K5E1YqUZ-zz3lRWt8OcS7pCUZlaB2yGBuOZPkR_j6rrjIphtyoGkMFdB3VG5EJ-t4fsgTKm-k5E7a_jYEUKgFO2ViTaM7EFYDBjATULh/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOTe4ipNaCb0HIyigXh6GckGMlHrBFtoo0Cj2Gv8psszNTrsFmyn54yPYE4BkDfCMeVW80X7-iyGrn8rBThs_K5E1YqUZ-zz3lRWt8OcS7pCUZlaB2yGBuOZPkR_j6rrjIphtyoGkMFdB3VG5EJ-t4fsgTKm-k5E7a_jYEUKgFO2ViTaM7EFYDBjATULh/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></span></a></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-84144864309353023262024-03-15T13:00:00.003+00:002024-03-15T13:00:00.242+00:00Book Review: Nina Peanut is Amazing by Sarah Bowie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLYTOVvUKVsrvYeiQ9_fxPXHlM4SmxzMoigwwRlMSRRScqf4q7-NEbBUKkMxaJCmNiElmY6_OudvJj0-6J1p7DztCXYNF_mz5iBX_-gWiU2vHPojbB-ldtHe5-jS9fiuszDNPxr6sBdp7iGfOipX0U3o8EXX15WgjwHeMJcR6LAzW0A9mxhew6QVxWQTZ/s1500/710OO3mrCQL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="993" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLYTOVvUKVsrvYeiQ9_fxPXHlM4SmxzMoigwwRlMSRRScqf4q7-NEbBUKkMxaJCmNiElmY6_OudvJj0-6J1p7DztCXYNF_mz5iBX_-gWiU2vHPojbB-ldtHe5-jS9fiuszDNPxr6sBdp7iGfOipX0U3o8EXX15WgjwHeMJcR6LAzW0A9mxhew6QVxWQTZ/w424-h640/710OO3mrCQL._SL1500_.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I am so excited to be talking about this book on my blog today!<br /><br />I was kindly gifted this book at the start of the month ahead of its release yesterday. First of all: WHAT A COVER! Secondly, I read this entire graphic novel in one sitting and it is brilliant.<br /><br />Let me tell you more...</span></p><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BjCn8jW5VkPID4oAuqCDa5rBe1DZhSPPwJobcK9pkmgUOafVPT6orb4VA0hALcRCp8I7D84aql25Qm10k2KuG6ywXxaSyl0NPusJmzFn6XOlBsuRrsF8wO7Lz5Bb1jI8snnhHObqQStoI-3j_xD-Vz0iAS1PanO1pL5f0kJUnJH3FBl5G_TtMLZnckMZ/s970/d75793de-5923-4275-8933-01c7ff7069ba.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BjCn8jW5VkPID4oAuqCDa5rBe1DZhSPPwJobcK9pkmgUOafVPT6orb4VA0hALcRCp8I7D84aql25Qm10k2KuG6ywXxaSyl0NPusJmzFn6XOlBsuRrsF8wO7Lz5Bb1jI8snnhHObqQStoI-3j_xD-Vz0iAS1PanO1pL5f0kJUnJH3FBl5G_TtMLZnckMZ/s970/d75793de-5923-4275-8933-01c7ff7069ba.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="970" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BjCn8jW5VkPID4oAuqCDa5rBe1DZhSPPwJobcK9pkmgUOafVPT6orb4VA0hALcRCp8I7D84aql25Qm10k2KuG6ywXxaSyl0NPusJmzFn6XOlBsuRrsF8wO7Lz5Bb1jI8snnhHObqQStoI-3j_xD-Vz0iAS1PanO1pL5f0kJUnJH3FBl5G_TtMLZnckMZ/w640-h396/d75793de-5923-4275-8933-01c7ff7069ba.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here is the synopsis:</span></span></p><p style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nina Peanut – super-star in the making, frozen pizza chef, creative genius, owner of the world’s stinkiest cat. The funniest new friend for all kids, everywhere.</strong> </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Nina Peanut creates amazing videos - so why is it only her nan and best friend Brian who watch them? Surely everyone should be interested in her SERIOUS and NOT STUPID videos about potatoes with faces?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Nina dreams about being as popular as class queen bee Megan Dunne, who films </span><span class="caps" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NOT AMAZING AT ALL</span><span style="background-color: white;"> content of her pampered dog, Princess Trixie Bell. So when Nina’s stinky cat, Les, wanders into one of Megan’s videos by accident and goes viral, Nina and Les are suddenly internet famous! But is overnight stardom as wonderful as Nina always imagined it would be?<br /><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqK8YDQt1jJkecqYALYtdj7jIeAa__bk-FKE3IN2sFaN1Zt-ZYinikj-HErTz0XCVVk466cWCED7a3Q5KceBzgKRQXgRbhMg_uh1gGqsFGzLB3md3r3Ld5yBam1jqi1igItrAV785M71vLq1OCu_54R0x0pP0E_YPONQerXwsjreXK08q5h3cW6BywTS0T/s970/3fe77bc4-cee8-4715-afd6-00e832522588.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqK8YDQt1jJkecqYALYtdj7jIeAa__bk-FKE3IN2sFaN1Zt-ZYinikj-HErTz0XCVVk466cWCED7a3Q5KceBzgKRQXgRbhMg_uh1gGqsFGzLB3md3r3Ld5yBam1jqi1igItrAV785M71vLq1OCu_54R0x0pP0E_YPONQerXwsjreXK08q5h3cW6BywTS0T/w640-h198/3fe77bc4-cee8-4715-afd6-00e832522588.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">This book is author and illustrator Sarah Bowie's debut middle-grade novel... and what a corker it is! The premise of this book is interesting and relatable to children, especially those who like watching or making silly videos. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially when it comes to social interactions. A personal favourite was the secret eyebrow code she does to her best friend, Brian. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">The illustrations are fantastic; so simple in their cartoon nature but incredibly effective. I love it when there is a diagram of a person, animal or place with quirky, humorous labels. I found the labelling of her bedroom particularly funny. The way in which it's written is so confident and self-assured that it adds to the comedic value of the story in a brilliant way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I really do think Sarah Bowie has done a brilliant job with this book and I'm already excited to hear that there will be a follow-up book later this year! I will definitely be getting my hands on that!</span></div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuNYiY3pJZbd5GPDv35aITqABZaOI-IkyBDuMGNSHD4aZlBK81V48pC2eobjL8cGLiBQhzVN9sXS0gG9G9-mGOqAbqo01okG5HM80Ul8dU-oyDckaVSkIUU8GmZZ7yDzEyBvDNEE_3qUzgfuHRsQO6gBrT7KWiEZsysZROnSsku61oUFNlZ_664SRe3fM7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="438" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuNYiY3pJZbd5GPDv35aITqABZaOI-IkyBDuMGNSHD4aZlBK81V48pC2eobjL8cGLiBQhzVN9sXS0gG9G9-mGOqAbqo01okG5HM80Ul8dU-oyDckaVSkIUU8GmZZ7yDzEyBvDNEE_3qUzgfuHRsQO6gBrT7KWiEZsysZROnSsku61oUFNlZ_664SRe3fM7=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">This book is also described as:</span></span></p><ul class="cms-formatting__ul" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.25rem; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><li class="cms-formatting__li" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0.375rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Hilariously funny, with themes of friendship/frenemies, big dreams, brilliant pets: hours and hours of reading fun guaranteed for kids</span></li><li class="cms-formatting__li" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0.375rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Warm, offbeat wit and gorgeous, bright full-colour pictures throughout</span></li><li class="cms-formatting__li" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Perfect for fans of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wimpy Kid</em>, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dork Diaries and Lottie Brooks</em></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">The <i>Lottie Brooks </i>books are a firm favourite in my classroom at the moment, so I know many of my children will love Nina Peanut! I also have a little cluster of children who are really getting into graphic novels, so I'm sure this will be one they will want to get their hands on too! The last book I took in for them was such a hit that I've had to create a list for who gets to read it next and I imagine it'll be the same for this one.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDDZ7FscfVMsGS3hhL5BAgfqHBoy8A9LEqdDxqMiK6EXOY-l6bc47pvXHnbgZ2jwFW6vr7k7wx6P5SsBJ7tcBkluEXGjJ0r8eD-V0vqLNONdKzTOl365rrNOqQ464pY2g3EAwRMYZTtWOGJdlaTUzeTVWg3F85kWvlvbkRbuX774g4oYUnVtx-r4Ge8He/s970/5fcd5269-6dec-49d4-891c-ff5f55b73670.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDDZ7FscfVMsGS3hhL5BAgfqHBoy8A9LEqdDxqMiK6EXOY-l6bc47pvXHnbgZ2jwFW6vr7k7wx6P5SsBJ7tcBkluEXGjJ0r8eD-V0vqLNONdKzTOl365rrNOqQ464pY2g3EAwRMYZTtWOGJdlaTUzeTVWg3F85kWvlvbkRbuX774g4oYUnVtx-r4Ge8He/w640-h198/5fcd5269-6dec-49d4-891c-ff5f55b73670.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>The Scholastic team have also released an activity pack to go alongside the book, which you can access <a href="https://d3ddkgxe55ca6c.cloudfront.net/assets/t1709908411/a/1e/46/nina-peanut-activity-pack-2249782.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. I'll definitely be printing these out at school to use alongside the book for my cosy book club next week!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDJylgNSRPHow_RoNXXwkBpiz0J1ZAYY1h_8nmKlBoSYjGuk53CCQI02jn_x7O2xYrGMfpW2vfzY-RfPXViXw-BF8slhHyLOC023cqG0MCiYS6A8Mo8HQ0eSWFR_Srj6AQWyGBlu5aFln_cbCG-kNzqWibKrv3DMTUspqFJQyNoRguYUiCHfaFY7PA3Ao/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDJylgNSRPHow_RoNXXwkBpiz0J1ZAYY1h_8nmKlBoSYjGuk53CCQI02jn_x7O2xYrGMfpW2vfzY-RfPXViXw-BF8slhHyLOC023cqG0MCiYS6A8Mo8HQ0eSWFR_Srj6AQWyGBlu5aFln_cbCG-kNzqWibKrv3DMTUspqFJQyNoRguYUiCHfaFY7PA3Ao/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></span></a></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-61498309422232570432024-03-14T10:00:00.007+00:002024-03-14T10:00:00.252+00:00Book Review: Jack Splash by Tom Daley with Simon James Green<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiwuLartBPE2hkQTMoVY3-jlCvaTkYaxvjeVTnHujR7pUfmQ0GmrjM9cqC0cihX2qFa5m26_XBTpAmWKkRiXCC4RrVGnKD01892Tn5_KDA4kqOLJ-ASvQVFCfp-GXRzxKuOEDnVX13dqyk31eoq46w2R5LBpGV_5YlR6odmWvjSYmrYARx96unbiQOkJz/s1000/71+J3WoVV8L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="649" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiwuLartBPE2hkQTMoVY3-jlCvaTkYaxvjeVTnHujR7pUfmQ0GmrjM9cqC0cihX2qFa5m26_XBTpAmWKkRiXCC4RrVGnKD01892Tn5_KDA4kqOLJ-ASvQVFCfp-GXRzxKuOEDnVX13dqyk31eoq46w2R5LBpGV_5YlR6odmWvjSYmrYARx96unbiQOkJz/w416-h640/71+J3WoVV8L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="416" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-family: Bellota; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sometimes friendship means diving into trouble!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, this was a treat through my letterbox last week! I've already told myself that I won't put in lots of diving or water-related puns, but there are so many that made me laugh in my head as I started planning this review. However, I'm pretty certain it'll only be me laughing!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway... let's <i>dive in</i>! OK, just one!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div></span></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4XkfnjEESRa0S03U-o8zBs3N7zyzg6EnAcp9WSsfqLB_rPwQLjkQwzlG5sdjo2h_356aLKGdQrKBHaeTufBhVBQuwiweRVawczbpU3aSU-o0i1ftVs97SnoC6drCEdlZFOS4IMmKQHtnKIrvBrXnzhEdeg-aDWuUtK1v8B0Vzrk-pKHgPKT0N-Ll85oy/s970/23c77530-098e-44ee-8a13-dc94f20b419c.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4XkfnjEESRa0S03U-o8zBs3N7zyzg6EnAcp9WSsfqLB_rPwQLjkQwzlG5sdjo2h_356aLKGdQrKBHaeTufBhVBQuwiweRVawczbpU3aSU-o0i1ftVs97SnoC6drCEdlZFOS4IMmKQHtnKIrvBrXnzhEdeg-aDWuUtK1v8B0Vzrk-pKHgPKT0N-Ll85oy/w640-h198/23c77530-098e-44ee-8a13-dc94f20b419c.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I was interested in this book from the moment I heard Tom Daley was <i>dipping his toes</i> into children's fiction (I'm so sorry - it's too tempting!) I was especially interested when I heard it would be written with Simon James Green as I have loved so many of his books. 'Llama Glamarama' was a firm favourite with my Year 3 class last year and I loved 'Alex in Wonderland'. I also always have a child in my current class reading 'Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck'. Knowing I liked his writing style, this was a book I always knew I would pick up at some point. It was a lovely surprise to receive it in the post last week.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Here is the synopsis:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>Jack wants to impress his diving-coach dad... There's just one problem: Jack is the worst diver in the worst diving team in Damp Bottom, England.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>Luckily, when a new kid starts at school with awesome swimming skills and an eagerness to share diving tips, Jack's luck might be about to change.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>But when Jack's new friend gets into trouble - and the fate of a secret world hangs in the balance - it's up to Jack and the rest of his diving crew to save the day. As Jack is about to discover, lifting trophies isn't all that...</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><b>Because being part of a team feels a lot like winning, and friendship might just last forever.</b></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MHvLRbO-hbCLn1QrGbygkuKAB2m3Z6_sKPSNm8gKqMwGt2-zDT73jDJNU2STrnECR2ilKhKz8cR685Kjk4l27zMuS2RCz0738vCKaFHRtfM9c2WJ5XDnx-nRtujDTYczgsWKgoIixgH9wyZj4qGrs9TpF-pRNH6xoIrf7Aiq-ED-6tjR-u5zg0iF8L-9/s970/e97d639c-72e3-49f5-b399-9dbd5632b7ba.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="970" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MHvLRbO-hbCLn1QrGbygkuKAB2m3Z6_sKPSNm8gKqMwGt2-zDT73jDJNU2STrnECR2ilKhKz8cR685Kjk4l27zMuS2RCz0738vCKaFHRtfM9c2WJ5XDnx-nRtujDTYczgsWKgoIixgH9wyZj4qGrs9TpF-pRNH6xoIrf7Aiq-ED-6tjR-u5zg0iF8L-9/w640-h396/e97d639c-72e3-49f5-b399-9dbd5632b7ba.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I read this book pretty quickly. It's definitely an easy read when it comes to getting into it and having the urge to read on. I loved the message of perseverance and having a more positive mindset when facing challenges. It's something that will resonate with many children as they grow and face their own obstacles. As a teacher, I'm a sucker for a group of children who work hard for something, so the AquaDucks were very easy to cheer for!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I premise of the story was great; it brought together a real, relatable issue for children and a sense of adventure. I think it's that combination that will keep children reading this book. I think Tom Daley and Simon James Green have paired together well with this story idea and its writing. Fans of Tom will love the subject and it has the great writing I've come to expect from Simon. This book will definitely be making its way onto my classroom bookshelf. Whenever I show off a new book being added to my personal bookcase, it doesn't often stay on there for very long. In fact, it usually results in me having to create a list for the queue of children wanting to read it when a new book appears.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I also have to make a special mention of the amazing illustrations inside this book and on the cover by Luna Valentine. I love illustrations like this. Children in my class will often try to draw or recreate the drawings in their books so this one will be a hit with them. Despite being an adult, I still love a book with illustrations dotted throughout. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Overall:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I think this is a <i>fin-tastic</i> book!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">It really makes a <i>splash</i>!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">This book is too <i>pool </i>for school!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I had a <i>splashing </i>good time reading this!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">It would be <i>poolish</i> of you not to read this book!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">It's pretty <i>swimpressive</i>!</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">There, all out of my system!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">So... <i>water </i>you waiting for? Go and read Jack Splash😜</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtaFG-nJdE6tiCh5qEBWMmVQLUEm5q7pmJ6LKhJ_LtHHvR5vM1QZshxcSXxx0_L-TvhcbE9Eu5T2ClRS8SQy_8Kmoosz_pNTjWDzMiVLdRHXqqvp6odutrQ0lSN3hYfVR7ZqnUPw1Vn_baernBwi4TFSK1CEgtJGGx1ZBOBi01DMTs8-yuJJm-gWpa31e/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtaFG-nJdE6tiCh5qEBWMmVQLUEm5q7pmJ6LKhJ_LtHHvR5vM1QZshxcSXxx0_L-TvhcbE9Eu5T2ClRS8SQy_8Kmoosz_pNTjWDzMiVLdRHXqqvp6odutrQ0lSN3hYfVR7ZqnUPw1Vn_baernBwi4TFSK1CEgtJGGx1ZBOBi01DMTs8-yuJJm-gWpa31e/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></span></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-19757149761318803602024-03-12T17:00:00.013+00:002024-03-12T17:00:00.300+00:00I'm Back... Again! | Life Update & Blogging Return<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReUesQXGO1wwOgzi2VbZHJSYaxw6t_R46KrGUE_OqRaQ7XiCCVRTDGbxiqg_J_yJP9qGWHDCWELJyObrzlw4oQF6uf8Nyp0SDOc2iNzo4rA2bVHHfMm6Yd-c6KJy334hkRLCxoEMPZJbWpIu49PP1yIBiJ00-SFca9_VhBk-UafFUQA5NIZJDHMa0cWuy/s1080/Pink%20Cyan%20White%20Illustration%20Retro%20Cell%20Phone%20Daily%20Motivation%20Quote%20Instagram%20Post.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReUesQXGO1wwOgzi2VbZHJSYaxw6t_R46KrGUE_OqRaQ7XiCCVRTDGbxiqg_J_yJP9qGWHDCWELJyObrzlw4oQF6uf8Nyp0SDOc2iNzo4rA2bVHHfMm6Yd-c6KJy334hkRLCxoEMPZJbWpIu49PP1yIBiJ00-SFca9_VhBk-UafFUQA5NIZJDHMa0cWuy/w640-h640/Pink%20Cyan%20White%20Illustration%20Retro%20Cell%20Phone%20Daily%20Motivation%20Quote%20Instagram%20Post.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /><span><span> </span><br />Hi... it's me!</span></span><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">As you may - or may not - have noticed, I haven't been around much. My last post was back in October about books to read around Halloween. The truth is I have been so busy with my personal and professional life recently that the blog had to take a back seat. I found myself sitting at my laptop and forcing myself to write posts that I wasn't happy with and didn't enjoy. Taking the fun out of something I have loved doing for years made me realise that I needed to take a step back and re-evaluate why I chose to write blog posts and what I wanted them to be about.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"> So I took a break and, to be honest, it was a well-deserved break. I'd started a new job, I was working on my apartment and things came up in my personal life that I didn't want to only give part of my attention to, so something had to give.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">Now that I feel that I have a bit of free time and have some ideas about what I would like to blog about, I'm ready to start writing again. Plus, having a new desktop computer has really made me want to get blogging. I don't know what it is, but there's something special about typing on a proper keyboard on a big computer. It's certainly a million times better than my old, slow laptop!</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I have some ideas for upcoming blog posts. Some will be similar to before with book-related content, including reviews, and other posts will be more personal and almost act as a diary for me to look back on.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I want to get more personal. I want to share experiences that I've had and be more open about issues I've dealt with over the past few years. Some things in my personal life will always remain personal, especially where other people are involved, but I think it will be good for my mental health - and possibly other people's mental health too - when it comes to sharing some things that I have been through. You never know who might read it and who it could help... and if it doesn't help anyone, then I've still done it for myself.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I finally feel ready to share my stories, including my unhealthy weight loss from a few years back and living with an auto-immune disease. It has been a wild ride and, who knows, maybe some of it will be relatable.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I cannot commit to a time frame of how often I will post as I want to keep the enjoyment of writing, plus I have a full-time job (which I love!) and a life to lead as well as write about.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">I hope you will stick with me, both old readers and new. As I logged into my account yesterday, I realised I've had over a quarter of a million hits on my blog since it started and despite my 5-month break, almost 50,000 people have still visited the blog. That support means the world and it's one of the reasons why I will continue to write.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;">So, please bear with me while I get this blog back up and running. I truly cannot wait to get going again!</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr0Z3wGz7Mb6fEaZRHgktVDNpB4Z35LBRQtpOX7Qvoeh3gQN9hYfibwqGu8MQW0a-Rwu6c0S9luIz9p-zdcbWLGCHCsYbHcTEGvxoeSIIO8aLF6Niu08_h6jHMEALjBNitQ-Tsfcf4tnReRS0YyQ8dtYvZj3Kbqn-BViFvajT8cxCG0azzOb3XPrkhpou/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr0Z3wGz7Mb6fEaZRHgktVDNpB4Z35LBRQtpOX7Qvoeh3gQN9hYfibwqGu8MQW0a-Rwu6c0S9luIz9p-zdcbWLGCHCsYbHcTEGvxoeSIIO8aLF6Niu08_h6jHMEALjBNitQ-Tsfcf4tnReRS0YyQ8dtYvZj3Kbqn-BViFvajT8cxCG0azzOb3XPrkhpou/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></a></div></span></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-32499603247385933702023-10-30T08:00:00.087+00:002023-10-30T08:00:00.166+00:005 Books to Read This Halloween<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTAYKNrewJWtBGgtxsbbz2X3X225tzpCpabVPgg2hRGdQR35byzh0cwPklx2-eGFwUUdk8iJDcqI49vLROou6GSjWc_IpQuHf9K4oPcAus_l3X6YUXS1zJmmLikUFTPem_ABD-zW17aFvFXSsYakF7M0bNWogkQHE9h2rGHiy4OAqUzgCgrbuYg_yxyWu/s1080/DA963099-0A62-42C0-B48A-312D922CA6CC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTAYKNrewJWtBGgtxsbbz2X3X225tzpCpabVPgg2hRGdQR35byzh0cwPklx2-eGFwUUdk8iJDcqI49vLROou6GSjWc_IpQuHf9K4oPcAus_l3X6YUXS1zJmmLikUFTPem_ABD-zW17aFvFXSsYakF7M0bNWogkQHE9h2rGHiy4OAqUzgCgrbuYg_yxyWu/w640-h640/DA963099-0A62-42C0-B48A-312D922CA6CC.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">It's spooky season and I have loved picking up some creepy, ghostly books this month. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Here are the five books I would recommend around this spooky time of year...</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Bella Bright and the Ghost Game<br /><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbHOGpby8FR-6IJgw1uU5IvR7C8cnpR-8EisJPEAXLDJ3zh3JESkFps-__0WiPxo20H85mkX0YF7ANo-UO5uEwrQQz-dzFyVetGbSdFcl6nq_LuyNbjYONSyacQPDkBLXxAkFtLFqpSqz8ZOKSyu4-ofr8ekiZdIf_Lq_MYiGmy9Q9FMGHXAUdDgsbCk4/s1500/91n4zvqtJCL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="977" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbHOGpby8FR-6IJgw1uU5IvR7C8cnpR-8EisJPEAXLDJ3zh3JESkFps-__0WiPxo20H85mkX0YF7ANo-UO5uEwrQQz-dzFyVetGbSdFcl6nq_LuyNbjYONSyacQPDkBLXxAkFtLFqpSqz8ZOKSyu4-ofr8ekiZdIf_Lq_MYiGmy9Q9FMGHXAUdDgsbCk4/w260-h400/91n4zvqtJCL._SL1500_.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This is a great new release this year, perfect for middle grade readers who fancy reading about a spooky, ghostly game of hide and seek. You can read my full review from the blog tour <a href="https://janaybrazier.blogspot.com/2023/10/GhostGame.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><b>A Good Girl's Guide to Murder</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHgSYFnM5K4Mr2baYaXWEY43yYAkpvl3q7tEkfuuu8ii1eHZXm4jgAOSjmhvsC3gr7Q6EhpS4rJhd7PPQIWU9Wa3y_hw8NlARMURJMJnzZZRKnHxVA3FtZ8bGH-kRMz87jhxPXsd2C1VZTR4oOLRLIGWjaoswIpzXvcwOpePwQJFsyHKVjBtmUYZkXajl/s1500/40916679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="987" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHgSYFnM5K4Mr2baYaXWEY43yYAkpvl3q7tEkfuuu8ii1eHZXm4jgAOSjmhvsC3gr7Q6EhpS4rJhd7PPQIWU9Wa3y_hw8NlARMURJMJnzZZRKnHxVA3FtZ8bGH-kRMz87jhxPXsd2C1VZTR4oOLRLIGWjaoswIpzXvcwOpePwQJFsyHKVjBtmUYZkXajl/w264-h400/40916679.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br />This sat on my bookshelf for ages but I finally read it this past week and I'm now annoyed with myself that I took so long to get around to reading it. A great YA book for those who like true crime!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Hocus Pocus (and the all-new sequel)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkI-DSY8ZV53K0rT4njUaNaoiYeEtBIgV2e8MXcTawJglF_Zd5GHOy54le5ckjbtFnfPi9G8UCaJabwHYSPwNtjOAa9lWZP4V49UP6w61BQDiAfXL_roW6aKNRCetfMKs8PxTEG533jiFkvrOCcI8hPcAovcvjuXt4VbtQasheeUKORqzCsYuOn12JZyZ/s2550/6a694b6d-6a82-4e13-8acf-c8f350c607f5-hocuspocus_0c0e3686.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1711" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkI-DSY8ZV53K0rT4njUaNaoiYeEtBIgV2e8MXcTawJglF_Zd5GHOy54le5ckjbtFnfPi9G8UCaJabwHYSPwNtjOAa9lWZP4V49UP6w61BQDiAfXL_roW6aKNRCetfMKs8PxTEG533jiFkvrOCcI8hPcAovcvjuXt4VbtQasheeUKORqzCsYuOn12JZyZ/s320/6a694b6d-6a82-4e13-8acf-c8f350c607f5-hocuspocus_0c0e3686.jpeg" width="215" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>I had to include this! With <i>Hocus Pocus </i>being one of my favourite Halloween films, I didn't really need to read this book. It was more for the sequel (which is different to the second film) and is a nice, lighter Halloween read.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>The Burning</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7gGOVdQH8AxJNrhQvUjkAO5OC-2i_DEZRe3sau_xkNmhX0tIq_UO2eDNDu4cSvMTesq6cOjbH8wcsy2hUFX2uNLU3HQbsvcM8gpzVjI7tOWQRzbyJ3OG4NLs34eNJaXdUkhhQp25-k7lWISPt9pn9TzLh0oTKiWdzYgqExxUzr_nS8fVlTXFm4qIPWO5/s1500/81KWA1FdrcL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="985" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7gGOVdQH8AxJNrhQvUjkAO5OC-2i_DEZRe3sau_xkNmhX0tIq_UO2eDNDu4cSvMTesq6cOjbH8wcsy2hUFX2uNLU3HQbsvcM8gpzVjI7tOWQRzbyJ3OG4NLs34eNJaXdUkhhQp25-k7lWISPt9pn9TzLh0oTKiWdzYgqExxUzr_nS8fVlTXFm4qIPWO5/w263-h400/81KWA1FdrcL._SL1500_.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br />This one isn't necessarily a "Halloween" book but this is one of my top reads from a few years ago, linking to the witch trials. The witch trials have always fascinated me and I would definitely recommend this YA book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Frost Hollow Hall</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP6k4iHklwFv9MsKaoX8ZhYgmXJ9F4otF5ncpjfpon-zQf3JUEDW7n5-UbMH1-mbKA4r8AZu2uSVnw-bCUApi7xM4rJZCteEF1p1mSClqc7tsuiYwxThqPm77dXIJ58ksnb9tFJCAmNdig9iQhRQs2JjzR3SdQMhaJf-ETj1wENpyrwlZSsc-FtOe4a3i/s1500/914c4Z9CMLL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="977" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP6k4iHklwFv9MsKaoX8ZhYgmXJ9F4otF5ncpjfpon-zQf3JUEDW7n5-UbMH1-mbKA4r8AZu2uSVnw-bCUApi7xM4rJZCteEF1p1mSClqc7tsuiYwxThqPm77dXIJ58ksnb9tFJCAmNdig9iQhRQs2JjzR3SdQMhaJf-ETj1wENpyrwlZSsc-FtOe4a3i/w260-h400/914c4Z9CMLL._SL1500_.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br />My final recommendation is a book by one of my all-time favourite authors: Emma Carroll. Again, this isn't exactly a "Halloween" book but it involves a ghost, a creepy hall and solving the mystery of a young heir's death.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Do you have any good Halloween-related book recommendations?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteFBBwCLcBkkoO0bAp84wf-0_Pq8Rwy-PpU7v4e6Mp3elpD64fYXkDxr8qQ-K7E5hUTjbQvsOec8CasJsrfYaOrp9Q8APk9pL18N-oimsFdIagkZIu-rpbW_hVwjvdYF_8wWz5pKoPBnP52CUBr8ivQxHPFrqvw4uU06Pws9Zvbi1ZQA_YSEDQqhLR9GR/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteFBBwCLcBkkoO0bAp84wf-0_Pq8Rwy-PpU7v4e6Mp3elpD64fYXkDxr8qQ-K7E5hUTjbQvsOec8CasJsrfYaOrp9Q8APk9pL18N-oimsFdIagkZIu-rpbW_hVwjvdYF_8wWz5pKoPBnP52CUBr8ivQxHPFrqvw4uU06Pws9Zvbi1ZQA_YSEDQqhLR9GR/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></a></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-34873031292421647822023-10-28T10:00:00.117+01:002023-10-28T10:00:00.139+01:00Book Review: Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust by Neal Shusterman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwPOrRaCWcMoOySoannM8GwG9-m9w6TvsY0zw1-z8hf5P_X0eTBT0OnjKpw9fyyA1azaZbfem9u6qKi3JIOGlg6HmY3vDhpESkTDS5xz6_QiEl01w1uuNgc1mW4g1Of6dSmUCDX10mG1g6ger16OtiEd6orpFyJzJHWk_sml184hVlQS1q7vfFHExkQqj/s1200/71bwDkrPkeL._SL1200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwPOrRaCWcMoOySoannM8GwG9-m9w6TvsY0zw1-z8hf5P_X0eTBT0OnjKpw9fyyA1azaZbfem9u6qKi3JIOGlg6HmY3vDhpESkTDS5xz6_QiEl01w1uuNgc1mW4g1Of6dSmUCDX10mG1g6ger16OtiEd6orpFyJzJHWk_sml184hVlQS1q7vfFHExkQqj/w426-h640/71bwDkrPkeL._SL1200_.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I have been meaning to write this review for over a month. It is hard to express my thoughts on this book because it is <b>both a brilliant creation and one of the hardest things I've chosen to read.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">It is probably best to let the blurb speak for itself when detailing this book:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Bellota;"><i><b>National Book Award-winner Neal Schusterman and acclaimed artist Andres Vera Martinez present a multidimensional exploration of the Holocaust, delivered through surreal visions and a textured canvas of heroism and hope.</b></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Bellota;"><i><b>Prepare yourself for an unforgettable journey into impossible and wondrous things that never happened, set against a backdrop of impossible, unthinkable things that did.</b></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Bellota;"><i><b>Brilliant storytelling plunges readers into one of the darkest periods in human history - the Holocaust. With carefully entwined narratives and bold visuals, this book explores some of the greatest atrocities in modern memory and some of the greatest heroes of legend and history.</b></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Bellota;"><i><b>These stories cast strange light from unexpected angles. They are both tragic and triumphant - tragic because some of them are wistful, full of wishful thinking and dreams of a miraculous escape when no escape was possible, and triumphant because each of these stories point to very real moments of human compassion and bravery in the face of despair. This gripping graphic novel tapestry is woven from Jewish folklore and cultural history. Five interlocking narratives explore one common story - the tradition of resistance and uplift.</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Below is just one stunning example of the illustrative work of Andres Vera Martinez (which was shared on the Amazon US website). I would love to show you more examples of his work in this book but I am unsure of what I can share and don't want to get into trouble. Plus, it really would be better to view it in person than through my blog. <b>Each and every short story included in this book is beautifully illustrated and captures both the horror and the hope within these situations.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsHmI8gWFRA7CbX1_U3toZxOIENv4e4TcPSRA1-NO45gvstB4AZRT24AqyEX4YgjpbEQo_4xG-LeK0vE9VRXonGP9w6ZcrLkmCZ4bqwJEXbtW83P6fEfasfhbbGGY7mP-oVH6rPTEgve6h4Kbco7zkfuxXSF3_UwAUCdMAFvScKPgH8v2PKryUjAQL4ga/s1500/71bwDkrPkeL._SL1200_q2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsHmI8gWFRA7CbX1_U3toZxOIENv4e4TcPSRA1-NO45gvstB4AZRT24AqyEX4YgjpbEQo_4xG-LeK0vE9VRXonGP9w6ZcrLkmCZ4bqwJEXbtW83P6fEfasfhbbGGY7mP-oVH6rPTEgve6h4Kbco7zkfuxXSF3_UwAUCdMAFvScKPgH8v2PKryUjAQL4ga/w640-h480/71bwDkrPkeL._SL1200_q2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />I am currently teaching my Year 6 class about World War 2 as our history topic this term, up until Christmas, and they have been so invested in the events and the stories they have heard. They may be a little too young when it comes to the target age of this book but there are some that would be ready to read these stories, having heard about the holocaust in lessons.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Each short story is followed by information that links to the created narrative. </b>For example, the first story is about hiding Jewish children and the factual pages that follow show people who helped to hide Jewish people, such as the incredible Johanna Eck, and people who were hidden, such as Anne Frank. <b>These pages help to make the stories real and recognise that true links.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>I think this is the most important book I've read this year.</b> The title says in perfectly in my opinion, with 'tales of hope' at the forefront of these horrific events. Nothing can change what happened, as much as we wish we could, but <b>stories like this are important when it comes to keeping these events in people's minds</b> and remembering long after it happened, especially in our current times.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This book was kindly gifted to me by Scholastic, so I must say a big thank you to them. I would also like to note that this book review includes my own, true opinions and thoughts and are not influenced by the gifting of the book. If you would like to buy the book, you can find it <a href="https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/142426" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB6NR9AgMIU9_xnfa1K3sBB5hubiVqX6v6QXS1FoXK9aOpgFFTcrwHJ54fbBXBsAbR4m9FL5XX9dqTWqZ3Ee-rUoZlQ8-d0Mk7e8GMJent0Zn9-WZ7h4VLpLlWOktGexPhCtmpCHewQulKSeq_CyVetw3u3qhWvLRRJSNAO9_gxJqUPpt-wHvp60Dv0rd/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB6NR9AgMIU9_xnfa1K3sBB5hubiVqX6v6QXS1FoXK9aOpgFFTcrwHJ54fbBXBsAbR4m9FL5XX9dqTWqZ3Ee-rUoZlQ8-d0Mk7e8GMJent0Zn9-WZ7h4VLpLlWOktGexPhCtmpCHewQulKSeq_CyVetw3u3qhWvLRRJSNAO9_gxJqUPpt-wHvp60Dv0rd/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-54354358137123647992023-10-25T08:00:00.009+01:002023-10-25T08:00:00.146+01:00Book Review: Cat on the Run: Cat of Death by Aaron Blabey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKyZ001sCcPab4LpLZ3-1OvzoaM83xPKSILFcjVVkeAqy2171UH8mzdRs2VpBm84TI31tUYXQI4chLMVN4mZw2BWeLv9RS3e1_iJ5XWI5p7FLMNtafZevzGa33FiWXyls0qWX0nhWM0Tq2PYwfBOnEapL6s5mpKi3gUpouduBU02OM3ZgWiHgJS-1t5tp/s1500/819JdwQwNXL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1178" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKyZ001sCcPab4LpLZ3-1OvzoaM83xPKSILFcjVVkeAqy2171UH8mzdRs2VpBm84TI31tUYXQI4chLMVN4mZw2BWeLv9RS3e1_iJ5XWI5p7FLMNtafZevzGa33FiWXyls0qWX0nhWM0Tq2PYwfBOnEapL6s5mpKi3gUpouduBU02OM3ZgWiHgJS-1t5tp/w502-h640/819JdwQwNXL._SL1500_.jpg" width="502" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I have been so excited to review this book! I have been really into graphic novels recently, especially since their popularity has been evident in my last two classes, so it was great to see this one by Aaron Blabey being released.</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><b>Aaron Blabey's <i>The Bad Guys </i>books were really popular in my Year 3 class last year</b>, so I've been wanting to see what this latest book brings. Something I have really been promoting this year in my Year 6 class is that picture books and graphic novels are for everyone, not just younger children. Although I want them taking part in sustained reading with a chapter book to build their reading level, I will always allow my class to read whatever they choose during Reading for Pleasure time... and <b>that's where books like this one come in!</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleAe0BH5n94SuQm5GtxbMvb4vwGlCJ_Uj8Sy-JuCssUunHieTwrZVjzmpvoZoII95k7zHfzInshnzsWJoJTwe-4cmsgJnrndnQiVyvA425aGatSzMxXnfRSopDUQclhNJJo1uclNGEFJL9GOkx9WWAIHpJZ6iSUyEuyX2g4QkKzgVbIppg6rAdKbDrzby/s666/819JdwQwNXL._SL1500_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="527" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleAe0BH5n94SuQm5GtxbMvb4vwGlCJ_Uj8Sy-JuCssUunHieTwrZVjzmpvoZoII95k7zHfzInshnzsWJoJTwe-4cmsgJnrndnQiVyvA425aGatSzMxXnfRSopDUQclhNJJo1uclNGEFJL9GOkx9WWAIHpJZ6iSUyEuyX2g4QkKzgVbIppg6rAdKbDrzby/w506-h640/819JdwQwNXL._SL1500_2.jpg" width="506" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />Graphic novels have been really growing in popularity over the past couple of years. It is great that there feels like a bridge has been built for those children moving on to access longer books instead of simpler picture books. This is a chance for them to enjoy illustrations and build that stamina, whilst keeping that enjoyment of reading. <b>I really do think books like this one are the key to keeping children reading.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This book has been made relatable through the idea of being an online video star and is accessible through the illustrations and great storytelling. <b>It's an easy, very enjoyable read. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes</b>, as the final page states that the next instalment of this story is 'COMING SOON!'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Thank you to Scholastic for sending me a copy of this book to review. All views and opinions are my own and are not swayed by the gifting of the book. If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it <a href="https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/145539?_gl=1*y2m1cd*_ga*MjI3OTI3NTY0LjE2OTEzMjk2MDY.*_ga_NB70H7NPT8*MTY5ODA5NTYzNy4zLjEuMTY5ODA5NTY1MC40Ny4wLjA." target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFj6Sg_PUct8OuAGncb3GY2hfBwBctIQvpzR9P4dI76fGFrbpXo1QVciNGQwWyNynLKA8NyqmihTSq_-TgvQR1jSHzfI_plOfPIHQmsFi7GVrCDJL_KxgVkdop7OTkMnabEb2cICWB77dbddkMaafKY36WSCODVeT2fXca8ghdxRT4_2WBQuDfPJagfQcB/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFj6Sg_PUct8OuAGncb3GY2hfBwBctIQvpzR9P4dI76fGFrbpXo1QVciNGQwWyNynLKA8NyqmihTSq_-TgvQR1jSHzfI_plOfPIHQmsFi7GVrCDJL_KxgVkdop7OTkMnabEb2cICWB77dbddkMaafKY36WSCODVeT2fXca8ghdxRT4_2WBQuDfPJagfQcB/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></a></div><p></p></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-30933615092685918452023-10-23T11:00:00.003+01:002023-10-23T21:32:29.600+01:00Book Review: The Secret Mountain by Kaja Kajfez<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOX6U27BrqIuS8d1jbi4bDYpNZUu30zfxIqwxFsQnpAuRGVKRIBmFKtelFjmCOhbySsXvyGwbqkmvsDrNPrtzzcMJ46m-eOvL0FSQf9ZyWNX4OBtn3AKVEBoCxdp0K5Nzo1lW6Fn2FtyDDhgxvngBQrzE_GwigKTVygPs0NBaNpdQ_0uy9mszorSsUak6/s1500/81Nvu2dTRSL._SL1500_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1111" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOX6U27BrqIuS8d1jbi4bDYpNZUu30zfxIqwxFsQnpAuRGVKRIBmFKtelFjmCOhbySsXvyGwbqkmvsDrNPrtzzcMJ46m-eOvL0FSQf9ZyWNX4OBtn3AKVEBoCxdp0K5Nzo1lW6Fn2FtyDDhgxvngBQrzE_GwigKTVygPs0NBaNpdQ_0uy9mszorSsUak6/w474-h640/81Nvu2dTRSL._SL1500_.jpg" width="474" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I am so excited to be bringing you this book review today because I can honestly say that <b>this is one of (if not, the most) beautiful picture book I have ever seen</b>!</span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>This fantastic book is part of a collaborative series</b>, following <i><a href="https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/134746" target="_blank">The Secret Forest</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/136416?gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1OYN39xsJDlqm6D6Lvn0gdnmfAt37lu4_Q8qtfRCMlwPPCn_GSyGXRoC2IIQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">The Secret Jungle</a></i>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ea7100; font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Across the world's highest peaks, an awe-inspiring day unfolds. Animals are foraging, flying and finding their way. Can you find each hidden creature as their days begin and end?</i></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #ea7100; font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>The Secret Mountain is a year-round joy for lovers of the natural world.</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">The book is written and illustrated by Kaja Kajfez and I have to give a special mention to the incredible illustrations within this picture book. Each double page spread has so much to look at. It is one of those books where you can always find something new each time you look. </span><b style="font-family: Bellota;">There is so much detail and so much to appreciate.</b></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">You can tell just from the eye-catching, colourful cover and its gold detailing that it is a stunningly designed picture book for everyone to enjoy. From the pink Himalayan Mountains as the sun rises on the first page, to the beautiful aurora borealis on the last page, it truly is <b>a treasure for the eyes</b>. I've also decided that I want the end-paper design as wallpaper!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This book also has a non-fiction, fact file element at the end with information on the various animals included in the book. <b>This is a lovely addition to the book</b> for those who want to learn more about those animals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Thank you to Scholastic for sending my a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and I am always honest when responding to a book. You can buy <i>The Secret Mountain </i><a href="https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/140090?gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1IkeNvf0_8rYqqhBtK1xPCNwQMDZcYlHqtQW7i8A5OnOGfnXd0s-3BoC4KwQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Please do share if you know of any picture books similar to this one and the others in the series, as I'll be ordering them soon!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyC1-QULbczbxZfFODNs3uP7PIEgHs8aryMa3TFYmTgdhYrE4Z9aD5AMk8kpyUXcV8t5bE5SiPsvDD4w5HJGrTLfbtL9U44H6KuPtF2ruKktw73RiAZrJpNH9oOOC8tyz-_W5RZtfSJNXNbQ4m36OEsbA2rNvMsTFkrvJ2UaYmN7fGMHgHgr1LxYgduKaN/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyC1-QULbczbxZfFODNs3uP7PIEgHs8aryMa3TFYmTgdhYrE4Z9aD5AMk8kpyUXcV8t5bE5SiPsvDD4w5HJGrTLfbtL9U44H6KuPtF2ruKktw73RiAZrJpNH9oOOC8tyz-_W5RZtfSJNXNbQ4m36OEsbA2rNvMsTFkrvJ2UaYmN7fGMHgHgr1LxYgduKaN/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-42828256105225761342023-10-16T07:00:00.135+01:002023-10-16T07:00:00.185+01:00Blog Tour: Bella Bright and the Ghost Game | Review & Activity Pack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj2p0rNWffbrS2IzSt7n1K3oUqkarJ9GUecWyOUlMn6YV_ReyiaHmjw3O8-9Kw3Is2VEVRY_P2zojcYL1Re4Hd6rgNBijUfeT7hACop2uNcQRKWp040yqhZLmFoet7h7JYCTN2OrvQGSIsTgPmS2IFggB8nhdp99Cw_V-anJkC4LWTQ0hG8rQhB01O9p6/s1500/bella%20b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="977" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj2p0rNWffbrS2IzSt7n1K3oUqkarJ9GUecWyOUlMn6YV_ReyiaHmjw3O8-9Kw3Is2VEVRY_P2zojcYL1Re4Hd6rgNBijUfeT7hACop2uNcQRKWp040yqhZLmFoet7h7JYCTN2OrvQGSIsTgPmS2IFggB8nhdp99Cw_V-anJkC4LWTQ0hG8rQhB01O9p6/w417-h640/bella%20b.jpg" width="417" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be bringing back my first book review in a while for <b><i>Bella Bright and the Ghost Game </i>by Carolyn Ward. </b>Not only that, I am lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for this awesome book!</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you would like to check out any of the other posts on the blog tour, check out the schedule and bloggers below:</span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspkNgIM7OI9P1gm4_9iQxnQWZAFDH-9dMz1p6o1DPc0haiY3qXr1wnatsGcWTsWskEu_bhu_Mqgno6mYz2EgngMyeyRZnRextEu4c73BvVBLYqedPO4ueHuC8mCRvfpnMYkgpCELT2HhpSz9CIiin9sbHnfX5gRc-yyrFa0WpvL7hbcIkBSdgEDGRe8mF/s1600/ghost%20game%20blog%20tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspkNgIM7OI9P1gm4_9iQxnQWZAFDH-9dMz1p6o1DPc0haiY3qXr1wnatsGcWTsWskEu_bhu_Mqgno6mYz2EgngMyeyRZnRextEu4c73BvVBLYqedPO4ueHuC8mCRvfpnMYkgpCELT2HhpSz9CIiin9sbHnfX5gRc-yyrFa0WpvL7hbcIkBSdgEDGRe8mF/w640-h360/ghost%20game%20blog%20tour.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Let's start with the synopsis for this story, <i>Bella Bright and the Ghost Game</i>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b>Eleven-year-old Bella Bright has just moved into Darkling House in Castleton. On her first day at her new school, she is spotted by a pair of manipulative mean girls, Skylar and Regan. They push her into inviting them to a Halloween sleepover. Another much friendlier girl, Lex, comes to Bella's rescue and offers to join the sleepover to support Bella, who is delighted to be making a real friend.</b></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b>On Halloween night, things start getting spooky for the four girls, when the huge front door appears to shut itself and their mobile phones lose signal. They decide to order pizza using the landline, but a hair-raising whisper comes down the line.</b></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b>Skylar suggests they play hide and seek but, as she utters the words, the house appears to wobble and they discover all the exits are impossibly locked. Bella searches the manor and a ghostly teenage girl appears in front of her. She reveals herself to be Alice, a young girl who died in the house 150 years ago during a game of hide and seek gone terribly wrong. She has hidden Bella's three friends and gives Bella a rhyming clue to find them in the enormous and cavernous house.</b></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #5c00d4; font-family: Bellota;"><b>Bella has until midnight. After that, Alice will get to keep the girls as her playmates for ever...</b></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Well, <b>I was immediately hooked in by that description!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">I love a good child-friendly Halloween story (it's the same when it comes to Halloween films) and middle grade reads are a favourite of mine in general, being a Year 6 primary school teacher. I even had a couple of children in mind to pass this on to after I'd finished it. Both were interested and apparently going to read it together over FaceTime, exchanging the book each day and taking it in turns to read. So wholesome!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Anyway, before they could read it, it was my turn. First of all, <b>I loved the map on the first page.</b> I don't know why, I just love a book with a map - especially as this map showed the layout of the house. This was great to flick back to during the book when Bella starts searching the house during the creepy game of hide and seek.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><b>I was hooked in from the first chapter.</b> Starting with arriving at a spooky, almost certainly haunted house was a winner for me. I was also pulled in by the fact that ghostly antics started right from that first chapter too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Even though this book is for middle grade readers, it doesn't scrimp on the tension, drama and suspense. <b>Carolyn Ward is a very talented writer when it comes to writing suspenseful situations. </b>Experiencing the tension as Bella is looking for the others, as time ticks away, is certainly one of the many elements that kept me reading</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">I also love a book when <b>you actually connect with the main character and want them to succeed. </b>You can tell from the start that she's rather fed up with moving around for her mum's work and just wants a 'normal' life where she can settle and make friends. This story introduces the opportunity of a friend in the character of Lex, but the story of her moving into this manor house and having this sleepover was anything but normal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Without any spoilers, I must say that <b>the biggest moment for me in the book was the reveal of how Alice came to be a ghost.</b> I also really liked Alice's character from the beginning. You could see why she acted in certain ways and what had driven her to that. I was nice to connect with both the hero of the story and the so-called villain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">I have to make a special mention about Beatriz Castro's glorious illustrations. <b>Her art style in incredible and I found myself looking at the line detail in her drawings for ages. </b>My personal favourites, if you have the book, are the full-page illustrations on pages 48, 165 and 259. They really add to the story and it's nice to see a chapter book for younger readers that still keeps the magic of pictures alive. I know so many children that would connect with this book more than others just because of those picture breaks... although I personally didn't love the rather life-like spider sketches on one particular page!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;">Overall, I thought this was a great book. It's well paced, spooky and <b>the perfect middle grade Halloween read!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Bellota; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PDEGr59eQZij-gTEO290xmUZkwvD15mkCs7CTxNBTVQg_KKPiT4wXG8TQeiYCZe3PLMhDPgHeq3Sky65x1pCSrRWcgNxtwYKLTcHQMVCeTCGg6n1_Bi_xU3WzNNeSfZVNtYLNNHr0oO6aD40FjstQMc6sHksvbGgGzBTC990xm9A9BbrqBcnf4ksfzcT/w640-h198/bella%20bright.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>I'm also excited to be sharing an <b>activity pack full of fun pages</b>, including a wordsearch, quiz and symmetry art. You can download these great resources <a href="https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bella-Bright-and-the-Ghost-Game-Activity-Resources.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have just started a 'Cosy Club' at my school where children can come and read, draw or do activity sheets such as these, in a calm, quiet environment with blankets and cushions, so you can guarantee these activity sheets will be out in my room for today's Cosy Club!</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Do check out the book - <b>it's awesome</b> - and drop in on the other posts on the tour too!</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBvlyI3JVO93a6QKTunfqCN2Oat_zvzGXcs81plJrPhnrwezhPngy6EqPsRsLRQ1HRYAWZGIelke21CaeMfp6PgGBeEjuho4P-BAtg9CnDHgDsmsC61uisFtXVxuyTK8eULoUoKrCfW6IjV3MunbMmUro7ugnGHZBYKcOGDGq_PEQGpqFoZPxj3y3xkha/s165/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="165" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBvlyI3JVO93a6QKTunfqCN2Oat_zvzGXcs81plJrPhnrwezhPngy6EqPsRsLRQ1HRYAWZGIelke21CaeMfp6PgGBeEjuho4P-BAtg9CnDHgDsmsC61uisFtXVxuyTK8eULoUoKrCfW6IjV3MunbMmUro7ugnGHZBYKcOGDGq_PEQGpqFoZPxj3y3xkha/s1600/blog%20logo%20cropped.png" width="165" /></span></a></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-26439766254091733172023-10-15T10:00:00.004+01:002023-10-15T10:00:00.247+01:00My Nail Journey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK6wMK1QduHjYr9A4pXMG94SX84rE1MJGtAwTJBRKwqfeRPYYPKJnN21mW00DIHY38kLqwITfFxumeBF45k-qk4OURDcS3tZFfLQ24wd0a4uQ_ooRtJApz8Fi2ACHfvvTcwaTlOtgQS1vjPZK4-R9gJqTzyawkbwqvdJnFy3NEqqOPBFUrjtbZa8DjSHj/s1280/DF7A6F51-35F1-42F9-96BE-1869E49308F8.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK6wMK1QduHjYr9A4pXMG94SX84rE1MJGtAwTJBRKwqfeRPYYPKJnN21mW00DIHY38kLqwITfFxumeBF45k-qk4OURDcS3tZFfLQ24wd0a4uQ_ooRtJApz8Fi2ACHfvvTcwaTlOtgQS1vjPZK4-R9gJqTzyawkbwqvdJnFy3NEqqOPBFUrjtbZa8DjSHj/w640-h360/DF7A6F51-35F1-42F9-96BE-1869E49308F8.PNG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />I have been a constant nail biter my whole life. It's a gross habit and I never liked doing it. It made my fingers sore, they were tender to touch at times and they just looked horrible. Then, one December evening last year, I decided I wanted to do something about them. Maybe it was turning 30, maybe I just wanted to break a bad habit I'd had for decades, but what I did know was I wanted pretty nail art and that couldn't happen on what you might struggle to call 'nails'.</span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Let me take you on my nail journey, showing you how it started and where we are now, eight months later...<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Just for a bit of context, this is how my nails have always been:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0WlntPY_ffoVFvLs9WhVeOOz-4PeI8B73FsngpYTrv9sGYNubyoY9Tndrq7DiRqCNH3or-2r588NTnG2_72ZybCKebYx-xIIVPYWjvZsaEjKZWa9PsJQeDkUdybdxiA5vBI0y9BF-4nAvi4V7J6o0ASLK6TFwgMxe2eFNaq65prkx7MCUWDGOV_yupZJ/s1910/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1910" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0WlntPY_ffoVFvLs9WhVeOOz-4PeI8B73FsngpYTrv9sGYNubyoY9Tndrq7DiRqCNH3or-2r588NTnG2_72ZybCKebYx-xIIVPYWjvZsaEjKZWa9PsJQeDkUdybdxiA5vBI0y9BF-4nAvi4V7J6o0ASLK6TFwgMxe2eFNaq65prkx7MCUWDGOV_yupZJ/w392-h640/01.jpg" width="392" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Yes, they are gross and chewed-up. I don't know what it was, but that night in December 2022 I took a photo of my nails and decided to contact someone I hoped could help. That person was the lovely Alesha. You can find her on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alesha.nailartist/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">She managed to take those itty-bitty nails and get some acrylics on me so my little nails could grow underneath and take away the temptation of biting (you can't bite through plastic the same way... I tried!) For the first step on my nail journey, I had these navy, sparkly beauties, ready for Christmas:</span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC2HtdueXYtmKWC8BzxZ07Am9YhH7lr4BRUcdSMzeisztGoC7u58jeQdR0qAZx8QNEzChZhcAMsqdBcf1bfWKgCA6iRk5H0nt-QQx4__sF83kY0HR0rJlM2w9kVg-sPcDvaKDQB7bNTHyRKjio_v7axUQpMxy-7ujfXtW5uBUM4OFLOu_tJ9IeW3Z9Eiv/s1170/02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC2HtdueXYtmKWC8BzxZ07Am9YhH7lr4BRUcdSMzeisztGoC7u58jeQdR0qAZx8QNEzChZhcAMsqdBcf1bfWKgCA6iRk5H0nt-QQx4__sF83kY0HR0rJlM2w9kVg-sPcDvaKDQB7bNTHyRKjio_v7axUQpMxy-7ujfXtW5uBUM4OFLOu_tJ9IeW3Z9Eiv/w640-h640/02.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then Alesha did me another set of acrylics to continue with that growth underneath. They were already making progress but not enough to do anything with. I mean, you saw the state of my nails at the start. It was going to take some time. I had another sparkly set to head into 2023.</span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7IcpMV6U7mwta50vAfEcDPS7wbWhBJuCSk_BHyKnKncjLnlgpi8hZcWvynk4fNqtg4VL1RU71OZcVKVxzFf-w68gmaVjQPr5ptkStvRoLzGIscZYj-E2MysDyknjUSJSq1E948mwZwlYRp27gAgsVIt5KXfXN1HS6J6iIJtva3fPJErYSTJgA3rsCspw/s1170/03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7IcpMV6U7mwta50vAfEcDPS7wbWhBJuCSk_BHyKnKncjLnlgpi8hZcWvynk4fNqtg4VL1RU71OZcVKVxzFf-w68gmaVjQPr5ptkStvRoLzGIscZYj-E2MysDyknjUSJSq1E948mwZwlYRp27gAgsVIt5KXfXN1HS6J6iIJtva3fPJErYSTJgA3rsCspw/w640-h640/03.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then, the unthinkable happened. My real nails were just long enough to do something with!</span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTPSTDxIeRNt1XpT6zelpYpXp0dyNkRjDEK4RAO4J5KLfq9HRK6SJr90hNa6CsJf8tIrUxbzMx6TnyUPR51vqstCNLHqpqU-NfUONhgyapedPY3dsDG_2paIy8buZGxbzfn4OjUNQjDq6YrwRZnMSJOcs3oqZZan8JnpAHbnohf3qjoTwZglaRHB6evO1/s1677/04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1677" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTPSTDxIeRNt1XpT6zelpYpXp0dyNkRjDEK4RAO4J5KLfq9HRK6SJr90hNa6CsJf8tIrUxbzMx6TnyUPR51vqstCNLHqpqU-NfUONhgyapedPY3dsDG_2paIy8buZGxbzfn4OjUNQjDq6YrwRZnMSJOcs3oqZZan8JnpAHbnohf3qjoTwZglaRHB6evO1/w446-h640/04.jpg" width="446" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>I could hardly believe that those were my own nails! They weren't in great condition but they had a bit of length compared to before and Alesha worked her magic on my baby-sized nails. Then we got into February and the growing of my nails was progressing nicely. I got these cute Valentine's nails this time:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYOk78_P3WBaJE1gJgEcYJFBhlXCo3Z1JnfUVXl5HeW_K4yKCYiP2caB7FfKEPiZe05sFzm6gZjSsgYlywJ4wPqSlf95nKfk60zbZr43IA2yy86snpd_qn4ofLWoUO-MtZDlJ5mZdnbel100Ri7OSUhU5PmOBlw7CB0uJLS5DPaXrl2gfc6aMS1l5JsJD/s2458/05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2458" data-original-width="2458" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYOk78_P3WBaJE1gJgEcYJFBhlXCo3Z1JnfUVXl5HeW_K4yKCYiP2caB7FfKEPiZe05sFzm6gZjSsgYlywJ4wPqSlf95nKfk60zbZr43IA2yy86snpd_qn4ofLWoUO-MtZDlJ5mZdnbel100Ri7OSUhU5PmOBlw7CB0uJLS5DPaXrl2gfc6aMS1l5JsJD/w640-h640/05.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>99% of the time Alesha asked me, "what are we doing today?" my response is "I don't mind." Having nails is a novelty at this point and I don't have a preference about what goes on them. Everything is an improvement on that first photo and I trust that she'll make them look lovely. These springtime nails were one of my favourites:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIXUZ2DPXsQJ3aHM_uO9-wg-2Q4hz-EH8s7UYKlN8QVa7qJbms321Dj8zkQjSi9SZtOS1VrA0BZUexVMOSvZup4e-iLpYdDMv0lxHj-6h252QedbvnRfSM8zxkrj3vb1saG6lhe3tVoxAkVl_SnZ5QUr-f7YOuYPEITe54-oWPKI8GWNyo3MQD3PZxpRV/s1170/06.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIXUZ2DPXsQJ3aHM_uO9-wg-2Q4hz-EH8s7UYKlN8QVa7qJbms321Dj8zkQjSi9SZtOS1VrA0BZUexVMOSvZup4e-iLpYdDMv0lxHj-6h252QedbvnRfSM8zxkrj3vb1saG6lhe3tVoxAkVl_SnZ5QUr-f7YOuYPEITe54-oWPKI8GWNyo3MQD3PZxpRV/w640-h640/06.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>Next, I was going through a phase where I was buying everything in cow print. I don't know why, I just like cows. Therefore, on my next visit, I asked if I could have some cow print on my nails to match my current pattern interest. This is what Alesha came up with and I loved them so much:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lKNSx5HLnlyeCExAkI7aI4LAo-B6dyHjm0cX5vRexGU9nNOZB_lQzqqZjVd5ryj7PfnczOX7LJz62TR8JPXJGgin0Aigqp80fFVI4Yp78jbG6YbMQUpRl4eiozjVMR2ICrliUsUAM-qDpNNfXUOuDkbg5ijA854KGRIkASpyJlKUmW0ryfJl2VnKAZwy/s2160/07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lKNSx5HLnlyeCExAkI7aI4LAo-B6dyHjm0cX5vRexGU9nNOZB_lQzqqZjVd5ryj7PfnczOX7LJz62TR8JPXJGgin0Aigqp80fFVI4Yp78jbG6YbMQUpRl4eiozjVMR2ICrliUsUAM-qDpNNfXUOuDkbg5ijA854KGRIkASpyJlKUmW0ryfJl2VnKAZwy/w640-h640/07.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>My nails are coming along beautifully now. They are growing nicely and I'm not able to chew through them with gel on. At this point, while I had the cow print nails, I realised I'd stopped having that urge to bite them too. It felt like I'd been cured of compulsive biting after all those years. It felt great!</div><div><br /></div><div>On my next visit, just before Easter, I asked if Alesha could do mini egg nails like some I'd seen on Pinterest and she knocked it out of the park on this one! Check these sweet nails out:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UAwb4KYDNcN89f_fbpvvVS3HfyrELT49V8AADborklUxE8aCSEAPzBgvL8DCyygK_zpG_YhJVsx7dy0c6KtHXpX7HzLTN-goithrHFhv29b0Ty9uj2bOmxqY1jOK-mtc7wBl00wMYZ550EpFjpZ3eKN0nIU-QEPDXbjREGe2sNT9ovKBb1mFpJD0froO/s1170/08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UAwb4KYDNcN89f_fbpvvVS3HfyrELT49V8AADborklUxE8aCSEAPzBgvL8DCyygK_zpG_YhJVsx7dy0c6KtHXpX7HzLTN-goithrHFhv29b0Ty9uj2bOmxqY1jOK-mtc7wBl00wMYZ550EpFjpZ3eKN0nIU-QEPDXbjREGe2sNT9ovKBb1mFpJD0froO/w640-h640/08.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>Then some children in my class asked if they could design my nails. I printed them some hand templates and set them the task of designing my next set of nails over the weekend. They came back with some wonderful designs. Some would have taken Alesha hours with how detailed they'd made them. One set had "Miss Brazier is a great teacher" on <i>every </i>nail, another had an individual illustration on each nail to cover all of our topics in class (plants, volcanoes, fossils, fractions, the Stone Age, etc.) However, I did like the pink cherry design by a girl in my class - and these would be much less time consuming for Alesha - so I had these next:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-6QrRr0qNeTGf6W_jXgEAUDgbAfcKOymH3iUHziu5UJ2d0qO3_3rfOKBy4zRuudnh5Pw0-gSagyaBu20TgKNXog-mJl0aru-p1kJxSNldCiPT9dxdsOy6wmWRD3nSQ62_eevut8FVsRzKAG0_fnqKz5u_q1rzN7wD-jnhFuADQQxrV5HRa5JYYXVcA5i/s1403/09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1403" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-6QrRr0qNeTGf6W_jXgEAUDgbAfcKOymH3iUHziu5UJ2d0qO3_3rfOKBy4zRuudnh5Pw0-gSagyaBu20TgKNXog-mJl0aru-p1kJxSNldCiPT9dxdsOy6wmWRD3nSQ62_eevut8FVsRzKAG0_fnqKz5u_q1rzN7wD-jnhFuADQQxrV5HRa5JYYXVcA5i/w640-h640/09.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>In May, Alesha got really artsy with my next set as I asked if she could do something to match a dress I was wearing to a wedding. She went above and beyond to create these beautiful nails that matched perfectly with the green tones and purple flowers on my dress:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqwlc2y6BrdsmoMeyvYYMm--IRMDXwJyoqIbXzsJX3zTjCGjDUB2cPGHBTgq2kT-2N-JJBUNwbflwcJIjkIygpWyBH7WrX_PYzXLwk5s8z3WXAo6H69hvK5_RLc5hvO17SBFNmhRUuD_KtEyuuZIdrtDeMAn6McGZt4ebLF37bPQRuvYGa-4VXKriSv_U/s1170/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqwlc2y6BrdsmoMeyvYYMm--IRMDXwJyoqIbXzsJX3zTjCGjDUB2cPGHBTgq2kT-2N-JJBUNwbflwcJIjkIygpWyBH7WrX_PYzXLwk5s8z3WXAo6H69hvK5_RLc5hvO17SBFNmhRUuD_KtEyuuZIdrtDeMAn6McGZt4ebLF37bPQRuvYGa-4VXKriSv_U/w640-h640/10.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>Now we get to the jazziest pair of nails I've <i>ever </i>had! These are Cameron's favourite and, to make it even better, these were the nails I had for my birthday. Again, the care and precision Alesha took to make this spectacular nail art blew me away. How amazing are these?!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQ_QS6EuRXoFqQPRSFlqYBe-ti1uQ-pjxRhVVots3PdjCu2AbxibxWKGFLutrkdulOtm0ksv20ZTiAmH9sRgL5I2eH7izPvG7rI6CiB8FL961uhqne46ipxurLgRtfuGWilOx4GLrXi4yvS26YTgFgZeuin3cKR1ZzcU9-8F_7KJpc2RYKZsPWZJ1omum/s1170/11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1170" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQ_QS6EuRXoFqQPRSFlqYBe-ti1uQ-pjxRhVVots3PdjCu2AbxibxWKGFLutrkdulOtm0ksv20ZTiAmH9sRgL5I2eH7izPvG7rI6CiB8FL961uhqne46ipxurLgRtfuGWilOx4GLrXi4yvS26YTgFgZeuin3cKR1ZzcU9-8F_7KJpc2RYKZsPWZJ1omum/w640-h634/11.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>After my wild birthday nails, I had something softer. I also had my nails shortened as the length was still new to me and it's pretty tricky to teach PE with long nails when you've previously bitten them your whole life. These pretty, pastel ombre rainbow nails were amazing:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggaqNhxV6Iqe4Gb2XvAP2ThWGpNVpN7smDtkovhXSHHL-TK98qiFH_8CiNeZo3qiXd9SGycIoXYP8VbitvfNdfcjfbammtvBHEK2sK3q-xLRhWRNSULgrNUd2WJU7jGu5ELYlNShuvuWTxsaZ_yva-qLN97StUpBXR_iwOWQ3ZcmsnOMiw0R7gTsfhrzC/s2203/12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2203" data-original-width="2203" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggaqNhxV6Iqe4Gb2XvAP2ThWGpNVpN7smDtkovhXSHHL-TK98qiFH_8CiNeZo3qiXd9SGycIoXYP8VbitvfNdfcjfbammtvBHEK2sK3q-xLRhWRNSULgrNUd2WJU7jGu5ELYlNShuvuWTxsaZ_yva-qLN97StUpBXR_iwOWQ3ZcmsnOMiw0R7gTsfhrzC/w640-h640/12.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>Here, I had a wobble. I was stressing about jobs and other things and unfortunately peeled all of my rainbow gel off. Whoops! Then, without the strength of the gel, some of my nails snapped. So when I went back to see Alesha and sheepishly showed her my hands, she worked with what I gave her and still gave me these blue beauties ready for my weekend away in Center Parcs:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZwyXSvuJsZKSxuZOqREiCVWQ6y2MHXleMpsXXBl58bsK4sm60MgijIbkrzU8Etybfh9dt8CR88yRkKn3e2rPt1M3WxyZIyyoon9ScOFf1fHRNusrwMDGn_9nKg4jNChn_ocBEnqmhstd4sdpyIbqGDL-ODvufuYx9QKguI4g3OviNaq22KQVtG3sR4wx/s2361/13.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2361" data-original-width="2361" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZwyXSvuJsZKSxuZOqREiCVWQ6y2MHXleMpsXXBl58bsK4sm60MgijIbkrzU8Etybfh9dt8CR88yRkKn3e2rPt1M3WxyZIyyoon9ScOFf1fHRNusrwMDGn_9nKg4jNChn_ocBEnqmhstd4sdpyIbqGDL-ODvufuYx9QKguI4g3OviNaq22KQVtG3sR4wx/w640-h640/13.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>Then we get to a set of nails that Cameron chose, combining a couple of Alesha's previous designs from her Instagram. He selected a two-tone pink wavy set but instead of the pink, he picked neon green and biro blue. Alesha was a little taken aback but worked with Cameron's suggestions and gave me a dialled-down version and honestly, they're one of my favourites:</div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe-Wj75jbcqrrzk01ipZMEmE1Fyh9HcjIHo5dZ0fUxh9EqSwMihgp8MItfFdGFNRkFbaGQfjxf6AXGKVgiWXaLcM5schu-rZGEXQe1dY7Z76uhPggdkr4Ks2VsFQyPy1D80aY29gjR0jBE_x3t2Gh-c8CwDqO9rPinM6LUvZjUKZTwS6AitD6I1XgxG2y/s1253/14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe-Wj75jbcqrrzk01ipZMEmE1Fyh9HcjIHo5dZ0fUxh9EqSwMihgp8MItfFdGFNRkFbaGQfjxf6AXGKVgiWXaLcM5schu-rZGEXQe1dY7Z76uhPggdkr4Ks2VsFQyPy1D80aY29gjR0jBE_x3t2Gh-c8CwDqO9rPinM6LUvZjUKZTwS6AitD6I1XgxG2y/w598-h640/14.jpg" width="598" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">On my last visit before going back to school, I let Alesha choose what to do again (no surprise there!) Here is what she came up with:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSKAzBZi0tzNhGEs8n-TA8w2mDPgPU34_GaS5Gx9M7IBjpuvdS2-Fpn0y0viUH3ooevLEioRSBAmvEN-kLZX3yxr4jthR_vah3w7BmVMMEau21FZBW5OymFcNwNvNQ1ue7q0GablmPdLftqRWofQ3NWH26eiB0_8WDOf4it0GWAvoqzJHkLV1g3_4YXhk/s3272/Facetune_01-09-2023-18-05-45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3272" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSKAzBZi0tzNhGEs8n-TA8w2mDPgPU34_GaS5Gx9M7IBjpuvdS2-Fpn0y0viUH3ooevLEioRSBAmvEN-kLZX3yxr4jthR_vah3w7BmVMMEau21FZBW5OymFcNwNvNQ1ue7q0GablmPdLftqRWofQ3NWH26eiB0_8WDOf4it0GWAvoqzJHkLV1g3_4YXhk/w592-h640/Facetune_01-09-2023-18-05-45.jpg" width="592" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Now it's time to start getting autumnal, Halloween inspired nails before going into the glitter season that is Christmas!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Alesha truly has worked wonders with what I first walked in with and has helped me to care for my nails to get them to this point. Biting my nails was a tough habit to break but it's one of the things I am proudest of, having finally stopped and having pretty nails to show for it now. Don't forget to check out Alesha's amazing nails on her </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/alesha.nailartist/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Bellota;" target="_blank">Instagram</a><span style="font-family: Bellota;"> and, if you're in the area, come and see her!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Are you a nail biter? What design shall I have next?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfWmDyU3ReDjNrLzbMM2Mu_dgM9T36515ruIeajhzVWiDL7hyVp4CQmhlnTGSfluhmuK1-YxhPvx6Jf9IwgwlnATm5aaNO-8z0MGjtzGXAXpctgnWhTROHhMlswe0Z4BaAtUQU0C2y7QhkrwaG92dRCNQYLItp0-ZLnTeFYb9jGjM91u4gWK_4SWMHQfL/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfWmDyU3ReDjNrLzbMM2Mu_dgM9T36515ruIeajhzVWiDL7hyVp4CQmhlnTGSfluhmuK1-YxhPvx6Jf9IwgwlnATm5aaNO-8z0MGjtzGXAXpctgnWhTROHhMlswe0Z4BaAtUQU0C2y7QhkrwaG92dRCNQYLItp0-ZLnTeFYb9jGjM91u4gWK_4SWMHQfL/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></span></a></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-15439677251137828052023-10-13T17:00:00.001+01:002023-10-14T21:51:50.917+01:00Summer Holidays 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSC6E4mkQahZ5AI-OIlL9sJ0Kv8v32F2VxjFqKqOzMVbEBtkj7vH_6UZ-cslFnLJBGN2gaeuQTOyjyNO1IfD1QHK7Y0sOmIS6NolyP0Qth1yb1Ui0W6Q5Z7ONCObIe-xMF9eurqc0w1aqXBvRTFdOGgX3cGahASxhF1qT-qz7RbO2Ej8a5f44_hxAWsZn/s1280/4A2424BC-26BD-42C8-891D-228C6FA509CE.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSC6E4mkQahZ5AI-OIlL9sJ0Kv8v32F2VxjFqKqOzMVbEBtkj7vH_6UZ-cslFnLJBGN2gaeuQTOyjyNO1IfD1QHK7Y0sOmIS6NolyP0Qth1yb1Ui0W6Q5Z7ONCObIe-xMF9eurqc0w1aqXBvRTFdOGgX3cGahASxhF1qT-qz7RbO2Ej8a5f44_hxAWsZn/s16000/4A2424BC-26BD-42C8-891D-228C6FA509CE.PNG" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Summer is over and I'm back in school. I'm enjoying this new year, in a new school, with my Year 6 class, but I thought I would recap some of the best moments of my summer holidays as we enter autumn.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Here are some of my highlights of the summer holidays:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div><a name='more'></a><div><b style="font-family: Bellota;">Shopping and Lunch Date</b></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">One of the first things we did in the holidays was take a wander into the city to go shopping and get some lunch at Turtle Bay. It was a lovely, relaxed day and a great way to start our time off.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Weekend at Center Parcs</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Cameron and I had a fantastic time away at Center Parcs at the end of the first week of the holidays. You can read more about our long weekend in Center Parcs Elveden Forest <a href="https://janaybrazier.blogspot.com/2023/08/CenterParcs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Mersea with Friends</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">One evening, we drove to Mersea Island with our neighbours to have drinks by the water and get fish and chips. We didn't end up getting fish and chips because we had to leave before the tide came in and trapped us there, so we headed home, ordered pizza and played some games. If you haven't played <i>Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza</i> before, you need to get it!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Colchester Zoo</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">A day at the zoo was a must for us during the summer holidays, especially when we picked one of the sunny days too. You can read more about our day out at Colchester Zoo <a href="https://janaybrazier.blogspot.com/2023/08/ColchesterZoo.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Decorating the Bathroom</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We have been wanting to brighten up our bathroom for a while now and these past few weeks have given us the chance to sand down walls, choose a new paint colour and get everything looking pretty. We are really happy with the outcome and now want to redecorate some other rooms.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Go Ape</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I still can't believe I did this but a couple of weeks ago, Cameron and I went to Go Ape at Thetford Forest. I'm not very adventurous and I'm not a fan of heights but I decided to have a go. I was terrified and my legs were like jelly 99% of the time, but I was brave and I did it. I went home covered in mud after landing on my back after every zip line but I did it!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><br /></div><div><b>What was your favourite summer memory? Are you looking forward to autumn?</b></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFdPeszXrARtQSuXUm8n5gLrUQoNXCs5MDBw9Vv3t1M9c52Qipw8O5NH6Sm-1_NmtNnYuENFXpAyjBlr1zMh78fOIKjr7cNDEAeZugwchrMBgwHMbpfjF8_MxxZQNs80c7TC2AYU_eYrWJRsnza-MOJFPCdlCyEr7TaFWSFRE-88zJ7jXDR8DaHKFHQzD/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFdPeszXrARtQSuXUm8n5gLrUQoNXCs5MDBw9Vv3t1M9c52Qipw8O5NH6Sm-1_NmtNnYuENFXpAyjBlr1zMh78fOIKjr7cNDEAeZugwchrMBgwHMbpfjF8_MxxZQNs80c7TC2AYU_eYrWJRsnza-MOJFPCdlCyEr7TaFWSFRE-88zJ7jXDR8DaHKFHQzD/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-80727476568634406032023-09-09T10:00:00.134+01:002023-10-14T21:52:28.916+01:00Restaurant Review: The Whalebone Inn<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUYhtFk-X6jICkR72FfbV4Gxh9c846nU5aYkHq-Ay_od6eLj_0DIrodNZZBwaVagClbptqHIZkJCT0oTdq3qnqxmPap_0ZFnWKQqD3yzMNcztP-_dfvRxmMXk9rS9OQn_Go5dn-T9O6Ur_ZXMpPiSutn5PLAZBKQAUiFgpG8MMC5_UljRRpkdtOtq1_Kg/s1280/Restaurant%20review.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUYhtFk-X6jICkR72FfbV4Gxh9c846nU5aYkHq-Ay_od6eLj_0DIrodNZZBwaVagClbptqHIZkJCT0oTdq3qnqxmPap_0ZFnWKQqD3yzMNcztP-_dfvRxmMXk9rS9OQn_Go5dn-T9O6Ur_ZXMpPiSutn5PLAZBKQAUiFgpG8MMC5_UljRRpkdtOtq1_Kg/s16000/Restaurant%20review.PNG" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />The Whalebone Inn is a picturesque pub-restaurant situated in the beautiful village of Fingringhoe, Colchester, in a well-restored Grade 2 listed building, with exposed beams and countryside charm.</span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">You can sit outside in the quiet garden space, overlooking the fields down to the river, or sit inside and enjoy the cosy, rustic vibes.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Read on to find out what we thought of the food at The Whalebone Inn...<br /></span><div><br /></div><div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I first heard about The Whalebone from an uncle, who had been there before and was visiting a friend close by when Cameron and I went a met him for lunch. The food was incredible and we sat outside in the garden area, which was beautiful and peaceful. We have since been back several times just to sit in the garden again with a drink and take in the views. When we've been lucky, the fields in the distance are full of cows and, if you know me, I love cows! Anyway, back to the restaurant...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">More recently, we went back to The Whalebone to have dinner with family. During this visit, I decided to take some photos so that I could share this experience and get the word out about how amazing this place is.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I didn't photograph my family's food because I wanted them to be able to eat and enjoy without me shoving a camera over their plate, but I did photograph my own food and Cameron's main course.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">For starters, Cameron had the chicken wings which he said were "amazing, flavoursome and fell off the bone." That makes me feel a little queasy as a someone who doesn't eat meat, but he assured me that they were great wings. I ordered the garlic bread, thinking it would be a single portion or a small flatbread... I was very wrong. This whole garlic bread baguette came out! Maybe it was more of a side dish but I really fancied some garlic bread. I'm also not ashamed to say that I ate the entire thing to myself, minus one slice that Cameron ate. It was crisp, buttery and some of the best garlic bread I've ever had.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2gY-aQ_-TdCAw3gX41eQA54JZiRtdVcRDyq_PfMHqj4XebFRDl02GhqxrhIubEPknmkWKsNbNceONEpiHSn_fKIsXjWFa0Fh9eV4TPIJ3VpXPaSh8GbhrjtU7E-qufgWHaUG6cO2BET7m98nVjL33kiq2xBZtulcfZy7hGuDcpr5z933Fjx-4ow9VBIp/s2771/IMG_7368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2771" data-original-width="2771" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2gY-aQ_-TdCAw3gX41eQA54JZiRtdVcRDyq_PfMHqj4XebFRDl02GhqxrhIubEPknmkWKsNbNceONEpiHSn_fKIsXjWFa0Fh9eV4TPIJ3VpXPaSh8GbhrjtU7E-qufgWHaUG6cO2BET7m98nVjL33kiq2xBZtulcfZy7hGuDcpr5z933Fjx-4ow9VBIp/w640-h640/IMG_7368.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then we get to the mains.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I ordered the fish and chips and I thought it was rather ironic that whilst eating at The Whalebone, my fish was the size of a whale. Look at this:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjSy_0TmB8AZbTs2QqhXBF5T_S2cs8p-uqkSCdmzOU7PcN0hzT7UR4LbeJbxpQ0DzpV2eoSO6NWGo_NaFFfD5PL_JwGU7PkpzSYF84smg6gydxKa7EVg_G2mbp70FDSFgpu9g2xbA82qukULurJHMe-hAcngc8w6rr8ZE8zDEU92Zclkbpge8eXjYUNDb/s3465/IMG_7369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3465" data-original-width="2953" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjSy_0TmB8AZbTs2QqhXBF5T_S2cs8p-uqkSCdmzOU7PcN0hzT7UR4LbeJbxpQ0DzpV2eoSO6NWGo_NaFFfD5PL_JwGU7PkpzSYF84smg6gydxKa7EVg_G2mbp70FDSFgpu9g2xbA82qukULurJHMe-hAcngc8w6rr8ZE8zDEU92Zclkbpge8eXjYUNDb/w546-h640/IMG_7369.jpg" width="546" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />It didn't even fit on the plate! They really do incredible portion sizes here. The batter on the fish was stunning. It melted in your mouth and the fish was soft and succulent. I've had so many fish and chip dishes in my life, with some where the fish is too dry and almost crumbly, but this was perfection. The chips were also glorious. I'm not usually a fan of chunky chips; I prefer fries, but these were cooked so beautifully that I'd go as far to say they're some of the best chips I've ever eaten.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I honestly couldn't fault my main course and would definitely order this again on a returning visit. Although I love food, I do like to find a dish I like and stick to it, so I feel lucky to have ordered this from their menu.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then we get to Cameron's main. Again, as a non-meat-eater, it is hard to pass comment on his food but I asked him about it so you can know what it was actually like. As soon as I said to him, "What can you tell me about the ribs you had at The Whalebone?", he closed his eyes and said "memorable". He then added that they "melt in your mouth" and were "beautifully flavoured". I must say, they looked great on the plate - very well-presented.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcI4rSlbAdnKpu1azgsG4992if2i8Q1FqthuMFLxrUVcWC0I5wiej4nAgwjbs0rPVLi2yn7R-ytleZtG9cHkDrH5enP_FiU1dH-K8-BRAguoXzZcJ4NbcaJi7o-MX4kvXqQ97ERQ_px7neyWuoKcN1ilbM-j2L-svshnR_7wee5kOKqLLfXfW86pY9bKh/s3532/IMG_7370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3532" data-original-width="2298" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcI4rSlbAdnKpu1azgsG4992if2i8Q1FqthuMFLxrUVcWC0I5wiej4nAgwjbs0rPVLi2yn7R-ytleZtG9cHkDrH5enP_FiU1dH-K8-BRAguoXzZcJ4NbcaJi7o-MX4kvXqQ97ERQ_px7neyWuoKcN1ilbM-j2L-svshnR_7wee5kOKqLLfXfW86pY9bKh/w416-h640/IMG_7370.jpg" width="416" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />Annoyingly, we didn't have any room for dessert. After eating an entire garlic bread baguette and a whale-sized cod, it makes sense. Dessert is usually my favourite course but I didn't want to force it. I had to undo my trouser button in the car, I was that full!</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Next time, I will go for a main and dessert so I can try what they have to offer because I liked the sound of their lemon posset and pistachio double chocolate brownie. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you want to find out more about The Whalebone Inn, check out their menu or make a booking, you can find them <a href="http://www.thewhaleboneinn.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev-su3szJswYOIfIRx_IEyrA4maBzHBbl3fS9IpnVdqYkCZ7EPUcANz4XUcHCkzWdFQAv-xU3Yl5rICNQcOtYTpPYdLXAlfzb1sT65Jp3wKTgSXJJx6tcfWmQPoSqF53E_sOM7QE9NVleDgI-PggYCvSlyf3yPddITb4P_sJaOs7O9lxY0xznz5DYI-gd/s320/blog%20logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev-su3szJswYOIfIRx_IEyrA4maBzHBbl3fS9IpnVdqYkCZ7EPUcANz4XUcHCkzWdFQAv-xU3Yl5rICNQcOtYTpPYdLXAlfzb1sT65Jp3wKTgSXJJx6tcfWmQPoSqF53E_sOM7QE9NVleDgI-PggYCvSlyf3yPddITb4P_sJaOs7O9lxY0xznz5DYI-gd/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-3413003230334975352023-08-31T10:00:00.245+01:002023-08-31T10:00:00.130+01:00My First Year as a Qualified Teacher<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflPjcECrlJVe6N9tXDt_0T50Nr2nq_e1kjb3zSlySvZ-n7dovfvtoqaWfVh8PAryfMbU6TriYkgVbJrUi5U40APVw5N3W1w9zdoAxRcd8pqKgDCoARFf-vuUHOdA6AUGk7eFVFFy8Oh_S9nyk2XEDFidcxvFd5EkYPN5T6W0UnD5r0e4zPJmzc07-FvfE/s1280/F51FEE46-1496-4958-86C0-E15F3CCBC348.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflPjcECrlJVe6N9tXDt_0T50Nr2nq_e1kjb3zSlySvZ-n7dovfvtoqaWfVh8PAryfMbU6TriYkgVbJrUi5U40APVw5N3W1w9zdoAxRcd8pqKgDCoARFf-vuUHOdA6AUGk7eFVFFy8Oh_S9nyk2XEDFidcxvFd5EkYPN5T6W0UnD5r0e4zPJmzc07-FvfE/s16000/F51FEE46-1496-4958-86C0-E15F3CCBC348.PNG" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We're at the end of August, about to go into September. It's only now that I have sat back and fully realised that I have completed my first year as a qualified teacher! It was an absolutely incredible year, filled with many highs and a few lower points (but all of the good moments definitely outweigh any of the bad).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Ahead of starting at a new school, in a new year group, I thought I would take the time to share a few of the best moments and things I have loved from this past year, whether this is just for me to feel proud of the job I'm doing or to share with other teachers or aspiring teachers out there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Here are ten standout moments and learning points for me from the last year:</span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>I am the "crazy hamster lady"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">First of all, I'll start by saying I'm happy to be known by this title! My Year 3 class fell in love with my hamster, Pippin, and would often ask for updates, photos and videos each morning. They were the sweetest when it came to my little fluffball and lost their minds when I said I'd bring her into school for a short while one day in June when Cameron had a non-pupil day. They loved her even more in person and one child said to me after the visit, "I understand why you're a crazy hamster lady know because she's adorable!" Talking about pets became a great bonding exercise in my classroom and we even had a little 'Wall of Pets' display to show off our cute animals. It was one of the best relationship-building tools. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I like to be organised</b></div><div>If you know me, this isn't surprising. However, some people said that my urge to be so organised with planning ahead, prepping lessons, printing out my resources for the following week each Friday afternoon wouldn't last all year. It did and I plan to keep it that way. I used to print all of the week's resources and put them into A3 zip wallets marked with the days of the week. Now that I'm about to start in a new school with a permanent position (I was on maternity cover last year), I will probably get a set of drawers to use instead. See, I'm just becoming <i>more </i>organised! It might take half an hour to print it and get it organised but it saves me the daily job.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I created an amazing reading culture</b></div><div>This is probably the thing I am proudest of this year. My class have absolutely loved reading with me this year. From the texts we read as part of our English lessons to the books we read for pleasure as a class. They loved a bit of quiet, independent reading too and talking about what they'd been reading. My favourite memories were also some of their favourites too (as so many put in their cards at the end of the year), which was our reading for pleasure blanket reading time. Reading <i>Planet Omar</i>, <i>Mr Gum</i> and so many more whilst cuddled up under blankets with their friends was the most beautiful thing. My overall favourite reading memory is reading <i>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane </i>outside on the grass in the summer and then reading the final chapter and watching so many of them gasp - and even a couple of them cry - when they realised what had happened. That's a core memory right there!</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I can look after my own wellbeing</b></div><div>I am known for being a bit of a workaholic. I like to immerse myself in my work and get as much done as I can, keeping ahead of where I need to be. A lot of this was because of personal reasons a few years ago when I used it as a distraction from things going on in life and threw myself into my teacher training. I also enjoy what I do so I don't see it as a chore or an undesirable task. However, for my first year of teaching I made myself a little list of rules that I stuck to and will continue with this year. My main one was 'no work on a Sunday' to make sure I had a full day with no school work. 'Don't take books home to mark' was one my first ECT mentor gave me before she left on maternity leave and I never have done this. Finally, 'no work talk at the dinner table' is one we are working on in our house as Cameron is also a teacher, so it's nice to set a bit of a boundary so we can come out of "work mode".</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>It was not always easy</b></div><div>I've spoken very positively about my experiences so far and I'd say 99% of the time, that has been my experience. However, I'd be lying if I said there weren't also some challenging and low moments in the last year. Everyone has something they need to work on and not everyone will agree, but that's part of the job. We, as teachers, are always learning and growing. We just need to find the best people around you to ask for advice and support and know you have people to talk to. The first year is tough but go easy on yourself. It's not always going to go to plan or work out the way you would like. Speaking to my amazing ECT mentors this year has made things a lot easier and having a good relationship with particular members of SLT to go to when I have queries or need to vent has been amazing.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I had a great relationship with the children</b></div><div>A top tip that was shared with me that I would definitely share with every other ECT is to make sure you take the time to get to know your children in that first week and let them get to know you too. I worked on this with my first class, making them as comfortable as possible to share ideas, ask questions and feel valued. From encouraging them to have a go to asking them how their gymnastics session was at the weekend, it all helps. A big phrase for my class last year was, "mistakes are proof you're trying." This helped some of them to try tricker challenges without the worry of being wrong. I'm also lucky enough to be taking my Year 6 class on a 5-day residential trip in September, which is a great bonding and relationship-building opportunity.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I had the best first class ever</b></div><div>I truly believe that I had the greatest class for my first ever class as a qualified teacher. I honestly cannot think of a single thing I would change about that class. They were all incredible to work with, all had their own passions and interests and all tried their best and wanted to do well. They would ask how I was, would greet each other so kindly each morning and would leave the classroom at midday saying, "Have a lovely lunch, Miss Brazier." They taught me so much about myself too. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better class with more incredible children for my first class. I will remember them forever.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I can dance if I have to</b></div><div>I am not a performer. I don't sing, I don't dance and drama used to frighten me in school if the audience was bigger than my form group. However, I have proved to myself that I can do these things when Performing Arts Day happened at my school in July. Each year group gets together to learn and perform a song, a dance and a poem. The poem was pretty straight forward and short, the song we chose was one they'd heard in assembly before... but the dance was going to be entirely new. I don't know why but I turned around to my partner teacher and said, "I don't mind choreographing the dance." This was without any ideas about what I might do. I don't know why, I just said it! Yet it all came together as I decided on a song to dance to and planned the steps in my kitchen while I was waiting for the oven to heat up. This is an important memory for me because I did something I'd never done, it turned out really well and we were chosen to close the event as well!</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I am still learning</b></div><div>I have already mentioned that, even as teachers, we are still always learning. Whether that is extra tips to go with something you already know and do or learning something new entirely, we grow our own knowledge as we progress through this career. The reason I am mentioning this is because of other ECTs I have come across rather than myself. I love learning and am always open to new ideas as it'll only make me better. However, I have spoken to/heard from others that some ECTs like to think they already have it sussed and will only want to do things the way they were taught to do it on their training. Every school is different, every class is different and every child is different. We need to be ready to learn and take on new strategies to both better ourselves as practitioners and the children as learners. No one knows everything and we will work best if we are open to new ideas.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>I have made a difference</b></div><div>A big one is to remember to take a step back, especially on the days where things haven't gone to plan or you're feeling down, and remember what a difference you are making overall. Every day is a small step and those steps might not always feel like they are moving forward, but you are making progress all the time. I had low days and just thinking back on those 'lightbulb moments' or the children's laughter at something silly I've said puts me back on track. It was also evident that I had made a difference at the end of the school year, when it came to me leaving to go to a different school. The kind words from many parents, children and staff will stay with me forever. That's another thing I loved this year, having such supportive, friendly and caring parents who I would talk to each day. They made my first year experience so much better.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div>So, there you have it: ten moments and learning points from the past year. I truly do love my job and cannot wait to continue learning and growing next year, teaching Year 6 in a new school.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Do you have any tips or words of advice to share? If you're a teacher or work in a classroom, what's your favourite thing about the job or a favourite memory you have?</b></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-EYGw6u4q6jsj_dKDtA9fmQ6DE315WpkmhJgsBLMf2hRv9lzyr2BKnUQNX3e8R3iz344clMcJFbdAH-OlOMu_IPApDHQ-wOg9tOlkid3zxQCPet4hbjIiNuJUD5SClR5L-S5D0NjTnzvwP7pbU4pWM0BLw8U3mkdTFZoGI5r1IE0gS_f94xDc05414f5/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-EYGw6u4q6jsj_dKDtA9fmQ6DE315WpkmhJgsBLMf2hRv9lzyr2BKnUQNX3e8R3iz344clMcJFbdAH-OlOMu_IPApDHQ-wOg9tOlkid3zxQCPet4hbjIiNuJUD5SClR5L-S5D0NjTnzvwP7pbU4pWM0BLw8U3mkdTFZoGI5r1IE0gS_f94xDc05414f5/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-24955562940712229602023-08-28T10:00:00.131+01:002023-08-28T10:00:00.133+01:00A Day Out at Colchester Zoo<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3cxnNnvG05XbNrWYv7HTxqjPXFKXPD7UEtYM7lP39Sj7HgPEeUp-UozKlXV0xCc9ltfV6MeNvinTNt9mNpVhg6BFGHsyHdpa5XlipdHiEdnFlp_GQ929mD9ctsheom7Hf4WEkfGec_d5NKXvXC5g2JuNEZJQnp5_38nDtxYhmDvPktew42gj7AIxbidP/s1280/7D981084-80C1-4239-A29B-09BA66745695.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3cxnNnvG05XbNrWYv7HTxqjPXFKXPD7UEtYM7lP39Sj7HgPEeUp-UozKlXV0xCc9ltfV6MeNvinTNt9mNpVhg6BFGHsyHdpa5XlipdHiEdnFlp_GQ929mD9ctsheom7Hf4WEkfGec_d5NKXvXC5g2JuNEZJQnp5_38nDtxYhmDvPktew42gj7AIxbidP/s16000/7D981084-80C1-4239-A29B-09BA66745695.PNG" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />Earlier this month, Cameron and I visited Colchester Zoo. I will say this trip was mostly for Cameron because he has been mentioning going to the zoo for over a year (pretty much since we left Colchester Zoo on our last visit!)</span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We finally decided to go while we're off for the summer holidays and we picked one of the sunniest, warmest days to go which was lovely - except for the walking but it meant I didn't have to go to the gym that day!</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We took some great photos and saw almost every animal we went to see with the exception of the tigers. We saw the bushes moving, so we know one was there, but we didn't catch a glimpse unfortunately.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I always love seeing the chimps and sea lions but my favourite animal at Colchester Zoo has to be the orangutans. We watched them climb around outside with hessian sacks over them for a while and then they all seemed to go to different parts of the enclosure for a nap under their sacks. It was incredible to see!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">The meerkats,</span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"> which are a favourite of both Cameron and I, were also on top form when we visited. You can see them in some of our photos further down this post. They were lounging, sitting and digging, as well as darting about from being in the sun to the shade. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We also love the otters. They are such little characters and you can always rely on them to be playful and entertaining when we visit. Again, they didn't disappoint as they played in the water and came up to the glass to say hello. Check out our photos below.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Cameron's all-time favourite are the red pandas but he also loves the elephants. We were lucky enough to catch the 'elephant encounter' talk which was so interesting. We learned that elephant tusks are extensions of their incisor</span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"> teeth that never stop growing and baby elephants don't know what their trunks are for when they're born and learn through experimenting and watching older elephants to learn what they're useful for. We watched the keepers feed two of Colchester Zoo's four elephants - Tanya and Opal - who you can see in the photos below.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Here are some of the photos we took during our trip:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71UJgD1KHHwk5pGvfvoKH4FE7TxprVOHTeoYdIxf4ilXNNusTCiYQkhXwyOX7zgGPF6y8s7xphcHSN25e88dy78AGp7M-51o97yHjtxqSF2K4mm2NuD_2QbWOyiFa0KegAqcuDzKwx5BvkmyAzyP5BkHjJJh972mbE4fzhf1ya9tzyQ1188aUczXy_bXL/s2365/IMG_5374.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2365" data-original-width="1774" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71UJgD1KHHwk5pGvfvoKH4FE7TxprVOHTeoYdIxf4ilXNNusTCiYQkhXwyOX7zgGPF6y8s7xphcHSN25e88dy78AGp7M-51o97yHjtxqSF2K4mm2NuD_2QbWOyiFa0KegAqcuDzKwx5BvkmyAzyP5BkHjJJh972mbE4fzhf1ya9tzyQ1188aUczXy_bXL/w480-h640/IMG_5374.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5M8u-XwvGvuJMNFSZlAywCQrNe-IyYD2p_xT99H8N7_JSUtaF_8pRoBwpuBVh0SDHHVkHlj1PRVmZofgYrVUGvDcFeJiEROTkTgIDZUxHrRUrAorKnGBn9QMkoU34waAq7wrPnu9LgPnxbZv9MiXMOkwG8XGIaKI6brw6s3aqrNL16kqlwTpNRlgiwUp/s2849/IMG_5377.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2849" data-original-width="2137" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5M8u-XwvGvuJMNFSZlAywCQrNe-IyYD2p_xT99H8N7_JSUtaF_8pRoBwpuBVh0SDHHVkHlj1PRVmZofgYrVUGvDcFeJiEROTkTgIDZUxHrRUrAorKnGBn9QMkoU34waAq7wrPnu9LgPnxbZv9MiXMOkwG8XGIaKI6brw6s3aqrNL16kqlwTpNRlgiwUp/w480-h640/IMG_5377.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAPHQk5zXkAm95uqNlAdkfH4GlxgbOHsmqeJ0V_b8QrqxLkfxrHXjF060hoYMk9n77M9V6kNNIC74VOOUfs4TWlFSihUx_TkaT9OOQShwu9mmLMGgE8ZGWzhiRg0VCbmHV5yaZl-rXEajlAhE76Ahc44S6y-z13vcPu84Q6ZAe_wYlt9i1GhQZ_oH-dKh/s3112/IMG_5380.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3112" data-original-width="2334" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAPHQk5zXkAm95uqNlAdkfH4GlxgbOHsmqeJ0V_b8QrqxLkfxrHXjF060hoYMk9n77M9V6kNNIC74VOOUfs4TWlFSihUx_TkaT9OOQShwu9mmLMGgE8ZGWzhiRg0VCbmHV5yaZl-rXEajlAhE76Ahc44S6y-z13vcPu84Q6ZAe_wYlt9i1GhQZ_oH-dKh/w480-h640/IMG_5380.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgMZp2Aqzry9htpv-ts9zHMOA22E9UFckXFkoi7QZH4ka9NTu7sVSy-9Ces-xcPJ5HpdIkBvjYjIIlCQGYkdqBDXIt1QVbMkm_7vFfWlkpfvJv7q1qVD8REiP5xd53HdjN6pkT0Sl-hX2u9G-2RcUXKXJLPbmKIrDlchswu6Hh2GZeeTEzd5ngo7f713q/s3030/IMG_5382.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3030" data-original-width="2272" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgMZp2Aqzry9htpv-ts9zHMOA22E9UFckXFkoi7QZH4ka9NTu7sVSy-9Ces-xcPJ5HpdIkBvjYjIIlCQGYkdqBDXIt1QVbMkm_7vFfWlkpfvJv7q1qVD8REiP5xd53HdjN6pkT0Sl-hX2u9G-2RcUXKXJLPbmKIrDlchswu6Hh2GZeeTEzd5ngo7f713q/w480-h640/IMG_5382.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEVKyFCmqS7VD6cDPKPza_k4g9eRargVgod0mhCNBB5f1n71C8bMvlYCLZg0Uf0lSOGUu8HEp96X_onLFSDrMHejBMVv3ON9Ml682LkJN1BctiNE5xW9FXmQStFdGqXINeUd9X7VqUNVUTrGLP8_cMxZsjOaFwoadC3kCSM6PFQ0_77Qg9Rb4hbr3AIaP/s3207/IMG_5385.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3207" data-original-width="2405" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEVKyFCmqS7VD6cDPKPza_k4g9eRargVgod0mhCNBB5f1n71C8bMvlYCLZg0Uf0lSOGUu8HEp96X_onLFSDrMHejBMVv3ON9Ml682LkJN1BctiNE5xW9FXmQStFdGqXINeUd9X7VqUNVUTrGLP8_cMxZsjOaFwoadC3kCSM6PFQ0_77Qg9Rb4hbr3AIaP/w480-h640/IMG_5385.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hYaIvwxDve1A1jt_DegP_BK6Q0xVtyY5H0LxjkRsNYYosnWKLJGHbr875PXxM7wpz_KwJ2OYsJPXY19E8-pmmHOTT_ogpO20WNxyAOsim0DVkLxkO0DybaYXq2ptoBCyPsCbUrBwfsOr_jIUR4S8YfLIYs8Nj2KKuJ4x_EF1gB_cJBzLk8qWrQITaP2X/s4032/IMG_5388.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hYaIvwxDve1A1jt_DegP_BK6Q0xVtyY5H0LxjkRsNYYosnWKLJGHbr875PXxM7wpz_KwJ2OYsJPXY19E8-pmmHOTT_ogpO20WNxyAOsim0DVkLxkO0DybaYXq2ptoBCyPsCbUrBwfsOr_jIUR4S8YfLIYs8Nj2KKuJ4x_EF1gB_cJBzLk8qWrQITaP2X/w480-h640/IMG_5388.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkfStcPhAokUQPrw4uylEGIW-SwJSpwkE9SBYda0S_XpmvDWakyZ9t-yb4bdkezuG8LoZBNn5luoGzsudd9Oo4c_H4UCodSULZQemhYk5Y8WHs0c5RQxHW4xltllHGuYxKdi_kYo9tAcVX5Tmm5s9Gouk1dSzj3d_fdNZmoWCyVGlZHWuzI1DUXw4z1AJ/s2986/IMG_5391.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2986" data-original-width="2240" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkfStcPhAokUQPrw4uylEGIW-SwJSpwkE9SBYda0S_XpmvDWakyZ9t-yb4bdkezuG8LoZBNn5luoGzsudd9Oo4c_H4UCodSULZQemhYk5Y8WHs0c5RQxHW4xltllHGuYxKdi_kYo9tAcVX5Tmm5s9Gouk1dSzj3d_fdNZmoWCyVGlZHWuzI1DUXw4z1AJ/w480-h640/IMG_5391.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkm3r2oXPYfrF4a8wmfuK0I3tpbT2fjO4MZXFYPwC1upEbkzXmrEtMcPsSsQL57eBrPk8WX0cn35SAXw_FYiNGljfbMOwZxxq-MBJxE9T3y2u9NYFhCgBA7WqupndJWVzTeJ1mdr5wd8QpTUENBOi57sFrzqKhQZLwkJkldTyxAw5WNCdkyAw2bYVqCDL/s4032/IMG_5397.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkm3r2oXPYfrF4a8wmfuK0I3tpbT2fjO4MZXFYPwC1upEbkzXmrEtMcPsSsQL57eBrPk8WX0cn35SAXw_FYiNGljfbMOwZxxq-MBJxE9T3y2u9NYFhCgBA7WqupndJWVzTeJ1mdr5wd8QpTUENBOi57sFrzqKhQZLwkJkldTyxAw5WNCdkyAw2bYVqCDL/w480-h640/IMG_5397.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddN5ubJe_o7xq8sZlK2zI4JAJyAR6yWFsytu7gj4oSSRer08pdKexlAvk6W8QfVYwkLZ7CHn51l57Mkx9DClYBOXz_h0RSTVye91FDIkPE6O2B8jAhe6qyytxfD19WVWbRDIzJpXBtHTPXteoKDDKkSn2K0ZY64g7RkFYUyGjlwk29El0eVdHPCwOhq-W/s2574/IMG_5401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2574" data-original-width="1930" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddN5ubJe_o7xq8sZlK2zI4JAJyAR6yWFsytu7gj4oSSRer08pdKexlAvk6W8QfVYwkLZ7CHn51l57Mkx9DClYBOXz_h0RSTVye91FDIkPE6O2B8jAhe6qyytxfD19WVWbRDIzJpXBtHTPXteoKDDKkSn2K0ZY64g7RkFYUyGjlwk29El0eVdHPCwOhq-W/w480-h640/IMG_5401.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZkhdkUxcaBCe6gCw6oMrH86wOsDwha5DHW4GsZh86DN356izIUSHjjnvPX6dN42V8AGb53CqGdTl2vYS561aM_-tlr3tqmfLP6ycLWlSAHpjTz7z0OV2FyLHXlXC61mUpouLUp6qRMPeqrE8-c9SLDbUCFQH6tqEX9wL-LzK-YzDMYfmrPIHAmXN0PMA/s3510/IMG_5409.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3510" data-original-width="2632" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZkhdkUxcaBCe6gCw6oMrH86wOsDwha5DHW4GsZh86DN356izIUSHjjnvPX6dN42V8AGb53CqGdTl2vYS561aM_-tlr3tqmfLP6ycLWlSAHpjTz7z0OV2FyLHXlXC61mUpouLUp6qRMPeqrE8-c9SLDbUCFQH6tqEX9wL-LzK-YzDMYfmrPIHAmXN0PMA/w480-h640/IMG_5409.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAL9z_vNV2GahYDLpu_-aI1SmD17UFk8cBiKNUbAPG-sqeUD6zpNv61RQmi2mtAktHlyDuwP4UADvt2o2bjjtaZRD9qRb6IViXtSU_yN5lnzK6WTgKaTAOTpAg7luvnyBbPdbCE6dJ3lfbl1LM6Z0hY2K2BSVQFYXw_FQNGmsWec96HxIU_cCH-Uy-4iV/s3708/IMG_5410.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3708" data-original-width="2781" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAL9z_vNV2GahYDLpu_-aI1SmD17UFk8cBiKNUbAPG-sqeUD6zpNv61RQmi2mtAktHlyDuwP4UADvt2o2bjjtaZRD9qRb6IViXtSU_yN5lnzK6WTgKaTAOTpAg7luvnyBbPdbCE6dJ3lfbl1LM6Z0hY2K2BSVQFYXw_FQNGmsWec96HxIU_cCH-Uy-4iV/w480-h640/IMG_5410.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKw1hkODythWeCkhW6MtBNhRPMFcXZok-JRQqMKDN2PK_woUaBU3xiycC2BJgan2KLBXn_daDsJ5QNOwqb18Ml9-NXIMWPdZcDHovl5f7bqM60LEeajGtNmVIEVvYHeIqsYNDDnhW2G9eE8gB2HcWW1ims-k4U37DNRi7baGWeulSnz-GZGXE9lP-pj7Q/s4032/IMG_5411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKw1hkODythWeCkhW6MtBNhRPMFcXZok-JRQqMKDN2PK_woUaBU3xiycC2BJgan2KLBXn_daDsJ5QNOwqb18Ml9-NXIMWPdZcDHovl5f7bqM60LEeajGtNmVIEVvYHeIqsYNDDnhW2G9eE8gB2HcWW1ims-k4U37DNRi7baGWeulSnz-GZGXE9lP-pj7Q/w480-h640/IMG_5411.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We did see lots of other amazing animals but some were hard to take photos of so we just enjoyed the moment of seeing them. For example, a red panda came out of his little house for food and then nipped back inside several times, the orangutans were playing under hessian sacks so wouldn't have been seen in photos and the chimps were mostly sleeping.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">It was a wonderful day out and so lovely to support the care of these animals both at Colchester Zoo and with charity donations to various projects in the wild.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you want to visit Colchester Zoo, you can book your tickets online <a href="https://www.colchester-zoo.com/plan-your-visit/tickets/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. It's currently their 60th anniversary so there are different things going on to celebrate too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you would like to show your support for the work that Colchester Zoo do, you can make a donation, book an experience day or adopt and animal <a href="https://www.colchester-zoo.com/support-us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Have you visited Colchester Zoo? What is your favourite animal there?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXphYygtx5A4Uso7bqy1X3eJwoHO5qzAklpsteFl1hmJ6HrNobZRGsFRIU2R5jgI4-DXZdEMPNm58MTJ_PpQ9b1Kkay-pU7kVw3XIst7o8Tp06cbrE4ob1CjTCPFlBjKwYWX_5cP0PDhQWgqgQ2Mtj6uBFpnaysva3KM6wJvTen3e1eIvTRz9yg0lXjLxx/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXphYygtx5A4Uso7bqy1X3eJwoHO5qzAklpsteFl1hmJ6HrNobZRGsFRIU2R5jgI4-DXZdEMPNm58MTJ_PpQ9b1Kkay-pU7kVw3XIst7o8Tp06cbrE4ob1CjTCPFlBjKwYWX_5cP0PDhQWgqgQ2Mtj6uBFpnaysva3KM6wJvTen3e1eIvTRz9yg0lXjLxx/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></span></a></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-65059226902840420112023-08-24T10:00:00.239+01:002023-08-24T10:00:00.130+01:00How I Stay Organised: The Positive Teacher Company Planner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_Arhjlm-kYuuzdta6NShA3OIqEZoNkAEmV-1FnniOnxahx5qSQqk8MNtiemsy9MIdHXWR0BU89f4_UBtMG9CVBAapmcf0P2wrhJReS1t4ZS0I8WXTCiCNzPpHkKxBsTo9dAEggfnepe3AewtOBz5TJNAFXSP4ts064zZpq7CFP6nmBkhoRXcW8wO4zXw/s1280/8EAAA401-306E-42CC-AC4B-6B149ED10411.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_Arhjlm-kYuuzdta6NShA3OIqEZoNkAEmV-1FnniOnxahx5qSQqk8MNtiemsy9MIdHXWR0BU89f4_UBtMG9CVBAapmcf0P2wrhJReS1t4ZS0I8WXTCiCNzPpHkKxBsTo9dAEggfnepe3AewtOBz5TJNAFXSP4ts064zZpq7CFP6nmBkhoRXcW8wO4zXw/s16000/8EAAA401-306E-42CC-AC4B-6B149ED10411.PNG" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">In general, I like to be organised, but I like to be especially organised when it comes to teaching. There are lots of things I do to keep myself on track, from to-do lists to a long term timetable on my laptop that can be changed and added to easily during the school day. However, there is one key item that keeps me on track and organised in school: <b>my teacher planner from The Positive Teacher Company</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Going into the 2023-2024 academic year, I am about to start using my third teacher planner from this incredible company. In this post, I will show you the planners I've had and talk about why I love them so much, from their weekly planning pages to their beautiful design options.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I first came across The Positive Teacher Company in late 2020, when I was working as a teaching assistant with a dream of becoming a teacher. They were releasing their new designs and I looked at every single one with heart eyes. Luckily, after my interview in January 2021, I was accepted into my teacher training programme and what was the first thing I did? Order myself a teacher planner for my school-based placement.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">My first planner for the 2021-2022 academic year was '<b>Rainbow</b>':</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHxCCS_yqszlvGnSxykqPUtJLN0yHADNo-rmsmO9tgOYJMit0jXzrwZHvNjnpeYGhd9-uiYJx-BXq8M2zR1h8P0t-SeWKpKqXnIWyFVOBl02h2_tE-LAy4571Hj0XQSaiOUveOAA-24oa5l2wsHgpbyKofLqGJsHy5PyLC2gVCM-tQkAuhig8xmUPv7nu/s2048/Eqt1I1zXUAAxPhA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHxCCS_yqszlvGnSxykqPUtJLN0yHADNo-rmsmO9tgOYJMit0jXzrwZHvNjnpeYGhd9-uiYJx-BXq8M2zR1h8P0t-SeWKpKqXnIWyFVOBl02h2_tE-LAy4571Hj0XQSaiOUveOAA-24oa5l2wsHgpbyKofLqGJsHy5PyLC2gVCM-tQkAuhig8xmUPv7nu/w640-h640/Eqt1I1zXUAAxPhA.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>Choosing this first design, created by Nutmeg and Arlo, was a no-brainer for me. I wanted something bright, positive (like their company name would suggest) and colourful. This was also one of their charity designs, meaning a portion of the money would go to Tree of Hope.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">The following year, for my first academic year as a qualified teacher, I went for the '<b>Midnight Adventure</b>' design:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLUh0B6qlXH7kYwR1lbNn2bDKPCr89llE0jw4vMt9X01HIZu6XUGqa_T2-IAdO4DKiSQA2xEiHLr9hQcisAV1cMsuvzdKEqaTgurvYE53zAWtXcFibvebcsaXygf6mdMSHGpl3oeNuseSxcLvIAzm1PT9BQQbV8yejSCfzNuA5DTdRphLOYTKvxm8DOL1/s1080/FKNSzqnXMAMQ0b9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLUh0B6qlXH7kYwR1lbNn2bDKPCr89llE0jw4vMt9X01HIZu6XUGqa_T2-IAdO4DKiSQA2xEiHLr9hQcisAV1cMsuvzdKEqaTgurvYE53zAWtXcFibvebcsaXygf6mdMSHGpl3oeNuseSxcLvIAzm1PT9BQQbV8yejSCfzNuA5DTdRphLOYTKvxm8DOL1/w640-h640/FKNSzqnXMAMQ0b9.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div>This was very different to the previous year's design choice but as well as colourful rainbows, I'm a sucker for stars. This one was just so magical that I had to go for it. It was an instant favourite as soon as I saw it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then, ready for 2023-2024, I went for another Nutmeg and Arlo design called '<b>Good Vibes</b>':</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqwthdEBT1QkfUmW_k2G8qdJC-WiwaWfnt4YKnkpL917xy45xqeZMN6SUnapjRokLrPSXCBMB4l5rvt_S8AhGlyjMapgIZ5GicIpF1I3vRAtqsVGY_zeg7tKPKymvH6WL9ZVU5O_7_WF4kpvk81NHa2PQNnZ9OQwvXnlxvyesV2y_38pNjcj9lUdFs-pb/s763/good%20vibes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="763" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqwthdEBT1QkfUmW_k2G8qdJC-WiwaWfnt4YKnkpL917xy45xqeZMN6SUnapjRokLrPSXCBMB4l5rvt_S8AhGlyjMapgIZ5GicIpF1I3vRAtqsVGY_zeg7tKPKymvH6WL9ZVU5O_7_WF4kpvk81NHa2PQNnZ9OQwvXnlxvyesV2y_38pNjcj9lUdFs-pb/w640-h640/good%20vibes.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">After my first planner, I'm sure you can tell why I went for this one. It's bright, colourful and covered in cute, positive little words and quotes. There are also rainbows as a nod to my training year planner. I get to look at those little rainbows and think about how far I've come. This was also another charity design, with a donation going to Education Support, which I have personally used in the past.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This design wasn't an easy decision though. I also fell in love with their 'Starry Sky' planner. But I had a choice to make and in the end I got the best of both worlds when I ordered this starry gem of a pattern as a hardback notebook. Win-win!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA03OGeGnroFsoP-8LRL_E9CoP8X4XL_aFGGkLaj7G829FaCDjlro71XUe6cVfERdA_ioLrQqv4REdlMYOD4FTU15juWKAYHeyfC7cFfZd_myNX35X_FQm7g6fxEyIj74gDS_DwW4jz1uG-OQunKEg-L_KKHlBL5NcTsb5xPd5Tqm58S-L3DR9Iz7tj9xS/s1080/48_63392926-fd04-4ef8-bd5a-0dbbae0d230c.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA03OGeGnroFsoP-8LRL_E9CoP8X4XL_aFGGkLaj7G829FaCDjlro71XUe6cVfERdA_ioLrQqv4REdlMYOD4FTU15juWKAYHeyfC7cFfZd_myNX35X_FQm7g6fxEyIj74gDS_DwW4jz1uG-OQunKEg-L_KKHlBL5NcTsb5xPd5Tqm58S-L3DR9Iz7tj9xS/w640-h640/48_63392926-fd04-4ef8-bd5a-0dbbae0d230c.webp" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you want to look at this year's designs, you can find them on their website <a href="https://thepositiveteachercompany.co.uk/collections/all-teacher-planners" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">There are plenty of extras too, such as pen loops and washi tape so check them out too if you are buying a planner of any kind.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Now, let's get into what makes this inside of these planners so special. I'll mainly be talking about the newest, current planner layout and features but they have all been similar, the newest ones do have a few extras though. </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I could talk about these planners for ages, but I'll narrow it down and talk about a few favourite points:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Username and Passwords Page</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I am pretty rubbish when it comes to remembering all my usernames and passwords for various websites and systems, so it's great to have a page to put all of that information. I referred back to that page the most during my first ECT year and I know it will continue to be a useful feature.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>Trackers Galore!</b></div><div>There are great tracker pages for personal things, such as habits, annual goals and wellbeing. I have already filled in my weekly wellbeing review target as it started on 7th August. My goal this year is to take time to read for pleasure every day. I will usually do this before bed but it's good to have a way of tracking this. I like that there are personal touches in this planner and that it's not all school related.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>Useful Finds Log</b></div><div>Another section that I used a lot in my first ECT year was keeping a log of useful books, websites, apps, social media accounts, blogs and podcasts. As soon as anyone mentioned a person, a website or an app, they were written in my planner. I now have a good list of resources to look back over for ideas.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>Books I've Read This Year</b></div><div>A new addition to the 2023-2024 planner is a cute illustrated page to track books that you've read during the year. It's something I've seen some teachers do in their classrooms before but it's nice to have a personal one in my planner.</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div><b>Be Proud</b></div><div>There are two pages to note down positive feedback and those special "WOW" moments throughout the academic year. It will be nice to fill these in and look back over them when things feel tough. It's important to remember those moments that make us proud and know that we are making a difference.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Best Bit: Weekly Planner Pages</b></div><div>The bit that kept me so organised and on track last year was the weekly double page spread section. It has a view of the whole school week, with each day broken down into six boxes (plus extra boxes for before and after school) which allows me to block out my lessons more clearly. I tend to do this in pencil as things change all the time in schools, so I can just rub things out and move it around. Each weekly double page also has a space for notes and a to-do list.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Staff Meeting </b><b>Notetaking</b></div><div>I like being able to make notes during staff meetings all in one place, so this part of the planner is great for me. It is obviously completely up to you how you take notes in meetings, but I prefer to have everything in one place. Although, if it's a series of meetings on a particular topic, I'll be using my starry sky notebook instead.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Keeping Records</b></div><div>The record pages at the very back of the planner are also a firm favourite of mine. Last year, I used these pages to keep track of when I'd listened to children read, who had been given certificates and so on. However, the most useful way I used it was to keep track of children's writing in English and maths units. This helped me when discussing these subjects at parents evenings and in reports.</div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">If you want to see inside the planner in full, you can watch the video below from The Positive Teacher Company's YouTube channel:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/muu3NN2QJvU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>If you're a teacher, or a trainee, do you have a planner from The Positive Teacher Company? What is your favourite of their current designs on their <a href="https://thepositiveteachercompany.co.uk/collections/all-teacher-planners" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe7l6MXtMJ6RA5Yx3UnhEbNcmp6s5atlHlRAKU-NDEsXTIjnk4TT76URos2g0459h9_O5j1yIN6_aHX8Nn0ZVJFcUpQW-SKD8PzKLuvkdR6_MtcRf6ZjKKcy-wKwx5U9UYKghkMW1Oh7p_Z8dDXpVQf6pSongPAlx82tcoFqsmVUmJUeS0kvVnDfICam8/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe7l6MXtMJ6RA5Yx3UnhEbNcmp6s5atlHlRAKU-NDEsXTIjnk4TT76URos2g0459h9_O5j1yIN6_aHX8Nn0ZVJFcUpQW-SKD8PzKLuvkdR6_MtcRf6ZjKKcy-wKwx5U9UYKghkMW1Oh7p_Z8dDXpVQf6pSongPAlx82tcoFqsmVUmJUeS0kvVnDfICam8/s1600/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div></span></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-72722026177229459872023-08-21T10:00:00.004+01:002024-03-24T18:15:58.717+00:00Reading Update: What I've Read Recently<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmtTcHnPLIgTiOtn2d19iTe1KKkNmwCWAF7Popi5I6GqSeB0d-O-j7dW-eBbqQwnAirF5KuOTfOza8NXDRYAoiX-Hzn5dvZenv2xj0ZEI6Hvzw5PsB-G0qGH29Wzy8BVVWx1mc3aWBzheWYpqmVo-gdf8rm_iJL4i2LPXAoLOVhohvzCS81AXN9f9mKP8/s1280/595C86C4-6021-466F-9790-62C138115D9B.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmtTcHnPLIgTiOtn2d19iTe1KKkNmwCWAF7Popi5I6GqSeB0d-O-j7dW-eBbqQwnAirF5KuOTfOza8NXDRYAoiX-Hzn5dvZenv2xj0ZEI6Hvzw5PsB-G0qGH29Wzy8BVVWx1mc3aWBzheWYpqmVo-gdf8rm_iJL4i2LPXAoLOVhohvzCS81AXN9f9mKP8/s16000/595C86C4-6021-466F-9790-62C138115D9B.PNG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I've finally found a routine to get myself back into reading fully. I've read quite a lot in the past few months, especially since the school year ended. Here are some of the books I've read recently and what I thought of them...</span><br /><p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>My Emma Carroll binge!</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I have read three books by Emma Carroll in the last couple of months, including <i>Secrets of a Sun King</i>, <i>The Tale of Truthwater Lake</i> and <i>The Week at World's End</i>. All three of them have been absolutely incredible, 5-star reads. I have since bought four more of her books and will most likely read them all before the end of 2023. I am also going to try and read an Emma Carroll book with my Year 6 class this coming school year. If you've read books by Emma Carroll, what is your favourite?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><i>Thursday's Child</i> by </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Noel Streatfeild</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This is a book that I've been wanting to read since I was a child but with new releases and so many books to choose from, it kept getting left on the TBR pile. However, I got Cameron to choose my next read from the bookcase earlier this month and this is the one he picked. It was a nice, cosy read during the rainy weather at the start of August and I can definitely see why it's a childhood favourite.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Global </i>by </b></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Eoin Colfer</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This is the first graphic novel I have ever read in full. Until now, I've only flicked through similar books and read a few pages to get a feel for them, but I sat in bed one morning this month and read the whole thing from start to finish. I loved the two perspectives and the message behind the book. Again, it's one I will try to share with my class this coming year. It's such a relevant and powerful book for our time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><i>The Ones That Disappeared</i> by </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Zana Fraillon</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I've read a couple of books by Zana Fraillon before: a picture book and another novel. This book was incredibly hard-hitting as it deals with the subject of human trafficking and slavery, with this story following a group of children who escape their captor. As hard as it was to read in parts, I couldn't put it down. I think I read the whole book in three sittings. It's definitely worth a read!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane </i>by Kate DiCamillo</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This was a reread but I adore this book. I read it to my Year 3 class last month after telling them it was one of my favourite books ever. They were all so invested in the story of Edward and his journey. I hoped for a great reaction to the ending of the book and I certainly got it. The room filled with gasps and a couple of children even cried. I feel like this is a book that I will reread regularly for years to come.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Ghost </i>by Jason Reynolds</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I've heard great things about Jason Reynolds' books so I decided to give this one a go. I became very invested in the main character's life very quickly and wanted him to do well. I also got so into the book that I downloaded the audiobook so I could continue "reading" it whilst on the treadmill. It's hard-hitting in parts and deals with some tragic issues but it was brilliantly written. I'd like to read the other books in this series at some point too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><i>How to Kill Your Family</i> by </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Bella Mackie</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Yes, I read an actual adult book. I was surprised too! Cameron read this book a few months back and told me how good it was and he wanted to talk about it with someone. Cameron has recently been sucked into the world of books (I'd like to take some responsibility for that!) and often reads on his Kindle before bed, so I read it to talk with him about it. It was a good book and I like things with a "true crime" feel. It also managed to bring some light and humour to the situation in a clever way throughout the book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>I'm currently reading:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtQyQFt4EZms_HspTfHpS3cHX-TMcgCtFypa0HFIqxn2BEgvWKZ8suiKpUraHNnMH6IAI84ce408aF3A5QIxk1P8xpfcHqNpbFKjmkPVitKry8Y1w2BNMj-XgzCv24WaiSQ6TvNotZQwSJuB_62gtPTwipV8KOpgalx48G2WX18yO66Hn7rKoX3iC3kHC/s1000/919dwbDUlAL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtQyQFt4EZms_HspTfHpS3cHX-TMcgCtFypa0HFIqxn2BEgvWKZ8suiKpUraHNnMH6IAI84ce408aF3A5QIxk1P8xpfcHqNpbFKjmkPVitKry8Y1w2BNMj-XgzCv24WaiSQ6TvNotZQwSJuB_62gtPTwipV8KOpgalx48G2WX18yO66Hn7rKoX3iC3kHC/s320/919dwbDUlAL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I'm reading <i>Once </i>by Morris Gleitzman for two reasons. One, it has been on my TBR list for years, Two, it's the first book I'll be reading with my Year 6 class in September for our World War II topic. I'm only three chapters in and I'm already hooked. It's only around 150 pages long so I'm sure I'll be finished soon, but I'm enjoying Gleitzman's writing so far and reading from Felix's perspective.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Have you read any of these books? Have you got any book recommendations for me?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI52dVwcOJ9I931ikSH2u3ce3zOijVuYiMuuWj7SAehqm_a6U9Ae_IOGoGnUvwiKH-DEtF-KCyyk4hKIl3ApGR9hCLqkokU8mFFxiRtvCvXl5nxaZEBReYWndNpS7iMzIuKMveKdmbuza_uM-eKP1hrzfqmGniCtasybjAjSYo5embMtPcu5Q9Ro5UKlqx/s500/IMG_7098%20cut.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI52dVwcOJ9I931ikSH2u3ce3zOijVuYiMuuWj7SAehqm_a6U9Ae_IOGoGnUvwiKH-DEtF-KCyyk4hKIl3ApGR9hCLqkokU8mFFxiRtvCvXl5nxaZEBReYWndNpS7iMzIuKMveKdmbuza_uM-eKP1hrzfqmGniCtasybjAjSYo5embMtPcu5Q9Ro5UKlqx/s320/IMG_7098%20cut.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-50821424346517691432023-08-17T10:00:00.016+01:002023-08-17T14:19:53.535+01:00New Releases: Scholastic Picture Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlmsMbu8TVKhtvPQyjW09p5UzAsx2VTAVu1YY7VLQiBKxSEKI8D6DaRSEZCOPa3ExJx6pJHP7RZA4Ef7KkzBtbhIYTgNkITo0_uVnuifvzzqEsc1_fYESOeIbvxbhrE7yZA82QF-Cnbz6yPngnnsZRFJROP8XYZvuoJRujjwv5AgayYvushTlT9JcIfvW/s1280/0D738D04-5696-4296-8FF2-3B455572B94C.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlmsMbu8TVKhtvPQyjW09p5UzAsx2VTAVu1YY7VLQiBKxSEKI8D6DaRSEZCOPa3ExJx6pJHP7RZA4Ef7KkzBtbhIYTgNkITo0_uVnuifvzzqEsc1_fYESOeIbvxbhrE7yZA82QF-Cnbz6yPngnnsZRFJROP8XYZvuoJRujjwv5AgayYvushTlT9JcIfvW/s16000/0D738D04-5696-4296-8FF2-3B455572B94C.PNG" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">There have been some amazing picture book releases over the last few months and I have noticed that Scholastic are behind a lot of them. Today, I thought I would share some of my favourite Scholastic releases from May to August. I was originally going to do a "top five" but I couldn't narrow it down past eight! So, here they are...</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7Pgkd36juc4A2MTRXOg2lHj2sviueSW0P1xa1Il2SzI3w6QoosEWFueyhdcTS5YiXBshC-_X1756fmyEGCZKqiBoLmUZTzSvnxc0cZhquBB3oGxo3JP_VG609QJJlXRsDKfS4nt-zG0650asY0CStP9Gd-LVLIZCWNJBqijPz5pWNqyickqm0QRjdiDl/s1407/81ZpPCEY1dL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1407" data-original-width="1287" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7Pgkd36juc4A2MTRXOg2lHj2sviueSW0P1xa1Il2SzI3w6QoosEWFueyhdcTS5YiXBshC-_X1756fmyEGCZKqiBoLmUZTzSvnxc0cZhquBB3oGxo3JP_VG609QJJlXRsDKfS4nt-zG0650asY0CStP9Gd-LVLIZCWNJBqijPz5pWNqyickqm0QRjdiDl/w366-h400/81ZpPCEY1dL.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Animal Explorers: Ivy the Bug Hunter</i> by Sharon Rentta</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Let's start with an animal book! This book is part of a series and I'd like to get my hands on the other books soon, as this is the first one I've read. <i>Ivy the Bug Hunter </i>is a great book for young children and would be great in an Early Years or Key Stage 1 school setting, especially for those children interested in science or for the topic of minibeasts. I've already imagined it being used to hook children into doing a bug safari! Sharon Rentta's illustrations are beautiful and detailed too. I also love the non-fiction element at the end of the book that talks about real scientists.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCGBmaC1G5yKtEWe_GmXtKt2Or8ejiJDQ-4EKB_NUCVPL7jvrjtGUVQZE-xSt1kyJigzcwjtOYRfJ3Uf8KG6UiEwYBIJbi7ZWI9QdUaWlHuAvCbkwk0PHU6LR9v8PtwKu6Vhxkh7PwhzvRaxpIg20sioLwVwrm9Mh7n-EYhY00rbaTcYlBO9NJ14kho29/s2560/201597-ml-2117939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2287" data-original-width="2560" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCGBmaC1G5yKtEWe_GmXtKt2Or8ejiJDQ-4EKB_NUCVPL7jvrjtGUVQZE-xSt1kyJigzcwjtOYRfJ3Uf8KG6UiEwYBIJbi7ZWI9QdUaWlHuAvCbkwk0PHU6LR9v8PtwKu6Vhxkh7PwhzvRaxpIg20sioLwVwrm9Mh7n-EYhY00rbaTcYlBO9NJ14kho29/w400-h358/201597-ml-2117939.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Bears Don't Share!</i> by Lorna Scobie</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">With this book, I was immediately drawn in my the incredible artwork by author-illustrator Lorna Scobie. The cover is just utterly beautiful, as are the images inside! <i>Bears Don't Share </i>is a great book for young children about sharing and thinking of others. Again, I imagine this will be a great one for schools with the PSHE link of kindness and building relationships, along with science for hibernation. It's a book with a great message as well as being a great story. This book gives me cosy autumn vibes too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xP3535aQFnAB2lANwP_JJ29FNK6K4pP9Kctd7yJSKkETwWwDQyDcwzXNkOy8xLtcddx_bf4SSR2oMviWPLWl713deuSSfUOl5wiPPMzSCZ7jV6-93-gszzawD0Es_BqnHASo4b8rm8annjxe2FppR3m94Z46YeFAQeNWctY_KHYVEjhYGmUS2XgKhMJK/s982/A1-GSK8ElDL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="894" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xP3535aQFnAB2lANwP_JJ29FNK6K4pP9Kctd7yJSKkETwWwDQyDcwzXNkOy8xLtcddx_bf4SSR2oMviWPLWl713deuSSfUOl5wiPPMzSCZ7jV6-93-gszzawD0Es_BqnHASo4b8rm8annjxe2FppR3m94Z46YeFAQeNWctY_KHYVEjhYGmUS2XgKhMJK/w364-h400/A1-GSK8ElDL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="364" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>The Frog's Kiss</i> by James Mayhew and Toto</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This book immediately gave me <i>Julian is a Mermaid </i>vibes, so if you liked that then I think you'll love this. <i>The Frog's Kiss </i>is an LGBTQ+ retelling of the story of <i>The Frog Prince</i>. In this version, the frog goes in search of a kiss from a prince rather than a princess. This is another beautiful book with an important, inclusive message. It would be a great picture book to share with children of any age. This book was made even better when I realised it was written and illustrated by a husband duo. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next!</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnb_gb4K1qw7pFi7KDEPrvjjXeK0wWvyyTBLAYb4ZV34oaTAyQXE5WuO8cuIyw0sGMABQ2ndGaLpYWT8cZIwhQBSt8_C9r_EwdITdTyWHCH6M7Xk3rkQdtseHeQ87eO1VlAHVrHeBpj9IvNbTviESmcgWwSn-6noR-TAIHmlIY8iJgyso7ZZDV-4nipDb/s1373/710my8VlxqL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1373" data-original-width="1318" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnb_gb4K1qw7pFi7KDEPrvjjXeK0wWvyyTBLAYb4ZV34oaTAyQXE5WuO8cuIyw0sGMABQ2ndGaLpYWT8cZIwhQBSt8_C9r_EwdITdTyWHCH6M7Xk3rkQdtseHeQ87eO1VlAHVrHeBpj9IvNbTviESmcgWwSn-6noR-TAIHmlIY8iJgyso7ZZDV-4nipDb/w384-h400/710my8VlxqL.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Going to Big School </i>by Laura Sieveking and Danielle McDonald</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">What a perfect book for children who are about to start primary school! <i>Going to Big School </i>is great when it comes to considering different emotions children may be feeling when starting school for the first time. We meet Ava, who is very excited, and Jack, who is a little scared, and with kindness and respect Ava helps Jack enjoy school. Laura Sieveking does a great job of conveying these emotions through her writing and Danielle McDonald's illustrations are bright and colourful. I'd definitely recommend this book to new school starters for September.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aJHUQMjC9KdX1eUn8oWT1hVKWTWyXL1sljnZG0CYTuLjBgITI9C0flqyHeHspUKTSxLtHyw1tpIHN-m_MRlnblFo_80eTKEaCE8sYNB0h-I2Jy0dyNFl9gV7nz6Vp7YvPXESft-7J60V05A5rvN0BJ3YwIsTXeQGcawRDS3S8-va5iAm4z31TFMTeug7/s2560/209505-ml-2154377.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aJHUQMjC9KdX1eUn8oWT1hVKWTWyXL1sljnZG0CYTuLjBgITI9C0flqyHeHspUKTSxLtHyw1tpIHN-m_MRlnblFo_80eTKEaCE8sYNB0h-I2Jy0dyNFl9gV7nz6Vp7YvPXESft-7J60V05A5rvN0BJ3YwIsTXeQGcawRDS3S8-va5iAm4z31TFMTeug7/w363-h400/209505-ml-2154377.jpg" width="363" /></a></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>My Tree</i> by Amy Sparkes and Fiona Lumbers</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This is one of the most visually stunning and heart-warming books I have ever come across. It tells a beautiful tale of a little girl's connection with a tree that has always been there for her... but then it's gone. Recounting this child's relationship with nature and how she came to rely on this tree for comfort and adventure is just so pure. Amy Sparkes' writing captures the girl's emotions perfectly and the illustrations from Fiona Lumbers are some of the prettiest I've ever seen. </span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I would honestly put this up there with one of my favourite picture books of all time.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uHo1pyM20GNHoG7wH45zztiESJiUl8ty9Kz2_oRBdAzNT_qH_r7biSTq_TRla4VMbyVkCwtjo2ydTdPt4BfIKHdQt6uxyJ5ZnpYYgeeixmlpRVa46tNrujsPkHGHwHpLKUo2HBeLEO0-hb-txAJM9eYguzlEgyK1WBHJb1sEV97NQp7ywU621EzqMXkM/s1600/71EvhSdGYML._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uHo1pyM20GNHoG7wH45zztiESJiUl8ty9Kz2_oRBdAzNT_qH_r7biSTq_TRla4VMbyVkCwtjo2ydTdPt4BfIKHdQt6uxyJ5ZnpYYgeeixmlpRVa46tNrujsPkHGHwHpLKUo2HBeLEO0-hb-txAJM9eYguzlEgyK1WBHJb1sEV97NQp7ywU621EzqMXkM/w400-h254/71EvhSdGYML._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Rita & Ralph's Rotten Day</i> by Carmen Agra Deedy and Pete Oswald</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This is a fantastic book for teaching children about conflict and resolution, which is something I still cover with eleven-year-olds so it would be a great read for children of any age. Our characters, Rita and Ralph, are good friends and love playing together but when a game goes wrong, it causes an argument. Carmen Agra Deedy talks through the conflict-resolution procedure in an understandable, relatable way. The stunning illustrations are courtesy of the incredible, bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald too.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPy7eSti7tcfXkcAPsJ2GLbi8UkRygGXH_CNa5IZFiWdQKxi2-7oVW92KnPSLo4sah1tVFQVkKrMMCgVxausxko4v28bTVaHiNQnFsM0PKqipecq0TAeoeATH7fXDvABr7sqUPPbhx_DgujpFv7WeG0CFgf1J0d6FjfK6bB6UOQFTc0O_svk9SVCiL_BB/s2560/91-mYJLclxL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPy7eSti7tcfXkcAPsJ2GLbi8UkRygGXH_CNa5IZFiWdQKxi2-7oVW92KnPSLo4sah1tVFQVkKrMMCgVxausxko4v28bTVaHiNQnFsM0PKqipecq0TAeoeATH7fXDvABr7sqUPPbhx_DgujpFv7WeG0CFgf1J0d6FjfK6bB6UOQFTc0O_svk9SVCiL_BB/s320/91-mYJLclxL.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>Shine </i>by Sarah Asuquo and Nadia Fisher</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Here is yet another book that caught my eye due to the insanely beautiful cover. <i>Shine</i> promotes the tagline "Everyone is different, everyone is special" and this book definitely captures that message within its pages. The main character, Kai, experiences bullying and low self-esteem due to being different, which leads him to wishing he was the same as everyone else. Author Sarah Asuquo shows differences in a positive light and this is further illustrated through Nadia Fisher's stunning images. It's a fantastic book; it's inspiring and reflects diversity.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFNsfZoXe_LXaxGGKXY4CxPwrjrkdfWSLDrELMq9vlajyB9ZwQSHyNGY9vt5rriif3pLVbO5OexL2hFQqvosATakRVIY4uuVv09SCdGQ1Lr3UbHm0nVhBseBoto9ZcILCpUBJJjnsdoSy8Vtxv3xgO0BPYIzNFyJ8epJr23h0Nc8qaGTti3atamnh7sl9/s1920/wcc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1745" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFNsfZoXe_LXaxGGKXY4CxPwrjrkdfWSLDrELMq9vlajyB9ZwQSHyNGY9vt5rriif3pLVbO5OexL2hFQqvosATakRVIY4uuVv09SCdGQ1Lr3UbHm0nVhBseBoto9ZcILCpUBJJjnsdoSy8Vtxv3xgO0BPYIzNFyJ8epJr23h0Nc8qaGTti3atamnh7sl9/w364-h400/wcc.jpg" width="364" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><i>When Cookie Crumbled </i>by Michelle Robinson and Tom Knight</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I've saved another favourite until last! I have read all of the books in this duo's collection - <i>When Cucumber Lost His Cool </i>was a particular favourite with my Year 3 class last year. Michelle Robinson writes fantastically funny stories that explore various emotions, making them perfect for children of any age, and Tom Knight's illustrations are the perfect pairing to this. This book covers the feelings of loneliness, self-worth and acceptance as Michael the cookie feels like he can't be himself when he just wants to stand out. A truly brilliant book!</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;">So, there we have it: Some amazing picture books from Scholastic over the past few months. I cannot wait to see what comes out next!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Have you read any of these books? Do you know any other new picture books that you'd recommend?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1hafpvCAJmjUSIJFL3fyelh0klRUytkZ4rgH04xTQaix-cwTo-GOVxZr6hELhbXbENbCEhr4kNx2xKzlQ3Sr73aCT-wS-IsyfptnnystD3QNvQr5xIJnF_0mlRcw6bXmS_-QMCg9LlQ5FL_SmrmBOoYgf62YnsKFuUOmajhj8CN0ENT-_ZFcGfOG1rsK/s500/IMG_7098%20cut.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1hafpvCAJmjUSIJFL3fyelh0klRUytkZ4rgH04xTQaix-cwTo-GOVxZr6hELhbXbENbCEhr4kNx2xKzlQ3Sr73aCT-wS-IsyfptnnystD3QNvQr5xIJnF_0mlRcw6bXmS_-QMCg9LlQ5FL_SmrmBOoYgf62YnsKFuUOmajhj8CN0ENT-_ZFcGfOG1rsK/s320/IMG_7098%20cut.png" width="320" /></a></div></span></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-69105848904763843082023-08-14T10:00:00.004+01:002023-08-17T14:20:29.219+01:00A Weekend in Center Parcs Eleveden Forest<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJhw_uNBWXVu-kX95BVp99k3-5SwR7wTqCHRhSDnjwiSxPegROc2rJKFp-psnfBqsy-Aq2hyz1OiJE5pAoHr5OSnxPRmIitRpbpFjkO0C6ZEmBN_bfMbLEdtzGvfDouQY9qY1L2uSDsg1Au7Kg5u_B241T-V26WsV1S2IIkwkoDP1pP-xDJcFxCoxE3G7/s1280/760C20C1-E9CE-48B4-8D9D-AE8C7C4A93E1.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJhw_uNBWXVu-kX95BVp99k3-5SwR7wTqCHRhSDnjwiSxPegROc2rJKFp-psnfBqsy-Aq2hyz1OiJE5pAoHr5OSnxPRmIitRpbpFjkO0C6ZEmBN_bfMbLEdtzGvfDouQY9qY1L2uSDsg1Au7Kg5u_B241T-V26WsV1S2IIkwkoDP1pP-xDJcFxCoxE3G7/s16000/760C20C1-E9CE-48B4-8D9D-AE8C7C4A93E1.PNG" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">And after saying "I'm back" months ago, I'm actually now getting around to writing some blog posts!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">I think what happened is that I decided to return to blogging, announced it and then realised I didn't know what I wanted to write about. So, after a bit of a busy final term at school and a few weeks of relaxing and planning some posts, I am now writing again.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">In today's post, I'm recapping a recent weekend away to <b>Center Parcs Elveden Forest</b>...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">At the end of July, Cameron and I went on a long weekend trip to Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Suffolk, staying Friday to Monday. We opted to stay in the new Breckland Apartments rather than a woodland lodge as it was just the two of us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07XOeM52x2kmDLELD6FeO9LDtYAkieo1gwssvM-L898oWOsRUaRz-YbzothXbGeWj6zKZA23ngxiCOqxX-4Zbh2Go4bYUsED2UFsvl8UkVOEtwSrze1FcK1MG__avlVAVG9bUcDoUUUr_P83TmzCvez5oOHZPV2dKp-bjsFvMmrxZvpBbcUd_W9S1NB6O/s1280/image.breckland-apartments-exterior-october-2016-ef-01.1570186678879.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1280" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07XOeM52x2kmDLELD6FeO9LDtYAkieo1gwssvM-L898oWOsRUaRz-YbzothXbGeWj6zKZA23ngxiCOqxX-4Zbh2Go4bYUsED2UFsvl8UkVOEtwSrze1FcK1MG__avlVAVG9bUcDoUUUr_P83TmzCvez5oOHZPV2dKp-bjsFvMmrxZvpBbcUd_W9S1NB6O/w640-h366/image.breckland-apartments-exterior-october-2016-ef-01.1570186678879.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47D7ChcQLkGOxDxuYPi3GeaM2tt04_mn4cK8LFEBMKR-voJSMkFkKYC3rdj1u_O0VcooXzey4Vr_wnSQJkUNVjmR2TupHTRYWKVmikChzskrZ68WNb6rRfR7QZX-OVEOs_SR0HpZuh-s3S_ph7WH19C6OMQ-5kej87Bhs2HXuAz9zQfr-sDIHbQe7YC5m/s1280/image.wb-hotel-double-bedroom-01-rt.1570186734828.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1280" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47D7ChcQLkGOxDxuYPi3GeaM2tt04_mn4cK8LFEBMKR-voJSMkFkKYC3rdj1u_O0VcooXzey4Vr_wnSQJkUNVjmR2TupHTRYWKVmikChzskrZ68WNb6rRfR7QZX-OVEOs_SR0HpZuh-s3S_ph7WH19C6OMQ-5kej87Bhs2HXuAz9zQfr-sDIHbQe7YC5m/w640-h366/image.wb-hotel-double-bedroom-01-rt.1570186734828.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />Annoyingly, I didn't take any photos of the inside of the apartment myself. We decided we wanted the break to be as phone-free as possible, so there isn't a huge amount of photos. However, you can watch a video of the apartment accommodation below, where the double room looks identical to the one we stayed in:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1NFUjai1UTU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">After arriving just before check-in time on the Friday, we went to collect our pre-booked bicycles from the Cycle Centre. Pre-booking meant that we were guaranteed a bike each on the day of arrival and we got free bike locks. I would definitely recommend doing this as we watched people turn up on the day to book bikes and there wasn't enough of certain sizes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then we took a slow cycle around the village to get our bearings before heading back to our apartment when check-in time arrived. If you watched the video, you can see that these self-catering apartments are modern, fresh and have everything you need for your stay. We had a ground-floor apartment, giving us a lovely patio area, which we used a lot. I was particularly impressed with the kitchen and bathroom spaces. In the kitchen, we had little luxuries such as a wine cooler and a coffee machine. The bathroom had a great vanity area for getting ready and included a huge mirror and hairdryer. It was clean, comfortable and just what we needed after finishing teaching for the school year!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">This first day was mostly spent riding our bikes around to explore and unpacking our things, before getting ready to go out for dinner. We booked ourselves into Las Iguanas on the Friday night, which we were both excited for as we love Latin American food. I ordered the veggie enchilada and Cameron had the Copacabana burger, plus we shared some nachos. We even had our food delivered to our table by a robot!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cdtY_g7f_L3Y7UMnWfkqXxyWM4KuJ-8kCawYutCpvd2l3-n9Pb06eJY06IC4YSxbsebUteNdzBFsmdr2Bp2d0yIpZGXA11384NTs4Eh9NXbG_fZfIwhxPM2O7ZTV9qE6hWM_IwiSUGd78udbNnZPVUl5vRcEUrgnUTbVrZ_RaurZpS9o_YUiHpaDOl3E/s2048/F97A43C7-428C-4A12-B9D5-60DEC0DCDDA3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cdtY_g7f_L3Y7UMnWfkqXxyWM4KuJ-8kCawYutCpvd2l3-n9Pb06eJY06IC4YSxbsebUteNdzBFsmdr2Bp2d0yIpZGXA11384NTs4Eh9NXbG_fZfIwhxPM2O7ZTV9qE6hWM_IwiSUGd78udbNnZPVUl5vRcEUrgnUTbVrZ_RaurZpS9o_YUiHpaDOl3E/w640-h640/F97A43C7-428C-4A12-B9D5-60DEC0DCDDA3.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />With full stomachs, we headed back to our apartment to relax on the patio and then get some sleep before our breakfast booking the next morning.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">On Saturday, we headed straight for The Pancake House. I kept it pretty basic (but delicious) with their SImply Maple pancakes, while Cameron added bacon to the mix and went for The New Yorker stack.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJCDKwFonSlhBr3WV_lbMIjQMNzRJYfvYfUVQKcqcppgq5REcf7lizrwiksionznOsh4U5m0CZpz0p40rfdd244hg7WdeYxeHhfGjDqH_KcqW4725q-mh9gPdNr_-S2BUi4fzn6WlQoxPbFSkWtd2bRpqUkic6egdAFvauRgMsX1UtP11ZqXYMiL6sOhH/s3024/IMG_5276.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJCDKwFonSlhBr3WV_lbMIjQMNzRJYfvYfUVQKcqcppgq5REcf7lizrwiksionznOsh4U5m0CZpz0p40rfdd244hg7WdeYxeHhfGjDqH_KcqW4725q-mh9gPdNr_-S2BUi4fzn6WlQoxPbFSkWtd2bRpqUkic6egdAFvauRgMsX1UtP11ZqXYMiL6sOhH/w640-h640/IMG_5276.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">After breakfast, we headed to play a round of crazy golf with a pirate theme. We'd only played crazy golf together once before and I won, so I would have to work to keep my crown... Well, long story short: I lost. But I hit some great shots towards the end. It's just a shame this wasn't enough to catch up. Now it's 1-1 so we'll have to have a rematch at some point! The photo of me below was taken at the beginning as I looked a bit grumpier at the end:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfbR24kIfaGRWrfODQfmER9hIeYDMlbTyDEq7JEUsDfloSvecbyieODjNt_6-cx1E9KIMcE8P0P8gpNwFrNE-z7QnysI_I0jzNiLh1VaQS256VBG7wiPR4UV59COGMj4cIEZkfOQbRD-dLkdB0PG5C6_nc-QthhuIW8qgQD6ioIQhMl5IQdabQ9LJvJhT/s2048/Image-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfbR24kIfaGRWrfODQfmER9hIeYDMlbTyDEq7JEUsDfloSvecbyieODjNt_6-cx1E9KIMcE8P0P8gpNwFrNE-z7QnysI_I0jzNiLh1VaQS256VBG7wiPR4UV59COGMj4cIEZkfOQbRD-dLkdB0PG5C6_nc-QthhuIW8qgQD6ioIQhMl5IQdabQ9LJvJhT/w640-h640/Image-1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />To try and redeem myself, we went to play a game of pool... I did no such thing! I hit the ball off the table a few times and potted the black very early in my first game. However, the pool tables were badly positioned, which did spoil it a bit. Our table and the one next to us were very close together and we often had to wait on each other to take our shots. Both tables were also very close to supporting pillars, which made some shots nearly impossible. We did spot a few other tables in much better positions so we must have just draw the short straw, but it wasn't great.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Then, after a little cycle around the outskirts, we headed back to our apartment to have afternoon tea on the patio. I know, so sophisticated! The afternoon tea was an M&S gift box from a friend at school as an end of year gift, but I decided to save it for our trip. We bought some scones and clotted cream - and took the adorable jar of Tiptree jam that was gifted to me by a student in my class - and set up our afternoon tea:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmebMhVRLFk1zzfWUIhzSK2nXKOQl8PbrRbVxHl79-nGDseQxxNPxcmrFdyY9ZMOV-NmDJpkgUy8AM8-FMaGCH0DfYJDU_6ZyPVazz0bVluStycxH1b1-xl0UZ8gNV--LDsQAd4iF6UvpdS5lHMWAi1vNHCIQ9bMc-Ue1AoO89Wf98AAotwwjL6iWX-Vqm/s2811/IMG_5283.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2811" data-original-width="2811" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmebMhVRLFk1zzfWUIhzSK2nXKOQl8PbrRbVxHl79-nGDseQxxNPxcmrFdyY9ZMOV-NmDJpkgUy8AM8-FMaGCH0DfYJDU_6ZyPVazz0bVluStycxH1b1-xl0UZ8gNV--LDsQAd4iF6UvpdS5lHMWAi1vNHCIQ9bMc-Ue1AoO89Wf98AAotwwjL6iWX-Vqm/w640-h640/IMG_5283.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We also had some biscuits and mini shortbread in the giftbox but we knew this would be enough! After a little afternoon nap (I'd eaten too much!) and the rugby (which Cameron watched), we decided to check out the swimming pool. The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is one of the main attractions at Center Parcs. I'm not really one for water slides but I liked the rapids and the wave machine in the main pool. We spent a bit of time in one of the hot tubs but it was just too warm to stay in there for long. The whole pool area is constantly heated to 29.5</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #343331; font-family: Bellota;">°</span><span style="font-family: Bellota;">c, which is nice in the main pool but a little unbearable in the hot tubs if you're already feeling a bit toasty. However, I was brave enough to have a go on one slide before we got out. This was mainly because I refused to go on the Tropical Cyclone, which was described as "gravity-defying". Nope. No, thank you. Cameron wanted to have a go but you can't ride solo. Luckily, a very lovely family had a space and offered to let him go on with them. For this reason, I felt like I needed to at least try it. He picked a slide that he told me would be fine and said I probably wouldn't even go under the water at the end. Dear reader, I did go under the water. My eyes were open because I was unprepared for the end of the slide, I didn't hold my nose in time and my mouth was open and ready to inhale water. Annoyingly, the slide part was fun. It was just the swallowing-half-of-the-pool part that wasn't great.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">When we got back we were lucky enough to see a couple of muntjac deers around our patio area. We had seen them on our bike rides and briefly outside our windows but these two stayed for a while and came so close.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WarJVSR9e3SRaxrwZQCxcrPIh5U7xu0Wvypvqiq5Do6GheBcgdG0iCE5D1AJkRcuP44E3jr1OCGYEtsEs-zH2RYUmnmF3k9VrbPzJ9TCp3cRvEUw8Qn51Tp-xlY6VtW2EEjSNqP_26h6-uNEAdpir7RNvEUIin_h-2hu8HnIFEKS25oo8aH0wdUZbl28/s2048/90EE5F79-720E-478B-9952-F7A869630D75.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WarJVSR9e3SRaxrwZQCxcrPIh5U7xu0Wvypvqiq5Do6GheBcgdG0iCE5D1AJkRcuP44E3jr1OCGYEtsEs-zH2RYUmnmF3k9VrbPzJ9TCp3cRvEUw8Qn51Tp-xlY6VtW2EEjSNqP_26h6-uNEAdpir7RNvEUIin_h-2hu8HnIFEKS25oo8aH0wdUZbl28/w640-h640/90EE5F79-720E-478B-9952-F7A869630D75.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">That evening, we decided to have a relaxed night in the apartment. We basically had an indoor picnic, played a couple of board games we brought with us and watched a bit of rubbish Saturday night television. It was perfect.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">On Sunday, we slept in slightly later before heading back to the pool in the morning. Feeling braver, I tried two other slides (still no Cyclone) and was well-prepared with my nose pinched and mouth shut. I also didn't push myself down the slides, I just let the water take me (even if Cameron said he had to wait for ages to for the green light to tell him to go because I was so slow!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">After a morning swim, we went to play tennis. The sun was shining and we were ready for a run-around. Again, I lost. But it was still lots of fun and . I did pull a muscle in my neck towards the end but that's what I get for being so competitive.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiMCcMK5B4mqhkxroxjEPyN8gY0mv2KDzbgpdZ5Yu3yYVJALLWPBFLlE4O1Hfnk9khF4XTuQnADnZ8h8ECuMfYmQH0YQy2Ue9kvesvPgucd82kTwFiBO8X2oH2g8qymsibRxZiuh8K6NAW2SHMEVdkQA6_LTrZAItLWLizxciK-oxyvzZV-cO4-IqYxtQ/s2316/Facetune_01-08-2023-19-30-21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="2316" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiMCcMK5B4mqhkxroxjEPyN8gY0mv2KDzbgpdZ5Yu3yYVJALLWPBFLlE4O1Hfnk9khF4XTuQnADnZ8h8ECuMfYmQH0YQy2Ue9kvesvPgucd82kTwFiBO8X2oH2g8qymsibRxZiuh8K6NAW2SHMEVdkQA6_LTrZAItLWLizxciK-oxyvzZV-cO4-IqYxtQ/w640-h640/Facetune_01-08-2023-19-30-21.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">We ended the afternoon with a long cycle, stopping beside the lake for a bit, before heading back to get ready for dinner.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">For our final night, we went out to Huck's American Bar and Grill. Both Cameron and I love American food - mainly because most of it is smothered in cheese - but this meal was a little disappointing. It was nice, especially the veggie burger, but neither of us were that happy with our starters of veggie loaded skins and burnt ends. Cameron went for the mac 'n' cheese as his main, which he said was nice but not the best. It was a shame as this was the restaurant that we were most excited to come to. If I came back, I would probably try a different restaurant here but would most likely go back to Las Iguanas.</span></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGdUxtC6O9u4bPctb7rKUIAhqO2Cz1TtmJhD_YV49bEEVwr485aacVe72ls-Cfcb-mZ5-10OyXQL4Uj3VHpYSG8Jnmr5EjIxIj-2YjxJSW8korlDH1kDdQrZZ5E5VPcfbF_R4qZ0ZeLxzyMScepRecXCoOxpngrZHJcAsosUbZ04dRr6LYR3yWyiR2TKx/s2856/IMG_7466.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2856" data-original-width="2856" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGdUxtC6O9u4bPctb7rKUIAhqO2Cz1TtmJhD_YV49bEEVwr485aacVe72ls-Cfcb-mZ5-10OyXQL4Uj3VHpYSG8Jnmr5EjIxIj-2YjxJSW8korlDH1kDdQrZZ5E5VPcfbF_R4qZ0ZeLxzyMScepRecXCoOxpngrZHJcAsosUbZ04dRr6LYR3yWyiR2TKx/w640-h640/IMG_7466.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br />On our final day, we woke up to a rainy Monday morning. We had to be out of our room by 10am as people staying Monday-Friday would start arriving that same day. We also had to return our bikes by 10am. Once we had done this, there wasn't much we wanted to do. It was too wet for a walk and we didn't want to go in the pool as it was very busy because of the weather. We hung around the main Village Square for a bit, then decided to head home before the new arrivals started coming in.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;">Overall, we had a fantastic trip. We got to relax, explore, swim, play sports, eat lots of good food. We would definitely book again in the future.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><b>Have you ever been to Center Parcs? What was your favourite thing? What activities should I try if I go back?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bellota;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdmGRFhqu3UJWD4rFEc92V48bT9EqeGkjU1N4x3VbgdU8W4atud1OFDcxdnEu0W7MNMQhz2TO8hs09wgy6qtScsqWCB-NIslmP8unhEt_u1gGDMFdRqELoYBKPqK74Y1_1LP6UynNpUBcosJjg8SQYgY_x6smh7vI-drU3YF8qde4FTQWH0SibXKzpF_S/s320/blog%20logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdmGRFhqu3UJWD4rFEc92V48bT9EqeGkjU1N4x3VbgdU8W4atud1OFDcxdnEu0W7MNMQhz2TO8hs09wgy6qtScsqWCB-NIslmP8unhEt_u1gGDMFdRqELoYBKPqK74Y1_1LP6UynNpUBcosJjg8SQYgY_x6smh7vI-drU3YF8qde4FTQWH0SibXKzpF_S/w320-h192/blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-15403544784410791112023-05-07T20:00:00.004+01:002023-05-07T20:09:06.321+01:00Now I'm 30: 30 Facts About Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdn3soBP3gXnl3-bfwRRLdBy1LHvUgiVc-HPal7TnrxL4lh7xtveA4A6roBMo69zAPGWGh3w0ZoNK18sDVDyM9DjKZEKew7-NZ_BK8oBLgsMPHsyqCyTpCiYc6wCSKlgHjy0A307UwMJB_aG7tR2lq-lxAJEm2rrNo9P5NfV2ALoY0GuGpM8vKjTWpow/s1080/Yellow%20Orange%20Creative%20Daily%20Reminder%20Instagram%20Post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdn3soBP3gXnl3-bfwRRLdBy1LHvUgiVc-HPal7TnrxL4lh7xtveA4A6roBMo69zAPGWGh3w0ZoNK18sDVDyM9DjKZEKew7-NZ_BK8oBLgsMPHsyqCyTpCiYc6wCSKlgHjy0A307UwMJB_aG7tR2lq-lxAJEm2rrNo9P5NfV2ALoY0GuGpM8vKjTWpow/w640-h640/Yellow%20Orange%20Creative%20Daily%20Reminder%20Instagram%20Post.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Seeing as I've been gone for so long, I thought I would make my first post after announcing my return about myself. A lot has changed and I've been doing a lot of new things during this time, so it seems to make sense to share a bit more about who I am now and where I'm current at in life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">So, let's get to sharing...</span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>1. I've turned 30: </b>As you can probably tell from the name of this post, I'm 30 now! In fact, I'll be 31 next month! Turning 30 wasn't so bad despite originally being terrified about "getting old". It felt big and scary on the lead up to my birthday but, in the end, I was fine and I got to walk an alpaca. I also got the most amazing Grogu/Baby Yoda cake! 30 is fine and you're only as old as you feel!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1EGxwMApa_kkh5e0e-pHJP5tIko4QMNcbu_o53raED7ESXYwVZYUrojmEJhNwKXQxtxP3qvHdKVWljCjE0sitNDI6GSCaUCWr1wU-6i1vNFN1uHCAtDywdLH0F69ktiAtZvKP4eeYByQBttl3WP4KvAJk3_lW1PmwLhGq7cyNvlczqCO2CCUBiZMCw/s1280/5020D9BC-5DFD-485E-86F3-E402CE97A310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1EGxwMApa_kkh5e0e-pHJP5tIko4QMNcbu_o53raED7ESXYwVZYUrojmEJhNwKXQxtxP3qvHdKVWljCjE0sitNDI6GSCaUCWr1wU-6i1vNFN1uHCAtDywdLH0F69ktiAtZvKP4eeYByQBttl3WP4KvAJk3_lW1PmwLhGq7cyNvlczqCO2CCUBiZMCw/w400-h400/5020D9BC-5DFD-485E-86F3-E402CE97A310.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>2. I'm a teacher:</b> In September 2021, I started my teacher training year after accepting my BA Open Degree from the Open University the year before. I sat on my degree for so long and didn't know if I'd ever end up applying for teacher training, like I'd always wanted to. However, after making changes for myself, I took the leap and I qualified as a primary teacher in June 2022. I am currently working as a Year 3 teacher in an amazing school.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGor0QR0LpL7bXeEIZ3loMAfJfM6eH_GzKKDxN55gB_ZUigEiWubUNJgsd10ZgMKSdkPD7U7riMTxUygXm8W2m07aBEEPRmZAxfwnZQpTYQdNP4r1SJHuFSVpXwY4iuDi8HhoqdiU5f2mo-jlsX5VAO_q6LckzXc4kVYGee06SozQRns2OBiqUp1cLBg/s1280/AB6FDB83-7486-4207-A0D7-5EF44775265B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGor0QR0LpL7bXeEIZ3loMAfJfM6eH_GzKKDxN55gB_ZUigEiWubUNJgsd10ZgMKSdkPD7U7riMTxUygXm8W2m07aBEEPRmZAxfwnZQpTYQdNP4r1SJHuFSVpXwY4iuDi8HhoqdiU5f2mo-jlsX5VAO_q6LckzXc4kVYGee06SozQRns2OBiqUp1cLBg/w400-h400/AB6FDB83-7486-4207-A0D7-5EF44775265B.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>3. I've joined the gym: </b>Actually, in the last two years, I've joined two gyms. The first gym wasn't for me and I felt uncomfortable being there and like I was being watched and judged. That membership only lasted 7 months and I certainly didn't go regularly enough to make it worth it. However, in January of this year, I joined a new gym and I can honestly say I love it. I go 2-3 times a week and I now use the machines and equipment rather than just walking on the treadmill (which is all I did at the first gym). Maybe I'll do a post about what I do at the gym soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>4. I'm getting back into reading:</b> Over the last couple of years, I haven't been reading anywhere near as much as I used to. I have still been reading but where I was reading 100 books a year, I've probably only read 50 in the last two years (and a lot of those are children's novels for work!) However, in January, I set myself the challenge of reading more and I have read 10 books already this year. Yes, some are still children's books for school but some are for me too. I'm getting there and I will be posting bookish content again as I love talking about books!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>5. I'm a gamer now: </b>Well, kind of! We have a Nintendo Switch and I've been hooked on playing <i>Animal Crossing</i> and Disney's <i>Dreamlight Valley</i>. I pick up the Switch almost every day, even if it's only for half an hour to unwind when I get home from work. Obviously they're not complex, technical games but they are both relaxing and carefree games where I get to make friends with cute animals and my favourite Disney characters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>6. I have a pet:</b> I have an adorable little Syrian hamster called Pippin and she is the love of my life. I never expected to become this attached to the tiny ball of fluff but she is just the best. Even the children in my Year 3 class are obsessed with her and ask for photos and videos almost on a daily basis. She's great when being handled and is really comfortable with us. If you want to marvel at her cuteness, she has her own Instagram page <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pippin.hamster/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95QuIUyLzH5yzlNRBdSbhhyMXWYhu0hjOVik37KIt3Hy6bqe3kseMO-Vn2QzRgxFr7wIikDXrYqDiqfwukEwQCPucozdaorPbsad_3UZkqlOu-jXtHOQpMbmNLpMKPyZ8sOYfPt85f3glrlYNXNxKiPODtpEPeI0W6wJOJGH5gJhyWUrzvh8e567pQA/s1280/40B25BF7-574A-43B8-A585-458D029F6F4A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95QuIUyLzH5yzlNRBdSbhhyMXWYhu0hjOVik37KIt3Hy6bqe3kseMO-Vn2QzRgxFr7wIikDXrYqDiqfwukEwQCPucozdaorPbsad_3UZkqlOu-jXtHOQpMbmNLpMKPyZ8sOYfPt85f3glrlYNXNxKiPODtpEPeI0W6wJOJGH5gJhyWUrzvh8e567pQA/w400-h400/40B25BF7-574A-43B8-A585-458D029F6F4A.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>7. I'm healthier now:</b> I've already mentioned going to the gym and enjoying working out, but I'm a lot healthier now in my size too. Back when I stopped posting in 2021, I was a size 6. I wasn't eating properly, I hadn't addressed my depression/anxiety and I was struggling with my personal situation. Over two years on, I have gone from being a small size 6 to being a size 10-12. There are still points where I don't like how I look but I know I'm in a much better condition now than I was back then. I feel healthier and more like 'me'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>8. I tried CBT:</b> In January 2021, when I was at my lowest point, I finally made a call to my doctor and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I was prescribed medication and it was suggested that I try therapy or CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). The wait for a therapist through the NHS was very long, where as I could start CBT over the phone the following week. CBT definitely helped me. I had someone to talk to and check in with every over week for a good period of time and each time she called she did a mental health check to see what my level of depression was like. She really helped me and gave me techniques to try that I still use now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>9. I love Joe Lycett: </b>In the last couple of years, I have fallen in love with Joe Lycett's comedy. I've rewatched his recorded stand-up shows and TV shows (especially <i>Joe Lycett's Got Your Back</i>, which is amazing!) and I even had the privilege of seeing him live in Ipswich last year. It was the best night and I hope I get the chance to see him again some day. I just love who he is and what he stands for.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>10. I'm back to baking:</b> After a long time of not really baking anything, I have been trying out new recipes for sweet treats these past few months. I've mostly been trying out amazing recipes from <i>Jane's Patisserie </i>and they have been well-received. During the last series of <i>The Great British Bake Off</i>, I tried to bake something on-theme each week which gave me the chance to try new things I wouldn't have tried baking without the weekly prompts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>11. I'm hooked on Vinted: </b>Not only have I bought my fair share of bargains on Vinted, I've sold a lot of stuff on their too. As I mentioned earlier, my size has changed a lot over the last couple of years, so it was time to give my clothes that were too small another chance at being worn. I went through my entire wardrobe, removed everything that didn't fit and took some items to a recycling centre and some items were put online. It's nice to give life to old clothes that still have a lot left in them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>12. I've grown my nails (finally):</b> After biting my nails for 30 years, I am so proud to announce that I have finally successfully grown my own nails and no longer have to stick on false ones when I want to look more put-together. I chewed my nails to an unbelievably short length and they looked gross, but now I see the most wonderful nail technician every month who does the most beautiful designs. She is a true magician for getting my nails to look this way after so long!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HPVV4MDJx4DzJmS6ZfXS3dAc_fSpWDhvLw3xyNgX-Z-piPXnq_cirW_BtOgO1TN4r9tQX8600dEJgZnm-hL68lyzLSLQKF8D7qdEqjeky8bk1AKCXnU8NvArp6BhVIpyIiqeA7NZs2pFIBUj4mZBh3Md9SPy58KsHCYrJKkv3XxNYphKs7xHfobKUg/s1280/1F1F190D-CBE5-4465-A7AC-193375221B19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HPVV4MDJx4DzJmS6ZfXS3dAc_fSpWDhvLw3xyNgX-Z-piPXnq_cirW_BtOgO1TN4r9tQX8600dEJgZnm-hL68lyzLSLQKF8D7qdEqjeky8bk1AKCXnU8NvArp6BhVIpyIiqeA7NZs2pFIBUj4mZBh3Md9SPy58KsHCYrJKkv3XxNYphKs7xHfobKUg/w400-h400/1F1F190D-CBE5-4465-A7AC-193375221B19.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>13. My love for The Positive Teacher Company: </b>For my teacher training year, I finally got the chance to buy myself the teacher planner from TPTC. I'm such a fan of the designs and, more importantly, how useful they are for planning out my school year, that I have already ordered myself my third planner ready for the next academic year. Which one is your favourite design?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GTBlMjohALV6TeNvkrVlpWbI1wD5IRM6XI1cIFaaWJM4dc8-xs2xPXUyhNLrxuqNPV16o4Beiha1qSFq9kEZeSDFs7TympreqUOgBGVqEyB4cHPGZlUw8OU1onOQdgQCglxrelRepQjJYORjsbAlY-qcRFf-qebNJxHpIYC6I6lG1nQGpQhXOOZqhA/s1280/B7CB6059-989D-488B-86AE-D498A0549001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GTBlMjohALV6TeNvkrVlpWbI1wD5IRM6XI1cIFaaWJM4dc8-xs2xPXUyhNLrxuqNPV16o4Beiha1qSFq9kEZeSDFs7TympreqUOgBGVqEyB4cHPGZlUw8OU1onOQdgQCglxrelRepQjJYORjsbAlY-qcRFf-qebNJxHpIYC6I6lG1nQGpQhXOOZqhA/w400-h400/B7CB6059-989D-488B-86AE-D498A0549001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>14. I'm a learner:</b> As a primary teacher, I cover every subject from maths to music, science to sport. One of the best parts of being a teacher is that I'm always learning. Not only am I constantly observing and taking on advice from experienced colleagues, I am learning about so many topics before I teach them. Some interesting areas I've learned about in detail this year are rocks, Mary Anning, volcanoes, the Stone Age and Ancient Egyptians. My learning highlights this year are finding poems my children connected with so that they could write their own, loving rocks and fossils so much that it was the biggest moment ever when a child found a shark tooth on our trip and having such a big focus on wellbeing and being kind that giving lovely notes to each other is the norm.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LU3b-zKmjUf7fSUsueRq_xawulpNLVgL1TVdtPRkhUTiT_DJaB73djDn_ygILdnW_HL4113YFzLxQOFw0lbYd8Z1K_PNbm-Ng6Aa-QNr4K1nl-xyn_l8KodcVkidFbDRiHo2b3pVOmOgvw-B2h1bnq0Q_Cj5tT_n2p2yDqRmLvyBDxJegZb-WR_h6g/s1280/0A19FF5D-EDA8-4499-A80B-8D5E5793234A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LU3b-zKmjUf7fSUsueRq_xawulpNLVgL1TVdtPRkhUTiT_DJaB73djDn_ygILdnW_HL4113YFzLxQOFw0lbYd8Z1K_PNbm-Ng6Aa-QNr4K1nl-xyn_l8KodcVkidFbDRiHo2b3pVOmOgvw-B2h1bnq0Q_Cj5tT_n2p2yDqRmLvyBDxJegZb-WR_h6g/w400-h400/0A19FF5D-EDA8-4499-A80B-8D5E5793234A.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Amaranth;"><div><b style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></b></div>15. I'm getting outside:</b><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"> I spend a lot more time outside in nature than I used to. Whether that's taking a long walk at the weekend or visiting places of interest with nature at its heart. One of my favourite places has the be the Cambridge Botanic Gardens, which I visited last year. My aim is to try and visit the gardens in every season as I've only been in the height of summer so far and would like to see how it changes - especially in the autumn!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtT3hptZGDka3c_RqTzQko59dpYTDInm4TnMTrHkzfXq5ZrSuTX-KUVV76_PjNDnbmhA6Fdg5scHi98qYVEU1fJ-PSaOfak8RxXhgmGpx7Y7GPPs47UXafzcdixFYMP9I7ChgDoGfT9zEIucYj5jETg8GezA4gP9_YzofDFjooXxzFGSrCogIUmB0Vg/s1280/45B7C300-120A-441E-B334-C805B56E0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtT3hptZGDka3c_RqTzQko59dpYTDInm4TnMTrHkzfXq5ZrSuTX-KUVV76_PjNDnbmhA6Fdg5scHi98qYVEU1fJ-PSaOfak8RxXhgmGpx7Y7GPPs47UXafzcdixFYMP9I7ChgDoGfT9zEIucYj5jETg8GezA4gP9_YzofDFjooXxzFGSrCogIUmB0Vg/w400-h400/45B7C300-120A-441E-B334-C805B56E0868.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>16. Trying new food: </b>We have come across some absolutely amazing restaurants in the past couple of years. Taking trips to Norwich, Portsmouth, Brighton and Cambridge have made me look for the best local restaurants and we have found some top-tier places to eat. I think that will probably be a separate blog post in the future but we now have some firm favourites that we would return to.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_REribEN0G8ny0NhTqRITC0ZZYE8J09pBQlbtNa9rE6QFHKlAvVh-NBpnZnoboKzxtdhtchVlhDzhQpVkjxhxwmEt_u4uAgc0Gv-3B5sprYOuqlK0fCO-eAQqUH5CcnNYrQIyYMHQsRYigvTPtsh1WFVX-C-8vep59MGex8-PRRrxmSzCiA6pZKdXw/s1280/287EC5BB-0243-46D4-A927-7AB7B632E633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_REribEN0G8ny0NhTqRITC0ZZYE8J09pBQlbtNa9rE6QFHKlAvVh-NBpnZnoboKzxtdhtchVlhDzhQpVkjxhxwmEt_u4uAgc0Gv-3B5sprYOuqlK0fCO-eAQqUH5CcnNYrQIyYMHQsRYigvTPtsh1WFVX-C-8vep59MGex8-PRRrxmSzCiA6pZKdXw/w400-h400/287EC5BB-0243-46D4-A927-7AB7B632E633.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>17. Travelling:</b> Linking to the new food, we have travelled to some amazing places in recent years. As well as a lot of places in the UK, we also had the opportunity to fly out to Tenerife for my boyfriend's brother's wedding last summer. I'd never been to Tenerife before and I didn't see a lot of the surrounding area as we were in a beautiful villa away from the main tourist areas, but I still enjoyed travelling somewhere new. I can't wait for the next adventure!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-RGpDKn-Q0hYEhRS_EKQanpguViwxb3Rmmh1OwWBzXreoO4WNmWjzApI6Jw-FQUFIRM-NfyeYNIYGJOzW3bioBk1-oX55IpGKozzYrKCwrLsDbICtHJDzm5OO1HETrMUGBh2nI-NlodDXb9OcJloqDp2yEOygztfzEwNuoquws_fNGntTjcokGoSbA/s1280/2BF32775-85CE-430E-A9A2-2C8794B2ABD9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-RGpDKn-Q0hYEhRS_EKQanpguViwxb3Rmmh1OwWBzXreoO4WNmWjzApI6Jw-FQUFIRM-NfyeYNIYGJOzW3bioBk1-oX55IpGKozzYrKCwrLsDbICtHJDzm5OO1HETrMUGBh2nI-NlodDXb9OcJloqDp2yEOygztfzEwNuoquws_fNGntTjcokGoSbA/w400-h400/2BF32775-85CE-430E-A9A2-2C8794B2ABD9.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>18. I've upped my skincare game:</b> I was pretty on it when it came to skincare before I took my break, but it has levelled up significantly since then. I have found people I trust online (mainly James Welsh) who has put me onto great products and a solid routine before makeup and in the evening. It's also a nice opportunity to have a little pamper every day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>19. I'm practising more self care: </b>I'm trying to take the time to look after myself more. As well as having my little pamper session each day with my skincare, I'm also making time to use Headspace, practise mindful breathing exercises when I feel anxious and doing calming activities that I enjoy, such as having a long bath. It's helped me massively - although I sometimes need a push to do it still!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>20. I saw Ed Sheeran Live:</b> My birthday treat to myself for my 30th was seeing Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium. I've only ever been to Wembley Stadium for sport, never a concert, and it was the most amazing experience. Seeing such an incredible performer live was a real gift and I am so happy I was impulsive and booked the tickets!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg40-VM7652ceJES1Oj-yrnuP78kay8Zxy6D-Eqxc21tMDH5LVV4HUR5dqYuEjIeDPMhuZaADbEIl4DhgmRbxD5AjxnCrXAWyszeF2ABEK1Nw77579ZpkLfS6j2eUqTxWQat1UkZskGaRKECcwPULxgdFi7RtGp61waWS6y7Mv5xpelX8IWmH3A_AyIA/s1280/DA128F80-FA6C-4E20-96FD-171A14D12B24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg40-VM7652ceJES1Oj-yrnuP78kay8Zxy6D-Eqxc21tMDH5LVV4HUR5dqYuEjIeDPMhuZaADbEIl4DhgmRbxD5AjxnCrXAWyszeF2ABEK1Nw77579ZpkLfS6j2eUqTxWQat1UkZskGaRKECcwPULxgdFi7RtGp61waWS6y7Mv5xpelX8IWmH3A_AyIA/w400-h400/DA128F80-FA6C-4E20-96FD-171A14D12B24.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Amaranth;">21. I bought an air fryer: </b><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">This is probably my best purchase of the last 12 months! I bought a big one too! This means, with two drawers, we can cook a whole meal or do meat in one side and veggie in the other. I know this is a pretty boring and "grown up" fact to share but this machine has genuinely changed my life. Plus, the Bored of Lunch book has given me so many recipes to try!</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>22. Journaling changes:</b> I'm not bullet journaling as much as I used to. I took a break, bought a new journal and decided I would start with a fresh journal when I felt ready to get back into it. I ended up forcing myself back into it when I didn't really want to do it and although I enjoyed parts of it, it felt more like a chore. So I now have a journal that is used more as a wellbeing notebook/scrapbook of things I've done instead of as a bullet journal diary. I also have a Happiness Planner that I'm using right now so I don't need to do both.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>23. Nap Queen:</b> I don't know if this comes with getting older or because I lived with my friend Jas for over a year, who definitely takes the 'Nap Queen' crown, but I have regular naps at the weekend now. Sometimes it's only 90 minutes, sometimes I'm out of it for a couple of hours or so if I didn't sleep well the night before. Napping is just something that I like to do in the middle of the day now and I'm OK with that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>24. Cookbook collector: </b>My cookbook collection has grown a lot! Both my boyfriend and I love cooking and there are a few people that we have a particular soft spot for when it comes to their recipes, so we have to get their books. We have every Mob book and use them regularly, as well as Pinch of Nom for healthier meals and Jane's Patisserie for sweet treats. Some of their recipes are on our menu most weeks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>25. My sleep routine: </b>I have a better sleep routine now, although I am working on sticking to it. It involves being in bed an hour before I want to go to sleep for 60 minutes of screen-free time. This can mean reading a book, listening to a podcast or an audiobook, or doing a guided Headspace session. Then, it's lights out, and I have a sleep sound on my Alexa (usually 'heavy rain', 'windy meadow', 'brown noise' or 'train ride') and I sleep under my weighted blanket. I do a body scan to "switch off" my body and prevent wriggling around as much, and that pretty much sends me off to sleep in minutes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>26. Want to know what I'm watching?: </b>Short answer: not much. I seem to have fallen out of love with the television. I just don't have that urge to watch anything new or commit to sitting down in one place for that long. I also don't really have the time during the week. My go-to is just sticking something on that I've already seen as background noise or a documentary that I can listen to rather than watch.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>27. Friendships:</b> Since moving away and starting a new job, I have made some lovely friends that I see quite a lot. We have friends in our building that we see for dinners, games nights and we even watched the Super Bowl together. Then I have my gym buddy, who got me into the gym in the first place, and we meet there regularly to have a catch up while we work out. I also have my two besties from my teacher training days that I'm still in touch with and we try to meet up (usually at Nando's) when we can. I still have my old friends, like Jas, and friends that I'm reconnecting with after shutting myself off for a while. I'm getting there.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgfPA8XhuwvbATsBLaCEpexDpVGZhVId1k3SLSxiGX-DhJ4st72muFevPc-6af4UD_2Xvjp-tiMIQ9eOENN7jIXX4JCFAqcf033U5Khfqpt4YHEWG2fW3qka5GgS6N7SVfoIFdT9rXUDnhuBvbT_U2oLrYr677PTJe8d8cjl_zGSY4QrMPe9bD9xKKw/s1280/35D7B3F8-27DC-4423-A0AC-2DF58E893779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgfPA8XhuwvbATsBLaCEpexDpVGZhVId1k3SLSxiGX-DhJ4st72muFevPc-6af4UD_2Xvjp-tiMIQ9eOENN7jIXX4JCFAqcf033U5Khfqpt4YHEWG2fW3qka5GgS6N7SVfoIFdT9rXUDnhuBvbT_U2oLrYr677PTJe8d8cjl_zGSY4QrMPe9bD9xKKw/w400-h400/35D7B3F8-27DC-4423-A0AC-2DF58E893779.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>28. Hello Deliveroo:</b> Since moving away, we have access to Deliveroo. We do like to cook but it's also nice to know there are many options when you fancy a treat. We have found the best fish and chips, an incredible Indian takeaway and bao buns that are out of this world! We also use the chains sometimes, like Taco Bell, Wagamama and </span><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Love Thy Burger (although that's a smaller, more local chain)</span><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">. Wow, I'm making myself hungry!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>29. My love life:</b> After a difficult few years, I have a boyfriend who I live with and I couldn't be happier. I just need to take a moment to talk about how amazing he has been during some very tricky times and how much he has helped me when it comes to anxiety, depression and more. He's got me to open up when I've found it hard to talk about and he has genuinely been my rock through all of this.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9uLnHxgoTW4hLT7eY9VhJJp0TjYDS5IgckgEyOy-USPD0bWzVPjp1uuF528Qm99JcHjPYATxNRDurcrvdMEH5MchdBFAeZwEH2AOUIalGSINpPhdM6aLr2hQR1kC7fRjlQfFwwCIyy2pqzM-ibWLHynm66p2yhyef-MELCVtaekHGpIaZwYiy5zmbA/s1280/BFFD2AE2-1102-4304-974A-E7F142714C82.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9uLnHxgoTW4hLT7eY9VhJJp0TjYDS5IgckgEyOy-USPD0bWzVPjp1uuF528Qm99JcHjPYATxNRDurcrvdMEH5MchdBFAeZwEH2AOUIalGSINpPhdM6aLr2hQR1kC7fRjlQfFwwCIyy2pqzM-ibWLHynm66p2yhyef-MELCVtaekHGpIaZwYiy5zmbA/w400-h400/BFFD2AE2-1102-4304-974A-E7F142714C82.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><b>30. Big dreams:</b> Despite the challenges, I still have big dreams and plans for the future. I'm just starting out in my teaching career but I am loving every moment (even the really hard bits) and moving to a new place and doing things I would never have done before has shown me what I can really do. I can't wait to see what life brings me next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">There you have it: 30 updated facts about me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I hope to be back soon with another blog post but I'm still making plans and working out the kind of things I want to share and what I want this blog to be. I don't want it to be a chore either, so I won't be planning to post on any specific day or even every week or month. It will be when I have time to share and feel the enjoyment of writing rather than feeling like I'm expected to post and have to get things written for a deadline. That would just suck the joy out of this and that's the last thing I want because the reason I'm blogging again is to make myself happy and get back to doing things I love.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">So, I don't know when I'll next post but I hope to see you there when I do. Until then, look after yourselves.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P82rphCI7MzjywCM2dc97kg9UZJLH1fMDJNvOgE07JUbXrFRlU8Id5mPYXHO3eHgrhz3URNXr18gXdTBbLc0YSLVcbZLzk6S9YgZIyUggell5iPiGR4_oXhvRTPg6YQXo_2SiQkxY-qgBj0gJa8YsaQlVmS1YrFi6Gt_aLKtlfyR68mQg9oB61MtSQ/s500/IMG_7098%20cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P82rphCI7MzjywCM2dc97kg9UZJLH1fMDJNvOgE07JUbXrFRlU8Id5mPYXHO3eHgrhz3URNXr18gXdTBbLc0YSLVcbZLzk6S9YgZIyUggell5iPiGR4_oXhvRTPg6YQXo_2SiQkxY-qgBj0gJa8YsaQlVmS1YrFi6Gt_aLKtlfyR68mQg9oB61MtSQ/s320/IMG_7098%20cut.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-87015323692045279292023-04-23T18:30:00.003+01:002023-04-23T18:30:00.170+01:00I'M BACK: What have I been up to in the last two years?<p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNArPWVD3RJaGe_hVpOIMClDWDb5p8cTC16_y95UKDBCuAoaFs5SdqGERv5hnntLd0Tq5i_YgQm0d6eu7a86b2uv8Q6bKDF9tR79_iu5RcfmB7F5yEwahhmbGtDfWpZ-Qj7mUr4XvJ8_7lOFM44ujgNjhCSn0Do0_j6dWjD15xxuT_rBX2bqDGt3SnYQ/s1080/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNArPWVD3RJaGe_hVpOIMClDWDb5p8cTC16_y95UKDBCuAoaFs5SdqGERv5hnntLd0Tq5i_YgQm0d6eu7a86b2uv8Q6bKDF9tR79_iu5RcfmB7F5yEwahhmbGtDfWpZ-Qj7mUr4XvJ8_7lOFM44ujgNjhCSn0Do0_j6dWjD15xxuT_rBX2bqDGt3SnYQ/w640-h640/2.png" width="640" /></a><br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Hi...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Well, this is a weird feeling. I'm not really sure how I've been gone for this long. So much has changed since I last opened up my blog and wrote a book review back in January 2021. Yes, it's been 2 years and 3 months since I last wrote a post here on this blog!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I apologise if this post ends up being a bit waffly or disjointed, but it's hard to work out exactly what to say. Like I said, so much has happened in the past two years that I'm not really sure how to start.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Actually, let's start by saying that although I will share some things about my life and what has been going on since January 2021, there are certainly a lot of things that I will be keeping to myself. This has been a private, very personal time and is something that I am still working through. Therefore, I won't share everything and give you a step-by-step rundown of it all. I will, however, tell you about a lot of the positive moments over the past 27 months and fill you in on what I plan to do moving forward.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">So, grab a cup of tea and a snack; this could take a while...</span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Firstly, the main reason I took a break was for a very personal reason. Again, I won't go into every little detail but just know that I am happy, safe and settled now. I am living somewhere new, I'm with someone else, I'm in a new job and I have special people around me and supporting me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I have had some incredible people supporting me, especially over the last few years, so I want to say a massive thank you to them - they know who they are! I've had people let me live with them, support me with my career progress, help me financially in difficult times and be there for me when things just got to be too much. My network have been so supportive, picking up the pieces and guiding me to where I am today, so a big thank you to them. I will never be able to fully express the love and gratitude I have for them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">During this time, I have lived in a few different places but I am now in my own place and it just feels like home. There's nothing better than coming home to this flat, where I am sat right now as I write this post, and knowing that this is my happy place. This is a place that I feel calm, happy and safe. A place I look forward to coming back to at the end of a working day. Of course, I'm not living here alone. I have an incredible boyfriend who has put up with so much, supported me through everything and pushed me to do things for myself. He has been especially supportive during my time of depression and anxiety, which has involved therapy and medication. I couldn't have done it without him. A lot of this time away from the blog has been mental health related, so there will probably be mental health posts and updates ahead as I start to use my blog again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">As I said, I am now with someone new during this time. Relationships are hard at times and sometimes they aren't what you thought they were, obstacles cannot be overcome or you fall out of love. I won't go into details because that is private and it obviously doesn't just involve me, so I will continue to keep this part of my life to myself. That's not information that's needed for the online world. Just know that I am happy, safe and doing well in my relationship.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Another huge change over the last couple of years is my job. During this time, I trained as a primary teacher - after years of telling myself that I would - and I am currently in my first year of teaching. I am in love with this job, the work that I'm doing and the difference I'm making. I know teachers are in the news a lot at the moment in the UK with the strike action, but this is truly the best job in the world. I am so excited to be just starting out on this career path and will share what I can with you about my education journey. I have resources and ideas that I have implemented that I would like to share at some point.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">So, let's think about what this blog was before this long break and where it might be heading now. The truth is that I don't know what it's going to look like right now. I know that I want to get back into this more regularly because I have missed it and I definitely need something that I enjoy to do in my free time. A big part of my depression was the lack of enthusiasm to do things that I used to enjoy. This went for almost everything in my life, including blogging, bullet journaling, writing, reading, baking... anything that used to bring me joy was stopped for a very long time, but I'm trying. I'm trying to put myself back into these scenarios, trying to push myself to have a go at the things I used to love. This is the first step and we will see where it leads.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I want to get back into reviewing books. I was so lucky to have a class this year who adore reading and love books as much as I did at their age. We have read so many books as a class this year and this group of 7-8 year olds have made me fall back in love with reading again. Even if it's just reading children's books to see if my class will enjoy them, it's got me reading again and I owe it to this amazing, inspirational Year 3 class.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I also want to share more about mental health and wellbeing because there has been so much in this break that has massively helped on a huge number of occasions. I would also like to share some of my baking again, as well as some cooking too as I've become a lot more interested in this in the past year in particular. There's so many ideas in my head and so much I could do, so now I just need to push myself to do it!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">I hope this long, rambling blog post makes some sense. In a nutshell, just know that I've had a lot going on during this time but I'm fine and I hope to get back into blogging as much as possible when time allows. Teaching is a very busy job that I am extremely committed to, but I hope to still make time on certain evenings and at weekends to write.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Thank you if you've read this far. Now, I must go and get myself settled with my book. It's World Book Night tonight and reading our is from 7-8pm, so I'm going to choose a new book and curl up with my weighted blanket.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Until next time,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;">Janay x</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZPQQJ8Jwr64cZdrhiqSCUOAzCB6O5DTfn9Pl05zAlHnxPFFWRyu81TfYOjTq5-9jpcdcC2qkA7CGUyOYiNeYlsRDoq1IPsar9T0RhrM5ErAuwciLKblzJYqrcaMVVjd2iKeJbS0bsRwPqjSOBlXv-EwDRuPe4oenuN1l1vsUDAqf3BPTbVZydRHWVA/s500/new%20blog%20logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZPQQJ8Jwr64cZdrhiqSCUOAzCB6O5DTfn9Pl05zAlHnxPFFWRyu81TfYOjTq5-9jpcdcC2qkA7CGUyOYiNeYlsRDoq1IPsar9T0RhrM5ErAuwciLKblzJYqrcaMVVjd2iKeJbS0bsRwPqjSOBlXv-EwDRuPe4oenuN1l1vsUDAqf3BPTbVZydRHWVA/s320/new%20blog%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Amaranth;"><br /></span><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0England, UK52.3555177 -1.17431971.4220421829979202 -71.4868197 90 69.1381803tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-6188006005900077712021-01-18T07:00:00.083+00:002021-01-18T09:49:16.982+00:00Blog Tour: Forever Ends on Friday by Justin A. Reynolds | Review & Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_qHeJhbjsGn9SuCe_nWGqKnVpEesBau7eNPu4JlLHHJwGr8gGqPuxpbey9J-FuJ_eZH5JkBUeaZ_ULrObkIxQ9tALe5JyCCl3Ok1DeIRKrXG7BY7xWx11R6rOv9-cO3pNM0v1AdjKj71/s2048/2021-01-11+21_34_21.611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Convergence;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_qHeJhbjsGn9SuCe_nWGqKnVpEesBau7eNPu4JlLHHJwGr8gGqPuxpbey9J-FuJ_eZH5JkBUeaZ_ULrObkIxQ9tALe5JyCCl3Ok1DeIRKrXG7BY7xWx11R6rOv9-cO3pNM0v1AdjKj71/w640-h640/2021-01-11+21_34_21.611.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I'm so excited to be posting this review today as part of the blog tour for <i>Forever Ends on Friday </i>by Justin A. Reynolds - along with a giveaway in collaboration with the publisher!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">First, here is the synopsis for the book:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><i><span style="color: #ab7fe2;">What if you could bring your best friend back to life – but only for a short time?</span></i></span></div><span style="color: #ab7fe2; font-family: Convergence;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know that he died and that he’s about to die . . . again. He doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save him. And that the reason they haven’t been friends for two years is because Jamal blames Q for the accident that killed his parents.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">But what if Jamal could have a second chance? A new technology allows Q to be reanimated for a few weeks before he dies... permanently. And Q’s mom is not about to let anyone ruin this miracle by telling Q about his impending death. So how can Jamal fix everything if he can’t tell Q the truth?</div></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I had high hopes for this book because I had previously fallen in love with Justin's writing when I read <i>Opposite of Always </i>back in the spring of 2019. I am more than happy to report that this book did not disappoint. I know we are less than 20 days into 2021 but I have already read/started 6 books and I would say that this is definitely my favourite of the year so far and I am pretty confident that it will be in my top ten books at the end of the year too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I adore the writing style of Justin A. Reynolds. I find it almost addictive and hard to put down. His writing is constantly interesting and pulling you in, making me want to read late into the night (I had to stop myself just after midnight one evening last week because I had work the next day!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The storyline was another unique idea from Justin A. Reynolds, with the main character, Jamal, getting the chance to see his best friend Q reanimated for a short time after he died in an accident. Having the chance to see a loved one for a final time after a sudden passing is something everyone would love to do. The way this plot considers the themes of loss, love and friendship is really incredible. It can be quite difficult to find a book that references grief and relationships in such a well-thought way and the author definitely did a good job with this book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Overall, I loved this book. It was incredibly well-written, touching and thought-provoking. I have already recommended it to two friends who enjoyed reading <i>Opposite of Always</i>. I hope other people enjoy this book as much as I did and recognise the important and touching threads of friendship and loss combined in this beautiful novel.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">- - - - - - - - - -</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><b>Now for the giveaway...</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">To win a copy of <i>Forever Ends on Friday </i>by Justin A. Reynolds, you can do one of two things:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Like/retweet my "<i>Forever Ends on Friday" </i>blog tour post over on <a href="https://twitter.com/janaybrazier" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Write a comment below on this post stating that you would like to enter the giveaway</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">You can enter twice by using both methods of entry. All entries from both methods will be put together and one winner will be selected at random.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The giveaway is open until 11:59pm on Sunday 21st January 2021, so you have a week to enter. It is open to residents of the UK. I will contact the winner within 48 hours and will then pass your email address or social media details on to the publishers, who will arrange the delivery for your copy of the book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Good luck!</span></div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">- - - - - - - - - -</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Don't forget to check out the other stops on the blog tour!</span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MSlmrQ_hP5EDwz7hZKhIsTeK9NXNp9eBCg9zGyk_cSoJ0ZUat_EhnpLbkq9E5XY8NfvnvEfkRTDHg1ubfbW_sDUr7MGhGfq9lJwqhrNKTmUkqGhi3iJ6o1m1RKCqgKoqsOfcnm2AuhI-/s1200/Blog+tour+banner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Convergence;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MSlmrQ_hP5EDwz7hZKhIsTeK9NXNp9eBCg9zGyk_cSoJ0ZUat_EhnpLbkq9E5XY8NfvnvEfkRTDHg1ubfbW_sDUr7MGhGfq9lJwqhrNKTmUkqGhi3iJ6o1m1RKCqgKoqsOfcnm2AuhI-/w640-h360/Blog+tour+banner.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjua0GYrCD1_RrvveU783nE3R5FHetNHA6nTIwwDdBspvRKMH3OrDdHD-PE0SoRkCRBza9tl9NMyIZe7rjTNurHRrmw8njVozVXTWf5yfzNk-yJCXVOFXTTAG1lYeT4mdqA8UcsTJK_ib/s500/IMG_7098+cut.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjua0GYrCD1_RrvveU783nE3R5FHetNHA6nTIwwDdBspvRKMH3OrDdHD-PE0SoRkCRBza9tl9NMyIZe7rjTNurHRrmw8njVozVXTWf5yfzNk-yJCXVOFXTTAG1lYeT4mdqA8UcsTJK_ib/s320/IMG_7098+cut.png" width="320" /></a></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-54759881992034185532021-01-17T07:00:00.004+00:002021-01-17T07:00:04.188+00:00Blog Tour: Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me by Bethany Walker | Illustrator Q&A & Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzGIikLOnorw27uJDvR0UUXKJAYUOMcoa0wIAgsV4DHRe3wavH301UmamfQU7FR0KwtNvxpTywnjdti2HkUrmA_iDkOK6nS98TSS3woLvW9v6ck6tBcx0sWrrOxsCY9kPoOfdau4zWcTH/s2048/2021-01-11+21_32_55.830.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzGIikLOnorw27uJDvR0UUXKJAYUOMcoa0wIAgsV4DHRe3wavH301UmamfQU7FR0KwtNvxpTywnjdti2HkUrmA_iDkOK6nS98TSS3woLvW9v6ck6tBcx0sWrrOxsCY9kPoOfdau4zWcTH/w640-h640/2021-01-11+21_32_55.830.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I'm very excited to be bringing you this post today as part of the blog tour for <i>Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me</i>. As well as giving my my thoughts in a short review, I also have an exciting Q&A with the illustrator of the book.</span></div><span><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">But first, my review...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff1919;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence;">10-year-old Freddy Spicer writes letters to his parents – who he believes are working at a Brussels-sprouts farm in Outer Castonga, with no internet or phone access. In fact, Freddy’s parents are </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Convergence; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">secret agents</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence;">out of the country on a highly classified mission – but Freddy has</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence;"> </span><span class="caps" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Convergence; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NO IDEA</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence;">! Throw in: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; text-align: center;">Grandad’s X-Ray specs; </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; text-align: center;">A laser blaster that accidentally destroys the shed; </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; text-align: center;">A strange new neighbour flirting with grandad; and s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Convergence; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; text-align: center;">uspicious goings-on at school...</span></span></i></div><div><span style="color: #282828; font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Let's get right to it: This book is described as "laugh-out-loud, high energy, fully-illustrated fun for young readers" and I certainly agree with that statement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">This book is a funny, unique and entertaining debut read from Bethany Walker. It was so enjoyable to read, I struggled to put it down and I have since put it into my "Box of Box" at school so the children I work with can read it too (once they are all properly back in school, of course!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">One of my favourite things about this book was the writing style and format. The entire book is written in the form of letters, newspaper clippings, postcards, etc. It just made the whole story more interesting and really added to the plot. I love it when you find a book that is told in a different way; it just makes a nice change sometimes.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The style of the book is also incredible because of the design and layout of these letters and postcards. The look of the little drawings and the random smudges on the pages really make it something special.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The story is amazing and this set up makes it even more enjoyable for the children who will read it, with short "chapters" that allow you to have good points to stop or illustrations that add to the story and can be discussed. I think this book will make a really good talking point for middle grade readers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Overall, I think this is a great book for younger readers. They will find it fun to follow, entertaining and a different reading experience than the standard novel. I'd definitely recommend it!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Now, onto the Q&A with the illustrator of <i>Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me</i>...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">- - - - - - - - - -</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Q&A with Jack Noels, illustrator of Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs & Me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">1. Can you describe CHOCOLATE MILK, X-RAY SPECS & ME in ten words or less</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Epistolary (that means written in letters, I think), zany, fun!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">2. Do you like letter writing?</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I haven't written as many letters in my life as I would have liked. I have always wanted a pen pal but my mum said that they would have to come and stay at our house and that seemed a bit too much. I like writing postcards the most. And when I do I use bubble writing and little pictures, just like Freddy in the book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">3. Who is your favourite character in the book to illustrate?</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Harry Covair is pretty cool. He's a muscly, lantern-jawed hero-type character. I think he could have his own spin-off series! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">4. What are your top tips for aspiring illustrators?</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">1. Practice</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">2. Don't be afraid to copy </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">3. Draw from life sometimes</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">4. Keep a sketchbook</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">5. Read lots</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">6. Brush your teeth</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">7. Keep practising</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Convergence;">5. What books are you looking forward to reading in 2021?</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I like funny books with lots of pictures (like CHOCOLATE MILK, X-RAY SPECS & ME!) I'm really looking forward to STICK BOY, by Paul Coomey. It's about a stick-boy who lives in a normal, 3D world. I've seen a bit of it and it is absolutely packed with jokes and arrows – and it's in colour too! I'm also keen to get my hands on the latest Sam Copeland (of Charlie Changes Into a Chicken fame) it's called Uma and the Answer to Absolutely Everything and as with Charlie it's illustrated by Sarah Horne. They're a great team!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">- - - - - - - - - -</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Thank you to Scholastic for allowing me to get involved with this book launch!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTO_gp695Mr4EoHpoLy3LVkSmPHefEQOpUOQYiJsWaNvft9hfeJLEPKoHSrKT8aHCfdjYPum1JbWOkZU44GJE4EYPo53EE_g4UPWOIDlD4ID06gP4SOY_g3mDMzqcAaUjiKDuULdh_3lip/s1024/twt4-tour.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTO_gp695Mr4EoHpoLy3LVkSmPHefEQOpUOQYiJsWaNvft9hfeJLEPKoHSrKT8aHCfdjYPum1JbWOkZU44GJE4EYPo53EE_g4UPWOIDlD4ID06gP4SOY_g3mDMzqcAaUjiKDuULdh_3lip/w640-h320/twt4-tour.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorApXWyG70e8n4iTgs8PyXxFJ3CKymEI5VsNTFNQSoxrzNP4B53GL-VyymU0vU7XlEnbB_XiGHYdky_uBBKBz6Cm9Rnfd2HaqqEO4mul0ptkU7vqgzc6ko3PC9rck7hXPx_NCdIeQZkiN/s320/blog+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorApXWyG70e8n4iTgs8PyXxFJ3CKymEI5VsNTFNQSoxrzNP4B53GL-VyymU0vU7XlEnbB_XiGHYdky_uBBKBz6Cm9Rnfd2HaqqEO4mul0ptkU7vqgzc6ko3PC9rck7hXPx_NCdIeQZkiN/w320-h192/blog+logo.png" width="320" /></span></a></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-52534845386149844272020-12-15T09:00:00.003+00:002020-12-15T09:00:03.506+00:00Book Review: Stick Boy by Paul Coomey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZf1JmIqOJloKWzWgif__lIjmXngZ2i8k2GnUwM5ZT48NpfmTmOnGUZM3kStsHF3FSSI-7OzbH1_LFpTBitA1VhRblFBm951slIVeD1wx0ywE3efOccx6LYVe1cnuC1ZMddo1-gaF9zyE/s2048/2020-12-12+13_06_44.856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZf1JmIqOJloKWzWgif__lIjmXngZ2i8k2GnUwM5ZT48NpfmTmOnGUZM3kStsHF3FSSI-7OzbH1_LFpTBitA1VhRblFBm951slIVeD1wx0ywE3efOccx6LYVe1cnuC1ZMddo1-gaF9zyE/w640-h640/2020-12-12+13_06_44.856.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I'm back with another book review for you and today I'm talking about <i>Stick Boy </i>by Paul Coomey.</span><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Now, this isn't my usual choice of book but when I was offered the chance to read it early and review it, I decided to give it a go. It looked fun and like a good book that I could share with the children at school if they wanted to read something a little different for a change.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Although I was sent this book by Little Tiger, I want to say that the following thoughts and opinions are all my own and I am in no way influenced by the fact that I was sent a copy of this book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Now, onto the review...<br /></span><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Here is the synopsis for <i>Stick Boy</i>:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2636e2; font-family: Convergence;">It's tough fitting in when you're born to stick out!</span></div><div><span style="color: #2636e2; font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2636e2; font-family: Convergence;">From the moment Stick Boy and his family move to Little Town, there is way more to worry about than being the new kid. There's a mysterious plot involving Baron Ben's new Mega Mall, pop star Jonny Vidwire and the highly suspicious HomeBots that are infiltrating every home in town. Can Stick Boy and his friends uncover the evil plan behind it all before it's too late?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Paul Coomey has created a brilliant book for children here, which will definitely be a hit with those who love the <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid </i>and <i>Tom Gates </i>books. It has that fun comic book/graphic novel feel but still gives that usual novel feel with longer passages of text.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">These passages are broken up with some truly incredible illustrations, whether it's full pages in a comic strip format, fun page borders or pictures of characters dotted in within the story. The illustrations are definitely what brings this book to life and Paul Coomey certainly has an incredible talent here.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The writing is brilliant, the artwork is captivating but the character of Stick is what really captured me. Despite being a stick boy, he is so relatable in terms of personalities and dreams. Stick just wants to fit in, have some friends and get through life without any trouble. There are times when he makes hard choices that he thinks are for the best but turn out to cause more problems for himself and others. I think children reading this book will be able to see themselves in Stick, thinking about their own experiences, but also just seeing the fun in the character.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Overall, I liked this book a lot. I'm already planning on taking it into school as I know several children in my class who would like to read this based on what they've read in the past. There is also one child in my class who has written his own book recently that features a stick-like character, so I know they will definitely love it!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;">If you want to buy <i>Stick Boy</i>, which is being released in January, click <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Stick-Boy-Paul-Coomey/9781788952309/?a_aid=JanayBrazier" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoM_tGFFMF2XT2hKhMWpURwpWvJQE5AdQ8yJnFmH_k3XwvgTaliEoqy4cZ6SB7aVXc1zN59wHi5nHvf2k0AHThspPe6Puz-VIKz_zupbZqBgkhE02WtMZbYseYjvdxLtIqSeBRwy_4zDM/s320/Blog+Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoM_tGFFMF2XT2hKhMWpURwpWvJQE5AdQ8yJnFmH_k3XwvgTaliEoqy4cZ6SB7aVXc1zN59wHi5nHvf2k0AHThspPe6Puz-VIKz_zupbZqBgkhE02WtMZbYseYjvdxLtIqSeBRwy_4zDM/s0/Blog+Logo.png" /></a></div></div></div>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775633115732357808.post-20519533364827740952020-12-13T09:00:00.003+00:002020-12-13T09:00:00.793+00:00Book Review: The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy53MmGEIHLaLHk6W8QLCHs8PsLX5f87URPWp8EKovLbmmtHfFNc8fZ-DxHfB6kNB35CdOzBGrgqbvJCVGP122jjbs4Nb_tEB8-FBUF01j5yTCVYNqk5C8aefWm5z_Pyl-Pl7kMMRI0G56/s2048/2020-12-12+11_22_46.095.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy53MmGEIHLaLHk6W8QLCHs8PsLX5f87URPWp8EKovLbmmtHfFNc8fZ-DxHfB6kNB35CdOzBGrgqbvJCVGP122jjbs4Nb_tEB8-FBUF01j5yTCVYNqk5C8aefWm5z_Pyl-Pl7kMMRI0G56/w640-h640/2020-12-12+11_22_46.095.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Convergence;">I'm so excited to be bringing you this early review of <i>The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh </i>by Helen Rutter.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I was very kindly gifted this book by Scholastic in exchange for a review, but I would like to say that all thoughts shared on this book are my own and have not been influenced in any way. I will always be honest in my reviews.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">So, read on to find out what I thought of <i>The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh</i>...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">First, here is the synopsis:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Billy Plimpton is an eleven-year-old boy with a big </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">dream. He wants to be a stand-up comedian when he grows up: delivering </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">pinpoint punch-lines and having audiences hang on his every </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">hilarious word. A tough career for anyone, but surely impossible </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">for Billy, who has a stammer.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">In the meantime, he's starting senior school and has concocted a cunning plan for survival: stay silent and under the radar until his stammer is cured, then miraculously become the most popular boy in class and win the end-of-term talent show. EASY.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;">But can Billy avoid being exposed by the cruel school bully? Can kind teacher Mr Osho help him realise that it's possible to stand out and fit in? Will his beloved grandma get her wish to see him telling jokes on stage?</span></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Convergence;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">How will he find his voice, if his voice won't let him speak?</div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I want to start by sharing that this is Helen Rutter's debut novel and it is inspired by the son, Lenny, who has a stammer. She wrote this book hoping that he and other children who could relate to the character of Billy Plimpton would enjoy reading about someone like themselves. Representation is so important in books and it is becoming more talked about with every book release. This is the first book I have ever read with a character who has a stammer (to my knowledge, but certainly not as the main character!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">This book really does pack a punch. It had me laughing and smiling, plus it had some beautifully-written sentimental moments. The character of Billy Plimpton was so captivating and you are rooting for him from the very first page. We learn from the very beginning how much Billy loves jokes, but with the dialogue showing how his stammer impacts him, he questions his ability to be funny when he can't even speak. These first few pages have you wanting him to succeed in his dream from the very beginning. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I also love how every chapter starts with a joke or a great one-liner. When I get around to sharing this book with the children at school, I think they will look forward to hearing a little joke at the start of every chapter.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">The writing is captivating and moreish, making it hard to put down. I just kept wanting to read the next chapter to see how Billy was getting on. Helen Rutter has also created some incredible characters. A personal favourite of mine - other than Billy, of course - was the teacher Mr Osho. Working in a school, I loved to see a supportive teacher who wanted to help and did it in a calm way that didn't force Billy to go from nought to one hundred straight away. I also loved Granny Bread. She was so supportive and wanted Billy to know that he could achieve his dream if he kept believing and kept trying.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">Overall, I loved this book. It was fun and heart-warming. </span><span style="font-family: Convergence;">I think Jacqueline Wilson's quote of "Very funny, very touching, very truthful - a total delight to read" and Noel Fielding's one-word summary of "Amazing" sum up this book in a nutshell. I will definitely be recommending it and I can't wait to add this to this list of books I want to share with the children in my class.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;">If you're interested in purchasing this book, you can buy it <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Boy-Who-Made-Everyone-Laugh-Helen-Rutter/9780702300851/?a_aid=JanayBrazier" target="_blank">here</a> ahead of its release in February 2021.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Convergence;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorApXWyG70e8n4iTgs8PyXxFJ3CKymEI5VsNTFNQSoxrzNP4B53GL-VyymU0vU7XlEnbB_XiGHYdky_uBBKBz6Cm9Rnfd2HaqqEO4mul0ptkU7vqgzc6ko3PC9rck7hXPx_NCdIeQZkiN/s320/blog+logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorApXWyG70e8n4iTgs8PyXxFJ3CKymEI5VsNTFNQSoxrzNP4B53GL-VyymU0vU7XlEnbB_XiGHYdky_uBBKBz6Cm9Rnfd2HaqqEO4mul0ptkU7vqgzc6ko3PC9rck7hXPx_NCdIeQZkiN/s0/blog+logo.png" /></a></div></div><p></p>Janay Brazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11441857829650861780noreply@blogger.com0