The Happiest Baby on the Block

What should you do when you are facing a baby who just won’t sleep or stop crying? Many modern parents find it old-fashioned to use so-called traditional ways like singing nursery rhymes to calm babies down. My aunt is one of these fashionable parents. Talking about her baby girl during dinner, she told me the best way to calm my cute cousin is, to my surprise, not by any method suggested by my experienced Grandma, but some funny ways mentioned in the book The Happiest Baby On The Block. One of these innovative ways includes imitating the environment in the uterus (which the baby has stayed comfortably for nine entire months) by swaddling and swinging the baby. Well, I haven’t got a chance to experiment these interesting tricks yet, but I’m sure you’ll find them really useful after reading the thorough explanation of every technique in the book!

Angel@booklodge.com



P.S. Find the book here!

Reading Tips!

We all know that the love of reading is crucial to the development of our children and must be instilled at an early age, but how? Read on for tips on how to nurture a lifelong reader:

A regular pattern
In order to foster the habit of reading, it is essential that children are reading books on a daily basis. It is common that children are busy with their daily routine but there are many opportunities to read books to your child during their routine. Right before mealtime is a perfect slot to read some short stories whilst bedtime story is an important part of growing up. When you have a fixed reading schedule, it gives the child something to look forward to!

Let the child select the book
The parents probably select most of the books in the home. Why not let the child have his/her own say on which book to read? Your child should also be given a choice as this allows them develop their own individual thinking.

Interaction
Reading books to your child should not be a solo performance. Whilst reading, questions and answers should be exchanged. Reading time is an opportunity to introduce new concepts to your child, enhance language ability, and to build up his/her knowledge.

Role model
As we all know, parents are role models for their children. It is important that your child knows that you are also an avid reader. Surround yourself with a lot of reading materials at your home and read them!

Reading should be fun and it is a wonderful way to bond with the family!

Joey@booklodge

The Great Hamster Massacre

Last Sunday, I paid a visit to my grandparents’. While we were chatting about my childhood, we were disturbed by gales of laughter coming from my nieces in the living room. When I asked the two sisters what was so interesting, my 11-year-old niece showed me a book they’ve been reading together called The Great Hamster Massacre.

Bearing in mind a massacre means a scene of mass killing, I was about to question whether the book is about animal abuse when I was attracted by the colourful cover of the book with a cute, chubby hamster. Flipping through the book, I came to find that the book has a far healthier content. It’s about the adventure of Anna and her brother in their investigation into the recent death of their hamster pets. The story is written in first-person by Anna and is a hilarious narration of the 9-year-old girl .The lovable tale makes an enjoyable read with its funny illustrations for readers of any age. It has won the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize 2010 and has been recommended by a wide range of children’s magazines.

Angel@Booklodge

The Great Hamster Massacre and its sequel The Great Rabbit Rescue can be found at Booklodge.com.