Candepop

We are two mums and two babies, Cal and Edie, (two dads and two cats as well) living in Ireland, with a whole world of fun things to see and do.

 

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The Great Explorer - Chris Judge

Irish writer / illustrator Chris Judge is back with The Great Explorer, his follow-up to the award-winning The Lonely Beast, and it’s another winning tale of a journey into the unknown.

Our protagonist Tom takes a trip to the North Pole, in search of his father who is a famous explorer. On the way, he enjoys a slew of hair-raising adventures and beastly encounters.

The story affords plenty of opportunities to contrast enthralling full-page illustrations of giant icebergs and the Northern Lights, with other pages rich with detail across multiple frames.

We’d see this story as suitable for a bedtime toddler read, even if the concept of Dad disappearing may be a little heavy for young hearts! There is plenty of gentle learning involved, introducing some new animals, the concept of the North Pole, maps and igloo building. One page in particular sees Tom navigate from iceberg to iceberg, using varied verbs “Tom jumped hopped, skipped, bounded and leapt across the ice…”, a handy technique to help toddler with the concept of multiple ways of describing similar actions.

For young kids an adventurous journey is unbeatable, especially if it’s filled with boats, helicopters, balloons and plenty of animals. Tom’s bag of provisions and equipment is reminiscent of the ubiquitous Dora’s backpack, with one clever illustration detailing everything Tom takes on the journey. Overall the story affords very good scope for a child to learn some new nouns and verbs, while enjoying Tom’s travels and the very colourful landscape that is Judge’s North Pole. And although not as easy for toddler Cal to chant as Beast, after one day he seems to be making a fairly good effort at announcing grandly, “The Great Explorer!” every time he turns over to the cover. Watch out too for the Beast in a Hitchcockian style in-story cameo.
The Great Explorer will be available from 2nd February, with launch and signing on 4th February in the Central Hotel, Dublin. Full details on the launch here, purchase on Amazon here and for an additional preview of the book, check out the very cinematic trailer here.

Tootsa MacGinty - Spring / Summer 2012 collection

Perfect for families where hand me downs are a must, regardless of boy or girl, or mamas who just want their kids dressed like kids and not mini mr or misses, Tootsa MacGinty’s Spring / Summer 2012 collection is out now and is as lovely as always. Plenty of bold stripes, bright colours, rabbit details and the odd irresistible denim dress check out the full collection here.

 

Augustina Woodgate - Stuffed animal skins

When the kids have moved onto Xbox, rugby or chasing girls, Augustina Woodgate’s process of converting once loved soft toys into stuffed animal skin rugs may be the way to save those memories while still having something useful and even beautiful in your home. See more of her work here. (via CMYBacon)

BabyLit Books - Classic literature for toddlers

For tiger mums or mums who just want a change from Gruffalos and penguins, Gibbs Smith brings you their range of Baby Lit board books. The BabyLit range include toddler suitable adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet, with Jane Eyre and Alice in Wonderland soon to be released. Loving the idea and look of the illustration style I impatiently downloaded a copy of Little Miss Austen - Pride and Prejudice as an eBook for the iPad and must admit I love it. A simple counting book that it is, getting to count 2 rich gentlemen, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy and 4 marriage proposals with a very aristocratic voice over made an old Jane Austen fan very happy indeed. All four will definitely be getting added to Cal and new baby’s amazon wish lists! Find out more about BabyLit here.

Little Miss AustenLittle Master Shakespeare

Little Master CarrollLittle MIss Bronte

Toideloi - Dollhouses for boys and girls

Dutch design, made in the USA, Toideloi modular stackhouse is made entirely of birch plywood and the self assembly walls simply slot together. It can be separated into two houses for separate play or combined to make one larger house for playing together and create many unique combinations from castle to sky scraper. Suitable for boys and girls, this is a blank slate dolls house with plenty of printable paper furniture available on their site to be cut out and coloured in. Definitely a very refreshing change from the very gender defined toys of late. See full details and online store here. (via BB Blog)

Photos by Kevin Wong

Molly Moo - Mum to Mum

Molly Moo blogger, Michelle McInerney, must be one of the busiest online mums around. In addition to her own blog, the National Children’s Gallery and the International Children’s Gallery she has also made time to go to Northern Kenya as part of the Become a Friend team. This initiative twins Masai schools with junior schools in Ireland and the UK. Michelle is also reaching out to the mothers, “mum to mum”. She is looking for simple messages from other mums to connect with a generation of mums who (frequently married as young as 14) missed out on the benefits their children will hopefully enjoy. Find out more about Michelle’s next trip to Northern Kenya and leave a message for her to take to the mums here. 

Paper Town - carboard fold up toy

Recycled and recyclable, Paper Town is a sturdy cardboard town inspired by Polish suburban life. Delivered flat pack and ready to fold, perfect for use with existing toy cars and action figures. (Via Handmade Charlotte)

Kodo 30th Anniversary One Earth Tour

If you have children who like loud noise, the Kodo Family Experience in the National Concert Hall, February 12th, might be the event for you. Featuring Japanese Drum ensemble, Kodo, this is an informal performance where the members talk about their life in Kodo Village while demonstrating their techniques and music. Aimed at children aged 3 and up, you might want to check out their performance online here before booking. Full details here. (via No More Workhorse)

Ningengakki - Human Instrument

I totally want one of these for Cal and his cousins to play with but I think I could also see it descending fairly rapidly into a total slap fest followed by serious tears. Ningenagakki is an anthropomorphic toy that uses conductivity to turn touch into musical instruments. (via Spoon & Tamago)


The Ark - A Cultural Centre for Children

Spring is just around the corner and The Ark has an excellent season of Spring Sing events on the way. Including digital songwriting workshops, beatbox workshops and joyful singing workshops, for the really little ones, there is plenty to suit all age groups and creative kids who don’t necessarily want to be a Billlie Barry. See full details of their Spring Sing programme here. 

Ark illustrations by Kate Brangan.

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