Candepop

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

 

Follow us on Bloglovin'

Search

Additional pages

Find us on...

Posts we like

More liked posts

Cat Doorman’s Little Red Wagon

Guest  post from dad to be, James Kelleher.
Cat Doorman is Julianna Bright, and vice versa. She’s an Oregonian artist/mom/musician who’s collaborated with a bunch of American northwest indie rock heroes (including members of The Decemberists, Golden Bears, Black Prairie and Built to Spill) to make Songbook, a very charming folksy, old-timey album for children. Little Red Wagon is the first companion app to launch alongside the album, it’s developed by top toddler-catnip producers Night & Day Studios, and it’s very lovely indeed.
On launching the app, you’re dropped straight into Bright’s instantly appealing hand-painted world, where you choose whether you’d like a guitar, piano, or full band backing track. Then it’s right into the song adventure, where a girl in an orange dress gathers supplies – all dropped into the red wagon of the title – for a picnic in the forest. The dairy is run by a goat (the chèvre is recommended), the bakery by a cat: my weekly grocery shop now seems sadly mundane by comparison. 
The song itself is great, a blessed relief from the brain-mulching music found in most apps aimed at children, and appears in full notation at the bottom of the screen in case you’d like to play along. All the interaction cues necessary to progress are well signposted, but there are plenty of mischievous hidden surprises for curious tappers too. Trust me when I tell you: those pooping cows are going to be tapped A LOT.
This is another great app from Night & Day, with lashings of their customary attention to detail, plenty of charm and a lot of heart. 
To find out more of James Kelleher’s views on apps and the rest of the world follow him on twitter here.

The Brave Beast - Book launch & print exhibition

Chris Judge has teamed up with Damn Fine Print to create a limited edition set of prints to launch his new picture book, The Brave Beast. Beastly fans can catch up with Chris and the Beast at the book launch in The Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin on Saturday 9th March between 11 and 3. But if you can’t wait till then you can buy the prints online here and download Beast freebies here. 

image

image

image

Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman & Adam Rex

When I read of the publication of Chu’s Day I was pretty sure we’d like it, after all it has a goggle wearing baby panda, sneezing (always hilarious in our house) and the wonderful Neil Gaiman. We went out and bought it on the day of release and we were not disappointed. As soon as it was out of the bag it was read three times in succession in a cafe to a snorting five year nephew and hysterical two a half year old daughter and we have read it every night since. As the book says, when Chu sneezes bad things happen, and it takes us through various nose tickling scenarios wondering which one will induce the dreaded giant sneeze. It is simply but perfectly worded and stunningly illustrated by Adam Rex whose work I had not encountered before but will definitely seek out again. We loved it and hope we might see some more of Chu and his weary parents in future!


Reading Pictures - A celebration of Irish children’s books and illustration

Irish Design Shop in collaboration RHA are hosting a weekend of events this St Patrick’s weekend celebrating Irish children’s books and illustration. The weekend will include demonstrations on book binding, cartooning, presentations on vintage Irish book covers, the debut of Kevin Waldron’s picture book Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo and more. All events are free and full details are here.

image

Snurk bedding

Designed in Holland, made in Portugal, a percentage of the cost donated to homeless children and even without all these good things I would still want Snurk astronaut duvet covers for the boys. There are princess ones too if you really must but seriously, wouldn’t you prefer to be an astronaut when you dream. See the full range of Snurk bedding here. 

image

Bold & Noble - Dublin Type Maps

Some time back we featured the very lovely Bold & Noble type maps as a learning edition to your newbie’s nursery. And although it doesn’t have the same soap opera familiarity as the London map the new Dublin print is a very welcome local edition. Available unframed in sea green or sheer slate here.

Jamie’s Italian Dublin

With the not fun-ness of moving house and at late notice requiring a rental house for three weeks weighing upon us, husband very kindly decided a lunch out for all was required to cheer up the cranky family. With the rain pouring down Jamie’s Italian in Dundrum Town Centre was a very welcome sight and did not disappoint. With the kids menu in view finder format, deliciously fun food for the kids and really excellent and friendly service we will definitely be back again. See the full menu here.

image

image

image

image  

Crumpled City Junior Maps

These have been around a while but if you are starting to plan out any city vacations for the year they might be a nice travel treat to invest in for the kiddos (and also for adults like myself who cannot fold maps). Like they sound, Crumpled City Maps are maps that can be mashed into a ball, shoved in the bottom of your bag and survive. 100% waterproof and designed to be light, the junior editions feature a bright design and “not to be missed junior locations”. Available for New York, Paris, London, Amsterdam and Berlin from Palomar.

Mandscape in The Ark

While the children snooze through this very dark miserable day I can finally get back online to plan future outings, and a trip in to Mandscape in The Ark is definitely a must. An exhibition of ten landscapes where mankind is present and chosen to engage children, open on Saturdays with the cosy corner also available and free. Sounds like a perfect trip into town. Check out the preview video for the Ark’s 2013 events above.

Christmas TV - The Snowman and the Snow Dog

More good Christmas TV to look forward to that isn’t going to take up your entire evening. Channel 4 will be showing The Snowman and the Snow Dog at 8pm on Christmas eve. Following on from the Raymond Briggs original this marks the 30th anniversary of the Snowman. For any kiddos who haven’t seen the original, it is available to watch on YouTube here (make sure to look out for David Bowie at the start) and if you need a bit more Raymond Briggs to keep you going before Christmas eve The Bear is avaialble to watch here.

Loading posts...