Monday 30 July 2012

10 picnics, 10 blogs, 10 books, 10 days!





Over the next 10 days, join us for a marathon of picnics as we take the Picture Book Picnic on tour across 10 fantastic blogs. Each blogger will be holding their very own picnic complete with yummy treats, creative activities and a tasty selection of picture books. So join in the fun and pick up some ideas for your own picnic!  Download your very own free picnic pack here.




The blog tour kicks off with Playing by the Book, including tree climbing with Anna Hibiscus, paper boat racing with Arthur's Dream Boat and creative cake-making with Oh No, George!



Join in the fun on the Picture Book Picnic blog tour:



30th July:  www.playingbythebook.net
31st July: www.rainydaymum.co.uk
1st August: www.amothersramblings.com
2nd August: www.theboyandme.co.uk
3rd August: www.beingamummy.co.uk
6th August: www.deepinmummymatters.com
7th August: www.wahm-bam.org
8th August: www.mummymishaps.blogspot.com
9th August: www.arewenearlythereyetmummy.com
10th August: www.picturebookpicnic.co.uk





Friday 20 July 2012

How To Get a Job, by Me, The Boss.








What do your little ones want to be when they grow up? Sally Lloyd-Jones covers everything from President of the World to Balloon Holder in her exclusive blog post about her new picture book, How To Get a Job, by Me, The Boss.






What can I say?





When I was 2—long, long ago, back in the
time of caves, back in the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth and parents left
children in cars—my sister (a fresh plumpy newborn) and I were left in the back
of our Humber car while our parents popped out—just for a second.





When they left us, I was sitting on the
back seat, and my sister was in the carrycot.





When they came back, I was in the carrycot
and my sister was on the floor.





So it was only a matter of time before I
took further revenge on my three little sisters… and wrote a shocking expose.









Actually, when I say I wrote it—that’s not
strictly true. I started out writing it, but then this six-year old
self-appointed baby expert narrator Big Sister totally took over. And she’s
been writing them ever since. (She has three books out now.)





She said things and I wrote them down. I am
just the scribe, really.





How To Be A Baby, By Me, The Big Sister is filled with helpful advice and tips and all the reasons why it’s
better not to be a baby (you don’t know if you are a boy or a girl, you don’t
read books you eat them; you don’t carry a backpack you go in one, stuff like
that). Though by the end she can’t help it, she has to admit it is actually sometimes quite nice being a baby
because everyone hugs and kisses you—and having a baby brother isn’t always
awful because they get bigger and then you can play with them.





Her second book is called: How To Get Married, By Me, The Bride and in it the self-appointed bridal expert
addresses the finer points of pulling off the perfect wedding (outfits you can
wear, who is suitable to marry, who isn’t so suitable) and now she turns her
attention to the job market and here comes everything you need to ace the
interview, and land the perfect job in this handy manual—How To Get a Job, byMe, The Boss.




It is packed with all kinds of helpful
advice and tips. She is very thorough and covers all kinds of jobs: large ones
(like “President of the World”) and small ones (like “Balloon Holder”) and even
includes some startling revelations. For instance, how very disappointing to
read: “Sitting in your chair eating cookies” is NOT a job. (I wanted that job.
Is it really not a job?) The Boss even does a sample interview—and helps you
conduct yourself appropriately, advising on what is appropriate to bring to the
interview (your CV) and what isn’t (your whole family, your gerbils) and what
is good to do during an interview and what isn’t (sit on the boss’ lap).





She is highly encouraging and helpful in
everything. In fact, she has so much wisdom to impart that even grown ups are
reading her books now—Brides and Grooms to be are picking up tips from How to Get Married, By Me, The Bride and anyone newly looking for work—or who
doesn’t yet know what they want to be when they grow up will probably learn a
great deal from How To Get A Job, By Me, The Boss.





I know I did. 






(She hasn’t told me yet if she has another
book coming—if I have a job as her scribe. But that doesn’t matter.  For now I have plenty to do. First of all,
I’ve got to go to my chair and sit in it and eat some
cookies.)










How To Get a Job, by Me, The Boss by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap is available from all good booksellers.



 Get a taste of what it's like to be the boss with these fun-filled activity sheets!






Wednesday 11 July 2012

Teddy's Bear's Picnic




This week, the US celebrated National Teddy Bear’s Picnic Day. What a great excuse to hold your own picnic (indoors or out!) with our free tasty picnic pack.

When it comes to a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, not even the rain can spoil the fun! Picnics can be just as fun inside, so roll out your picnic rug and download our free picnic pack for all you need to create your perfect indoor picnic. 




Treat your little ones to a picnic story and pick your favourite teddy bear book; we recommend the classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.


Let us know your favourite bear stories by Monday 16th July and you’ll have a chance to win one of our Picture Book Picnic goody bags, including a poster, a set of gorgeous illustrated postcards, stickers, a bear cookie cutter and a bumper pack of colourful activity sheets, all in a stylish cotton tote bag! Just email your answer, name and address to marketing@walker.co.uk  


terms and conditions


Happy picnicking!







Sunday 8 July 2012

Meet Pickwick the pigeon!








Thank you to everyone who entered our competition last month to name the resident Walker pigeon; we had a hamper full of brilliant entries but in the end the prize went to Jazzmine B who has officially named the pigeon Pickwick!





With the rain threatening to stick around for another week, Pickwick is staying put in the nest for now. If the rain's got you housebound too, check out our free downloadable activity sheets to keep your little ones busy until the sun comes back.





Stay tuned later this month for more chances to win Picture Book Picnic goody bags in our picture book blog tour...