Top Tips for Weaning and Top Tips for Toddler Tantrums By Gina Ford Vermillion, £6.99 each These two little mini sized books are full of tips for parents and the all important issues of weaning and dealing with toddler tantrums. The weaning book tackles when to start weaning and tips and ideas for the first, second and third stages of weaning. If you’re having difficulties weaning your baby, or they’re proving to be a bit of a fussy eater, then…

How To Cook DK, £12.99 How To Cook offers a practical and fun insight into how to make dishes that all the family will enjoy. If your children want to have a go at cooking with you, then the book is an ideal source of inspiring recipes, plus it’s perfect for older kids wanting to learn how to cook independently. The ingredients lists and cooking methods are clearly explained and there are photos and images illustrating many of the step-by-step…

Love You Mum By Gillian Campbell Barnes Holland, £12,95 If you’ve ever felt that all the other mums you know are doing a better job than you and seem to do so whilst looking calm, glamorous and unflustered, then this is the book for you! In Love Your Mum, author Gillian Campbell tells it like it is and urges women to ‘stop trying to be the mum you think you should be. Start enjoying being the mum you are.’ The…

Shoot The Baby: Great Baby Photos and How to Take Them By Helen Webb Vero Press, £12.99 If you’re keen to capture and cherish special moments throughout your baby’s life, then this book is full of inspiration for taking baby photos. Written in an easily accessible manner, the book is well balanced in its content and is suitable for anyone wanting to have a go at photography. There’s lots of practical information for photographers on how to get the perfect…

Good Books for Tough Times: Books for Children Aged 5-8 and Books for Children Aged 9-12. Partnership for Children partnershipforchildren.org.uk Produced by the children’s charity, Partnership for Children, these two free guides are designed for parents and carers who are helping children through difficult times. The guides contain details of children’s books that focus on particular topics, such as death, divorce, bullying or illness and can be used by parents to help guide reading choices when such situations occur. In…

Until the Light of Morning CD By Essie Jain Available from www.lightofmorning.com for $12 (approx £7) This children’s CD by musician and singer, Essie Jain, is designed to be used at bedtime. The melodic music is perfect for unwinding and relaxing and could be played in the run-up to bedtime to help calm children down after a busy day, or as children are settling down to sleep. The words and music are all apt for bedtime listening – titles include,…

Little Charley Bear: Are You There Charley Bear? HiT Entertainment, £7.99 The imaginative world of Charley Bear, as seen on CBeebies, can now be enjoyed by children on this first ever DVD. Each of the episodes on the DVD contains fun and antics from playful Charley Bear and his friends, plus there’s a bonus episode, an introduction to Charley and some downloadable colouring sheets. 

Peter and the Wolf – Prokofiev, Carnival of Animals - Saint-Saens and The Story of Babar The Little Elephant - Poluenc By David Coram (organ), David Owen Norris (piano), narrated by Richard Briers £14.99, www.animalsongs.co.uk Richard Briers narrates Peter and the Wolf, the children’s classic composed by Sergei Prokofiev. The music has been cleverly given a new twist on the organ by David Coram (playing the organ of Romsey Abbey, Hampshire), who demonstrates how it can effectively be used to…

Get Ahead Fred By Daisy Dawes Maverick, £5.99 Fred is a stylish man about town, who has a hat for every occasion. When he hears the Queen is visiting his town, he thinks a new hat is necessary – but things don’t quite go to plan! This fun story is accompanied by unusual images, featuring specially made models by author, Daisy Dawes, and the text gives the impression of bring written by hand. Both work really well and it’s an…

How the Koala Learnt to Hug and Other Australian Fairytales By Steven Lee, illustrated by John Bigwood The People’s Theatre Company, £12 Best known for creating children’s touring plays, playwright Steven Lee has turned his hand to writing children’s stories. The result – How the Koala Learnt to Hug and Other Australian Fairytales – is a fun collection of 10 stories designed for parents to read aloud to children. The title story is about Karen the Grumpy Koala who learns…