Pages

Thursday 12 July 2012

Barefoot Books review and giveaway

Mr Coffee and I love classic myths, and have always wanted to pass on that love to the Lattes. A while ago we began the search for a good book of Greek myths to share with the children.  Eventually, on a trip to Seven Stories in Newcastle last year, Mr Coffee got lost in the bookshop there and emerged some time later clutching a copy The Adventures of Odysseus, published by Barefoot Books.


The authors' names were a guarantee of quality in themselves - Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, two of the country's best performance storytellers. Last year we heard their performance telling of the myths, Metamorphoses, which was commissioned by the Hay Festival, and we were utterly spellbound. If we couldn't get them to personally tell these tales to our children, then this was the next best thing. The language of the book is astonishing - it treats children with the respect they deserve.

And on top of that, the book is utterly beautiful. With illustrations by Christina Ballit, every page is a joy.


So when Barefoot Books asked me if I wanted to review some books, I was already firmly in their camp. I dropped a heavy hint about Yoga Pretzels, a series of yoga activities on cards to share with your children. We'd used them at a children's yoga class the Lattes attended a while ago, and they're lovely - attractive to hold, and beautifully drawn, and a great way to very simply introduce a bit of yoga into a stressful day. My hinting paid off - and I soon had this gorgeous box in my possession.


I can't recommend this highly enough. With games, postures, breathing exercises and activities to do with a partner, it's a great introduction to yoga for children. As summer approaches - and you know how stressful our holidays get - I shall be clinging to this box like a life-raft.

Their catalogue reads like a cruel exercise in self-control. So many beautiful things available to buy! Barefoot also sent me The Snow Queen and the amazing Barefoot World Atlas -just look at it.


In the Coffee House, children's books usually live on a bookcase in the girls' bedroom. These books, however, have never made it upstairs. They float around the living room, being picked up and put down - to read aloud to Littlest, to read to myself in a stolen moment. They might claim to be children's books but, seriously, ALL books should aspire to be this good.

The other weekend, by coincidence, I met a lady selling their books. She told me she'd signed up to become a Barefoot Books ambassador just so she could get her hands on more of them. There's information on their ambassador scheme on their website. You can also read about how the company started.

It's worth having a poke around their website, which has a podcast section for listening to stories, and some fun videos. There are activities and crafts to download for free.

As luck would have it, my parcel of review books contained the book we already had, The Adventures of Odysseus. So I asked Barefoot Books if I could give it away, and I shall - just leave a comment and I'll throw you all into the Random Number Generator. Just UK entries please! I'll draw the winner sometime after 5pm BST on Saturday July 21.



20 comments:

  1. oooh, id love to win a copy of this! lina

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barefoot books are fabulous. Please put me in the draw.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh, noooo!!! I live in Italy, I know I'm lucky, but I'm excluded from the giveaway!!!! I'm a Barefoot Books fan, I even shopped at their store in US! They were the first to publish the work of talented italian illustrator Giovanni Manna (they even sell prints, hurray!) All their books and cds are really super...I'll definitely look into becoming an ambassador! Thanks, Coffee Lady!
    Alberta

    ReplyDelete
  4. We love Barefoot books and Son aged 7 is a Greek myths geek so would love to win Odysseus...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Big fan of Barefoot Books too. We have the Princess stories. Some are quite hair raising - not your usual pink and frilly stuff. Little R is spellbound by The Horned Snake's Wife. We have the stories on CD and listen to them in the car. She could recite The HSW almost word for word at the age of 4, strange child that she is.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for introducing me to Barefoot books
    Please enter me for the giveaway, this looks a fabulous book

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like Barefoot Books very much, and know a little person who would love this book...

    ReplyDelete
  8. one of the worst things about my children getting older is that we never seem to look at books like this anymore. although I have by amazing coincidence recently bought yoga pretzels! and you have reminded me that I have promised my peeps a return trip to seven stories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. They look beautiful - and I am sorely tempted by the yoga pretzels - might help my middle child who has poor flexibilty (being premature has had unexpected impacts). Love the fact that Odysseus is by two talented story tellers. I am determined totake my family off to listen to professional story tellers soon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with Tess, I truly miss having children's books around the house. Every time I venture into the teen's bedroom with a cleaning cloth, I reward myself with a quick peek on his bookshelf (which, I hasten to add, is largely untouched these days).

    ReplyDelete
  11. We're all classic myth fans here too! May I enter if I have a UK father-in-law address?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Pleeeeease put my name in the number crunching hat?!?
    We love myths and legends and fairytales overhere (had an ultra-chuffed moment a while back when my 3 were all on the sofa with a book of myths and/or fairytales; I may have made a lot of mistakes so far, but the reading-until-I-can't-keep-my-eyes-open-anymore bit I got right, at least..!)(and yes I of course know that most of that is pure luck, but still, I feel the glow..)
    And Barefoot Books are brilliant. Beautiful language, beautiful artwork. I can gush on but won't. I love them. I will now throw away the rest of my coffee and stop blabbering.
    Have a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the yoga pretzels idea - I have been trying to find a children's yoga class locally with no success, and the DVDs I have tried didn't appeal to them at all.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'd love to try this book out on my little bookworms. Do books really live on a bookshelf in your house? I am impressed - in our house they generally live in piles by beds and in the small boys room they substitute for carpet. Library trips are always preceded by a hunt with a torch under beds (sometimes even my own!). The best loved books are always the hardest to find. I haven't lived down the shame of having to confess to the library staff that the cat was sick on one very lovely books pages, which had been strewn mid-read on the floor.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like a book my little one would love! Pop me in the random number generator please,

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ooo, Ooo, Ooo.... Me too, please! x

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'd like to enter please!! Also, hurray to all books aspiring to be this good!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Barefoot Books do some lovely stuff. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. You can't beat a good children's book, they get all the best illustrations!.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I, too, love Barefoot Books - they are ALWAYS so beautifully illustrated, and the stories are a joy. Would love to win.
    Kim (chris.daltrey@fsmail.net)

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. I always try to respond - either here in the commentbox or by email if Blogger gives me your email address.

Thanks for visiting!