{My 5 cents} Movie: The Jungle Book

Little miss and I ventured out on a Mummy-Daughter date. We hit the cinemas to see The Jungle Book.

I admit to umming and arhhing about taking her to see it. Various online reviews said that the violent nature of the film was not appropriate for children, even at her age, which is seven (and three quarters!).

In my opinion it was perfectly fine for her age. There were a lot of younger kids in the cinema and none of them ran out screaming.

Of course the story follows young Mowgli, raised by wolves after being found as a baby in the jungle by Bagheera, the panther. However, young man-cub Mowgli must leave the jungle and the only family he has even known after threats from Shere Khan, the tiger.

Queue tender moments between wolf-mother and man-cub....can anything be stronger than a mothers bond with her cubs. And yep I shed a tear.

As Bagheera helps Mowgli find the man village where he will be "safe", they encounter some interesting characters along the way....

Kaa, the slithery snake, voiced by Scarlett Johannson. You've never heard a silkier snake than this one. An important edition to the movie as she enlightens young Mowgli about how he come to live in the jungle.

Baloo, the free-spirited, honey loving bear, excellently voiced by Bill Murray and my favourite character in the movie. Seriously, you could just hug this big furry creature! After Baloo saves Mowglis life, he convinces him it would be a good idea to scale a cliff to get him some honey - a relationship forms and the pair become inseparable.

King Louie, the smooth-talking ape, voiced by Christopher Walken - say no more! Wants Mowgli to show him the red flower, he declines, a monkey chase and fight ensues.

As with all Jungle Book adaptations this one is a journey of self-discovery that leads to fun and adventure.

I'd give it 4 out of 5.

Have you seen it?
Thoughts on the age appropriateness?

{My 5 cents} Kingsman

Handsome men in three-piece suits. The End.

No, not really the end because I really enjoyed this movie so want to tell you all about it. 

Based on the comic book, The Secret Service by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar, it follows the recruitment and training of Eggsy into a secret spy organisation. The stars include Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton and Michael Caine.

The story begins with little Eggsy losing his father to an act of bravery, having saved the life of three others, Harry, Merlin and Lancelot. 

Then comes the falling into turmoil and trouble as his mother marries some dead beat, total loser of a man...and also fast forward seven years. 

Eggsy is played by newcomer Taron Egerton and he definitely has a Matt Damon appeal (look out for the scenes at the end when he is suited up). He is recruited to train for the Kingsman, after falling afoul with the law, by Colin Firth's character Harry. Harry sees this as a way of paying it forward after being one of the men that Eggsy's dad saved. 

Eggsy enters training with several other hopefuls all vying for a place in the exclusive Kingsman. As the movie trots along, the other recruits fall by the wayside, leaving Eggsy and the one female recruit Roxy to play it out. The final test, they are asked to shot their dogs. Eggsy fails. Roxy succeeds. Therefore, Eggsy is out and Roxy is in. 

(Spoiler: they were blanks in the gun, so while Roxy pulled the trigger, her dog was not killed.)

Eggsy returns to his life. 

Meanwhile, while Eggsy is in training. Daper Harry tries to find out who killed his friend and colleague Lancelot and uncovers a global threat that is gaining momentum across the globe. Cue Samuel L. Jackson, playing villian Richmond Valentine, a wealthy eco-terrorist. 

Valentine is a Bill Gates of sorts, a gazillionaire who wants to save the planet and comes to the realisation that people are killing the planet, so why not kill some people. His offsider, Gazelle, is hot stuff. She is equipped with some exceptional leg blades that double as some seriously sharp knives, which makes for some really great action sequences. 

It is confronting seeing Samuel L. Jackson in such a villainous role, but that is the point. He is a funny man, who isn't fond of killing, playing at saving the world from climate change with biological warfare. He is one of those characters you like, until people's heads start exploding. 

This movie is tagged as Action, Adventure, Comedy and I believe it dishes up all three. There are definite comic exchanges throughout the whole movie, look out for the Swedish princess at the end, I literally spat tea out of my mouth. Some parts were reminiscent of Kick Ass, that tongue-in-cheek seriousness that is funny. The action sequences are also great, watch out for the bar scene when Harry locks the door. 

So, all in all, I recommend you check it out. 

(oh and p.s, the church scene is quite violent, so look away in that part if you need to.)

Have you seen Kingsman?

What are your thoughts of men in three-piece suits?

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What are bad words?

Over the weekend Hubby and I watched one of Jason Bateman's latest flicks, Bad Words. It wasn't too bad, parts of it were extremely laugh-out-loud funny, others were totally cringe worthy.

It definitely didn't take too much thinking about the plot or characters - always good for an easy Saturday night.

Bad Words sees a middle-aged eighth grade dropout, played by Bateman, enter the National Quill Spelling Bee. Cue crazed pushy parents, over achieving kids, really big words and a very menacing Bateman.

Batemans character, Guy Trilby, has a take-no-prisoners approach to life as he hijacks this spelling bee whilst also travelling with a reporter trying to uncover his motivation for entering the competition.

His motivation became clear to me in the early stages of the movie so I started to focus on the "bad words". What are bad words? Don't the differ for everyone?

Bateman uses a lot of "bad words" in this movie, he drops the F bomb on more than several occasions.

Trilby is also extremely non-PC, taunting parents and children alike with racist, sexist and ageist remarks.

The extremely hurtful words he uses to menace his competition are also "bad", in one instance Bateman convinces another contestant that his mum slept with him the night before. The poor kid ran off completely devastated.

Clearly the title, "Bad Words" is spot on!

Have you seen it?

What is your idea of Bad Words?

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My views on Call me Sasha by Geena Leigh

The tag line for this book is Secret confessions of an Australian callgirl, therefore when I started reading I knew where Geena was headed.

The back of the book shed a little more light on her journey - sexual abuse, drugs and alcoholism, as well as the prostitution. Eventually leading to salvation and a brighter future.

I really thought I had it all figured out. I thought these were the stepping stones in Geena's life and that would be that.

I was wrong. There was a lot more to her story.

As soon as I started reading this book I wanted to reach into the pages, pull Geena out, wrap my arms around her and tell her everything would be okay. That I would be there for her when no-one else was.

I couldn't though. This is Geena's story, her past, her history. All the events laid out in this book have already happened and there is no erasing them.

As I read along with Geena's story, I would sometimes forget I was reading a memoir. Geena (aka Sasha) would become a fictional character. Someone made up. A flawed character, the author had given the incredibly shitty end of life's stick too.

Then I would remember, Geena is a real person. She lives in the same city as me. I could have easily passed her in the street. I could have easily passed someone with a similar story to Geena's in the street and been none the wiser.

This book is full of raw gut-wrenching and blunt honesty. I commend and respect Geena for being so extremely brave in sharing her story. The whole story. Not the sugar-coated one. She holds no punches. She puts it all on these 290 pages. It really can't have been easy making the decision to put it all into words having kept it a secret from so many for so long.

And what a story.

It all starts off with her extremely dysfunctional family, of which sadly she knows no different. An abusive father, an indifferent mother, older siblings trying to escape and a younger brother she is trying to protect.

At the young age of 15, neither parental figure wants her, she ends up sleeping in a park. Her story quickly descends from here, into street living, half-way houses, abuse, attempted rapes, rapes, prostitution - both at home and abroad, cocaine, heroine, drug overdoses, jail time and emotionally abusive boyfriends.

There are flashes of hope mixed in with all the despair though. She attempted many times to get a proper education, finally achieving a double University degree. She attended AA meetings and kicked her alcohol addiction. She got clean after a drug-overdose scare. After trying about seven times to leave the sex industry, she succeeded landing a "straight" job in strata management and is now a full-time writer. She met and feel in love with the love of her life, Gene....and the rest, as they say, is history.

I wept for Geena and all the men and women who have had similar stories. I wept even more for the ones who aren't as strong as Geena and never reach the salvation and freedom she craved and finally got at the age of 37.

Because all she ever wanted was the freedom to be herself. Not Sasha. She wanted to be just Geena, flaws and all and she wanted to be loved for it.

Isn't that what we are all truly seeking - to feel that we belong and to enjoy the freedom to just be ourselves - Geena Leigh

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone to read. It is such an inspirational story of one person's struggle to reach their ultimate goal of freedom. She succeeded in turning her life around and if this book helps one other person in doing the same it was worth Geena's heartache in sharing her intimate story.

Have you read Call Me Sasha? 

What are your thoughts?

My views on The Reunion by Sue Walker

On a trip to the local library recently with little miss and mr to borrow some kids books, I found myself wondering through the fiction shelves. It had been an age since I had read a book cover to cover that didn't involve babies, parenting or school transition.

I walked slowly up and down casually glancing at the spines of each book wondering which one would be worth a read. Secretly wanting to take all of them home and locking myself away to read them and feel the worn paper on my fingers.

But I am a realist and a mum with two small kids so I thought one at a time would probably be more than enough.

I stopped in the W section and saw a book titled The Reunion by Sue Walker.

Reading the back of the book it indicated that Innes Haldane, had spent time in an avant-garde psychiatric hospital as a teenager. She was incarcerated in the "Unit" after being deemed out of control both physically and sexually. She spent her time there with six other dysfunctional teenagers; Danny, Carrie, Lydia, Alexandra, Simon and Isabella.

Since their time in the "Unit", they have spent their adult lives trying to forget the unspeakable acts that sent them there and what occurred behind its walls. But it seems that a murderer is stalking the former patients and the only way to save themselves is by reuniting.

I love a good murder mystery and with little miss nagging at me to hurry up, I decided this was it.

As soon as I started reading this book, I just couldn't put it down. I would describe it as one of those gripping thrillers that is a serious page turner.

I simply had to find out the truth about what happened in the "Unit" that had left these adults so tormented and why the inmates were dying one by one. There were little breadcrumbs strewn throughout giving little clues here and there but I just couldn't figure it out.

The book jumps from past to present and character to character very cleverly. But I was never lost as to where I was in time or who was telling me their version of events.

Finally when the truth is uncovered, Innes is rocked.  As was I. I felt like I had been hit by a bus and I had certainly not seen it coming. I was shocked and grief stricken. So much so that I didn't know if I could finish the book. But I had to, I needed to reach some point of closure.

Finishing the book I did reach some closure, as did Innes. However, I am still thinking about it. It seems to have affected me profoundly.

Would I recommend it to you to read? To be honest I am not sure.

Have you read The Reunion by Sue Walker?

If so, what are your thoughts?

Do you have any books to recommend?

It's the Hairy Maclary show

Little miss and I tottered off on a mummy-daughter adventure last week to the Sydney Opera House. As you do!

We received tickets for Christmas from little misses Nona and Poppy to see Hairy Maclary and Friends. Little miss was ecstatic when she opened the four pack of Hairy Maclary books, with the tickets safely sticky-taped to the top.

She loves her outings to the Opera House and has been there several times to see various productions like, Angelina Ballerina, Giggle and Hoot, Room on a Broom, The Gruffalo's Child, and Justine Clarke.

Our tickets were for the 3.15pm show, so we decided to head in a bit early to grab some lunch at The Opera Bar and take in the great views of Sydney Harbour.

Looking every bit the fashionista :)

The view

After our relaxing lunch by the harbour, we hit the Hairy Maclary merchandise shop.

Every time we go to the Opera House something is purchased to commemorate our visit. My mum used to buy programs to keep from every production. Things have changed somewhat and little miss normally purchases something that flashes or a stuffed soft toy - both of which drive me bonkers.

This time was no different. Little miss decided on a Hairy Maclary light-up wand (what this has to do with Hairy Maclary is totally beyond me). We also bought our little man a touch-and-feel book.

Little miss with the purchased merchandise

When the doors opened, we raced in and took our seats in the fourth row to see Hairy Maclary and his friends - Hercules Morse, Muffin McLay, Bottomley Potts, Bitzer Maloney and Schnitzel von Krumm. They were also joined by Scarface Claw and Zachary Quack.

Our tix

Waiting for the show to start

The stories were sung and told by Sam Stone (total cracker hey!) and Mrs Pugh and it was totally and utterly wonderful. The cast involved the audience and the parents and kids all had a great time. Except one little boy who sneaked down the front and was scared out of his mind when Hercules Morse bounded on to the stage barking his extremely large heart out!

The cast sang and danced their way through several stories, including Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy, Hairy Maclary's Bone, Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack, Hairy Maclary's Hat Trick, Scarface Claw and Schnitzel von Krumm Basketwork.

Little miss and I both thoroughly enjoyed it and have been singing, "Hairy Maclary...from Donaldson's Dairy" ever since.

If you want more information on this show, go to http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/hairy_maclary_and_friends.aspx.

If you do get to the show, I would recommend purchasing the CD of songs from the show though instead of the scary-looking Hairy Maclary light-up wand.

For those who don't know Hairy Maclary and his friends or the wonderful author, Lynley Dodd, but would like to, check out this website - http://www.hairymaclary.com/

Have you enjoyed a show this year?

Do you purchase any merchandise?

Do you love Hairy Maclary and friends?

The Greenhouse Cafe

The Greenhouse Cafe

Following the preschool graduation concert, several of the graduating families headed out to dinner to celebrate together. A glass of wine for the grown-ups and a run around for the kids was definitely the order of the day after the emotional end to our afternoon.

Two wonderful mums organised it all for us at a local restaurant, The Greenhouse Cafe with the extremely accommodating owner, Dominic. They had booked out the whole back area of the restaurant for our group, which had a great grassed area that was completely fenced for the kids to run and play.

The Greenhouse Cafe has been open on Great North Rd, Five Dock (in the Inner West of Sydney) for ten months. Even though it is a local venue for us we had yet to go there.

As we walked around to the back area we were so impressed. They had set up tables for the adults to sit and picnic rugs adorned the grass for the kids to be able to eat together.

The venue isn't licensed, however is BYO, so the parents indulged in some beer, wine, cider and bubbles to toast our kids spending the past five years together. While the kids ran around and around on the grass. They played hide and seek, dancing, rumbles, and stacks on with some of the dads and did handstands with some of the mums.

When the food was served, we had garlic bread and an assortment of pastas; tortellini boscaiola, spaghetti bolognese, and chicken penne. Alongside pizzas; napoletana and vegetarian.

We served the kids first and they sat in a circle on the picnic rugs. As they ate the pizza and pasta hungrily, not a word was uttered and there were no complaints as all their dinners were finished and some seconds were requested. The adults followed suit and we were also not disappointed.

The food was abundant and delicious and our waiters were very accommodating and professional. They had no issue with the many kids running and screaming on the grassed area and packed us "doggy bags" to take home the leftover food. They were very attentive to us and we can't thank them enough.

We will definitely be going back there. If you are ever in the Inner West area of Sydney and looking for a place to eat you should check it out too.

Do you have a local cafe/restaurant that you love and is great for kids?

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and views are my own.

My views on Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

My friend has just been promoted at work, however, did not receive the appropriate monetary compensation in conjunction with her new position.

We were talking about possible scenarios that could play out to rectify this obvious oversight. She told me about a book she had just read where the author stated that more women needed to Lean In. She was asking me if I thought she should Lean In. I told her, "Absolutely".

Since my conversation with my friend, it had been rattling around in my head. I was definitely intrigued by what this book had to offer. A few weeks later I borrowed Lean In from the library.

Firstly, a little background 

The author Sheryl Sandberg is currently the COO of Facebook. Prior she was the Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. Before Google, she served as chief of staff for the United States Secretary of the Treasury.

When I learnt this about Sandberg, I admit to having a bit of a lady crush. Having worked in the IT industry for many years, it would be my dream to work for companies of the calibre of Google or Facebook.

Sandberg begins her book telling of being raised to believe that girls could do anything boys could do and that all career paths were open to her. I was lucky too, having had a similar upbringing. My brother was also taught that boys could (and should) do anything girls could do, except of course birth children - an equally important lesson.

Growing up, we both mowed the lawn, did the dishes, learnt to iron, laid bricks, dug holes, cleaned the bathroom and cooked. We were both afforded the same education and were never constricted in our dreams and goals.

Sadly, this is not the reality for all children. Some children are still brought up in the belief that women keep the house and look after the kids and the man earns the money.

About the book

Whilst reading this book so many things that Sandberg talks about rang true. I have worked in the male dominated IT industry for many years and have witnessed inequality and sexist behaviour towards women first hand.

Those damn gender stereotypes and inequalities

One of the main themes throughout Lean In, is that gender stereotypes and inequalities are still thriving to this day. A true but sad fact.

Sandberg admits to being surprised by this. During her university years, she believed the work that had been done to enforce equality had worked and when she emerged into the workforce men and women would be seen as equals.

However, this is still far from the truth, more men hold senior executive positions. And men still earn more than women for the same position. Clearly, more needs to be done to promote and support women in the workforce.

On the flip-side, it can also be said more women are stay-at-home-parents than men. Because this is still the expected norm.

We should be working towards equality for all. We should support men who want to be stay-at-home-parents and women who want to be senior executives. There should be no stigma attached to either.

We should all be sitting at the table

Sandberg talks about women who don't sit at the table, instead taking seats at the back, not expressing their views even when prompted. And when they do express them, they are talked over by the men in the room.

Sadly, I have seen this with my own eyes.

It disappoints me on so many levels; why aren't these intelligent women more confident? why are these men not willing to hear what these intelligent women have to say? They might learn something, I do!

She suggests that women should take more risks. Even if an opportunity arises that you think you aren't right for - you can learn! You learnt what you are doing right now so why can't you take a risk and learn something new.

A serious gender bias

Sandberg tells the story of Columbia Business School professor Frank Flynn and New York University professor Cameron Anderson, who ran an experiment to test perceptions of men and women in the workplace.

They started with a case study about a real-life entrepreneur named Heidi Roizen. Half the students were assigned Heidi's story and the other half were given the same story with just one difference - they changed the name "Heidi" to "Howard".

The students ranked both Heidi and Howard equally competent. Of course, they had the same educational and career achievements being the same person. 

However, the students believed Howard came across as a more appealing colleague. Heidi was seen as "selfish and not the type of person you would want to hire or work for". 

The same data with a single difference - gender - created a vastly different impression.

WOW, I couldn't quite believe the results of this experiment. Clearly, there was a gender bias. People still see successful women differently to successful men.

Due to these biases, women are still not promoting their successes or achievements. Something needs to be done. Once again, it is time to support both men and women in the decisions they make in their lives and careers.

Your equal partner 

Sandberg also gives advice on finding an equal partner. A person who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do their share at home. She believes these men do exist.

I also believe these men exist. As bias as I may be, I believe I am married to one. I will definitely be raising one. Parents across the globe need  to teach their children, both sons and daughters, that equality is important and they can strive to be anything they want.

Women supporting women

There is  mention in Lean In about women not supporting other women. Sadly, this is not news. Women need to start supporting each other and recognising the intelligence, beauty and success of each other. Equality has to start with us.

My favourite quote

“Today, despite all of the gains we have made, neither men nor women have real choice. Until women have supportive employers and colleagues as well as partners who share family responsibilities, they don't have real choice. And until men are fully respected for contributing inside the home, they don't have real choice either.”... Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In.

Back to my friend

Just in case you were wondering, my friend did Lean In and received an increase to her pay that was a better representation of her new position.

Have you read Lean In? What are your thoughts?

or what are your thoughts on equality?

I LOVE to laugh!

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Who doesn't though, right?

In my humble opinion one of the funniest ladies on the face of the planet is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She is most famously known for playing Elaine Benes in Seinfeld, which happens to be my all time favourite show. She commonly plays fiesty women. Maybe that is why I find her so fabulous, I love to attempt emulating fiesty, strong, funny women.

Recently, Hubby and I started watching her latest offering, VEEP.

The storyline goes "Former Senator Selina Meyer has accepted the call to serve as Vice President of the United States. The job is nothing like she imagined and everything she was warned about. 'Veep' follows Meyer and her staff as they attempt to make their mark and leave a lasting legacy, without getting tripped up in the day-to-day political games that define Washington."

I have to admit, I haven't laughed this hard for a while. I am talking about the kind of laugh when you can hardly breathe, you definitely can't speak and you could possibly pee your pants at any moment.

The episodes are fast paced, mostly they are trying extremely hard to cover their arses because one of them has caused a major balls-up, cue hilarity.

The cast is also a winner in my book. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is joined by Tony Hale, who played Buster in Arrested Development (another show I loved), he plays her personal aide and I do see touches of Buster in this character. Anna Chlumsky of My Girl fame plays her Chief of Staff and is very quick and witty. The cast all play off each other well and there is a lot of funny improvisation going on.

So if you need a good laugh...and who doesn't! Check out VEEP.

What shows do you think are funny? 

Who are actors that seem to always make you laugh?

Tangle Teezer!

Little miss and I journeyed to the hairdresser on the weekend for some much needed hair cuts...and a much needed colour for me.

As we waited for our turn, something on the shelf caught little misses eye - it was Shaun the Sheep.

In my head I was thinking, "oh great, what am I going to be hit up for now?"

Shaun the Sheep was advertising a Tangle Teezer, that just happened to have him on it. I read the marketing blurb to my little miss and my interest was piqued. Apparently this thing could de-tangle hair pain-free.

If any of you have attempted to brush the tangled hair of a small child I am sure you can sympathise with me that it is no picnic! There are screams, tantrums, tears and threats of shaving heads. It is a nightmare indeed.

So you can see why my interest was piqued. Now I was thinking to myself, "I might have to take little Shaun the Sheep home with me for $35."

We had our turn at aforementioned hair cuts and colour and I mentioned to the hairdresser about the Tangle Teezer and she swore by it. She said she she used it and it really worked. I was sold.

Little miss picked out the one she wanted....a hot pink compact one.

The results speak for themselves.

I have never seen anything like it! And little miss is now brushing her own hair, no questions asked! (Not sure how long that will last though).

I am going back to pick up a spare just in case something happens to the hot pink compact one.

BTW, This is NOT a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

My point of view match review - Souths v Cronulla

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Wanting to review your teams game really bites the big one when your team is not playing one of the games televised on Channel 9, oh and you don't have Foxtel.

But thanks to modern technology I downloaded the official Souths Sydney Android app and it was like I was at the game - well not really at all, not even in the slightest actually.

Because I couldn't see the game this week I am reviewing based on the tweets I received from @SSFCRABBITOHS.

This is how it played out....Twitter style....

Souths got off to a screamer! I was excited and yep I was getting ahead of myself.

Andrew Everingham scored in the fourth minute off a bomb from Adam Reynolds. Reynolds then converted (of course he did).

Issac Luke took Todd Carney out after he kicked and gave away a penalty in the eight minute - who can blame him though!

At the 14 minute mark, Dylan Farrell was over for a try off a Reynolds grubber and Adam Reynolds converted. Seriously Adam Reynolds is off to a cracker this season with the boot!

Eighteen minutes in and Cronulla hit the score board with a try and conversion. After the start to the season they have had we had to let them score at least once - right?

Souths headed to the half-time break leading 14-6.

The second half got off to a shabby start it seemed with neither team able to complete their sets.

Souths had a Merritt try disallowed, apparently someone obstructed Todd Carney - once again, who can blame them though!

On the flip side, Souths received a penalty as Merritt was taken in the air.

However, Souths lost the ball and Beau Ryan ran away with it, he was chased by Adam Reynolds but he just couldn't catch him.  (Too sweet when Beau Ryan scored though and signalled holding a baby and blowing a kiss to his newborn!) Gordon converted and now it is 14-12 to Souths.

This is when I started to hyperventilate just a little bit and also when Twitter told me "Tweets can't be received at this time". WTF!!!

With eight minutes left on the clock, Souths lost the ball in Cronulla territory - by this stage I think I was holding my breath and this is only Round 2!

Under five minutes remained and it was Todd Carney's turn to lose the ball and Adam Reynolds scored! But they went upstairs....no try because Issac Luke obstructed someone at dummy half.

Souths hold on though and win 14-12.

Yibbida Yibbida, that's all folks....until next week.

Thursday Book Club - Christmas Wombat

As Christmas approaches, we thought choosing a Christmas book to review was in order.

This week we are looking at Christmas Wombat by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley.

Image from here

The Story

Mothball the wombat is back and it is Christmas time. She sleeps, scratches, sleeps, and gets rid of the dangly things touching her nose.

Then she smells carrots!

Only to find strange creatures (aka Reindeer) eating her carrots. She battles the strange creatures for her carrots.

She curls up in Santa's sleigh and takes an unexpected ride - visiting different countries, eating more carrots, battling more strange creatures and nearly getting stuck in a chimney.

Eventually she arrives home and begins to munch on some yummy grass - only to realise she isn't hungry.

The Author

Jackie French has published over 130 books, ranging from historical novels, general fiction, non-fiction, picture books to gardening books. She has won literary awards, both nationally and internationally and also won a children's choice award.

Jackie and her husband live in the Araluen valley in a stone house they built themselves. Their garden rambles over about 4 hectares, with 800 fruit trees, and about 270 different kinds of fruit (not counting 125 varieties of apple). Jackie has also spent three decades studying the wombats in her valley.

Our Thoughts

This book is simple and fantastically illustrated. We fell instantly in love with Mothball and her cheeky antics regarding eating the carrots left out for Santa's reindeer, presuming they were all for her.

It introduces the concept of different Christmas traditions as Mothball travels across the globe on Santa's sleigh.

When I asked Little Miss 4 what she liked about this book, she replied, "I love the wombat eating all the carrots at Christmas."


Do you have a favourite Christmas book?
 

Thursday Book Club...with a twist...

Today Little Miss 4 and I headed to the Opera House to see Justine Clarke in her Pop Up Tour 2012. We were joined by our awesome friends Mrs L and Miss T.

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The show was thoroughly enjoyed by all four of us. We sang along to many of her hit songs including, Dancing Pants, The Gumtree Family, Dancing Face, Watermelon, I like To Sing, Happy Dog, Off To The Library and It's My Birthday Today.

After the show we even had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Justine. She signed copies of her new book for the girls and chatted to them about the show. Mrs L was definitely the most excited of the four of us though!

The Story

Image from here

The main aim of this year's show was to introduce us to the Gobbledygook. The character from her first and newly released book, The Gobbledygook Is Eating A Book, co-written with Arthur Baysting and illustrated by Tom Jellett.

The story is about a Gobbledygook that is ripping up pages and eating a book!

"Stop. Stop", shouts a little girl, "You don't eat a book. You slibbery, slobbery Gobbledygook". 

She teaches him that we read books not eat them by taking him on an adventure through a space travel book, recipe book, dinosaur book, clown book, penguin book, mon-story book, and lastly a drifty, dreamy fairytale book.

Then they are all tucked up in their beds, ready to snore some zeds.

The Author

Today Justine Clarke is surely one of the most recognised faces on Australian TV (or maybe that is just because she graces my TV screen a lot). She is a best-selling children's singer, acclaimed film star, seasoned stage actor and a constant presence on Play School. The Gobbledygook Is Eating A Book is her first book.

Arthur Baysting is a songwriter, screenwriter and comedian from New Zealand. I believe that The Gobbledygook Is Eating A Book may also be his first book.

Tom Jellett is an Australian illustrator, having drawn for a number of children's books, including The Littlest Pirate, My Dad Thinks He's Funny, Ted Goes Wild and Ted Gets Lost.

Our thoughts

This book is simple and fun. Very suited to the preschooler level. It teaches the story that books are for reading and enjoying...not eating! (insert ripping up). The illustrations are lovely, the Gobbledygook is depicted as the cutest monster and shouldn't be scary to any small children.

When I asked Little Miss 4 what she liked about this book, she replied, "Where Justine signed it". I asked her what part she liked inside the story, she replied, "When the Gobbledygook eats the book, that is funny".  (Here's hoping I don't find her eating a book in the near future.)

Are you a Justine fan?

Thursday Book Club - Guess How Much I Love You

This week Little Miss 4 has selected Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram for us to review. This book is a real favourite in our house.

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The Story

Little Nutbrown Hare is in competition with Big Nutbrown Hare on how much they love each other.

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Little Nutbrown Hare stretches his arms wide and says, "This much". But Big Nutbrown Hare can stretch his arms further.

Little Nutbrown Hare reaches high in the air, "I love you as high as I can reach." Big Nutbrown Hare can reach higher.

Little Nutbrown Hare tumbles upside down and reaches up a tree trunk with his feet, "I love you all the way up to my toes!". Big Nutbrown Hare swings Little Nutbrown Hare over his head, "And I love you all the way up to your toes."

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 Little Nutbrown Hare hops up and down, "I love you as high as I can HOP!". Big Nutbrown Hare can jump higher.

"I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river," says Little Nutbrown Hare. "I love you across the river and over the hills," says Big Nutbrown Hare.

As Little Nutbrown Hare falls asleep he says, "I love you right up to the moon". Big Nutbrown Hare leans over and kisses him goodnight and whispers, "I love you right up to the moon - AND BACK.

The Author

Sam McBratney was born in Northern Ireland in 1943. He was a school teacher and started writing books as a way to help students who had trouble reading. He has written over 50 books for young readers, including Mark Time, Boy Blue and The Hanging Man.

Our thoughts

The gentle humour of this book makes me chuckle every time. I always think of our Little Miss 4 and her Daddy and think they would likely do this very thing and think it was hilarious!

I believe that Big Nutbrown Hare is a wonderful character showing the unconditional and unbounded love parents have for their children.

The water colour illustrations really suit the story. I can't help falling in love with this two Nutbrown Hares every time I see them.

When I asked Little Miss 4 what she liked about this book she said, "I love Little Nutbrown Hare and I love you Mummy all the way to the moon and back."

(P.S. We say "I love you all the way to the moon and back" every night now.)


Have you read Guess How Much I Love You? What are your thoughts?

Wednesday's words - To Kill a Mockingbird

My all time favourite book in the whole wide world is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is also Hubby's favourite book - one of the reasons I married him ;) It was published in 1960 and won a Pulitzer Prize.

It is said that the plot and characters are based loosely on Harper Lee's family and neighbours, as well as on an event that happened near her hometown in 1936, when she was ten.

Nelle Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Alabama. She became close friends with neighbour, Truman Capote (apparently the character, Dill, is based on Capote). After completing To Kill a Mockingbird, she assisted Capote in his research for his book, In Cold Blood. However, she didn't publish anything else herself. 

The story

The story is told by six year old Scout Finch during the Great Depression. She lives with her brother Jem and father Atticus in Alabama.

A young boy, Dill, comes to stay with his aunt every summer and becomes friends with Scout and Jem. During their summers together they become fascinated with the reclusive neighbour Arthur "Boo" Radley. The whole town seems reluctant to talk about Boo and few have seen him for years. After several summers with Dill, the children start to find small treasures in a tree outside the Radley house. They hope that one day they will actually see Boo but sadly for them this doesn't happen.

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Meanwhile, Atticus begins to defend Tom Robinson. Tom, a negro man, has been accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. Most of the town disagree with Attitus representing Tom, as a result Scout and Jem are teased by the other children.

Atticus does a great job at trying to prove Tom's innocence, establishing that Mayella and her father, Bob are lying and that she was making advances towards Tom. Bob, having seen Mayella's advances, beats her. Despite the evidence Tom is convicted. Sadly Tom is killed when trying to escape from prison.

Bob Ewell, believing that he was humiliated in court vows revenge; he spits at Atticus, tries to break into the judge's house and harasses Toms wife. He also attacks Scout and Jem as they walk home from a school pageant one night. During the attack, Jem's arm is broken and a stranger comes to the children's aid. This stranger carries Jem home, where Scout realises that it is Boo Radley.

The sheriff arrives at the Finch house to tell Atticus that Bob Ewell has been killed and convinces him that he fell on his own knife.

Scout walks Mr Arthur "Boo" Radley home, he closes the door. She never sees him again and regrets never repaying him for the gifts that he left them in the tree.

My thoughts

I believe this book does a good job of showing the lives of African-Americans in the 1930's and the prejudice and fear they faced every day - even though it is told by a young girl who is still relatively naive to these prejudices.

I think Atticus is very heroic for defending Tom Robinson, despite the town disapproving. I also admired him teaching his children to see the good in Boo Radley.  I always wanted to be this kind of role model for my own children one day - hopefully now I am.

It is very easy to read, even though it has many political themes the writing doesn't scream or preach at you. I thoroughly enjoy it every time.

Have you read To Kill a Mockingbird? What are your thoughts?

Tuesday Tunes...The Truth About Love by Pink

Pink, born Alecia Beth Moore, released her sixth studio album in September this year titled "The Truth About Love" and I love it!

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Admittedly I am a Pink fan. I have all her albums and have seen her in concert twice. I like sassy confident women (I hope to be one...one day!), who aren't afraid to say "F*** You!".

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The truth about Pink is that she is not without her demons too, making her relevant to many. In the November 2012 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, she talks about self-esteem issues. She's very passionate about reminding young women of their worth and despite her successes, she has the same doubts and fears - check out her previous songs Stupid Girls and Raise Your Glass.

In the same Rolling Stone article, she says her therapist helps her to communicate, to stop over-thinking and worrying about every little thing. And that this process has led her to ease up on the drinking she once use as a crutch to take away panic and anxiety.

More power to her. I am a believer in therapy - a lot more people should do it to exorcise their own demons.

This new album is definitely one I have added to my play list for exorcising my demons - I use music a lot for that.

My favourites for singing out loud in the car are:

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - about the end of her tumultuous 10-year relationship with motocross star Carey Hart. "I think I finally had enough / I think I maybe think too much". (BTW - they are back together).

Try - about taking risks with love, no matter the consequences. "Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame / Where there is a flame someone's bound to be get burned / But just because it burns doesn't mean  you're gonna die / You gotta get up and try,"

I recommend checking out the video for this one too, the dance moves and acrobatics are great.



Just Give Me A Reason - featuring Indie singer Nate Ruess. A very raw track, not as common as Pink's anthem type fist pumpers. "Just give me a reason / Just a little bit's enough / Just a second we're not broken just bent / And we can learn to love again".

How Come You're Not Here -another narrative on her separation from husband Carey Hart. This song really makes you sing out loud in the car and maybe even fist pump. "Are you hiding in the closet / Are you underneath the bed / Did you go for a long walk off a short pier / How Come You're Not Here".

Here Comes the Weekend - featuring Eminem. Being an Eminem fan (another great artist for exorcising those demons), it was a given that I would like this track!

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Are you a Pink fan? Do you use music for therapy?

Thursday Book Club - Where the Wild Things Are

This week Little Miss 4 has selected Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak for us to review.

One night Max dresses up in his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, like chasing the poor dog with his fork. His mother calls him a "WILD THING" (we have all been there!). Max is so mad he yells "I'LL EAT YOU UP!". As a consequence his mother sends him to his room without any food.

Max's imagination takes hold and a forest grows and grows in his room, until vines hang from the ceiling and the walls become the world. An ocean tumbles by and Max sails off through day and night. In and out of weeks and almost over a year until he reaches a land full of wild things.

The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth, rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws. Max says "BE STILL" and stares at them without blinking once and they are frightened so call him the most wild thing of all, making him king of all wild things.

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Max and the wild things go on to create a great rumpus! Stomping, jumping, swinging from trees. Until Max cries "Now Stop!" and sends them to bed without any food. Max becomes lonely and wants to be where someone loves him best of all.

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He starts to smell good things to eat from far away across the world, so he gives up being king of where the wild things are. The wild things cried, "Oh please don't go". But Max said "No!". The wild things roar but Max sails away and waves good-bye sailing back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night back to his very own room. He finds his supper waiting for him and it is still hot.

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This book contains great illustrations, also by Maurice Sendak, really allowing kids to live Max's adventure. I believe that it teaches kids there are consequences to their actions as Max is sent to his room without any supper and that imaginations are a wonderful place to play.

Younger pre-school children can relate to Max and his emotions because they have the same feelings; getting angry and imagining being the rulers of their worlds until they calm down and want to be where someone loves them best of all.

I also love that his Mum has put his supper on his table for him, showing him that she would never let him go hungry and he is indeed in a place where someone loves him best of all.

When I asked Little Miss 4 what she liked about this book, she replied, "I like Max's wolf suit and how he found the wild things and become king. Oh, and I also like the pictures".


Where the Wild Things Are was the winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal as the "Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year," it was first published by HarperCollins in 1963. It is targeted at 3-6 year olds, but I believe enjoyed at any age.

Maurice Sendak was born on 10 June 1928 in Brooklyn, USA. Sadly, he passed away on 8 May 2012. He has written over 20 books and illustrated over 40. His other books include Seven Little Monsters, Fantasy Sketches and Outside Over There.

Have you read Where the Wild Things Are? What are your thoughts on it?

Thursday Book Club - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week Little Miss 4 has chosen The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle for us to review.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar starts off life as a little egg that lays on a leaf and one Sunday morning...POP, out comes the caterpillar and he starts looking for food.

During the days of the week he eats through an apple, pears, plums, strawberries, oranges, cake ice-cream cone, pickle, cheese, salami, lollipop, cherry pie, sausage, cupcake and watermelon.....needless to say he ends up with a stomach ache!

It is Sunday again and the caterpillar eats through a nice green leaf and feels much better.....he was now a big, fat caterpillar. He builds a cocoon and stays inside for more than two weeks, later emerging as a beautiful butterfly.


This story is beautifully illustrated and helps teach kids the days of the week, counting and that eating too many sweets isn't good for you. It also teaches kids some scientific content - the life cycle of a caterpillar.

When I asked Little Miss 4 what she liked about this book, she said "I like how it lays on the leaf in the moonlight and when the caterpillar changes into a butterfly because it has beautiful wings."

It was written in 1969 and is targeted at 2-4 year olds. According to Eric Carle's website, it has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold over 33 million copies.

Eric Carle, who was born in New York in 1969, has written over 70 books and generally he is both the author and illustrator. Some of his other books are The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely FireFly and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle. He also has a blog, if you want to check it out - http://www.ericcarleblog.blogspot.com.au/.

Do you have a favourite Eric Carle book?


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Freelance Your Heart Out!

Freelance Your Heart Out by Kris Emery...what an aptly named book for me at this stage in my life because that is exactly what I want to be doing.

Kris Emery is a writer, editor and author of Freelance Your Heart Out. She studied a Translation and Linguistics Masters and was a staff writer for three years before breaking out to become a freelancer.

This book is all about her journey from in-house writer to running her own transcription and editing business. She writes candidly about the good, the bad and the ugly, giving great advice and funny anecdotes along the way.

As I read I felt I could seriously relate, “I love to write, but fretted over whether I could do it seriously and go it alone” she says. However, as I read on I feel I have a little more confidence and a little more “Yeah, I can do this” attitude.

Her book is filled with great advice about how to be patient, set goals, persevere, stick to deadlines, move with times, and find your niche.

She talks about the joys of freelancing freedom once she had established herself – she travelled to Brazil and continued working to fund the trip. Kris also included interviews with other experienced transcribers and editors to find out how they felt about their freelance lifestyles. It was great to read about other people taking the plunge into freelancing and also succeeding.

There was no sugar coating it though – “it is hard work. Don’t even think about going freelance if you aren't prepared to work harder than you've ever worked” she writes. “Almost everyone I spoke to mentioned at some point that freelancing is deceptively hard. A major mistake when going into freelancing is underestimating the work”.

The most beneficial parts of the books in particular for me were dealing with knock-backs and surviving feedback, especially as I am a person who tends to take things a little too personally. Also the interview with a company who hires freelancers provided great insight to what they expect and don’t expect from freelancers. For me, being completely and utterly new at this I found it invaluable.

What I also got from this book was you need to have a passion for writing, editing, proofing, transcribing – whatever your freelance career might be - something that will get you out of bed every day. Clearly Kris Emery has that passion. This is a great book for people wanting to freelance their heart out.

Thursday Book Club - Arnold, the Prickly Teddy

Little Miss 4 and I have decided to review a book a week - she will pick the book and I will review it.

This week she has chosen Arnold, the Prickly Teddy by Kym Lardner.

Arnold is a brown, prickly teddy who doesn't squeak, talk or growl. He sits on a shelf in a toy shop with the pink and fluffy teddies. The pink teddies are popular but nobody wants Arnold. The shop owner decides that no one would want dusty, prickly Arnold so he tosses him onto the rubbish with the other stuff that nobody wants.

Arnold sits in the rubbish for a couple of days before a small boy tucks him under his jumper and carries him away. He pleads with his Dad to keep him because he has never had a teddy before.

Arnold is loved, washed and carried everywhere, he is cuddled every day and soon he is just as smooth and cuddly as the other teddies from the toy shop.


This story is about giving the love and attention that everyone desires. It is a great story to teach kids that everyone is lovable - even though Arnold wasn't pink and fluffy he is still lovable.

This book is aimed at 3-6 year olds. The author, Kym Lardner is a full time professional storyteller. He visits schools around Australia telling his stories. You can check him out here.

Have you read Arnold, the Prickly Teddy? What book are you reading to your kids this week?


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