Monthly Archives: April 2012

Operation Alphabet by Al MacCuish, illustrations by Luciano Lozano and design by Jim Bletas

Bryn received a top secret package a few weeks ago, inside was a treasure trove of stickers, poster & a stunning looking book, Operation Alphabet. “It’s the singing letters” Bryn shouted, as having read many reviews of this books I had already introduced him to the marvellous Ministry of Letters website & this fabulous video.

Like the website the book is wonderfully theatrical and part of the enjoyment in reading it has been the sense of drama & fun leading up to the story. It is an exhilarating read with action, adventure & a few quirky turns of phrase that had us both laughing aloud.

Operation Alphabet is the tale of a boy who has the ‘ALPHABET-A-HEEBIEGEEBIES’, Luckily help is at hand from the Special Alphabet Service.

Bryn especially likes the part where the Ministry of Letters are first introduced, as you peek into the Post Box. He was also keen to tell me he suspected Charlie Foxtrot was named that because of the colour of his hair, another code name perhaps! I really love the retro illustrative style which complements the dynamic atmosphere of the story.

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Bryn has been learning the alphabet including phonics for a few months and it’s nice to have another perspective. The personification of the letters bring character & charm to the alphabet, although I have yet to see him follow Charlie’s footsteps & introduce ‘incredible hats & parachutes’ when writing letters.

The website, blog & upcoming app have also helped this book become more of an experience rather than just a story. Operation Alphabet is a definite hit in our house

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Disclosure: We received our copy of ‘Operation Alphabet’ from the publisher for review. Our opinions are our own.

Seven Stories Museum

We finally got to visit the Seven Stories Museum, thanks to very generous inlaws treating the family to a few days in Newcastle.

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Seven Stories


I’ve been wanting to visit Seven Stories for a long time & it didn’t disappoint. It’s a fantastic museum dedicated to celebrating the enjoyment, wonder & pure delight of storytelling. After a full day of exploring it was clear that if this was a local museum we would be visiting frequently. It is what I would wish many public libraries could provide, an imaginative vibrant space brimming with ideas, opportunities & wonder.

We began at the cafe fuelling ourselves for the day with a large slab of Victoria sponge, well we were celebrating a birthday (any excuse). Then we headed down to the craft station where there were a range of activities, Bryn opted for making a dinosaur mask inspired by Tyrannasourus Drip & Freya explored one of the many comfy book corners.

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Dinosaur roars


Next was the story attic where unsurprisingly they delivered daily story sessions, on one side of the room was a great big wooden chair awaiting the storyteller while on the other was a large stash of dressing up outfits. Bryn happily dressed as a dragon charging round the mini theatre much to the amusement of his sister.

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Dragon meets Smartest Giant in Town


Bryn & I also explored the story lab, which had exhibits hidden under flaps along the wall. I loved seeing some original artwork & preliminary sketches giving a little glimpse of some of the extraordinary archives the museum holds. The room also had a few computers with interactive puzzles which Bryn enjoyed playing.

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The highlight of the day however was the current Julia Donaldson exhibition. A fantastical exhibition designed to make you feel like you were stepping into her books. The exhibition covered a sample of her work, each area was bright, colourful & engaging reflecting the nature of the books themselves. They was a wide range of activities for the children as well as original artwork, insights into the publishing process, story developments, editing etc. I really enjoyed the exhibition and it was fascinating to discover more about both author & illustrators. Bryn also had fun dressing as a troll, squeezing a pig & goat into a house, shaking hands with a gruffalo, drawing a cave baby and listening to many of the stories again.

Seven Stories puts the theatre back into books, with puppets, dressing up, crafts, storytelling etc. It also made me think it was worth it, now & again, to make reading an experience & not just something to make my commute bearable. So am looking forward to finding a cosy armchair, putting my feet up, snuggling under a soft blanket, stocking up with plenty of cake & whiling away an afternoon on a luxurious read (just don’t tell the kids).

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view from the apartment