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Book Review: James and the Birthday Balloon

Posted on 31/03/201806/07/2018

Product Review for those rainy days in the house when you’re not out on one of the days out I have recommended.

Product: James and The Birthday Balloon by Nicola J Rowley @nicolajrowley.
Current price on Amazon: £6.61

On wednesday we received a copy of James and the Birthday Balloon, which came in time for Matildas birthday, so it was a chance for her to get even more excited about her birthday. A book about a birthday party, birthday balloons AND it was signed by the author 😍. Perfect.

The story book is well presented, brightly coloured and easy to follow illustrations, perfect for younger children. Another lovely addition to the book is it comes with a Q code to download the audio of Dr Ranj @drranj from kids TV show Get Well Soon and This Morning, where all us mums swoon over him. Or is that just me? Oops. Back to the review…

Me and the girls sat down to read the story together. It said online that the book was appropriate for ages 3 – 7. I’d actually lower it to 2 as Jemima loved it and sat still listening to it the whole way through, which if you knew Jemima, you’d know that’s quite a feat. Thank you Nicola Rowley.

The story is about two very close friends, Ruby and James. They both get given two giant balloons at Ruby’s birthday party. Ruby accidentally let’s go of hers and on her quest to save it, falls over an old tree and ends up in hospital.

The story is great at evoking different emotions. My girls went through happiness, followed by empathy. It could work very well if you have a child soon to go into hospital for an operation as it gives children reassurance that hospitals are nice places and not to be scared of.
Matilda recalled her last hospital visit. And Jemima pointed at the pictures, making sad noises and saying “poorly foot”.

After I read the story, we put the audio version on. Which the girls loved. Matilda recognised Dr Ranj immediately (is this a sign that I watch him too much? Ha).

It’s a great story of friendship, overcoming accidents and getting better with the support of friends and the NHS.

A great book – thank you.

Disclaimer: I was gifted the signed book in return for an honest review of the book. All views are mine and my families.

Hey, if you liked this review or maybe were inspired to try this out because of my post, you can always buy me or the kids a drink or a slice of cake on our next big trip! Just hit the button below, if you want to. 🙂

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1 thought on “Book Review: James and the Birthday Balloon”

  1. Cassandra Louise says:
    29/04/2018 at 4:07 am

    That looks like a wonderful story! Lovely to see children really enjoying a book. I work in early education, so I’m always looking out for lovely new stories.

    Reply

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