This is a large and colourful board book with peepo holes. The illustration style is lovely, almost like a patchwork collage with loads of texture.
Normally my boys are less interested in books which just have songs in them, as they want a story but because of the pirate theme and the catchy tune they did really like this one. Once we had read it, I heard Mr Z wandering around the house singing to himself:Oh we go this way, that way,Port Side, StarboardOver the deep blue sea!
- A map of all the different parts of a pirate ship (which Mr Z found really fascinating and he loved how it was labelled up with the numbers and key),
- Information on the different types of pirate ships and boats
- Types of Pirates around the world
- Famous Pirates
- You also get the sheet music for the song at the back
This would make a nice gift for any little Pirate enthusiast especially when paired with the matching puzzles shown below.
The Port Side Pirates Puzzles come in a box of two – One puzzle with 12 pieces and one puzzle with 24. These were perfect for Mr T (3, nearly 4) and Mr Z also enjoyed them although they were on the easier side for him. Mr R was also able to help them though not to do the whole puzzles by himself just yet.
The puzzles are lovely quality with strong thick and durable pieces. They have a coloured band around the edges which does help littler ones to get a hint about where to put some of the pieces and makes it more manageable for them. Just like the book, the puzzles have the immediately recognisable Barefoot Books feel and brilliantly bright and detailed pictures.
These were great to give Mr T more confidence in his puzzles, which is all beneficial for his logic and fine motor skills. It was lovely to see Mr Z helping and supporting him with it too, as they were able to work together. It was an ideal calm activity for them to do together after school.
The next book is My Granny Went to Market – a round the world counting rhyme.
My boys all seem to be quite interested in numbers, so this kind of book always appeals to them. Mr Z (5) is moving on to more advanced maths now but loved this type of book for years, and now Mr T (3) is just at the right stage for this book as he is practising his counting and numbers a lot and is still consolidating those.
What’s great about this book is that it also incorporates all about different countries and cultures along side the counting, so children can pick up quite a bit of new information. You see Granny travelling through China, Thailand, Russia and many more destinations – each complete with plenty of illustrations. My favourite is Russia, the pictures are gorgeous with all the trees and Russian architecture. This book is also written in rhyme with a sing song feel to it, perfect for keeping younger children’s attention.
The song and the tune is one that the boys and I are all familiar with as we used to sing it at our old children’s centre, although with slightly different words (Down in the Jungle). It brought back fond memories as they used to love doing this song at the singing group!
Like Aisha’s Barefoot Stories on Facebook to keep up to date with news and offers
Which Barefoot Books are your favourites? Let me know in the comments!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
What a fabulous parcel. We are fans of Barefoot Books too, they do a really lovely range of books featuring animals which are a big hit in our house.
We’ve got the animal boogie, it’s great fun
We love Barefoot Books too, Portside Pirates is a favourite here.
We LOVE Barefoot Books in this house! We’ve got Hidden Hippo.
Love this brand!
They do do some lovely books don’t they – very different!
I don’t have anyone little enough to read these books with now, but they all look lovely.
we really love Barefoot books. You’ve got to get their Atlas, it is amazing x
ooh I will have a look for it, I love atlases, they are so interesting would love to get Mr Z into them. Thanks!
We love Barefoot Books – Ozzy is a big fan of that Animal Boogie book and dances round to the cd!
My boy loves books – we all do – and these look fab :o)
Wilf LOVES this one, sometimes I put them on YouTube and press ‘play all’ and he will sit and sing along to them for the full 45mins! We need to get more Barefoot books to actually read though x
Those look gorgeous! And always great to see the next generation of booklovers in training 🙂
Ooh I’ve not heard of Barefoot books before. When I clicked on the link I thought it was something to do with Barefoot Contessa. These look really colourful and like a brilliant collection. The pirate one looks like one z would really like!
What a lovely selection. I hadn’t heard of Barefoot books before, I’ll have to go check them out 🙂
Oooh I might have a look at these for my daughter.
wow, i absolutely love the look of ‘Who’s in the Garden’.
What fantastic books! Jack has so many, he could open up his own little library!
We love Barefoot books here – so bright and colourful
My little boy would love the Portside Pirates! He is Pirate crazy lol. Thanks so much for sharing with the Monday Parenting Pin It Party
Awesome pick. I am sure my little girl would laugh in joy if she gets this in her hands… 🙂
Oh these books look wonderful…will have to have a look at getting some
look like fantastic books!
These look wonderful great stories, love illustrations and fab concept xx
My kids love Gardening type books!