Review: He was Tremendously Scary and Extraordinarily Hairy

17th Oct 2021 ragamuffinbooksLeave a comment

He was Tremendously Scary and Extraordinarily Hairy is a gorgeous wordless picture book about not letting your fears keep you from living.

Book Review: Common Wealth

9th Jul 20213rd Aug 2021 ragamuffinbooks1 Comment

It’s NAIDOC Week, and in light of celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, I figured it would be appropriate to review the illustrated book – Common Wealth by Gregg Dreise.

Author Interview: Jeff St Germain

19th Feb 202020th Feb 2020 ragamuffinbooks1 Comment

Hi Jeff!

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. We loved your book ‘How I Read’ and hope that it inspires a generation of new and passionate readers.

Review: Hayden’s Bedtime

11th Feb 202015th Feb 2020 ragamuffinbooks3 Comments

Woo it’s book tour time people! And with Books On Tour PR & Marketing we have our next feature book – Hayden’s bedtime.

Hayden’s Bedtime is a super sweet story that is incredibly relatable – it’s all about a little boy and his journey to bedtime.

Yearly Wrap Up

1st Jan 20201st Jan 2020 ragamuffinbooksLeave a comment

This is my first year blogging, and it has been a bloody good one.

This year I had a child under one, started a blog, started back at uni and went back to work 2-3 days a week.

It has been fun, full on and scary. I had plenty of of learning curves, from being a parent to being a blogger and pursuing my dreams of being published one day.

Achievements

I created Ragamuffin Books with the aim of sharing my love of children’s fiction and promoting my favourite books. I also wanted to push my writing abilities and force myself to consume and read and think about children’s books frequently and in ways I hadn’t before.

My main and only goal for the year was to write a review every week, which I can proudly say I have done.

I have written 40 book reviews, interviewed authors, been sent out 10+ books by publishers/authors, had an article posted on Kids Books Reviews, been voted top 11 book blog in Australia by Feedspot, been asked to be an official reviewer for New Frontier Publishing, and acquired a new associate – Books on Tour PR & Marketing.

I have read some incredible books this year and my goal was to read and review as many books I could. I have gained plenty of follows, from 600 on my instagram, to 2,000 on pinterest.

Favourite/most Popular posts

Blog posts – Five Reasons Why Reading to Children is Super Important

Review – Girl On Wire

Goals

I’d like to keep writing a review per week. I also want to try and do more interviews, as I have found them super enjoyable. I also want to:

Write more blog posts (as opposed to reviews).

Focus more on Australian books.
Read more middle grade and YA books.
Reach my reading goal on the Goodreads Challenge of fifty books.
WRITE MORE.
LIKE EVERY DAY.
(or like at least five days a week)

Things I have to look forward to:

I am looking forward to receiving books from Frontier Publishing and reviewing them.

I am also looking forward to attending Kid Lit Vic, where I may be pitching manuscripts to publishers.

I should also be finishing my masters next year, and once this has been completed, hopefully I will have some more time to write creatively.

All in all, its been a fantastic year and I have learnt plenty about so many different things – bring on next year. I definitely feel as if I am closer to my dream of being published one day.

Happy New Years everyone!

Book Review – Jacobs Toys

29th Sep 201929th Sep 2019 ragamuffinbooksLeave a comment

Jacobs toys is a sweet book with plenty of fun characters that is bursting with creativity. It is a crafty book that has a Playschool vibe that will encourage all kinds of fun for kids.

Ten Children’s Books That Will Suit the WHOLE Family

8th Aug 201914th Aug 2019 ragamuffinbooks2 Comments

Family bookcases can quite the surreal place with all kinds of books hiding between the shelves. What do you see when you look at your own family bookcase? You might have a range of board books for little bubs, a million different ‘that’s not my’ books, chapter books, adult books etc.

If you have got kids of a varying ages, or students of different reading levels, it can be hard to keep up with what everyone is reading. Whatever you do, just don’t let any of them get ahold of your secret copy of ‘Go The F*** To Sleep’.

From classic bedtime stories, to books so fresh off the printer, their ink has barely dried – check out this list I have compiled below to get some ideas for books that will suit the whole family!

Book Review – I Don’t Want Curly Hair

25th Jul 201925th Jul 2019 ragamuffinbooks1 Comment

Written and Illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson

“NO! I do NOT want this BIG curly hair! It’s messy and silly and just plain UNFAIR!”
Lauren Ellen Anderson

Anyone with curly hair will immediate relate to this book. Because curly hair IS messy and silly and unfair at times. This is a brilliant story that has huge appeal with it’s gorgeous illustrations and fun rhyming text.

Do Children’s Stories Need a Lesson?

14th Jul 20199th Aug 2019 ragamuffinbooks2 Comments

If you walk into a bookstore/library and grab any children’s book off the shelf, you will likely be able to pick up on some sort of moral or lesson pretty quickly. As we get older and read bigger complicated books, the lessons get harder to find and more layered – as well as being quite subjective.

So does every story need a moral lesson? Particularly ones for children?

Not every story needs a moral or lesson, and there are some brilliant stories that don’t have them (such as non fiction, wordless books, etc) but ultimately… it’s a good idea to have a basic lesson or point in a story for children. It adds depth and will make a story more memorable.