Bookish Walks

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Two things have kept me sane through lockdown

Buying beautiful books

And going for walks around the beautiful Kent countryside

I have bought far far too many books

I think it has become a bit of an addiction

And definitely a crutch to lean on through the last few months

It has been of wonderful benefit to my children though

As they are reading and hearing more books than ever

And we have always read A LOT of books!

At the start of lockdown we walked every day as a family

But as time went on it became just Esther, William and I

I love our walks

The three of us

Talking and planning and watching the world change with the seasons

When we walked as a family

We often used books to inspire our walks

These books will now always remind us of lockdown

And the weeks we walked together

And the many wonderful words we read together

If you want to set out on a bookish walk

With your little ones

Why not try one of these?

We loved them all

And will be trying many of them again over the summer

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Over the past 8 weeks we have walked in our local area every single day. We have not driven our car to a beauty spot trying to see something new and amazing instead we have discovered that the ordinary every day can be extraordinary too. That is what this book from @newfrontierpublishinguk is all about. The soft quiet moment that makes the world sing. A roaring log fire, a comfy old armchair, snuggling up with a good book. It is about slowing down and really looking and listening to the world around us. Extraordinary things are everywhere! In the branches, the puddles, the flowers, the sky. We can see things in a completely different way if we try a different view point. We can make our own magic and moments to treasure for always. Making the most of time together as a family can male these moments twinkle and shine. This book reflects our #livingfortilda ethos. We try to find the magic in everyday and make the ordinary extraordinary in memory and honour of our baby girl in the sky #matildamae Sometimes when life is hard it is easy to forget that we do not always need the big the bright and the bold, the grand and the mighty. We need to remind ourselves that the ordinary is extraordinary too. It really really is! What extraordinary things did you see and do today? #isolationinspiration #maketheordinaryextraordinary #treasureeverymoment #magicinthemundane #magicineveryday #theordinarymoments #bookishlife #bookishwalk

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Today our walk was filled with tiny, perfect things. Butterflies, ladybirds, new flowers, bugs and caterpillars, beautiful dragonflies, spiders webs, soaring birds. Tiny, Perfect Things is a beautiful book of a little girl and her grandfather going for a walk in their local area and noticing and appreciating the little things that they see. This is a perfect book for remembering these last months of lockdown when so many of us have stayed local and found footpaths we have never walked before though they lead from our own front door. I have seen more of the people who live in our village in the past 12 weeks than the many years we have lived here. We have slowed down and we have made the little things the big things, the ordinary the extraordinary and this beautiful book celebrates exactly that. Noting that there is magic and beauty all around us, we just need to look for it and appreciate it and share it with the ones we love x

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Going out for a walk today? Why not go on a joy hunt? In the book Joy Fern goes in search of some joy to bring back to her Nanna who is feeling down. Yesterday Bea and I turned our walk into a Joy hunt. We saw lots of beautiful flowers, trees full of blossom, butterflies in lots of different colours including a peacock butterfly who landed right in front of us. We saw newborn lambs and fields and fields of glorious yellow oilseed rape. We lived the sunlight shining through the trees in the woods making the carpet of bluebells sparkle. We blew dandelion clocks and made wishes on the fairies as they flew away. There is joy everywhere if you take some time to see it. We wanted go share some of the joy we found with you x #goingonajoyhunt #joyhunt #joy #joyful #seekingjoy #findingjoy #makingtheordinaryextraordinary #bookishwalk #dailywalk #dailyexercise #bookstagram #childrensbooks #kidsbookswelove #kidsbookstagram #childrensbookstagram #dailyexercise #isolationinspiration @quartokids

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On our walks the children have been noticing the blossom on the trees and on the floor. The beautiful blossom is so magical as it seemingly appears from nowhere, dances like fairies and falls like snow. We have been reading a beautiful book called Blossom. A cat and a dog each take a walk, one stops for a picnic the other to read their book. The falling blossom brings them together, they share the picnic and friendship begins to bloom. Something sweet is in the air. Underneath the beautiful blossom tree friendship begins. #childrensbooks #childrensbookstagram #kidsbooks #kidsbookstagram #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebooksaremyjam #picturebookstagram #childrensliterature #kidlit #kidsbookswelove #raisingreaders #littlebookworm #littlebookworms #childrensbookillustration #bookish #bookstagram @quartokids

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We have loved making our walks into alphabet hunts recently inspired by this ABC Countryside Walk book from @nationaltrust and @nosycrow I have made a highlight above showing our alphabetical finds. Bea, age 5, really loves this activity and now spots things every walk and tells me the letter they begin with. D for dandelion, f for feather, g for garlic, o is for orchard, p is for pollination, s is for shadows and v is for view. Why not head out in your local area and alphabetise your exercise. We would love to see what you find x #bookishlife #bookishwalk #bookishplay #dailyexercise #dailywalk #isolationinspiration #getoutside #getoutsideandplay #curiouslittleexplorers #littleexplorers #naturekids #natureexplorers #wildchild #letthembewild #natureplay #playfullearning

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‘In the beginning we run like maniacs. We are going on a hike. It’s our favourite thing to do. Wait for me!’ The Hike is the perfect picture book if like us you live for your daily walk and like to stretch it as much as is allowed and make it slightly different each time. The Hike shares perfectly the joy of waking with friends or a sibling group. We smiled as the children recognised themselves in the characters in the book. We love our hikes, our nature walks, our rambles. More than ever at the moment. They are good for our mind and soul and our family wellbeing. We learn so much about nature, wildflowers, trees and birds in our local area. We work together to choose routes and navigate though the footpaths. Edie is often tired and needs a carry. Someone almost always falls. We walk and we talk, we laugh, we play, we look and we listen. We love our nature adventures and the joy of having them together is captured perfectly in this book. The Hike. @alisondraws @chroniclekidsbooks @chroniclebooks #thehike #bookishwalk #naturewalk #edspireedventures #childhoodunplugged #raisethemwild #letthembewild #mywildlings #wildlingwanders #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #kidsbookswelove #picturebook #picturebookillustration #picturebooks #picturebooksaremyjam #picturebooksofinstagram #childrensbookstagram #kidsbookstagram #bookishplay #letsgoforawalk #isolationinspiration

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What will you do for your daily exercise today? Why not go on a listening walk? This beautiful book written by Paul Showers and illustrated by ALIKI is great inspiration for going on a listening walk. Going outside in your local area and listening really carefully. What will you hear? Birds, cars, bees, babies, footsteps, sirens. As we are all repeating the same walks a lot at the moment it is good to think of ways to spice them up a bit for our little ones and books are a great source of inspiration! We will be going on a few bookish walks in the coming weeks and sharing our ideas on here. Today we start with The Listening Walk. Let us know if you do too x #socialdistancing #lockdown #thelisteningwalk #listeningwalk #bookishwalk #dailyexercising #dailyexercise #getoutside #getmoving #toddleractivities #toddlerfun #preschoolathome #homelearning #homeeducation #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #picturebooks #isolationinspiration

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Another idea for your daily exercise today. Why not turn your walk into a Toddle Waddle inspired by Julia Donaldson and @nick.sharratt Turn your walk into a game of Follow-my-leader. Everyone must do what the leader does. Can you make up a chant using the sounds you collect on your walk? ‘Hurry scurry, flip flop, toddle waddle. Chant as you walk and turn the same daily route into a game. You could even write and illustrate your chant just as Julia and Nick have done in their book. This is a short fun read aloud and perfect for inspiring curious little explorers to get outside, look, listen and have some fun! #isolationinspiration #bookishwalk #dailyexercise #socialdistancing #toddlewaddle #toddlerfun #preschoolplay #getoutside #activeplay #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforchildren #picturebooks #picturebooksforchildren

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Off out for a walk today? Why not go on a bug hunt? Adapt the word’s from Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Use some books with bright illustrations. Have a look at ants and beetles and woodlice. Think about what bugs you might find in the garden, in a field, in the woods, in a pond. Head outside and search for some creepy crawlies. Worms are wonderful, snails are super, bees busy, butterflies beautiful. Go on out for your daily exercise and see what you and your little ones can find. We love these two books. How Many Bugs from @templarbooks and Lift and Look Bugs from @bloomsburypublishing with @kewgardens Turn your daily exercise into a minibeast adventure for today’s #bookishwalk We would love to know what you find! #dailyexercise #onewalkaday #isolationinspiration #bookishplay #boardbooks #interactivebooks #booksfortoddlers #preschoolplay #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #minibeasts #weregoingonabughunt #bughunting #bughunt #minibeasthunt #playfullearning #getoutside #natureplay #picturebooks

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We love being nature explorers on our daily walk. We search for wildflowers in the fields, the woods and along the road side. We are very lucky to live in rural Kent where there are some lovely walks right from our own front door. Bea loves to take a magnifying glass on our #edspireedventures to see the flowers really close up and discover any tiny residents or visitors they may have. We live this mini Flowers To Spot book from @usborne_books that fits neatly in a pocket. Why not try a flower hunt for your daily exercise today? #signsofspring #springflowers #isolationinspiration #dailywalk #dailyexercise #flowerspotting #wildflowers #natureexplorers #staycurious #curiouslittleexplorers #letthembewild #explorethewild #littleexplorers #bookishwalk

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Will you be heading out for a walk in nature this summer?

Don’t forget to take a favourite book with you!

We would love to know if you do x

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