disclosure: this is a paid post
Reading with my nine-year old son is something I value very highly. In fact it’s been a part of our daily routine since he was a baby. Curling up together on the sofa or bed, book in hand, ready to go on an adventure together is precious time spent together. Even though my son is notorious for being somewhat of a reluctant reader, he’s always more than happy for me to read to him. A father who spent years creating a world of imagined adventures for his daughter has just seen those words turned into books with the release of the Hannah The Spanner book series. Stuart Simmonds will see the first books in this series published today through StuHead Publishing Ltd , and we’ve been lucky enough to receive a copy of both to share with you today.
Based on stories that he told his daughter Hannah as a child, there will be seven books in the Hannah The Spanner book series, starting with Hannah the Spanner and the Dancing Bear and Hannah the Spanner and the Robot. In fact he’d always promised his daughter that he would one day make the stories into real books, and on Hannah’s 21st birthday he presented her with the first editions. The books are designed specifically with bedtime reading in mind, as new research shows that that the number of children reading is dropping year on year. It’s so important for brain development, happiness and academic success, and something that I personally feel is so important for children. It makes me sad that children aren’t reading as much as they should be, and I’m too well aware of the struggles I have getting my own son to read independently, but reading together is still very much part of our daily life. We’re not big on tech here, so my son doesn’t have his own tablet and I’m a firm believer in physical books, so I made a conscious decision that we wouldn’t have e-readers here either.
In Hannah the Spanner and the Robot we meet Hannah on Halloween. She’s not had a good day after having to spend it sitting next to dreaded Aubrey at school. She was hoping things would get once she was home as she was meant to be going out with her best friend Lucy for some trick or treating fun. But Hannah’s Dad was having issues with the internet and dinner hadn’t even been started. There’s a noise in the garden and Hannah goes to investigate and that’s when the fun begins.
In Hannah the Spanner and the Dancing Bear she learns that the Brown Bear from Bumbag’s Zoo has gone missing. Where could the bear be hiding? Imagine Hannah’s delight when the bear falls into her garden!
The Hannah The Spanner book series is aimed at children aged 4-9 years of age and include illustrations from Bill Greenhead, throughout. Whilst the illustrations help to capture the imagination of younger children, the stories themselves are engaging and will be enjoyed by older children too. 88% of parents have said that they wish they could read to their children at bedtime more often, I hope that more actually manage it.
For more information on the series, or to purchase the books please visit www.stuhead.co.uk The books can also be purchased at an RRP of £7.99 each, from leading retailers including Amazon and Waterstones.
Titles in the Hannah The Spanner book series that will be published later in the year are Hannah The Spanner and the Circus and Hannah The Spanner and the Trip to the Moon (both due 6th June 2019), Hannah The Spanner and the Diamond Robbery and Hannah The Spanner and the Racing Car (both due 8th August 2019) and Hannah The Spanner and the Polar Bear (7th November 2019).
disclosure: we have been compensated in exchange for this post and giveaway.
I’m pleased to advise that StuHead Publishing have offered a copy of the first two books in the Hannah The Spanner book series as a giveaway. Complete the Gleam form below for your chance to win Hannah the Spanner and the Dancing Bear and Hannah the Spanner and the Robot worth £15.98
Terms and conditions:
(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).
Only the first step of this form is mandatory, all other steps are optional. Only one entry per person is allowed.
This giveaway is for UK residents only.
Once a winner is randomly picked, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within one week, the prize will be allocated to another person. The winner’s details will be sent to StuHead Publishing, in order that they can arrange delivery. Please allow 28 days for delivery.
The giveaway will close on 25th April 2019 at midnight.
Don’t forget to visit my Giveaways page for more great prizes on offer!
Hannah the Spanner and the Dancing Bear and Hannah the Spanner and the Robot worth £15.98
The three little pigs, my nephew new fails to find it exciting
My grandson loves The Goodnight Train he loves trains and it’s soothing at the end
the gruffalo
The Jolly Postman, it was mine as a child and my sons love opening the post
We enjoy reading funny bones. My kids love it and it was one of my favourites as a child.
It depends if I’m reading with the older ones, then it’s Roald Dahl, the baby loves the Gruffalo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I love changing my voice to suit the characters.
The Harry Potter Illustrated ones, we do enjoy them
they love any of David Walliams books because they are so outrageous
Michael Morpurgo books because they like animal stories but they are thought provoking too.
Dr Seuss – a classic and funny every time
The children know the words off by heart from The Very Hungry Caterpillar so we find that a good bedtime read.
Personalised GO to sleep book at the moment – could change anytime
Personalised GO to sleep book – always subject to change
Guess how much I love you. I think its beautiful and its comforting xx
My grandson loves We’re going on a bear hunt as he can join in with the story.a
fingers crossed, lovely prize x
Dogger because it was one of my favourite books when I was younger, and it’s my copy that we read
We love the wishing chair I liked it as a child so I’ve passed it on
Huckleberry Finn because i had it read to me when i was a boy
Hi! These books look very interesting.
We love The Gruffalo because of its wonderful story and illustrations.
Snow White, my grandchildren love the dwarves
My son loves the very hungry caterpillar! He laughs at all the pictures
My son loves me reading the Harry Potter series to him. We are currently on The Goblet of Fire. Even though we’ve seen the film, they are so well written that they spark the imagination, yet don’t keep him awake too long!!
The Snail & the Whale by Julia Donaldson, I think it’s beautiful!
Guess How Much I Love You, loving, nurturing.
My grandchildren love Tom Gates books and the younger ones love the Gruffalo, I really enjoy the illustrations in these booksand often find something I havn’t seen before!
We like monkey puzzle as it’s a lovely story and the children love seeing all the animals
i love to read to faraway tree its magical!
At the moment, my little one really loves Supertato – Evil Pea Rules! It’s a good, fun story.
We love the Mr Men books, because there are lots of different ones.
At the moment we’re reading The Hobbit chapter by Chapter as I used to love it when my mum read it to us, so I wanted to share that joy and memory – the kids are enjoying it so far xx
Guess How Much I Love You because it has such a timelessness about it and is perfect for cuddles.
Its Madeline at the moment we are on it for the third time. I imagine it gives her sweet dreams
We love the Tale of Georgie Grub because it was my favourite story as a child and it’s still awesome now.
We’re going on a Egg Hunt, perfect for this time of year.
The three billy goats gruff. When I first read it to one of my 3 year old granddaughters she hid behind the chair. She gets really involved with the story now as she’s older and reads it to her sister
“We’re going on a Bear Hunt” is one of my little boys favourites!
The Jolly Postman is a favourite because of all the letters that you can take out and read
We love the gruffalo or the twits by roald dahl
I love the old classic… the very hungry caterpillar! The pictures are wonderful 🙂
Pip and posy they know it off by heart and help read it
We are into chapter books now, and the surprise hit for us has been the Wombles. Takes me right back to my own childhood and my son absolutely adores it – we had to go and buy the rest of the series too.
The Gruffalo – great story.
The Faraway Tree books because I loved them as a child and still enjoy them now.
Five Go Off In A Caravan as we have a caravan in the family
Peace at last as I loved it myself as a child
My busy day, my boy absolutely loves it, Read it so many times
We’re going on a bear hunt – never gets boring 🙂
We love the hungry caterpillar because of all the pictures.
We love the Kipper books at the moment, they have good illustrations to keep my son amused.
We love the gruffalo as it’s a lovely story and very imaginative
Wind in the Willow.
Winnie The Pooh as he is so daft
The little Mermaid!
My grandchildren love any Julia Donaldson book when they have a sleepover, but probably Room On The Broom is their favourite.
We have a musical version of teddy bears picnic that i read then play the lullaby – sends baby off to sleep
At the moment its meg & mog series of books, we just love the witches spells!
We’re going on a Bear Hunt complete with vocal noises
,
Oi Dog! it’s so funny
My youngest is loving Supertato at the moment and my eldest loves Robot No Bot xx
Jazzy in the jungle .Because my daughter loves it.
The tiger who came to tea is a firm favourite with both my boys xx
Love all the Roald Dahl books as I loved them as a child, especially the giraffe the pelly and me!
Girl in pink pyjamas 🙂
We love reading The Gruffalo. Thanks for the competition.
My little boys love gruffalo / stick man, makes them smile
The Gruffalo because it is their favourite
my youngest granddaughter has just got into the very hungry caterpillar, she loves caterpillars
Richard Scarry, Busy, Busy World. My mum used to read it to my brother and I, love sharing it with my own children.
I love reading The Three little pigs to my nephew, he loves how i do the ‘Huffing and puffing’ he gets into fits of laughter.
I love to read the ticklemonster book to my little boy before bed as he learns 2 things.. 1) monsters are nothing to be scared about and 2) he always goes to bed with a smile ❤️
ten little monster all shout boo my little boy loves counting them and shouting boo at the end
The gruffalo such an amazing read x