Charley Harper

I just love Charley Harper's illustrations and was thrilled when his toddler board books Charley Harper's A,B,C's and Charley Harper's 1,2,3's came out. What a wonderful way to introduce his art and these most basic concepts to my daughter. There's always a catch though... I first spotted the collection being sold online via Old Navy, only problem old navy does NOT ship internationally but even more annoying is that they won't even except international credit cards, so even if I wanted to ship to relatives in the US that option was out... I then desperately searched ebay and came up with nothing! while I love ebay and for the most part have only had good experiences, I mean I totally rely on it to get my fix of all things North American... the sellers had some of the stuff but the prices were jacked up to almost double retail! and that just made me mad... I'd basically given up on acquiring any of Harper's items, at least for the time being.

But then our luck changed! As it's summer A.K.A. Wedding season here in Israel we've already been busy attending weddings. My husband's cousin got married two weeks ago and we had some relatives from the U.K. fly in for the occasion and a visit. They had the opportunity to meet our daughter for the first time and were kind enough to leave her a little MAD Money before their departure. Books are always well received in our home so I thought I'd flip through my Book Depository wish list and see if we can get some new titles. I'm not entirely sure how I stumbled on to it but low and behold they sell Charley Harper! they've got both books that I covet and the Charley Harper peg puzzle!! oh happy day! it never cease to amaze dear hubby the things that make me giddy... go figure?!

Anyway The Book Depository carries an entire line of Charley Harper products complete with their amazing worldwide free shipping! what glee! they have the memory game and the most awesome set of Harper illustrated wooden blocks that have got me swooning.... unfortunately these are not currently in stock but I'm on a waiting list for when they are, and you bet I'll be their first customer! for now the books and puzzle will have to tame the beast...



*Warning* Mommy gloating ahead! As a side note my toddler took up painting this week and even learned to say "Artist" which she articulated perfectly so it seems very apropos to start her Art education with examples by such a great American Artist...

Booksource - The Book Depository.co.uk

Any Anglo living abroad I'm sure can relate. You want to raise your child speaking your mother tongue and feel it's important to instill that language as their own mother tongue. Children love books and imaginative storytelling, what better way to share some quality time than sharing a good story? Books are hands down the most excellent means to vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension of any language. While living in Israel has many advantages it does make coming by English toddler/children's books rather difficult. You're faced with several options, buying books on sites like amazon and paying ludicrous shipping fees, and then some import taxes just because, begging friends and relatives to bring some over , or making due with children's books in hebrew.

I've mentioned before our love of books and reading and am proud to see that my little girl is well on her way to being a little bookworm herself. We buy more books than any other toy or activity for our daughter and it is often her preferred pastime to snuggle up on our laps and listen to enthusiastic renditions of her favorite stories. But how to keep up with her developmental milestones and make things interesting by adding new books to our collection? all whilst residing at least two continents and an ocean away from your nearest Barnes and Noble?

I've previously tried all off the options I offered above, some with greater success than others none off them enough to satisfy our craving for more books. I've recently perused the web desperately searching for online bookstores that ship internationally and stock a wide selection of English board books for toddlers. Imagine my surprise and joy stumbling on to an online bookstore based in the U.K called The Book Depository they not only ship worldwide, shipping is FREE!! You heard me free! I'm kicking myself for not finding/hearing of them sooner.



We just put our first order through two weeks ago and all the books were at our house within 1 week. We've been enjoying some new stories and I'm already making wish lists for future orders. The books ship individually, they were well wrapped and each came with a cute little bookmark. According to their website their aim is too make all books available to all a goal I admire and appreciate. They've certainly one me over, I know where I'll be doing my book shopping from now on!

O.k so out of our newest acquisitions we got two Charles Fuge books, I've never encountered his books before but boy am I glad we did! Somtimes I like to curl up in a ball written by Vicki Churchill and illustrated by Fuge and I know a rhino written and illustrated by Fuge are my daughters new favorite books. Toddlers can really relate to the endearing little wombat and all his quirks and the sweet story of a little girl and her animal friends.

Looking for a gift for your own little bookworm? why not a P'kolino book buggee to help them pull around their favorite titles and other prized possessions?