Alrightreads: Elevenses

Justin Richards, Doctor Who: Apollo 23

2010 / Audiobook / 248 pages

***

Good moralising sci-fi, some prescient imagery and convincing characterisation, especially considering its prematurity. It does drag out, which is probably going to be an ongoing issue. We were around the same age back then, but now they look about fifteen.

David Llewellyn, Doctor Who: Night of the Humans

2010 / Audiobook / 246 pages

****

A comfortingly familiar sci-fi scrapheap provides some inter-episode levelling up for Amy.

Brian Minchin, Doctor Who: The Forgotten Army

2010 / Audiobook / 248 pages

**

Frivolous, sizeist filler.

Oli Smith, Doctor Who: Nuclear Time

2010 / Audiobook / 243 pages

***

Backwards shenanigans spice up otherwise forgettable peril. Rory shows up, though more sarcastic than I remember.

Various, Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour – A Critical Celebration of the Matt Smith and Steven Moffat Era

2013 / Ebook / 296 pages

**

Opinionated episode guides are more my level than academic essays, but it was a worthy effort all the same, even if avoidable anniversary publishing haste left it forever incomplete.

Alrightgames: Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur

Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur

1987 / Board game / 2-4 players

****

I have warm Christmas nostagia around this one that will hopefully be passed– What? No, they don't make a unicorn one.

Alrightgames: Rainbow Unicorns

Rainbow Unicorns

2019 / Matching game / 2-4 players

***

A little more playable than most Orchard games, even if its appeal to the target player lies squarely in the theme.

Alrightgames: The Legend of Zelda – The Minish Cap

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

2004 / Game Boy Advance emulator game / 1 player

***

I'd never played a Zelda game before. They seem okay as a junior RPG, but we both got bored around the same time, on our respective sides of the RPG demographic. Give us simple platformers.

Alrightgames: Flying Unicorn Simulator 2021

Flying Unicorn Simulator 2021

2021 / iPad game / 1 player

***

Make your child's dreams a glitchy reality and stingily deny them premium characters because you don't know how to pirate iOS apps.

Babyliography CLIX

Mo Willems, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! / Loves Things That Go! / Has Feelings, Too! / Wants a Puppy! / Needs a Bath / Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! / The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?

2004-14 / Ebooks

***

The cookie one's her new fave, or tied with the school one that she borrows from the library every time she sees it.

Jon Stone and Michael Smollin, Another Monster at the End of This Book

1996 / Ebook / 24 pages

**

She loves the original, but was correctly unimpressed by this pointless by-the-numbers sequel.

Alvin Schwartz and Dirk Zimmer, In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories

1984 / Ebook / 64 pages

****

I skipped some of the more genuinely creepy ones for now, but she was a fan of the legendary-round-these-parts 'The Green Ribbon,' wanting to play her own horrific, sweet and random variations until she ran out of colours.

Alyssa Schermel and Marina Saumell, The Unicorn Princess

2020 / Ebook/audiobook / 39 pages

**

Own-brand 1980s My Little Pony. She found the witches a bit scary.

Katie Daynes and Marta Alvarez Miguens, Usborne Lift-the-Flap Very First Questions and Answers: What's Inside Me?

2022 / Library book / 12 pages

***

She really wanted a gorier one from the big kid section, but was placated by flaps. Education wise, giving the guts faces wasn't particularly helpful.

Babyliography CLVIII

Unknown, My Magical Unicorn: An enchanted fill-in journal

2018 / Paperback / 96 pages

**

The unicorn angle is briefly relevant.

Unknown, My Little Pony: 5-Minute Stories

2017 / Hardback / 176 pages

***

A nice gimmick and double length excuses adapting some of the same episodes again.

Various, My Little Pony: Passport to Reading – Best Fillies Forever

2019 / Paperback / 192 pages

**

More dully abridged early-reading adventures that she does enjoy using as educationally intended.

Unknown, Bluey: Meet Bluey – A Sticker Activity Book

2021 / Sticker activity book / 32 pages

**

Father Christmas gave this to her in person. It's almost like he doesn't know her.

Unknown, Words I Say

2021 / Paperback / 192 pages

****

A generous selection of variably wordy words to learn.

Babyliography CLVII

Katie Daynes and Christine Pym, Usborne First Questions and Answers: Where Do Animals Go in Winter?

2022 / Library book / 12 pages

**

Informative, even to an adult, but unengaging. Nice try, flaps.

Mo Willems, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!

2023 / Ebook / 40 pages

**

He waited 20 years, at least.

Jennifer Frantz and Robbin Cuddy, My Little Pony: Hide-and-Seek

2004 / Ebook / 24 pages

**

We're mainly playing obscure ponyspotting at this point.

Lynne Bradbury and Jon Davis, Santa Claus Has a Busy Night

1985 / Ebook/audiobook / 32 pages

**

Passing down another fondly festive childhood book complete with tape this time, via Internet Archive scan and YouTube cassette rip.

John Braden, My Little Pony: The Night Before Christmas

1986 / Ebook / 28 pages

**

Christmas enchantment and infant estrangement with the "Very Old Ponies," complete with authentic 80s cartoon character colouring errors.

Babyliography CLVI

Rose Rossner and Morgan Huff, I Love You, My Little Unicorn

2022 / Ebook / 40 pages

*

Soppy even for a unicorn book.

David W. Miles and Hollie Mengert, Unicorn (and Horse)

2018 / Ebook / 48 pages

**

Explores the racial superiority of pink equines over brown.

Sorrel Pitts, Ladybird Readers: My Little Pony – The Storm / Izzy's Presents / Where Is Sunny's Lantern? / Hitch Stops the Magic / Hitch Finds an Egg / Sparky, Where Are You?

2023 / Ebooks / 144 pages

**

The adaptations lack some nuance when simplified almost to haikus, but this is more precocious preschool reading practice, teasing her with interactive elements I can't access because I'm not school.

Libby Walden and Jacqui Lee, This Is Owl

2019 / Library book / 30 pages

***

Ups the interactive ante without annoying sounds.

Gabby Dawnay and Alex Barrow, If I Had a Unicorn

2022 / Ebook / 28 pages

**

Notable for incorporating the "also by the same author" page into the story.

Babyliography CLV

Diane Alber, Never Let a Unicorn Scribble!

2019 / Ebook / 32 pages

**

And other forbidden pastimes to come, no doubt.

Sally Morgan, Pets Plus: Gerbils and Hamsters

2012 / Library book / 32 pages

***

No scary teeth in this one.

Jean and Claudio Marzollo and R. J. Blake, The Baby Unicorn

1987 / Ebook / 32 pages

****

The subject matter kept her engaged through this wordy picture book, featuring commendable old-school weirdness and grit.

Claire Philip and Jessica Rose, Unicorn Stories: The Unicorn and the Lost Cat / And the Wild Horses

2021 / Ebooks / 48 pages

**

You can never have enough unicorn churn, I have learned.

Diana Murray and Luke Flowers, Unicorn Day

2019 / Ebook / 32 pages

**

Inspirational slogans with a semblance of story.

Babyliography CLIV

Rachael Mclean, Sweet Surprise: 28 Scented Stickers, Activities and Press-outs

2022 / Sticker activity book / 24 pages

**

The same four endlessly re-rendered activities as ever, with smelly stickers excusing the lack of wipe clean.

Amber Lily and Richard Merritt, Little Unicorn Learns to Dance

2020 / Paperback / 32 pages

**

Standard sermon with the standard fantasy critters and an inexplicable aversion to green.

Martin Handford, Where's Wally Now? / The Fantastic Journey

1988/89 (revised reprints) / Paperbacks / 52 pages

***

She won, thanks to the unfair advantage of young, non-deteriorated vision.

Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb, Who Lives Here?

2023 / Library book / 24 pages

***

Nice concept, if half as long as it should be.

Sarah Hayes and Inga Moore, Away in a Manger

1987 / Hardback / 27 pages

****

A festive childhood favourite chanced upon in a charity shop to ensure that the next generation has the same specific interpretation of events. We should probably get some other religions' picture books for balance.

Babyliography CLIII

Jan Brett, The Twelve Days of Christmas

1986 / Library book / 32 pages

***

Nostalgically rendered with old-timey art that's younger than me.

Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker, Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

2023 / Paperback / 32 pages

****

She wanted to comprehensively exhaust the unicorn paths before bothering with the other lot.

David Fickling and Richard Collingridge, Tiny Little Rocket

2020 / Preschool book / 32 pages

**

2001: A Space Odyssey for preschoolers.

Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton, Ten Minutes to Bed: Where's Father Christmas

2023 / Library book / 10 pages

*

Inevitably abandoning the series' premise to cash in on festive fever. Merry Xma$$$!

Andy Runton, Owly: Just a Little Blue

2005 / Paperback / 120 pages

***

She doesn't normally like silent things, so I was surprised we made it through in one sitting. It also doubles up as a samey colouring book.

Alrightreads: Book II

Richard Herring, Can I Have My Ball Back?: A Memoir of Masculinity, Mortality and My Right Testicle

2022 / Audiobook / 304 pages / UK

****

The sensitive sequel to Talking Cock didn't go with the more obvious title.

Bob Mortimer, The Satsuma Complex

2022 / Audiobook / 320 pages / UK

***

An odd blend of formulaic surrealism, the bits he wrote have that distinctive charm.

Tony Hawks, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

2000 / Ebook / 250 pages / UK

****

Makes my own first-world problems when travelling look almost reasonable.

Michael Reynier, Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony

2015 / Ebook / 340 pages / UK

***

Historical petropunk sci-fi and more conventional sorcery recounted in faux-encyclopaedic detail, complete with maps and teabagged journals.

Fave: 'The Angel of Pessane'

Kit Williams, Untitled

1984 / Ebook / 32 pages / UK

**

Impenetrable even when you know the answer already. The art isn't even especially captivating.

On the Omnibuses: December 2023

Various, The Mammoth Book of Contemporary SF Masters

Samuel R. Delany, The Star Pit (1967) ***

Glimpses of new horizons through the fog of booze and neurosis.

Charles Dickens, The Complete Novels

The Battle of Life: A Love Story (1846) *

These get worse and less Christmassy each year.