Alrightgames: The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters – Variant Castles

The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters: Variant Castles

2020 / Roleplaying game mini adventure / 2+ players

Most of the suggested traps and denizens were too grim or mundane for our magical friendship pony game, but this helped me to come up with some rooms to expand our prefabricated module, and I loved the idea of letting the dice decide what was on the other side of each door, that's a keeper.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – The Haunting of Equestria

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Haunting of Equestria

2019 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

*****

This adjustably spooky instalment is the best one we've played so far. Its higher level requirement for the characters also gives GMs a chance to gain enough experience to not be terrified by its more flexible approach, rather than jumping straight into the one with the exciting cover.

The writer has professionally penned RPG modules for decades, so I tried not to feel too intimidated that some people can turn the blank document into all this. But we're nearly out of adventures, and the next saga may be all random tables and Story Cubes.

Babyliography CLXXXIII

Emily Guille-Marrett and Charlotte Raby, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: My Day, Our World

2017 / School book / 16 pages

**

Not as captivating a wordless book as The Arrival, and she can already read up to five-letter words anyway, but they presumably know what they're doing.

Anna Llenas, The Colour Monster

2016 / School book / 48 pages

***

Nice craft design spruces up an otherwise bogstandard feelings discussion primer.

Laura Baker and Chris Jevons, Not Another Unicorn Book

2024 / Library book / 32 pages

**

Has its sparkly rainbow cake and eats it. This generation's going to get so sick of meta.

Various, My Little Pony, Vol. 3: Cookies, Conundrums and Crafts

2024 / Library book / 120 pages

***

The four-year-old reader identified the artist of one issue (another Amy) based on recognising her style. She insisted we read the Bloody Mare-y one despite my accurate protests that it would creep her out at bedtime.

Catherine Baker and Andrea Castro Naranjo, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised: Incy Wincy Spider

2022 / School book / 16 pages

*

We have to "read" these wordless books three times a week and answer questions she already memorised in class before we're allowed to enjoy some proper reading.

Babyliography CLXXXII

Darcey Bussell, The Ballet Book

2006 / Library book / 72 pages

***

Lots of pain to come, it seems. But she likes the dresses, what can you do.

Various, Read with Oxford: Stage 2 – Non-fiction – Our Wonderful World

2019 / Library book / 96 pages

***

These reliably teach me a thing or two. Aren't goats' eyes weird?

Various, My Little Pony, Vol. 1: Big Horseshoes to Fill

2023 / Library book / 120 pages

**

The first time I've seen her get properly excited by fan service lore, outside of her own fanfic.

Hayao Miyazaki and artists, Kiki's Delivery Service Film Comic, Vol. 1

2011 / Library book / 152 pages

****

The movie she has on tap and can watch any time, now partially in screencap comic form. She enjoyed reading along anyway, once I remembered that manga reads from right to left.

Catherine Rayner, Iris and Isaac

2010 / School book / 32 pages

**

Polar bear friendship lesson. Her school books are a bit less adventurous than her usual stuff.

Babyliography CLXXXI: Receptionreads

I was planning to rename this increasingly insultingly-titled catalogue of my daughter's reading now that she's started proper school, but for the sake of big numbers, all the unicorn continuity, and not being able to think of a new title, she's stuck with it until she learns to read in secret.

Dana Simpson, Razzle Dazzle Unicorn: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

2013-14 (collected 2016) / Paperback / 184 pages

***

Premature Christmas / culturally-irrelevant Thanksgiving special.

Celeste Bronfman and Amy Mebberson, My Little Pony, Volume 4: Sister Switch

2024 / Library book / 128 pages

***

Recycles a plot that happened to other princess sisters in the previous generation, but she still wanted all five issues in a day. The kid loves comics, don't know where she gets it from.

Unknown, Unicorn Academy: Under the Fairy Moon

2024 / Library book / 160 pages

***

She has no interest in the original books, but adapt an episode she's already seen and slap familiar imagery on, and she snaps it up. I was exactly the same. We skipped the frequent exposition digressions that are only there to expand a 45-minute episode to 160 pages.

Eiko Kadono, Kiki's Delivery Service

1985 / Ebook / 259 pages

****

I gave this the parental screening earlier this year (for attention span, rather than content warnings), and its episodic chapters are already a favourite bedtime request, to be acted out the next day.

David Lumsdon and Shiei, My Little Pony: The Manga – A Day in the Life of Equestria, Vol. 1

2019 / Library book / 120 pages

****

What the Pony Life show could have been, if it had actually been funny. Even if we don't get the meme references.