Alrightgames: Aerion

Aerion

2019 / Solo/cooperative dice/card game / 1-2 players

*****

Surprisingly my favourite in the niche of dice-based Oniverse games, and beating One Deck Dungeon for elaborate Yahtzee, this dice-finagling exercise looked to be one of the less appealing in the series and most likely resales in theory, but it charmed me in play as I literally helped dreams take flight. Then I couldn't put it down for a month.

It's customarily reliant on its expansions to add depth and replayability, at least a couple of which should probably be part of the base game from the start, before things get weird.

Babyliography CCXIX

Lou Kuenzler and Beatrice Bencivenni, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

2017 / School book / 16 pages

**

Is it Henny Penny? Is it Chicken Licken? No, it's some rabbit.

Dana Simpson, Unicorn Famous: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

2018 (collected 2021) / Paperback / 176 pages

***

Lucky book 13, interchangeable with most of them.

Various, My Little Pony: Friends Forever, Volume 3

2015 / Paperback / 100 pages

***

Another uneven batch, but Pinkie Pie's lesson is self-control is one for the ages.

Rob Hodgson, The Cave

2018 / Library book / 32 pages

***

Repeatedly borrowed from school and library, she likes the story, I like all the little details. One of the better picture books out there.

Sally Nicholls and Carolina Rabei, Who Makes an Ocean?

2024 / Library book / 32 pages

***

Flatly stating that a god didn't make the ocean is a fair balance to what she's imbibing in unofficially Christian school assemblies. Otherwise, this was still a bit complex as an ELI5.

Babyliography CCXVIII

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, The Gruffalo's Child

2004 / School book / 32 pages

**

The Prince Caspian of overrated picture books.

 

Roger Hargreaves, Little Miss Splendid

1981 / Library book / 30 pages (a couple ripped out)

*

Posh sod is exempt from learning lessons.

Jamie Smart, Looshkin: The Adventures of the Maddest Cat in the World

2018 / Library book / 64 pages

***

Going back to the start of a series usually means it makes more sense.

Helen Dineen, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: Dogs That Help

2022 / School book / 16 pages

***

Ramping up to Phase 4, she had a crack at reading a page in her mind and unlocked a new permanent skill. Good dogs!

Michael Rosen, Smacking My Lips

1995 / Paperback / 60 pages

***

Like Dr Seuss, I failed to get the appeal of this frivolous children's poet until reading it aloud to someone in single figures. Fingers crossed we come across the hall of lost things in real life to get her doll's accessories back.

Babyliography CCXVII

Jan Burchett, Sara Vogler and Anastasiya Kanavaliuk, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: Too Much Soap

2022 / School book / 16 pages

**

She wants to read as well as Savannah does, so we're reading her phonics books three times a week as instructed all along rather than getting them out of the way for unicorns. This was an atmospheric journey, so I didn't mind taking it again.

Susanna Davidson, Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon, The Frog Prince

2012 / School book / 24 pages

**

A few tweaks, but I squashed the theory going around Reception that the frog dies before metamorphosing.

Roger Hargreaves, Little Miss Shy

1981 / Library book / 32 pages

*

Another 'flawed' personality pressured into conforming. We discussed why this wasn't good.

Catherine Casey and Lee Teng, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: Food on the Farm

2021 / School book / 16 pages

**

The non-fiction ones are our favourites, even when they're inaccurate about the colour of beetroot.

Various, Oxford Reading Tree: Level 3 – Traditional Tales – Chicken Licken and Other Stories

2013 / Library book / 80 pages

***

Some dumb changes for the sake of it, but she zipped through them.

Aimee's art review

Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Alexander at Issus (1529)

"I like this one. All the people, the message in the sky and the sun and the moon, it's very detailed. It's my favourite one."

Tsuguhara Foujita, Girl in the Park (1957)

"I like this one because it's bright and detailed."

Sam Francis, Around the Blues (1962)

"I don't like that one, it's rubbish."

Agnolo Bronzino, An Allegory of Venus and Cupid (1545)

"This is rude, because they're naked. There's a bottom there, a bottom there, there's even a willy. It's rude. I like it!"

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1964)

"The best thing about it is nothing. The worst thing about it is that it's just totally yellow. That's the worst one."

More songs by Aimee

The artist's second EP of song lyrics and stock photo selections following her 2024 debut.

I'll Always Have Your Back

You have to always remember

That I'll have your back

Forever

But didn't you know

That I'm sticking together with you

Some day we might be apart

But I don't think we will

Because we're together

I'll always have your back

No matter what

Because we're together

Forever

But didn't you know

That I'm sticking together with you

Forever

I'll always have your back

No matter what

Because we're together

Forever

Didn't you know

That we're sticking together

I'll always have your back

No matter what

Because we're together

Forever

Together Forever

How I shine

Shine though it's dark

You and me

You and me

That's a good reason why you love me

That's a good reason why you make me smile

And that is what I did with you

That is the reason why I have long hair like you

That is the reason I have black hair

Ohh ohh

Look at me, look at you, we're together now

Together all of us

We're all together, forever

Always be together, no matter what

I know we're together forever

You never worry about me being apart

I'll never forget you're me, you're in my heart

You were the reason that you made me fly in my dreams

The Money Song

[A half-hour financial epic improvised live at the playground and on the walk home, only a few fragments were recorded for posterity]

The money so-o-ong

Mo-o-o-o, mo-ney

Mo-o-o-o, mo-ney

Mo-o-o-on, ey-ey

Mo-o-o-on, ey-ey

You can do a painting job

You did the painting really well

And you get paid

You get the money today

Money, it's easy to get

You plant the crop

You plant the potatoes

You plant anything

Or you can do a different job

Like in the cafe

Be a babysitter

Whatever

And you'll get money, money

You'll get lots of money

Right in your day

You can get a coin

Put it in the locker, if you have one

My friend always has something in common

So let's pray for the day and shine bright with each other

So we can see the money, the mone-e-e-ey

Gloves Endless Song

[Scene: Wearing a pair of gloves on a hot summer day]

I'm definitely not taking my gloves off

Even though it's hot

I've got a secret, in my head...

Fine.

[Takes the gloves off]