Alrightreads: Book I

L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

1900 / Audiobook / 260 pages / USA

****

The film is still definitive, but there's more of it in the book than I would have credited, which is a more violent and twisted take in general. Probably not one for bedtime stories.

Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Art Adams, Jerry Ordway, Dave Gibbons and Gary Frank, Tom Strong: Collected Edition, Book 1

1999-2000 (collected 2000) / Ecomics / 160 pages / UK

***

Moore's pulp parodies are some of the funniest things I've ever read, so it's a shame when he calibrates to affectionate pastiche.

Tony Hawks, Round Ireland with a Fridge

1998 / Ebook / 256 pages / UK

****

A slow start led to me abandoning this as a teenager, which was hardly in the spirit. Once it finally got underway, I was along for the stupid ride, having listened to enough Unbelievable Truth to hear the audiobook in my head.

John Bellairs, The House with a Clock in Its Walls

1973 / Audiobook / 179 pages / USA

***

Better than Harry Potter, at least.

Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon, Volume One: "Mongo, the Planet of Doom"

1934-35 (collected 1990) / Ebook / 110 pages / USA

****

Reading this serialised stream-of-consciousness out of context and seeing our tireless hero vanquish monsters, racist stereotypes and other relentless perils in his pants was hilarious, then eventually tedious.

Alrightgames: Marble Run

Marble Run

2019 / Marble run construction kit / UK

***

The kind of lo-effort plastic kit I wanted all along when settling for cardboard complexity. It tempts to ever more impractical excess, even if it does only work on their own mini marbles.

Alrightgames: Unicorn Puzzles 4 in 1

Trefl Puzzle 4 in 1 [Unicorns]

Jigsaw puzzles

***

Unbranded unicorn jigsaws to grow into. She quickly set about filling in the lore of the imaginary TV series and its movie tie-in.

Freelance Flaneur Jr.

Alrightgames: 100 Piece Mini Gradient Puzzle

100 Piece Mini Gradient Puzzle

Jigsaw puzzle / USA

*

Donated

I'd learned that I don't have the time, patience or skill for challenging jigsaws, but at just 100 pieces (including obvious edge appetisers), this seemed like it was more on my level. But then all the pieces turned out to be the same shape, so the horizontals fit together any old bloody way. Even by jigsaw standards, what's the point?

Alrightgames: More Peppa, Frozen & Pooh puzzles

More Peppa Pig, Frozen & Winnie-the-Pooh jigsaw puzzles

***

Upping the ante from her customary 24 pieces to a slightly more challenging 35 and frankly insane 49. He quips sarcastically, as if the Frozen backgrounds didn't briefly perplex parent and grandparent alike.

Alrightgames: I Spy Challenger!

I Spy Challenger!

2002 / Game Boy Advance emulator game

**

Not the most engaging early game, she appreciated that it was "for my age" and did well before never wanting to play it again.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Crystal Princess – The Runaway Rainbow

My Little Pony: Crystal Princess – The Runaway Rainbow

2006 / Game Boy Advance emulator game

**

Pokémon Yellow was the first proper video game we played together, until we got bored, but this was the first one that was really for her and that she mostly got through all by herself, with some help from Dad on the faux-SNES D-pad in the fiddlier mini-games.

Completely pony, but its boring plot and repetitive chores are better suited to her age and inexperience than the classic platformers just yet.

Babyliography CXVII

Unknown, Disney Sticker Play: Magical Activities

2021 / Sticker activity book / 16 pages / UK

**

Distinctly non-Princess variants of exactly the same things, with plenty of extra stickers to further overcomplicate her desk. Magically missing from the activity book drawer at present, have you seen it?

Martha Mumford and Laura Hughes, We're Going on a Treasure Hunt: A Lift-the-Flap Adventure

2020 / Library book / 24 pages / UK

***

Good flap book, we added interactivity with wooden draughts.

Jean and Gareth Adamson, Topsy and Tim series

1969-? / Library books / 32 pages / UK

**

It's nice to have something grounded to offset all the unicorns, and reprinting 60+ years of titles adds period charm/stupidity. They could come up with more than the one activity at the end.

Laura Dockrill and Maria Karipidou, The Lipstick

2020 / Library book / 40 pages / UK/Germany

**

Just try it and see if I'm as lenient.

Eric Hill, Spot Bakes a Cake

1994 / Library book / 20 pages / UK

***

Library storytime perked up when flaps got involved.

Babyliography CXVI

Mark Sperring and Tim Budgen, 20 Unicorns/Bunnies at Bedtime

2022/23 / Library books / 64 pages / UK

***

An inevitable hit, just as inevitably spun off to cover all the cryptozoological bases.

Peter Bently and Sernur Isik, Potion Commotion

2016 / Library book / 32 pages / UK/Switzerland

**

A sub-Dahl magical caper, but it entertained her enough for several repeats. It bothered me that they didn't bother naming the cat.

David McKee, Elmer and the Bedtime Story

2022 / Library book / 32 pages / UK

*

One of the worst excuses for a book I've ever read. This was the first posthumous release in the series, but it's not like these long-drawn-out series aren't ghostwritten even when humous.

Peter Bently and Sebastien Chebret, Whizzy Wheels Academy: Daisy the Digger

2019 / Library book / 20 pages / UK/France

**

These own-brand Thomas books helped her take notice of construction vehicles out in the wild.

Unknown, Wind and Go! Magical Unicorns

2022 / Instruction/activity booklet / 16 pages / UK

**

A free puzzle pamphlet adding much-needed value to a crap wind-up race track.