Mum Stuff - Morag Cuddleford-Jones

Title: Mum Stuff
Author: Morag Cuddleford-Jones
Country: UK
Year: 2007
Rating: A-
Pages: 239 pgs.

First sentence: Mums know everything.

I received this book in the mail a few weeks ago, after being one of the lucky prize winners of a book giveaway over at ReadySteadyBlog. Thanks to a generous donation by The Book Depository, I am now a proud owner of this little gem, that is currently unavailable here in America.

Mum Stuff is an upbeat, comprehensive guide of activities for children. I'm delighted to find some of my childhood favorites that seem to have been forgotten: making exploding volcanoes, tie-dying, and blind man's bluff. There is a wonderful chapter on how to throw a kid's birthday party, and lots of ideas for different themes and how to make costumes out of things around the house. And, I have found lots of ideas I would never have thought of: 12 things to do with a pair of tights, telling your fortune with apple seeds (pips), and a whole chapter on old wives' tales and where they originated from (carrots improve your eyesight, dandelions make you wet the bed).

My only complaint about the book is that the activities are not arranged by age. For the first-time mum (i.e. ME!!), you could spend a while searching the book wondering when you will be able to use these ideas. However, most things seem adaptable to kids pre-school age through 2nd or 3rd grade (this is my completely child-illiterate guess!).

Hopefully I will remember I have this book on my bookshelf in the future, when our currently un-born child is a little older!