Reviewed by
Roxie
The Parrot Street Book Club is a monthly book subscription designed to encourage young readers (5 to 14-year-olds) in the UK to discover the magic of books. Every month they send subscribers a different and exciting chapter book along with a letterbox-friendly pack containing book club-style questions and exciting activity ideas which encourage kids to spend more time thinking and talking about books.
There are currently three reading levels to choose from: Parakeets (5-8 years), Cockatoos (8-12 years) and Macaws (12-14 years). Younger readers receive illustrated books to share or have a go at reading independently while more confident readers will receive longer, more substantial chapter books perfectly pitched for tweens and early teens.
Penny was delighted to recieve the Big Sky Mountain chapter book and activity pack. It contained a copy of Big Sky Mountain written and illustrated by Alex Milway as well as book club-style questions to ponder, facts about beavers, a recipe for raspberry biscuits, a word search, a ‘decorate a parachute’ activity sheetKi, instructions on how to create a 3D picture and a sticker sheet.
The book was a little too advanced for Penny to read indepentably (she just turned 6 in July), however, we had lot of fun sounding out words and sounds she recognised as well as decifering picture clues and using our imaginations to guess what would happen next. We read a chapter at bedtime and Penny loved the book so much she always wanted me to keep going. I’ve also caught her ‘reading’ the book alone in bed to her dinosaurs which is really what it’s all about – having fun with books and creating lifelong readers.
By Evelyn 
