The obligatory first post introduction

Ugh. Late January. The magic of Christmas is over, the hope that New Year brings is fading (if not faded), and all that's left is feeling tired. Great, isn't it?! Anyway, on a ridiculously windy day, that's why I've decided to start a new blog.

My name's Kayleigh, and I've never really grown up. I mean, I have a job and everything - I work as a content editor for a defence company - but am I really the only one to want to stick my head in the sand and pretend I'm still a teenager? Without the awkwardness, obviously. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I've never grown out of children's books. At university I wrote my dissertation on a comparison of disability in children's books in the 20th and 21st centuries. I devoured The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars, and many more that I won't list right now. My obsession with children's fiction has only got worse since the arrival of my nieces and nephews, and I've quickly established myself as the go-to aunt for a massive pile of books and the accompanying silly voices. Caitlin is 5 in March, Lewis is 4 in July, Harrison is 1 in May and Vanessa was born last December.

My aim for this blog is to review as many books classed as being for children as possible, from 0-17. While reviewing isn't something I'm used to doing (and I would therefore be very grateful for feedback), I'd love to be of some use to anyone at all in choosing a book their child will love to read. When applicable, I'm planning to use my nieces and nephews as guinea pigs to test their reaction. I'm all too aware that adult reactions can (and often do) differ wildly from children's. I'm also planning on keeping my eye on any book events out there, the most obvious of which is World Book Day, on 7 March (in the UK). Birmingham Community Learning Trust has a link here for nominations, although a list of this year's £1 books has already been released.

There is a whole world of words out there, just waiting for a child's imagination to interpret them and somehow shape who they will become. Call me sad, but I think that's quite exciting!