Tom Gates: Absolutely Brilliant Big Book of Stuff product reviews

I have read two of the Tom Gates books by L Pichon and I have enjoyed both f those. I really like Tom. He is a bit of a lad, and reminds me a little of my own little brother. His family are funny and he is always getting up to some mischief. Not that he means any harm, he just doesn't think things through before he does them.

Getting this Big Book of Fun Stuff was excellent. This is like a summer annual. It's hardbacked, and it has all sorts of activities plus mini stories throughout. The stories are typical of Tom Gates. He talks about class and homework - this is meant to be a homework journal. He mentions Marcus who he doesn't like very much and his teachers. He also shares about the Fossils and his sister.

There is one recipe in the book, which was pretty easy. I decided to bake these fish biscuits today with my daughter. There are only really five ingredients and two of those are the icing and decorating items for the eyes. My daughter loved putting these biscuits together and as I say it was really easy.

Aside from the recipe, there are quizzes and things to doodle. If you know Tom Gates, you know that he is all about doodling and his band. I love his doodles, so I was happy to try and copy some of the more elaborate stuff with stars and his monster pictures. This book was brilliant and has enough to keep kids and adults busy over the school holidays. The price is not bad for a hardcovered book either.

I thought this would be perfect for my Miss Eight so gave it to her the beginning of a weekend that I had a lot planned. She has had it for two weeks now and absolutely loves it. This is a bit like an annual where there are lots of bits to write and doodle and then there are story's to read as well. I am impressed at how much time she has spent with it and she seems to like the layout.

Because it is hard cover it travels well so My Miss Eight has had it in the car with her and it has kept her amused for car journey's. She really likes the way the story takes you through the book. There are lots of recipes and ideas for baking and creating things as well as some dot to dots and some coloring and doodling pages. It's a very good mix.

This book would appeal both to boys and to girls both and is a perfect birthday or Christmas gift. I would definitely recommend it for children approximately 8 years and up mainly because the writing is quite small. My Miss Six found it too difficult to read.

Its not often a book with a hard cover costs less than $20 so this is good value for money hitting all the bases in terms of keeping your child amused for hours.