Blog - Rhubarb and Wren

The BEST 23 diverse children’s picture books staring BAME Boys

If you’ve ever tried to find diverse children’s books with BAME (black, asian or minority ethnic) characters, you’ll know that they are as rare as a Disney princess who can’t sing.

And as for picture books with a BAME boy as a main character? They are even harder to find.

Yet right here is where I’ve got the good news…

While there aren’t nearly as many as there should be, there are already some fabulous diverse children’s picture books out there staring BAME boys as main characters, and I’ve got the creme de la creme all lined up to share with you. So read on to find out all about them…

Pile of 23 picture books that star a BAME boy as the main character. — Our favourite picture books featuring BAME boy main characters.

How to Make a Glow-worm Lantern

Glow-worms and fireflies have to be among the most magical creatures around. Living creatures that glow; is there anything stranger or more wonderful?

When we discovered there is a native British (or rather, European) glow-worm, we were inspired to make a lantern version, that shines just like the real thing.

Quick and easy to do, they are a great way to inspire children to learn about real glow-worms and the magic of phosphorescence. Read on to find out how to make them!

The Fascinating World of the Great British Glow-worm

**(or Lampyris noctiluca to their friends)**

Finding out there is a British glow-worm inspired the kids and me to make fabulous lantern versions of our own. But we also wanted to find out more about these fascinating insects. What we found out was so interesting, we had to share.

Read on to discover all about the glow-worm, or head over to our glow-worm lantern instructions to find out how we made them.

British glow-worm lit up among grass stems — **Lampyris noctiluca** (or Common Glow-worm)
*(Image source)*

How To Make Your Own Clay Star Christmas Ornaments

These DIY clay star ornaments were a simple to make, and are the perfect Christmas decoration. It’s a family tradition to create something new each year, and as these are so easy, this project is a great one to do with the kids in the lead up to the festive season.

Want to make some too? Read on to find out how.

Make your own clay star ornaments for Christmas decorations

How to Make Tutankhamun’s Mask

Think of ancient Egypt, and there’s an image that immediately comes to mind – King Tutankhamun’s mask. So when number one son was set a homework project to make something Egyptian, there was only one thing he wanted to do. And this was even after I’d told him about crocodile mummies.

We wanted to make a mask as much like the real King Tut’s as possible, and with a little bit of work and quite a lot of mess, we made a fantastic (and even wearable!) facsimile.

Our DIY Tutankhamun’s mask was a lot of fun to do, and was actually pretty easy. Read on to find out how we made it.

How to make pumpkin animals

Last Halloween I had the challenge of putting together a pumpkin trail for small children. This meant carving pumpkins that were friendly rather than frightening, and more gorgeous than gruesome. And so what could be more perfect for little ones than a Pumpkin Animals trail?

wool/yarn wrapped DIY twig letters for an animal pumpkin walk — We strung our wool/yarn-wrapped twig letters together to make a sign for our local pumpkin walk at Halloween.

Want some inspiration and ideas for your own unscary pumpkins? Read on to see what I made!

How to make hedgehog pumpkins!

These hedgehog pumpkins are are perfect non-scary halloween decorations for little children. What’s more, even tiny tots can get involved in making them.

Want to see how? Read on to find out!

How to make a pumpkin bird feeder

One of our favourite autumn and Halloween activities for kids is making this adorable pumpkin bird feeder. They are really easy to make, look amazing hanging from the trees, and, as they are made from all natural materials, are great for the wildlife in more ways than one.

Want to make some with your kids? Read on to find out how.

Conker Creatures

One of our favourite autumn activities is making conker creatures. Like most families, we absolutely love collecting conkers (or horse chestnuts) in the autumn. There’s something so tactile about those smooth, shiny shells that’s just irresistible. A conker hunt means the thrill of finding a shiny conker hiding under crinkly leaves, or revealing hidden treasure by winkling them out from a spiky green casing. Just irresistible!

It takes the kids no time at all to amass a great big pile of them and, as they last for ages, they make a great material for some lovely autumn crafts. We’ve come up with lots of ideas on how to use them, and one activity we often do, is creating these cute Conker Creatures.

A conker creature made with twigs and feathers. — *A friendly conker creature!*

Yoto Player review – Innovative audio player for kids

Yoto Player is both a children’s audio player and an online platform of carefully curated content. If you’ve seen any of my other posts on MP3 players for children, you’ll know I’m a big fan of screen-free audio time for kids, and have tested out many of them before finally settling on our family favourite.

So when the lovely people behind Yoto asked us to take a look at their device, I was a little hesitant. Would this be more of the same? I wasn’t sure if Yoto Player would be any different from any of the many other kids’ audio devices we’d looked at. Because really, what more could it offer?

Well, it turns out the answer to that is ‘a lot!’ Read on to find out more.

Yoto Player audio device for kids — *The Yoto Player is an internet-connected audio device for kids*

Time To Go With Ted – Book Review

One of Sophy Henn’s ‘Ted’ board book series, Time to Go With Ted is a charming and funny board book for very young readers. With big flaps on every page and toddler-level humour, these delightful little books are a great way to start children on their reading adventures.