Book giveaway: Polly and the Puffin 2 - The Stormy Day by Jenny Colgan

[TinaMumsnet]

Polly and the Puffin is Jenny Colgan's debut children's series following Polly's adventures with her best friend Neil the puffin. Perfect for children aged 5+.

Fans of Jenny's fiction for adults might recognise Neil from The Little Beach Street Bakery!

In the second book in the series, Polly and the Puffin: The Stormy Day, Polly and Neil are stuck inside on a rainy day and have to find ways to keep busy until they can go outside and play. Gorgeously illustrated and packed with fun activities, The Stormy Day is the perfect book for braving boring days indoors and reading aloud together.

Hachette have asked us to find 50 Mumsnetters to read Polly and the Puffin with their children and share their thoughts about it on the discussion thread below. Go to the giveaway page to find out more and apply for your copy.

You don't have to win a free copy to take part in the discussion. Anyone who has read Polly and the Puffin can post their feedback on the thread. All who post feedback before 4 April will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

This giveaway is sponsored by Hachette

We all loved this sweet book. The illustrations were delightful and brought the story to life. I would definitely recommend reading this with your little ones.

We finished the book yesterday. As mentioned before I let my 5yr old (in year 1) read the book to me and with the exception of a few words, she managed to read everything herself. We both very much enjoyed the story and we liked the drawings and their colors. The story is not as long as it seems from the thickness of the book; after the story there are a few pages about light houses, there are some nursery rhymes and some activities that can be done. The latter bit my daughter didn't seem to interested in, however I am sure my daughter would love to read some more books about Polly and her Puffin.

Thank you for my copy of the book. I was able to read it with my granddaughters. Of the three of them, aged 7, 4 and 2, it was Lauren, the 4 year old who most enjoyed it, so much so she wants it read again tomorrow and again the next day and so on... At first glance, it seemed a little long for a bedtime story, but with the last quarter being devoted to activities and rhymes and various other pieces of miscellany (all related to the story) the pages virtually turned themselves. I certainly helps in having a very receptive audience. The storyline was simple enough for my granddaughter to understand and follow easily - and it had strong underlying messages too. The monochrome drawings, with an added touch of red, were beautifully drawn and clearly helped the children's enjoyment. The story must have been good too or else I wouldn't have been asked to re-read it!

Great book, thanks for the copy. Interesting activities and recipes at the back so should keep one busy. This is my first with Jenny Colgan's books and I'm happy with it.

Thank you for the book. Me and my daughter (2) enjoyed reading it at bedtime and the illustrations are lovely. we both enjoyed the story and Neil the puffin was definitely a favourite with my daughter!

Thanks for choosing me to review this book. I can thoroughly recommend it. I thought it was a charming read. It was different from what I have read to my dd before. I very much enjoyed the extras at the back of the book, and thought that this was a very novel idea. The illustration was quite retro, and I found it endearing - it took me back to being a child myself. My daughter enjoyed the book also, she liked that the puffin was called Neil, as this is daddy's name. Although she is only 5 she could identify with the topic of what you could possibly do on a rainy day, and waiting for daddy to come home. The characters were warm and easy to like, as they were funny too.
I would actively seek out more work by the author and thanks again for picking me.

I thought this was quite a sweet little story and expected DS (5) to like it but he wasn't that interested - I think he found the colouring of the illustrations a bit strange, and was put off by having a girl as the main character (we're going through a bit of a "no girls" phase).

I'd echo what other people said about the activities section at the back - it seemed a bit confused and wasn't any a what I read expecting - I'd assumed it was a short chapter book.

So in summary - good story, but maybe not quite right for us. I'd probably have preferred it as more of a picture book - bigger pages and miss out the activities - I think it would then be more engaging for younger children.

And now I feel very ungrateful - thank you for our copy and we'll make sure it goes to someone who will appreciate it!

What a delightful little book full of character plus fun with some lovey pictures. The storylines was easy to read and get into a character play My granddaughter and i both love reading it. Im going to pass it onto my nephew next time im babysitting.

What a beautiful book! Obviously I'm not the target audience for it, but it's a lovely book with wonderful illustrations. Love puffins in general and Neil in particular, and the relationship between Polly and Neil is very sweet. Enjoyed the little nods to the parent reading the story regarding Polly's behaviour at times, and thought it dealt well with how children feel about having to wait for someone to come back and realising that grown-ups feel this too, and can be worried for the person they're waiting for. It conveys the dramatic weather wonderfully, and balances this with the feeling of being cosied up at home with your family.

I particularly loved the very last illustration in the story of the sleeping house with the lighthouse in the background and the caption "Outside, the rain after the storm fell softly on the little house by the sea. And everybody slept".

As well as the story, the book contains songs, craft activities and recipes so definitely worth the money to anyone wishing to buy it.

A wonderful children's book by a usually adults author - it was a good idea to take a character out of another book of hers - my friend's daughter really enjoyed it - she love puffins.

Ah, what a fab book! I have always tried to instill a love of nature and animals in my DDs, and this book was a great way to introduce the idea of how humans and wild animals can live together in a symbiotic way. Last Summer we visited the Bird Centre in North Berwick and viewed the wild puffins, so this was a topic close to my and my DDs' hearts. Another lovely aspect is the book works on more levels than a simple and engaging parable. The sections at the back turn it into a fun and instructive book to entertain children further. We can't wait to read the next chapter about Polly and Neil in "The Stormy Day"!

Beautiful book that both my 4 year old son and 6 year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed, they also loved the activities at the back of the book which was different to any other book we have read together. This was our first Polly and the Puffin book. Many thanks x