We love London!!! We love living in London, there is always lots going on and new places to explore. When we go on the train into town, Tom excitedly points out all the landmarks which seems to make the commuters smile!

There are lots of London themed books, here are a couple of our favourites:

“The Queen’s hat” by Steve Antony is a lovely story of when a gust of wind takes the Queen’s hat and therefore the Queen on a journey across London. The hat passes many of London’s most famous landmarks and lands on a very special little boys head! The illustrations are fantastic, the Queen’s men are hilariously depicted throughout the book! Love it!

“London ABC” by Ben Hawkes is a simple alphabet book which celebrates all things London, from the Buckingham Palace to fish and chips. Each page has lots of things to explore and it is fun to try and spot as many things as possible beginning with that letter. This is a book that can be enjoyed again and again and has a wide age appeal.

These books have inspired us to get busy! Here are just a few examples:

Queen’s crown

Need: paper plate, scissors, paint, bits to decorate (we used stickers and pompoms).

We made the Queen’s crown with a paper plate. First I cut the plate, then the children decorated with paint, pompoms and stickers! Some of the hats came out quite small but perfect for cuddly toys!!

Lollypop stick soldiers

Need: lollypop sticks, pens, white plain sticker.

These are simple to make and the children really enjoyed playing with them afterwards. We used red lollypop sticks, coloured the top quarter black and lower half black. Then stuck a sticker for the face, children drew on the facial features. You could use plain lollypop sticks and paint or use pens to draw on the red and black uniform.

Underground map

Need: large piece of cardboard or paper and pens.

Tom loves the underground and is very interested in the map, we had a cardboard box which we cut to create a large area to draw on. We looked together at the real tube map and Tom drew the different lines using the correct colours and tried to put them in right place too. When he was happy with the map, he got out some little trains and played ……and played!!

More ideas on our London Pinterest board!

Happy reading and making!

We also love the London books by Marion Billet for toddlers (particularly toddlers who love wheels!)!

My first London bus by Marion Billet

My first London Taxi by Marion Billet

Hello London by Marion Billet