Mama Makes Books Catalogue 2024 by mamamakesbooks

Mama Makes Books

Hello!

Thank you for browsing our 2024 catalogue. Mama Makes Books is a small, independent UK publisher that creates books for children from newborns to 8-year-olds. Our guiding principle is to make books with love for children and our planet. We want to add value to young children’s lives, and place great importance on quality, safety and keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible.

In 2024, we’re excited to publish A Little Blue Dot, a narrative non-fiction picture book about Earth and the planets of our solar system. We add Playtime! to our Tummy Time series; Tiny, Floating Coral and Fluffy, Flying Seed to our Start Small, Think Big series; and Baby’s First 100 Words completes our Baby Sensory series.

We have some fabulous and fun new board books, too, with puzzle pieces that help to teach toddlers about their emotions and feelings. Happy as a Lamb and Brave as a Lion will equip them with the vocabularly to talk, and offer tried-and-tested techniques to lift their mood or calm unwanted feelings.

We hope you like what you see.

Penny Worms Founder and Publisher

TUMMY TIME BOOKS

Good for baby’s body and brain

A fold-out book with mirror ISBN 978-1-8381381-9-6

A BOOKSTART BOOK

Gifted to every newborn in the UK in 2022 and 2023 by BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust.

Tummy time is encouraged by healthcare professionals to help babies develop strong neck and shoulder muscles, and promote motor skills.

This concertina book is designed to keep babies’ brains busy, too, while their muscles are hard at work. It’s a double-sided panorama of images: high-contrast on one side for newborns’ developing vision, and photos of babies on the other to enjoy as they grow. There’s a mirror, too, so babies can look at themselves.

“My baby loves it. We had bought some expensive cards similar to this online. There was no need, he prefers this book. ”

BOOKTRUST REVIEWER

TUMMY TIME SERIES

Self-closing concertina board books 210 x 140mm (closed), 210 x 840mm (open), 6 leaves, with mirror/holes 0 to 12 months

UK Price £6.99

A fold-out book with mirror

ISBN 978-1-7397748-6-8

A fold-out book with finger-wiggle holes

ISBN 978-1-7397748-9-9

“An innovative way to introduce the youngest of readers to books and to make tummy time more engaging and enjoyable. ”

CHILDREN’S

BOOKS IRELAND

Reading Time is a book that encourages parents to lie-down with their babies during tummy time and read to them from birth. The fold-out panorama features high-contrast images and first words accompanied by an adaptation of a traditional nursery rhyme that babies will love. There’s a mirror, too, to say goodnight (or hello!) to one another.

NEW! 15 Feb 2024

Playtime! is a book that turns tummy time into playtime. At birth, a baby’s world is a blur of light and dark and moving forms. They are attracted to high-contrast images, faces and movement, so this finger-wiggle book is a perfect first book. Make rabbit’s ear prick up, puppy’s tail wag, or turn your finger into a wiggly worm. Where will it pop out next?

BABY SENSORY SERIES

Bold, bright and built for babies

A touch-and-say book

ISBN 978-1-8381381-2-7

A touch-and-feel book

ISBN 978-1-8381381-1-0

A lift-the-flap book with page tabs

ISBN 978-1-9167800-4-0

A sensory playbook

ISBN 978-1-8381381-0-3

A multi-sensory series for little ones who like books that DO things. They are books to grow up with through each developmental phase from 8 months to 3 years old.

Colourful images grab babies’ attention and the exciting things inside are designed to keep it. The turn of each page has a new surprise – something to touch, feel, slide, or a mirror to look into. Early Years learning is a multi-sensory experience – hearing, seeing, feeling and exploring all help develop language, fine motor skills and an understanding of the world.

BABY SENSORY SERIES

Thick board books 210 x 210mm, 10pp, touch-and-feel, flaps, tabs, mirror, embossing and more 8 months to 3 years

UK price £8.99

Scratchy velcro

Baby look! Bubbles.

BABY LOVE

With glitter, fur, flaps, felt and a soft blanket

A touch-and-feel cuddletime book with photos and illustrations of happy, sleepy, snuggly babies and animals, with textures to stroke and flaps to lift.

FURRY TUMMY

BABY LOOK

With cover wheel, holes, die-cuts, sliders, touch-and-feel textures, mirror

A sensory playbook for little ones who like books that DO things. The book covers key concepts, such as counting and colours, and there is lots of vocabulary to learn, too.

BABY SAYS

With page tabs, flaps and embossed finger trails

A finger trail and flap book with tabs for easy page-turning. The book introduces core vocabulary to learn and say, and the bumpy finger trails are great for fine motor skills.

BABY’S FIRST 100 WORDS With page tabs and flaps

Introducing over 100 first words in a child’s vocabulary in an interactive way, with flaps to lift and fun reveals on every spread. Includes adjectives and verbs, too, plus page tabs to help little ones turn the pages.

"Park!"

SLIDERS & HOLES

Bumpyfingertrails

Flaps with fun reveals

THE FUNNY FARM

Lift-the-flaps, pop-ups, sliders

There is always something happening down at The Funny Farm! This series of unique novelty flap books has a wonderful cast of farmyard characters. The warm-hearted rhyming stories are underpinned by an early-learning concept and they are gloriously illustrated by British artist Rachael Saunders.

An opposites book with flaps and sliders

ISBN 978-1-8381381-7-2

AGE 18m+

It’s harvest-time on Funny Farm and Red, a shiny new tractor, has arrived to help Blue, the farm’s old-faithful. Find out what happens by opening flaps and make things happen by sliding the sliders. NOMINEE

A counting book with flaps and pop-ups

ISBN 978-1-8381381-6-5

Did you know that farmers sometimes put duckling eggs under broody hens to hatch them? Cluck Cluck Duck shows that it’s love at first sight in this funny counting book about family love, acceptance and loyalty. “Lots of fun to read aloud with plenty of interactive opportunities. Great to share in an early years setting.” THE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN

FUNNY FARM SERIES

Cased board books

170 x 180mm, 10pp, integrated flaps, pop-up flaps and sliders

18 months to 3 years

UK price £6.99

Sliders & Flaps

CHOOSE YOUR MOOD BOARD BOOKS

With five double-sided puzzle pieces to choose your mood and express your feelings

This brand-new board book series is a fun and interactive way for young children to recognise their emotions and develop their emotional vocabulary using animal associations and mood-lifting suggestions.

A book about emotions

ISBN 978-1-916780-00-2 NEW! 18 April 2024

A book about feelings

ISBN 978-1-916780-01-9

Teresa Bellón’s characters cleverly visualise moods and feelings so children can identify their own. Under each double-sided ‘You Choose’ puzzle piece is a cue to encourage them to imitate the animals – thereby using humour, exercise, mindfulness, reassurance and breathing techniques to turn negative feelings into a more positive or calm mindset.

“Clever and well thought out board book...(with) a toy-esque quality that children will love”

18 April 2024

START SMALL, THINK BIG

Non-fiction picture books with fold-out maps

Start Small, Think Big is a series of books that sets young readers on a journey of discovery! The easy-to-read stories have a life cyle as their central theme, set in different habitats and places. They cover other fascinating science topics, too, ideal for young children. There is a fold-out map and I-Spy game at the end, giving the books the WOW factor.

ISBN 978-1-7397748-7-5

ISBN 978-1-7397748-8-2

ISBN 978-1-9167800-3-3

ISBN 978-1-9167800-7-1

Be transported around the world from the Amazon rainforest to the Arctic and Great Barrier Reef to learn about amazing animals and unique habitats.

Enjoy the big fold-out map, illustrated life cycle, and I-Spy game. The animal I-Spy takes readers back into the book to name and find a myriad of interesting animal species. The ‘Think Big’ facts and statistics are great for fact-hungry, curious children.

“This series introduces science and nature themes in an engaging and fact-filled way.”

ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION

Resources

Supporting activities and resources tied to the KS1 curriculum on our website

START SMALL, THINK BIG SERIES

Hardback with textured, die-cut cover plus fold-out map

230 x 230mm, 28pp inc. a 6pp gatefold

4 to 8 years

UK price £10.99

Stories carefully written in the first person for instant engagement. Coral begins with a tiny creature floating in a soup of plankton, looking for the perfect place to settle. Seed begins

THE MOST IMPORTANT ANIMAL OF ALL A Books for Topics Best Book of the Year 2021

WINNER

Best Books of the Year 2021

KS1 Curriculum Support

Endorsed by

Delicious illustrations... Informative and inspiring.”

THE SUNDAY TIMES

The Earthwatch Institute declared the bee as the most important species, but what other keystone species are important to their ecosystems and the planet?

In this beautiful book, seven children champion an animal for the top spot. but who will win their classmates votes – beavers, elephants, bees, bats, tigers, sharks or krill? Each animal offers a different ecological insight, but they all show us that everything is connected.

Supportingactivities and resources tied to the KS1 curriculum on our website Resources

tomakealistofwords,phrasesandsentencesto describetheanimal.Includeappearance,dietand

inwithoutsayingthenameorshowingthepicture.Keytermshavebeenprovided wordsthehelpfulhintsboxtopromotetheuseofscientificvocabulary.Theforbidden increasethechallenge.

addinginhelpfulhintsand forbiddenwords.Enjoyplayingwithawholenew collection of

EnglishNationalCurriculumlinks: identifyidentifyandnameavarietyofcommonanimalsincludingfish,amphibians,reptiles,birdsandmammals andnameavarietyofcommonanimalsthatarecarnivores,herbivoresandomnivores useidentifyandnameavarietyofplantsandanimalsintheirhabitats,includingmicrohabitats giverelevantstrategiestobuildtheirvocabulary maintainwell-structureddescriptionsattentionandparticipateactivelyincollaborativeconversations,stayingontopicandinitiatinguseandrespondingtocomments exploringspokenlanguagetodevelopunderstandingthroughspeculating,hypothesising,imaginingand

For each animal, the layout moves from illustration to the accuracy of real-life photos. At the back there is more information about keystone species, a glossary and an index. Online there are free classroom activities.

Hannah Bailey

Hannah is an award-winning British illustrator gaining a reputation for her beautiful non-fiction books. She is inspired by the natural world, growing things and history.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ANIMAL OF ALL Picture book, paperback

275 x 235mm, 40pp, full colour 5 to 9 years

UK Price £7.99

ISBN 978-1-8381381-4-1

Accelerated Reader

A LITTLE BLUE DOT

Meet the Planets of our Solar System

Meet the planets and discover why Earth is so special in this heart-warming story about our solar system.

NEW! 5 Sept 2024

Somewhere in our vast universe floats a little blue dot. This dot is Earth and she is surrounded by lots of impressive planets – Saturn with his ice-crystal rings and 82 moons, fiery Mars with his huge storms and volcanoes, bright and beautiful Venus... Earth feels small and insignificant, until the other planets tell her why she is the envy of them all. And then another little voice, very close by, has something important to say.

A Little Blue Dot is a story packed full of scientific information about the planets in our solar system and space exploration. Told by the planets themselves and charmingly illustrated, this reassuring story will be a hit with readers big and small.

German author/illustrator Maren Hasenjäger has sold over 15,000 copies in Germany, receiving wide acclaim. This is a wonderful, accessible approach to our solar system for young children and a perfect book for reading non-fiction for pleasure.

“The most important information packed into a great short story.” ONLINE REVIEW

Supportingactivities and resources tied to the KS1 curriculum on our website Resources

A LITTLE BLUE DOT Picture book, hardback

270 x 245mm, 32pp, full colour 5 to 9 years

UK Price £12.99

ISBN 978-1-9167800-5-7

THAT’S MATHEMATICS

Maths is useful, fun and everywhere!

AGE 5+

That’s Mathematics is a maths book like no other. It’s a vibrant, colourful book for young children proving that maths is useful, interesting, fun and EVERYWHERE! Based on lyrics by American satirist, mathematician and musician, Tom Lehrer, younger children can enjoy his fun rhyming lyrics and Elīna Brasliņa’s joyful illustrations, picking up a basic understanding of everyday maths. Older children are challenged by active learning ideas that will amuse and entertain.

“In the footsteps of Tom Lehrer, Chris Smith shows that you are never too young to have fun with maths.”

JOHNNY

BALL NEW! Paperback 14 Mar 2024

Elīna Brasliņa

Elīna is a Latvian artist, illustrator and designer for animated films. She has illustrated 25 children’s and YA books. Her board books by Lawrence Schimel have been translated into 21 languages.

50 BEST BOOKS for YEAR 1 Books for Topics RECOMMENDED READS

Parents’ notes inside and supporting activity sheets on our website Resources

Chris Smith

Former Scottish Teacher of the Year, Chris teaches, tweets, dreams and sings about maths. In 2020, he performed Lehrer’s song with a stellar cast of mathematicians –the inspiration for this book.

THAT’S MATHEMATICS

Picture book, hardback and paperback 260 x 220mm, 32pp, full colour 5 to 9 years

UK Price £12.99 hbk/£7.99 pbk

ISBN 978-1-7397748-4-4 hbk

ISBN 978-1-7397748-5-1 pbk

Accelerated Reader LY4.3

Mama Makes Books Order Form 2024

Choose Your Mood

as a Lamb

as a Lion

Tummy Time

Tummy Time!

Baby Sensory Board Books

Baby’s First 100 Words

Funny Farm flap books

Cluck Cluck Duck

Start Small, Think Big picture books

Small, Speckled Egg

Little, Brown Nut

Tiny, Floating Coral Available

Hbk 10.99

Fluffy, Flying Seed Pub 6 Feb 25 978-1-9167800-7-1 Hbk

Picture books

The Most Important Animal of All Available

A Little Blue Dot Pub 9 Sept

That’s

* price increase with new stock to £6.99

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