<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms">We&#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. </a>The shops are shouting buy more, but we’re making a different case: skip the shiny book junk and choose stories that actually get read. Come with me and walk through the holiday aisles together and call out the biggest traps - gimmicky bundles, flimsy movie tie-ins, lazy age-badged anthologies and swap them for books with staying power and more meaningful bookish gifts.If you’re craving ease over excess, you’re in good company here.A few things we touch on today: • skipping gimmicky bundles that add plastic, not story • steering clear of movie tie-ins and lazy anthologies • smarter alternatives for middle grade and seasonal reads • age-appropriate comics and graphic novels that land • choosing engaging, well-designed nonfiction over coffee-table tomes • why annuals and activity books are risky gifts unless you know the child • ditching weak booklights for practical, lasting accessories • tech picks that stretch budgets: subscriptions, audiobooks, headphones • how to gift adults without awkward self-help misfires • choosing a slower, calmer Christmas that puts people before purchases Feel free to DM me on Instagram for recommendations because recommending books to you will be like giving me a gift this Christmas.  Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms"&gt;We&amp;#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The shops are shouting buy more, but we’re making a different case: skip the shiny book junk and choose stories that actually get read. Come with me and walk through the holiday aisles together and call out the biggest traps - gimmicky bundles, flimsy movie tie-ins, lazy age-badged anthologies and swap them for books with staying power and more meaningful bookish gifts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you’re craving ease over excess, you’re in good company here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A few things we touch on today: &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• skipping gimmicky bundles that add plastic, not story&lt;br/&gt;• steering clear of movie tie-ins and lazy anthologies&lt;br/&gt;• smarter alternatives for middle grade and seasonal reads&lt;br/&gt;• age-appropriate comics and graphic novels that land&lt;br/&gt;• choosing engaging, well-designed nonfiction over coffee-table tomes&lt;br/&gt;• why annuals and activity books are risky gifts unless you know the child&lt;br/&gt;• ditching weak booklights for practical, lasting accessories&lt;br/&gt;• tech picks that stretch budgets: subscriptions, audiobooks, headphones&lt;br/&gt;• how to gift adults without awkward self-help misfires&lt;br/&gt;• choosing a slower, calmer Christmas that puts people before purchases&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Feel free to DM me on Instagram for recommendations because recommending books to you will be like giving me a gift this Christmas. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&amp;apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.  The shops are shouting buy more, but we’re making a different case: skip the shiny book junk and choose stories that actually get read. Come with me and walk through the holiday aisles together and call out the biggest traps - gimmicky bundles, flimsy movie tie-ins, lazy age-badged anthologies and swap them for books with staying power and more meaningful bookish gifts. If you’re craving ease over excess, you’re in good company here. A few things w...

What Not To Buy: Christmas Bookish Edition

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms">We&#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. </a>The season can sparkle and still feel heavy. Between perfect social media feeds, school concerts, late shopping and burnt biscuits, it’s easy to forget why we gather at all. We offer a simple reset: a bookish Advent calendar that replaces pressure with presence and turns December into a series of small, meaningful pauses. We start with the heart of the tradition and why letting go of perfection creates space for real joy. Then we walk through five clear steps to build your own countdown and also share practical tips to keep it effortless. By the end, you’ll have a flexible plan that meets your pace and deepens your family rhythm. If you’re ready to count down with stories instead of stress, press play, build your stack, and make the season yours. Subscribe for more bookish rituals, share this with a friend who needs a calmer December, and leave a review to help others find the show.Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms"&gt;We&amp;#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The season can sparkle and still feel heavy. Between perfect social media feeds, school concerts, late shopping and burnt biscuits, it’s easy to forget why we gather at all. We offer a simple reset: a bookish Advent calendar that replaces pressure with presence and turns December into a series of small, meaningful pauses.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We start with the heart of the tradition and why letting go of perfection creates space for real joy. Then we walk through five clear steps to build your own countdown and also share practical tips to keep it effortless. By the end, you’ll have a flexible plan that meets your pace and deepens your family rhythm.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If you’re ready to count down with stories instead of stress, press play, build your stack, and make the season yours. Subscribe for more bookish rituals, share this with a friend who needs a calmer December, and leave a review to help others find the show.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&amp;apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.  The season can sparkle and still feel heavy. Between perfect social media feeds, school concerts, late shopping and burnt biscuits, it’s easy to forget why we gather at all. We offer a simple reset: a bookish Advent calendar that replaces pressure with presence and turns December into a series of small, meaningful pauses.  We start with the heart of the tradition and why letting go of perfection creates space for real joy. Then we walk through five...

A Bookish Advent: Build A Calm, Joyful Countdown With Stories, Not Stress

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms">We&#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. </a>What if I told you that you don&apos;t need text to raise a reader? What if the most powerful reading practice for growing language, empathy, and imagination uses no words at all? In today&apos;s epsisode, we welcome a wave of new listeners, tip our mugs to the Halloween specials that sparked it, and then head straight into the quiet magic of wordless picture books... books in which your child’s voice becomes the narrator and every page turn invites a new possibility. I will speak about the science of wordless books, share a personal story, get into the nitty-gritty of actually &quot;reading&quot; wordless books, and lastly share a list of the best tried and tested wordless books for all ages.  Ready to read the pictures and hear what your child has to say? Press play, save the book list from the blog or Instagram, and share this episode with a friend who loves stories. If this resonated, follow the show, leave a quick review, and tell us which wordless book you’ll start with. Your recommendations help our community grow.Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms"&gt;We&amp;#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What if I told you that you don&amp;apos;t need text to raise a reader? What if the most powerful reading practice for growing language, empathy, and imagination uses no words at all? In today&amp;apos;s epsisode, we welcome a wave of new listeners, tip our mugs to the Halloween specials that sparked it, and then head straight into the quiet magic of wordless picture books... books in which your child’s voice becomes the narrator and every page turn invites a new possibility.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;I will speak about the science of wordless books, share a personal story, get into the nitty-gritty of actually &amp;quot;reading&amp;quot; wordless books, and lastly share a list of the best tried and tested wordless books for all ages. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Ready to read the pictures and hear what your child has to say? Press play, save the book list from the blog or Instagram, and share this episode with a friend who loves stories. If this resonated, follow the show, leave a quick review, and tell us which wordless book you’ll start with. Your recommendations help our community grow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&amp;apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.  What if I told you that you don't need text to raise a reader? What if the most powerful reading practice for growing language, empathy, and imagination uses no words at all? In today's epsisode, we welcome a wave of new listeners, tip our mugs to the Halloween specials that sparked it, and then head straight into the quiet magic of wordless picture books... books in which your child’s voice becomes the narrator and every page turn invites a new po...

Go Textless: How Wordless Picture Books Build Language, Empathy, And Imagination

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms">We&#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. </a>I&apos;ve been getting some flack about my obsession with all things spooky this season and I totally get why some of us steer clear of the scary, the unusual, or anything that might feel like we are going against our faiths and beliefs.So today, I am diving into the science and soul of spooky season - how safe fear lights up the brain, teaches emotional regulation, and gives kids (and grown-ups) a surprising edge in real-life resilience. From South African springtime reflections to the glow of American Halloween lore, we share a personal journey that begins with a battered copy of Dracula and the sting of shame that followed, then turn that experience into a playbook for parents who want to keep curiosity intact without sacrificing sleep. If you’re wondering how to navigate scary stories at home, we offer a clear, compassionate toolkit: pair fear with comfort (lights on, cocoa ready), guide rather than forbid, calibrate the “spice level,” and debrief after tough themes to turn shivers into skills. Match content to temperament, not nostalgia, and keep shame out of the room so curiosity can do its good work. By the end, you’ll see Halloween and haunted pages as cosy laboratories for courage and imagination and not moral tests... humane tools for making sense of the unknown. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves a cozy fright, and leave a quick review to help more bookish friends find us. Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms"&gt;We&amp;#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&amp;apos;ve been getting some flack about my obsession with all things spooky this season and I totally get why some of us steer clear of the scary, the unusual, or anything that might feel like we are going against our faiths and beliefs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So today, I am diving into the science and soul of spooky season - how safe fear lights up the brain, teaches emotional regulation, and gives kids (and grown-ups) a surprising edge in real-life resilience. From South African springtime reflections to the glow of American Halloween lore, we share a personal journey that begins with a battered copy of Dracula and the sting of shame that followed, then turn that experience into a playbook for parents who want to keep curiosity intact without sacrificing sleep.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If you’re wondering how to navigate scary stories at home, we offer a clear, compassionate toolkit: pair fear with comfort (lights on, cocoa ready), guide rather than forbid, calibrate the “spice level,” and debrief after tough themes to turn shivers into skills. Match content to temperament, not nostalgia, and keep shame out of the room so curiosity can do its good work. By the end, you’ll see Halloween and haunted pages as cosy laboratories for courage and imagination and not moral tests... humane tools for making sense of the unknown.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves a cozy fright, and leave a quick review to help more bookish friends find us. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&amp;apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.  I've been getting some flack about my obsession with all things spooky this season and I totally get why some of us steer clear of the scary, the unusual, or anything that might feel like we are going against our faiths and beliefs. So today, I am diving into the science and soul of spooky season - how safe fear lights up the brain, teaches emotional regulation, and gives kids (and grown-ups) a surprising edge in real-life resilience. From South Af...

Why Kids Love Spooky Stories: Science, Childhood, and Joy

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms">We&#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. </a>Are you ready to join us for this Halloween literary special? This is your ultimate spooky season reading guide... but as with all things Tea, Tales, and Tomes, this is no ordinary episode. Come sit with us around our glowing campfire as we guide you through spooky books for readers of all ages, from gentle picture books to nightmare-inducing horror classics. We journey from campfire to haunted forest, exploring tales that flicker like lanterns in the darkness. • Little Blue Truck&apos;s Halloween and There&apos;s a Monster in Your Book offer gentle frights for the tiniest trick-or-treaters • Room on a Broom and The Quacken blend adventure with reassuring messages about friendship and overcoming fears • There&apos;s a Ghost in This House and Gustav the Shy Ghost provide slightly spookier tales for young independent readers • Middle-grade adventures like Jumanji, The Skull, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls deliver genuine chills while maintaining age-appropriate boundaries • The Graveyard Book follows Nobody Owens, a boy raised by ghosts, in a tale both chilling and tender • Teen and adult readers can explore Lockwood &amp; Co., Dracula, Thornhill, and Maxwell Dark for genuine literary frights May your nights be spooky, your books hauntingly good, and your heart always full of wonder. Happy Halloween!The music and sound effects for this episode is ALL from Pixabay.  Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2455879/open_sms"&gt;We&amp;#39;d love your feedback. Send us a message. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Are you ready to join us for this Halloween literary special? This is your ultimate spooky season reading guide... but as with all things Tea, Tales, and Tomes, this is no ordinary episode. Come sit with us around our glowing campfire as we guide you through spooky books for readers of all ages, from gentle picture books to nightmare-inducing horror classics. We journey from campfire to haunted forest, exploring tales that flicker like lanterns in the darkness.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;• Little Blue Truck&amp;apos;s Halloween and There&amp;apos;s a Monster in Your Book offer gentle frights for the tiniest trick-or-treaters&lt;br/&gt;• Room on a Broom and The Quacken blend adventure with reassuring messages about friendship and overcoming fears&lt;br/&gt;• There&amp;apos;s a Ghost in This House and Gustav the Shy Ghost provide slightly spookier tales for young independent readers&lt;br/&gt;• Middle-grade adventures like Jumanji, The Skull, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls deliver genuine chills while maintaining age-appropriate boundaries&lt;br/&gt;• The Graveyard Book follows Nobody Owens, a boy raised by ghosts, in a tale both chilling and tender&lt;br/&gt;• Teen and adult readers can explore Lockwood &amp;amp; Co., Dracula, Thornhill, and Maxwell Dark for genuine literary frights&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;May your nights be spooky, your books hauntingly good, and your heart always full of wonder. Happy Halloween!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The music and sound effects for this episode is ALL from Pixabay. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don&amp;apos;t forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.  Are you ready to join us for this Halloween literary special? This is your ultimate spooky season reading guide... but as with all things Tea, Tales, and Tomes, this is no ordinary episode. Come sit with us around our glowing campfire as we guide you through spooky books for readers of all ages, from gentle picture books to nightmare-inducing horror classics. We journey from campfire to haunted forest, exploring tales that flicker like lanterns in ...

Once Upon A Fright: Halloween Tales for Every Age

At Tea, Tales, and Tomes we are living our favourite lives talking books and drinking hot beverages. So grab your cuppa and join us in this gentle corner of the audio world - a community of readers, raising readers.&nbsp; Join us fortnightly, on a Wednesday, for all the wonder of kids books shelves that adults will also find delight in. I will give you hints and tips on how to raise bookdragons and provide you will tons of great book recommendations that are long-lasting shelf occupiers.&nbsp; Check out more information on the Tea, Tales, and Tomes blog: https://teatalesandtomes.wordpress.com/ or simply follow Tea, Tales, and Tomes on Instagram and TikTok @teatalesandtomes&nbsp;

Tea, Tales, and Tomes

Details

Recent Episodes