See our @thegreenparent magazine Dec feature
The Green parent magazine is running an article on our bedtime bears in their Dec cover. Fantastic news for anili. Do check us out
The Green parent magazine is running an article on our bedtime bears in their Dec cover. Fantastic news for anili. Do check us out
Congratulations to Julia Donaldson, the new Children’s Laureate appointed yesterday! Julia, we support your efforts to ensure children have access to libraries. We agree that libraries are crucial to developing a love of reading. That’s why we offer all our books to libraries at a special rate, so that children and their parents can have access to our wonderful stories, rhymes and pictures. Our books demonstrate the use of differing language skills, and contain games that are fun and provide fun practice of the necessary skills, and encourage children to enjoy reading.
" The simple rhyming text used in these delightful books is pitched perfectly for supporting children who are starting to learn to read. The themes match young children’s interests and experiences. We also really loved the size and feel of these books."Mrs J Hughes - Headteacher - Hassocks Infant School
A report released yesterday by the National Literacy Trust shows that 3 in 10 children come from homes that do not have a single book in their homes. 1 in 5 children leave primary school with inadequate reading skills. Former Ofsted Director Sir Jim Rose commented: “We are in serious trouble.... We need to do something urgently. It is a responsibility we cannot afford to shirk.”
Sue Porto on the BBC news channel this morning spoke of the positive effect of one-to-one support offered by “volunteer reading helpers” on children’s reading skills. On the program an 8-year-old said “if you don’t read, you don’t get clever”.
At Anili we know that adult involvement at an early age can establish a love of reading and engagement with education. That’s why all our books contain games and guidance to encourage parents and cares to build an early love of books as well as specific literacy and language skills.
Research from the National Literacy Trust published yesterday (1st June) shows that 3 in 10 children live in households that do not contain a single book. This is coupled with research that shows that those children who have books at home at an early age perform better at school.
Former Ofsted Director Sir Jim Rose commented: “We are in serious trouble...We need to do something urgently. It is a responsibility we cannot afford to shirk.”
This responsibility lies at the heart of Anili’s endeavours. We are doing our best to ensure that affordable attractive books with quality content and illustrations are available for children.
Our books encourage children to read, a skill required in every aspect of life, no matter how technologically advanced.
While we love ebooks and their attendant technology, we feel it will always be essential for children to experience the feel of books and enjoy the immediacy of illustrations in their hands.
Reading should be encouraged from the earliest age. The smallest hands can turn pages and find favourite parts of loved stories long before they have the skills and know-how required to manage e-readers. Providing this opportunity provides a head-start for school and life!
You just might like to take a little peak at our press and radio coverage.........
We had so much fun on Tuesday 10th May at Hassocks Infant School, West Sussex.
It was storytime, so Cynthia sat down with a quiet and attentive class of 42 children and read 'Forest Fun' , a story about being in a lovely english forest and finding food and friends. But it wasn't quiet for long......oh no..... time to role play and let little imaginations run free!
We split the class into two groups, so one group of children were 'forest animals' and the other group were 'forest foods'. Then being inspired by the games suggested in the book, the children ran around the room 'tagging' the food or animal that 'matched' them. Oh shall we pretend to be a badger, or a cricket, or a bird, or a worm, or a big beautiful deer? Or shall we be an acorn, or a mushroom, or a worm, or a big fat juicy blackberry? And just how do you pretend to be a blackberry? Does it make a noise? How does a worm move across the ground or a cricket say hello? To find out more about anili books go to www.anili.co.uk
Sewing their way to the best sellers
By Darren Slade
But now a Dorset business has launched four children’s books into the national market, with the help of an endorsement from former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo.
Anili is a two-woman business dedicated to books that are educational, environmentally friendly and ethically sound. The idea came about after Emma Henley and Cynthia Berman enrolled on the same sewing course held at St John’s Church Hall in Westbourne, Bournemouth. But this is no vague pipe dream.
Instead, the pair combined their talents into a serious business partnership. Cynthia, who wrote the books, is experienced in child development and early years education, and spotted a gap in the market for books that took the right approach to literacy.
“We decided we’d make the medium the message, put forward sound educational stuff in a really fun way,” she said. Cynthia, a grandmother in her early 60s, says she knew within 10 minutes that Emma was her ideal business partner. Aged 39, with extensive experience in marketing, Emma had creative skills and the business acumen to see the project into print. “We decided to go with four books,” said Emma. “Having spoken to education professionals and doing thorough comparative research of what’s out in the market place, we made the business decision to go with the series.”
The pair hired local illustrators and designers and found a printer capable of producing the books on recycled paper.
In order to interest the national book-sellers, they decided it would be important to get high-profile endorsements early on. First came one from David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at Bangor University, and then the testimonial from Michael Morpurgo. “I thought Sun and Storm was a delightful play on words and pictures. So bravo!” wrote the author of War Horse and Kaspar. “And bravo too for all you are doing. Anything we can do to bring stories to children and children to stories is much needed.”
The initial four books range from Sun and Storm, aimed at children from 18 months to three years, to Cosmic Council: The Saturnian Rings, an adventure which complements key stages one and two at school. The books are priced £4.99 or £5.99 and come with games which can be cut out or photocopied.
Emma and Cynthia are in negotiations with Gardners Books, the national wholesaler whose business is key to placing titles with national chains such as Waterstone’s.
In order to be in that market, they decided they had to commit themselves to producing 10,000 copies of their four titles combined, so Emma’s home is packed with books.
“It’s a huge financial commitment for us both,” says Emma. “Everything else is on hold. My full-time job is Anili. There’s zero income at the moment.” But if the gamble pays off, enrolling at Mary Wallander’s Westbourne sewing class could be one of the best decisions the pair ever made – even if the sewing has been neglected for a while.
Details can be found at anili.co.uk
Article shown in Bournemouth Echo March Business Edition p30
Oh was a little nervous being interviewed for Radio Solent about my stall at Boscombe Vintage Market on saturday, but Katie Martin was great. Listen to me talking about the launch of Anili, our products and all about Boscombe Vintage Market here. P.S. I'm a few secs in!
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We're on page3 of today's Daily Echo in Dorset! How wonderful and all in celebration of World Book Day. After Tuesday's photoshoot where Cynthia and I got buried in our books, this is the fabulous picture..... along with the article.
Dorset author's books get approval from literary stars
A FEW hand-written lines from former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo are just the endorsement that two Dorset women need.
“I thought Sun And Storm was a delightful play on words and pictures. So bravo!” wrote the author of War Horse and Kaspar.“And bravo too for all you are doing. Anything we can do to bring stories to children and children to stories is much needed.”
Sun And Storm is one of four books published by Anili, a two-woman business dedicated to books that are educational, environmentally friendly and ethically sound.The idea came about after Emma Henley and Cynthia Berman enrolled on the same sewing course held at St John’s Church Hall, Westbourne. But this is no vague pipedream. The pair have formed a serious business partnership which is already on the verge of getting the books stocked in the national chains.
Cynthia, who wrote the books, is experienced in child development and early years education, and spotted a gap in the market for books that took the right approach to literacy.“We decided we’d make the medium the message, put forward sound educational stuff in a really fun way,” she said.Cynthia, a grandmother in her early 60s, says she knew within 10 minutes that Emma was her ideal business partner.Aged 39, with extensive experience in marketing, Emma had creative skills and the business acumen to see the project into print.
The pair hired local illustrators and designers and found a printer capable of producing the books on recycled paper.In order to interest the national booksellers, they decided it would be important to get high-profile endorsements early on.First came one from David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at Bangor University, and then the testimonial from Michael Morpurgo.
The initial four books range from Sun And Storm, aimed at children from 18 months to three years, to Cosmic Council: The Saturnian Rings, an adventure which complements key stages one and two at school.The books are priced £4.99 or £5.99 and come with games which can be cut out or photocopied.
Emma and Cynthia are in negotiations with Gardners Books, the national wholesaler whose business is key to placing titles with national chains such as Waterstone’s.In order to be in that market, they decided they had to commit themselves to producing 10,000 copies of their four titles combined, so Emma’s home is packed with books.
“It’s a huge financial commitment for us both,” says Emma.“Everything else is on hold. My full-time job is Anili. There’s zero income at the moment.”
But if the gamble pays off, enrolling at Mary Wallander’s Westbourne sewing class could be one of the best decisions the pair ever made – even if the sewing has been neglected for a while.
NOTE: Interested in uying our books? Then simple go to www.anili.co.uk , order online and Emma will pop them straight into the post for you.