< Previous20 Spring-Summer 2020 Time Out UAE Kids Kid’s audiobooks The Hobbit By : J.R.R. Tolkien. Narrated by: Rob Inglis. Length: 11 hours and five minutes. Best for: Ages eight and above. This is a classic, but it’s a hard read for kids, who will often get put off by the sheer number of pages and the difficult language (Tolkien invented numerous languages including Elvish) used. All of that makes it the perfect audiobook for children to listen to. Pax By: Sara Pennypacker. Narrated by: Michael Curran-Dorsano. Length: Five hours and 32 minutes. Best for: Ages eight to 12. This may be a lesser known children’s story, but one that is so deeply moving and touching, it ought to be on every child’s reading list. The book is about a 12-year-old boy and his pet fox caught up in an increasingly dystopian nightmare It’s not an easy read (or rather, listen) and parents should know that some of the narrative may be too much for sensitive kids, but the story does offer strong positive messages about doing what you know to be right and fixing mistakes you may have made. The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians By: Rick Riordan. Narrated by: Jesse Bernstein. Length: Ten hours and two minutes. Best for: Ages ten and above. This is a cool, action-packed story based on Greek mythology. The hero of the story is 12-year-old Percy Jackson who embarks on a dangerous quest to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction – Zeus’ master bolt. If you’re wondering what Greek gods even sound like, you’ll be pleasantly thrilled and surprised. The Magic Faraway Tree By: Enid Blyton. Narrated by: Kate Winslet. Length: Three hours and 47 minutes. Best for: Ages six and above. This is the second book in Enid Blyton’s much loved Magic Faraway Tree series. Read by Kate Winslet, the story follows four siblings who move to a new home and discover an enchanted wood with a magic tree in it. The adventures they have with the crazy inhabitants who live in the tree and in the world’s they discover at the top, makes for excellent family listening. Beatrix Potter’s manuscript for Peter Rabbit was rejected by publishers six times. The House at Pooh Corner By: A.A. Milne. Narrated by: Peter Dennis. Length: Three hours and 12 minutes. Best for: Ages four and above. Ideal for the littlest listeners, this collection of stories follows Pooh and the crew around the Hundred Acre Wood – Eeyore gets a house, Tigger is introduced, Piglet is very brave, and the game of Poohsticks is invented, just to name a few. The Hundred Acre Wood was inspired by Ashdown Forest in Sussex, England. The J.R.R. in the author’s name stands for John Ronald Reuel. 18 - 21_TOKU_1304_Feature_Audiobooks_11233490.indd 2025/03/2020 13:03:08Time Out UAE Kids Spring-Summer 2020 21 Kid’s audiobooks The Lion, the With and the Wardrobe By: C. S. Lewis. Narrated by: Michael York. Length: Four hours and 21 minutes. Best for: Ages nine and above. The inaugural tale in the Chronicles of Narnia series, it follows the four Pevensie siblings into the magical world of Narnia for the first time. Emmy- nominated British actor Michael York uses different character voices, intonation and accents. The Magic Treehouse By: Mary Pope Osborne. Narrated by: Mary Pope Osborne. Length: Six hours and one minute. Best for: Ages five to seven. There are eight stories in this collection and all are as endearing as the other. Jack and Annie encounter different scenarios and meet various characters every time they venture up the tree into their magic treehouse including dinosaurs, knights, mummies and pirates. The World’s Worst Children By: David Walliams. Narrated by: David Walliams, Nitin Ganatra. Length: Two hours and 51 minutes. Best for: Ages five to seven. The books are brilliant, laugh out loud funny and totally addictive, but having Walliams narrate the tales of vile children who do everything from pick their noses to collecting belly button fluff, makes it all the more comical. We challenge you not to listen to the whole book in one go! And once you’re done, you can download and listen to any of Walliams’ other books – all are genius and kids love them. Time Out recommends We asked the Time Out team what their favourite childhood books were, and this is what they said… Holly Sands, editorial director My teenage books of choice are the Sally Lockhart Series by Phillip Pullman (Ruby in the Smoke), but when I was younger I loved the Malory Towers Collection by Enid Blyton. Lucy McMurray, assistant art editor Growing up, I was addicted to Nancy Drew books. I vividly remember reading the books under my desk in class, because I just couldn’t put them down. Classmates used to call me the bookworm and then would secretly come to me for recommendations. I also used to thoroughly enjoy the Mr. Men books growing up. It was really fun to read about all the unique characteristics. My favourites were Mr. Tickle with his long squiggly arms and Mr. Topsy Turvy with his upside down hat. I still have the habit of reminding my kids that I am not Mr. Tickle whenever they want me to reach something I can’t get to. Jane Clifford, editor What-A-Mess, the Afghan hound with impossibly messy fur whose curiosity was always getting him into grubby trouble. Also my mam’s nickname for me when she was picking twigs out of my waist length hair that was totally unsuitable for a little tomboy. Paul Clifford, group editor The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I loved the pictures in this and the way the book had the holes in to show the caterpillar eating through the things. I also think this is the first way I found out about cocoons and butterflies. Will be reading this to our little girl when she’s old enough. Dianne Aspen-Sadler, city guides editor Plenty of books captured my imagination when I was a kid, but none more so than The Secret Garden. There’s something so enchanting about finding your own secret space that’s completely yours, particularly when your own garden consists of nothing but a bit of grass and a tiny shed. I definitely tried (unsuccessfully) to make friends with red robins for many years after, and re-read the book more times than I care to admit. O Books are available on www.audible.com and www.audiobooks.com. The World’s Worst Children is basically about a lot of silly children who do a lot of silly things 18 - 21_TOKU_1304_Feature_Audiobooks_11233490.indd 2125/03/2020 13:03:2222 Spring-Summer 2020 Time Out UAE Kids cultur Cool 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2225/03/2020 13:08:05Time Out UAE Kids Spring-Summer 2020 23 Little ones can get an education in history and art from their sofas ured kids Tate Modern 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2325/03/2020 13:08:18Virtual museums 24 Spring-Summer 2020 Time Out UAE Kids T he world is a huge place, full of incredible things to see, but when you’re a family with little people in tow, traversing the globe to soak up the culture isn’t always easy, or possible. But now you don’t have to drag whining children around museums as you try take in the exhibits while preventing them from climbing on the back of a dinosaur skeleton, because the culture can come to you. Here are 13 museums and art galleries that are digitally streaming their exhibitions, artwork and historical artefacts straight into your home. And because the experience is interactive and online, we reckon the little ones will become cultures vultures in no time. British Museum, London Take a virtual wander through London’s British Museum where you can see a sizeable number of pieces from its huge collection that totals over eight million objects. Kanga: Textiles from Africa, objects from the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum are all available to savour on your laptop or tablet. The museum has also teamed up with the Google Cultural Institute to offer virtual tours using Google Street View technology. O www.britishmuseum.withgoogle.com. Dali Theatre-Museum, Girona If you’re a fan of the surrealist Salvador Dalí and love all his melting clocks and bizarre food and animal images, you can now show your kids why his works are amongst the most highly-recognised and revered in the world. The virtual tour takes you around some of the museum’s rooms and shows you a series of panoramic pictures highlighting a selection of works and objects exhibited there. O www.salvador-dali.org. NASA, Houston Get ready to take the kiddos to infinity and beyond – while you gather around your laptop on the sofa that is. Mini astronomers will be able to enjoy free virtual tours of the NASA Space Centre in Houston, with an animated robot called Audima as their tour guide. He’s quite the comedian, too, which makes it even more engaging for children. O www.nasa.gov/glennvirtualtours. National Gallery, London You’ll be transported to the heart of London without leaving your living room. The museum may free to enter, but getting there from the UAE with a family will blow the budget. So instead, visit the gallery virtually with a “The little ones will become culture vultures in no time” Dali Theatre-Museum National Gallery of Art 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2425/03/2020 13:08:49Virtual museums Time Out UAE Kids Spring-Summer 2020 25 distinctive history and culture in the United States.” A good number of exhibitions can be seen online showcasing the integral role of women in history. Find out all about the part women played in World War II and discover how women’s rights have evolved through history. O www.womenshistory.org. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington This is one of the most visited museums in the world, but you don’t have to journey half way across the world to see its incredible selection of wonderful treasures and antiquities. The museum’s online show-rounds give you a detailed tour of the entire grounds as well as a comprehensive room-by-room 360-degree (virtual) walking tour of all its exceptional exhibits, including the hall of mammals, inset zoo and dinosaur hall for budding palaeontologists to learn all about the Jurassic age. O www.naturalhistory.si.edu. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Located on New York’s fifth avenue the Guggenheim showcases some of the world’s finest art, and the building itself is pretty spectacular, too. The museum makes some of its collections and exhibitions available online to give people and students a bit of an insight into what it offers. You can see works by Franz number of video tours of current exhibitions of Renaissance masterpieces from Northern Italy, Nertherlands and Germay including a selection of work by artists such as Titian, Veronese and Holbein O https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours. National Gallery of Art, Washington There is an extensive selection of audio and video recordings of lectures by artists and curators, which are a top way to educate the kids in all things culture. Topics covered include Dutch paintings, Rembrandt, Goltzius and Rubens, plus there are interviews with current artists. O www.nga.gov/audio-video.html National Women’s History Museum, Virginia This is one way to instil a bit of girl power in your daughters. The National Women’s History Museum aims to “educate, inspire, empower and shape the future by integrating women’s Smithsonian NASA 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2525/03/2020 13:09:03Virtual museums 26 Spring-Summer 2020 Time Out UAE Kids Marc, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Jeff Koons amongst others. O https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/solomon- r-guggenheim-museum. Tate Gallery, London Britain’s national gallery of international modern art is located in London in the former Bankside Power Station and is one of the world’s biggest museums of modern and contemporary art. So if you’ve got a little artist in the family, they may just get some inspiration from this online experience where they can see collections of art dating back to the 1900s up until now. O www.artsandculture.google.com/partner/tate-modern The Louvre, Paris We are lucky enough to have our very own Louvre here in the UAE, but if you want to see what the original museum houses then check out the museum’s online tours. Expect to see Egyptian antiquities including collections from the Pharaonic period as well as the Galerie d’Apollon where the ceiling pays homage to the Sun King, Louis XIV. O www.louvre.fr. The Third Line, Dubai This locally-based art gallery has introduced an online viewing room where art aficionados can get their art fix provided they’ve got Wifi and a device of some kind. The online viewing room, in conjunction with Art Basel, features an exhibition of works by artists Jordan Nassar and Rana Begum. All you need to do is create an Art Basel profile on its website and then click on the Third Line’s page. Nice. O www.artbasel.com/viewing-rooms. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam If your little ones are intrigued by the Dutch post-impressionist painter – kids seem to have a fascination for stories about why he only had one ear – then this museum dedicated to the work of Van Gogh, which houses over 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 750 personal letters, should satiate their appetite for knowledge. O www.artsandculture.google.com/partner/van. Vatican Museums, Vatican City The website transports you and the kiddos straight to Italy where you can not only educate them on where their staple pizza and pasta dinners come from, but also give them a glimpse of some of the most stunning architecture and art ever created. The Vatican Museums are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City and through the online platform, you can enjoy virtual entry to a selection of these iconic buildings including the Sistine Chapel, the Chiaramonti Museum and Pio Clementino Museum. Molto benne. O www.museivaticani.va. “Give them a glimpse of the most stunning architecture ever created” Tate Modern Louvre 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2625/03/2020 13:09:19Virtual museums Time Out UAE Kids Spring-Summer 2020 27 Can’t get enough? Want to see more? Google has partnered with more than 60 museums and galleries from around the world to archive and document priceless pieces of art and to provide virtual tours of museums using Google Street View technology. The website features fine art from the White House, kimonos from 18th century Japan and jewellery from 500BC. Pretty cool, and most kids need to have the Google apps on their tablets for school anyway so will already be good to go on this. O www.artsandculture.google.com. Van Gogh Vatican Guggenheim 22-27_TOKU_1304_Feature_Museums_11245894.indd 2725/03/2020 13:11:3028 Spring-Summer 2020 Time Out UAE Kids 3Little Green Kitchen: Simple vegetarian family recipes, by David Frenkiel There are more than 60 recipes to try with the littlest family members in this mega cookbook. And adults can even upgrade their dish and swap out some of the ingredients for added tastiness (poached egg on top of that? Maybe some spicy sauce?). All of the dishes are veggie-packed, colorful, kid-friendly and simple – with most taking under 30 minutes to prepare. Now you just need to make sure they do all the washing up once they’ve finished. O Dhs86. www.amazon.ae. 4Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story: Fifteen Stories and Recipes for Children, by Nadiya Hussain She now only won British TV cookery show, The Great British Off, but Nadiya Hussain has written loads of cook books and has had a children’s book published, so she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to kids and cooking. This cook book is a cool combination of storybook and cookbook, with all recipes and 1Ella’s Kitchen, The Cook Book: the Red One Ella’s Kitchen’s range of pouches and snacks is a go-to for plenty of mums when they start to wean their little ones and for toddlers on the go. The Cook Book: the Red One contains a tonne of tasty, healthy recipes that are easy to prepare, even for the miniest of budding chefs. There are snacks and light meals that can be rustled up in minutes as well as wholesome meals to serve up for the family supper. Strapped for time? The book is packed with clever twists and shortcuts to make life as easy as possible for busy parents. Plus, there are leisurely breakfast recipes to try including blueberry pancakes as well as fun ideas for getting children involved in preparing, cooking and exploring food. And when they are tucking into their delicious creations they can have fun colouring-in some of the pages and stickers on pages. It’s the book that keeps on giving. O Dhs80. www.amazon.ae. 2Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes, by Julia Donaldson Children’s favourite, Julia Donaldson, has packed a load of Gruffalo-themed recipes into this cookery book. You and the kids can make sweet treats, healthy snacks and simple meals including owl ice cream, scrambled snake, roasted fox, and of course... Gruffalo crumble. The book contains 25 recipes that kids will recognise from the book and that have been specially designed for adults to do with their kids and all include easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, plus lots of hints and tips on what to do next. Perfect for when little tummies start to rumble. O Dhs79. www.noon.com. Food Get the kids in the kitchen and whip up a tasty feast using these six family-friendly cookbooks cook! steady, Ready, 28-29_TOKU_1304_EO LEADER NEW_10895388_11221428.indd 2825/03/2020 13:49:48Time Out UAE Kids Spring-Summer 2020 29 6The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, by Dinah Bucholz Harry Potter fans will love everything about this cookbook. Kids can conjure up family feasts that rival the Great Hall of Hogwart’s, sweets fit for the Minister of Magic, snacks you’d find on the Hogwarts Express, and more, no wands required. Whip up bangers and mash, pumpkin juice and cauldron cakes or have a go at making Harry’s favourite desert, treacle tart. You can even cook up your own meat pies just like Mrs Weasley’s version. Wingardium Leviosa all that food in your tummy! O Dhs72. www.bookdepository.com. with spinach, quinoa, oats and peas), spinach waffles and stuffed rainbow tomatoes with black rice, feta, raisins and cinnamon. And these dishes aren’t just child-friendly, either. The wholesome meals won’t only appeal to the little ones, but they are also interesting enough for adults to enjoy. And who knows, you may get some food into their mouths rather than just all over the floor. O Dhs73. www.amazon.ae. stories devised and written by Hussain herself and illustrated by Clair Rossiter. Make butter- bean patties and, while they are in the oven, enjoy the story of Jack and the Bean-Patty Stalk; meet Ruby-Red and the Three Bears, then bake your Very-Berry muffins and join Rapunzel on an adventure, then make her carrot and nutmeg cookies. O Dhs73. www.amazon.ae. 5The Tickle Fingers Toddler Cookbook: Hands-on Fun in the Kitchen for 1 to 4s, by Annabel Woolmer Toddlers love to make a mess and so will have masses of fun being able to mix, sort, pour and squish various ingredients together to make something they can eat (something most also enjoy doing, along with throwing it all around the kitchen). Aimed at tiny tots between one and four, the recipes in this book are completely toddler appropriate and have been created with minimal need to adult intervention – so kick back and relax for five minutes mums and dads. And the end result? Expect to tuck into child-friendly dishes like dino burgers (made 1 3 2 3 4 5 6 28-29_TOKU_1304_EO LEADER NEW_10895388_11221428.indd 2925/03/2020 13:49:57Next >