Freddy Buttons Book Review

Freddy Buttons is the creation of writer Fiona Dillon. He’s not just a figment of her imagination, oh no, Freddy is very real. Just ask my boys!

Fiona knows her stuff, is also a quintessential Irish Mammy, grows her own food (obviously), and writes expert columns for the Irish Country Living, and Home Farmer Magazine. She’s also written her own how-to book entitled Food From An Irish Garden published by Orpen Press in 2014.

One of the things that has always bugged me about children’s books is that they don’t often relate to our lifestyle. It’s difficult to get a book that talks about growing food, where food comes from, and how food is made that is realistic, that children can read independently, or with their parents, and that contain accurate information. When Fiona announced earlier this year that she was writing a series of books aimed at children I kept my fingers crossed in the hopes that her books would fit the bill.

My youngest son and I had the pleasure of visiting the Freddy Buttons garden at Bloom 2015. I struggled to get him out of the garden once we got in. We were very, very lucky to get behind the rope and the 3-year-old was positively enchanted with the bug hotel, the life-sized statue of Freddy Buttons, and the food growing that he’s so used to seeing at the allotment. The absolute icing on the cake was the beautifully wrapped gift of a set of the series of books she had written that Fiona gave to us at the end of our visit. I really wasn’t expecting to receive them, as I’d intended to head out and buy them anyway.

So, what do we think of the Freddy Buttons books? Well it’s safe to say they’re a huge hit in our household. Many of the adventures that Freddy undertakes are similar to jobs we have to do. Like dealing with slugs, collecting honey, and suchlike. This makes the books very realistic for the boys and they love reading them with us; they each have their favourites.

If you don’t believe me, here’s a sneaky snap I took of Dad and the 3-year-old just before bedtime recently.

I highly recommend the Freddy Buttons series of books. They are books with a heart and a message to get across to children who might not know so much about where their food comes from. They’re also full of charming characters with brilliant names.

You can find the Freddy Buttons books on his website: www.freddybuttons.com

You’ll find Fiona’s personal blog on: www.fionadillon.com

If you are a fan of Glenisk yoghurts then you can collect special edition packs to get your books for free. For more information see promotional packs in supermarkets nationwide.

Disclosure:

I received a gift of the series of 6 Freddy Buttons books from Fiona Dillon. I used these books for the purposes of this review, which was not requested or expected of me. My opinions are my own, and I am not paid to give them.