My Story

Books open doors to new worlds – a place to make new friends and new discoveries. They show us the endless possibilities out there in the big, wide world, just waiting to be conquered. Whether it is finding strength in an unlikely hero, drawing inspiration from a pioneering figure or tracing the history of our land, books are a treasure trove of magical words that The Curiosity Cupboard is eager to share with you.

The Blog

The blog was born out of a life-long obsession with books. From a very young age, I could always be found with a book in my hand, and the library was the best place you could possibly take me! We didn’t own vast amounts of books, but that was never a barrier to my becoming a reader. Maxing out our library card with bookish treasure every week meant that I could read voraciously, without costing my parents a penny. I followed this love into university where I read English Literature and History – this widened my horizons further as I was introduced to new authors, genres and ideas. During my uni days I took a weekend job at a bookshop…and never left. After 15 years in the book industry – building a career, gathering skills and knowledge, all whilst being surrounded by beautiful books – I knew I wanted to do more with what I had learned.

The Curiosity Cupboard was formed as place where I could pull together my years of knowledge and experience to help others navigate the world of books. My specialisation is in children’s books so it was a natural path to follow – my passion is to help guide parents as they raise new readers, create engaging resources for literacy development and help fill homes with books! Books can tackle the hardest of subjects, teach the most interesting of facts, shock, amaze, inform and bring joy – the Curiosity Cupboard is my corner of the world to be their champion!

 

The Shop

The shop is filled with affordable books and study resources to extend your child’s reading, develop their literacy and comprehension skills, and help them research new subjects! I passionately believe that books are a springboard to learning, and can be a vehicle for covering a whole myriad of study topics.

With each study guide, you will find tailored activity recommendations to complement the chosen book – incorporating subjects such as Art, Language, Geography, Critical Thinking, and of course English Literature. Each guide will offer a range of projects that can be delved into at a pace and depth to suit any young learner. Instantly downloadable and ready to print, you can dive straight into a new project as soon as you finish the book! These aren’t the busy work of worksheets (that are rather one-dimensional and flat), but instead they are invitations to think bigger and be creative! Children can be in charge of their learning and take pride in everything they accomplish in the doing. The most important part is the process – it is child-led, can take any path that sparks their curiosity, and celebrates the stories in a creative way.

In the shop you will find a range of pre-loved books for sale to help build your child’s own home library, further their discovery of the world and all without breaking the bank! I understand that there are hundreds of books that we would all love to possess, but to fund a mini library can be an expensive business. By buying second-hand you are not only saving money, but you are also doing your bit to be eco-conscious. These books have been adored by their previous owners, and are now looking for new readers to fall in love with their words and give them a new home. Saving them from landfill or pulping, and in-keeping with the importance of re-use and recycle, buying second-hand may mean the books have a few marks and aren’t as pristine as their newer cousins – but that just means they have lived a good life and still have much to give!

Here in the Cupboard I take the hard work out of finding resources for your latest projects, creating book bundles tailored to anything from Dinosaurs to Victorians, Horses to Chemistry! And, because they are created with the best quality in second-hand book goodness, you are getting fantastic books but without the new price-tag!

And as an added bonus – Looking for something a bit special? Then take a visit to my Etsy shop, where I have hand-picked some of the most gorgeous vintage classics that make the most perfect, unique gifts!

 

The Mission

To help parents navigate the wonders of books, and foster a love of reading with their children. By offering tailored recommendations, reviews, affordable books and (most importantly) home study resources, I hope to open up the world to young readers through the magnificent power of books!

Can’t see what you need in the shop? Just ask! There just might be something suitable in the Cupboard or I will put it on the book hunter to-do list and do my best to source it for you! I want to create resources that are exciting for your family, and am always learning from the the Cupboard community, so am excited for any suggestions of what resources you would love me to create next!

Send an email to hello@thecuriositycupboard.co.uk

Disclaimer

This is a personal blog and all opinions, reviews and thoughts are my own.

There are affiliate links on this blog and you should assume that any links for products will be part of that program. These are recommendations for books that I genuinely love, have researched and want to share with you. These links cost you nothing, but I get a small percentage if you decide to buy the item which helps me to keep creating content and running the website.