We came across this animation that Penguin commissioned recently to celebrate the launch of The Penguin English Library and thought we'd share. Not only is it great fun but a brilliant example of how Penguin as a company and a brand is still every bit as adventurous, charming and irreverent as it's founder Allen Lane intended.

The whole event took place at Space to Learn, a fantastic new facility designed to challenge conventional teaching methods. The Land of Me was projected onto all four walls of a massive room and the children were completely surrounded. Each wall displayed a different chapter from The Land of Me and in no time the kids were up on their feet dancing with Dodo and belting out tunes with Bernard.

It all looks incredible and we're told that the children had a fantastic day out, so a BIG thank you to everyone at Jesmond Gardens and Space to Learn for making it happen.

Reading is Fundamental, USA's largest children's literacy non-profit organisation, has just launched this brilliant campaign "Book People Unite" aiming to spark a movement to put books in the hands of children who need them most. Children everywhere should be able to discover the joys and value of reading. So... Watch it. Love it. Share it.

We came across this super cool non-profit based in LA called Milk and Bookies. Basically their goal is to get kids donating their books in order for them to be passed on to those that don't have them. It is a lovely idea that champions a love of books and giving and is well worth a look. Check out the video above to see how it works.

OK I tried, I really did, but I simply can't avoid a post about the new Avengers movie out this weekend. In an effort to conceal my geekish fanboy enthusiasm I have assembled (sorry) a collection of interesting bits connected with Marvel's blockbuster release.

Superhero Talk

The villain in the Avengers movie is Loki (pictured), played by the fabulous British actor Tom Hiddleston. He recently penned a short article for the Guardian on why he thinks superhero movies shouldn't be scorned by either audiences or actors. It's a smart commentary on the importance of stories and the modern myths that superhero movies evoke.

Superhero Play

Come on... Avengers Lego? What's not to love? I have nothing more to say on it.

Superhero Party

We have a little boy in our household (no not me) who's turning four very soon and has asked if he could have a superhero themed party. Everyone knows that the most important part of being a superhero is the costume right? So if you have little ones who fancy saving the world this weekend check out these killer Avengers costumes. Oh they also do adult sizes... no, of course you're not interested, ahem.

Things are hotting up in our wee studio and the time has come to get an extra pair of hands!

Made in Me are looking for a Production Assistant to help our Chief Builder build all our apps. The successful candidate will know their way around Photoshop, Microsoft Office and all things internet. A passion for the digital world and apps would be a bonus. If you were bright, easy going and as keen as mustard you would earn extra brownie points.

This would be a perfect job for someone who has just left university or college and is looking for a their first step on the ladder. It is a full time job and the position needs to be filled ASAP. Salary is basic entry level.

Please send a top notch email and CV to harry@madeinme.com if you'd like to know more.

Our good friend Steve Taylor at Stripey Design is a designer and developer who is both impossibly nice and talented. We're working together on a few projects we can't talk about yet but rest assured we will soon!

Well a while back he created an animation tool specifically for kids called Anithings. It's well designed, easy to use and surprisingly powerful, which is probably why it's won a bunch of awards particularly in the education space where it is hugely popular in primary schools. If you have budding storytellers in that age bracket I'd urge you to take a look, you can even try a free online demo of Anithings here. My daughter (6) and I played with the free demo over the weekend and it was so much fun I've ordered a copy.

1) Describe you as a child in five words.

Happy, shy, jackdaw (with) an active imagination.

2) What is your favourite children's book?

Meg and Mog series by Jan Pienowski 

3) What was your favourite toy and why?

My doll...I would love to give you a quirkier answer but honestly I just loved her! I'm the youngest of four kids and I think it was just nice to look after something else because I was always the one being looked after IYKWIM!

4) If you could be any fictional character from a kids TV show/film/book for a day who would it be and what would you do?

I'd be Moomintroll from the Moomins. I'd just potter about in Moomin Valley for the day listening to that very cool theme tune!

 5) What inspired you to work with arts and crafts?

Nothing inspired me specifically..I just always had a strong sense that that's what I would do. At school I had a brilliant art teacher...he was utterly fabulous and a wonderful guide.