About Playtime Books

Playtime Books is a family business. The author and narrator of most of our books is Ann Twigg. Ann has three sisters, three children and six grandchildren and has spent most of her life working and playing with youngsters. During the tough post-war years, she was responsible for helping to raise her two younger sisters.

She married in 1964, worked as a Sunday School teacher and, by 1966, was raising two young children. Ann has always had a mischievous sense of humour and a real talent for tuning into to kids at their level. The books on this website are a true testament to her amazing talent for entertaining children.

Our mission is to produce the world's very best audio book stories for young children between 3 and 8 years of age.  We will be writing and recording new stories, creating new German-language versions for our bilingual collection and producing wonderful illustrations to make our CDs the best illustrated in the in the world.

Have you noticed how most contemporary children's books don't have a proper ending? We will continue to make sure that all our stories have a beginning, a middle and an end!

Our ambition is to create wonderful imagination-stimulating audio stories for young children.

To view all playtime-books titles, simply do a site search for "Ann Twigg"
 

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All the sunflowers planted by the other children in Lea's class have grown. Lea's disappointment soon turns to joy, however, as she discovers that her sunflower is really very special indeed. "A unique wonderfully written story that  explores a child's feelings with delicate sensitivity."

Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Alex likes playing and jumping across the gap between two large rocks on a local hill. But what he discovers one day and the adventures he has will stay with him for the rest of his life.
"Another great story for young children."

Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Lea's adventures continue. Planting some new seeds for the new season turns out to be just the start of a wonderful new adventure involving pixies and tooth fairies. Lea is also given fantastic new powers that enable her to eavesdrop on what the animals are saying and to help them in their daily lives. A wonderfully magical tale for young children."

Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

Download
 

Just in time for Christmas: To make sure there's enough money for the Christmas holidays, Grumpy Grandad reluctantly goes to work in Santa's grotto when Santa is taken ill. Quite to everyone's surprise, he actually enjoys working as Santa - until he meets a little boy called Andrew that is.... "More fun and capers with Grumpy Grandad in this, our first Christmas story."

Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Grumpy Grandad gets into lots of trouble on his latest adventure. First there's confusion at the airport, then more commotion on the plane and then a large number of other scrapes that Grumpy Grandad just doesn't seem able to avoid. "Simple, easy-to-understand fun story for young children."

Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Now that they have had a taste of life outside the traffic lights, Red Man and Green Man are itching for more fun. Their adventures this time include post boxes, paint pots and a whole host of other things that will bring delight to small children.
"Charmingly pleasing stories that have been specially written and narrated for small children." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Tom is castaway on Robot Island. A mad professor has created a large number of robots for company on his lonely island - Tom is in for a wonderfully exciting and lively adventure - but will he manage to return home? "A stunning, exiting story about wishes, adventure and the comfort of home." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Alex wants to return to find his new friends and perhaps go on a new adventure. But it seems as if the local council have made plans to destroy the rock. What will Alex do? Will he ever see his friends again and will he ever go on more adventures.
"Part two of this great adventure." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Maurice is back raging havoc in Grumpy Grandad's Garden. The capers continue - but will Grumpy Grandad be able to keep his calm? "Another fast-moving heart-warmingly funny story." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Grumpy Granddad has been lovingly growing tomatoes all year and now it's time to harvest them. Maurice the Mole, however, has other ideas. But will Grumpy Grandad's plan be good enough to stop Maurice?
"Simplicity at its very best. Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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It's Ellie's last night in her old bedroom before the big move in the morning. But she cannot fall to sleep because of a popping sound in the night sky. In the morning she discovers something really strange and when the newsreader starts reporting about special measures and emergency numbers, it's time for Ellie to become famous. "Another fantastically simple yet captivating story for young children..." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.

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Tom is back at school after his adventures on Robot Island. But what is that green mark on his leg, why is it getting bigger and why does he seem to be developing new powers?
"Brilliantly narrated, this engaging tale confirms super powers as a true favourite in children's literature." Download file incl. MP3 audio file, read-along PDF file & illustration.