TWO best friends have fulfilled a lifetime goal of publishing their own book together in the hope that youngsters will love to learn through reading once more.

Sue Jones, from Appleton, and Emma Bryan, from Grappenhall, teamed up to illustrate and write the Adventures Down Memory Lane children’s educational series - starting with a Mother's Day book.

The childhood friends both became teachers, Sue primary and Emma secondary.

Sue has since opened 16 Evolution Childcare Day Nurseries across the country, including ones in Warrington town centre, Woolston and Whitley.

Sue, 47, said: "We've always talked about how times have developed and the love of learning through books gets lost. "Nowadays children have so much access to tablets and phones, you just have to look round a restaurant to see babies glued to screens.

"We wanted to bring back our own childhoods, when books were brought out again and again and your mum would say 'this was your favourite when you were little'."

With Sue working in early years, she has seen a loss of understanding of the old fashioned three Rs.

She said: "We decided to explain the seven areas of learning by making the seven characters with different personalities that make up one person.

"The children can relate to all these personality traits within groups.

"We've designed an old-fashioned street where the road was a playground and children would call on each other to play.

"All characters talk about feelings and emotions.

"They make their own wrapping paper, make breakfast in bed and pick their own flowers. We wanted the characters to emphasise you don't have to buy things, it's about being resourceful.

"The book enables parents and children to bring memories alive and share them between generations.

"It keeps history alive without realising it is history."

The pair are bringing out a book to celebrate different holidays and milestones such as Easter, Father's Day, summer holidays and back to school.

Emma, a former Penketh High School teacher, added: "We have had so much fun writing it and remembering the things that went by.

"Learning is in everything children do all the time – in education, playing and having a go.

"What children do at nursery goes back to structured learning."

The pair have also created a small tin of flashcards which match with highly recognisable words from the book that children need to learn at the early years stage.

Emma, 48, added: "They can use the books as an educational tool as they would in nursery, there is colour, letter and picture recognition.

"With a dyslexic child they see hundreds of letters and versions of letters so on the flash cards we indicate the various forms of letters that these children might see.

"Both my daughters are dyslexic and it took Hattie years to read, she could learn a story and recite it back to you but when she was writing I noticed that she was copying the letters exactly how she would see it.

"For Hattie there were hundreds of letters in the alphabet to learn.

"It is quite common but children don't get diagnosed until aged seven. We want to give them that opportunity earlier to get support."

Sue said: "It is about celebrating British values, kindness and happiness and our main aim was taking away commercialisation.

"Children are happiest when they are in a calm, loving environment and that's what sharing a book is all about, sharing a memories with a narrator."

The first book, 'It's Mothering Sunday down Memory Lane' was launched on March 1.

You can buy the book on www.adventuresdownmemorylane.co.uk.