Age 2
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
The Story: It is winter and Bear is sleeping in his cave. One by one a succession of birds and animals come into the cave to get warm and soon a fire is lit. The animals start to share their food, chat and party and Bear snores on! There is a moment of tension when…
Doing the Animal Bop by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner
I was sad to hear of Jan Ormerod’s death last week, her books have given pleasure to me and to many readers over the years. One of our favourite books, written by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner, is Doing the Animal Bop.
Yuck! That’s not a monster! by Angela McAllister & Alison Edgson
Yuck! That’s not a Monster! includes a very non scary monster who has traits that scary monsters don’t have, traits that can be unexpectedly useful in a sticky situation!
Hugless Douglas / Don’t Worry Hugless Douglas by David Melling
Hugless Douglas is a big, adorable, brown bear who is the main character in several picture books. As we couldn’t decide which was our favourite story we are recommending two!
A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Happy Birthday to A Squash and a Squeeze! A Squash and a Squeeze, the first picture book that Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler worked together on, is 20 years old. Since then they have collaborated on many other stories including The Gruffalo, Zog, Stick Man and Monkey Puzzle.
Dinosaur Dig by Penny Dale
Dinosaur Dig is a great first counting book for any child obsessed with dinosaurs and transport. It introduces ten different kinds of dinosaur and ten different types of heavy duty machinery (all the dinosaurs and vehicles are labelled at the beginning and end of the book) and puts a heavy emphasis on dirt! The pictures…
Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds
The Story: Ben and Bella are joined in their big red bath by a succession of animals. When Hippo tries to get in the bath it leaves the bathroom and ends up flying around the world. Flamingoes come to the rescue so that Ben and Bella can get home and tell Mum and Dad about…
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Each Peach Pear Plum is a book that I have loved ever since my teaching practice days and if you are looking for a first picture book story it is ideal for very young children (there are also cloth and board books). It is a very interactive book which invites the reader to ‘I spy’…
Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe
If you are looking for appealing, non fiction picture books for the littlest people ‘Dig Dig Digging’ is one of our favourites. My daughter absolutely adored this book when she was two and fascinated with vehicles but the repetitive text also makes it a great book for her now as a beginner reader. The text is…
Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Our favourite Christmas Eve story is definitely Stick Man. It’s not immediately obvious that Santa is a part of this story but he comes to Stick Man’s rescue after a series of mishaps and adventures take him far away from his family.