Age 4
The Princess and the Peas by Caryl Hart & Sarah Warburton
A book that encourages a child to start eating vegetables is definitely a winner! I am guilty of trying to disguise vegetables in food (courgette and cocoa muffins actually taste really good!) but The Princess and the Peas encouraged my daughter to eat peas after a long time refusing to, now she’s also asking me to…
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.
K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees
K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo weaves the alphabet together with a great rhyming text and bold, colourful pictures and Giles Andreae uses a wide range of characters and objects to introduce a new letter on each page. What I like about this book is that it is completely pictorial apart from the short rhyming text (which…
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…
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown is a favourite story here, my daughter finds Queen Gloriana’s behaviour seemingly un-queenlike! In our house this is a particularly well read bedtime story, one of those that my daughter often chooses when she’s tired and wants to spend time with comforting, familiar characters.
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’…
