Animals
Little Deer Lost by Janet Bingham and Rosalind Beardshaw
We haven’t had snow yet this winter so we’re reading snowy stories and making footprints with playdough instead! In Little Deer Lost, Silver and Sparkle haven’t seen snow before and their story beautifully captures the wonder and enjoyment of their snowy experiences.
Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins
Peck Peck Peck tells the story of a little woodpecker who is learning to peck. Lucy Cousin’s bold, colourful illustrations are full of holes by the end of the story!
Our favourite Jane Hissey stories
I first read Jane Hissey’s Old Bear Stories to my reception class when I was a newly qualified teacher and I have loved her work ever since. The toys that she creates are beautifully illustrated and the adventures that come from familiar playroom situations are amusing and appealing to young children (and lots of adults…
Dixie O’Day In the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes & Clara Vulliamy
Dixie O’Day In the Fast Lane is a perfect book for children who are moving from picture books to chapter books. The seven short chapters are designed to be read one a day but it is such an action packed story that we can’t resist reading it in one sitting. It’s a real page turner…
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees
Giraffes Can’t Dance is a wonderfully uplifting story of friendship and learning to be yourself.
Rabbityness by Jo Empson
If you have a young child who is dealing with a loss of any kind Rabbityness is the perfect picture book. It acknowledges loss in a way that a child can understand although it doesn’t specifically explain where the main character, Rabbit, has gone.
Mouseton Abbey – The Missing Diamond by Nick Page & Tim Hutchinson
Mouseton Abbey is the mouse version of Downton Abbey. Roquefort, Earl of Mouseton (Lord Mouseton) leads a cast of cute, knitted mice (all with cheesy names) as they try and locate the missing Great Big Cheesy Diamond in time for the annual Cheesemas banquet.
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
We have so many spiders around and so many spiders’ webs to look at that my daughter decided that The Very Busy Spider was a good book to read so she could see how spiders make their webs. I love the simplicity and the repetition in this story and it has stimulated some interesting discussions.
I am a Bunny – Ole Risom & Richard Scarry
I am a Bunny, a beautifully illustrated board book by Richard Scarry, is lovely to introduce the littlest of people to the concept of the seasons and what can be seen and experienced during each one. It is also great to stimulate discussion with older readers about different features of the seasons and where bunnies…
The Storm Whale by Benji Davies
I loved The Storm Whale from the moment I first read it. It was a picture book that I just had to buy. It’s a heartwarming story about loneliness and friendship and the beautiful beach and seaside illustrations bring back some lovely childhood memories of holidays by the sea.
