Animals
Time for Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail
Fred is a very cute, black dog but his bedtime avoidance tactics mirror those of children everywhere. His story is definitely one that children and parents can relate to!
The slightly Annoying Elephant by David Walliams & Tony Ross
Disclaimer! We don’t condone The slightly Annoying Elephant’s behaviour but he does make us laugh. If you are looking for a story to teach your children about being polite you don’t want to introduce them to The slightly Annoying Elephant. He is very rude throughout the story and does absolutely nothing to redeem himself by…
There’s a Shark in the Bath by Sarah McIntyre
When my daughter got up this morning she told me that she had rescued a shark from the bath in the middle of the night and taken it back to sea. There’s a Shark in the Bath has made a huge impression on her. Like Dulcie in the story she is a small girl with…
The unbelievable top secret diary of Pig by Emer Stamp
The unbelievable top secret diary of Pig has a cast of crazy farmyard characters including Pig, Duck, a herd of sheep and Evil Chickens. It is a hilarious adventure which I read in one sitting. When I read it to my daughter she asked me to keep reading, she wanted to find out what was…
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.
