Animals
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.
Winnie’s Amazing Pumpkin by Valerie Thomas & Korky Paul
This year we planted three pumpkin seeds but we didn’t realise how big pumpkin plants grow (luckily only one plant survived!). We did cut the plant back when it started to grow across our patio and threatened to strangle the tomatoes next to it but although our plant is big it doesn’t look like our…
Say Goodnight to the Sleepy Animals! by Ian Whybrow & Ed Eaves
My daughter loves Say Goodnight to the Sleepy Animals! with its touch and feel animals and its simple, repetitive, rhyming text. It’s a perfect bedtime read for the littlest of people.
