Animals
Lucky Wish Mouse Starting School by Clara Vulliamy
We borrowed Lucky Wish Mouse Starting School, a story about ten tiny mice starting school from the library, and have read it at least once a day since. My daughter loves it and the reading is always accompanied by lots of giggles.
Ella by Alex T. Smith
I was looking for a picture book with a character who wore glasses and I found Ella, the story of an adorably feisty ladybird. It’s a great twist on the Cinderella story, all of the characters are insects. My daughter is currently fascinated by all kinds of insects (she’s quite happy to pick them up!) so…
Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne
Handa’s Surprise is a lovely, simple story which provides a great first learning experience for a child who has no knowledge or experience of Africa.
Friends by Helme Heine
This story about friendship and the relationship between a trio of very different farm animals has been translated from the German story, Freunde.
Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day
Today is Teddy Bears Picnic Day so we have put together a list of some of our favourite stories about bears. Unfortunately our favourite picture book version of The Teddy Bears’ Picnic is no longer available to buy new and we would love to hear your suggestions for a newer version.
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
I often borrowed Rosie’s Walk from the library as a child and bought my own copy when I was doing my teacher training. I have read it to my daughter since she was small and now she is excited that she can ‘read’ it by herself, there are less than thirty five words in the story so…
Caryl Hart recommends Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell & Helen Oxenbury
The Story: There once was a duck who had the bad luck to live with a lazy old farmer. The duck did the work. The farmer stayed all day in bed. Poor Duck. He is so tired, and fed up that the other animals make a plan to get rid of the lazy old farmer once and…
Mole’s Sunrise by Jeanne Willis & Sarah Fox-Davies
Mole’s Sunrise is a beautiful story to introduce children to blindness and the use of the senses.
Rachelle Meyer recommends The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
The Story: The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea, in a beautiful pea green boat… so begins one of the most treasured classic children’s poems in the English language. Their voyage on the sea continues for a year and a day and they eventually land, marry and feast in the land where the bong tree…
Elmer, Rose and Super El by David McKee
The first Elmer book about a patchwork elephant and his friends has always been my favourite of the Elmer stories and it is usually my daughter’s first choice from the Elmer stories that we have. However, we have just met Super El, the flying superhero elephant!
