Animals
The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright
Mrs Boot, her children Poppy and Sam and their dog Rusty have been firm favourites with my daughter since she received this book as a Christmas present when she was eighteen months old. The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales contains twenty stories (you can also buy the stories as separate mini books) and our version…
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
The Story: Every day Amos McGee takes the bus to his job at the zoo. He has several good animal friends there who he visits daily. However, one day Amos wakes up sick and can’t go to work. The animals wait patiently for him but when he doesn’t arrive they take the bus and go…
Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae & David Wojtowycz
Commotion in the Ocean is a fabulous, rhyming, non fiction picture book that introduces a wide range of fish and animals. I have bought this for several children as a present, used it in the classroom and finally bought it for my daughter for International Book Giving Day!
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
The Story: It is winter and Bear is sleeping in his cave. One by one a succession of birds and animals come into the cave to get warm and soon a fire is lit. The animals start to share their food, chat and party and Bear snores on! There is a moment of tension when…
Maria Bogade recommends The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett
The Story: In The Odd Egg every bird has an egg but Duck. When Duck finds a huge egg, he thinks it is the best and most beautiful egg ever. Eventually all the other bird babies hatch and the tension rises as to what will be in Duck’s big and spotted egg. A funny surprise…
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.
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.
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…
Have You Seen the Crocodile? by Colin West
The Story: A group of birds, animals and insects are wondering where the crocodile is. The crocodile is much closer than they think and each double page spread reveals a little bit more of him until we see that one of the animals is actually sitting on the crocodile’s head. The crocodile reveals his presence…
