Pirate picture books have long been popular with young children and as a child I regularly borrowed the Captain Pugwash books from the library as well as watching him on television. Cartoonist John Ryan, who created the Captain Pugwash stories, died in 2009 but several of his Captain Pugwash books have been reprinted by Quarto.…
Lunch on a Pirate Ship stars a young boy called Jack who, unimpressed by what his mother is serving up for lunch, boards a pirate ship in search of something more tasty. Adventure abounds in this rollicking, rhyming adventure which had us turning the pages to see what Jack and his friends would eventually eat.…
Author: Clement Clarke Moore / Illustrator: Robert Sabuda
The Story: This is a truly magical Christmas edition of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem. The rhythm and rhyme make it joyful to read aloud and share together with family and friends of any age.…
O is for One Snowy Night
A present from Father Christmas leads to adventures in the snow for Little Hedgehog and his friends in One Snowy Night. My daughter loves the adventures of Little Hedgehog and the woodland animals and in our edition a touch and feel element is given to Tina Macnaughton’s gorgeous illustrations.…
D is for Dear Santa
Dear Santa is a bold and colourful lift the flap book for little people to read at Christmas, it follows the same format as another of our favourite toddler books, Dear Zoo, also by Rod Campbell.…
A is for Aliens Love Panta Claus
Aliens Love Panta Claus is still one of our favourite Christmas stories and I have had lots of fun reading the simple rhyming text to non native English speakers who find Ben Cort’s colourful and humorous illustrations extremely funny.…
April 8th is National Zoo Lovers Day!
Many picture books provide children with their first introduction to zoo animals, in stories animals often take on human qualities and can do almost anything. Picture books, fiction and non fiction, can help to initiate discussions about animals who live in a zoo or safari park, endangered species and conservation.…
The Story: A sad, lonely and bitter woodcarver, known by the local children as ‘Mr Gloomy’, gruffly agrees to carve a set of nativity figures for the widow McDowell and her young son Thomas, in time for Christmas Day. As the ill-tempered wood carver works he is watched closely by the inquisitive boy, who makes greater and more difficult demands of his ability, forcing him to come to terms with some painful memories.…
The Story: This is the adorable story of a little polar bear who falls down a snowy hole, down down down into Father Christmas’s workshop. Father Christmas welcomes him with open arms and shows him around. Little Bear even gets to test the toys and has a ride on Father Christmas’s sleigh.…
The Story: It is Christmas Eve and Olivia is helping her mum with preparations for the big day, with hilarious consequences, while impatiently waiting for Father Christmas.
Why is this your favourite Christmas book?
We have always loved Olivia’s enthusiastic yet accident-prone approach to life in general but her well-intended attempts to help with Christmas preparations are rather priceless.…