I write books for children of all ages but I began with picture books, and they will always have a special place in my heart. I like all different types of picture books. Sometimes we read for pure entertainment, and sometimes to find out about the world, but the books on this list hit the sweet spot between the two. They are all books that will inspire further conversation and might even lead to related projects at school or home.
Squirrel is so cross. Yesterday there were loads of beautiful leaves on his tree, but today? Today some are missing. Squirrel is convinced that someone has stolen them. Is there aleaf thiefon the loose?
Confused Squirrel and wise Bird form the perfect partnership in this brilliantly funny story, with a fact page at the back which helps explain the changing of the seasons.
"Poo! Is that you?" It’s a funny question, and a funny title for a book, which always has little ones holding their noses and flapping their hands in front of their faces—great for interaction. But, as well as being a fun story, this book also has an educational side, as Lenny the lemur learns everything there is to know about smells. I, for one, had never heard of the Stinkbird before I read this book. There are some Super Stinky Facts at the end and there are more books in the series to keep you entertained/educated…
Lenny the Lemur is on holiday in the Amazon rainforest. He's just settling down for a nice snooze, when a very yucky smell wafts past . . .Poo-ie! What or who could it be?
Lenny sets off to track down the source of the nasty niff . . . Along the way, he meets lots of stinky creatures, finding out about the different smells they make and why.
Learn about sloths, skunks, stinkbugs and more in the whiff-tastic Poo! Is That You? written by Clare Helen Welsh and illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne. Cleverly interweaving facts throughout, it also contains an…
I love rabbits. We have our own free-range rabbit at home who hops up and down the garden as I work away in my writing shed. I also think rabbits make great picture book characters, so any bunny-based book will always be a hit with me. But this one isn’t just any bunny-based book. These bunnies live in Fibonacci’s field and keep multiplying…With its calendar format and quirky visual jokes, it’s great fun. It’s also a good way to introduce younger (and older) children to some maths (and biology)!
Hop along to Fibonacci's Field and follow Lonely and Chalk Rabbit through a calendar year as they try to handle different seasonal challenges each month, from the freezing cold of February to the wet of April and the heat of July, all while coping with their rapidly expanding brood.
The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett is an extraordinary book, packed with funny details and novelty elements including a baby rabbit record book, a rabbit newspaper and a surprise pop-up ending!
A must for all bug lovers (as well as those who need convincing)! This is a sweet book with a traditional feel to the illustrations, and the only rhyming book on my list. I love it because it captures a child’s perspective on the world so beautifully. It has great messages about enjoying the outside world and making a difference no matter how small you are. There are fun fact pages too about various minibeasts!
Meet Betsy Buglove in this magical picture book - a girl who LOVES bugs more than anything else in the world! In a big, bustling town lived a girl who loved bugs,
from earthworms to ladybirds, woodlice and slugs.
While spiders or ants might make some scream in fright
to her, creepy crawlies were such a delight!
If there's anything to know about Betsy Buglove, it's that, when she's around, no bug ever has to worry about getting in trouble. Betsy's not afraid of sticky goo, tangled webs, or even muddy boots, no!
This is a difficult book to describe! It’s about shapes (the main characters are a square, circle, and triangle), friendship, fear of the dark, and imagination. As a picture book writer (but not illustrator), I love to see a book where a writer makes space for an illustrator to tell part of the story. This book does that really well, particularly in the part where it’s just Jon Klassen’s signature eyes in the dark! There are three books in this series but this one’s my favourite.
1
author picked
Circle
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
3,
4, and
5.
What is this book about?
From the dynamic, dream team of Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett comes the final instalment in the hilarious shape trilogy.
"Simple shapes and succinct story express big ideas. Makes us consider fear of strangers, the power of the imagination, being brave and standing by friends" Sunday Times
Triangle and Square are visiting Circle, who lives at the waterfall. When they play hide-and-seek, Circle tells the friends the one rule: not to go behind the falling water. But after she closes her eyes to count to ten, of course that's exactly where Triangle goes. Will Circle find Triangle? And what OTHER…
This book was a real favourite when my children were small, and like all favourite books, I probably read it about a million times. It’s a simple story about two brothers baking bread. The children loved the rhythm of the text, the repeated refrain, and the gentle ‘twist’ at the end. Like some of my other book picks, this one has facts at the back: this time about different types of bread from around the world. There’s also a recipe. Did we ever bake Zed’s bread? Of course we did! It was delicious.
Six brand new titles in the exciting new pre-school reading programme. Reading Together is a hugely successful learn-to-read series of high-quality picture books for young children and parents to enjoy together. There are four levels, each consisting of six books and offering a variety of reading experiences: stories, poems, rhymes and songs, traditional tales and information books, created by top authors and illustrators. Each book contains its own set of illustrated support notes - at the front and back - outlining qualities in the text, giving reading pointers and suggesting a range of follow-up activities. More detailed guidance is available…
My book recommendations reflect an abiding passion for Japanese literature, which has unquestionably influenced my own writing. My latest literary interest involves Japanese poetry—I’ve recently started a project that combines haiku and prose narration to describe my experiences as a part-time resident in a 1300-year-old Japanese hot spring town that Bashō helped make famous in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. But as a writer, my main focus remains novels. In late 2023 the second in a planned series of novels set in Ishikawa prefecture will be published. I currently live in Kanazawa, but have also been lucky to call Sapporo, Akita, Tokyo, and Fukui home at different times.
Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.
In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa’s most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English. He becomes drawn into the mysterious death of a friend of Mirai’s parents, leading him and his father-in-law to climb the mountain where the man died. There, he learns the somber truth and discovers what the future holds for him and his wife.
Packed with subtle literary allusion and closely observed nuance, Kanazawa reflects the mood of Japanese fiction in a fresh, modern incarnation.
In Kanazawa, the first literary novel in English to be set in this storied Japanese city, Emmitt's future plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of negotiations to purchase their dream home. Disappointed, he's surprised to discover Mirai's subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo, a city he dislikes.
Harmony is further disrupted when Emmitt's search for a more meaningful life in Japan leads him to quit an unsatisfying job at a local university. In the fallout, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa's most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English.
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