At Lovemybooks we feel that encouraging creative activities (including music, dance, drama and art) at home and at school is vitally important and our activity pages always include many ideas for imaginative responses to stories. Here we have created a new list focusing on the visual arts.

In our brand-new collection, you will find books to encourage children to have fun with art activities, develop the confidence to be creative, experiment and express themselves. There are books which explore colour and pattern in the world around us, make links between colours and feelings and others  which show how through drawing and painting children can create imaginary worlds and have virtual adventures. We have also included books about artists and art works which may inspire gallery visits, prompt art activities, lead to imaginary exploration of the stories behind the pictures or even encourage children to (virtually!) step inside them.

The Artist   
Ed Vere, Puffin
Age3-7

A brave and passionate young artist, full of ideas, hatches a plan to share the joy and beauty she sees in the world. She sets off for the big city and in no time her creations adorn the walls of the tallest buildings and people come from far and wide to see her work. But one day she makes a mistake. Embarrassed and discouraged, she stops painting; will anyone be able to persuade her to continue?

With a warm and encouraging message for young artists everywhere, this is a delightful picturebook celebrating the messy beauty of our world and what it means to be an artist.
Buy the book

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An Artist’s Eyes             
Frances Tosdevin, illus. Clémence Monnet
Frances Lincoln
Age 5-7

Jo goes for a walk with an artist and is amazed by the way she sees colours; the indigo of evening in the sea, the lime of gooseberries in the forest. Will he ever be able to look at the world the way she can? With encouragement, open eyes and an open mind he begins to notice more, including swirly circles of sunshine and sparkly squiggles in the sea. This is a story which shows there is no one way to see like an artist. It may encourage conversations about the colours and patterns in the world around us.

Buy the book

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Colours, Colours, Everywhere
Julia Donaldson, Sharon King-Chai(illus), Two Hoots
Age 2-5

A little girl opens her paint box and wonders what to paint today. She starts with a blue tree frog and in no time at all the two of them are off on an adventure with a hot air balloon, oceans, islands, helicopters and lots and lots of colours. This is a concept book with a difference; a story celebrating colour in the world around us. It is a  lovely book, with a rhyming story and beautiful illustrations, with flaps to lift and holes to peep through. It is likely to encourage talk about colours, colour collections of objects or cut out from magazines and of course painting too.  

Buy the book

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The Colour Monster
Anna Llenas
Templar
Age 3-5

A little girl introduces her friend the colour monster, who is very confused, because his colours are mixed up together. She tells him this is because his feelings are mixed up too and offers to help him sort them out into bottles. Each double page is devoted to a colour themed feeling with for example yellow for happiness and blue for sadness. The monster’s feelings are happily sorted out by the end of the book, with the colour monster turning pink and feeling full of love. A story likely to encourage experimentation with colour and discussion about feelings.

The Colour Monster is available as a board book, a paperback and as a paper engineered book with spectacular pop-ups.

Read a parent’s comments here

Buy the book

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The Day the Crayons Quit       
Drew Daywalt, illus Oliver Jeffers
Harper Collins
Age 5-9

When Duncan gets out his box of crayons at school one day, he finds a stack of letters waiting for him. They are from his crayons, who are feeling very disgruntled. The red, blue and grey crayons feel overworked, while the pink and beige crayons feel underused. The orange and yellow crayons bicker about which of them should be used for the sun and the black crayon objects to always being relegated to an outline. Duncan responds to their complaints with a wonderfully creative use of colour and young readers may be inspired to experiment with colour themselves.

Buy the book

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The Dot      
Peter.H.Reynolds
Walker Books
Age 5-9

Vashti doesn’t enjoy art club – she feels she just can’t draw. Vashti’s teacher is determined to change her mind and encourages Vashti to make a mark – she angrily does so, jabbing the paper to make an orange dot. Instead of disapproving, her teacher asks her to sign it. Vashti is incredibly surprised when the next day her signed dot has been beautifully framed and displayed on the wall. In no time at all Vashti is determined to produce better dots and creates a gallery of dot themed images. When she comes across another child with no confidence in their ability to produce a picture, Vashti knows exactly what to say. The perfect story to encourage reluctant artists to have a go and develop confidence.

Buy the book

Watch the story read aloud

https://youtu.be/EpmNXbkLu6c

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Journey
Aaron Becker
Walker
Age 7+

A young girl, who lives in a sepia world, is bored. She has playthings but no one to play with. She picks up a red crayon, draws a door and escapes! An adventure in a fantastical world follows, complete with a beautiful forest, a walled city, steam punk machines, armed guards and lots of jeopardy. Her magical crayon has a crucial role in the story, for example facilitating a daring escape via the hot air balloon she hastily draws.

The first of a trilogy, this is a wordless picturebook which celebrates the power of drawing an inventiveness to create worlds and adventures. It may inspire children to create their own illustrated adventures perhaps choosing their own magical crayon.

See video here
Buy the book

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Katie and the Starry Night
James Mayhew
Orchard Books
Age 5-7

Katie visits an art gallery with her Grandma. She loves the painting of Van Gogh’s starry night and is looking at it while Grandma falls asleep. The stars seem to be moving, and then they escape from the picture! A magical adventure story in which we step inside five Van Gogh masterpieces with Katie as she searches for a way to catch the stars before the security guard notices they are missing, and Grandma wakes up. An imaginative introduction to Van Gogh’s work, one of a series about different artists and art works by the author.

Watch the story read aloud Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew – Read Aloud – YouTube

Buy the book

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Luna Loves Art     
Joseph Coelho, Illus. Fiona Lumbers
Andersen Press
Age 5-7

Luna and her class are off to visit an art gallery, the biggest building Luna has ever seen. Here they come across some iconic artworks including Van Gogh’s sunflowers and Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture ‘Maman.’ Luna notices Finn is feeling sad, lonely and grumpy. Luna’s mum encourages her to be friendly to him and together they discover that art comes in all shapes and sizes just like families. Art works in this imaginary gallery are introduced on the end papers. Another in the series of stories about Luna.

See our activity page for Luna Loves Library Day

Buy the book

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Matisse’s Magical Trail  
Tim Hopgood, illus Sam Boughton
OUP
Age 5-7

Matisse is an artistic snail creating drawings while everyone sleeps. Although adults passing by ignore his artwork, one day a little boy called Leo discovers his creations and shows his friends.  The children are very impressed and gather objects for Matisse to decorate. He creates a trail from one object to the next and onto the wall. When their teacher sees the trail, she encourages her class to add colour to it, transforming the school and amazing passers-by.

This is a lovely picture book about creativity and working together, showing how small changes to the environment can have a transformational effect. It may inspire your child be creative themselves and perhaps find out about the artist Matisse (particularly his famous snail collage).

Visit our activity page

Buy the book

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Miró’s Magic Animals
Antony Penrose
Thames and Hudson
Age 5-9

Many years ago in the middle of the 20^th century Antony Penrose met the famous Spanish artist Joan Miró when he was a child. Antony’s mother was a well- known photographer and his father was an artist. This delightful book tells us about Antony’s meetings with the artist, including a visit to London zoo, but the book is also a playful introduction to Miró’s work. It is highly illustrated and carefully put together with photographs, reproductions of Miró’s works and illustrations by children.

Buy the book
See our activity page here

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Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City
Rob Biddulph
Macmillan
Age 7-9

Peanut’s dad has disappeared, and she really misses him. she finds a mysterious message from him, and a magical pencil hidden in a box. She discovers whatever she draws with it comes to life. Peanut draws a door, she opens it and ends up in Chroma, a world of colour and creativity.

Peanut discovers a man called Mr White, has captured her dad in Chroma. Peanut goes on a mission with her little sister Little Bit and a boy called Rockwell to find her dad and stop Mr White from destroying all the creativity in Chroma.

Scroll down our family reviews to find one young reader’s response to Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City 

Buy the book

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Tiger Walk
Dianne Hofmeyr, ill. Jesse Hodgson
Otter-Barry Books
Age 5-7

During a visit to an art gallery Tom is fascinated by a painting of a tiger which seems to be watching him. When he gets home, he draws his own tiger picture. That night he dreams the tiger steps out of the picture and takes him on a night-time adventure. Together they travel through jungles, underwater and to icy caves meeting all sorts of animals on the way. Tom is a bit hesitant about these unfamiliar situations but with the tiger’s encouragement confronts his fears and enjoys the experience. So much so that by the end of the book he feels as brave as – a tiger! Perhaps he actually IS a tiger!

Inspired by the famous tiger painting by Henri Rousseau this is an appealing story about overcoming fears. The story is very well written with lovely descriptions and a pleasing pattern and the illustrations are beautiful, making it a great picture book to share. It may inspire trips to art galleries in which children might imagine the stories behind the paintings.

Visit our activity page

Buy the book

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For an excellent selection of art books for children and adults visit the Bankside Gallery Bookshop in London.
Situated on the South Bank, close to the Tate Modern, 48 Hopton St, London SE1 9JB. See also online

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Moesha Kellaway
Rocket Bird Books
Age 5-7 years

Stevie, the World’s grumpiest slug, is sent to self-esteem classes to find out reasons why he should be be proud to be a slug. We follow his experiences as he learns about their role in the food chain and their superhero powers such as being able to walk on ceilings with their powerful foot and producing an amazing liquid crystal (slime) which helps them move, navigate and find a mate. Stevie is convinced that slugs really are superheroes and decides to write a book about them for small humans…

This is a highly entertaining celebration of slugs challenging the generally accepted view that slugs are revolting and damaging creatures and showing they are in fact – SUPER!

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the book aloud to your child. Children unfamiliar with the layout may need help navigating the text diagrams and captions so pointing to where you are reading the text might help.

Look through again. There is a lot happening on each page so take time to look and talk.

Join in
Encourage your child to join in when you read it again either with the captions or bits of Stevie’s narration.

You could suggest that they show the book to another member of the family, pointing out some of the most interesting pages or facts.

Talk about the story
▪︎Count the slugs hiding in the garden patch picture
▪︎Look back at the different slugs in the book then choose your favourites
▪︎Talk about some of the most surprising facts you discovered in this book
▪︎After reading this book, what would your child say to someone who thinks slugs are disgusting?

Things to make and do

▪︎Go on a slug safari together. Look out for slugs, snails and slime trails when you in the garden, going or a walk or to the park. Binoculars or a magnifying glass could make this even more fun.

▪︎Suggest your child makes a slime trail picture. Use a candle or a light-coloured wax crayon to draw an amazing trail on paper. They could choose to make a pattern or perhaps write words with the candle/crayon saying how amazing slugs are. Use dark coloured paint or ink to wash over your trail.

▪︎Make some slugs out of playdough or other modelling material. You could make up names for them like the slugs at self-esteem class (will all the names you choose begin with S?)

▪︎Look up some of the amazing slugs mentioned such as the blue dragon sea slug and make drawings or paintings of them.

▪︎Make a slug menu, look back at the book or the links below for ideas.

▪︎Watch how slugs move along together and suggest your child tries moving on their stomach like a slug.

▪︎Make a badge or placard to say slugs are super.

Find out more

Watch a CBeebies video about slugs

Find out more slug facts from this Royal Horticultural Society fact sheet

More slug activity ideas

Find out more about the book’s creator

Read another story about slugs Slug Needs a Hug by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

 

Many new books are published for children every year. It is often hard to know how to choose. Here is a selection of some of our current favourites. You and your child will meet a range of appealing characters in these beautifully illustrated picture books and discover amusing, intriguing and thought provoking stories. We hope you enjoy them.

 

Chris Haughton
Walker Books
Age 3-5

Shh! Four hopeful hunters set out into the woods with a secret plan to capture a beautiful bird. But, after a series of pantomime-worthy mishaps, their plan comes to nothing. Finally chased off by the birds, they spy a squirrel and set off in hot pursuit with another ‘plan’. So another saga begins…

Children will enjoy the suspense, slapstick and being smarter than the villains in this humorous tale. Some might be reminded of other hapless hunters, such as the fox in Rosie’s Walk (Pat Hutchins). The distinctive, quirky illustrations and glowing colours add to the pleasure.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud, talking together about the pictures as you do. Talking about the book makes space for children to ask questions, share their thoughts and deepens their understanding. What do they imagine the little one is thinking?

Join in
Re-read the story, encouraging children to join in with the repetition and fun: ‘ready one, ready two, ready three… GO!’

Tell the story
When children hear the story several times they’ll get to know it really well. This helps them to tell it in their own words, using the pictures as prompts. Listen for the ways they use words and phrases from the story. This familiarity will help them to read the story independently and with increasing accuracy.

Watch a Trailer

Walker Books

Things to make and do

Tell the story
Children can re-enact and retell the tale of the hilarious villains. Using movement and the repetition to build the suspense, swiftly followed by disappointment, will make it exciting and amusing for their audience.

Play a game
Play ‘What’s the Time Mr Wolf’ to experience, first-hand, suspense, chasing and being chased.

Draw and write the next story
What happens next? Children can draw and write what they imagine happens next in the story of the hunters and the squirrel.

Find out more

Read more books by this author/illustrator

A Bit Lost

Little Owl Lost

Oh No George!

Hat Monkey

Find out more here

Different language versions available.

See more books on this theme:

The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer

Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins

 

 Buy online

Here’s a complete list of all our book activity pages – click on the link and it will take you to the activity page

V = Video
AB = Activity Book

A

Aaaarrgghh Spider Lydia Monks  V

The Acorn Edward Gibbs       

Albert Talbot Master of Disguise Ben Manley, illus. Aurélie Guillerey   V

Alfie Gets in first Shirley Hughes  V      

Almost Anything  Sophy Henn                

The Animal Boogie Debbie Harter  V        

The Astounding Broccoli Boy Frank Cottrell Boyce, illus. Steve Lenton   AB 

Avocado Baby John Burningham  

B

The Bad Bunnies Magic Show Mini Grey

Banana! Ed Vere  V 

Bear and Bird Jarvis V

The Bear and the Piano David Litchfield  V

Bear Shaped Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden   V

Beetle Boy  MG Leonard  V  AB             

Be Brave Little Penguin Giles Andrae, illus. Guy Parker Rees

Beegu  Alexis Deacon             

Betty goes Bananas  Steve Antony  V   

Big Green Crocodile  Jane Newberry, illus. Carolina Rabei  V

A Big Mooncake for Little Star Grace Lin V

The BFG Roald Dahl    AB               

Billy and the Beast Nadia Shireen  V           

Billy’s Bucket  Kes Gray, llus Garry Parsons  V

Biscuit Bear Mini Grey  V                 

A Bit Lost Chris Haughton   V        

Black Cat White Cat Silvia Borando            

Blue Chameleon Emily Gravett    

Blue Monster Peter Horacek V

Bog Baby   Jeanne Willis, ill. Gwen Millward

Boot: Small Robot Big Adventure Shane Hegarty   AB       

Boundless Sky Amanda Addison, illus. Manuela Adreani

The Boy at the Back of the Class Onjali Rauf, illus. Pippa Curnick   AB

The Boy who Climbed into the Moon David Almond    AB

The Boy who Sailed the World Julia Green, illus. Alex Latimer

Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?   Bill Martin Jnr, illus Eric Carle

Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat Dragon Sarah Courtauld

Burglar Bill  Allan Ahlberg, illus  Janet Ahlberg  V

C

Car, Car, Truck, Jeep  Katrina Charman, illus. Nick Sharratt  V

Can I Sit in the Middle Susanne Strasser V

Charlotte’s Web EB White  V    AB                

The Chinese Emperor New Clothes  Ying Yang Competine, illus David Roberts  V   AB

Chocolate cake Michael Rosen, illus Kevin Waldron  V

The Christmas Eve Tree Delia Huddy,  illus Emily Sutton  

Cinderella of the Nile Beverley Naidoo  V   AB

Clean up!  Nathan Bryon, illus. Dapo Adeola

Clever Polly & the Stupid Wolf  Catherine Storr   

The Comet Joe Todd Stanton

The Cooking Club Detectives  Ewa Jozefkowicz

Coyote’s Soundbite – a poem for our planet  John Agard, illus. Piet Grobler    AB

The Crocodile who didn’t like water Gemma Merino   V     

D

The Darkest Dark Chris Hadfield, illus The Fan Brothers  V

The Dawn Chorus Suzanne Barton

Dear Dinosaur Chae Strathie, Nicola O’Byrne

Dear Zoo Rod Campbell             

Dig dig digging Margaret Mayo, illus Alex Ayliffe  V

Diggersaurs Michael Whaite  V         

Dinosaur chase Benedict Blathwayt    

Dinosaur roar Paul Strickland, illus Henrietta Strickland

Dinosaurs and all that rubbish  Michael Foreman  V     

Do not enter the monster zoo Amy Sparkes, illus Sara Ogilvie

Don’t worry little crab  Chris Haughton

A Dog So Small Philippa Pearce   V        

Dogger Shirley Hughes  V   

A Dollop of Ghee and a Drop of Wisdom   Chitra Soundar, illus. Uma Krishnaswamy V

Down by the station Jess Stockham

The Dragon in the Library, Louie Stowell

Dragon Mountain  Katie and Kevin Tsang  V   AB

The Drum  Ken Wilson Max, illus Catell Ronca   V

Dylan’s amazing dinosaurs EJ Harper, illus Dan Taylor

E

Each Peach Pear Plum  Allan Ahlberg, illus Janet Ahlberg   V

The Elephants umbrella Laleh Jaffari,  illus Ali Khodai    V

The Emerald Forest Catherine Ward, illus Karen Littlewood V

Eliot Midnight Superhero Anne Cottringer, illus Alex T Smith

Elmer David McKee  V

Eloise Undercover Sarah Baker    AB        

The Everywhere Bear Julia Donaldson, illus Rebecca Cobb

The Explorer  Katherine Rundell   AB   

The Extraordinary Gardener Sam Boughton   V  

Everybody’s Welcome Patricia Hegarty, illus Greg Abbott

F

Fair Shares Pippa Goodhart, illus Anna Doherty

Farmer Duck Martin Waddell, illus Helen Oxenbury

The Fastest Tortoise in Town Howard Calvert, ill. Karen Obuhanych

Fire Fox  Alexandra Page, illus. Stef Murphy   V

The Firework Maker’s Daughter  Philip Pullman   AB

Five little men in a flying saucer Dan Crisp    V               

Five Minutes Peace Jill Murphy                 

Flora and Ulysses, the illuminated adventures Kate Camillo     V   AB

Flooded Mariajo Ilustrajo V

The Forgettery Rachel Ip, ill. Laura Hughes   

Fortunately the Milk Neil Gaiman, illus Chris Riddell

Frindleswylde, Natalia and Lauren O’Hara

Gaspard the Fox  Zeb Soanes, illus. James Mayhew

G

Gerald the lion Jessica Souhami          

The Ghost train Allan Ahlberg, illus Andre Amstutz   V

Gigantic Rob Biddulph V

The Gigantic Turnip Alexsei Tolstoy, illus Naimh Sharkey  V

Giraffes Can’t Dance  Giles Andreae, Guy Parker Rees    V 

The Girl and the dinosaur Hollie Hughes, illus Sarah Massini  

Gloria’s Porridge  Elizabeth Laird, illus. Toby Newsome

The Glassmaker’s Daughter Diane Hofmeyr, Illus Jane Reay  V

Goodbye Grandma Melanie Walsh           

Goodnight Spaceman Michelle Robinson, illus Nick East   V

Grace and Family  Mary Hoffman, illus Caroline Binch   V

Granpa John Burningham   V    

A Great Big Cuddle Michael Rosen, illus Chris Riddell   V

Grobblechops Elizabeth Laird, illlus Jenny Lucander   V

The Gruffalo  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Grumpy Frog  Ed Vere    V       

H

   

The Hairy toe Daniel Postgate   V

Halima Superhero Princess Emily Joof, illus. Asa Gilland V

Handas surprise Eileen Browne  V         

Hairy MacLary from Donaldson’s Dairy, Lynley Dodd  V

Harry and the bucket of dinosaurs Ian WhyBrow, illus Adrian Reynolds

Have you seen Elephant David Barrow V

Here come the aliens Colin McNaughton   

The Highwayman Alfred Noyes   V   AB

The Highway Rat  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler   V

Honey biscuits  Meredith Hooper, illus Alison Bartlett

Hooray for Fish Lucy Cousins   V

Hooray for Bread  Allan Ahlberg, illus  Brice Ingman

Hortense and the Shadows O’Hara Sisters             

How to hide a lion Helen Stephens   V      

I

I am Absolutely TOO Small for school Lauren Child    V           

I am Henry Finch Alexis Deacon             

I Love you Blue Kangaroo Emily Gravett    V         

I want to be in a scary story Sean Taylor                

I was made for you David Lucas                

If I had a dinosaur Gabby Dawnay, illus Alex Barrow

If I Had a Sleepy Sloth Gabby Dawnay, illus Alex Barrow

If you meet a dinosaur Paul Bright, illus Hannah George

In the dark dark wood Jessica Souhami   

Iris and Isaac Catherine Rayner V

The Iron Man Ted Hughes    AB   

J

 The Jasmine Sneeze  Nadine Kaadan

Jolly Christmas Postman Allan Ahlberg, illus Janet Ahlberg   V

The Journey Home Frann Preston Gannon

Julian is a mermaid Jessica Lowe

The Jumblies Edward Lear  V    AB 

Just like Grandpa Jazz Tarah.L.Gear, illus. Mirna Imamovic

          

K

Katie & the dinosaurs James Mayhew           

The King who Banned the Dark Emily Haworth Booth

The King With Dirty Feet  Sally Pomme Clayton, illus. Rhiannon Sanderson

Kipper’s Birthday Mick Inkpen    V             

Knuffle Bunny Mo Willem    V     

L

The Last Wolf Mini Grey  

Last: The Story of the White Rhino Nicola Davies   V

Leon the Extraordinary Jamar Nicholas V

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch Ronda and David Armitage V

Lima’s Red Hot Chilli David Mills, ill. Derek Brazell V

The Lion Inside Rachel Bright   

Little Bad Man and the Killer Aunties Humza Arshad and Henry White,  Illus Aleksei Bitskoff   V   AB

Little Monkey  Marta Altés  V 

Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears Emily Gravett  

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion Alex T Smith   

LIttle Rabbit Foo Foo Michael Rosen, Arthur Robins (illus) 

The Littlest Yak Lu Fraser, ill. Kate Hindley     V

Look Up! Nathan Bryon, illus Dapo Adeola

Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers              

Lullabyhullababboo Mick Inkpen               

Lulu gets a cat Anna McQuinn, illus Rosalind Beardshaw

The Lumberjack’s beard  Duncan Beedie           

Luna Loves library day Joseph Coelho, illus Fiona Lumbers

Lunchtime Rebecca Cobb  

M

Macavity T S Eliot    V   AB       

Man on the Moon, a Day in the life of Bob  Simon Bartram           

Mango and Bambang, The Not-a-Pig  Polly Faber, illlus Clara Vulliamy

The Marvellous Moon Map Teresa Heapy, illus David Litchfield

Matisse’s Magical Trail Tim Hopgood, illus Sam Boughton

Max the Brave Ed Vere

Maybe… Chris Haughton V

Meg and Mog Helen Nicholl ,illus Jan Pienkwski

Miró’s Magic Animals Antony Penrose V

Mister Magnolia Quentin Blake            

Meet the Parents Peter Bently, illus Sara Ogilvie

Mog the Forgetful Cat Judith Kerr                 

Monkey and Me Emily Gravett             

Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory Elys Dolan                  

Mr Gumpy’s Outing John Burningham       

Mrs Noah’s pockets Jackie Morris, illus James Mayhew

My Brother is a Superhero David Solomons   AB

My Dad Anthony Browne        

My Green Day Melanie Walsh   

My Must-Have Mum   Maudie Smith, illus. Jen Khatun

My Sister is an alien Rachel Bright    

          

N

Naughty Bus Jan and Jerry Oke       

A New House for Mouse Petr Horacek              

The New Neighbours Sarah McIntyre           

The New Small Person Lauren Child               

The Night Pirates Peter Harris, illus Deborah Allwright

Nimesh the Adventurer Ranjit Singh, illus Mehrdokht Amini

Noah’s Gold Frank Cottrell Boyce, illus Steven Lenton AB V

No Dinner Jessica Souhami          

Not Now Bernard David McKee     

         

O

The Odd Egg Emily Gravett             

Oh No George! Chris Haughton           

Oi! Get off our train John Burningham       

Oliver’s Vegetables Vivian French, illus  Alison Bartlett

On Sudden Hill Linda Sarah, illus Benji Davies

On the Moon Anna Milbourne, illus Benji Davies

Once upon a star  James Carter, illus Mar Hernandez

One dog and his boy Eva Ibbotson      AB        

Orange Pear Apple Bear  Emily Gravett             

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat Chris Riddell               

The Outlaw Varjak Paw SF Said      V    AB               

The Owl and the Pussycat Edward Lear  

P

             

Pandora  Victoria Turnbull         

The Paper Dolls  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Pattan’s pumpkin  Chitra Soundar, illus Frane Lessac

Peace at Last  Jill Murphy                 

Peck Peck Peck Lucy Cousins 

Penguin Huddle Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton (illus) V

Phoenix S F Said    V     AB

Pirate Stew   Neil Gaiman, illus. Chris Riddell   V

Please Mr Magic Fish Jessica Souhami          

Please Mr Panda Steve Antony              

Pom Pom is Super Sophy Henn   
  
The Princess and the Greedy Pea , Leigh Hodgkinson 

Pugs of the Frozen North  Philip Reeve, illus Sarah McIntyre

Puppet David Almond, illus Lizzie Stewart AB

Pumpkin Soup Helen Cooper             

Q

Quiet Tom Percival, ill. Richard Jones V

Quill Soup Alan Durant   

Q Pootle 5 Nick Butterworth       

             

R

Rama & the Demon King Jessica Souhami          

Red Car Red Bus  Susan Stegall 

Rigatoni the Pasta Cat  Michael Rosen, Illus. Tony Ross

Robin’s Winter Song  Suzanne Barton          

Rocketmole  Matt Carr                   

Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson, Illus Axel Scheffler

Rosie’s Walk Pat Hutchins  

S

   

The Secret Sky Garden Linda Sarah  

Saving Winslow Sharon Creech  AB

Secret of the Tattered Shoes Jackie Morris, illus. Ehsan Abdollahi    V    AB

Shark in the park Nick Sharrat  

Shhh!   Sally Grindley, illus. Peter Upton

Shh we have a plan Chris Haughton           

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam Tracey Corderoy, illus Steven Lenton

The Skull Jon Klassen V

Silly Suzy Goose Petr Horacek              

The Snail and the Whale  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Snow  Sam Usher                 

The Snowbear Sean Taylor 

The Snowflake Benji Davies     

So Much Trisha Cooke, illus Helen Oxenbury

The Something Rebecca Cobb

Sona Sharma, Looking After Planet Earth  Chitra Soundar, illus Jen Khatun    AB      

Sophie and the new Baby Catherine & Laurence Anholt

Space Dog Mini Grey                   

Space Tortoise  Ross Montgomery, illlus David Litchfield

Stanley’s Stick  John Hegley, illus Neal Layton

Steven Seagull Action Hero Elys Dolan                  

Stomp Chomp Big Roars! Here come the Dinosaurs Margaret Mayo, illus Alex Ayliffe

Stomp Dinosaur Stomp Kate Umansky, illus Nick Sharratt

Stop the Clock  Pippa Goodhart, illus. Maria Christiana V

The Storm Whale Benji Davies               

A Story about Afiya James Berry, illus Anna Cunha                                                                                                               

Sunk! Rob Biddulph             

Superbat Matt Carr    

SuperJoe does not do cuddles Michael Catchpool, illus. Emma Proctor

Super Milly and the Super School Day  Stephanie Clarkson, illus. Gwen Millward    V 

T

Tad Benji Davies               

The Tale of Angelino Brown David Almond       AB     

10 things I can do to help my world Melanie Walsh 

Ten Delicious Teachers   Ross Montgomery, illus. Sarah Warburton V

The Three Happy Lions  Louise Fatio, illus. Roger Duvoisin

Tilly and the Time Machine Ade Edmondson, illustrated by Danny Noble    

That rabbit belongs to Emily Brown Cressida Cowell          

There’s a rang tan in my bedroom  James Sellick, illus Frann Preston-Gannon

There’s a tiger in the garden Lizzy Stewart V

This is Our House Michael Rosen, illus Bob Graham

The Thunk Michelle Robinson, illus. Deborah Allwright

Tidy Emily Gravett             

Tiger Walk Dianne Hofmeyr, illus Jesse Hodgson

The Tiger who came to Tea Judith Kerr                 

The Tin Forest  Helen Ward, illus Wayne Anderson

Titch  Pat Hutchins     

Tomorrow Nadine Kaadan          

Tom’s Sausage Lion Michael Morpurgo      AB

Toys in space  Mini Grey                   

Traction man  is here!  Mini Grey                   

Train  Judi Abott                  

The Train Ride June Crebbin, illus Stephen Lambert

Tyger SF Said, iIllus Dave McKean V AB

Tyrranosaurus Drip Julia Donaldson   

 

U

Uncle Gobb and the Dread shed Michael Rosen, illus Neal Layton

V

Valentine’s Guest House Sam Sharland V

Varjak Paw  SF Said      AB               

The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams, illus William Nicholson V

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle   

           

W

The Way Back Home Oliver Jeffers   

The Weed Quentin Blake           

We’re going on a Bearhunt Michael Rosen, illus Helen Oxenbury

We’re Going to Find the Monster Malorie Blackman, illus. Dapo Adeola   V

What the Ladybird Heard Julia Donaldson, illus Lydia Monks

Whatever Next Jill Murphy                 

The Wheels on the Bus Annie Kubler

Where my feet go Birgitta Sif                  

Where the Wild Things Are  Maurice Sendak          

Where’s my Teddy? Jez Alborough             

Where’s Spot? Eric Hill                      

Window Jeannie Baker    

When the Sky Falls Phil Earle V AB

The Wolf Wilder  Katherine Rundell     V    AB

The Wooden camel Wanuri Kahiu, illus Manuela Adreani

Y

You’re snug with  me Chitra Soundar

Z

The Zebra’s Great Escape Katherine Rundell, ill. Sara Ogilvie V AB

Zombierella Fairy Tales Gone Bad Joseph Coelho, illus. Freya Hartas  V   AB                                                     

Suzanne Barton
Bloomsbury
Age 3-5
Robin wakes one Autumn Day to find a flurry of activity; the finches are getting ready to fly south and Squirrel is burying his nuts. Winter is coming and everyone is preparing. Robin thinks ‘Winter’ must be very scary. After snuggling up to Bear in his cave Robin wakes to find a magical transformation, snow has fallen, winter has arrived and it isn’t scary at all. He has lots of fun with the other creatures until signs of spring arrive and he realises more exciting changes are in store.

This is an appealing and beautifully illustrated picturebook which explores the magic of the seasons through the eyes of a young robin experiencing his first winter. There is plenty to talk about in the illustrations and lots to learn about animals too. Bear’s ‘one sleep’ till winter is over for example, is an interesting introduction to hibernation. Sharing this story as the seasons change will give lots of opportunity for children and parents to observe changes together and talk about what they see in the natural world.

Sue McGonigle from Lovemybooks introduces the book:

Share the story

Read aloud
Before you start reading talk about the cover image together. Has your child seen a robin in a garden or park? Read the story aloud to your child pausing to talk about the illustrations and what is happening when your child wants to.

Re read
Children could act parts of the story as you re read the story eg twist and turn like the leaves falling in the first double page spread, tiptoe like robin through the crunchy snow, snuggle up to keep warm with you and some toys

Join in
Make a robin finger puppet for your child to hold while you re read the story. Encourage them to join in with what the robin says and thinks – eg “What are you doing?” , “Winter must be very scary!”

Re-tell the story
Children could retell the story using the illustrations to guide them. Make a robin finger puppet together that they can use to help them tell the story.

Talk about the story

• Talk about robin’s feelings eg when all the birds fly south.

• Talk about all the things robin finds out is happening

• Talk about anything that is puzzling eg the idea of birds flying south or bears having ‘one long sleep’ in the winter

•  

Things to make and do

Make a robin finger puppet
Make a robin finger puppet together from felt or paper and pens. Click here to see how. Children could hold the puppet while you read the story and when they retell it.

Play the story
Cut a hole in the lid of a shoe box. Find some tissue paper or newspaper so that your child can make a comfy bed for a small teddy. Children can play the part of the story when robin follows bear and joins him for his winter sleep.

Go for a walk
Go for a walk in a park or the woods and look out for signs of autumn, winter or spring.
In autumn or winter you could make a collection of leaves, acorns, and conkers or fir cones. Make a when you get home and write labels together.

Make leaf or bird prints
Collect autumn leaves and make leaf prints. You will need paint and paper. You could also make sponge prints of birds and decorate with collage paper wings when dry.

Make a Snowflake card
Look at the illustrations of snowflakes. Make a snowflake picture or Christmas card together.

For younger children you could cut small pieces from doilies to stick. Older children could make their own snowflakes with circles of white paper folded into quarters or eighths and snipped. You will need coloured paper or card, a glue stick and white paper or doilies.

 

Find out more

Find out more about the author Suzanne Barton here 

Find out how to draw a Christmas robin from Suzanne Barton here 

See here for activities from the publisher, Bloomsbury 

Read another book by Suzanne Barton The Dawn Chorus

Watch and listen to this video of a robin’s winter song

from Maurice Baker

Find out more about hibernation here

Find out about birds migrating here and here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Whaite
Penguin Random House
Age 0-5

Have you ever looked at diggers and cranes and imagined they look like dinosaurs? Well this book does just that, tapping into two popular themes with young children and blending them together to create an amazing set of creatures – DIGGERSAURS! Bold illustrations, a rhyming text and an imaginative idea make this a great story for sharing again and again.

 

Share the story

Watch a trailer

Read aloud
Have fun with reading this story aloud dramatically, including the sound effects. There is lots to look at in the illustrations and children may well want to talk about some of the diggersaurs.

Join in
If you read this story often, children will remember the words and be able to join in as you read. They will enjoy the sound effects and may like making them with their voices or improvised instruments. The end papers are fun for this too, you could take turns saying the sounds.

Tell the story
After hearing the story a few times, children will get to know it well. Encourage them tell it to you in their own words, with some words or phrases from the story, using the pictures to help them.

Talk about the story

• Talk about the names for the different diggersaurs, lots of them have names that are about the job they do. Perhaps you could make up more together.

• Which is your child’s favourite diggersaur?

• Spot the details in the illustrations and talk about them, for example what the little figures are doing, the dinosaur fossil, how the ‘breakasaurus’ creates cracks in the earth.

Watch the story read aloud 

Author Michael Whaite says...

Michael Whaite, the creator of Diggersaurs talks about his inspiration for the book and how he hopes young readers will respond:
‘Diggersaurs have always existed in my world. I grew up on a farm so I was surrounded by tractors and diggers. I was always comparing them to dinosaurs - they’re large, loud, smelly and they make the earth move. My father and I nicknamed them Diggersaurs and I always intended to draw what I saw and share our quirky way of looking at construction machinery.’

‘I hope children will enjoy meeting the Diggersaurs and counting them as they read through the book. I also hope I can inspire young people to engage their imaginations with the world around them. Joining in with the sound effects can be fun too - TOOT TOOT!!’

Ben, a parent says...

'Diggersaurs is currently one of Casper’s favourite books - combining dinosaurs with diggers was definitely a winning combination!
Casper enjoys pretending that his toys have turned into Diggersaurs and gives them all names after the sounds they make - his favourite is KERLUNK(ASAURUS)!

On the way to nursery Casper is often looking out for where the next Diggersaur may be hiding. He likes to make the noises and make me guess which Diggersaur he is - so I am fast being able to distinguish my CHOMPS from my NOM-NOMS!”

Casper loves reading but he gets particularly excited when we can bring books to life for him. Lovemybooks provides some great inspiration for how to achieve this.'

 

Things to make and do

Go for a walk
See if you can spot any ‘diggersaurs’ (diggers and cranes) and talk about what they are doing. What might they be called?

Let’s pretend…
Children could pretend to be a diggersaur: scooping, honking, lifting

Playing with toy diggers
If you have toy diggers children could put stickers on them for eyes and make up names for them. If you have access to sand or earth they could play with their ‘diggersaurs’ there.

Drawing
Over three’s could draw a diggersaur, perhaps design a different one. What will its name be?

Find out more

Find out more about Michael Whaite here. 

This section of the website will be devoted to your reviews. We are inviting families to share a book together – reading it aloud and talking about it, thinking about what they enjoyed about the story, illustrations or themes and the kinds of conversations the book prompted. We hope this will be a useful resource for other parents and also suggest the kinds of conversations that books might prompt.
If you and your children would like to take part in our family review panel  please get in touch! info@lovemybooks.co.uk

The Houdini Inheritance by Emma Carroll
Lauren and her daughter Esme sent us their thoughts after reading this mystery story
Buy the book

‘This book is about Houdini, the master escape artist and his rivals. It’s a mystery story with relatable characters and some plot twists which kept us wanting to read until the end. We were interested to learn that some of the story is based around the true history of Houdini. We’re just as curious as Glory, the girl in the story, to discover Houdini’s secrets.  We think if you liked The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, you might like this too. ‘

Goodnight my Sweet Island by Ptera Honychrich and Suzanne Heitz
Reviewed by Kathy Maclean
Buy the book

Good Night My Sweet Island by Petrea Honychurch Seaman and Suzanne Heitz is a picture book which makes my heart sing and is about an island that I love: the island Dominica, often referred to as ‘the nature isle of the Caribbean,’ where I was born and grew up.

The text takes the form of a gentle lyrical lullaby as the parents and their daughters, explore treasured memories of a ‘magical place where ocean meets sea’ enhanced by the glorious double spread illustrations which celebrate the island and all its unique features; landscapes in which:

Great mountains rise up,
Deep valleys run low
With blankets of forests,
Wherever you go.

Good Night My Sweet Island showcases some of the exotic wildlife, pelicans, turtles, dolphins and sperm whale. It is a hymn of praise to the mountains, beaches, music, food, fruit and our Kwéyole language.

Every double page spread is a vibrant homage to the sights and sounds of the island. Music, dance and ‘fetes in the street’ are celebrated on a page of vibrant oranges and reds with carnival dancers, musical instruments and notes which march across the page.

I enjoy sharing this wonderful book with my grandchildren and introducing them to their heritage and what it means to be Dominican.’

See video of Kathy sharing the book with her 9-year-old grandson Jacob.

https://vimeo.com/902940276?share=copy

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Super Silly Museums by Nick Sharratt
Reviewed by Dylan aged 11 and Esme aged 8 with their mum Lauren
Buy the book

Dylan and Esme have grown up enjoying You Choose (written by Pippa Goodhart and illustrated by Nick Sharratt) and immediately recognised this book as being by the same illustrator. They took turns to read the main text and speech bubbles, there are lots of conversations between characters in the speech bubbles which gave an opportunity to easily share the reading. 

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How War Changed Rondo, by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv
Reviewed by Samantha, Poppy (10) and Harriet 8)
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“I already knew war was a bad thing, and this book helps explain why.” Harriet aged 8

Reading How War changed Rondo by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv is a very useful way to begin to introduce the complexities and horrors of warfare to a younger audience. Having a conversation about the events in Ukraine with younger children can seem a daunting task, but this book allows that conversation to take place in a controlled and manageable way, while still not sugar-coating its events and implications.

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Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City by Rob Biddulph   
Reviewed by Naomi, aged 8
Buy the book

Naomi tells us about a book she has really enjoyed reading>
Peanut’s dad has disappeared. She finds a pencil hidden in a box and discovers whatever she draws with it comes to life. Peanut draws a door, she opens it and ends up in Chroma, a world of colour and creativity…

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‘Under the Love Umbrella’ by Davina Bell, illus Alison Colpoys
Scribble UK
Reviewed by Amy
Buy the book

This is a brightly coloured picturebook with a gentle, reassuring rhyming text about being loved

‘.. Over your head and just above
There’s an umbrella of my love.
To show it’s you I’m thinking of
Wherever you might be.’

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The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
Reviewed by Amy and Joshua, age 2
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A little girl introduces her friend the colour monster, who is very confused, because his colours are mixed up together. She tells him this is because his feelings are mixed up too and offers to help him sort them out into bottles. Each double page is devoted to a colour themed feeling with for example yellow for happiness and blue for sadness.

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Looshkin the Big Number Two by Jamie Smart
Reviewed by Ruth and her children Louis aged 11 and Ellen aged 8 who had a lively conversation about this graphic novel
Buy the book

Looshkin is a collection of stories from the popular weekly comic The Phoenix.  Written and illustrated by Jamie Smart (of Bunny vs Monkey fame), Looshkin is a blue cat who was brought home by Mrs Johnson in the hope of making her home more normal.  This doesn’t quite work out for her as Looshkin is the maddest cat in the world and unleashes chaos around him wherever he goes! Looshkin The Big Number 2 is the second book in this serie

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Fantastically Great Women who changed History, Kate Pankhurst
Buy the book

Reviewed by Emma and Naomi
This book is the follow up to Fantastically Great Women who changed the World and includes stories of a wide range of women from astronauts, inventors to warrior queens and spies.

We asked Naomi aged six and her mum Emma to review the book for us. Before seeing this book Naomi, knew about a couple of the women featured, Boudicca from the Horrible Histories series and Pocahontas from the Disney cartoon.

See our Top 10 lists about fantastic girls and women

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Corey’s Rock
Sita Brahmachari, illus. Jane Ray Otter Barry books  Age 8+   
Buy the book 

Reviewed by: Karen, Coco and Leia
Overall verdict:
‘Corey’s Rock is an enjoyable, thought provoking read for children as well as being a visual treat.’

Karen gives an overview of the story:
‘The story is about a girl called Isla, who moves from Edinburgh to the Orkney Islands with her parents after the death of her little brother. Told from Isla’s point of view, the reader is taken on her personal journey, from adapting to her new school and home environment to coming to terms with the loss of her brother.’

Read more about Corey’s Rock

Although the book deals with quite heavy themes, there is a lightness to it thanks to the beautiful illustrations throughout and Isla’s discovery of Orcadian legend about the Selkies - half human, half seal people.’

‘The girls were drawn to Corey’s Rock initially because of the colourful cover illustration and the diversity of the family pictured. They were intrigued by the cover and immediately began to discuss what they thought the story would be about:  a family breaking up through divorce and the daughter helping her parents get back together again.’

The girls read the book aloud to each other, which was more enjoyable for them as it prompted discussion and enabled them to share their different ideas and understanding with each other. 

About the story

Both girls really enjoyed the book. Coco said:

"I would say it’s an inspiring book. It’s a story about a girl named Isla who is struggling in her life right now because her brother Corey has just passed away as he was ill, then her parents got different jobs and moved to a different place near a beach. To help her feel better, Isla starts to have dreams about Corey. I think it’s a moving story because it shows Isla getting through a difficult time in her life while at the same time showing that she will never forget or stop loving her brother. Isla’s dreams and imagination really helped her to overcome how sad she was."

Leia offered: "It’s quite an interesting story because Isla thinks her brother has become a Selkie and she can see him from Corey’s Rock whenever she likes.”

It was really good to hear the girls sharing their ideas about the book: 

Coco: "I don’t understand why Corey’s mum wouldn’t go to see the rock."

Leia: "I think it’s because she was too sad"

Coco felt that the story could "Give a comforting message to people who are in the same situation as Isla.” For this reason, although the overarching theme of bereavement is sad, she found it inspiring and enjoyable. 

Both girls felt (Isla’s friend) Magnus was an interesting character because "He seems to know a lot about Isla before she arrived on the island” Coco observed.

Leia added "And he drew a picture of Corey’s Rock which Isla found when she went to the library to borrow Selkie books” Leia also noticed that Magnus was wearing a hearing aid and wanted to know more about why he had it. 

Some words and phrases in the book were repeated, giving elements of the story a hypnotic, dream-like quality. Leia was really quick to spot this repetition and made a connection as to why this was done: "Mummy, I think the reason why she says ‘One by one' five times is because Corey had five birthdays and five years on planet Earth.” 

Favourite things about the book

Each one commented that the illustrations were their favourite thing about the book - they really studied them and enjoyed counting the starfish on the sand and the seals in the sea.

Leia said: " I really liked seeing the five petals for Corey because they look like little hearts."  Coco: I liked the picture of Isla finding the seal skin because she said it felt like holding Corey again when he was alive. It’s special because she’s remembering good times. It reminds me of ‘Wonder (by RJ Palacio) and Auggie’s story because that’s also a happy-sad story."

Dianne Hofmeyr, illustrator Jane Ray
Frances Lincoln
Age 7-9 years

In Venice a wealthy successful glassmaker is worried about his daughter Daniela who is always sad. He offers a glass palace to anyone who can make his daughter smile. Many attempt to entertain her but they all fail. Then Angelo a young glassmaker decides to try, creating a special gift, a looking glass. When Daniela looks into it she sees a very funny, grumpy face looking back. Amused by her own reflection Daniela begins to smile and laugh.  Her happiness is so infectious soon the whole city is laughing and dancing too.

This is a well told story in fairy tale style about finding happiness within ourselves. There is lots to talk about in the story itself and the beautiful illustrations including a stunning spread of the glass palace shattering. The foreword provides a fascinating insight into the historical context for the story; medieval Venice renowned for its glassmaking, the wealth and prestige of its craftsmen and the efforts made to keep their recipes for glass and mirror making secret.

Share the story

Before beginning the story read the information in the foreword together. You might also like to find Venice on a map.

Read aloud
Although your child may be able to read the text themselves, reading it to them enables them to focus on the ideas of the story, the humour and the wonderful illustrations too.

When you read the story aloud allow time for reading and talking about the pictures and story too. See below for suggestions for talking about the story.

Join in
Your child may be confident to read the story independently especially after hearing you read it aloud however it can be fun to return to the book and read some parts together or take turns. For example, the double page with all the entertainers could be read by alternating like this:

Parent: glove makers      Child: tart bakers

Parent: trumpet players    Child: dragon slayers etc

You could finish the section off by reading the last line together.

Watch the story read aloud.

Talk about the story

• Share favourite lines from the story eg ‘its lamplight danced like fireflies’ and favourite illustrations

• Discuss anything puzzling, for example unfamiliar words such as melancholy, molten, gondola, alchemist, maestro.

• What would you tell someone else about this story?

• Share what makes you both happy

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Things to make and do

Can you make someone laugh?
Do you think you would have been able to make Daniela smile? Choose a friend or someone in your family and try to make them laugh or smile by for example dressing up or telling jokes.

What happens when you smile?
Make different expressions in a mirror and look closely at what happens to your features when you smile – take photos or draw pictures to show the changes. See below to find out more about smiling.

Make a poster
Children could make a poster as if it is from the glassmaker advertising for someone to make his daughter smile, including the reward of a glass palace.

Make a glittery collage
Children could make their own shattered glass picture by cutting a square or circle of shiny paper or foil into shard shapes and arranging and sticking them on a coloured background.

Make a Venetian mask
Perhaps the glassmaker decided to have a ball to celebrate Angelo’s success and Daniela’s happiness. You could use the templates available via the weblink here to make a Venetian mask and decorate for example with paint or felt tips, ribbons and sequins. See here for help.

Make a pop-up glass palace
Author of The Glassmaker’s Daughter Dianne Hofmeyr, wonders if anyone would like to make a pop-up glass palace – if so here is one made from silver mirror card, collage and glitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more

Find out what happens when you smile 

Find out more about the history of glassmaking in Venice

Find out about present day glassmaking in Murano, Venice .

 

Read more stories by Dianne Hofmeyr here

Titles include:

Zeraffa Giraffa also illustrated by Jane Ray

My Daddy is a Silly Monkey

Tiger Walk

Magic Bojabi Tree

Find out about Jane Ray here 

Zeraffa Giraffa with Dianne Hofmeyr

The Unicorn Prince

The Lost Happy Endings