Sam Boughton
Tate Publishing
Age 5-7 years

Although Sam lives in a grey tower block surrounded by other tall drab building, however in his dreams he imagines living in a world full of colourful plants and amazing animals. One day, inspired by a favourite book, he finds a seed to plant and grow. Eventually Sam’s plant grows and inspires him to grow more plants attracting interest from his neighbours and eventually he realises how he can have an impact on the whole city.

A beautiful picturebook with a story that celebrates imagination and the transformational power of the natural world. The artwork is striking, don’t miss the open out spread at the back of the book. Children might be inspired to create their own artwork,. 

Share the story

Read aloud
As you read the story pause to look at the detailed illustrations and talk about them. For example, pause to talk about Joe’s ordinary world and what he might be looking for that is very small.

Join in
When children become familiar with the story they can join in with the reading – for example the sequence when Joe is planting the seed and waiting for it to grow. Point to the words as you read them eg ‘bigger and BIGGER.’

Talk about the story

• Talk about the words ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ and what they mean. There are other words which are likely to be unfamiliarto children eg ‘prune’ and ‘preen.’ Show your how to find out their meanings using a dictionary or online version.

• Look at the double page of Joe’s world. What do you both notice? Can you spot Joe?

Watch the story read aloud

 

Things to make and do

Be an artist
Give your child two pieces of paper. On one, make a picture of Joe’s real world in black and white using pencil, charcoal, pen or newspaper collage.  Look at the end paper and opening spread for ideas.

On your second piece of paper paint, colour or collage a picture of an extraordinary world with plants taller than skyscrapers and imaginary animals. You could display the two pictures side by side or stick them back to back and fold them in half so that you can open the ordinary world to reveal the extraordinary world.

Go on a walk around your area
Notice and talk about things that your child likes or dislikes in the area. You might notice signs of the natural world eg trees and plants, insects and birds or the built-up world with roads, buildings, walls, vehicles. What colours and sounds are there?  Visit a local park and notice what makes the park pleasant or unpleasant?

Look inside an apple, grow a tree
Cut an apple in half and draw a picture of the seeds inside.

You could try planting them in a small pot like Joe. Talk about the need to look after the seeds and to wait – they may take a long time to grow – or not grow at all. See below for ideas on how to be an extraordinary gardener. If you successfully grow a plant you could give one away like Joe does, to a friend or member of your family.

 

Find out more

Find out more about the book’s creator, Sam Boughton

Read another book illustrated by Sam Boughton
Matisse’s Magical Trail
Hello Mr Dinosaur
Hello Mrs Elephant

Be an extraordinary gardener

• • Visit a greengrocer to choose fruits. At home cut the fruit in half and collect any seeds inside. Keep them in different labelled containers so you don’t forget which seeds are which! Chop the fruit up to make a tasty fruit salad to enjoy.

  • Visit a garden centre. Choose some packets of seeds to buy and grow. Plant the seeds in small flowerpots. Teach your child how to care for the seeds – water regularly (but not too often) and keep in a warm sunny spot. If you have outside space you could create a wildflower meadow https://www.turfonline.co.uk/blog/easter-holidays-make-a-wildflower-meadow/

Be a speedy gardener

• • Grow some seeds that always have quick results such as cress. These can be grown on moist cotton wool or kitchen roll. You could make egg and cress sandwiches together or add the cress to a salad for you and your child to enjoy. https://www.persil.com/uk/dirt-is-good/games/grow-your-own-cress-heads-for-kids.html

Be a wildflower activist!

• • If you don’t have a small patch of ground of your own, take a pack of wildflower seeds and find a small patch of neglected land to sprinkle them on. Alternatively, you may like to make or buy ‘Seed-bombs’, https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ actions/how-make-seed-bomb. With these you can find a piece of neglected land and simply throw your seed-bomb onto it and visit a few weeks later to see if your seeds are growing.

See our Lovemybooks activity page for The Secret Sky Garden, another picturebook about changing the environment through growing plants.

Katrina Charman, illus. Nick Sharratt
Bloomsbury
Age 0-3 years

Based on the traditional nursery rhyme ‘Baa, Baa Black Sheep’ this is a picture book designed to be sung as well as read.

As we open the book, we set off on a car journey, spotting a range of vehicles on the way, both familiar and less familiar. There are vehicles on the road, and in the air, as we journey from town to countryside to seaside and finally, exhausted after a busy day, all the vehicles fall asleep.

The opening pages directly echo the original rhyme with ‘Car, car, truck, jeep have you any fuel? ‘Yes sir, yes sir, three tanks full.’ The rest of the book plays with the tune, rhythm and rhyme. Great fun.

Watch a trailer 

 

Share the story

Watch the story being shared 

Read aloud
Before sharing the book with your child, read it yourself to see how the rhyme works and to decide whether to read or sing when you share it with your child. Either is fine.

Read (or sing!) the story to your child pausing if they notice something in the illustrations they want to talk about.

Join in
When children are familiar with the rhyme, invite them to join in, for example with sound effects such as ‘vroom vroom.’ If they know it very well, they might join in all the way through as you read or sing the rhyme.

Talk about the Book
Children will notice things they want to point out as they look at the book. You could encourage them to show you the red bus, talk about the different vehicles and what they do and count the petrol pumps

Sing the story – see here
You could sing it as you read the book and sing parts when you are out and about, at bath time or any time.

 

Things to make and do

Out and About
Look out for the different vehicles in the story when you are out and about, eg buses, trucks, emergency vehicles. If you drive, you could talk about filling with ‘fuel’ when you stop at a garage and point out the red signal when you stop at traffic lights. Talk about vehicles above in the sky as well as on the road.

Go on a listening walk
Listen to the sounds of the different vehicles on the road, you may hear helicopters, planes and  even trains, if you are near a railway line.  Can children tell what the vehicle is from the sound it makes?

Make a track
Make a track on the floor, marking it out with a tape measure, string or with chalk on paving stones for toy vehicles to weave in and out, zoom and stop.

Watch a performance of the original rhyme here
This performance starts with the familiar traditional rhyme then moves into different variations. Perhaps you could make up some more versions together too!

 

Find out more

Read more books by this author/illustrator team Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt

The Whales on the Bus to the tune of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’

Go, Go Pirate Boat to the tune of ‘Row, Row, Row your Boat’

Visit our activity page for another book by Nick Sharratt Shark in the Park

 

 

Gabby Dawnay, Alex Barrow (illus)
Thames and Hudson
Age 0-5

This is a story about a little girl who wants a pet, and not content with the typical range, she wants one that is as big as a house! Clearly a dinosaur would be perfect. The story explores what she would do if she had a pet dinosaur, where she would take it and how her friends would react when they see it.  She considers the amount of food it would eat and the inevitable big problem its bodily functions would create!

This is a story that invites participation, with a rhyming text, pictures used sometimes to complete phrases instead of words and the concept of having a pet dinosaur to discuss. The illustrations are excellent with extra detail which adds to the story telling. The book design is absolutely brilliant, from the covers inside and out to the delight of turning a page to enable a dinosaur to walk from one spread to the next or be seen from both inside and outside the house. This is a book which children will want to revisit again and again noticing more each time and will fulfil the author and illustrator’s aim to create ‘stories and pictures[which] will ignite children’s imagination and take on a life outside the pages of the books.’

Share the story

Read aloud
Before reading the story look at the cover together, open it up to show children the big dinosaur and feel the texture of its surface.

Read the story aloud, pausing so that children can say the names of some of the different pets the little girl considers helping with less familiar eg hamster perhaps. Pause also after the first double page spread to see if your child want to suggest which pet the little girl will choose which is as big as a house. Continue reading, pausing again if your child wants to talk about what is happening in the story or pictures.

Join in
As you read it again children pause so that children can complete the rhyming pair, say the name of the animal and follow the words as they go round the dinosaur’s tail with a finger.

Talk about the story

• Share thoughts on having a dinosaur as a pet

• If your child did want one, which dinosaur would you choose – look at the illustrations on the final double page for suggestions.

• What noise might the dinosaur make? Can you make it?

• What would you feed it? How much food would it need?!

Watch the story

Watch the story read aloud

Things to make and do

Play the story
Take turns with ‘If I had a dinosaur I would….’ It is a good idea to make a suggestion first eg ‘If I had a dinosaur I would take it to the park and slide down its long neck’. Your child may choose to copy you or say something from the story which is fine.

Draw a picture
Using a big piece of paper and crayons, encourage children to draw a dinosaur perhaps filling up the paper with a ‘big’, ‘giant’, enormous dinosaur with a ‘super long’ tail.

Sing a song
Sing a song about having a dinosaur 

Find out more

Find out about the background to the story
The story was inspired by the discovery of Titanosaur bones in Argentina. Titanosaurs were the largest animals to have ever walked the earth. Read more about the discovery

Author Gabby Dawnay writes about the background to the story here:

Read more books by this author and illustrator team:

London Calls

A Possum’s Tail

A Roller Coaster Ride Around the Body

 

 

 

Zeb Soanes, illus. James Mayhew
Graffeg
Age 5-7 years

Gaspard the Fox lives in a city near a canal. He spends his evenings searching for food, wary of humans apart from the odd one or two who seem friendly.  One evening Gaspard makes two new animal friends – a cat called Peter who is very particular about his name and a dog called Finty who sneaks out of his kennel at nighttime for adventures. After accidentally getting covered in ash Gaspard finds he has a much better time camouflaged and resembling a dog than being all too conspicuous as a fox.

This is a warm story perfectly matched with the beautiful illustrations which evoke the street and canal scenes brilliantly.

The back of the book contains information about foxes.

See an introduction to the story here 

Watch a trailer here 

 

Share the story

Read aloud
Before starting to read the story, look at the cover image together and talk about where this story takes place and what might happen to the fox.

Read the story aloud to your child pausing to talk about what is happening in the story or pictures or any unfamiliar words.

Join in
As your child becomes familiar with the story they may like to join in as you read for example with the sound effects and some of the conversations.

Talk about the story

• • Talk about your favourite animal character in the story –Gaspard, Peter or Finty?

  • Share your favourite scenes find them in the book and talk about what you like about them

  • Talk about unfamiliar words, for example: unique, vixen, towpath

Things to make and do

Make a fox mask
Use images from the book or the template here to make a fox mask. Your child could decorate their mask with paint or coloured felt pens. They could try moving like a fox, slinking along quietly without making a noise.

Make a story box

Make a story box with a scene from the story from a small a cardboard box eg a shoe box. See here for an example. Decorate the base, back and sides of the box with pictures of the scene you choose eg of the canal scene, street or park scene. Use small animal figures for the characters if you have them or improvise with modelling material. Place the figures inside your setting and they can have imaginary conversations about the story.  

Make a fox information book

Use the information at the back of the book and the links below to find out more about foxes. Help your child decide what they want to find out. Your child could write some of the facts they have found in a fox information book, or you could scribe for them if they are not independent writers. A simple animal shape folded book with fox ears would be a fun way to record your facts.

Be an animal tracker

The book endpapers include Fox footprints. Take a walk in the park or local woods after a rainy day and see if you can find any animal or bird footprints in muddy areas. Look in information books and the internet at different shaped footprints, can you recognise any?

If you have an outside area, make your own animal tracker,  leave it out overnight and check in the morning. A tray with dry soil and sand in will do. See Animal Tracks | Animal Footprint Identification – The RSPB

Find more things to make and do on the Gaspard the Fox website Gaspard the Fox — DEN

• • Make a fox’s face from autumn leaves 

  • Make a Gaspard from toilet roll cardboard

Find out more

Visit the Gaspard the Fox website to find more about Gaspard the Fox, for more activities and information about foxes

Read more stories about Gaspard the Fox by Zeb Soanes and James Mayhew

Gaspard Best in Show

Gaspard’s Foxtrot (Publishing March 2021)

Find out more about foxes

Read the information about foxes at the back of the book.

Find out more about foxes here:

http://foxproject.org.uk/foxy-facts-for-children/    Red fox | Wildlife Watch

Fox (Vulpes vulpes) – British Mammals – Woodland Trust

 

Find out about other wildlife which lives in our cities Urban Habitats: Towns and Cities | Learn About Nature – The RSPB

 

 

 

Susan Steggall
Francis Lincoln 
Age 0-5

The book has stunning illustrations of changing street scenes, cars, buses and trucks, giving lots to talk about. The book introduces the idea of patterns with alternating vehicles of different colours. The text is very simple but rhythmic and patterned making it fun to join in with.

Share the story

Talk about the pictures
Look at the book with your child and talk about what is happening and what interests them in the illustrations.
Look closely together at the mother and child running for the bus, what happens to teddy, and how the lady in the red car helps.

Read aloud
When you look at the book again read the words emphasising the rhythm as you do. With very small children you could bounce them on your knee to the rhythm as you read.

Join in
The next time you share the book your child could join in with the reading. One way to do this is by reading alternate phrases and the words ‘red bus’ together

You: yellow car

Child :red car

Both: red bus

Do some counting
There are lots of things to count on the different pages including the number of people at bus stop the number of cars or vans on the road.

Look at the numbers on the houses, with 4 and 5 year olds you could talk about odd and even numbers and count in odds or evens.

 

Things to make and do

Do some sorting
Collect toy vehicles together, talk about their colours and  and sort them into groups. How many red vehicles are there? How many blue? Do you have a car at home? If so what colour is that?

Play the story
Arrange toy vehicles in different patterns as if they are on a road. You could make up words for the pattern created like the words in the story. 

Make a picture
Help your child to make a picture collage of a street scene using torn newspaper for the road and tissue paper or torn magazines for bushes, trees and buildings. Paint cars and a bus on separate sheets of paper. Cut out and arrange and stick the painted vehicles on the background

Out and about
Do some car spotting, eg you could count the number of red cars you see when you go out for a walk or car journey.

Find out more

Look out for more books by Susan Steggall here

Rattle and Rap

The Diggers are Coming

Busy Boats

On the Road

The Life of a Car

 

 

David Almond, illus. Lizzy Stewart
Walker Books
Age 7-9+ years

When Silvester the puppet maker stops performing and donates his puppets and materials to a museum he cannot resist making one last puppet; it is a labour of love. Amazingly the puppet shows signs of life – he learns to walk and even utters a word or two. He is just like the son Silvester never had. When Silvester meets Fleur, a little girl as passionate about puppet making as he is, he realises he has found someone to continue his legacy. Together they create one last magical puppet show.

This is a story brimming with warmth and wonder, celebrating the power of imagination, the magic of storytelling and the cycle of life. 

Watch David Almond talking about Puppet

https://vimeo.com/968761682

Talk about the story
◼︎ What would you tell someone else about this book?
◼︎ Does this story remind you of any other stories you know?
◼︎ What do you think the writer is trying to make his readers think about?
◼︎ Which of the illustrations do you like best?

Watch David Almond answering questions about Puppet sent to Lovemybooks from Lizzie, aged 9

https://vimeo.com/970517096

Things to make and do

◼︎ Draw a picture of Silvester and Fleur’s performance in the town square.

◼︎ Try moving like Puppet swinging arms and legs with stiff movements. Perhaps you could tap a wooden spoon on a hard object to create the ‘tap, tap’ sound as your child moves.

◼︎ Make a few simple puppets together. You could use natural materials as Fleur does for example twigs and cones, make simple sock or stick puppets or even create your own marionette

◼︎ Make up a simple story including your puppets – this can be easier and more fun for your child if you talk about it and build the story together.

◼︎ Make or improvise a Puppet theatre. Add some scenery for example a painting or drawing as background for your story.

◼︎ Make a poster to advertise your show.

◼︎ Perform your puppet show! Invite your family, friends or create an audience of toys.

Download our activity book

Find out more

◼︎ Share the story of Pinocchio . The original story by Carlo Callodi is retold here by Kate Daynes

◼︎ Visit a Puppet theatre or watch an online puppet show

◼︎ Read more stories by award winning author and Lovemybooks patron David Almond.
Titles include:
Skellig
My Name is Mina
The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon illus by Polly Dunbar
The Tale of Angelina Brownillus by Alex T Smith
The Boy who swam with Piranhas
Brand New Boy
The Dam illus by Levi Pinfold
The Savage illus by Dave McKean

◼︎ Find out more about illustrator Lizzy Stewart
Read a book written and illustrated by Lizzie Stewart.
There’s a Tiger in the Garden
Juniper Jupiter
The way to Treasure Island

 

It’s never too early to read or sing to babies. They will tune into the sounds, rhythms and patterns of your voice and will gradually focus on, and delight in, the pictures. Books are a wonderful way to engage your baby in a shared, enjoyable and stimulating activity and a perfect way to spend time together. As babies grow, they will join in with your actions, words and tunes to bring the book to life. This early experience is an important first step on their journey as readers.

The stories, songs and rhymes you share together are likely to include favourites from your own childhood, children’s classics and new books by contemporary writers and illustrators. Some will be board-books, cloth or sturdy pop-up books that your baby can handle themselves. Here are some books to bring back happy memories and introduce you to some new family favourites. You can build your collection of favourite books through exploring other titles by these exceptional authors and illustrators. For more ideas also see Our top 10 classic picture books  and our Books for 0-3 years .

Dear Zoo
Rod Campbell

interactive, open-the-flaps book about receiving surprise presents from the zoo.
Each one has to be unwrapped and then sent back until the most perfect present of all arrives

Lots of repeated phrases and fun to join in with and enjoy.
A young family sharing the book (Scottish Book Trust)
See our ideas for sharing Dear Zoo here

For another lift the flap book see Where’s Spot? Our activities here

Hello You!
Campbell Books

rhyming, rhythmic book which takes you through key points in a baby’s day including breakfast, playing with a friend, bath and bed. Full of gorgeous black and white photographs of a diverse group of babies. An added feature is a fold out mirror page so that babies can see themselves.

Honey for you, Honey for me
Michael Rosen, illus. Chris Riddell
Walker Books

A new book with an interactive rhyme to say or sing, containing flaps and actions for joining in. It’s tuneful and pitched just right for babies and young children.

Sung by Julia Donaldson  Also see video of sharing the book with baby on same web page.

It’s a Little Baby
Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb
Pan Macmillan

A new book with an interactive rhyme to say or sing, containing flaps and actions for joining in. It’s tuneful and pitched just right for babies and young children.

Sung by Julia Donaldson  Also see video of sharing the book with baby on same web page.

Mine!
(Bear and Hare series)
Emily Gravett
Pan Macmillan

Bear and Hare went for a walk and found lots of interesting things along the way. “Mine!” said Hare. But Bear didn’t care until.. Hare found honey and the bees gave chase! Poor Hare. “There there” soothed caring Bear.

Beautifully illustrated and a playfully told tale of acceptance and love. Read aloud
For another book about friendship and sharing see Banana! by Ed Vere.

Peekaboo Apple
Camilla Reid, illus. Ingela P Arrhenius
Nosy Crow

Peekaboo is a favourite first game with babies and toddlers everywhere. Cleverly designed with a range of ingenious slots and sliders make this attractive board book fun to share. A baby, dog, butterfly and snail magically appear as the tabs are pulled or turned finishing with a mirror page surprise at the end of the book, so babies see themselves appear too.  The text is a simple, engaging rhyme which children will enjoy sharing again and again.

Very First Mother Goose
Iona Opie. Illus. Rosemary Well
Walker

A magical compendium of classic nursery rhymes collected by renowned folklorist Iona Opie and illustrated by the irrepressible watercolourist, Rosemary Wells. Described as the ‘mother of all nursery rhyme books’, this is a collection to dip into and treasure over days and years.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Men Fox, Helen Oxenbury (illus)
Walker Books

In this book we meet babies born all over the world and discover that although their skin colour may vary and they are born in very different places they have a lot in common; they all have ‘ten little fingers and ten little toes’. The rhythm and repetition of this memorable refrain makes this book fun to read aloud. There is opportunity for lots of toe tickling, cuddles and kisses with one very special baby as the book ends too.

That’s Not my Lion
Fiona Watt, illus. Rachel Wells,
Usborne Books

The unseen narrator is in search of his lion – and is looking for the one which feels just right. The repetitive rhyme is pleasing to read aloud and for toddlers to join in with. There are feely patches on every page for little fingers explore. And of course, the narrator finds their lion at the end.
This is just one of a huge collection of That’s Not My… books from Usborne so if you and your child like this one you could look out for more at the local library.

That’s Not my Lion
Fiona Watt, illus. Rachel Wells,
Usborne Books

The unseen narrator is in search of his lion – and is looking for the one which feels just right. The repetitive rhyme is pleasing to read aloud and for toddlers to join in with. There are feely patches on every page for little fingers explore. And of course, the narrator finds their lion at the end.
This is just one of a huge collection of That’s Not My… books from Usborne so if you and your child like this one you could look out for more at the local library.

Benji Davies
Harper Collins

Age 3-5

This is a beautifully told and illustrated story about a snowflake searching for somewhere to land and a little girl called Noelle who dreams of decorating her own Christmas tree, complete with a star on top, just like the ones she has seen in shop windows. Eventually their stories combine, their wishes come true and Noelle’s makeshift Christmas tree becomes very special indeed. The words and images really evoke the magic of snowflakes dancing as they fall, the excitement of Christmas (particularly a snowy one!) and the pleasure of making your own decorations.

Watch the story read aloud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXjA7RSWRNI

Share the story

Read Aloud
Before beginning the story look at the cover illustration together talk about what you can see and your child’s experiences of snow. As you read the story, take time to look at the beautiful illustrations.

Join In
When familiar with the story younger children may like to hold a snowflake on a stick to wave for the snowflake dancing. Older children may enjoy joining in with the reading perhaps taking the part of the snowflake or Noelle.

Talk about the Story
Share your favourite illustrations and talk about why you chose them and what you see

Some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar to your child, for example the snowflake feeling ‘proud’ or the different words to describe its movements – such as ‘swirling’ and ‘drifting.’

Talk about what they mean.Has your child seen snow? Share memories if so and look at photos together.

If you are sharing this book on a snowy day, then wrap up warm and go out to experience it first-hand!

Things to make and do

Make paper snowflakes
Make some paper snowflakes to decorate a room, trying to make each one different.  How to Make a Paper Snowflake! | Project for Kids – YouTube  and here How To Make Frost Paper Snowflakes | Winter Crafts For Kids (penguin.co.uk)

Dance like a snowflake
Dance like a snowflake together – twirling, swirling, drifting, twisting and tumbling talking about the different movements as you do so/.

Decorate a tree
Go for a walk in a wood or a park and look for a twig or small branch which your child could bring home and decorate like Noelle does in the story.

Find out More

Read more books by Benji Davies, we have activity pages for several of these on Lovemybooks:
The Storm Whale
The Storm Whale in Winter
The Grotlyn
Grandad’s Island
Tad
Grandma Bird

Find out more about snowflakes Where Do Snowflakes Come From? – YouTube

 

Lauren Child
Orchard Books
Age 3-7

This amusing story in the Charlie and Lola series explores Lola’s reluctance to go to school and her older brother Charlie’s attempts to counter all her reasons for not going. Children who have recently started school or nursery or who have younger brothers and sisters just about to start school will be able to relate to Lola and Charlie and enjoy talking about Lola’s feelings.

Share the story

Read aloud
As you read the story aloud you might like to change your voice for Lola and Charlie and read the words in bold in a louder voice.

Join in
Your child will enjoy listening to this story more than once.When you re read it encourage your child to follow the words as they curve over the page. Children might like to join in with the reading by saying Lola or Charlie’s words.

Talk about the book
Talk about what your child liked or didn’t like about the story. Think together about the reasons Lola doesn’t want to go to school and what might she be worried about. How does Lola feel about going to school at the end of the story? What made her change her mind?

Watch the story here

Things to make and do

Story play
Pretend to be Charlie and Lola having a conversation with Charlie trying to persuade Lola to go to school and Lola thinking up excuses.

You could also take turns imagining you are Lola phoning the school to give excuses about not going.

Biggest and smallest
Who is the biggest and smallest in your family? Describe them together as Charlie and Lola do Who is teeny, slightly small, biggish or huge? Give your child some paper and crayons and ask them to draw pictures your family in order of size.

Do some counting
Count fingers and toes, put number stickers on each finger and toe, count out ten biscuits or ten buttons, sing  ‘There were ten in the bed and the little one said….’ or ‘Ten Green Bottles’.

Draw eleven elephants with beautiful patterns like the ones in the story.

Can you count up to 100? Try to see how far you can get while doing an everyday task such as having a bath or going for a walk.

Write a message
Write secret messages to each other and stick them on the fridge.

Design an outfit for Lola
Make a paper Lola doll – see here for template if you need one – and make or draw outfits for her to wear for school.

Find out more

Read about more about books by author/illustrator Lauren Child here
There are several books in the Charlie and Lola series eg I will not ever, never eat a tomato

The New Small Person by Lauren Child in this section.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book

Utterly Me Clarice Bean

See more Charlie and Lola adventures.

Chitra Soundar, illus. Poonam Mistry
Lantana
Age 3-7

In her den in a snow drift Mama Bear gives birth to two tiny cubs. Curious about their surroundings but a little nervous the two cubs ask their mother about the wider world. She tells them about the landscape, the ice, sea and its creatures and what will happen when they leave their cosy den.

This story reads like a lullaby with the reassuring refrain ‘You’re snug with me.’ However it also has an important message, introducing the wildlife of the polar lands and suggesting their interdependency. It highlights our responsibility to look after our precious world only taking what we need, a message reiterated in the author’s letter to the reader at the end of the book.

The illustrations are stunning with lots of detail to discover if you look closely. Intricately woven in silver, grey and gold they dazzle the reader revealing the beauty of the Polar Regions and its wildlife.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud – do this slowly to allow time to really look closely at the images there is so much to spot. You might want to read the book quietly, perhaps even whisper the Mama Bear’s words to echo her soothing reassurances.

Re read
As you read again children could join in with Mama Bear’s refrain ‘Hush now you’re snug with me.’ Or take the part of the cubs asking their questions.

Talk about the story:

• Share favourite images and favourite lines from the story.

• Talk about any puzzles your child may have eg about unfamiliar vocabulary such as ‘drift’ or ‘faltered’ or creatures they are not familiar with.

• Look again at the illustrations and see if you can spot:

• The baby bears curled up inside their mother

• Mama Bear licking them after they are born

• What is under the ocean

• Other polar animals

Read the author’s note at the end of the book and talk together about what you know about the polar regions and what everyone can do to look after our world.

Joan and her granddaughter Nancy

You’re snug with me

The beautiful pictures in this book are so imaginative that I wasn’t sure if my 3 yr old granddaughter would recognise them as polar bears, so before we looked at the book we watched a short video about polar bears and read a book about them. Nancy loves anything to do with wild life so she was very interested in the bears and where they lived. She is also a great fan of ‘Octonauts’ and loves anything about oceans, under water creatures and penguins. We looked through ‘You're snug with me’ together, talking about the pictures and pointing out different things she recognised.. fish, seals, bears, mountains, ice etc.

We set up a small world in a baking tray using ‘SnowBall play’, a pretend snowlike substance which is great for messy play. 
Nancy helped me to measure and gradually add water to the powder and loved watching it grow and become snowlike. It isn’t cold, like real snow, which we had an interesting discussion about. (We remembered making a snowman last winter and getting cold hands and wet gloves.) Nancy then added a plastic toy mummy polar bear and two bear cubs. She made a den in the snow and hid the bears inside it and said they would be nice and cosy. We added some more snow animals, such as an artic fox, a white seal, snow hares and penguins. There was lots of imaginative play and discussion. “Polar bears hunt for fish to feed their babies” “Snow hares dig under the snow for plants and carrots” “Penguins hunt for fish. They live in the Antarctic in the South Pole” Nancy added more water and said “The ice is melting”

The next day we looked at the book again. This time I told, and sometimes read, the story. Nancy was fascinated with the pictures and we talked about the two bear cubs cosy and safe inside mummy bear's tummy. Nancy remembered that she was once in her mummy’s tummy, and her mummy was once in my tummy. We talked about when the polar bear cubs were born mummy bear was licking them to clean them Nancy said “Mummies don’t lick babies though, they have a bath” “Babies can see but not polar bear babies” Nancy liked the pictures of the snowflakes and said they looked like some of their Christmas decorations.

We decided to make our own den out of a white sheet and white pillows. Nancy helped to peg it together and we snuggled inside with her favourite soft toy, which happens to be a white seal. We imagined the cold, snow and wind outside. “You’re snug with me” I said. Nancy asked grandad to be a polar bear and to catch fish. “The carpet can be the sea, and you dive down for fish.” Nancy said “I don’t like fish. I like sweet corn and fish fingers.” I said that fish fingers were made of fish and showed her the packet. Nancy said “Can I have some now?”

When I came to mind Nancy the following week I brought some homemade sparkly play dough with me. I had kept it white and added lots of silver glitter. We made a cave from the dough and Nancy put the polar bears inside. She covered the entrance so that they could sleep. We talked about animals that hibernate. Nancy put the other snow animals inside the den to be snug together, We played ‘hide and seek’ in the play dough, hiding each animal in turn, counting to ten, and then trying to find them.

After we had cleared the play dough away, we snuggled up to look at the book again. This time I was able to read more of the text and Nancy joined in with ‘You’re snug with me.’

I looked at the activity ideas about the book on ‘Lovemybooks’ and printed off the pictures to colour in. Nancy painted the polar bear mask. We then painted the picture of the globe together. I started to paint the oceans blue, and Nancy helped. She has a globe in her bedroom which we talked about and about how much of the world was water. We talked about the animals that lived in the seas “Whales, seals, fish and dolphins” said Nancy “and don’t forget the octopus.” We talked about what colour to paint the land and chose green, “Elephants live there” said Nancy. “We have to paint the sand yellow, camels live there.” I asked her what colour should we paint the polar bears land and Nancy said “White.” We talked about how the snow animals were camouflaged and couldn’t be easily seen.

A few days later I was minding Nancy again. We were sitting on the settee and I had the book on my lap. Nancy asked if she could have some milk and read the book with me. Nancy was again very interested in the pictures and asked lots of questions. She said that the polar bears are cuddling up with their mummy. She asked if we could play with the animals and snow again. I had the animals with me but hadn’t got any snow. Mummy came to the rescue with some ‘magic’ blue sand. 

We put this in the baking tray and Nancy added the polar bears. Again she made a den for them, and hid the babies inside to keep them cosy and snug. I introduced some ice cubes shaped like stars, which mummy had made with her the day before. Nancy was fascinated watching them melt, and tried putting sand on top to keep them from melting. We talked about how ice is made and that it turns into ice water as it melts. There was lots of imaginative play with all of the snow animals... trying to climb onto the land to get out of the water, splashing in it, making footprints, diving down to catch fish, sliding on the ice. All the animals had to climb onto the blue sand because it was the only land left. They squashed together. All the ice was melting and they had nowhere to go. We talked about what would happen if all the ice melted, and Nancy said “We can make some more.” We put some more water in the ice moulds and I said we need to put them in the freezer because the room was too warm to freeze them. Nancy kept checking every 10 minutes to see if they had frozen. We talked about it needing to be very cold for the water to freeze and if the world gets too warm the ice will melt and the snow animals will have nowhere to live.

Nancy really enjoyed the book and all of the activity ideas that sprang from it.

 

Things to make and do

Make a cosy den
Make a cosy den for the baby bears. Your child could place little toy bears or other soft animal toys in a shoe box full of ‘snow’ made from wadding, foam packaging or cotton wool to replicate the den Mama Bear made.

Imagine a snowy or icy world
If it happens to be snowy or icy weather you could go for a walk in the snow and have fun making footprints. If there is an ice rink nearby have a look at that to imagine a polar world. If no snow or ice is available outside your child can feel how hard and cold ice cubes are.  See below for some ice experiments.

Make a snowflake picture
Draw snowflakes with white crayons or paint on dark paper or make snowflakes torn or cut from paper doilies or cut out your own from folded paper and arrange them to make a big picture like the beautiful end papers of the book. See here for how to make snowflakes

 

Make an information book about polar bears (over 5s)
Talk about what your child already knows and what they would like to find out. Make a list of questions eg ‘What do they eat?’ Or ‘How long do they live?’ Use the websites and YouTube videos in our find out more section to try and answer your child’s questions together. Make a zig zag book with a page for each fact about polar bear, things your child already knew and things they have found out.  Encourage your child to illustrate the book too.

Find out more

Find out more about author Chitra Soundar

Chitra’s website includes activities based on the book designed by illustrator Poonam Mistri

Chitra’s other books include

You’re safe with me also illustrated by Poonam Mistri
Pattan’s Pumpkin illustrated by Frané Lessac
Many story collections including the Prince Veera series

Find out more about illustrator Poonam Mistri

 

Find out more about polar bears

Here is a video with more information

See here and here for  websites with information:

Find out more about threats to polar bears here

Experiment with ice

Make some ice with your child how long does it take to freeze? Put an ice cube in a bowl and see how long it takes to melt – does this happen quicker if the ice is in a warmer place?

Read more books about looking after our world

See our ideas for exploring 10 Things I can do to help my world   and see our collection of books about Our World