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Find out moreA new selection of books especially chosen to introduce toddlers and young children to the world, through colours, shapes, numbers, letters and more.
April 2019 Book of the Month | Bounce like a bunny, spring like a lamb, leap like a frog, hop like a chick – pre-schoolers will have a ball guessing what animal adorable, active Ted is about to imitate before lifting the flaps for the big reveals. Bright, bold and with plenty for little ones to giggle over as they get involved, this is the very best kind of board book – the kind that toddlers will request over-and-over (and over!) again.
Join Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tittlemouse and lots of other animal friends inside. Peter Rabbit 123 is accompanied by Peter Rabbit ABC and is published by Frederick Warne & Co., publishers of Beatrix Potter's Original Peter Rabbit books.
This absolutely stunning book turns the alphabet into a wild exploration of the animal world as readers are presented with 26 different creatures across colourful pages, all featuring pop ups or peep through cut outs to make this unforgettable. Questions to readers, as well as its ingenious layout, make it a superb interactive reading experience – ‘Who is prettier than an ant?’ asks the text: ‘A butterfly’ is the answer. ‘Who has more legs than a butterfly?’ a caterpillar, and so on. Some of the questions are delightfully quirky: ‘Who is more wobbly than an iguana?’ (Can you guess?), but each one, combined with the striking artwork will draw the reader into the wonderful world of the Animalphabet.
Take the very young on a trip into the high mountains in this excellent first information book. Each page features a stunning pop-up depicting one of the animals native to the mountains, from wolf to bear, from Bald Eagle to a Rainbow Trout, particularly beautiful and dramatic in rich reds and greens. The animals are introduced via lines of verse while elsewhere on the page short lines of text convey interesting and intriguing facts. The pop-ups are not only beautiful but sturdy enough to stand repeated readings, and this is a book to inspire the very young.
Bright and cheerful in his gorgeous undersea world filled with friends Little Fish is an adorable character for the very young, but the addition of a finger puppet allowing him to pop up and bob about on every page make this irresistible! It’s great fun to send Little Fish swimming through the colourful, brightly patterned weeds, or to wiggle his tail to change speed (a clear demonstration of the concepts of fast and slow), and you can even make him give his mummy a kiss. Lucy Cousins’ artwork and characters are perfect for tinies and there’ll be lots of learning going on alongside the fun. ~ Andrea Reece
Playful and kind, Elmer is the perfect companion for the very young and they’ll find a delightful echo of their own day in his. From waking up through lunchtime, playtime, bath and bedtime, Elmer is a happy presence and each page is full of life, and things to talk about. Specially shaped sturdy tabs are lovely to look at and useful too for little fingers as they turn the pages. David McKee’s artwork always dazzles and suits the board book format very well.
Families come in all shapes and sizes and from all sorts of backgrounds. They speak various languages, eat different sorts of food, live in different kinds of homes and celebrate special occasions in a variety of ways. A celebration of family differences, this is a busy book full of all-embracing illustrations of every kind of family imaginable that are fun to look at time and time again. Beyond just giving pleasure, All About Family is also designed to ensure every child feels that their kind of family is just one of many and not anything unusual. The short accompanying words to each picture briefly and helpfully explain technical terms such a as adoption and fostering. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for July 2018: A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies Junkyard Jack and the Horse That Talks by Adrian Edmondson All About Families by Felicity Brooks A Stone for Sascha by Aaron Becker Sleep by Kate Prendergast The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle The Cook and the King by Julia Donaldson
July 2018 Book of the Month | Buy a book by Oliver Jeffers and you become owner of a complete and perfect work of art. A Little Alphabet is so much more than an alphabet book. Each page features one object, one letter, one word, yet each is a story in itself and will prompt readers to fill in the background to these characters and things, or imagine what is going to happen to them next. Jeffers’s scribbly line fills each with movement – no jelly for example could be wobblier than the one that illustrates J. Characterisation is created through dots for eyes, just a line or blob for a mouth, and this is a triumph of simplicity and sophistication. A book for readers of all and every age. ~ Andrea Reece
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month June 2018 Count from 1 to 10 with the Enormous Crocodile! With one big flap and an ENORMOUS surprise, this sturdy board book is perfect for little hands. A brilliant introduction to the world of Roald Dahl. Lovereading Comment to follow. Commissioning editor Carmen McCullough said: "We are thrilled to be launching Roald Dahl publishing for pre-school readers for the very first time in 2018. The Enormous Crocodile is the perfect character to introduce Dahl to a younger audience: bringing just the right amount of humour and mischief to these core first concept titles, which promise to entertain parents too. We already know Quentin Blake's unmistakeable and expressive illustrations have huge appeal to younger readers, and are confident this exciting expansion will help create a whole new generation of Roald Dahl fans." Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for June 2018: Mariella, Queen of the Skies by Eoin Colfer Opposites by Roald Dahl 1, 2, 3 by Roald Dahl The Day War Came by Nicola Davies The Hippo at the End of the Hall by Helen Cooper The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month June 2018 Day and Night, Big and Small, Hungry and Full - learn your opposites with the Enormous Crocodile! With lots of flaps for busy little hands, this sturdy board book is the perfect introduction to the world of Roald Dahl. Lovereading Comment to follow. Commissioning editor Carmen McCullough said: "We are thrilled to be launching Roald Dahl publishing for pre-school readers for the very first time in 2018. The Enormous Crocodile is the perfect character to introduce Dahl to a younger audience: bringing just the right amount of humour and mischief to these core first concept titles, which promise to entertain parents too. We already know Quentin Blake's unmistakeable and expressive illustrations have huge appeal to younger readers, and are confident this exciting expansion will help create a whole new generation of Roald Dahl fans." Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for June 2018: Mariella, Queen of the Skies by Eoin Colfer Opposites by Roald Dahl 1, 2, 3 by Roald Dahl The Day War Came by Nicola Davies The Hippo at the End of the Hall by Helen Cooper The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman
Who better than friendly, lovable Elmer to introduce the very young to first concepts. Learning colours is lots of fun with Elmer, who is himself of course an irresistible patchwork and so vibrant that just looking at him gladdens the heart. Here he shows off all your favourite colours, balancing yellow and orange citrus fruits on his trunk, enjoying a pink lolly at the beach, running over green grass under a blue sky. Chunky tabs make it especially good for little hands, and each different scene is full of first learning opportunities. ~ Andrea Reece
Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2019 | A beautiful picture book about friendship and art. Bob and Bat are best friends. They do everything together (look out for the wonderful illustration of them dancing to the radio!) but best of all they love painting. Then one day Bat leaves a note for Bob explaining that he has to go away for a while. Bob is bereft, indeed just how sad is clear not just in his attitude, but in his paintings: whatever he paints is blue, representative of the big blue hole where Bat used to be. Fortunately his other friends come to his help, opening his eyes to the colourful beauty and hope of a sun rise, and shortly after that, Bat returns too. This is simply gorgeous to look at, and opens up all sorts of discussions about friendship, resilience, art and expression.
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It's never to early to read to children and this selection of picture books are a great introduction to first concepts, perfect for even the youngest babies.
Through colour, touch, sound and shapes young children start to make sense of the world around them.
ABC See and say all the letters of the alphabet by Aino-Maija Metsola
Alone Together by Clayton Junior
My First 123 by Shirley Hughes
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