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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.
Circle loves the tower that the squares and hexagons have built and wants to make his own. But circles, diamonds and triangles are pointier, rounder and much wobblier - making a tower is not as easy as it looks! The shapes try and try but their tower just keeps tumbling down. Can Circle persuade them to have just one more try? In this perfectly shaped follow up to the bestselling The Perfect Fit geometry meets brilliant storytelling and vibrant artwork.
A lift-the-flap opposites book | A story of opposites making friends, this sturdy lift-the-flap counting book will give the very young a positive first reading, first learning experience and especially if they love tractors. Tractor Red is big and new, while Blue is old and small. They work alongside one another all day in the field, but at sunset, Red challenges Blue to a race. It’s no contest really and Red zooms off leaving Blue behind. But uh-oh, when Red ends up stuck in the mud, he needs Blue to pull him out. The story is packed with incident, and the illustrations are very appealing. This farm is definitely a fun place to visit!
April 2022 Book of the Month | Open the henhouse, what do you see? Four eggs – count them! Four little chicken eggs, four little chicks, plus suddenly one extra. And this little chick goes, ‘Quack!’. Fortunately, Mother Hen doesn’t mind that one chick is quite different, she loves them all. This sturdy lift-the-flap book will have little children counting away very happily and the simple story is full of fun. With appealing illustrations and a heart-warming message about a mother’s love, this is a lovely first reading and first learning experience.
Longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2022 | This book has been specially designed for parents to read to their children so that they may learn how to sit quietly, eat their peas and respect their elders. The previous statement was a lie. This lift-the-flap fun and joyous story celebrates all things silly. This is the perfect way to teach children their first ten numbers, whilst also allowing for some fun along the way. The children are behaving sensibly - painting peacefully, helping with the washing, brushing their teeth and more. But what is under the flap? Are they making a mess? Dressing up a lion? Brushing the teeth of a crocodile? How silly! Close that flap quick! This book will engage young children, holding their attention through its interactive flap-out page design, the minimal use of illustration and the use of repetitive and simple phrases. Lander's highly skilled and original illustrative style feels spontaneous and freehand, with a pleasing scruffy roughness, which complements the 'silly' subject matter.
You almost know this is going to be a beautiful book by its title. It is described as a Muslim book of shapes, but it is so much more. I have to say I learned a lot from this book and was extremely glad of the informative and helpful glossary. The book offers so much – history, shape and pattern, culture and colour. It is so clever that in addition to the different shapes written about on each page, there are more ovals, or arches to look for in the illustrations, subtly hidden in fabrics and the decorations of the mosque. As with many books for young children the use of rhyming couplets adds a lovely rhythm to the pages, as does the fact that the book tracks a whole day from morning prayer to the night sky. Each page is bright and detailed and all the characters in the illustrations seem to shine with a sense of wonderment as if something magical is happening. There is so much to see and discuss on each page which makes it a perfect book to share.
The Rainbow Blots are a delightful little family; each member is a colour of the rainbow with his/her own distinctive personality. Mummy Blot encourages them to have fun and they each do so by immersing themselves into activities linked with their specific colour. They have another little trick that they are able to perform as they can change themselves into a colour related object. Written in a rhyming format, this charming little book is illustrated in bright and bold colours which would appeal to young children. I like the fact that each colour character is unique and Indigo baby is my favourite! I especially liked the illustration of them tucked inside their little beds. The names and order of the colours of the rainbow are reinforced in the middle of the book - the child is encouraged to say them aloud - and there is the opportunity of drawing one's own rainbow blot at the end. This would be a very useful addition to an infant school library and a book which would be reread frequently if owned at home. It is certainly one which I would have made use of when teaching Reception aged children. Val Rowe, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
From boats and trucks to trains, limousines and hot air balloons, explore a huge range of different ways to travel in this charming board book. With peep-through holes throughout, there's a fun surprise on every page. Part of an original and exciting new series of board books with bright and bold illustrations.
Homes illustrated by Hector Dexet and published by Laurence King in April 2020 is a board book featuring all kinds of houses for all kinds of different creatures.
What fun to discover colours with Elmer, everyone’s favourite patchwork elephant! Each colourful page in this new book shows off a different colour and is packed too with Elmer’s friends and the his distinctive jungle flora. There are so many things to spot and count including eight bright little teddy bears. There’s no-one quite like Elmer and this is a lovely first-learning book.
Two little friends take a tour of the city in this bright and engaging book. What amazing things will they see – and what can we spot too as we follow them on their way? Each colourful double page spread is full of life and movement with lots for children to find in the pictures. Some things – train driver, camera, ice-cream van – are neatly labelled, and on each page readers are posed a little challenge testing counting skills, memory or comprehension. The illustrations are very appealing indeed, and with its combination of fun story and find, name and count element, this is a great book to share with young children.
Clive Gifford is renowned for the quality and accuracy of his non-fiction books and has been nominated for, and won, many awards for his books. The illustrations are bright and child friendly making this a great book to dip into or to pore over. The point is made in the book that comparing things is a great way to learn about them, as well as being useful it’s also fun. It’s not often you can see the biggest, tallest and longest creatures on the earth in one double page spread, or how fast different creatures run. It’s no wonder you can never catch your pet cat – they run faster than humans! Still on cats, I had no idea they contained less water in their bodies than dogs! Subjects covered range from changing seasons, to flying high, mighty machines and tiny creatures plus many more. A book I am sure many youngsters will get a great deal of pleasure from, as well as learning lots along the way.
This witty, stylish counting book will catch the attention of adults as well as the imagination of the very young. A rhythmic, rhyming text and eye-catching illustrations present us with one fox in socks, then two gorillas looking in mirrors, followed by three jolly llamas in pyjamas, right up to the twenty birds who have the last words. Along the way we also meet five goats wearing coats, the goats labelled and clearly identifiable under their coats (Nubian, mountain, angora…). Other favourite spreads include the one featuring sixteen chickens reading (and clearly enjoying) Dickens! A wonderfully original counting book that is as handsome as it is effective.
Shortlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2020 | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | Kate Read uses bold colours, composition and collage to tell the story of one famished fox’s encounter with some angry hens, making this counting book a real thriller. The Klaus Flugge judges said: ‘Visually stunning. There’s real drama here and the way the story is told is joyous. She’s done a very clever thing and created a counting book while keeping within the beats of a story.’
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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