I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness, by Kerascoët
What can we say...? This wordless picture book is simply fantastic. It is perfect for teaching children about kindness and helping other people. If you’re new to wordless picture books, don’t worry, by following the pictures and the emotions of the characters’ faces, the story easily draws you in.
Vanessa is a little girl who moves to a new home and starts a new school. At the beginning of the story, we can see that Vanessa is lonely and she runs into some trouble with a classmate.
Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg
Let your toddler’s eye for detail run wild with this fun board book!
This sturdy book is a brilliant way to enjoy Axel Scheffler’s joyful illustrations in a whole new way, and mix up story time with a game that’s great for supporting your toddler’s visual development!
Now that your toddler is more interested in noticing similarities, they will start to understand – and feel achievement in – matching things. In My First Search and Find: On The Farm by Axel Scheffler, they can turn the pages using the big tabs (making it easy to find the pictures they like most).
Clara the Caterpillar, by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrated by Henry Cole
This fantastic book has a strong social and emotional theme. The story focuses on how one butterfly is unkind to Clara, and they are judgmental about her appearance. At the end of the story though, Clara emerges as a hero, and sends a wonderful message of you can still be kind to those who are not kind to you. It celebrates that we are all different and all special.
Clara the Caterpillar offers up lovely vocabulary, some of which may be new to your child and require a little extra thought. It features words such as, ‘crestfallen,’ ‘camouflaged’ and ‘crimson,’ and provides tons of opportunities for you to pause and chat about the illustrations or language.
Luna Loves Art by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Fiona Lumbers
It’s a school trip today, and Luna is getting ready to go to the art gallery with her class and teachers. Everyone is excited, but one of the children from Luna’s class, Finn, doesn’t look excited. This story is beautifully illustrated, gives lots of opportunities to chat about art works and shows the importance of friendship.
During their day at the art gallery, Luna and the rest of the class look at the art, they draw, and visit the shop.
What Happened to You? Written by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George
James Catchpole has written this tremendous children’s book about a group of children who meet in the park. The main character, Joe, has one leg. He is busy being a pirate and trying to catch a shark when his play is interrupted by the question “What happened to you?”
This book puts you straight into Joe’s shoe. He was thoroughly enjoying his imaginary play, and he was having a great time. Joe is distracted by the child’s question, and her questions quickly draw the attention of other children. They all start to guess what happened to Joe’s other leg, but Joe would really rather his privacy was respected.
When Grandpa Gives You a Toolbox by Jamie L. B. Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha
In When Grandpa Gives You a Toolbox by Jamie L. B. Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha, you will be taken on a creative journey to discover why being given a gift you didn’t ask for might actually be the start of something magical! This is a lovely picture book to share, especially if you want to talk to your child about how to handle being gifted items that were not on a wish list – or explore the idea of making your own toys instead of always buying new ones.
The little boy at the centre of the story starts out being disappointed by a birthday gift of tools (when all he wanted was a dolls’ house) but goes on to discover just how powerful using a toolbox, and sharing time with a loved one in the process, can be.
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat is going about his day in his favourite white shoes, he just loves them. But Pete’s white shoes get dirty, they get really dirty, and when they do, they change colour. Thankfully, Pete has an incredibly positive attitude towards his shoes getting dirty and takes it all in his stride – pardon the pun!
This is an uplifting book which is (almost) guaranteed to be loved by all who read it. Pete and his colour-changing shoes will soon have everyone joining in with the predictability of the text, “Goodness, NO!”
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Written by Bill Martin Jr. Illustrated by Eric Carle
This clever book entices the reader right from the first page. “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?” the reader asks the bear at the start. The bear then describes what it sees to the reader. As the story continues, the same question is asked of all the animals and people who star in the book.
Because it focuses on combining rhythmic and repeating phrases throughout, young children have plenty of opportunities to join in. They might not be able to resist the urge to growl like a bear or woof like a dog!
Moo Bah La La La, by Sandra Boynton
This is a fun little book that’s great for children who love animals. It brings together a lovely mix of farmyard, safari and domestic animals to explore the different sounds they make and how those snorts, barks and baas can rhyme.
The words have a delightful rhythmic pattern to them, and it’s a terrific book for getting even the youngest children involved. The sounds can be read in a variety of silly voices to make it even more entertaining.
