In this list we have drawn together some of the most exciting children’s picturebooks published this year. There are books for a range of ages, books reflecting diversity, encouraging confidence and bravery, books about friendship, environmental awareness  and having lots of fun too.  In the year we celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the first moon landings it is not surprising that so many picturebooks feature the moon or space and we’ve included a couple in our list.  We hope our list helps you find new favourite books to share.

Ben Manley, illus. Aurélie Guillerey
Two Hoots
Age 3-7 years

Albert Talbot has a very vivid imagination. He spends his days imagining he is a dangerous villain or a brave adventurer. His journey to school becomes an exciting expedition, he is not Albert Talbot he is a fearless mountaineer! During swimming lessons, he is a brave undersea explorer and when showing his robot model, he is a famous inventor. But at bedtime Albert decides he prefers to  be himself being tucked in cosily by his mum.This is a book which will encourage lots of imaginative play, dressing up and conversation, turning everyday events into mini adventures.

NB Choose the ideas most suitable for your child from our suggestions. The play ideas are suitable for all, those involving writing are likely to be most appropriate for children 5+.

Watch the story read aloud 

 

Share the story
Before you begin reading the story look at the cover image together and talk about what you see and what the title might mean.

Talk about the story

• Look for clues to Albert’s choice of disguises in his bedroom.

• There are lots of details to spot in the other illustrations too, for example see if you can spot where Albert is hiding in the Wild West image.

• Talk about any questions children have – for example about the vocabulary which is very sophisticated. You could talk about unfamiliar words such as ‘notorious’, ‘desperado’ or ‘incognito’ and what they might mean.

• Talk about which of Albert’s disguises your child would choose. Perhaps they would prefer something else. Share ideas – this might be more fun if you join in with your own ideas too.

• Look at the page where Albert seems reluctant to jump into the swimming pool. Is he feeling nervous? Talk about times your child might have felt shy or not confident to do something.

• Did they manage to do it anyway, what did they do? Again you could add you own examples too.

Things to make and do

Make everyday activities an adventure
Play ‘I’m not Albert Talbot’ during everyday activities such as going to school or to the park. Make up names and imagine together you are in amazing places instead doing incredible things.

Dress up in disguise
Gather together a dressing up box. This does not need to be specially bought outfits. Just see what you can gather at home for example different types of hats, shoes, bags, dresses, trousers and jackets. If you can include lengths of fabric, belts, ribbons and gloves. Perhaps you could dress as well so that you are both a different character. Talk about what adventures your characters could have together. Make the room into an adventure landscape, using cushions, cardboard boxes, rearranged furniture etc. and let the adventures begin.

Be an inventor and design a robot
Try designing a robot on paper and then making it from junk materials. If you can include mechanical odds and ends such as washers or cogs from an old clock this would be even better. What special features will the robot have? What will it be able to do? What will your child call it?

Make a wanted poster for Anselm Facklejacket Diamond thief
Give your child paper and pens or crayons so that they can make a wanted poster for Anselm Facklejacket Diamond thief like the one in the book for Clate Stouderoufen Notorious Desperado. Children can draw a picture of the famous criminal and write what he is wanted for. Remind them to include a reward !

Draw a map for one of Rusti Buffels’ expeditions
Look at the map illustration in the book, your child might like to make an adventure story map like this for another imaginary adventure for Rusti Buffels or for an imaginary adventure of their own. They just need a large piece of paper, pens, crayons or coloured pencils.

Make an amazing scene from the story
You could build an icy mountain or shattered glacier out of ice cubes in a large tray. Add play people and mountain animals and make mini sleighs using plastic lids so that the play people can slide down the mountain. Make a base camp out of bricks or Lego.

This would be a good opportunity to talk about the ice and guess how long it will take to melt. Children might be interested to try more experiments putting an ice cube in different places and seeing which one melts first (eg in the fridge, freezer, by the window, or outside in the sunshine.

Fill a large bowl, empty sand tray or the sink with water. Add underwater toys, fish, submarines, boats and divers to create an under the sea adventure. Add blue or green food colouring. Invent undersea adventures. This could lead to some scientific investigation too, guessing which objects will float or sink.

Disguise a paper doll or a ‘mini me’
Make a cardboard cut-out person and using scraps of colourful paper help your child make different outfits to dress the figure. You can download printable dolls and clothes and then colour them in imaginatively if you would prefer. Alternative you could print and cut out a full-length photo of your child, stick it onto card and cut it out and colouring paper outfits for the disguises. Encourage your child to make up amazing names for their characters and think about what adventures they might have.

Find out more

Find out more about author Ben Manley | Home

Read other books he has written titles include:

Vampire Peter with Hannah Peck

The Misadventures of Frederick with Emma Chichester Clark

Find out about illustrator Aurélie Guillerey, illustratrice (free.fr)

Find out about famous mountaineers in books and on the internet 

Find out about submarines in books and on the internet
Find out why submarines float and go under water. Make your own submarine 

 

 

Michael Rosen, Arthur Robins (illus)
Walker Books
Age 0-5 years

Little Rabbit Foo Foo enjoys nothing more than speeding through the forest and bopping any poor hapless creatures he comes across on the head. However, he is being watched by the Good Fairy who warns him that he will have three chances to change and if he doesn’t change she will turn him into a Goonie!

This is a funny anarchic tale about a very naughty rabbit who meets his match. The illustrations add to the humour of the story. The rhythm and repetition of the chorus make this fun to join in with or even singalong to.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud to your child. Children are likely to want you to read it more than once, lots of times in fact!

Join in
Encourage children to join in with the rhyme as you read it aloud – you might decide to sing the rhyme as in the versions above. Once children are really familiar with story you may find they naturally say words from the chorus at other times, or you could start this off at bath time or when going for a walk perhaps.

Talk about the story

• Talk about Little Rabbit Foo Foo, what he does in the story and what the good fairy says to him.

• What would your child say to him about how he treats the other animals?

• Share favourite parts of the story. Your child might naturally want to look back at one particular page or you could say I like this page because…. which one do you like?

Look at the double page spread before the story starts and talk about all the creatures you can both see in the large picture and what is happening.

Watch Michael Rosen perform the story

Watch an animated version read aloud

 

Things to make and do

Make puppets
Make stick puppets of Little Rabbit Foo Foo and the Good fairy. Use the illustrations in the story to help you. See our information on making stick puppets. Children could help with colouring them in.

Draw a goonie
Give children paper and crayons to draw their own goonie. Talk about the drawing with them. What is it going to look like, what might it do?

Play the story

Children can act out the story as you read or recite it aloud – practice in pretending to bop animals on the head will be important first of all! 
Or you could use the stick puppets you made to have a conversation between Little Rabbit Foo Foo the Good Fairy – it might be fun for children if you take the part of the naughty rabbit and they play the fairy!

 

Find out more

Read more stories for young children by Michael Rosen

We’re Going on Bearhunt with Helen Oxenbury 

This is Our House with Bob Graham

A Great Big Cuddle with Chris Riddell 

 

Visit Michael Rosen’s YouTube channel for poetry performances and story telling 

 

Read more books illustrated by or written and illustrated by Arthur Robins

Max the Flying Sausage Dog

The Teeny Tiny Woman

Macavity the Mystery Cat 

 

 

Ross Montgomery, illus. David Litchfield
Faber and Faber
Age 5-7

 A little tortoise has a cosy home in a bin in a quiet park. But he longs for company. Looking up at the night sky he thinks he spots candles – there must be other animals living up there he thinks but how can he get there? Inspired by a discarded space book he goes in search of a space ship and spots what seems to be a rocket on the other side of the park. There follows a long journey across the park, through the sand pit and paddling pool, which feel like a desert and ocean to the little tortoise. He does not find a rocket but instead he finds adventure and friendship not so far away after all.

Space Tortoise is a beautifully written picturebook with magical illustrations and an engaging story which you and your child will enjoy sharing and returning to.

Read an extract here

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud pausing to talk about the questions posed in the text and when your child wants to talk about what is happening in the story or the pictures.

Join in
When your child becomes familiar with the story (after hearing it read aloud a few times) they might like to join in with parts of it, for example the dialogue between the tortoise and the mouse.

Tell the story
Children could tell you the story, using the illustrations as a guide. This sort of activity helps children get familiar with stories and how they are structured.  You may find they tell the story using some of the same words as the author or they may tell it using their own words.

Talk about the story

• Share favourite pages and talk about them. Are there particular lines or illustrations you each like?

• Why does tortoise think that the clock tower is a space rocket?

• What must it feel like to be tortoise travelling across the sand pit or paddling pool?

• What would children like to happen next, ie after this story ends?

Things to make and do

Make a space suit
Collect together some junk eg plastic bottle tops and straws and make an improvised space suit together for a small soft toy just like space tortoise.

Play the story
If you have access to a sand pit and paddling pool at home or the local park children could act out tortoise’s journey across the park with a small soft toy in its space suit. You could use a plastic container for an improvised boat.

Make a papier maché hot air balloon
For a longer project, children may be inspired to make a hot air balloon as tortoise does in the story. You could use colourful magazines for the final layer. See here for a how to guide.

Draw a map of the story
Your child could draw a map of the park with the places mentioned in the story. They could plot tortoise’s journey across the park from his home to the clock tower. Talk about the map and tortoise’s journey together.

Light a candle
Light one or more candles or nightlights, make the room dark and watch the flames move and flicker. Talk about how they look and move.

Look at the night sky
On a dark, clear evening, look up at the sky with your child. Can you see the stars? Find ways to describe them. Can you see any shapes or patterns? See below to find out more about the night sky.

Make a sparkly picture
Using a candle or yellow wax crayon children could draw small star shapes on thick paper and then paint over with a thin wash of paint or ink. See the stars sparkle as they appear through the paint.

Write an invitation
Write an invitation to come and visit for tea from the mouse to the tortoise or from tortoise to mouse.

Find out more

Find out more about Ross Montgomery and David Litchfield 

Read another book by this author/illustrator team The Building Boy

Ross Montgomery is also the author of other books for older children including Max and the Millions and Perijee and Me 

David Litchfield is also creator of The Bear and the Piano, The Bear, the Piano, the Dog and the Fiddle and The Secret Giant

Find out more about tortoises
Talk about what your child already knows and what would they like to find out.

Use these links or information books here, here and here to try to answer their questions.

Find out more about stars and the night sky
Visit a planetarium for a space show such as this one for London & SE based families in Greenwich.

To find other UK planetariums see here

 

 

Stephanie Clarkson, illus. Gwen Millward
Nosy Crow
Age 3-5


It is superhero day at school and Milly enthusiastically gets her outfit ready, complete with special superhero badge. But she has a problem because she doesn’t have any superpowers! When she gets to school, she realises several other children need her help and she discovers her superpower is being super thoughtful so that everyone has a super day.

A lively picturebook which combines superhero fun with an underlying message that being kind is the very best sort of superpower.

Watch the story read aloud

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

Share the story

Read Aloud
Before beginning to read the story talk about the images on the end papers together. Read the story aloud to your child.

Join In
Join in with the superhero words in bold eg Kerpow! Whizz!  Bam! Maybe making gestures at the same time

Talk about the book
Talk about Superheroes and what you know about them
What superhero skills you would like to have
What Milly did that was special
Talk about any unfamiliar vocabulary eg ‘X Ray vision’, ‘arachnophobia’ ‘force field’

Things to make and do

Dress up as a superhero
Find some old clothes and bits of cloth to make your own superhero outfit, just like Milly. You could put underpants on top of leggings too! Take photos, perhaps striking some superhero poses. You could print the photos and make a mini book to stick the photos in perhaps captioned with some superhero words like Bam! Zap! and Kaboom!

Draw a picture of yourself as a superhero
Children could draw a picture of themselves as a superhero on a single sheet of paper (or in a folded paper book) so that they can add pictures of their adventures being super thoughtful and helpful.

Make a superhero badge
Use a circle of card and draw a big initial capital letter stick a safety pin on the back.

Make up superhero names
Create alliterative superhero names eg ‘Phenomenal Phoebe’ or ‘Magnificent Max’ or ‘Daredevil Dinesh’

Make a super poster
Make a big poster with ‘Bam!’ ‘Kaboom!’ or ‘Zap!’ and pin it up on a wall. Whenever someone in the family does something super thoughtful, write it on a sticky note and stick on the poster.

Find out More

Read more books about superheroes – Heroes and Villains

Several topics are introduced in this story which your child might be interested in finding out more about including colour mixing, spiders, force fields, X rays and superhero jokes. Here are links for a couple of these:

Find out more about colour mixing
Amazing Archie in the story loves the colour green. Find out more about colour mixing and how to mix blue and yellow paint together to make different shades of green. Collect green things together eg leaves, vegetables and toys and see if your child can mix the same shades of green.

Find out about spiders CBeebies – Our Planet, Spiders and Animal Shelters, Spiders (bbc.co.uk)

Find out more about Xrays Taking an x-ray – CBBC – BBC

X-Rays – CBeebies – BBC
Paint a skeleton with white paint on black paper.

 

Anna McQuinn, Rosalind Beardshaw (illus)
Alanna Max 
Age 3-5 years

Lulu would love to have a pet cat of her own, but her Mummy isn’t so sure. Cats can be hard work. Mummy and Lulu go to the library to find out how to look after cats and Lulu practices at home with her toys. Eventually Mummy agrees Lulu can have a pet and they go to a cat shelter and find the perfect pet. Lulu is told about all the things she needs to do to prepare and she busily gets ready for her new pet’s arrival. She names her Makeda after an African Queen. Lulu and Makeda have lots of fun together.

This is a warm-hearted story about adopting a new pet, the pleasure it can bring and the responsibilities involved.  Endorsed by the National Cats Adoption Centre, this is the perfect introduction to pet owning for young cat lovers and would be cat owners.

Share the story

Read aloud
Before you start to read the story, look at the cover together, and talk about what you can you tell from the picture and title about Lulu, the cat and what might happen in the story.

Read the story aloud to your child, pausing if they want to talk about what is happening or what they can see in the illustrations.

Tell the story
Once familiar with the story children, could tell the story to you using the pictures to help them. It doesn’t matter if they use their own words to do so.

Talk about the story
Talk about the things children found interesting, or puzzling about the story.
Talk about all the different things Lulu and her family did to prepare for the new pet.
Count the number of toy cats in Lulu’s room and the number on the end papers.

Things to make and do

Acting out
Children could act out looking after a cat with toys like Lulu does.

Visit the library
Look for information books about pet keeping to find out more.

Make your own book
Make book of instructions together about how to look after a pet or how to get ready for a new pet cat

Make a pair of cat’s ears
You can make this for or with your child – see here

Children can wear the cat ears like Lulu does. They might like to pretend to be a cat, thinking about how they move.

Find out more

Find out more about the national cat adoption centre here

Read another story about Lulu. The series includes:

• Lulu loves stories
• Lulu loves the library
• Lulu reads to Zek
• Lulu loves Flowers
• Lulu’s first day
• Lulu’s Sleepover (from Sep 2021)

Find out more about author Anna McQuinn on her website including the other books she has written. Also included are articles and resources related to Lulu gets a Cat such as how to tell how a cat is feeling by looking at their tail, see here 

Watch a cartoon fairy tale
Lulu reads her cat Makeda the story of Puss in Boots. Watch a cartoon version here.

 

 

These picturebooks celebrate the joy of music and dance encouraging families to listen to music, make music and have fun moving to the rhythms together.

Our collection includes both stories and non-fiction.

Animal Boogie
Debbie Harter
Barefoot Books
Age 0-3

change

Set in an Indian rainforest, Animal Boogie is a colourful picturebook with a tuneful rhyme which you can read aloud to your child, sing together and even dance! There is lots to talk about in the colourful illustrations, including playing spot the animals hiding in the jungle.

See our activity page

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The Bear and the Piano  
David Litchfield
Frances Lincoln Books
Age 5-9

One day a young bear cub finds a piano in the forest. Gradually he learns to play, and the other bears love to hear him. One day some humans discover the piano playing bear and invite him to play in the city. Soon he is the toast of the town with his name in lights. But he misses the forest and his friends.

This is a stunning picturebook with an appealing story about commitment, success, fame and friendship. If your child enjoys the story, there are two more wonderful books in the series The Bear the Piano, the Dog and the Fiddle and The Bear the Piano and Little Bear’s Concert to enjoy.

See our activity page

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The Drum                                                 
Ken Wilson Max, Catell Ronca
Age 0-3

The Drum is a vibrant picture book for the very young which explores body movements, rhythm and life. When the drum starts playing, people start moving. This is a book which will make toddlers and their parents want to beat out rhythms or get up and dance.

See our activity page

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Everybody Can Dance
Kara Navolio Ruth-Mary Smith
Brandylane Publishers
Age 3-7

A rhythmic rhyming inclusive picture book celebrating dance and encouraging everyone to get up twist twirl and tap their feet.

Watch a trailer

https://youtu.be/xAmxOT8SiCI

Watch the story read aloud on CBeebies

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Giraffes Can’t Dance  
Giles Andreae, Guy Parker Rees
Orchard Books
Age 3-5

Gerald the giraffe dreads the annual jungle dance – he is just not built for dancing. Luckily a thoughtful cricket sees Gerald’s predicament and is on hand to give him some advice and build his confidence. Gerald finds there is music all around him and that he can create his own dance. A colourful rhyming picturebook which makes this book a popular story to read aloud.

See our activity page

Watch the story read aloud

https://youtu.be/0sUnsrgR6Nw

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John’s Turn 
Mac Barnett, ill. Kate Berube,
Walker Books
Age 5-7

Every Friday at John’s school there is a special assembly where children share their talents. John is nervously waiting to show his ballet dancing. As his performance begins, he transforms, lost in the music and the familiar movements which become more and more spectacular. His audience are captivated.

Challenging stereotypical assumptions that ballet is not an activity for boys, this is a simple, appealing and powerful book about having the confidence to be yourself and share your passions.

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Luna Loves Dance
Joseph Coelho, Fiona Lumbers
Andersen Press
Age 3-7

Luna loves dancing and looks forward to her dance exam. But when everything goes wrong, she loses confidence and thinks she will never be a dancer. Fortunately, her family help her recover her confidence and love of music and dancing. A joyful and reassuring story, beautifully written and illustrated which celebrates the pleasure of dancing to music, and the importance of family love in coping with life’s ups and downs.

See our activity page for Luna Loves Library Day

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Mrs Noah’s Song                           
Jackie Morris, ill. James Mayhew
Frances Lincoln
Age 5-9

Mrs Noah loves to sing, she sings all day long.  She sings the songs her mother taught her and shares them with her children. She encourages her children to listen to the musical sounds around them, the birds and insects, the wind and the sea. On one special day she introduces them to a very special song: the dawn chorus.

This is a book which celebrates the songs we share and introduces children to the music in the natural world around them including the wonder of the dawn chorus.

See here for an activity page for another story about the dawn chorus
See here for another Mrs Noah activity page

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Once Upon a Tune
James Mayhew
Otter Barry Books
Age 7+

This is a stunning book containing six stories which have inspired great pieces of music including The Sorceror’s Apprentice and In the Hall of the Mountain King and Scherherazade.

The stories are beautifully told and the illustrations are wonderful with collaged images depicting the story worlds. The back of the book provides information about the composers and the writers whose stories inspired them. There is also a suggested playlist so that families can explore the music inspired by the stories.

A wonderful blend of music, art and storytelling, this is a perfect gift book which may ignite interest in the music which inspired the stories.

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The Very Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Tim Lihoureau and Philip Noyce, illus Olga Baumert                        
DK Children
Age 5-9

Two children set off on an interactive musical adventure. In a riverbank scene we are introduced to the cello, press a button to hear it play the swan theme from Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals. A New York Street scene introduces the clarinet and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. This is a great introduction to the instruments of the orchestra for the very young. Information about composers, instrumentalists and the make-up of the orchestra is also included. Spot the ear worm on each page.

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Elys Dolan
Oxford
Age 5-7+

Mr. Bunny runs a factory which makes chocolate eggs.  It is staffed by chickens who are fed chocolate so that the eggs they lay are made of chocolate too! The process is described in detail, but all is not well at the factory because Mr Bunny is not a good employer. He is keen to improve his profits by increasing production which means conditions for the workers get even worse. In the end the chickens go on strike and Mr Bunny discovers the error of his ways when he finds trying to manage without his workers is not an easy prospect.

This is an amusing story which won the 2019 LOLLIES award (laugh out loud picture book prize) . Written in comic book format with lots of visual jokes this story is great fun and an interesting opportunity to discuss workers’ rights and the idea of protest with your child.

Listen to children talking about Mr Bunny’s Chocolate factory

Share the story

Read aloud
Before starting to share the book talk about the question on the title page together – how does your child think chocolate eggs are made?

Read the story aloud to your child – starting with the narration on each page and then the speech bubbles – you might like to point these out as you read them.

Join in
This book would be great fun to read together when you return to it. You could share the reading of the speech bubbles, or one of you could be the narrator and the other could read the chicken’s or Mr Bunny’s words.

Talk about the story

• Share what you both liked about the book – this might be to do with the story or the illustrations.

• Talk about how the workers in Mr Bunny’s factory feel in the middle of the story when he wants them to work harder and at the end.

• What would your child have liked to say to Mr Bunny when he wanted the chickens to work harder?

• Talk about anything that puzzles children for example unfamiliar words or phrases such as ‘crank chocolate production up to the max’, ‘quota’ or ‘poultry’.

Things to make and do

• Act out an imaginary conversation between Mr Bunny and one of his workers together complaining about conditions in the factory and making demands.

• Your child could write a letter to Mr Bunny to complain about the way he is treating his workers or make a list of demands for better treatment.

• Make a protest banner. Your child could use a large sheet of card and stick it onto a wooden baton. What will they choose as a slogan?

• Decorate an egg, see here for links to lots of ideas for decorating eggs

• Children could design a chocolate bunny producing machine, drawing their ideas on paper or making a junk model.

Find out more

Find out how chocolate eggs are really made

Watch this film at the Cadbury factory in Bourneville to find out how chocolate eggs are really made.

Read more books by Elys Dolan

Titles include

Steven Seagull Action Hero 

Weasels

Nuts in Space

Knighthood for Beginners

Find out how to draw Mr Bunny, from the book’s creator Elys Dolan

Experiment with chocolate

Find out how long it takes to melt chocolate on a hot day or by heating in a pan.

 

Reading a chapter book for the first time is traditionally viewed as a badge of honour on the road to becoming a confident reader. We have included a selection of titles here which children developing experience and confidence as readers may enjoy. However many picture books have plenty to challenge young readers so should not be cast aside.

You might want to share the reading for the books with more text here such as The Owl who was afraid of the Dark and The Magic Finger. Although children need to be able to read most words so that they can understand and enjoy the stories don’t worry if they can’t read every single word accurately.  Some children may want to read the books aloud to you, others may prefer to read to themselves (even if they are actually reading out loud as they do!)

 

Ken Wilson Max, Catell Ronca (illus)
Tiny Owl
Age 0-3

The Drum is a vibrant picture book for the very young which explores body movements, rhythm and life. When the drum starts playing, people start moving. This is a book which will make toddlers and their parents want to beat out rhythms or get up and dance.

Watch a trailer below.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the book to your child, doing some of the actions as you read.

Join in
As you read the book again, demonstrate the different actions such as shaking your hips or stomping your feet. Children will enjoy joining in. The book has a strong rhythm and you could show your child how to tap this out with their hands on the floor or by clapping their hands as you say the words.

Talk about the book

• Look for all the drums in the illustrations. Talk about the animals in the final spread – do children know what they are? What sounds do they make?

• Show your child how to feel their heartbeat and yours.

• What would you play on the drum like the one on the last page? Make up some rhythms together.

Things to make and do

Dance the story
When children are familiar with the words they can join in saying them with you and enjoy doing the movements together.

Beat a drum ( a noisy activity!)
Collect together different containers such as plastic boxes, wooden bowls or saucepans to be drums and wooden spoons for drumsticks and play rhythms together listening to the different sounds you make. If you want to make a drum for your child, this link is helpful:

Play a rhythm
With older children you could try clapping and tapping rhythms together – can your child copy you or join in?

Find out more

This book is the first of a new series called Children, Music, Life from Publisher Tiny Owl who say: ‘Music is one of most emotional and enduring forms of storytelling; early cultures often share their stories through music.’

• Authors Philip Pullman and Pippa Goodheart talk about the importance of music for young children here

• Watch rural African children playing drums

• For a poem about rhythm and life see our patron Michael Rosen perform Hand on the Bridge here