It is often hard to know how to choose new picture books from the thousands published every year.
Here is a selection of some of our current favourites from 2017. You and your child will meet a range of appealing characters in these beautifully illustrated picture books and discover amusing, intriguing and thought provoking stories. We hope you enjoy them.

The books in our list challenge traditional stereotypes and gender marketing, demonstrating that being a girl does not require you to dress or behave in a certain way and you can be the hero in the story too. They show strong female characters choosing what they want to play with, having adventures and standing up for themselves. Our list includes recently published books and well known stories. There are also real life stories here of significant women, some alive today such as the inspirational Malala and some who have made a difference throughout history as well.

We hope this collection will help inspire girls to aspire and that you will enjoy sharing them with your daughters, and with your sons too.

Rachel Bright, illus. Jim Field
Orchard Books
Age 3-7 years

A little mouse is fed up of feeling overlooked, he envies lion on top of his rock, he is so imposing and so confident. Mouse thinks that if he could roar like lion instead of squeak then maybe the other animals would notice him, and he would make friends. He realises the best way to learn to roar is to ask lion himself. Very bravely he climbs up to lion on his rock. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that lion is more frightened of him than he is of lion.

This is a story that acknowledges we are all scared sometimes but if we dare to be brave we can find our inner lion. It also shows there is no need to shout to make your self heard. Written in rhyme with some lovely words such as ‘tinyful’ and ‘toothsome’ this story is a delight to read aloud and fun return to. The bold illustrations are wonderful with some amazing close ups which emphasise the animals’ feelings.

Share the story

Read aloud
Before you start reading the book aloud look at the pictures on the cover and the title page and think together about what might happen in this story.

Read the story aloud taking time to pause to look closely at the wonderful illustrations or talk about what is happening when your child wants to.

Join in
When you return to the book children will love joining in with the roars, squeaks and other sound effects.

Talk about the story

• Can you spot the lion on top of the rocks on the title pages and the first page of the story?

• Talk about how the mouse and the lion feel at different points in the story – look back at the pictures to remind you.

• Share favourite pictures, parts of the story and words. Give your ideas first eg ‘I like it when the lion is described as ‘toothsome’ – he sounds very scary.’

Things to make and do

Make the story world

• Your child could make a little house for mouse out of construction bricks

• Collect together boxes or cushions and stack them on top of each other to make lion’s rock if you have a model lion your child could put this on top

• If you have other small animal toys you could arrange those too like the animals in the story

Play the story

• Walk or pose like a proud lion.

• Give your child a mirror so they practice growling like mouse does. They could roar like lion too and try looking scared.

• Have an imaginary conversation between mouse and lion with one of you pretending to be lion and the other mouse.

Paint a picture

Give your child a large sheet of paper and some paints so that they can paint a big close-up picture of mouse and lion together. Talk with them about what they have painted afterwards.

Find out more

Read more books by author Rachel Bright here

Titles include:

My Sister is an alien

Love Monster

Also,  with the same illustrator Jim Field 

The Squirrels who squabbled

The Koala who could

Jim Field also illustrated the highly popular Oi Frog series of books with Kes Gray

Find out about another story about a lion and a mouse
Here is an animated version of Aesop’s fable of the lion and the mouse

Sean Taylor, illus. Jean Jullien
Walker Books
Age 3-7

Little monster wants to be in a story, a scary one. However, when he finds himself actually in a dark and scary forest, with a spooky house, a witch and a ghost it all proves just a bit TOO scary. Things take a turn for the better though when little monster takes charge and does the scaring himself.

Told as a conversation between an unseen narrator and a little monster this story is great fun to read aloud –and for children to join in with when they become familiar with the story. Bold illustrations add to the humour and the spookiness.

Share the story

Read aloud

Read the book through yourself before reading to your child to get the feel of how the story works with two voices.

When you read the story aloud it might be fun to make little monster’s voice a bit different from the narrator’s voice. Pause as you read if your child wants to talk about what is happening in the story of the illustrations.

Join in

Once children are familiar with the story they might enjoy joining in, perhaps taking the part of little monster, or it might be even more fun if they become the grown-up voice of the narrator and you are the little monster. It is fine if your child uses different words – they are still getting familiar with the story and its meaning.  

Younger children can join in by copying little monster’s expressions when he is scared at the beginning of the story or being scary just like him at the end of the story.

They also might enjoy holding stick puppets for the characters while you read it. (See below)

Talk about the story

• Share favourite pages in the story. You could start by saying which page you like most and why. This might be because it is funny or you like the illustration)

• Talk about how little monster feels at different parts of the story – how his expression changes.

• Would your child like to be in a scary story? What would they choose to be in the story? A person, a monster or another character? Would it be more fun to be the one doing the scaring or the one who is scared?

Things to make and do

Make a mask
Make a little monster mask.  A paper plate would be useful for this. Your child could draw circles for eyes directly on the plate (help them draw these in roughly the right place) and a mouth shape too. Cut out the shapes for them. Your child can paint or colour their mask purple and stick on white card horns and teeth.  Add thread to the sides so that the mask can be tied on then your child can have fun being scary.

Make stick puppets
Make stick puppets of the main characters in the story – children can hold them when you share the story or to help them make up their own scary story. They can draw their own witch, ghost and monster shapes on card. They can then colour them in and you can help cut them out and stick them onto a lolly stick. 

Make up a scary story
Make up a scary story together. If you not sure how to go about this you could start off with a phrase such as ‘Once upon a time there was a dark…. (pause so children could add their own place, eg castle/forest/house) in it there lived a… again pause so children can suggest something. I they are hesitant make suggestions eg ghost/witch/monster…. One day a little boy/girl/ monster etc …

Once you have made up a story together you could write it down for them and your child could illustrate it.

Alternatively, you could tell the story to other members of the family perhaps using stick puppets to bring it to life.  

Draw a picture
Your child could draw their own spooky house or dark and scary forest using a big piece of paper and crayons.

Find out more

Read more books by writer and storyteller Sean Taylor 

Titles include:

Hoot Owl also illustrated by Jean Jullien

A Brave Bear with Emily Hughes

I am Actually a Penguin with Katya Matyjaszek

The Snowbear with Claire Alexander

Dianne Hofmeyr, illus. Jesse Hodgson
Otter-Barry Books
Age 5-7

During a visit to an art gallery Tom is fascinated by a painting of a tiger which seems to be watching him. When he gets home, he draws his own tiger picture. That night he dreams the tiger steps out of the picture and takes him on a night-time adventure. Together they travel through jungles, underwater and to icy caves meeting all sorts of animals on the way. Tom is a bit hesitant about these unfamiliar situations but with the tiger’s encouragement confronts his fears and enjoys the experience. So much so that by the end of the book he feels as brave as – a tiger! Perhaps he actually IS a tiger!

Inspired by the famous tiger painting by Henri Rousseau this is an appealing story about overcoming fears. The story is very well written with lovely description and a pleasing pattern and the illustrations are beautiful, making it a great picture book to share.

Share the story

Read aloud

Before you start reading the story aloud talk about the cover and end papers together and what might happen in the story. When you read this aloud to your child it might be fun to whisper the night-time scenes. Spot the animals mentioned together in the illustrations as they appear.

Join in

Children can join in with the repeated ‘I’m a little bit scared of….’  Or alternatively they could be the tiger saying: ‘Tigers aren’t scared of….’ 

They could purr or yawn with the tiger.

Talk about the story

• Which adventure would your child most like to join in with? Which sounds the most scary?

• Which illustration do you both like best?

• Talk about how the little boy changes during the story.

• Share what you are both a little bit scared of. This is a good opportunity to dispel unnecessary fears and also show everyone feels a bit scared sometimes.

Things to make and do

Draw a tiger
Give your child a large piece of paper and crayons or paints to draw or paint a big tiger. They could look back at the illustrations in the book and re read the description – big pointy teeth, a swishy tail and green jewel eyes.

Move like a tiger
Clear a space on the floor and you could both pretend to be tigers, prowling and stretching, yawning and roaring. Maybe even playing tiger hide and seek!

Make a story setting
Create a small world play environment representing the jungle scene or another scene from the story in a large tray. You could use real or plastic plants, soil, rocks and small stones. Add model tigers and other animals found in the story plus a small human figure to represent the child. Your child can then play with the figures and tell their own version of part of the story.

Write another scene for the story
Where else might the tiger take the little boy on another night-time adventure? Talk together about possibilities eg to a desert, up a mountain or to the seaside. Give your child a piece of A4 paper or card folded in half they could open it out, draw their imaginary scene and write about what happens.

Find out more

Find out more about the painting which inspired the story
Read the information at the back of the book. Find out more here.
If near London you might be able to visit the National Gallery where this painting can be found.

Read more books by Dianne Hofmeyr
See here  titles include:

The Glassmaker’s Daughter with Jane Ray 

Zeraffa Giraffa illustrated by Jane Ray

My Daddy is a Silly Monkey illustrated by Carol Thompson.

Find out about Tigers (including snow tigers) 

• Use the internet or information books. 

• This video is a useful introduction

• Talk about what your child already knows and what they would like to find out. This might be about where tigers live, how big they are, what they eat or how many young cubs they have. If you can, visit a zoo or wildlife park that keeps tigers.

Endangered tigers
Tigers are endangered animals, find out here and here about tiger conservation, and ways your child can help protect them, such as adopting a tiger.

John Burningham 
Red Fox
Age 3-7   

Baby won’t eat very much until one day when, very strangely, an avocado pear appears in the fruit bowl and baby eats it all up. Amazing things happen and baby, the smallest in the family, becomes the strongest of all. With an avocado a day, baby can break out of the high chair, chase a burglar, carry the shopping and move the furniture. This much-loved picturebook, by prizewinning writer and illustrator John Burningham, is a  lesson in not underestimating the power of the little person… or avocado pears!

Share the story

Picturetalk

Spend time talking together about the cover picture before reading the story. Is there anything unusual about the baby?  Have children seen or tasted avocado pears?

Read aloud Read the story aloud, taking time to talk together about the pictures as you do. Encourage children to imagine what the baby might do next.

Join in Read the story again (and again!), this time leaving spaces for children to join in describing all that baby can do.

Talk about the story Talk about the picture of lots of avocado babies on the double page endpaper. What are the babies doing? You can make a list together, for example:

Climbing

Sliding

Waving, Hiding…

Tell the story After hearing the story a few times, children will get to know it well. Encourage them tell it to you in their own words, turning the pages and using the pictures to help them.

Watch the story read aloud 

Things to make and do

Storyplay Children can use small toys as characters to act out and retell the story. This helps them to get to know the story well and builds their knowledge of books and how stories work.

Draw a cartoon Look at the page with six pictures of Mrs Hargraves trying to feed baby. Fold a piece of paper into six  sections, children can draw six brave and strong deeds that baby can do.  They can choose some from the story and invent others.

Eat an avocado Peel and slice and eat an avocado, talking about how it looks, feels, smells and tastes. Eat half as slices and mash the other half. What do children notice about the taste or texture?

Share baby photographs Look at and talk together about your baby photographs of your children. You can also share any you have of yourself as a baby. What do they remember? What do they like or dislike?

Find out more

Read more books by  author/Illustrator John Burningham, titles include:

Mr Gumpy’s Motor Car

Come away from the water, Shirley

* Granpa

* Mr Gumpy’s Outing

* Oi, Get Off My Train! 

Would You Rather….

The Shopping Basket

* See more lovemybooks ideas

 Find out how to grow an avocado plant  sSee how to grow your own avocado plant –  watch video here.

Humza Arshad and Henry White,  Illus. Aleksei Bitskoff
Penguin Random House
Age 8-11

Humza Khan aka Little Badman wants to be a famous ninja rapper, it is his destiny. When strange things start happening at his primary school – staff mysteriously disappearing and being replaced by an army of food obsessed aunties he and his friends Wendy and Omar decide to find out why.

This is a funny and page turning story in which Humza not only solves the mystery and saves the world from an alien invasion but also comes to appreciate his family, learns to be brave and finds out that there is more to aim for in life than just becoming famous.

Watch a trailer

Talk about the story

• Talk about the clues early in the story to show that something is wrong.

• Think about the characters, did anyone surprise you? For example, the aunties being scary, grandpa being much more interesting than he seems or Wendy becoming a good friend.

• Talk about the parts of the story you found funniest or scariest.

Things to make and do

Draw a scene from the story
Draw a favourite scene from story, eg maybe from the end of the book when Little Badman performs his rap or the aliens disappear in their spaceship.

Perform Little Badman’s rap and write one of your own
In chapter 15 Little Badman performs his rap. Have a go at performing his rap yourself! Watch the videos here and here first. The second one is a good background beat for your performance. This can be fun to perform with someone else. You could try writing and performing your own rap poem too.

Learn a magic trick
Look at the pages at the back of the book and learn Grandpa’s disappearing coin trick. See if you can amaze your family with it. Learn more magic tricks here 

Talent show
Now you can rap and perform magic tricks why not organise your own talent show? Maybe your friends and family can join in with different skills. You could write a programme and organise a performance.

See our print-off activity book with some of these ideas and other activities

Find out more

Read another story about Little Badman by the same writing and illustrating team

Little Badman and the Time-travelling Teacher of Doom 

Watch illustrator Alexsei Bitskoff demonstrate how to draw Little Badman 

Learn more about becoming a rapper

Learn about rap beats 

Listen to poet Grace Nichols read her poem Cat Rap 

Listen to poet John Foster read his poem School Kids Rap 

Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden
Oxford
Age 3-7 years

Jack finds trying new things or communicating difficult due to his autism but his favourite toy, ‘Bear’ makes him feel brave. One day Bear disappears, leaving a bear shaped hole in Jack. News that Jack has lost Bear spreads fast, messages come from all over the world and bears start arriving in the post. The kindness of others makes Jack realise how lucky he has been to have Bear and that many children might appreciate a bear of their own too.

Inspired by a true story, this is a sensitively told and beautifully illustrated picture book about loving and losing something precious. It conveys one child’s experience in a gentle and moving way. This book has resonance for everyone who has lost a toy, loved pet or perhaps even member of the family and also provides insight into the world of an autistic child.

Share the story

Read aloud
Before beginning to read the story aloud to your child look at the cover together and talk about why the little boy might be hiding behind his toy. Then read the story aloud to your child.

When you do so, pause when Jack loses Bear to talk about how he might be feeling and what might have happened to Bear.

Join in
When you read the story again point to the words as you read especially as they curve across the page – children might like to join in with this. You could point out the words ‘Jack’ and ‘Bear’ which are repeated on lots of the pages.

Children could tell you the story using the illustrations to help them – they might use some of the same phrases or they may change some parts and tell them in their own words.

Watch the story read aloud
Dawn Coulter- Cruttenden, the books creator, reads the story aloud here 

Talk about the story

• Talk about Jack’s feelings at different points in the story looking back at the pictures together for clues.

• Talk about what your favourite toys and why you like them – is it because of how they feel? Or is it to do with when you were given it? Share your childhood favourite toys with your child too!

• Talk about times when each of you lost something special – it might be a toy that was lost forever then found again or it might be a pet. This conversation may lead naturally to talking about bereavement if that is a concern for your child.

Things to make and do

Draw a portrait
Choose a favourite toy to draw using colouring pencils or crayons. 

Make a den and read a story to a special toy
Make a secret den like Jack does. See here for ideas . Your child could take a toy into the den and read or tell the stories in some of their favourite books to their toy.

Make a poster

Make a missing toy poster like Jack does – you could make it about one of your toys or about Jack’s lost toy Bear.

Make an album
Take photos of you with your special toy in different places or doing different things like Bear. if you can, print them out and make them into a mini photo album with labels.

Find out more 

Adults may be interested in listening to the book’s creator talk about the true story behind the book 

Find out more about autism
Watch a Sesame Street video explaining autism to children