Ross Montgomery, ill. Sarah Warburton

Walker Books

Ten teachers miss the school bus and decide to take a short cut through a forest. They don’t spot the hungry monsters waiting to pounce. One by one the monsters pick off the teachers on their way through the forest until only Miss Hunter, the nursery teacher remains. However, she is more than a match for monsters and in no time at all takes them in hand teaching them some manners and how to count to ten!

This is a very funny counting story with a humorous rhyming text well matched by the illustrations – the monsters are fantastic and might encourage young readers to design their own.

Watch author Ross Montgomery read from the book in this trailer:

Share the story

Before reading the story look together at the cover illustration and talk about what is happening and what the story might be about.

Read the story aloud to your child pausing to talk about what is happening in the story and the illustrations  

Join in

When you read the story again leave gaps so that children can finish the rhyming and half rhyming lines.

Talk about the book
➤When you have finished the book you could:
➤ Share your favourite or funniest illustrations – talk about the parts of the story you and your child liked best
➤ Talk about unusual words such as ‘snaffle’. Collect all the words you can find for the monsters ‘gobbling’
➤ Talk about all the different ways the monsters catch the teachers.

Things to make and do

Counting fun
There are lots of counting opportunities in the story, you could:

• Predict and count how many teachers are left
• Count how many monsters you can see ready to pounce
• Count how many eyes the monsters have

Practise counting backwards from 10, 20, 50 – you can make this more or less challenging depending on how confident your child is.

Draw or make a map of the dark woods
Give your child a large piece of paper to draw an enormous map of the dark woods. Alternatively, you could create a kind of map on the floor using fabric, cardboard trees stuck on modelling material.  Children could use small toy figures, or decorate small bricks, cardboard tubes or cotton reels to represent the teachers and monsters.

Design a monster
Use collage materials to create a monster – your child will need backing paper, scissors, glue, and material to cut or tear such as magazine or fabric scraps and wool.

Make thumb print monsters
Using finger paints or other washable ready mixed paint help your child to paint their thumb and create a series of ten thumb prints on a piece of paper. When they are dry, they can add arms, legs and different numbers of eyes like the monster in the book.

Play Monster’s footsteps
Play a version of grandma’s footsteps with one of you being the teacher and the other being a monster creeping up from behind. This is even greater fun if you have more children playing.

Find out More

Try these activity sheets based on the story by illustrator Sarah Warburton WEB_READY_Ten_Delicious_Teachers_Activity_Sheets.pdf (rossmontgomery.co.uk)

Find out more about author Ross Montgomery Ross Montgomery | Award Winning Children’s Author and visit his YouTube channel Ross Montgomery – YouTube

Find out more about illustrator Sarah Warburton Sarah Warburton Illustrations

Read another story by the same creative team (Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton) Penguin Huddle

Read more picturebook stories by Ross Montgomery for example Space Tortoise lovemybooks | FREE reading resources for parents and The Building Boy illustrated by David Litchfield

Lovemybooks is for parents, carers, teachers, schools, and early years staff, created by literacy experts. Free and ad free with over 250 activity pages full of creative book-based ideas.
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HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND FESTIVE SEASON TO PARENTS. CHILDREN, TEACHERS AND TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS, SUPPORTERS AND PATRONS
Take a look at 10 of our favourite Christmas books

NEW BOOKS AND ACTIVITY PAGES

OUR TOP 10 BOOKS FOR BABY’S BOOKSHELF

OUR NEW FOCUS BOOK

Our new book in focus is A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
Little Star makes a great big moon cake with Mama. Mama places it in the night sky and tells Little Star she mustn’t touch it. But the delicious moon cake is just too tempting….
A delectable picture book full of warmth and love with lots of opportunities for talk about the moon.

Cassie shared the book with her family and enjoyed making playdough mooncakes and even baking some edible ones. She loves the page with the big moon and the one where Little Star is eating the delicious moon. She said it reminds her of making yummy things with her mummy.

Visit our activity page
Buy the book

OUR NEW POSTCARD AND POSTER

Download postcard front and back, download poster

Puppet: new book by David Almond

When Silvester the puppet maker stops performing and donates his puppets and materials to a museum he cannot resist making one last puppet; it is a labour of love. Amazingly the puppet shows signs of life – he learns to walk and even utters a word or two. He is just like the son Silvester never had. When Silvester meets Fleur, a little girl as passionate about puppet making as he is, he realises he has found someone to continue his legacy. Together they create one last magical puppet show.

This is a story brimming with warmth and wonder, celebrating the power of imagination, the magic of storytelling and the cycle of life. 
See our activity page
Buy the book

Watch David Almond talking about Puppet

MESSAGE TO PARENTS FROM SONIA THOMPSON, BIRMINGHAM HEADTEACHER

Sue McGonigle from Lovemybooks recently interviewed Sonia Thompson, Head Teacher of St Matthews C of E Primary School, Birmingham. See whole video
See Sonia’s message to parents below.

TYGER by SF SAID WINS CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to TYGER by SF Said, illustrated by DaveMcKean, which is winner of Book of the Year: Children’s Fiction at the British Book Awards. All the judges agreed that the book already “felt like a classic”.

SF Said says ‘I put 9 long, hard years of my life into writing TYGER because I believe children’s books are the most important books of all. So it was beyond incredible to see it win Children’s Book Of The Year at the #BritishBookAwards. Thank you @thebookseller @theweekjunior & the judges!!!’
See our Tyger activity page

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PATRONS 🧡 🧡 🧡

Award for Michael Rosen
Congratulations to Lovemybooks’ patron Michael Rosen on winning the prestigious Pen Pinter prize for his fearless body of work including his writing for children. Ruth Borthwick one of the judges said Rosen has “championed a way of writing for children which reflects their everyday worlds, using humour and wordplay to validate their imaginative ways of thinking and being”, said judge and chair of English PEN, Ruth Borthwick. Read more here: Author Michael Rosen wins 2023 PEN Pinter prize for ‘fearless’ body of work | Books | The Guardian

The Island of Brilliant
Interested in children’s books? Another of our wonderful patrons Frank Cottrell Boyce has launched a great podcast with author illustrator Nadia Shireen entitled The Island of Brilliant The Island of Brilliant! | a podcast by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Nadia Shireen (podbean.com)

SF SAID
SF was appointed writer in residence at Booktrust in March.
See Writer in Residence at BookTrust: SF Said | BookTrust

DAVID ALMOND
David received an OBE for services to Literature in April. He has also received two international prizes this year, the Nonino International prize one of Italy’s most prestigious literary prizes and the James Kruss prize awarded to a living author of children’s and YA books distinguished by linguistic brilliance originality imaginative storytelling and cosmopolitanism.

Visit our activity page for David Almond’s Tale of Angelino Brown and The Boy who Climbed into the Moon

JOSEPH COELHO
We are utterly delighted to announce that award-winning poet, playwright and author Joseph Coelho is the brand new Waterstones Children’s Laureate!

JULIAN GRENIER
Julian receives a CBE in the Jubilee Honours list. He is a Headteacher and National Leader of Education and one of our first patrons. Julian is a dedicated pioneer in early years education and has a particular focus on young children’s communication and early literacy. He has a doctorate in education (EdD).
Julian now works as part of Ofsted.

Julian blogs at www.juliangrenier.blogspot.co.uk You can follow him @juliangrenieR

WELCOME TO LOVE MY BOOKS

You can search the Lovemybooks website for:

* Topics and themes…
Our specially chosen books are arranged in topics and themes that young children love, with ideas for ways to share the books and lots of exciting things to do Read more…

* Books for different age groups
Find books for children aged 0-3, 3- 5, 5-7, 7-11 Read more

* Our Top 10 book lists
Whether you want to find out about exciting new picture books, alphabet books, folk and fairy tales or story apps you’ll find them here in our Top 10 books sections Read more…

So many wonderful picturebooks are published every year. Here is our selection of some of the best new books. These are books we hope you and your children will enjoy sharing again and again which might prompt conversations, creative activities, finding out more or imaginative story play. We hope you enjoy them.

Arlo the Lion who Couldn’t Sleep 

Catherine Rayner
Macmillan Books

Age 3-5

Arlo the lion is exhausted, but he just can’t fall asleep. Owl sees his predicament and has the perfect solution – he sings Arlo a song about relaxing and imagining he is in a lovely place. It works – Arlo sleeps all night and feels so much better when he wakes up, he can’t wait to tell Owl. Unfortunately, now Owl is fast asleep, and Arlo wakes him up!

A beautiful picturebook, perfect for bedtime reading with a simple story and a memorable rhyme to share together. The illustrations are wonderful, textured and appealing. This is a story which might lead to discussions about animals which sleep during the day and during the night.
Buy here 

Ergo

Alexis Deacon, illus. Viviane Schwarz
Walker Books
Age 5-7*

Ergo is a chick whose life is about to begin. She is inside an egg and developing awareness of her body – her toes, her wings and her beak. This is her world – albeit a very small one. But then Ergo decides to use her toes, her wings and her beak to escape and find out if there are more like her. She discovers she is part of a much bigger world.

This is a book to prompt lots of thinking and talk about our own known worlds and how we find out more about them.

Another philosophical book for children from the team that created the highly successful I am Henry Finch

Fabulous illustrations and striking layout emphasise the confusion of the little chick and her happiness when she discovers she is not alone, and the world is very exciting indeed.

Buy the book

The Fire Fox

Alexandra Page, illus. Stef Murphy
Two Hoots
Age 5-7+

A beautiful written and sensitive story about a young girl, Freya and her mother who go to stay in a remote cabin set in a snowy landscape. A sense of sadness lingers in the first few pages sensitively suggesting the loss of Freya’s father. Exploring her new environment Freya discovers a magical white fox and they play together. The fox seems to be creating wonderful colours as he speeds through the snowy landscape with Freya. When he disappears, colours fill the sky around her as if a gift left behind for her.

This story is inspired by legends of the Saami people of Northern Scandinavia about a white fox who scatters sparks which form the Northern Lights. It might inspire children to find out more about the Northern Lights, create artwork in response to the ideas or illustrations or prompt conversations about loss, grief and sharing good memories of loved ones.

Buy the book

Gloria’s Porridge

Elizabeth Laird, illus. Toby Newsome
Tiny Owl
Age 3-5

When Gloria makes a bowl of porridge her cat wants some, but Gloria doesn’t want to share. This leads to a chain of events upsetting not only the cat, but also a donkey, a hive of bees, a hen and finally Gloria herself. Fox hears the rumpus and helps them sort out the problem.

An engaging picturebook telling a simple and satisfying story of consequences highlighting the importance of thoughtfulness. It is based on a traditional Ethiopian folk tale.

Visit our activity page

Buy here

Watch a trailer

Once Upon a Tune    

James Mayhew
Otter Barry Books
Age 7-9+

This is a stunning book containing six carefully selected stories which have inspired great pieces of music including The Sorceror’s Apprentice and In the Hall of the Mountain King. We meet an array of characters including sorcerers, trolls and sea monsters. Scherherazade introduces the brave girl who persuades a bitter sultan into saving her life by bewitching him with stories.

The text is very well written, stories skillfully unfold with some lovely descriptive passages. 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 likely to be treasured and pored over by adults and children alike. It may ignite interest in the music which inspired the story and also encourage children to have a go at storytelling or at creating their own collaged pictures of story settings.
Buy the book

See this video for an insight into the music which inspired the book

Saving Mr Hoot 

Helen Stephens
Alison Green Books
Age 3-7

When he says Mr Hoot stole his mitten, they think it is just his imagination. All winter long Ben and Mr Hoot call to each other. In springtime a lady with a chainsaw arrives to cut the tree down, but Ben is determined to stop her.

A story about the frustration of making yourself heard when you are very small. There is a strong environmental theme and sharing this story is likely to lead to talk about animal habitats and the impact of cutting down trees. It may lead to greater awareness as children look at the trees in their local environments.

This is a beautifully illustrated story by the creator of the highly popular How to Hide your Lion series.

Buy the book

Shu Lin’s Grandpa                                   

Matt Goodfellow, illus. Yu Rong
Otter Barry Books
Age 3-7

A young narrator remembers when Shu Lin first joined his school and wasn’t able to speak English well. She didn’t seem to fit in with playground games and had strange things in her packed lunch box. One day Shu Lin’s Grandpa visits and shows the class his beautiful artwork. He has created fabulous worlds with mountains and dragons. Afterwards the children have a go at painting their own magical landscapes. Shu Lin becomes the teacher sharing her brushwork skills, her classmates are very impressed.

This is a story about understanding what it is like to be a new arrival and the importance of acceptance and inclusion. It is likely to prompt discussions about the main character’s feelings.

The book includes a wonderful fold out landscape complete with dragon perfect for storytelling. After this insight into traditional Chinese artwork be ready to get out brushes and paints and a long strip of paper for children to create their own masterpieces.

Buy the book

SuperJoe Does NOT do Cuddles                                        

Michael Catchpool, illus. Emma Proctor
Lantana  
Age 5-7

SuperJoe has a busy day ahead of him, there is a tiger on the loose!  Before he sets off on his mission, mum wants a cuddle, but SuperJoe has no time for that, and anyway superheroes do NOT do cuddles.  SuperJoe is successful in his mission and two more daring rescues swiftly follow, involving a runaway train and a collapsing bridge, thwarting an arch enemy in the process. After a busy day it turns out the one thing a superhero really needs is a cuddle after all.

A lovely picturebook packed with imagination and adventure likely to inspire storyplay. The illustrations are very attractive and include lots of extra detail to spot, adding to the storytelling. The vocabulary is ambitious giving plenty to discuss.

Visit our activity page

Buy the book

Ten Delicious Teachers

Ross Montgomery, illus. Sarah Warburton
Walker Books
Age 3-7

Ten teachers miss the school bus and decide to take a short cut through a forest. They don’t spot the hungry monsters waiting to pounce. One by one the monsters pick off the teachers on their way through the forest until only Miss Hunter, the nursery teacher remains. However, she is more than a match for monsters and in no time at all takes them in hand teaching them some manners and how to count to ten!

This is a very silly rhyming counting story with humorous text well matched by the illustrations – the monsters are fantastic and might encourage young readers to design their own.

Buy the book

See the author Ross Montgomery reads from the book in this trailer

We’re Going to Find the Monster                                               

Malorie Blackman, illus. Dapo Adeola
Puffin
Age 0-5

Charlie and Eddie set off to find the monster. They go over a shimmering ocean and up a huge high mountain encountering a tiger, a hungry wolf and even a whale along the way. They eventually find the monster – their older brother – under his bedclothes ready to pounce and tickle them both.

This story is a celebration of the power of imagination and family fun. The cumulative text is a joy to read aloud, and children will enjoy hearing it again and again. The illustrations are warm and colourful adding to the storytelling. We find out the whale is really a goldfish and the tiger a stripey cat. One of the main characters has vitiligo and there is a link to find out more information about this condition on the inside cover.

Buy the book

One of the big debates today is about reading on screen v reading ‘real books’. At Lovemybooks we are committed to parents sharing real books with their children as any visitor to our site will see! However sharing books on screen is valuable too and lots of fun; there are some exciting story apps available. Our top ten apps are here.

We asked Natalia Kukirkova, a researcher into digital literacy at UCL her advice for parents:
‘As the e-book spreads into children’s publishing, some look in terror at the thought of our children forgetting what an actual book is as they fall for their new devices. Today’s children access texts in multiple formats and fluidly navigate reading on screen and off screen. Reading on screen is part of children’s contemporary reading practices and significantly contributes to their creative learning.

It is not a question of book or e-book for children -the two can complement each other. What is important is that children share their love for stories with others and that parents and teachers help them choose carefully.

My favourite story app is Our Story. This is a freely available app for teachers, parents and young children interested in creating their own multimedia stories developed at the Open University. A link with ideas for activities is here.

Natalia also gave us a list of other useful websites and resources:
For help finding good quality digital books and reading-related apps see ‘Literacy Apps’ created by The National Literacy Trust 

The UKLA Children’s Digital Book Award, judged by teachers includes information on what ‘counts’ as a high-quality digital book:
See below for video guidance for parents interested in reading with their children digitally, from the Children’s Reading On Screen RSA Catalyst project .

A summary of tips for reading with children on screen is available here.
If you are interested in contributing to a bank of video examples showcasing positive learning experiences with children’s digital books, please contact Natalia at: n.kucirkova@ucl.ac.uk

Created by a team of literacy specialists, Lovemybooks combines carefully chosen books with activities and resources designed to help parents and young children enjoy sharing books together.

In addition to suggestions for reading, talking and writing, there are ideas for play, art and other creative activities to fire children’s imagination 1 deposit casino nz.com and extend their enjoyment of the stories.

Video material and weblinks add to the mix.

The combination of high quality books, tried and tested activities plus related resources will help you to support your children in becoming successful and enthusiastic readers. Children will love these books!
Our reviews

Read a longer article from Sue McGonigle about the development of Lovemybooks 

How to use Lovemybooks

• The books are organised in themes popular with young children

• You can find books for your child by theme or search by age range.

• Use the search bar to find individual favourite titles, authors or illustrators.

• Each book has suggestions for ways of sharing the story – for example reading aloud, talking about the book, retelling the story, watching a video.

• Activities are listed under each book under the heading ‘Things to make and do’. These activities can help your child become more involved in the story.

• You don’t have to do all the activities – they are there to dip in to and help you and your children enjoy the book.

Download our Lovemybooks postcard flyer here

Leila O’Sullivan is part of the Lovemybooks team, advising on our Digital & Marketing communications.

Joan Thurgar provides guidance and activity suggestions related to Early Years pedagogy and Science.

Helen Cooper                                         
Corgi Books
Age 5-7

An award-winning picture book about three friends who fall out. Cat, Duck and Squirrel live happily together, making music and delicious pumpkin soup, until duck decides to stir the soup and, instead, stirs up trouble. The wonderful illustrations encourage children to talk about the story and explore the emotions involved in resolving arguments between friends.

Find this book of the month at your local library or bookshop or buy online here.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud, talking together about the pictures as you do. Talking about the book deepens children’s enjoyment and understanding of the story.

Join in
Read the story again leaving spaces for children to join in with the story.

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

Listen to the story

From Detti H

Things to make and do

Storyplay
Children can use animal toys for Cat, Duck and Squirrel to act out the story. It’s a really good way for them to get to know the story well and helps to build their confidence with books.

Make pumpkin soup
Be like Cat, Duck and Squirrel by making and eating pumpkin soup together – see here for pumpkin soup recipe.

Make a pumpkin mask
Use a circle of orange paper (or paint it orange) large enough to make a face mask. Children can cut gold or black paper shapes to stick on their design, cutting holes for eyes, mouth and to tie string to hold them on.

Make a pumpkin lantern
The mask can provide a source of inspiration for a pumpkin lantern design which can be cut into a pumpkin. Talk about the pumpkin as you make the lantern, the smell, the feel and how it looks both inside and out.

Plant  seeds
Children can plant the leftover pumpkin seeds in a pot or the garden. They can take charge of watering regularly and make drawings to chart the growth of the seeds over time.

Find out more

Helen Cooper’s website includes teaching ideas linked to Pumpkin Soup and the other books in the series A Pipkin of Pepper and Delicious! 

Other books by Helen Cooper include:

The Bear Under the Stairs

Little Monster Did It!

The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed

Dog Biscuit

Find out how to carve a pumpkin here.

Chris Haughton
Walker books
Age 0-5

Mummy monkey leaves her three baby monkeys in their tree with strict instructions not to go down to the mango tree as there are tigers there. Predictably, the temptation is just too much for her inquisitive youngsters and in no time at all they find themselves narrowly escaping danger.

In a perfect combination of words and pictures Maybe brilliantly captures the feelings of the very young when warned not to do something tempting. This is a lovely story about learning from experience! The illustrations are stunning, and the monkeys are very appealing and so expressive with huge eyes conveying their thoughts and feelings powerfully. A picturebook that is sure to become a firm family favourite.

Watch a trailer

A special reading of Maybe…

Share the story

Read Aloud
Before reading the book to your child look through it yourself and think about how you will read it – the more dramatic the better to show the

This is a story you and your child will enjoy sharing again and again. When you read it aloud take your time looking at the illustrations. Your child is likely to spot the tigers lurking in some of the pages, pause to talk about how the monkeys are feeling

Join in
When your child is more familiar with the story encourage them to join in with some of the text eg the ‘Maybes’ ‘No tigers here, no tigers there….’ and ‘down, down, down.’

Talk about the book
◼︎Talk about what the monkeys are thinking when their mother tells them not to go down to the mango tree.
◼︎ Find the tigers hiding on each page
◼︎ Share your favourite pages.
◼︎Talk about what might happen when the story ends!

Things to make and do

Play the story
Act out the story with your child one of you being mummy and a tiger and the other one of the baby monkeys or alternatively you could act it out with toys as the monkeys and tigers.

Be a monkey
Find places for your child to (safely) climb or hang upside down like a monkey – for example a playground in a park.

Taste a mango
When you go shopping choose a mango to buy. At home cut it up and eat some together, talking about the taste as you do.

Do some counting
Count how many baby monkeys there are. For children getting more confident with counting you could also count how many legs, tails or eyes they have altogether.

Make a hand or footprint monkey.
Mix paint (finger paint is ideal) and paint your child’s hand or foot. Help them print this onto paper. The print can be the monkey’s body and legs. When dry help your child add a long curly tail and a face – these could be drawn or stuck. For the extra stary eyes – you could use googly eyes if you can get hold of them or stick white paper circles with black circles drawn inside. If you make several you could find a thin branch to stick them on.

Sing a song
Sing a song about monkeys in danger

Find out More

Read more books by Chris Haughton

Titles

A Bit Lost

Oh No George!

Shh! We have a Plan!

Don’t Worry Little Crab

Goodnight Everyone

Hat Monkey – a very entertaining App created by Chris Haughton.

OBP 2022: what made our winner? – YouTube

Find out more about real monkeys

If you get the chance to visit a zoo or wild life park children would enjoy seeing monkeys.

Here is a video about real young monkeys. It is quite long- to see them playing in a tree scroll to 6.50.
One Two Three! Jump, Babies monkeys playing on the tree, Monkey Camp part 1618 – YouTube

Here’s a complete list of all our book activity pages – click on the link and it will take you to the activity page

V = Video
AB = Activity Book

A

Aaaarrgghh Spider Lydia Monks  V

The Acorn Edward Gibbs       

Albert Talbot Master of Disguise Ben Manley, illus. Aurélie Guillerey   V

Alfie Gets in first Shirley Hughes  V      

Almost Anything  Sophy Henn                

The Animal Boogie Debbie Harter  V        

The Astounding Broccoli Boy Frank Cottrell Boyce, illus. Steve Lenton   AB 

Avocado Baby John Burningham  

B

The Bad Bunnies Magic Show Mini Grey

Banana! Ed Vere  V 

Bear and Bird Jarvis V

The Bear and the Piano David Litchfield  V

Bear Shaped Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden   V

Beetle Boy  MG Leonard  V  AB             

Be Brave Little Penguin Giles Andrae, illus. Guy Parker Rees

Beegu  Alexis Deacon             

Betty goes Bananas  Steve Antony  V   

Big Green Crocodile  Jane Newberry, illus. Carolina Rabei  V

A Big Mooncake for Little Star Grace Lin V

The BFG Roald Dahl    AB               

Billy and the Beast Nadia Shireen  V           

Billy’s Bucket  Kes Gray, llus Garry Parsons  V

Biscuit Bear Mini Grey  V                 

A Bit Lost Chris Haughton   V        

Black Cat White Cat Silvia Borando            

Blue Chameleon Emily Gravett    

Blue Monster Peter Horacek V

Bog Baby   Jeanne Willis, ill. Gwen Millward

Boot: Small Robot Big Adventure Shane Hegarty   AB       

Boundless Sky Amanda Addison, illus. Manuela Adreani

The Boy at the Back of the Class Onjali Rauf, illus. Pippa Curnick   AB

The Boy who Climbed into the Moon David Almond    AB

The Boy who Sailed the World Julia Green, illus. Alex Latimer

Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?   Bill Martin Jnr, illus Eric Carle

Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat Dragon Sarah Courtauld

Burglar Bill  Allan Ahlberg, illus  Janet Ahlberg  V

C

Car, Car, Truck, Jeep  Katrina Charman, illus. Nick Sharratt  V

Can I Sit in the Middle Susanne Strasser V

Charlotte’s Web EB White  V    AB                

The Chinese Emperor New Clothes  Ying Yang Competine, illus David Roberts  V   AB

Chocolate cake Michael Rosen, illus Kevin Waldron  V

The Christmas Eve Tree Delia Huddy,  illus Emily Sutton  

Cinderella of the Nile Beverley Naidoo  V   AB

Clean up!  Nathan Bryon, illus. Dapo Adeola

Clever Polly & the Stupid Wolf  Catherine Storr   

The Comet Joe Todd Stanton

The Cooking Club Detectives  Ewa Jozefkowicz

Coyote’s Soundbite – a poem for our planet  John Agard, illus. Piet Grobler    AB

The Crocodile who didn’t like water Gemma Merino   V     

D

The Darkest Dark Chris Hadfield, illus The Fan Brothers  V

The Dawn Chorus Suzanne Barton

Dear Dinosaur Chae Strathie, Nicola O’Byrne

Dear Zoo Rod Campbell             

Dig dig digging Margaret Mayo, illus Alex Ayliffe  V

Diggersaurs Michael Whaite  V         

Dinosaur chase Benedict Blathwayt    

Dinosaur roar Paul Strickland, illus Henrietta Strickland

Dinosaurs and all that rubbish  Michael Foreman  V     

Do not enter the monster zoo Amy Sparkes, illus Sara Ogilvie

Don’t worry little crab  Chris Haughton

A Dog So Small Philippa Pearce   V        

Dogger Shirley Hughes  V   

A Dollop of Ghee and a Drop of Wisdom   Chitra Soundar, illus. Uma Krishnaswamy V

Down by the station Jess Stockham

The Dragon in the Library, Louie Stowell

Dragon Mountain  Katie and Kevin Tsang  V   AB

The Drum  Ken Wilson Max, illus Catell Ronca   V

Dylan’s amazing dinosaurs EJ Harper, illus Dan Taylor

E

Each Peach Pear Plum  Allan Ahlberg, illus Janet Ahlberg   V

The Elephants umbrella Laleh Jaffari,  illus Ali Khodai    V

The Emerald Forest Catherine Ward, illus Karen Littlewood V

Eliot Midnight Superhero Anne Cottringer, illus Alex T Smith

Elmer David McKee  V

Eloise Undercover Sarah Baker    AB        

The Everywhere Bear Julia Donaldson, illus Rebecca Cobb

The Explorer  Katherine Rundell   AB   

The Extraordinary Gardener Sam Boughton   V  

Everybody’s Welcome Patricia Hegarty, illus Greg Abbott

F

Fair Shares Pippa Goodhart, illus Anna Doherty

Farmer Duck Martin Waddell, illus Helen Oxenbury

The Fastest Tortoise in Town Howard Calvert, ill. Karen Obuhanych

Fire Fox  Alexandra Page, illus. Stef Murphy   V

The Firework Maker’s Daughter  Philip Pullman   AB

Five little men in a flying saucer Dan Crisp    V               

Five Minutes Peace Jill Murphy                 

Flora and Ulysses, the illuminated adventures Kate Camillo     V   AB

Flooded Mariajo Ilustrajo V

The Forgettery Rachel Ip, ill. Laura Hughes   

Fortunately the Milk Neil Gaiman, illus Chris Riddell

Frindleswylde, Natalia and Lauren O’Hara

Gaspard the Fox  Zeb Soanes, illus. James Mayhew

G

Gerald the lion Jessica Souhami          

The Ghost train Allan Ahlberg, illus Andre Amstutz   V

Gigantic Rob Biddulph V

The Gigantic Turnip Alexsei Tolstoy, illus Naimh Sharkey  V

Giraffes Can’t Dance  Giles Andreae, Guy Parker Rees    V 

The Girl and the dinosaur Hollie Hughes, illus Sarah Massini  

Gloria’s Porridge  Elizabeth Laird, illus. Toby Newsome

The Glassmaker’s Daughter Diane Hofmeyr, Illus Jane Reay  V

Goodbye Grandma Melanie Walsh           

Goodnight Spaceman Michelle Robinson, illus Nick East   V

Grace and Family  Mary Hoffman, illus Caroline Binch   V

Granpa John Burningham   V    

A Great Big Cuddle Michael Rosen, illus Chris Riddell   V

Grobblechops Elizabeth Laird, illlus Jenny Lucander   V

The Gruffalo  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Grumpy Frog  Ed Vere    V       

H

The Hairy toe Daniel Postgate   V

Halima Superhero Princess Emily Joof, illus. Asa Gilland V

Handas surprise Eileen Browne  V         

Hairy MacLary from Donaldson’s Dairy, Lynley Dodd  V

Harry and the bucket of dinosaurs Ian WhyBrow, illus Adrian Reynolds

Have you seen Elephant David Barrow V

Here come the aliens Colin McNaughton   

The Highwayman Alfred Noyes   V   AB

The Highway Rat  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler   V

Honey biscuits  Meredith Hooper, illus Alison Bartlett

Hooray for Fish Lucy Cousins   V

Hooray for Bread  Allan Ahlberg, illus  Brice Ingman

Hortense and the Shadows O’Hara Sisters             

How to hide a lion Helen Stephens   V      

I

I am Absolutely TOO Small for school Lauren Child    V           

I am Henry Finch Alexis Deacon             

I Love you Blue Kangaroo Emily Gravett    V         

I want to be in a scary story Sean Taylor                

I was made for you David Lucas                

If I had a dinosaur Gabby Dawnay, illus Alex Barrow

If I Had a Sleepy Sloth Gabby Dawnay, illus Alex Barrow

If you meet a dinosaur Paul Bright, illus Hannah George

In the dark dark wood Jessica Souhami   

Iris and Isaac Catherine Rayner V

The Iron Man Ted Hughes    AB   

J

 The Jasmine Sneeze  Nadine Kaadan

Jolly Christmas Postman Allan Ahlberg, illus Janet Ahlberg   V

The Journey Home Frann Preston Gannon

Julian is a mermaid Jessica Lowe

The Jumblies Edward Lear  V    AB 

Just like Grandpa Jazz Tarah.L.Gear, illus. Mirna Imamovic

K

Katie & the dinosaurs James Mayhew           

The King who Banned the Dark Emily Haworth Booth

The King With Dirty Feet  Sally Pomme Clayton, illus. Rhiannon Sanderson

Kipper’s Birthday Mick Inkpen    V             

Knuffle Bunny Mo Willem    V     

L

The Last Wolf Mini Grey  

Last: The Story of the White Rhino Nicola Davies   V

Leon the Extraordinary Jamar Nicholas V

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch Ronda and David Armitage V

Lima’s Red Hot Chilli David Mills, ill. Derek Brazell V

The Lion Inside Rachel Bright   

Little Bad Man and the Killer Aunties Humza Arshad and Henry White,  Illus Aleksei Bitskoff   V   AB

Little Monkey  Marta Altés  V 

Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears Emily Gravett  

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion Alex T Smith   

LIttle Rabbit Foo Foo Michael Rosen, Arthur Robins (illus) 

The Littlest Yak Lu Fraser, ill. Kate Hindley     V

Look Up! Nathan Bryon, illus Dapo Adeola

Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers              

Lullabyhullababboo Mick Inkpen               

Lulu gets a cat Anna McQuinn, illus Rosalind Beardshaw

The Lumberjack’s beard  Duncan Beedie           

Luna Loves library day Joseph Coelho, illus Fiona Lumbers

Lunchtime Rebecca Cobb  

M

Macavity T S Eliot    V   AB       

Man on the Moon, a Day in the life of Bob  Simon Bartram           

Mango and Bambang, The Not-a-Pig  Polly Faber, illlus Clara Vulliamy

The Marvellous Moon Map Teresa Heapy, illus David Litchfield

Matisse’s Magical Trail Tim Hopgood, illus Sam Boughton

Max the Brave Ed Vere

Maybe… Chris Haughton V

Meg and Mog Helen Nicholl ,illus Jan Pienkwski

Miró’s Magic Animals Antony Penrose V

Mister Magnolia Quentin Blake            

Meet the Parents Peter Bently, illus Sara Ogilvie

Mog the Forgetful Cat Judith Kerr                 

Monkey and Me Emily Gravett             

Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory Elys Dolan                  

Mr Gumpy’s Outing John Burningham       

Mrs Noah’s pockets Jackie Morris, illus James Mayhew

My Brother is a Superhero David Solomons   AB

My Dad Anthony Browne        

My Green Day Melanie Walsh   

My Must-Have Mum   Maudie Smith, illus. Jen Khatun

My Sister is an alien Rachel Bright    

N

Naughty Bus Jan and Jerry Oke       

A New House for Mouse Petr Horacek              

The New Neighbours Sarah McIntyre           

The New Small Person Lauren Child               

The Night Pirates Peter Harris, illus Deborah Allwright

Nimesh the Adventurer Ranjit Singh, illus Mehrdokht Amini

Noah’s Gold Frank Cottrell Boyce, illus Steven Lenton AB V

No Dinner Jessica Souhami          

Not Now Bernard David McKee     

O

The Odd Egg Emily Gravett             

Oh No George! Chris Haughton           

Oi! Get off our train John Burningham       

Oliver’s Vegetables Vivian French, illus  Alison Bartlett

On Sudden Hill Linda Sarah, illus Benji Davies

On the Moon Anna Milbourne, illus Benji Davies

Once upon a star  James Carter, illus Mar Hernandez

One dog and his boy Eva Ibbotson      AB        

Orange Pear Apple Bear  Emily Gravett             

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat Chris Riddell               

The Outlaw Varjak Paw SF Said      V    AB               

The Owl and the Pussycat Edward Lear  

P

Pandora  Victoria Turnbull         

The Paper Dolls  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Pattan’s pumpkin  Chitra Soundar, illus Frane Lessac

Peace at Last  Jill Murphy                 

Peck Peck Peck Lucy Cousins 

Penguin Huddle Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton (illus) V

Phoenix S F Said    V     AB

Pirate Stew   Neil Gaiman, illus. Chris Riddell   V

Please Mr Magic Fish Jessica Souhami          

Please Mr Panda Steve Antony              

Pom Pom is Super Sophy Henn   
  
The Princess and the Greedy Pea , Leigh Hodgkinson 

Pugs of the Frozen North  Philip Reeve, illus Sarah McIntyre

Puppet David Almond, illus Lizzie Stewart AB

Pumpkin Soup Helen Cooper             

Q

Quiet Tom Percival, ill. Richard Jones V

Quill Soup Alan Durant   

Q Pootle 5 Nick Butterworth       

R

Rama & the Demon King Jessica Souhami          

Red Car Red Bus  Susan Stegall 

Rigatoni the Pasta Cat  Michael Rosen, Illus. Tony Ross

Robin’s Winter Song  Suzanne Barton          

Rocketmole  Matt Carr                   

Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson, Illus Axel Scheffler

Rosie’s Walk Pat Hutchins  

S

The Secret Sky Garden Linda Sarah  

Saving Winslow Sharon Creech  AB

Secret of the Tattered Shoes Jackie Morris, illus. Ehsan Abdollahi    V    AB

Shark in the park Nick Sharrat  

Shhh!   Sally Grindley, illus. Peter Upton

Shh we have a plan Chris Haughton           

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam Tracey Corderoy, illus Steven Lenton

The Skull Jon Klassen V

Silly Suzy Goose Petr Horacek              

The Snail and the Whale  Julia Donaldson, illus Axel Scheffler

Snow  Sam Usher                 

The Snowbear Sean Taylor 

The Snowflake Benji Davies     

So Much Trisha Cooke, illus Helen Oxenbury

The Something Rebecca Cobb

Sona Sharma, Looking After Planet Earth  Chitra Soundar, illus Jen Khatun    AB      

Sophie and the new Baby Catherine & Laurence Anholt

Space Dog Mini Grey                   

Space Tortoise  Ross Montgomery, illlus David Litchfield

Stanley’s Stick  John Hegley, illus Neal Layton

Steven Seagull Action Hero Elys Dolan                  

Stomp Chomp Big Roars! Here come the Dinosaurs Margaret Mayo, illus Alex Ayliffe

Stomp Dinosaur Stomp Kate Umansky, illus Nick Sharratt

Stop the Clock  Pippa Goodhart, illus. Maria Christiana V

The Storm Whale Benji Davies               

A Story about Afiya James Berry, illus Anna Cunha                                                                                                               

Sunk! Rob Biddulph             

Superbat Matt Carr    

SuperJoe does not do cuddles Michael Catchpool, illus. Emma Proctor

Super Milly and the Super School Day  Stephanie Clarkson, illus. Gwen Millward    V 

T

Tad Benji Davies               

The Tale of Angelino Brown David Almond       AB     

10 things I can do to help my world Melanie Walsh 

Ten Delicious Teachers   Ross Montgomery, illus. Sarah Warburton V

The Three Happy Lions  Louise Fatio, illus. Roger Duvoisin

Tilly and the Time Machine Ade Edmondson, illustrated by Danny Noble    

That rabbit belongs to Emily Brown Cressida Cowell          

There’s a rang tan in my bedroom  James Sellick, illus Frann Preston-Gannon

There’s a tiger in the garden Lizzy Stewart V

This is Our House Michael Rosen, illus Bob Graham

The Thunk Michelle Robinson, illus. Deborah Allwright

Tidy Emily Gravett             

Tiger Walk Dianne Hofmeyr, illus Jesse Hodgson

The Tiger who came to Tea Judith Kerr                 

The Tin Forest  Helen Ward, illus Wayne Anderson

Titch  Pat Hutchins     

Tomorrow Nadine Kaadan          

Tom’s Sausage Lion Michael Morpurgo      AB

Toys in space  Mini Grey                   

Traction man  is here!  Mini Grey                   

Train  Judi Abott                  

The Train Ride June Crebbin, illus Stephen Lambert

Tyger SF Said, iIllus Dave McKean V AB

Tyrranosaurus Drip Julia Donaldson   

U

Uncle Gobb and the Dread shed Michael Rosen, illus Neal Layton

V

Valentine’s Guest House Sam Sharland V

Varjak Paw  SF Said      AB               

The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams, illus William Nicholson V

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle   

W

The Way Back Home Oliver Jeffers   

The Weed Quentin Blake           

We’re going on a Bearhunt Michael Rosen, illus Helen Oxenbury

We’re Going to Find the Monster Malorie Blackman, illus. Dapo Adeola   V

What the Ladybird Heard Julia Donaldson, illus Lydia Monks

Whatever Next Jill Murphy                 

The Wheels on the Bus Annie Kubler

Where my feet go Birgitta Sif                  

Where the Wild Things Are  Maurice Sendak          

Where’s my Teddy? Jez Alborough             

Where’s Spot? Eric Hill                      

Window Jeannie Baker    

When the Sky Falls Phil Earle V AB

The Wolf Wilder  Katherine Rundell     V    AB

The Wooden camel Wanuri Kahiu, illus Manuela Adreani

Y

You’re snug with  me Chitra Soundar

Z

The Zebra’s Great Escape Katherine Rundell, ill. Sara Ogilvie V AB

Zombierella Fairy Tales Gone Bad Joseph Coelho, illus. Freya Hartas  V   AB                                                     

So many wonderful picturebooks have been published in 2022.
Here’s our selection of some of the best.

As always, we hope that these are books that you and your children will enjoy sharing again and again and which might prompt conversations, creative activities, finding out more or imaginative story play. We hope you enjoy them.

The Boy Who Sailed the World
Julia Green and Alex Latimer (illus) David Fickling Books
Age 5-7

A young boy who loved the sea and stories about the sea decides to build a boat and sail the world to have adventures of his own. He negotiates busy shipping lanes and stormy weather, sees magical sunsets and star filled skies, discovering wonderful creatures, and making new friendsBeautifully written and illustrated, this is a joyous picturebook about the excitement of adventure, the wonders of the ocean and making dreams come true.

Visit our activity page for The Boy who Sailed the World
Buy the book

Colours, Colours, Everywhere
Julia Donaldson, Sharon King-Chai (illus), Two Hoots
Age 2-5

A little girl opens her paint box and wonders what to paint today. She starts with a blue tree frog and in no time at all the two of them are off on an adventure with a hot air balloon, oceans, islands, helicopters and lots and lots of colours. This is a concept book with a difference; a story celebrating colour in the world around us. It is a  lovely book, with a rhyming story and beautiful illustrations, with flaps to lift and holes to peep through. It is likely to encourage talk about colours, colour collections of objects or cut out from magazines and of course painting too.  
Buy the book

The Comet
Joe Todd Stanton
Flying Eye Books
Age 5-7+

Nyla is a creative child who enjoys life in the countryside with her dad. They spend lots of time playing and cooking together, making up stories and watching the night sky.

Everything changes when they move to the city. Dad has no time to play, the buildings are grey, the streets are busy, her school is strange and there are very few stars in the sky. Then one night Nyla spots a comet, sparking her imagination, her memories and lots of creative activity.

This is a story about the challenges of moving house and changing your way of life. We see Nyla and her father re discovering their close bond through making a new house into a home and becoming part of the community. With minimal text and wonderful illustrations this is a beautiful picturebook full of imagination, creativity and a sprinkling of magic.

Visit our activity page for The Comet

Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles
Michael Rosen and David Melling (illus)
Harper Collins
Age 3-7

In an amusing spin on the familiar tale Goldilocks and her dog Tiddles head off to rediscover the house in the woods – you know the one with the chairs, the porridge and the bears. But the song of the sea calls them, and they find themselves in a cave at the seaside– home to three crocodiles, who just like the three bears are not happy at the intrusion. With a pleasingly familiar patterned story, a repeated refrain and clever twists this is great fun and may lead to lots of speculation (what might the crocodiles have for breakfast?) and imagination too – children could reenact this version or wonder which other animal homes Goldilocks and Tiddles could visit.

Michael Rosen introduces the story here: Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles | Michael Rosen – YouTube

Buy the book

Granny Came Here on The Empire Windrush
Patrice Lawrence and  Camilla Sucre (illus)
Nosy Crow
Age 5-9

While Granny is helping Ava decide on a historical figure and outfit for a school assembly about people we admire, Ava spots a small cardboard suitcase with some intriguing objects inside. It was the case Granny brought with her from Trinidad when she travelled to England on the Empire Windrush.  Prompted by the contents, Granny begins relating her own story.

Beautifully written with bold, colourful illustrations, this picturebook brings a sense of the experience of the Windrush generation to young readers, as well as introducing several significant black women from history. Full of the warmth of family love, this story also has the message that the people we admire most may not be those we encounter in history books but much closer to home. It may prompt conversations about the Windrush generation and also between grandparents and grandchildren about the stories behind  the objects they treasure.
Buy the book

The Greatest Show on Earth
Mini Grey
Puffin
Age 7-11

Mini Grey sets out to tell the 4.6-billion-year story of life on Earth in this exciting picturebook.

The story is presented as if it is a theatrical performance by Rod the Roach and his international troupe of insect performers in the world-famous shoe box theatre. Each double page spread represents a key moment in the evolution of life on earth and we find ourselves jumping a mere billion years or so as the pages turn.

There is lots of wry humour, for example the asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs is introduced with ‘Here’s one for all you mass extinction fans!’

Drawing on her extensive skills in picturebook creation, knowledge and fascination with the animal world and environmental awareness this book is a tour de force, introducing a complex topic in an accessible and engaging way. There is plenty of food for thought too, with the importance of looking after our fragile planet an underlying theme.

Read interview with Mini Grey

Buy the book

Penguin Huddle
Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton (illus)
Walker Books
Age 3-7

After a busy day playing at the North Pole the penguins like to form a huddle to keep warm and cosy every night. One morning however, after a freezing gale, they wake up to find themselves stuck together! This prompts a crazy adventure as they try to find a way to get unstuck seeking help from their friends then travelling across the seas to a distant city.  The story is great fun with lively illustrations full of detail from the same team who created Ten Delicious Teachers. A story which definitely needs to be followed with a big cuddle.

Buy the book

The Perfect Present
Petr Horácek
Otter Barry books
Age 3-5

Tom and Mot are best friends who share a birthday. They want to give each other a special present. Taking turns, Tom gives Mot a feather and Mot gives Tom a marble, but maybe the feather is really a spectacular colourful bird, and the marble is the smallest planet in the universe.  The friends talk about what they would love to give each other; anything and everything from an elephant to the sun. They have a magical day together, full of imaginary fun. This is a gentle and beautifully illustrated story about friendship, love and imaginary play. Families could play the perfect present game too, making exaggerated promises about what they would give each other or imagining that the most every day of objects are actually something amazing and of course talking about the importance of spending time together as the best present of all.

Buy the book

Well Done, Mummy Penguin
Chris Haughton
Walker Books
Age 0-3

Little Penguin and Daddy Penguin watch as Mummy Penguin goes out to sea to find dinner. Little Penguin is slightly anxious but very impressed with her swimming, fishing, climbing and jumping but seeks reassurance she will be back soon and worried about the scary looking seals blocking her way. With very appealing and stylish images, lots of sound effects and a repeated refrain, this is a delightful picturebook capturing the feelings of the young perfectly and celebrating the determination of mothers everywhere to look after their young.  

Read about the development of the story and watch a trailer here blog – Chris Haughton

Buy the book Well Done, Mummy Penguin a book by Chris Haughton. (bookshop.org)

Visit our activity page for Chris Haughton’s wonderful story about three baby monkeys unable to resist temptation Maybe…. now available in paperback

The Zebra’s Great Escape
Katherine Rundell illus, Sara Ogilvie
Bloomsbury
Age 5-9

When Mink is trying to avoid bedtime on her garden swing, she doesn’t expect to meet a young zebra, or that this young zebra would be in urgent need of her help and that she could understand what he is saying. This is the beginning of a magical adventure with talking animals and a dastardly villain, thwarted through our heroine’s bravery and a determined team of animal helpers.

This is an exciting story with a satisfying ending. Mink is an appealing heroine as are the animals particularly her sceptical helper Rainbow the dog.

A major theme in the story about being brave and helping others.

‘When people ask you for help, they are giving you the chance to change the world for the better.’

Author, Katherine Rundell introduces the book here Katherine Rundell on The Zebra’s Great Escape – YouTube

A first picturebook text by award winning children’s fiction writer Rundell. Her delightful text is perfectly matched by Sara Ogilvie’s lively illustrations. The book includes an A-Z of animals – children might enjoy finding out about these or creating their own animal alphabet.

Buy the book

Visit our activity page for Katherine Rundell’s wonderful book for older children The Wolf Wilder.

Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton (illus)
Walker Books
Age 3-7

After a busy day playing, the penguins form a huddle to keep warm and cosy every night. One morning, after a freezing gale, they wake up to find themselves stuck together! This prompts a crazy adventure across the ocean to a distant city as they try to find a way to get unstuck.  

With lots of humour and lively illustrations, this is a story which definitely needs to be followed with a great big cuddle!

Watch a trailer

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud to your child taking time to look at the illustrations as well as the text. Follow the penguins’ route on the map.

Talk about the story
◼︎Choose one of the illustrations and talk about what you both see happening, for example in the city scenes.
◼︎Find the rhyming words eg ‘huddle muddle cuddle ..’
◼︎Talk about Pipsqueak and how he feels at the end of the story
◼︎Look at the end papers and title page and talk about all the things the penguins are doing.

Things to make and do

Make a huddle of penguins
Use some small cardboard tubes and decorate with paint, pens felt or paper to make a set of penguins. Stick them together to make a huddle. Make one a bit smaller to represent Pipsqueak. If you use coils of sticky tape for this, you could separate them too.

Play the story
Set up a snowy ‘small world’ in a large tray. Use cotton wool for snow, or perhaps fake snow. Add small figures to represent the creatures in the story and encourage your child to retell the beginning of the story with you. They could play imaginatively with the figures… take them skiing down the mountains, hunt for fish or play in the snow.

Make a town scape using building blocks, duplo or cardboard boxes. Add figures to represent the penguins, other creatures and traffic. Retell the rest of the story playing imaginatively in the city scape.

Experiment with ice
You could add ice cubes stacked on top of each other to make mountains for your Antarctic world; or place them in a circle to create a pool as they melt. Watch and talk about what happens to the ice as it melts. (See ‘Find out more’ for other ice experiments).

Draw a map
Draw a map of the penguins’ journey on a large piece of paper, such as wallpaper lining paper. Look back at the book for inspiration.

Make a book
Talk with your child about what they know about penguins and what they would like to find out. Use information books and internet searches to find answers to their questions. Make your child a small book from a few sheets of A4 paper folded in half to write the information they have found out and draw pictures or stick pictures in.

Find out more

Find out more about penguins including how they huddle to keep warm:

Find out more about author Ross Montgomery
Read another story by this author/illustrator collaboration Ten Delicious Teachers

Here are two other picture book stories by Ross Montgomery illustrated by David Litchfield:
Space Tortoise  and The Building Boy.

Read more stories about penguins:
◼︎Be Brave Little Penguin
◼︎Done Mummy Penguin by Chris Haughton
◼︎The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins

Find out more about ice
Make ice cubes with your child.
◼︎Try putting water into different shaped plastic containers or even a balloon.
◼︎Put them in the freezer. Look back a few hours later to see if they have frozen and watch what happens when you take them out of the freezer.
◼︎Place a plastic animal in a container of water You could even try freezing a huddle of plastic figures together perhaps holding them together with an elastic band before putting them in a freezer.
◼︎See how long your huddle of penguins takes to become unstuck or how long the ice takes to melt. Talk about what might make the ice melt more quickly, or more slowly. For example, placing the ice block near a radiator, near a window, inside a box, wrapped in a warm scarf etc.

Thank you to Joan Thurgar for her contributions to these activity ideas.