Telescopes and clocks and trains- all big ideas from human brains!
From bridges and boats to medicines and mobile phones, this book takes readers on a journey of discovery through all the amazing inventions human beings have come up with. Learn how rocks and stones helped create the pyramids and how modern materials such as concrete and nylon have changed our lives.
Lively rhyming text by James Carter and electrifying illustrations by Margaux Carpentier
A shipwrecked elephant makes his tiny island a home for the many friends who come to the rescue, in the new picture book from New York Times Illustrated Book Award winning author.
Caught in a storm, Arnold the elephant washes up on a tiny island. Along comes Mouse in a little dingy and Arnold steps aboard…uh-oh! They use the wreckage to make the island bigger. And here’s Dog—can this boat take Arnold’s weight? Uh-oh!
None of the animals can save the shipwrecked elephant but each broken vessel provides new materials for another intricate construction. Wheels and pulleys create a Ferris wheel, an elevator, a waffle maker. All the animals work as a team to build increasingly intricate constructions that turn the desert island into a fun park city. Soon there is a whole community and enough space for everyone!
As with all Leo Timmers picture books, Elephant Island has many layers of discovery. Tapping into the childhood pleasure of contraptions, this cheerful picture book is full of complex and playful visual detail and humour that Leo Timmers’ readers love. Preschoolers who enjoy Meccano and Lego will find joy on every page with the creation of each new imaginative construction, packed with mechanical detail on bright double page spreads. Translated by James Brown, Elephant Island is a runaway hit in Europe.
New in the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Rudolf Nureyev, one of the greatest male ballet dancers of all time.
Rudolf fell in love with dance as a child. But he was not allowed to go to ballet school until he was 17. There, he had to make up for lost time and hone his skills to compete with the other dancers. As a professional, he dazzled audiences with sensational performances and star power. He went on to become a world-renowned choreographer and master of perfection in dance. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the dancer’s life.
Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.
This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardback and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.
Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!
Discover the world’s most famous ballets, including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Spartacus, and The Firebird accompanied by 10 sound clips of child-friendly pieces.
Learn about the music and stories of ballet in the second book of The Very Young Person’s Guide To… series.
Pull on your pointe shoes and follow our heroes as they explore beautiful scenes inspired by some of ballet’s most loved music, including Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Spartacus, and The Firebird. Young readers can discover iconic moments including Swan Lake’s Dance of the Cygnets, The Clog Dance from La Fille Mal Gardée, and Don Quixote’s Dance of the Matadors. Original illustrations capture the beautiful story of the ballet, while the sound button brings the composer’s dazzling pieces to life. Every spread features fascinating facts about the ballet, performers, the composer, and the music.
Ideal for young children starting music and dance lessons, The Very Young Person’s Guide to Ballet Music is guaranteed to delight and inspire.
A celebratory, inclusive and educational exploration of Lunar New Year for both children that celebrate and children who want to understand and appreciate their peers who do.
Lunar New Year captures the magic of the celebration by exploring how Ling and her family enjoy the biggest Chinese festival of the year. The new year festival lasts for 15 days full of preparation, celebration and symbolism. Join Ling, her sister Mei and granny Po Po as they clean the house from top to bottom, pick fresh flowers from the garden, visit friends and family, and carry red lanterns through their neighbourhood. Ling invites the reader into her home and family, allowing the reader to experience this special celebration first-hand through an authentic narrative non-fiction story.
A fun 16-page ‘factivity’ section follows the story and delves into more detail about how the festival is celebrated in China and beyond. Enriching activities are also included, such as guess the riddle, make your own red envelope and a recipe to make delicious Lunar New Year ‘pot sticker’ dumplings.
Learn all about the magic of Lunar New Year, by exploring:
The preparations in the lead-up to the festival
The Reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve
New Year’s day fireworks
Dragon dancing and the New Year Monster
The lantern festival
… and more!
In the Celebrations & Festivals series, you are invited into a family’s celebrations as you explore the magic and excitement of religious and cultural festivals around the world. The heart-warming story is followed by a fun ‘factivity’ section packed with information on the festival in more detail along with activities, recipes and craft projects to enjoy.
This hand-picked list is a treasury of timeless stories passed down through generations, alongside more modern tales inspired by traditional stories and twisted fairy tales designed to entertain and amuse.
Many old favourites feature on this list, and young readers will love plotting their escape with Rapunzel, building a house with The Three Little Pigs or going to the ball with Cinderella. We’ve also picked some traditional tales from around the world, including BooksForTopics favourite Pattan’s Pumpkin, which is also one of our Recommended Reads for EYFS.
Alongside the traditional, this booklist features a number of fractured fairy tales that turn traditional stories on their head! There are hilarious twists on familiar stories, like Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles and Cindergorilla, as well as tales told from new perspectives, like The Troll, The Pea and the Princess, and The Wolf’s Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood.
For timeless tales and riotous retellings, look no further than our list of the best fairy tales and traditional stories for children!
Lift-the-Flap Fairy Tales: The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a fresh, modern and wonderfully witty take on the much-loved story, retold in a playful rhyme and accompanied by bright and funny illustrations.
Flaps to lift on every page bring to life the classic story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and their perilous journey across the river. Take a peek under the bridge to see who’s hiding there, see the troll jump out at the goats, and watch him go tumbling down into the river – SPLASH!
Featuring a free audio reading, complete with music and sound effects! Just scan the QR code on the book with your smart device to hear the story. With this bonus audio feature, you can listen to the story wherever you are, and follow along with the book by turning the pages when you hear the chime.
On this booklist, we have picked a selection of rhyming books suitable for primary school classrooms. This hand-picked collection of rhyming stories will delight and entertain children throughout EYFS and KS1 and boost phonics learning and language development in Early Years classrooms.
Established classics like Each Peach Pear Plum, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy and The Giant Jam Sandwich feature alongside relative newcomers like Nabil Steals a Penguin and The Gecko and the Echo, which are already proving themselves as ‘all-join-in’ favourites in classrooms across the country.
So jump on in, it’s not to be missed: the BooksForTopics Rhyming List!
An uplifting picture book about loving your name, finding your voice and standing up for yourself.
Mirha is so excited for her first day of school! She can’t wait to learn, play and make new friends. But when her classmates keep mispronouncing her name, she goes home wondering if she should find a new one.
When Mama helps Mirha see just how special her name is, she returns to school the next day determined to help her classmates say it correctly.
Featuring beautiful, vibrant illustrations and with an empowering message at its core, this heartwarming picture book from author-illustrator Anoosha Syed reminds us all just how important our names are!
JoJo and Gran Gran are off to the hairdresser’s! Featuring favourite characters from the hit CBeebies show, this book is perfect for sharing with little JoJo & Gran Gran fans.
JoJo goes to the hairdresser for the first time ever with Gran Gran, and learns all about how much fun it can be to help out. She even has her hair done, too!
About the show
JoJo & Gran Gran is the first British-made animated show to feature a black family at its centre. It is based on characters created by Laura Henry Allain, whose own grandmother inspired the character of Gran Gran. Each episode shows a loving relationship a grandmother has with her granddaughter, a celebration of their shared world heritage and wonderful introduction to key preschool first experiences.
JoJo adores her grandma, Gran Gran, and they love to spend time together while JoJo’s Mummy and Daddy are at work. Gran Gran always has something exciting planned when JoJo comes to visit.
Each picture book will retell the story of a well-loved TV episode, followed by a picture glossary and activity spread to encourage readers to take the themes from the book into their everyday lives.
© BooksForTopics 2015-2024
review
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Any other comments
Any other comments
