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Age Group: KS1 (Ages 5-7)

Branching Out: Books for Fans of Holly Webb

If you like Holly Webb’s animal books, try these…

Holly Webb’s animal stories feature gentle adventures with themes of kindness, hope and bravery. With relatable characters and loveable animals, these chapter books are hugely popular with independent readers.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Holly Webb. Those looking for more tales of special bonds between humans and animals could try Charlotte’s Web, Snow Foal or Lizzie & Lucky.

For young readers who enjoy stories of local animal rescues, we recommend An Otter Called Pebble, Because of Winn-Dixie or Appletree Animal Agency, while those looking for stories of wild animal conservation might enjoy Jess Butterworth’s Red Panda Rescue or Hannah Gold’s The Last Bear.

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Taking the Long Way Home

Brian Fitzgerald & Jake Hope

Picturebook

Normally Zarah and her brother are collected from school by their dad, who rushes them home taking every shortcut.

But today, Uncle Jerome is collecting them, and he takes them on ‘The long way home’.

Reluctant to go further than necessary, the children complain at first, but are soon caught up in amazing adventures, as their uncle gets them to use their five senses to conjure up a world of fun and imagination.

Birds become pterodactyls, ripples in the water become crocodiles … they soon realise that the best adventures only happen on the long way home!

To Activate Space Portal Lift Here

Anoinette Portis

Picturebook

Before you lift the cover, be sure you’re ready to meet Zrk and Blrg. They’re not so different from you-but to them, you’re the alien!

After their initial shock at seeing you through the portal, they’re eager to see what kind of teeth you have, compare home planets, and maybe team up for a prank. You met as aliens, but by the time the portal closes, maybe you’ll be friends.

To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here is an interactive treat sure to delight young galactic explorers. Antoinette Portis’s bright lines and bold colours pair perfectly with humour that also offers a subtle message of acceptance. Whether for bedtime or circle time, this is a portal you’ll want to open!

This Book is Too Quiet

Cristina Cubells & Joana Casals

Picturebook

Explore every scene of this stylish book and follow the prompts to create your own noises! Enter the storm scene and add the ‘plip… plip… plip’ of raindrops and the ‘rumbrumbrum’ of thunder… Take a tour of the bustling kitchen and make the ‘zmmmm zmmmm’ of machines and ‘crashhhhhh’ of plates… Gaze up at the night sky and add the ‘fiiewwwwww’ of the fireworks as they whoosh into the darkness! With the turn of every page, readers will create their very own landscape of sounds. This playful book offers children a joyfully interactive reading experience, which is both absorbing and hilarious.

Tuck Me In

Nathan W. Pyle

Picturebook

One starry night, the moon kindly pulls the sea up to the sand, to tuck the beach in.

But all of a sudden, she hears another beach in the in the distance cry out, “HEY, WHERE DID MY BLANKET GO?”

Uh oh! As the moon pushes the tide back and forth trying to tuck in both beaches, one is always left uncovered and unhappy, and the bickering begins . . .

Can the moon get them to agree to take turns?

Nathan W. Pyle combines his signature humour with a pinch of science, inviting readers to tuck in to this hilarious story about the ever-present bedtime struggle and the fun that can be found in compromise.

Weirdosaurus

Philip Bunting

Non-fiction, Picturebook

Welcome to the world of Weirdosaurus…

Meet a dinosaur with a built-in megaphone. Spot the one with metre-long, sword-like claws. Say hello to a flying carnivore as tall as a giraffe!

This book is bursting with the strangest, silliest and downright weirdest dinosaurs that ever stomped the Earth. From frilly heads to feathery tails, toothy grins to enormous claws, every creature inside is wonderfully odd in its own way.

Travel back in time and meet over 80 prehistoric peculiarities, each with its own vital stats, dino scale diagram, Latin name (and how to say it) and some seriously strange features. With Philip Bunting’s hilarious illustrations, cheeky jokes and eye-popping facts, every page is packed with surprises.

With well-known favourites and dinosaurs you’ve never heard of, Weirdosaurus is the perfect book for dino-mad kids who love the weird and wonderful. If you thought you knew dinosaurs… think again!

The Great Bear

Annie Booker

Picturebook

The Great Bear is a hopeful, moving story about the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling.

Since the dawn of time, the Great Bear has patrolled the oceans, protecting the Earth and her animals and overseeing the delicate balance of life. But now, one creature is changing everything. And the Great Bear cannot stand by.

Debut author and illustrator Annie Booker’s The Great Bear has the feel of a classic. The hand-painted illustrations capture the fragility and power of the natural world, making this beautiful book the perfect gift for fans of illustration and animal lovers of all ages.

This large hardback book features inspiring facts about real-life polar bears and the regeneration of the Arctic, making the perfect read for budding environmentalists and conservationists.

Hupo and the Wonder Thief

Billy Partridge

Graphic novel

Hupo is on a mission to restore dreams and wonder to his home once again, before the Wallower destroys everything this story is about…

Hupo and the Aletha love to amble through the bustling streets of their city, talking to shopkeepers and recounting tales of their favourite adventurer, the Great Humdingo – much to the annoyance of everyone around them.

But when mysterious, zombifying mists creep into town and the Aletha is captured by a sinister force in the mountains, Hupo’s on a mission to set everything to rights.

But can he hold onto who he is when everything around him seems so terrible?

Creator Billy Partridge whisks us into his magical tale with whimsical artwork and a story about imagination, adventure, and having the courage to be yourself – even if you have a big personality.

Five Little Friends

Sean Taylor

Poetry

A PERFECT new baby gift and an ideal toddler read for Christmas with 34 original poems by award-winning poet and author Sean Taylor that each come with its own accompanying easy-to-follow directions for actions and movement.

Any child is in safe hands with this ingenious one-of-a-kind interactive poetry collection.

Stunningly illustrated by Fiona Woodcock, FIVE LITTLE FRIENDS offers parents and caregivers simple and joyful ways to sing and play with their little ones as well as encouraging both children AND grown-ups to use their fingers, hands, arms, legs and even feet to become a stomping elephant, falling snow or bursting fireworks!

Held in a big, handsomely sturdy picture book format – just right for sharing – this book is sure to help entertain, and engage with, wriggling, rolling babies or busy toddlers. Even MORE than this – finger rhymes are a beautifully simple way to help children develop and work on their fine motor skills while supporting their social and emotional development.

– Create some beautiful Christmas memories with this must have title for any child’s library.
– An ideal title for schools and libraries or any kind of early years setting.
– A stunningly designed and deeply practical new baby gift.

The Poetry World of John Agard

John Agard

Poetry

A towering figure in the children’s and YA poetry world, John Agard has chosen favourite poems from eight of his previously published collections: I Din Do Nuttin; Say it Again, Granny; No Hickory, No Dickory, No Dock;
Laughter is an Egg; Grandfather’s Old Bruk-a-Down Car; We Animals Would Like a Word With You; Come Back to Me My Boomerang, and Points of View With Professor Peekaboo.

Over 80 poems are included, reflecting the genius of Agard through a range of poetic forms and styles and most of all his extraordinary ability to connect with children of all ages through poetry.

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Age Group: KS1 (Ages 5-7)

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