Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Age Group: KS1 (Ages 5-7)

Ravi’s Dancing Hands

Picturebook

Henna hands should be for everyone and Ravi can’t wait to design his very own! A vibrant picture book celebrating family, community and culture.

‘Do henna hands last forever?’ asked Ravi.

‘After a while it fades then disappears,’ replied Madam-Mehndi. ‘But special henna hands never really go. They stay right here’ she said pointing to Ravi’s heart. ‘They’re chosen out of love and no-one forgets the ones they love.’

It’s the day before Ruhi’s mehndi party and there is so much to prepare. Her lengha has been tailored, the guests have been invited. All her little brother Ravi wants to do is help her get ready for the big day.

But ‘mehndi and henna hands are not for boys.’

Spend the day with Ravi as he helps make the henna paste, decorate the home and dreams of his very own henna hands.

Funcles

Adriena Fong & Yashika Mody

Picturebook

When a school assignment asks for a family tree, one child knows he’ll need more than one sheet. He has a gazillion uncles! From Bus Uncle to Supermarket Uncle, everywhere he goes, someone’s looking out for him. But when Ma and Pa explain that none of these uncles are blood relatives, he’s crushed, until he realises that they’re not fake uncles…they’re FUNcles! This warm and funny picture book celebrates the aunties, uncles, and neighbours who help raise us, rooted in a cultural tradition of respect and connection. FUNCLES is a joyful story about love, belonging, and the beautiful ways community becomes family.

The Thieves Beneath the Floorboards

Mikey Please

Picturebook

Join Rene and Glumfoot at the Café at the Edge of the Woods – this time with some unexpected visitors beneath the floorboards …

When Rene hears gnawing, clawing and scratching sounds from underneath the café, she just can’t ignore them. Using every skill she can muster, she lays an elaborate trap – but what she finds will put all of her hopes and dreams in jeopardy …

Full of Mikey’s unparalleled world-building and imaginative storytelling, rejoin Rene and Glumfoot once again for more folklore figures, culinary escapades and entirely unexpected guests.

Rhyming text for easy reading aloud – Catchy rhymes make bedtime reading a breeze

Parent- & Educator-Approved Quality – The story is aligned with EYFS guidelines to encourage imaginative play and social-emotional learning

The Tale that Time Sews

Jane Ray & Sita Brahmachari

Picturebook

While a young girl awaits the arrival of a new sibling, her Nana works on a special story quilt. As she sews, mends, and adds new patches, Nana shares the story of her own journey – of fleeing her homeland, finding love in a new country, and stitching together a new beginning from fragile threads.

With every new and restored patch, the girl begins to understand her place in the world. Patterns burst with stories, threads shimmer with spirits passed and new patches wait to be brought to life. Each careful mend and every stitch carries the hope of what’s to come.

Now, as a new life enters the world, Nana’s quilt wraps around her grandchildren in the warmth of the past and the promise of what’s to come.

The Tale that Time Sews is a heartfelt tribute to love, resilience and the generations forever woven together.

Together Street: The Street We Call Home

Clare Helen Welsh & Robyn Wilson-Owen

Picturebook

Ash takes Nell on a walk along her new street, meeting neighbours in all their different homes.

But something unusual is going on – what can the surprise be?

This joyfully illustrated picture book celebrates friendship, community and belonging.

Little Wolf’s Big Huff

Harriet Howe & Katie Cottle

Picturebook

A heartfelt, original and imaginative story about recognising and managing BIG feelings. Brought to life by rising star author, Harriet Howe, and Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlistee illustrator, Katie Cottle.

Every year, Little Wolf and Daddy Wolf watch the Wolf Moon rise. Two wolves, alone together, under the big night sky. But this year’s trip is looking to be a little bit BIGGER and BUSIER than usual… This time all the brothers, sisters and pups are coming, too. Little Wolf is worried it won’t be the same…

And sure enough, it ISN’T. As things go from bad to worse, strange feelings start to bubble in Little Wolf’s belly and fizz through his fur. Before long, he feels BIG and BAD. He huffs…and he puffs…

Can Daddy Wolf help Little Wolf get a handle on his huffs and puffs before it’s too late? And teach him about a very special part of being a wolf?

This reassuring picture book is packed with fairytale-like storytelling and in-depth character and world building, supporting children when they are faced with BIG feelings to process. Perfect for fans of Barbara Throws a Wobbler, The Colour Monster and Tom Percival’s Big Bright Feelings series.

Who Said Boo?

Brian Fitzgerald & Jeanne Willis

Picturebook

Catchy rhyme and pantomime create the perfect read to share!

In the green, green castle with the green, green door
And green, green carpets on the green, green floor,
There lived a little ghost who was never seen,
And that is because he was green, green, green!

The naughty little ghost loves giving his unsuspecting victims a fright with a loud ‘Boo!’ – they can’t see him, but the reader can! Each character blames the wrong person, until the clever jester finds an unexpected way to expose the culprit!

Watts & Whiskerton: Mischief on the Midnight Express

Meg McLaren

Chapter book

From Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlisted author-illustrator Meg McLaren. Purr-fect for emerging readers and fans of CLAUDE, HOTEL FLAMINGO and RABBIT & BEAR.

Watts and Pearl are back – and this time, they’re on track to solve their trickiest case yet!

Tasked with guarding a fortune in stolen gold aboard the Midnight Express, the world’s most secure sleeper train, the dog-and-cat duo are ready for anything. Or so they think . . .

When the train screeches to a halt in the middle of a snowy forest and the gold vanishes from the vault, all paws point to Patsy Caboose, the eccentric security goose. But something doesn’t add up.

With suspects on board, clues in every carriage and a mystery that’s going off the rails, can Watts and Whiskerton crack the case before the train reaches its final stop?

How to Scare Blue Monster

Petr Horacek

Picturebook

When something HUGE comes clumping through the forest, all the animals are scared. But it’s only their friend, Blue Monster. Blue Monster is surprised – he doesn’t even know what it means to be scared and he asks the animals to teach him!

Fox, Wolf, Racoon and the Rabbits try lots of scary tricks but nothing scares Blue Monster. Then clever Fox has an idea…

Next time Blue Monster goes out he is all alone. He calls out for his friends but nobody replies. What’s happened to them? In his worry for his friends, now Blue Monster really is scared. But the animals have just been hiding and BOO!, they jump out, ready to play.

This funny and empathetic story, starring lovable Blue Monster and his friends, is perfect for sharing.

A Wild Lullaby

Cathy Fisher & Jackie Morris

Picturebook

A mother sings to her child, describing the ways wild creatures across the world lull their babies to sleep – whales in the sea, fledgling ospreys in their nest, bear cubs in their ice den, seals on the shore, ponies on the heath, the snow leopard family in the high rocks, and tigers in the deepest jungle.

The lyrical story is enriched by Cathy Fisher’s gorgeous animal paintings, realistic yet magical, evoking a sense of tenderness and peace across our wild world.