Browse our Year Group Booklists

Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Author & Illustrators

Gavin Puckett Books

blanksy the street cat

Blanksy the Street Cat

&
Chapter book
This is a fabulous short chapter book for all ages. It has superb black and white drawings and has been longlisted for the Alligator’s Mouth Award for highly-illustrated young chapter books. It is written in rhyme and has a lovely sing-song rhythm – perfect for reading aloud to children, plus the well-spaced lines and clear front make this dyslexia-friendly.
It tells us the story of Pete, a busker, singing songs on the street for the sheer joy of the music and making people smile. Whilst busking, he is soon joined by a cat and the two become inseparable, except when Pete goes for ‘a poo or a wee’ – children will love that bit! Pete doesn’t seem to be bothered that crowds pass by with scarcely a glance, always glued to their phones, but the cat is disheartened and devises a plan to encourage people to stop. Blanksy is created (with an obvious nod to Banksy) and life changes forever.
This has some thoughtful messages about the power of the internet and how things can ‘go viral’. There are mentions of TikTok, Instagram and Twitter (now X), so the book feels very current. It could inspire some interesting conversations as to whether fame is worth it too.
There is some lovely humour: I loved to see Marks & Spencer rhymed with money dispenser, and a passer-by giving the two buskers some raw broccoli – the drawing of the cat’s face is brilliant!
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop
frank the unicorn alpaca

Frank the Unicorn Alpaca

&
Poetry

You should not judge a book by its cover, however in this case, the vibrant colours and hilarious picture of the alpaca with an ice cream on top of his head and his wings is a perfect picture to grab an early reader’s attention whilst also having a high quality text to enjoy.

When reading aloud, it gave lots of giggles and on every page were fun illustrations and pictures which helped with understanding the story and in bringing it to life for the reader. It was fun reading the book aloud as each line rhymes throughout and as soon as I finished this book, the request was to read it immediately again!

It has a strong message about accepting oneself and celebrating who you are. It would be an excellent addition to a KS1 reading corner and also to be enjoyed being read aloud from Early Years; it is the perfect book to read aloud or for readers who are beginning to read early chapter books.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

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