Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Author & Illustrators

Neal Layton Books

Hot Food: Nice!

Picturebook

Michael Rosen, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, is the master of rhyming hilarity. This picture book edition brings Michael Rosen’s classic poem Hot Food to life, all about a boy realising his dad isn’t the expert he thought. While the rest of the family patiently cools their potatoes until they are just cool, Dad recklessly takes a giant mouthful, leading to pure slapstick chaos at Dad’s expense.

Neal Layton’s expressive illustrations perfectly capture every wide-eyed puff and huff as Dad endures the steaming results, and if you have ever heard Michael Rosen perform this out loud you’ll appreciate how well the illustrations capture the sounds and sights of his performance.

It’s a brilliant choice for a classroom, offering plenty of chances for children to join in. There’s even a fun note at the back about how ‘Nice’ became a global meme for Rosen. A great pick for KS1 that captures a moment of hilarity over family dinner!

What is AI?

Neal Layton

Non-fiction, Picturebook

An easy-to-understand picture book explaining AI to young readers, whilst celebrating how amazing human brains really are!

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence – and we all have LOTS of questions. What exactly is it? Why is it such a big deal? Are there any risks? And how is it going to transform our lives?

Award-winning author-illustrator Neal Layton is here to explain all there is to know about AI, from the early computers that could only solve sums to the AI programs of today that can recognise human speech and recommend TV shows – and what AI might be able to do in the future. Along the way, readers will learn just how incredible their human brains really are, and what intelligence is all about.

This entertaining non-fiction picture book, illustrated in Neal Layton’s trademark zany collage style, is perfect for readers aged 6+ who are always asking HOW something works, and for parents wanting to help their kids make sense of a subject that everyone is talking about.

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea

Andy Stanton & Neal Layton

Picturebook

A super silly picture from Andy Stanton – best known for the Mr Gum books.

Danny McGee drinks the sea after betting his sister (Fannie Mcgee) that he could. Once he drinks all of the sea, he starts to munch, crunch and devour everything in his sight: trees, mountains, animals, insects and even people. Once he starts, he does not seem to be able to stop. He carries on until he has eaten everything in the world and there is nothing left; he has just left one person – his sister. What will she make of her brother eating everything, and what will she do?

A funny and boldly illustrated story book, which made a great bedtime story for my little boy. We loved the way that it rhymed all the way through, rhyming with the word McGee until it seemed that there were no more words to rhyme. The story is silly and full of nonsense, but that is what makes it so successful and enjoyable to read.

The book would be great to use within the classroom as an EYFS or KS1 read-aloud and could be used as a stimulus for children to create their own silly story with a rhyming pattern in it, as a lighthearted link to seaside and coast topics, or just for the pure storytime fun.

BOING! A Bouncy Book of Bugs

James Carter & Neal Layton

Poetry

Boing! A Bouncy Book of Bugs is a colourful anthology of poems all about a variety of bugs and minibeasts, including butterflies, spiders and even dung beetles! The poems are catchy, memorable and often rhythmic, which are perfectly accommodated and supported by the colourful images on each page.

There is a variety of poems in this book in terms of length and type – shape poems, riddles and acrostic poetry are just some examples included, as well as other poems with longer or repetitive verses. This further helps to make the book accessible to all and would support it being used across Key Stage 1 into Lower Key Stage 2.

Children would certainly enjoy the opportunity to listen to and perform many of these poems aloud, as well as use them for inspiration to write their own poems. This book is a nice introduction to some poetic features, including rhyme, repetition and alliteration. Interestingly, as well as a poem on each page, some pages include interesting facts about specific bugs or minibeasts.

This is a fun and interesting addition to the poems and would certainly appeal to any budding nature enthusiast or scientist, as well as to those who enjoy poetry.

A Climate in Chaos

Neal Layton

Non-fiction, Picturebook

You’ve probably heard about climate change. At least I hope you have – because it’s REALLY IMPORTANT. It affects all of us living on Planet Earth right now, and everyone and everything that will live on our planet in the future.

Our world is warming up, and it’s a big problem. Award-winning author-illustrator Neal Layton is here to explain what climate change is, what’s causing it and why it’s dangerous for animals and humans alike. But he’s also FULL of ideas for how you can help! From eating lots more veggies to walking and cycling and thinking carefully about what we need to buy, A Climate in Chaos will get young readers excited about how they can make a difference to keep Planet Earth happy.

This brilliant non-fiction picture book, illustrated in Neal’s trademark collage style, is perfect for readers aged 5-7 who love nature and want to help the environment.

Also available in this series: A Planet Full of Plastic.

A Ticket to Kalamazoo!: Zippy Poems To Read Out Loud

James Carter & Neal Layton

Poetry

As the title of this poetry collection says, these are ‘zippy poems to read out loud’! Each poem will excite and engage young listeners and these are the sort of poems that children will quickly join in with and learn by heart.

All of the poems are written by James Carter, who has a unique talent for poetry for the young. Each poem is illustrated by Neal Layton and this will provide additional interest when read aloud or when children are browsing the book independently. The poems have clear and wonderful rhyming patterns and this helps to create their ‘read aloud -ability’. Some poems feature repeated patterns such as the title poem, ‘A Ticket to Kalamazoo’ which has a delightful chorus to join in with and ‘Elephant beat’ has an unforgettable repeated question, ‘Fancy a ride on an elephant?’.

The subjects of the poem range from animals to adventures to new versions of traditional stories: ‘Fuss! Fuss! Fuss! or The Goldilocks Rap’ is a favourite! Minibeasts have a high profile in a few of the poems and despite their critical place in our eco-system are rarely celebrated in poetry and these poems make a useful contribution. This is a joyous collection of poetry that would be perfect to read aloud in those spare moments across the school day or in a poetry feast at the end of the day!

Stanley’s Stick

John Hegley & Neal Layton

Picturebook

With the power of Stanley’s imagination, a simple stick can become any kind of toy that he wants. This entertaining story with brilliant illustrations is a celebration of children’s imaginary play.

Weird, Wild & Wonderful

James Carter & Neal Layton

Poetry

Welcome to the weird, wild and wonderful world of James Carter!

Expect to hear the moon speak, explore a magic wood and play air guitar. You’ll meet wolves, elephants and a dung beetle; you’ll get close to a gorilla and sing a lullaby to a woolly mammoth; you might even meet an alien in a library.

Packed with James Carter’s most popular and requested poems, plus 8 brand new poems, this is an important collection from one of the top children’s poets writing today.

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown

Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton

Picturebook

This is a highly recommendable, award-winning picture book that tells the story of a little girl whose favourite toy rabbit is kidnapped by order of the Queen, who likes the look of the toy for herself. Emily Brown is not willing to let her beloved rabbit go without a fight and goes on to teach the Queen an important lesson about the value of treasured toys.

We absolutely love this story from storytelling maestro Cressida Cowell, and grown-ups who love to read dramatically and ‘do the voices’ will have just as much fun as children listening.

What’s Eating You?

Neal Layton & Nicola Davies

Non-fiction

All about the tiny creatures that live on or in human and animal bodies. Find out about the parasites that live in skin, hair, fur, feathers, blood, guts, livers, hearts and lungs. Filled with diagrams, cartoons and easy-to-read chunks of text, this information book is accessible and engaging.