Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Author & Illustrators

Petr Horacek Books

A Surprise for Snail

Picturebook

If you ever have read the toddler board book ‘The Great Big Monkey Story Book’, you will be reminded of one animal’s search for something special, in this warm and welcoming new book by Petr Horacek.

A Surprise for Snail mixes bright collage style illustrations, similar to Eric Carle’s, with the repetitive style of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Snail sets off on his birthday with a special goal in mind – to see the sea! Along the way he meets one animal after another, all offering a ride to Snail to help him on his way. However each ride turns out to be a little too adventurous for Snail and finally, worn out from his efforts, he climbs up onto a rock and falls asleep. The rock turn out to be Tortoise who, while Snail dreams, gently carries him on the last leg of his journey. When Snail opens his eyes a spectacular sunset greets him, sparkling over the ocean, and Snail feels grateful for the friendship and support from the creatures all around him.

This is a delightful, gently paced book that will be enjoyed by young children and is bound to turn into a firm favourite at bedtime too!

Blue Monster

Petr Horacek

Picturebook

This is a read-aloud book that demands that the reader find a voice for the Blue Monster and a voice that conveys something of the character’s charm, even though he eats anyone who won’t play with him!

The illustrations capture each character’s feelings, and seeing Blue Monster’s body language change as he becomes more and more embarrassed and guilty is a joy! The approach to solving friendship problems is clear and simple, and one that could easily be used with a class of children.

This book is so simple and enjoyable. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story holds a powerful message that is given gently and humorously.

The Perfect Present

Petr Horacek

Picturebook

Tom and Mot are best friends. On their birthday, Tom gives Mot a feather – but could it be a feather from the most spectacular bird in the world? Mot gives Tom a marble – or is it the smallest planet in the universe?

Tom would like to give a whale, a dolphin, a sea monster, an elephant, while Mot would give rivers, mountains, forests and even the sun!

But after a joyful day playing together, what is the best present of all? This beautiful story of imagination and friendship is perfect for sharing.

The Greedy Goat

Petr Horacek

Picturebook

A funny, read-aloud farmyard tale that teaches colours and days of the week from award-winning illustrator Petr Horacek.

A funny, read-aloud farmyard tale that teaches colours and days of the week from award-winning illustrator Petr Horacek. Goat has had enough of eating grass. She wants to try something different – the dog’s food, the pig’s potatoes and even the farmer’s pants. But things go wrong in this hilarious, but cautionary, farmyard tale from the Kate Greenaway-Medal shortlisted illustrator described by the Washington Post as “the thinking tot’s Eric Carle”.

Puffin Peter

Petr Horacek

Picturebook

This sweet story is about a young puffin called Peter who loses his best friend Paul during a storm. On his quest to be reunited with his friend, Peter enlists the help of a friendly blue whale. The whale attempts to follow Peter’s descriptions of his friend, but ends up leading him to other birds that match Peter’s partial descriptions. There’s a happy ending and the friends are ultimately reunited.

Reception classes adore this story about friendship, helping others and perseverance. We love the beautifully illustrated seascapes and the vibrant, textured illustrations of the various birds. There’s a mild ‘find the match’ puzzle element to the plot, reminiscent of Julia Donaldson’s Monkey Puzzle, and young children love the tease of knowing more than the characters and wanting to jump into the story and tell the whale what he hasn’t realised. At its heart, though, this is a really gentle story that plays on the feeling of belonging together – a feeling that best friends will find familiar.