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Author & Illustrators

Petr Horacek Books

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.

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.

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”.

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.

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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

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