Fabulous Frankie is a beautifully told and fabulously illustrated story of acceptance and valuing kindness. All Frankie the flamingo wants is to be fabulous! But he’s literally surrounded by so many fabulous flamingos, so how on earth can he stand out from the crowd? He looks to all the latest fashion accessories to achieve his goal of being truly fabulous, but in the end it is Frankie’s friends who will help him learn that the things that really do make him fabulous are on the inside. This flamboyant tale of kindness and learning to be yourself is filled with stylish illustrations and celebrates the joy of learning to value what’s on the inside.

Many of us can relate to the frustration of a sleepness night – especially after this past week of too hot, too stormy or too rainy bedtimes! Arlo the lion is no exception; he is struggling to sleep and feeling helpless at being all out of ideas for what to try next.

Arlo meets Owl, who offers a different perspective. He learns that Owl can sleep through the day – even through the sights and sounds of all the other animals being awake. Fortunately for Arlo, Owl has some sleep-inducing tricks of her own that might just help Arlo too. Owl teaches Arlo a bedtime song, which focuses on thoughts of happy places, a relaxation of the body, a slowing down of breathing patterns and meditation about sinking into the soft ground. The song works a treat, but in his excitement over his new found success, Arlo accidentally wakes other animals up! Happily though, they can use the song too to settle back to sleep.

Parents may like to encourage small children to give Owl’s song a try – or at least one or two elements of the toolbox of strategies it incorporates. The story meets young listeners in the frustrating experience of sleeplessness and moves them gently onwards by empowering little ones with mindfulness techniques tools to try for themselves.

This is a beautifully illustrated tale with a soft, dusk-like palette that blends Arlo’s gentle yellows and browns into the tranquil landscapes of wide, evening skies – almost as if the pictures themselves are willing Arlo to let go and settle into sleep. In fact, the whole story, with it’s gentle pacing and dreamy repetition, is a perfectly pitched winding-down story for busy children.

This longer picturebook is the story of a polar bear who dreams of exchanging his snowy white coat for new fur that is as colourful as the rainbow he sees in the sky one day. The bear’s conspicuous new appearance leads him to be captured and exhibited in a zoo.

This engaging and thought-provoking story by master storyteller Michael Morpurgo is coupled with beautiful illustrations, making it one of our top choices for storytime in Year 2 and the surrounding year groups.

Slime is so often a winner when it comes to making children laugh. In the absence of make-your-own-slime kits or putty-testing YouTubers, young slime aficionados might be easily persuaded to keep their fingers dry and open the pages of this super-fun text about the animal world.
Lenny the Lemur is taking a trip and decides to track down the source of some mysterious slime. On his quest, he encounters opossums, dolphins, salamanders and sea-lions and finds out about the unique properties of the goo each creature produces.
Plenty of humour coupled with oodles of facts make this a winner with children and offers a fun and unique twist on information books about animals.

This is a beautiful and timeless story by renowned author-illustrator Anthony Browne, and a true Year 1 classic read.

This story follows a lonely girl called Hannah, who loves gorillas and longs for her Dad to spend time with her, perhaps taking her to the zoo. The night before her birthday, Hannah’s toy Gorilla magically comes alive and takes her on brilliant adventures, visiting the cinema, a cafe and the zoo, where they meet the real life gorillas. The next morning Hannah celebrates with her dad and wonders whether her night time adventures were as real as they felt.

This is a really unique and interesting picture book – not one to be rushed over but one to spend time thinking about and discussing. The story is emotive and thought-provoking, and the illustrations are rife with intriguing details (including repeated gorilla shapes and patterns to spot everywhere) and evoke the depth of the characters’ unspoken emotions.

I adore this first class picture book and, even now, find something new to consider on every read.

We love this highly original picturebook from Nadia Shireen.

The story is about a bear called Norman, who concocts a plot to get more honey by dressing up as a bee and attending bee school. Children will love Norman’s hilarious attempts to convince his teacher and classmates that he’s a real bee. This is a really funny book with hilarious twists and turns, and ultimately a happy resolution about acceptance and being true to oneself.

The illustrations add to the sheer fun and this book is a real hoot to read aloud. Children love being in on the secret of knowing more than the characters about who Norman really is.

Hugely enjoyable and a big hit with 5-7 year olds.

‘Stories are ‘like a river flowing backward in time,’ writes Nikita Gill as she explains that the tales in this collection were originally told to her by her grandmother, who got them from her mother, who got them from her grandmother – and so on back through thousands of years of Sanskrit tradition. Each one, she says, is ‘as precious as the moon itself’ and she retells them all with an infectious love for stories.

I was quickly drawn in and soon entranced by the stories of Fierce Yowl and Clever Snout the jackals; of nomadic geese and a talkative tortoise; of an entitled lion and a resourceful bear cub. Each story begins conversationally as the author introduces the characters, and then ends in the same tone as, with the lightest of touches, she points out the moral. The reader can almost hear the voice of the older generations passing on the tales.

In between, the stories themselves are told with vividness and pace – a balance of description and narrative with direct speech at the key moments. Luscious illustrations by Chaaya Prabhat and high-quality production make it not only a wonderful gift book but a gem for any primary school too. The stories will provide wonderful read-alouds, each about the right length for a satisfying end-of-the-day storytime.

There is an opportunity for interesting book talk, comparing the stories with traditional tales from other parts of the world – Brer Rabbit, Aesop, Anansi – and a lot of scope for initiating PSHE discussions – about friendship, loyalty or honesty, say. Should your class be writing traditional tales, here are some richly written models to help inspire young writers. If your class is studying India, what happier way to illustrate the rich culture of the subcontinent?

Versatile and beautiful – I wholeheartedly recommend it.

This picture book about a little mongoose and his adventure in the African Serengeti just before bedtime is a heart-warming and descriptive story. The illustrations in this quietly bewitching book are detailed and sophisticated – the bold brush strokes of colour paint a dramatic African night sky as a background to the story. The repetition in the story has shades of ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ within it however it is also suitable for an older audience thanks to its long, elegant sentences and rich vocabulary; ‘giraffes lay like shells curled beneath the tall acacia trees’ and ‘vervet monkeys hugged the boughs…their toes and tails hung like fruits from the branches’. This book may be of interest to parents to read as a bedtime story as well as EYFS or KS1 teachers teaching about the Serengeti setting. At the back of the book is a superb three-page non-fiction section detailing all the Serengeti animals that appear in the story accompanied by beautiful illustrations – some children will relish this part of the book as much as the story.

This animal story is a great choice of story time chapter book for Key Stage 1.

Martin isn’t like the other cats on the farm. Teased by his family for being different, Martin is gentle and caring and does not want to catch and eat mice. When he does catch one, he decides to keep it in an old bath tub as a pet. Martin is determined to care for his captured new friend – named Druscilla – and is surprised to learn of the arrival of a new set of baby mice! When his mice escape, Martin learns a new lesson about freedom, safety, and being true to oneself in the face of opposition.

Readers love rooting for Martin, and Dick King Smith pens the story with just the right ratio of peril, tender moments and funny elements to make this a tale that readers will really feel invested in.

When Mrs Stewart invites a small penguin to visit on a spontaneous visit to London Zoo, no one could have imagined that later that day they would find him on their doorstep, rucksack on his back and an adventure about to begin…

Einstein the Penguin is the debut children’s novel for Iona Rangeley, aptly brought to life with the help of the award-winning illustrator, David Tazzyman. A lovely mix of whodunnit with a slightly preposterous story of a penguin who comes to live with our two heroes, Imogen (age 9) and Arthur (age 6), causing them to put aside their sibling squabbles and come to his rescue. Rangeley manages to pull at your heartstrings as you come to understand each of the characters’ insecurities, bringing together the fear of losing a friend with the loneliness associated with never having had one. The grown-ups are scatty at best and young readers will love it as our heroes come to put one over on them.

Lovely as a class readaloud, children will enjoy the parody of incompetent teachers/zoo-keepers/detectives/parents while also prompting several discussion points about right and wrong. This could be a fun next step for readers who have enjoyed Paddington or Erica’s Elephant.

This beautiful story about a little barn owl who struggles to fight his fear of the dark is a true classic story book for children.

Plop the barn owl is afraid of the dark. To help him overcome his fear, Mummy Owl sends Plop on a mission to seek out the opinions of others about the dark. He finds out from children, adults and a cat that they all have things they love about the dark. In the end, Plop decides he can embrace the night time darkness like a true nocturnal creature.

This is a joyful short chapter book, tenderly told by Jill Tomlinson, whose animal stories are highly recommendable for Key Stage 1.

Here is a fantastically imaginative addition to the growing bank of illustrated chapter books available to newly independent readers, perfect for fans of Alex T Smith’s Claude books and Harriet Muncaster’s Isadora Moon series.

Anna Dupont arrives at the dilapidated Hotel Flamingo after inheriting it from her Great Aunt Mathilda, who left it to her in her will. Shocked at the state of the “sunniest hotel in town”, Anna is disappointed to see dirty floors, cracked windows, broken doors and layers of old cobwebs. Having been empty of guests for the last few years, the only employees left at the hotel are T Bear the doorman and Mr Lemmy, the lemur who runs the front desk.

A determined and optimistic protagonist, Anna decides to restore the hotel to its former glory and sets about the enormous task of cleaning, fixing, planning and hiring. Restoring the reputation of an old hotel is no easy challenge, and soon Anna and the team face a host of challenges, including rival hoteliers, strange dietary requirements from the animal guests and a visit from a hotel inspector. At every step, Anna keeps her focus on teamwork, inclusion and good old hard work and soon the hotel is celebrating the kind of success it deserves.

I enjoyed the delightful cast of characters, the positive values promoted by hotel owner Anna and Alex Milway’s appealing illustrations set in pinks and greys. I particularly loved the way that the hotel was ready to welcome creatures, like cockroaches, that other hotels in the area were unwilling to accept and there was a clear message that the hotel was a better place because of its warmth and diversity.

Imaginative, accessible and little bit wild, Hotel Flamingo is a fabulous early chapter book that will appeal to readers aged 5-8. 

This is a deliciously fun story that minibeast fans will love!

This classic chapter book follows the story of Harry, who is a poisonous centipede, and his best friend George. It’s not easy being small and navigating a world where everything bigger feels confusing and scary, especially flying swoopers, furry biters and the most dreaded creatures of all – Hoo-Mins!

Children love the centipede’s-eye-view world of the story, told with brilliant humour and a dash of empathy. A great chapter book choice for Year 1 and Year 2 children.

This is the story of a class of children learning about different animals. At the end of the term, when they have discovered all kinds of amazing things, the teacher asks them to share their ideas about which is the most important animal of all. The pupils share fascinating facts and illustrate how each species fits into a wider ecosystem. We loved this precise perspective and it seems that the British Ecological Society do too, as it is the first children’s book they have endorsed. The book fits neatly into KS1 Science curriculum and is accompanied by school resources to download.

This award-winning book showcases wild and wonderful beasts, from tigers and brown bears to binturongs and Ice Age beasts. Hugely popular in primary classrooms due to its vibrant, appealing illustrations and accessible and interesting style of text, this informative compendium is the kind of non-fiction that children like to come back to again and again. You may also like the other books in the series, The Big Book of Bugs and The Big Book of the Blue.

We highly recommend DK’s ‘My Very Important Encyclopedia’ series, which also features volumes on dinosaurs, oceans and sport. It is not easy to find comprehensive non-fiction books that are suitable for the younger age range, but the spacious pages, simplified text and high ratio of images (both photographs and illustrations) make this is a brilliant choice for Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children.

Each page features a different animal, giving information in simple language with bright colours, speech bubbles and text boxes to break up the information into bite size chunks.  It feels like a real encyclopedia but is perfectly pitched for the youngest readers without having any overwhelming chunks of text or overly complicated diagrams.

This absolutely super young non-fiction series and will become a go-to for animal-loving children who are curious to learn more.

‘The Emerald Forest’ is a gorgeous and moving picture book bringing to life the plight of orangutans on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

The story, written by Catherine Ward, is written in prose but its language is poetic and has a lovely rhythm to it, making it perfect for reading aloud. Karin Littlewood’s illustrations are stunning, and the size of the pages and the scope of the pictures, bursting with the greenery and light of the Indonesian forest, create an immersive experience. In one illustration, it feels as if the orangutan is looking right at you. Because of this, the experience of the orangutans as their habitat comes under attack is felt on an emotional level too. The plight of the orangutans is unsettling, but the message overall is one of hope, as the orangutans are rescued and rehomed in the story.

The book encourages the reader to look towards a future where the forests of Sumatra might recover if people play a part in protecting them. This stunning picturebook would be invaluable for use in a class topic on the use of palm oil, or more generally in talking about the impact of human activity – for better and for worse – on the environment.

Following on from Lifesize Animals and Lifesize Dinosaurs, Lifesize Baby Animals does exactly what it promises and over the course of its 32 oversize (30x30cm) pages shows the actual size of real-life babies, from tiny baby possums (the size of a full stop) to gargantuan baby blue whales (the size an ambulance at birth).

The illustrations are attractive and often portray the animals within their natural habitats. The text is accessible and clear, suitable from 3+, and introduces basic factual information (“It’s actually seahorse daddies that give birth: to up to 2,000 babies at one time!”) combined with engaging questions (“Imagine having that many brothers and sisters…How would you remember all their names?”).

Reading this book aloud will prompt a chorus of oohs and aahs. A nice finishing touch is the final page, which shows a summary of each baby and adult creature with is length shown in ‘lifesize books’ and an invitation to measure yourself in books to see how you compare – this could make an excellent maths link, measuring out bears, elephants and whales on the classroom floor.

Lifesize Baby Animals is a beautiful classroom book, which would be invaluable during a topic on lifecycles/growth.

This is the story of Tad, the smallest tadpole among her siblings. Tad desperately tries to keep up with the others, not wanting to get left behind – especially as she has heard that ‘Big Blub’ is lurking in the depths of the water. Over time, Tad watches her siblings grow and change, and eventually make the leap out of the water as they become fully grown frogs. When the time comes for Tad to follow in their path, it will take a heap of courage to embrace the next adventure and leap into life.

This is a vibrantly illustrated nature story by Benji Davies, with plenty to spot and count. A good book for Reception or KS1 about life cycles, growth and change or facing new challenges.