Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Publisher: Abrams

Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) was a world-renowned modern artist noted for her sculptures made of wood, steel, stone, and cast rubber. Her most famous spider sculpture, Maman, stands more than 30 feet high. Just as spiders spin and repair their webs, Louise’s own mother was a weaver of tapestries. Louise spent her childhood in France as an apprentice to her mother before she became a tapestry artist herself. She worked with fabric throughout her career, and this biographical picture book shows how Bourgeois’s childhood experiences weaving with her loving, nurturing mother provided the inspiration for her most famous works. With a beautifully nuanced and poetic story, this book stunningly captures the relationship between mother and daughter and illuminates how memories are woven into us all.

A new addition to the Questioneers series sees Ada Twist ask lots of questions about flight. How do things fly? Is it a mystery? A puzzle or a quest? Why are aeroplanes the shape they are? Why can’t birds fly as soon as they are born?

This full-colour, non-fiction, early reader series based on the Ada Twist, Scientist  series is going to be so popular in the classroom for KS1 and lower Ks2. With age appropriate text, real images and diagrams, who wouldn’t want to read and learn more?

Discover everything there is to know about flight, including about creatures that fly and the history of aircraft. Curiosity has never been so easy to access and so brilliantly documented. I LOVE it and so will my students.

Discover birds who survive winter against all odds in this poetic, gorgeously illustrated picture book.

Snowflakes whirling, snow-flocks swirling, streaks of white twirl through the night…

You’ve heard of birds who migrate to warmer climates in the wintertime-but what about those who persevere through snowy weather and freezing temperatures? With elegant verse and striking illustrations, Snow Birds salutes the brave and resourceful birds who adapt to survive the coldest months.

This story follows Aaron, a boy who loves stories but struggles with writing due to his difficulty in deciphering letters. But when his turn to write a story for the class comes around, inspiration strikes, and he finds another way to share his tale through the pictures he draws.

This book is part of a larger series that has gained popularity in schools, and for good reason. The other titles, such as Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect are also engaging and give validity to the talents and strengths of each individual.

We love Aaron Slater, Illustrator as an empowering storytime read that can also lead to discussions about helping individuals find ways to personally thrive as well as touching on themes of dyslexia and the power of art.

Graphic novel
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We adore this moving graphic novel memoir about deafness by Cece Bell.

Cece Bell retells her memories of being a young child, when she experienced hearing loss after being ill with meningitis. In this graphic novel retelling of her life, characters are redrawn as charming anthropomorphic bunnies – although, after a few pages, you forget that they are not just people. Despite the challenges of her condition, Cece approaches life with positivity and bounce.  A throwaway comment by another child called her ‘El Deafo’ sparks the creation of a fun alter-ego, empowering her to think like a superhero would about her hearing aid (which she sees as cool gadgets that give her extra powers). Other themes covered in the story include friendship, moving class and celebrating differences.

Readers will whizz through this thought-provoking and unique graphic novel.  There’s also an author note that gives a little more background about Cece Bell’s life.

Starring the same little girl in the same charming illustration style as Hello In There!, In My Heart explores emotions–happiness, sadness, bravery, anger, shyness and more. Unlike other feelings books that tend to oversimplify, In My Heart lyrically explains what an emotion feels like, physically, inside. For example: “When I get really angry, my heart feels like it’s going to explode! Don’t come near me! My heart is yelling, hot and loud. This is when my heart is mad.” Toddlers will be empowered by this new vocabulary and able to practice articulating and identifying their own emotions. On the cover and the right side of each spread, a die-cut heart decreases in size, creating a multi-coloured heart the depth of the entire book.

A new rhyming picture book from the popular Questioneers series (popular for Rosie Revere, Engineer & Iggy Peck, Architect). Sofia Valdez is a Mexican-American girl who campaigns for improvements in her local area, showing the difference that individual voices can make when they engage and get involved with their communities.

We love this story featuring a girl called Rosie who has a passion for inventing and a dream of becoming a famous engineer. Along the way Rosie must learn how to respond to mistakes. When one of her inventions crashes to the ground, Rosie must choose between giving up on her dreams or listening to her Great-Great-Aunt’s wise advice about embracing mistakes positively and using them to learn something new.

A funny story about a family who, on 1st January, start receiving a penguin each day through the post. There are mathematical challenges along the way that are suitable from Year 2 up to Year 6. Children will love listening to the story and pausing to calculate questions on a whiteboard too. With quirky and fun illustrations, this will quickly become a class favourite.

This book was a breath of fresh air when first published – such a valuable addition to STEM, with faultless rhyme and brilliant illustrations. Ada, a curious young girl, embarks on scientific explorations, undeterred by challenges. Her story promotes perseverance and intellectual curiosity, encouraging children to ask questions and value their inquisitive nature, thereby building confidence in their problem-solving abilities.

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