In this story Grandfather, together with his canine companion Roo, sets off on an Arctic expedition to find the last polar bears. The story is told through a series of letters from Grandfather to a grandchild, through which Grandfather gives a first hand account of the highs and lows of his exciting journey. We like the way in which this book balances an appropriate level of humour at Grandfather’s amusing escapades along with an underlying concern for the melting ice caps and the survival of creatures living in polar regions.
A twist on the traditional Little Red Riding Hood story with a clear message about environmental sustainability. When Little Red is invited in for tea at the Last Wolf’s house, which also happens to be the home of the Last Lynx and the Last Bear, she soon comes to empathise with her new friends as she learns how the destruction of their natural habitat is the cause of the endangering of a number of wonderful forest species. After she is chaperoned home, Little Red sets about to make a plan to help restore some of the damage and learns how to plant new trees to repopulate the forest for the future. Humorously detailed illustrations, timely themes and a link to traditional tales make this a great book for the whole school to get their teeth into.
“This is Planet Earth: A beautiful blue marble suspended in a sea of stars. Unlike billions of other planets in the Milky Way, 71 percent of Earth is covered by ocean.” In collaboration with BBC Earth and based on the Blue Planet II TV series, this illustrated non-fiction book is designed to help children to dive into the beautiful wilderness beneath the waves and to emphasise the unique importance of ocean life to our planet.
The book is structured as a journey through different ocean settings – starting with The Deep, where we meet the weirdest and most wonderful creatures that look like something from a sci-fi movie but are – the book assures – as real as you or me. From there we move through shimmering coral reefs, to learn about the secret coral cities in shallow, tropical waters that are filled with a delicate ecosystem like no other. The next section covers ‘green seas’ – so-called due to the underwater forests and seagrass meadows that populate them. Interestingly, these areas form some of the most crowded underwater worlds and together they help to feed marine life across our blue planet. Here the book cleverly draws out the interdependent nature of the vastly varied but thoroughly interconnected parts of our blue planet. The author calls these green areas the ‘superheroes’ of the sea, and emphasises that, just like our forests on land, these precious ecosystems need our protection. After this we visit the world of coastlines, where human and ocean worlds collide and the theme of environmental protection is further drawn out. The final stop of the ocean tour is the big blue outback – an oceanic desert that is seemingly empty but is the home to majestic giants like sperm whales and great white sharks. The book ends with a call to action – a plea for ocean heroes to safeguard our seas by heeding the advice of scientists and taking everyday actions that can help to protect our Blue Planet.
With a foreword from David Attenborough and beautiful illustrations by Emily Dove, this informative book offers a fascinating insight into the wonder and fragility of the oceans.
A little boy lives in a house with his family. Unbeknown to the humans, a family of mice secretly shares the house too. But one day the mice are spotted and the mouse catcher is called in. The mice become fugitives and leave their home, which is now too dangerous for them, and they seek solace in the back garden instead. Will it ever be safe for them to return to the house?
This classic picture book, by the popular author John Birningham, is a story about sharing and helping others. The simple storyline follows a repeated structure and is accompanied by detailed illustrations. A great read for younger classes.
A hilarious story telling the tale of Mrs Armitage and her dog, Breakspear. Instead of enjoying a simple bicycle ride, the eccentric Mrs Armitage is constantly looking for ways of upgrading her bike. Soon it barely resembles a bicycle at all! A big hit with KS1.
When Duffy Driver leaves the brakes off, the Little Red Train sets off down the track without him! Duffy tries everything he can think of to catch up with the train, with a little help from a tractor, some horses, a boat and a helicopter.
An enjoyable transport-themed story to read over and over again, and preschoolers will enjoy the gently unfolding journey narrative as well as relishing the chance to join in with the train noises and to spot all of the many details on the pages.
Clean Up! is the second picture book from Nathan Byron and Dapo Adeola, and acts as a sequel to their mightily popular debut book Look Up!. The story follows a young girl called Rocket, who goes to visit her Grammy and Grampy in Jamaica. However, when Rocket stumbles upon a baby turtle trapped in some plastic on the beach, she begins to realise how pollution is ruining this once perfect island. Determined to make a change, Rocket sets about on a mission to give the beach a thorough clean up!
This picture book was an absolute pleasure to read and delivered a delightful story with a powerful message to match. As a teacher, I believe this book is deserving of a spot in any school as it offers so much in terms of the themes which link to caring for the environment and encouraging children to take the lead from Rocket in being bringers of change. I love that even the youngest children will see the example Rocket sets and be inspired to act with the same passion and desire as Rocket does to change the world for the better.
The illustrations in this book are fantastic and Adeola does a superb job at making this book so visually enjoyable and bringing the protagonist of Rocket to life. Rocket is a character that will be seen as a role model for readers and her enthusiasm is infectious. I am certain this book will replicate the positive reception that its predecessor Look Up! had, and deservedly so.
A popular choice with EYFS and KS1, this is the story of a little boy who asks for a bucket for his birthday. Billy fills his bucket with water and his parents fail to believe him when he says that it contains wonderful creatures from the ocean. That is, until Dad decides to borrow the bucket to wash his car!
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Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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