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Topic: Reading for Pleasure

Poetry

Poems are made to read OUT LOUD!

A wittily illustrated anthology of poems, designed to be read aloud. Twenty poems by the award-winning Joseph Coelho arm children with techniques for lifting poetry off the page and performing with confidence.

Perfect for confident children and shy readers alike, this book teaches all sorts of clever ways to performing poetry. Children will learn 20 techniques for reading aloud by trying out 20 funny and thoughtful original poems by the much-loved and award-winning performance poet, Joseph Coelho .

There are tongue twisters, poems to project, poems to whisper, poems to make you laugh. There are poems to perform to a whole class and others to whisper in somebody’s ear. Richly textured, warm and stylish illustration by Daniel Gray-Barnett bring each page to life.

Chapter book

Meet the princess who loves breaking the rules and her Royal Unicorn, who happens to be a pig!

A madcap new adventure series for 6-8 year olds, perfectly bridging the gap from picture books to chapter books, from award-winning author-illustrator Hannah Shaw, filled with pictures in all the colours of the rainbow and interactive extra material.

Welcome to Twinkleland Kingdom, where everything is 100% perfect. Except Princess Pea… Today’s the day the princess has to choose her own perfect unicorn at the Royal Unicorn Parade. All is well until the muddy Unipiggle appears and creates a very big muddle. It looks like Princess Pea has met her perfect match…

Chapter book

Unlike most kittens, Martin doesn’t like eating mice – let alone catching them. When he catches one by mistake he decides to keep it as a pet and soon Drusilla the mouse is established in an old bath tub in the attic. Martin is kept busy getting food, water, bedding – and then Drusilla’s babies start to arrive. How can Martin cope with all his mice?

From the number one author of animal magic comes this wonderful new edition of Martin’s Mice .

Picturebook

An uplifting story about the power of art, finding your voice, and telling your story even when you’re out of step with your peers from the #1 bestselling creators of Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and Ada Twist, Scientist !

Aaron Slater loves listening to stories and dreams of one day writing them himself. But when it comes to reading, the letters just look like squiggles to him, and it soon becomes clear he struggles more than his peers. When his teacher asks each child in the class to write a story, Aaron can’t get a single word down. He is sure his dream of being a storyteller is out of reach . . . until inspiration strikes, and Aaron finds a way to spin a tale in a way that is uniquely his.

Follow Iggy Peck, Rosie Revere, Ada Twist, Sofia Valdez, and Aaron Slater on all of their adventures! Add the picture books, chapter books, and activity books starring The Questioneers by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts to your family library today.

Non-fictionPicturebook

From bestselling author and illustrator Kate Pankhurst, descendent of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, comes another ‘smart, informative, inclusive and accessible’ book about trail-blazing women.

Discover the untold stories of women who have helped protect our natural world, all the way through history.

Bursting full of colourful illustrations and fascinating facts, Fantastically Great Women Who Saved the Planet is an inspiring introduction to just a few of the incredible women who show that all actions, big and small, can be powerful in the fight against climate breakdown.

Picturebook

From standout author, Alex Latimer, and bestselling illustrator, David Litchfield, comes a beautiful picture book about finding – and holding on to – friendship. One bright afternoon, Pip met Egg.

Pip is a seed from a glorious tree, and Egg is a bird’s egg from a nearby nest. When Pip and Egg first meet, they are almost the same size and shape – like two peas in a pod.

But as their friendship grows, so do they – for Pip this means growing roots, but for Egg?

Well, Egg grows wings, and she can’t wait to use them. Though Pip wishes he can follow Egg on her adventures, his roots are strong.

So he watches his friend fly away.

But true friends always find their way back to one another, and there are no truer friends than Pip and Egg.

And if there’s one thing they learn, it’s that the circle of life will always lead them back to each other.

This lyrical, reassuring story that children will love features lush illustrations filled with warmth and emotion, and teaches children about the value of friendship.

Picturebook

Flinn is at school looking in the art cupboard for some coloured pens to finish off his dinosaur drawing when he stumbles upon Captain Stubble, a real live Pirate Captain! He tells Flinn that his ship, the Acorn, has been stolen and that he needs Flinn to help him rescue it back. Stubble makes Flinn the captain and they sail away on an old pirate ship…they finally find the Acorn but, to their horror, realise it’s been stolen by PIRATE DINOSAURS! Captain Flinn and his crew attack the dinosaurs and, after much fighting, seize control of the ship once more. Flinn and his friends then sail back to the harbour clambering through the boatshed door and back into the art cupboard without the teacher even noticing they’ve been gone!

Picturebook

Anita watches the dragons high above her as she hops from one cement roof to another in her village in the Dominican Republic. But being the valiant princesa she is, she never lets them scare her. Then one day, Anita must face her fears and begin life in a new country. Will she be brave enough to enter the belly of the beast and take flight to new adventures?

Non-fiction

Celebrate the incredible ways in which animals survive in the wild, from epic migrations and extraordinary behaviours to Herculean habits. There are hundreds of things to spot and facts to learn with every turn of the page, as you’ll meet another of nature’s most adventurous creatures, learning about their amazing behaviours and habitats.

Each section begins with an infographic map of the region it explores, followed by richly detailed two-page spreads featuring its most fascinating creatures. You’ll get to run with the wildebeest in Kenya, nest with the puffins in Iceland, parade with the peacocks in India, hit the dance floor with the birds of paradise in New Guinea and go north with the narwhals of Canada, among many other adventures.

Chapter book

Small but very determined, Sophie is everyone’s favourite farmer-to-be! A bind-up of three classic stories for young readers by the beloved author of Babe.

The inimitable Sophie is Dick King-Smith’s most adored (human!) character, beautifully re-imagined twenty years later by the witty, perceptive paintbrush of the award-winning Hannah Shaw. Sophie loves animals of all kinds, but how will she grow up to be a farmer if she is not allowed any of her own? She goes looking for creatures to keep in her menagerie, but all she seems to find is trouble – yikes! And there is one pest she certainly doesn’t want around: her prissy new neighbour, Dawn…

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