Reception: 50 Recommended Reads
Best Books for Reception (Children Aged 4-5) *NEWLY UPDATED* We’ve hand-picked a list of 50 recommended books to read with 4- and 5-year-olds. Update your class library or home book collections with our list of best Reception books, covering everything from fashion-conscious flamingoes and super-greedy monsters to dreams of space travel and expeditions into faraway places. […]
Puffin Peter
Delightful and witty, this is a simple story of mistaken identity! Peter and Paul are the best of friends, but when Peter gets lost in a terrible storm he can’t find Paul anywhere. With the help of a big blue whale Puffin Peter sets off to find him. They find all kinds of birds that […]
Pattan’s Pumpkin
Pattan has an amazing pumpkin… it grows BIGGER than the goats, BIGGER than the elephants, until it is as TALL as the mountains. But can Pattan’s pumpkin save his family and all the animals when the storm-clouds burst and the waters rise ?
My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals
A charming children’s encyclopedia bursting with facts about the animals of the world! The world is so much bigger than young minds can fathom and there is always more to learn. My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals is a vibrant encyclopedia for curious 5-9 year olds with a unique approach to the subject of animals […]
Tad
Meet Tad. She’s the smallest tadpole in a big pond, and lives there with all her tadbrothers and tadsisters. Although something else lives there too… BIG BLUB! And when everyone else starts to disappear, Tad starts to wonder if Big Blub will get her too… Or is everyone else going somewhere else; somewhere better? And […]
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The classic picture book story of Sophie and her extraordinary teatime guest has been loved by millions of children since it was first published more than fifty years ago. Now an award-winning animation! The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly […]
Zog
The magical and exciting picture book from the number one bestselling author and illustrator of The Gruffalo, Zog and Stick Man. ‘Madam Dragon ran a school, many moons ago. She taught young dragons all the things that dragons need to know. Zog, the biggest dragon, was the keenest one by far. He tried his hardest […]
Afraid of the Dark
Today we are moving house but my new room is strange and scary. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep… A gentle first experience story about new beginnings, friendship and finding ways to cope with fear.
Caterpillar Cake
“Caterpillar caterpillar caterpillar cake – it’s the only thing that my mum can make!” Would you like to eat a caterpillar cake? Join a rocket race into space? See crazy crocodiles at the zany zoo or play with a furry, purry cat? Wherever these 16 fun-filled poems lead you, they will brighten your day. Splashing at the seaside, storytime […]
On the Way Home
Filled with a little girl’s inventive stories, On the Way Home is by Jill Murphy, the author and illustrator of the bestselling Peace at Last and Whatever Next! Claire has hurt her knee so she sets off home to tell her mum all about it. On the way she meets her friends and tells them […]
William Bee’s Wonderful World of Things That Go!
Vroom Vroom! Peep Peep! We have blast off! William Bee is back with this bumper book of all his favourite vehicles! Find out all about the weird and wonderful world of trucks, trains, and tractors, as well as aeroplanes, submarines, rockets and more! It features William’s turbo-powered high speed truck, his fire truck, his super […]
We Catch the Bus
Choose your favourite vehicle and LET’S GO! Join all the busy animals as they zoom around in every kind of vehicle you can imagine, vibrantly illustrated by the talented Katie Abey. Is that a cheeky monkey flying a plane? And did I see a llama riding a scooter? And there’s a whole pack of animals […]
Never Teach a Stegosaurus to do Sums
A love letter to learning and the power of numbers from exciting talents, Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Diane Ewen. A laugh-out-loud ‘what if . . .?’ adventure that celebrates maths being fun in this riotous read. If a Stegosaurus knew how to do sums – well, what would happen? Maybe she’d learn to code, to invent, […]
Oi Frog!
The laughter never ends with Oi Frog and Friends! Jam-packed with the silliest of animals, this bestselling rhyming story will have the youngest of readers in fits of laughter. Cats sit on mats, hares sit on chairs, mules sit on stools and gophers sit on sofas. But Frog does not want to sit on a […]
The Lion Inside
A bestselling story about confidence, self-esteem, and a shy little mouse who sets out on a journey to find his roar. In a dry dusty place where the sand sparkled gold, stood a mighty flat rock, all craggy and old. And under that rock in a tiny house, lived the littlest, quietest, meekest brown mouse. […]
Fair Shares
When Bear and Hare try to reach some juicy pears, they realise they need some help. Hare finds three chairs but is it fair that Hare has two chairs and Bear only one? When they have the same, Hare still can’t reach the pears! So a little friend teaches them that fair isn’t always everyone […]
Papa Penguin
The perfect picture book for dads at storytime… Luckily for Sam, Dad’s home just in time for a bedtime story. But tonight there’ll be no aliens or super heroes, instead he’ll tell the tale of Papa Penguin, who loves his beautiful boy-chick very much, even when he’s not always around.
Elmer
Elmer is different. Elmer is patchwork. The grey elephants all love him, but he soon starts to wonder what it would be like to be just the same as them… Full of colour, wisdom and pathos, little readers will love this classic tale at bedtime. Deservedly a modern classic, with over ten million copies of […]
Rain Before Rainbows
An uplifting, stunningly beautiful book about optimism in the darkest of places. A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future […]
Mrs Pepperpot
Mrs Pepperpot has a problem – a huge problem – she shrinks! And when she shrinks she finds herself in all sorts of trouble… Poor Mrs Pepperpot has shrunk again and she’s set her heart on going to the bazaar. But with a clever disguise and a cunning plan, she’s soon dancing rings around the […]
My Mum is a Lioness
A hilarious tale about a a boy with a wild imagination and his loving family, from award-winning author, Swapna Haddow and bestselling artist, Dapo Adeola. Run! Hide! My mum’s a lioness and she’s on the prowl. Is Mum a lioness? She loves her ‘cubs’, she can run faster than anything , and she can catch […]
Rabbit’s Pancake Picnic
A sweet and funny picture book about friendship – perfect for Pancake Day. Pancake recipe included! It’s finally the day of Rabbit’s pancake picnic! She’s going to make the pancakes all by herself . . . but she can’t find her recipe book. Bother! Rabbit decides to try to remember the recipe and adds syrup, […]
The Cat and the Rat and the Hat
A raucous, rhyming tale that will have children (and adults) in fits of laughter! Cat is sitting on his favourite mat, when who should come along but Rat with a very nice hat? Cat wants Rat’s hat and will stop at NOTHING to get it. But when Bat arrives wearing a fancy cravat, well, what […]
Ernest Shackleton
In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Ernest Shackleton, the fearless Antarctic adventurer. When Ernest Shackleton was young, he longed for a life of adventure. After a career in the Merchant Navy, he joined a landmark expedition to try to reach the South Pole […]
Wriggle and Roar!
Whenever I’m tired of being me I swing around like a chimpanzee. Are you tired of being you? Here’s a whole bookful of things you can do! There are rhymes to make you wriggle and giggle, shrug and sigh, snap like a crocodile and slither like a snake. Julia Donaldson’s verse jumps off the page […]
One Springy Day
A hilarious story in the 9-million-copy best-selling classic series from highly regarded author Nick Butterworth! The Fox is playing hide-and-seek with Percy and the animals of the park. He’s got a great hiding place in Percy’s workshop but hasn’t noticed that there is a pot of strong glue dangerously close by and soon finds himself […]
Blue Monster Wants it All!
Blue Monster loves brand new things. A fancy new hat . . . a shiny submarine . . . a fabulous funfair . . . and a paradise island, all of his own. But he’s still not happy! What will it take for Blue Monster to realise there are some things that money can’t buy? […]
The Colour Monster
A picture book follow-up to The Colour Monster, Anna Llenas’s jaw-dropping pop-up book. One day, Colour Monster wakes up feeling very confused. His emotions are all over the place; he feels angry, happy, calm, sad and scared all at once! To help him, a little girl shows thim what each feeling means through colour. What […]
Dogger
When Dave loses his favourite toy, Dogger, he is very sad. But when Dogger turns up on a stall at the garden fete, everything seems all right – until someone else buys him before Dave can get the money! Voted the public’s favourite CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winner, this is a tale to which all […]
My Must-Have Mum
When Jake’s mum upcycles every last thing in the apartment, Jake begins to worry that the only thing left to change is… him! Jake’s mum is not like most mums. Say there’s a skip in the street, most mums will pass right by without a second glance. Not Jake’s mum. “Look at this, Jake!” she’ll […]
Pumpkin Soup
Cat, Duck and Squirrel live in an old white cabin, with a pumpkin patch in the garden. Every day Cat slices up some pumpkin, Squirrel stirs in some water and Duck tips in some salt to make perfect pumpkin soup… until the day Duck wants to do the stirring… A funny, rhythmical story about friendship […]
Supertato
Meet Supertato ! He’s always there for you when the chips are down. He’s the supermarket superhero with eyes everywhere – but now there’s a pea on the loose. A very, very naughty pea . Has Supertato finally met his match? The much-loved character from Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet , the bestselling, award-winning creators […]
Splash
Claire Cashmore, MBE and Paralympic gold medallist, was born without a left forearm – but she never let being different stand in the way of her big dreams. Splash is based on Claire’s real-life experience: this gold-medal-winning swimmer really was scared of water … until one day, everything changed! These are Claire’s big sisters. They […]
The Body Book
Look inside the human body in this incredible inventive board book with see-through acetate pages. What’s going on inside the human body? How do we move, eat, think, sleep and breathe? Children will love looking inside to discover the answers with amazing see-through pages and clear, friendly text. With labelled acetate diagrams of the muscular, […]
Reception: 50 Recommended Reads (2021)
Best Books for Reception (Ages 4-5) in 2021 We’ve hand-picked 50 recommended books for 4- and 5-year-olds. Update your Reception class library or home book collections with our list of top reads, covering everything from fashion-conscious flamingoes and super-greedy monsters to dreams of space travel and expeditions into faraway places. Not to mention the odd heroic […]
