There seems to be a universal appeal to children’s stories about food with a mind of its own and this one’s a version of a story I fondly remember capturing my own imagination as a child. In a Gingerbread Man style escapade, one pancake escapes from a hungry family’s breakfast time and begins a runaway adventure that draws in a host of animals along the way. This illustrated version has simple text designed for younger readers.
A boldly-illustrated interactive book that brings the fun into reading a sequence of instructions for making pancakes. The book’s interactive elements invite the reader to become involved with every step of the recipe; lift the flap to open ingredients, turn the wheel to mix the batter, pull the tab to ladle the batter into the pan and – of course – flip the pancake to cook the other side! A great book for classrooms – second only to frying up the real thing.
Pancakes are eaten all around the world, with different variations, traditions and names in different countries. This story is set in Kenya and features the spiced pancakes shared at an unplanned community meal (there’s a recipe in the back of the book, too). When Adika hears that Mama is making pancakes, he is so happy that he invites everyone he sees to his house to eat them. He reassures Mama that they will have enough flour, but Mama is worried. A heartening story about the power of community, with plenty of added information about daily life in one Kenyan village.
Among his more well-known stories about hungry caterpillars and mixed-up chameleons, Eric Carle also wrote about pancakes! This story follows an American boy called Jack who goes through the process of making his own pancakes, including milking the cow and cutting the wheat. A useful story for tracing where the different ingredients come from.
Sometimes children wish to be astronauts, artists or sports stars – and sometimes they wish to be just like their mums! This is the follow up to Just Like Daddy from Lucy Freegard and captures the parent-child relationship in a heartwarming way. The story beautifully draws out Mum’s positive qualities that the cub wishes to emulate – her ability to turn bad situations into good ones, her creativity, her kindness and her sense of humour – as well as celebrating the fun activities they enjoy together.
The Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’ is familiar to many, but how often do people pause to think about what the words mean? Lara Hawthorne brings the classic Christmas song to life in this beautifully illustrated hardback picture book. Dedicating each double-page spread to a different rhyming couplet from the original carol, this book tells the story of the nativity through vibrant illustrations that are teeming with a mood of joy and good news.
The brightly drawn characters and settings in the story are placed against a deep black sky with clusters of stars. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus are depicted as dark-skinned and there are plenty of nods to middle Eastern patterns in the stylised designs. What I enjoyed the most is the way the illustration captures the way the original carol – and the nativity story itself – conveys an equal measure of peacefulness and joyful celebration.
A worthy addition to your collection of nativity story books.
This is a highly recommendable retelling of the story of the Chinese Zodiac and how the order of the animals came about. The story is easy to understand for KS1 and reception with striking illustrations, containing wonderfully colourful spreads painted in an oriental folk style. This text holds a high level of appeal for young children and is perfect for learning about Chinese New Year.
Mimi and the Mountain Dragon is a beautifully poignant Christmas story by popular author Michael Morpurgo. In a quiet village overshadowed by dragon-filled mountains there lives a little girl called Mimi. When Mini finds a baby dragon, she makes a brave decision that will transform her village forever. This is a festive adventure story that combines the magic of Christmas with the important themes of being courageous and searching for peace. Morpurgo has a number of other Christmas books, including Christmas Stories, The Goose is Getting Fat, The Best of Times, The Best Christmas Present in the World and On Angel Wings.
A fun Christmas picturebook with a message about staying positive. The animals living in Rainbow Mews are disappointed to find that their beloved old Christmas tree is no longer up to surviving another festive season. Struggling to source the perfect replacement, the little cast of animals find themselves thinking outside the box to create a wonderful solution to reclaiming their festive cheer instead. An uplifting, appealing and original Christmas story suitable for KS1 and reception.
A cross between a Christmas story and an advent calendar, this charming hardback book is structured into 24½ chapters – one for each day of advent. Each day’s offering includes the next chapter of the story and easy-to-follow instructions for an accompanying craft to make or activity to try.
Winston is a little mouse who finds himself caught up in a special adventure with a festive theme. When Winston stumbles across a lost letter addressed to Father Christmas, he makes it his mission to deliver the letter to the North Pole in time for Christmas. It’s not an easy expedition, but along the way Winston is helped by a cast of generous friends and helpful strangers. This is a heart-warming story that celebrates simple acts of kindness towards other people and together with the craft activities it makes a wonderful book for families, groups or school classes to enjoy exploring together in the run-up to Christmas.
review
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
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Curriculum links (if relevant)
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Any other comments