This engaging picture book takes its reader on a guided tour of an imaginary chocolate factory, run by Mr Bunny. The humorous illustrations are packed with details and guaranteed to get imaginations firing. We think that this highly enjoyable text would make a great stimulus for creative writing and is likely to have pupils poring over its inventive visual details for hours. Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory is sure to quickly become a humorous Easter favourite in primary classrooms.
This is top of our list for non-fiction on the Easter theme of eggs and new life. Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones explores the exceptional range of animals that lay eggs of all shapes and sizes. We love the rhyming text and the brilliantly life-like illustrations of the creatures and their eggs, raising curiosity levels and giving this non-fiction topic a high level of appeal to young minds.
There is something for all year groups in this magical Christmas folktale from Russia. Babushka is busy tidying her house when three unexpected guests arrive looking for a new born baby king. When Babushka decides to follow the men, she finds that the snow has covered their tracks and she doesn’t know which way to go. Babushka keeps on searching, giving gifts from her basket to every suffering child that she passes. Babushka is a beautifully illustrated story from another culture that brings together the festive themes of generosity and what it means to pursue your beliefs even when it seems difficult.
This is the Christian story of Easter as told through the eyes of the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem and watched the events of the Easter story unfold. The text is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and would be suitable to use with the whole primary age range as they explore the meaning behind the Christian festival.
If you are looking for a means of introducing classic poetry to your class, this book would be an excellent choice. The classic poem ‘Snow’ by Walter de la Mare is presented as an accessible picture book with stunning illustrations. The poem describes a stark wintry landscape broken into by the tune of a robin. What we love about this edition is how the illustrations of the houses behind the frosty snow scene pick up on small details of the poem and expand them to bring to life extra layers of meaning. This text would make a wonderful stimulus for Christmas writing projects across both key stages.
This clever picture book offers something book for all ages. Award-winning Emily Gravett (author of Meerkat Mail and Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears) is back, this time with a story about a duck that desperately wanted to lay an egg like the other birds. The duck finds and nurtures an intriguing egg, which eventually hatches to reveal a charming surprise. The pages of The Odd Egg are cut into different sizes to mimic the way the egg progresses and the book is full of visual humour that helps to extend its appeal to older children too.
This book serves as a fun way of introducing the classic poem The Night Before Christmas to younger children. On a pirate ship filled with mischievous brigands who have visions of treasure chests dancing in their heads, you will find Sir Peggedy cracking his whip and driving giant seahorses. A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas is a clever and humorous book with a story that will engage younger children and that could act as a stimulus for older children to change the original Christmas poem into their own imaginative new setting.
The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic children’s book that is now nearly 100 years old, although it is as relevant today as it was when first published. It tells the story of a boy’s tatty toy rabbit that becomes ‘real’ as he is transformed by the boy’s love and affection. There is also a movie version of the story available on DVD.
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.
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