Picture Book Perfect

More enjoyable and beautiful picture books to share today! Titles are from Egmont, OUP and Bloomsbury.

A bright and bold counting book told in rhyme perfect for younger readers! Hilarious for reading aloud and sharing. This fun book features bananas, llamas and a hungry monkey. Complete calamity ensues ensuring readers are kept laughing throughout the entire book. Bananas get up to all sorts of tricks to foil Monkey’s plan to eat them. Will they get away? The incredible use of colour truly makes this story pop off the page. This will be a huge favourite with children everywhere.

This book is so bright and bold that your eye is immediately drawn to the cover and it begs to be read. The incredible team of Caryl Hart and Bethan Woollvin have created a fun, new way to meet the planets. Using bold, neon colours and fun designs, readers are taken on a rhyming journey through the galaxy. Meeting the planets as though meeting new friends, children learn facts while understanding the order and names of the planets. A wonderful new way to introduce space to would be explorers.

Another book with a brilliant use of colour and design. This book highlights just how great it is to be you and to be different. Using monsters to illustrate the point of how different everyone is, you see tall, long, hairy and groovy characters alongside small, strong and soft monsters. After reading this I immediately thought it should be a staple book in every early years classroom. Learning how great it is to be different is something our youngest generations can learn early and grow up knowing. Loved this brightly coloured celebration of being you!

Lenny meets a strange little fish at the pond one day and wants to be friends. Unfortunately the fish can’t come out of the water and Lenny is not allowed near the edge. Having to say goodbye, Lenny gifts the fish his blue scarf and hopes they will see each other again. Making a wish one evening, Lenny wishes to see the fish. When the summer arrives, a surprise hops up the path to see Lenny. Recognising his blue scarf, Lenny is surprised to see who is wearing it. A completely lovely and endearing story about the power of friendship. Beautifully illustrated as well.

Lubna and Pebble had taken the world by storm in 2019 as a hardback book. Now published in paperback, I want to ensure it continues to get the attention it deserves. This striking book about the power of friendship and hope also gently deals with refugees and their plight in finding a safe haven.

Lubna finds a pebble on the night she lands on the beach. She draws on a smiley face and the pebble becomes her best friend and someone she shares everything with. Using Pebble, Lubna learns to cope with her current situation. When a young boy arrives looking lost and sad, Lubna introduces him to Pebble. When a home is found for Lubna, she gifts Pebble to the boy. Giving away her best friend and most prized possession is an incredible act of kindness and friendship. A truly stunning story both in text and illustrations.