Picture Book Perfect

Have I told you how much I love picture books?

This week has been very much a picture book week! I have been ridiculously busy and so the perfect picture book is enough to soothe my soul! I was spoiled for choice this week with an incredible selection from Walker Books, Egmont, Scholastic, Bloomsbury and Oxford!

This post will focus on Walker and Scholastic titles. A wonderful mixture of hilarity and powerful friendship stories.

The narrator wants to collect cats and has the perfect plan! Some cheese will attract some mice and the mice will attract the cats. The plan is working and some cats have been collected. The plan continues until some big stripy cats arrive. Now there are too many cats. Not to worry, the narrator has a new plan. This book will make you smile and giggle. Superb illustrations of cats in all shapes, sizes and colours fill the pages and with so much to look at, this book will engage readers for a long time. I want to collect cats too!

Hilarious and colourful! Perfect for sharing! I adored this book! Poor Banana has been put into the reject bin with sour satsuma and other overripe friends, but he is not happy about it. Staging a revolt, he leads everyone on a mission to escape the store. With funny rude bits and striking illustrations, you can’t go wrong with this book. With prominent messages of loving yourself as you are, this is a great book to encourage confidence in children.

Gorgeously illustrated this incredible book has a lovely message about “finding the best place in the world”. Hare asks all his friends if their meadow is the best place in the world and although their answers are all yes, they have different reasons as to why. Hare is confused until Owl tells him to explore the world so he can decide for himself. Finding many beautiful places in the world, Hare realises he knew the answer all along. The best place is where your friends are! A very special book!

Jimi-my-Jim lives with his owner Sophie at the very top of a tall tower. With only windows to the outside world, boredom is a huge problem for Jimi, who longs to be part of that world. He starts to get flat until one busy morning Sophie leaves the keys behind. Finally Jimi can go outside, meet some friends and be part the world with his crush, Blanche. When the cats come over to party, Jimi gets caught and told off by Sophie. Knowing he needs more excitement in his life, Sophie has a plan to help! Colourful illustrations bring Jimi and friends to life and this book made me smile so much. Utterly charming!

This picture book is so imaginative and special. It feels as though this book is giving children and their imaginations permission to fly! Emotional, practical and fun items are suggested to help children reach for the sky! Beautiful illustrations accompany simple rhyming text and they work in perfect harmony. To me, this book gives my imagination wings but it also reads as the perfect bedtime story, ensuring the readers dreams are special! One for the personal collection I think!