This one is a must for fans of the original Jolly Postman book. This time around the postman is delivering Christmas post to all of your favourite nursery rhyme characters – and eating a lot of mince pies along the way!
Along with the lovely story and the detailed illustrations you get the added bonus of being able to open all the envelopes to see what’s inside.
Ivy loves pulling out the little cards and pretending to read them.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2iBWBY3
The Highway Rat is a baddie – he roams the highway stealing food from his fellow animals. Chocolates, biscuits, clover and even leaves – they all end up in his tummy. He shows no remorse and is extremely ungrateful. Meanwhile, his fellow animals are growing increasingly hungry and sad.
Then one day he tries to steal from a quick-thinking duck and everything starts to unravel. Has the Highway Rat finally found his match?
This is Julia Donaldson at her best (and we love the cheeky inclusion of a Gruffalo cookie in the illustrations!)
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2km5Src
Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima is a glorious little book about discovering your true self.
Kelp is born in the ocean and grows up believing he’s a Narwhal like his friends – but deep down he knows he’s a little bit different.
One day he gets swept away by a strong current and finds himself close to the shore. Up on a cliff he spots a majestic horned creature which looks just like him.
Is he brave enough to venture on to land and discover who he really is? And if he does, will he ever be able to return to his Narwhal friends?
This book carries such a great message about inclusion, diversity and being true to yourself.
Highly recommended – and the illustrations are some of the loveliest I’ve seen.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2BIhl8H
Our Christmas tree is going up tonight so it seems appropriate to review our first festive book!
I love Ollie’s Christmas Reindeer by Nicola Killen because, instead of focusing on Santa and presents, it is all about the magic of Christmas. Ivy loves the beautiful pictures and she especially likes the little cut out sections which allow you to peek from one page to the next.
The story is about a little girl called Ollie who is awakened one night by the sound of bells. Mesmerised by the snow she sees outside her window, she decides to follow the sounds to see where they lead. She finds herself in a wood and spies a collar dangling on a tree.
Is that a Reindeer she sees in the distance? Adventure awaits!
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2BE2wEb
We love The Storm Whale by Benji Davies. The illustrations are beautiful and the simple story is really heart-warming.
Noi lives in a little beach house with his dad and 6 cats. His dad is a fisherman and he spends most of the day out at sea, leaving Noi on his own to entertain himself.
One day, after a storm, Noi finds a little whale washed up on the shore. He’s not quite sure what to do so he takes the whale home, gives him a bath and talks to him all day to keep him calm.
But soon it’s time for his dad to come home, and what will he say when he finds Noi’s new friend in the bath?
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2nlZwcz
This is a really lovely ‘lift the flap’ book from Sophy Henn.
Join Ted as plays dress up with things he finds around the house. With a colander and a bin lid he becomes a knight. With a headscarf and a banana he becomes a jolly pirate.
Where else will his imagination take him?
The illustrations in this one are bold and gorgeous – and Ivy gets very excited lifting the flaps to see what Ted’s costume will be.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2Af0Y5Q
I imagine that this book wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but we think it’s hilarious! It’s a simple book with a dry sense of humour and Ivy yells ‘Turtle! Hat! Turtle! Hat! all the way through it!
Two turtles find a hat in the desert. They try it on and it suits them both. They each very much want the hat but there are two of them and only one hat. Can they find a way to each get what they want whilst remaining friends?
A very funny tale about friendship, sharing and a hat.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2Ag0SZ7
It’s early evening and Baby Bear asks his Mummy if he can go to the moon. The answer is a resounding NO as it’s bath time and, as she points out, he’d need a rocket anyway.
Not to be deterred, Baby Bear finds himself a box under the stairs which becomes a rocket, puts a colander on his head as a space helmet, packs his teddy and zooms off to space.
Who will he meet on his travels? And will he make it back in time for his bath?
This is a really cute little story that shows children there are no limits to their imagination.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2k1bDul
Anyone who has been following us for a while will know that Ivy and I are big fans of Rebecca Cobb and this beautiful book is no exception.
A little boy finds a hole underneath the cherry tree in his garden and begins to wonder what could be down there. He shows the hole to his parents, his sister, his friends and his grandparents and ask them what they think.
Could there be a family of frogs down there? Or bunnies? Or even a troll or a dragon? Only time will tell!
This is a delightful little book about the power of a child’s imagination and the illustrations are gorgeous. We particularly like the little blue troll.
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2i30Zmn
A few weeks ago we reviewed ‘Each Peach Pear Plum’ and we were inundated with messages telling us we had to read PEEPO! if we hadn’t already. I promptly bought us a copy and we can definitely see why you all love it so much! If you haven’t read this to your toddler yet then I would definitely recommend it.
A baby is standing in his cot pointing. What can he see? The cut out circle on the next page lets you see a small portion of the baby’s view. PEEPO!
Turn the page for a beautifully detailed picture and a rhyme which encourages you to find lots of different things within the illustration. This set up repeats throughout the book, encouraging lots of conversation around the contents of the pictures.
It’s a real delight which can either be a quick read at bedtime or something you can easily spend an hour looking at with your child. We love it!
Buy it now: http://amzn.to/2B6F1Cv