Six books for ages 0-5 from a master list created by BookTrust. BookTrust compiled a list of the best 100 books of the past 100 years for various age groups. I will introduce you to these books in small batches at a time. Some are books I have read. Some are written by authors I have read. Some look new and intriguing and make me want to read them. I hope you will come to your library and look for some of these titles.
Dear Zoo
-Rod Campbell
This appealing story, in lift-the-flap, board-book format has been a favourite with toddlers ever since it was first published in 1982.
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As you lift the flaps in search of an ideal pet, a host of different zoo animals will be revealed, until the right pet is finally discovered. Simple, stylish and highly interactive, this book invites constant re-reading. The sturdy flaps are perfect for small fingers to lift, and children will still love this book when they are ready to start school.
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Gorilla
-Anthony Brown
Hannah’s favourite animals in the whole world are gorillas; she reads about them, watches programs about them, and draws pictures of them. But all she really wants to do is see a gorilla in real life. Hannah’s dad is always too busy to take her to the zoo, so on her birthday, Hannah decides to ask for a gorilla of her own.
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This fantastical picture book from 2009-2011 Children's Laureate and Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Anthony Browne is a warm and sensitive story. With its beautiful, slightly surreal illustrations, it is a magical story to treasure and share again and again.
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We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
-Michael Rosen
Follow a father and his family as they go out in search of a bear. They wade through the grass, splash through the river, squelch through the mud and even negotiate a snowstorm on their way. But what will await them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest?
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Michael Rosen's repetitive text has a musical charm that lends itself perfectly to reading aloud, whether to a group or to an individual - and children will enjoy joining in with actions and words. Combined with Helen Oxenbury's beautiful illustrations, it makes for a wonderfully entertaining picture book that has become a firm favourite for families.
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Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy
-Lynlyey Dodd
This hilarious rhyming story follows Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy, as he sets off for a walk in town, followed by a whole host of canine friends. Then they meet the toughest tom cat in town, Scarface Claw...
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Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy is the first in the classic children’s series, originally published over 30 years ago. Written and illustrated by New Zealander Lynley Dodd, the book has delighted generations and can be enjoyed time and again by children and adults alike.
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Not Now, Bernard
-David McKee
This is the classic story of Bernard, whose distracted parents fail to notice he has been eaten and replaced by a monster. We follow Bernard as he does his best to attract his mum and dad's attention to the monster in the garden who wants to eat him - only to hear the repeated refrain of 'Not now, Bernard.'
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Short, pithy and without a page wasted, this is a wonderful picture book. McKee deals with a sad theme in a clever and funny way, which will resonate with both children and adults.
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Where The Wild Things Are
-Maurice Sendak
Max is being naughty. His mother calls him a “wild thing,” and, when he is cheeky to her, she sends him to bed without his dinner.
Dressed in pyjamas that make him look rather like a wolf, Max feels very cross up in his room and either dreams or imagines that his bedroom turns into a jungle. When a boat appears, Max sails to the land of the wild things, where he finds huge, multicoloured monsters with big claws and teeth.
Not frightened of anything, Max tames the wild things, who agree that he is the wildest of them all, and make him their king. Max calls for a “wild rumpus” where he and the wild things dance in the moonlight, hang from the trees and have a fantastic (if rather unruly) time until Max realises that he misses home. Although the wild things beg him to stay, Max returns to his bedroom, where his dinner is waiting for him – and is still hot.
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A classic picture book, Where The Wild Things Are was one of the first picture books to explore a child’s anger, and does it in a way that allows a conversation to be had without ever feeling preachy. Max is allowed to express his feelings, fully letting go with the wild rumpus – and comes back to his mother and home when he’s worked it all out (from a modern perspective, it could be said that the book shows a child having a time out). Yet, as well as the book’s emotional resonance, Sendak’s scenes of the wild things and the wild rumpus are also a joyous celebration of the imagination and of the freedom of being a child. Sendak’s artwork continues to be an inspiration to many modern picture book makers, and the impact of Where The Wild Things Are on children’s literature in the twentieth and twenty first century can’t be underestimated.
Heidi Y.