There’s such a tremendous range of books available for children that we’re spoilt for choice. However, finding the best and most suitable books on our own isn’t always easy. We’ve asked our reviewers – professionals in the genre of children’s books – to give us some good leads. We hope you enjoy some of their suggested top reads. Happy reading!
Picture books come in many shapes and sizes. There is something here for everyone, from simple books to share with babies to sophisticated picture books for older children. Most will be loved by the adult readers as much as the children!
By Lucy Cousins Walker Books, 2009 ISBN 9781406316216 Hardback $39.99 The bright yellow cover of this treasury of nursery stories features a hungry wolf in striped trousers and the startled Little Red Riding Hood and it’s completely irresistible. It’s a big book with super-sized, boldly coloured illustrations that don’t hesitate to show the scary stuff. …
By Lucy Cousins Walker Books 2010 ISBN 9781406323689 Dog loves his friends but keeps boasting about being the best – he can run faster than Mole, dig deeper than Goose, and swim better than Donkey. But his friends get fed up with him and let him know who’s really the best. This leaves Dog …
By Jez Alborough Walker Books, 2010 ISBN 9781406319927 Hardback $29.99 Leon is a chameleon who needs to learn how to blend into the jungle before he can go exploring. His dad is teaching him about how he can avoid danger by changing colour and the reader helps by pulling the tabs on each page to …
Kyle Mewburn Illustrated by Vasanti Unka Puffin Books, 2010 ISBN 9780143504535 Paperback $20 Two unusual characters star in this thoughtful tale. Hill and Hole are best mates who love being themselves, but also long to experience the world from each other’s point of view. The illustrations are full of texture and colour and the story …
By Janene Cooper Illustrated by Evie Kemp Duck Creek Press (David Ling), 2010 ISBN 9781877378416 Hardback $29.99 Evie has a cute little dog. Everybody tells her how a dog should behave but even though her dog doesn’t behave like that she thinks that her rather unruly pet is just perfect. Illustrated in beautiful cut paper …
By Tom Niland Champion & Kilmeny Niland Illustrated by Deborah Niland Allen & Unwin, 2010 ISBN 9781742371153 Hardback $29.99 A charming book about a tall man and his twelve babies – six girls called Charlene and six boys called Alistair. He takes great care of them, but one day the babies misbehave and the tall …
By Oliver Jeffers HarperCollins 2010 ISBN 9780007182305 Hardback $29.99 A touching, subtle book about love and loss. A young girl, curious about the world and always asking questions, one day suffers a loss and decides to put her heart into a bottle, so that it won’t be hurt any more. She hangs the bottle around …
By Ruth Paul Scholastic 2010 ISBN 9781869439354 Paperback $18.99 Two small boys wake early in the morning and, in their pirate personas, creep into their parents’ room and try to wake the queen and king up. The parents respond by joining the battle and when they win, demand the two small pirates must suffer the …
By Elena de Roo, Illustrated by Brian Lovelock Walker Books Australia, 2010 ISBN 9781921529146 – Hardback $29.99 Take an overnight journey on a chugging train through the rainy night. The text is full of rhythmic onomatopoeia; the noises of the train as it moves through the countryside. The moody watercolour and ink illustrations depict pyjama-clad …
