Julia Donaldson's favourite picture books to share

Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson

If you're looking for some great books to share with children as part of your Bookstart 20 pledge, then look no further than this selection of picture books chosen by Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson.

Julia chose her favourite picture books to share for a special Children's Laureate promotions in Waterstones stores to encourage families to read together. Her list includes both classic favourites like Shirley Hughes' Dogger as well as new books like Otto the Book Bear by one of Booktrust's Best New Illustrators, Katie Cleminson - a delightful story about the power of books and reading.

Take a look at Julia's list of great picture books to share.
Julia also shared her tips for reading stories with children for a leaflet to accompany the promotion. Julia says:

'People often ask me, "Is it important to read to your child?” Actually, I dislike that word “important” because it implies that sharing books is a worthy duty whereas in fact it’s a huge pleasure. To my mind, there’s nothing like chuckling or gasping together over a good book, and you don’t really need any other reason for doing it.

'I like to think of stories as a room, a room full of pleasure, and of reading as the key to that room. By sharing stories, a parent can take a child into the room before the child can read. Once this child has experienced the pleasure of the room, they’ll be much more likely to want to find the key. In other words, they’ll see the point of learning to read. But sometimes I think people get it the wrong way round: they think that the stories are a mere key to being able to read. They are far more than that – they are the whole point of it all!'

Read more about the promotion on the Children's Laureate website.