Gretel the Wonder Mammoth
by Kim Hillyard
Interest age: 4 to 5
Reading age: 4+
Published by Ladybird Books, 2022
About this book
Gretel – who has been hibernating inside an iceberg for quite some time - is the last mammoth left on earth, and everyone loves her. She’s kind, understanding and strong and has plenty of new friends. Still, the world that Gretel wakes up to is rather different to the one she remembers, and although she tries her hardest to fit in, Gretel starts to feel sad.
Rather than bother her new friends, Gretel goes off to be on her own, but she soon finds that makes her feel worse. How can she get the hang of living in this new world, where she feels she doesn’t belong? Fortunately, her friends are there to help Gretel find herself – and stroke her woolly feet to make her feel better.
This utterly delightful picture book by Kim Hillyard, author of the empowering and sweet Mabel and the Mountain, is all about finding the confidence to be ourselves in what sometimes seems like a scary world; sometimes, we can feel that we don’t fit in, and that everyone else is different to us.
Gretel’s anxiety is aided by her friends being there for her and reassuring her that she has a place in the world, despite being one of a kind, and Gretel herself is a very cute and appealing (and rather Moomin-like) animal character that children will love.
More books like this
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Ned and the Great Garden Hamster Race
by Kim Hillyard
2 to 9 years
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Frida the Rock-and-Roll Moth
by Kim Hillyard
4 to 7 years
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Two Little Dicky Birds
by Anna Brooke, illustrated by Carly Gledhill
2 to 7 years
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It’s Not My Cookie
by Kael Tudor, illustrated by Ben Sanders
2 to 7 years
Lists of recommended reads
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Hibernation booklist
During the coldest months many animals snuggle down into their warm dens to sleep until Spring. These cosy picture books books are all about hibernation, perfect to read aloud for wintery bedtime stories.
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Stone Age to Iron Age history topic booklist
Stone Age to Iron Age Britain features in the history curriculum for primary schools across England and Wales, and children are often curious to learn more about this fascinating era. We have hand-picked a selection of books which connect with this period, and which would work well alongside a history topic.