5 Favourite Picture Books about Love and Togetherness

Children’s books, like my picture book Love, can show us that sharing love and kindness is easy and fun – and makes our world a better place. Here are some of my favourite books that do that. 

The world is full of adventures and it’s nice to share them with friends. Badger, Bear and others are spending a wonderful summer’s day in nature … and they’d be happy if you join them. 

Sharing can be very complicated as Bear and Weasel find out when they settle down for a delicious mushroom meal. But difficulties can be overcome between good friends (at least temporarily). A funny story with lovely humorous drawings. 

This is a touching and subtle story about a refugee child who befriends a pebble – and then finds a human friend in Amir. It has beautiful illustrations and is a good starting point for a conversation about one of the most urgent issues of our time.

A brilliant story about welcoming people who arrive from a distant unknown place. The animals make friends with a new creature who shares their experiences contained in their suitcase. 

For me, these are some of the nicest stories about friendship and kindness (they are also a favourite of Julia Donaldson). Funny and wise, these stories are absolutely timeless and have something to discover for every new generation. There is also a picture book edition for Summer, Autumn and Christmas. 

Love, illustrated by Axel Scheffler and written by Sophie Cashell, is out now. 

Love follows Axel’s picture books Kind and Welcome – all are published in support of Three Peas, a charity which helps people who have had to leave home because of war or persecution. A donation from every copy sold goes to Three Peas.