Books We Love in January 2024

A board book with five spreads that combines the enduring love of little ones for dinosaurs and farts, this board book – with sound – is one that older babies and toddlers will love, but parents might (in the very nicest of ways) want to periodically hide under a sofa cushion.  

A baby watches an adult making bhorta, a South Asian dish of spicy mashed potatoes: potatoes go in to boil, then chillies and onion are fried up. Baby mashes the squishy potatoes: such fun! Then the oil and salt is added and the bhorta is made into little balls. Yummy! 

Femi’s wind machine for Science Day doesn’t always work. Gran has some useful advice – but what will happen at school when it matters? With techniques to calm anxiety, and gorgeous illustrations, this picture book will stimulate conversations about feelings. 

Penguin sits on his beloved teddy Mikki Olsen and then can’t find him. Can you spot the teddy? A funny, interactive book that should make toddlers giggle with delight. 

Bear wants to play on his sledge, but he’s stuck. His animal pals offer to help buy pushing and pulling but it’s no use. A fantastic introduction to the concept of forces.

Rajiv doesn’t know why he’s thrown his toy against the wall, so his dad shows him a way to identify his feelings. Gentle and beautiful, this could spark conversations about emotions with pre-schoolers. 

Gail is a little snail with a big dream – to become the first snail in space! A hilarious story about the power of passion and persistence. 

Arlo the bear cub is nervous about leaving his cosy cave to travel to Spring Mountain with his sister and mum. A heartwarming picture book about courage and love, accompanied by beautifully atmospheric illustrations.  

Max and Poppy have turned into rampaging Wildlings! But to go to the park, they need to be children again. Can they work together to turn back into kids? A useful tool for discussing emotions and sharing. 

Rot the mutant potato claims that he’s the Greatest in the World, but his grumpy big brother, Snot, disagrees and challenges him to an epic contest to determine which of them is the best. This comic-strip chapter book is full of witty illustrations and quirky humour.  

Discover why spiders don’t stick to their own webs, why rabbits eat their own poo and why frogs don’t drown when they hibernate at the bottom of ponds, in this fascinating, fully-illustrated nature book. 

Join Ling and her family as they celebrate Lunar New Year. This is a charming, beautifully illustrated read that includes details about the traditions of this festival, and suggests fun activities at the back.  

Picture book exploring how whoever you are and wherever you live there is someone in this world just like you. Joyful. 

In this gentle and uplifting picture book, the common question ​‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is turned on its head. Children are often asked to think about what job they might like to do from an early age. And whilst there is nothing wrong with ambition, this question can feel difficult – after all, there is still so much to learn about the world and maybe you’d like to do many jobs!

Muhammad is delighted when he receives his very own salat prayer rug for his seventh birthday, but can he find the courage to pray in public? An engaging and touching picture book, with joyful illustrations.  

In this fun and riotous picture book, a cast of animals – some big and some bite-sized – squabble it out over who has the mightiest bite of all… A young girl takes a chomp out of a juicy apple and wonders whether she might just have the mightiest bite in the entire world. However, it is not long before a rabbit, a dog, a piranha, a hippo, and a whole host of bite‑y animals arrive on the scene to prove themselves the mightiest.

Crab boasts that he is the ruler of the rockpool, as he’s so brave and strong, but Prawn insists that there’s more to survival than just being tough. An entertaining picture book with colourful, cartoon-like illustrations and plenty of witty one-liners. 

Pablo and Splash are two penguins who’ve accidentally time-travelled to the Cretaceous period! Can they get home to the icy Antarctic before they’re eaten by dinosaurs? A funny colour graphic novel for newly confident readers. 

Can Officer Clawsome and his sidekick Stariana the starfish catch the criminal stealing their kelpcakes? Action-packed, with plenty of humour, this fast-paced graphic novel is lots of fun. 

With a great mix of science fiction and science fact, this nail-biting race-against-time is presented in an accessible format with black and white illustrations. 

Zed’s dad is the First Hunter of Demons. But when Zed meets a Demon, he discovers that they​’renot as terrifying as the myths say. Exciting and full of heart.  

Engagingly told life stories of fourteen Black British people and their contributions to the world. 

Humans would not survive on Earth without water. But what is it exactly, and how do planet Earth’s weather and environments cycle water around so that we always have it? How does urine get cleaned up and put back into rivers and oceans? How do plants take water out of the ground, how do dams work, and what is the future of water in the world? 

On the island of Ramoa there are three great cities separated by the Beastlands: a wild, untamed wilderness that’s home to terrifying and deadly creatures. Can three disparate young people navigate the dangers and succeed in their individual quests? 

In this fun and informative guide to all things microbial, aimed at Year 6-8 aged children, Dr Rice explains how microbes work in a number of contexts: in our homes, gardens and outside spaces, in food, and in our bodies.

Marv is desperate to make an impression on the girl of his dreams but with no idea quite how to do it he takes advice from a long-dead soul singer. Cue hilarious consequences and some truly awful song lyrics.