Picture books for ages 7+

If you were prime minister, what new laws would you pass? For one young boy, the possibilities are endless. His new rules range from having libraries open day and night to ensuring that anyone who wanted a dog, or a bicycle, would have one, and grown ups would go to nursery once a month to learn how to play.

A gloriously upbeat lyrical love letter to Black girls all over the world.

A boy wonders why his new classmate won’t join in and looks so sad, then discovers she has had to flee her home and everything she knows. A gorgeously illustrated book celebrating being welcoming and kind. 

A beautifully tender story about love, art and death, set in India

The creator of this picture book offers to draw anything the reader wants on the next page… as long as it’s not a tiger. Unfortunately, if you try not to think about tigers, that’s all that pops into your mind. Funny, colourful and interactive, this story highlights the importance of perseverance.  

In a wonderful allegorical story highlighting a crucial part of Black history, superstar children’s author Trish Cooke tells a tale inspired by the real stories of enslaved Africans who made patterns in their cornrowed hair, using them as maps to escape their enslavers.

Faizah wants the world to be kind – and she and her class set about being kind to each other.

Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a neurodivergent protagonist.

When Finn tells a fib about breaking Grandma’s clock, it leads to more and more fibs. How can he tell the truth? Reassuring, kind and sensitive, this is a lovely book, beautifully illustrated.

A strange animal arrives with a big suitcase, very tired after travelling a long way. But what is really in his suitcase? A powerful, succinct story about kindness and empathy.

When Isabel’s family moves to a new neighbourhood, everything is strange and different. Isabel feels like people look right through her – that is, until she starts to notice the other invisible people trying to make the world a better place.

This delightful and very funny cartoon-style guide to food chains is a brilliant introduction to the concept, and gives young readers/​listeners some simple facts about a range of animals and their eating habits, and the natural cycle of life. 

An inclusive picture book about 15 children who are planning a We Can festival, written with real children.  

Luna and her granny learn how to be astronauts together. Packed with space facts, and brilliantly illustrated, this is inspiring STEM content for any child. 

Rocket loves visiting her local library every week, but on one visit, she discovers it will be closing. It’s time to speak up and see if she and the local community can save their beloved library.

Cleverly showing the actual size of predators – or their deadly teeth, feet or coils – using vibrant illustrations, this book conveys a lot of information in an appealing, bite-size way.

An accessible, useful non-fiction guide to all types of families. 

Don’t Trust Fish is an absolute must read for any fan of humorous picture books. It’s an absolute hoot on every page, while also giving the reader some really quite interesting facts about fish.

What’s the link between flowers and the food we eat? Join the investigation by lifting flaps to learn more about flowers. Stunning and packed with facts. 

A wordless picture book featuring a robot protagonist and a flooded landscape. It is a beautifully illustrated modern retelling of the Noah’s ark story. 

The story of a boy finding a vintage camera washed up on a beach unspools like a silent film in this mind-expanding wordless picture book.

In this delightful picture book, scientist Dr Morley sets out to achieve her lifelong dream of finding the mysterious giant Arctic jellyfish. This is a creature that everyone talks about but no one has ever seen. Could it be real or is it just a myth?