Great Books Guide 2024-25: for 4 to 5-year-olds

A funny picture book about dragons learning they don’t always have to be bad!

Hana can’t find the family’s Eid presents! She looks everywhere – will she find them in time for Eid? A fun search-and-find story.

Moles live in holes, right? This funny book plays with rhyme as Gus the Goat tries to guess where his friend Mavis Mole lives.  

A great book to open conversations about the joy of sharing and compromise with little ones – and giggle about the silliness of bickering! 

Two children are out and about in a city, looking for llamas. One of the children issupposedly a llama expert, but will the children find one? Funny and interactive.

Geoffrey’s jitters are out of control! How can he get rid of them? Told with humour and great empathy, this picture book from the author-illustrator of Barbara Throws a Wobbler is both funny and helpful.

An action-packed and hilarious rhyming adventure which sees a team of hamster superheroes battle against a variety of rodent foes. 

This fun and inventive collection of thirty roar-some, illustrated poems celebrates the weird and wonderful world of dinosaurs. 

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. 

Children join in to draw a beautiful garden with chalk. A gorgeous picture book celebrating community and the positive effect art has on everyone. 

Meet Fergus, who is a real deep-sea creature. But we can only see his eyes. What could he be? An enjoyable anarchic mash-up of fiction and non-fiction, with facts at the end, and a surprise reveal.

A fact-filled, rhyming picture book about self-care routines. Animals are just like you! 

Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a neurodivergent protagonist.

Aaron is scared of going under the water. But when he finds an octopus stranded on the beach, he must be brave. A gentle story about facing fears, and about ocean conservation. 

Theo’s sunflower has grown right through the tower block! A delightful celebration of nature and community.  

It’s Wild Book Day, when all the pictures escape from the books. What fun they have! This is a book to make children leap about with excitement, but also to encourage a love of reading. Fun-filled book joy! 

Join the children as they search for a woolly mammoth and discover lots of other giant Ice Age animals along the way! Charming and informative, with very cute illustrations. 

Dora finds parties loud and overwhelming. But when she meets a similarly quiet child at a birthday, she realises they may not be so bad after all. 

This is a fabulously funny picture book by the author of Ten Fat Sausages, brimming full of Michelle Robinson’s trademark silly humour. 

This is a poignant picture book about the power of friendship and knowing when to say sorry. The gentle, lyrical text from Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho handles the familiar heightened emotions of playground-fall outs in a way that feels sincere and authentic.

A unique non-fiction book using humour to engage readers in amazing facts about rare animals.

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!

Spy goggles? Check. Spy bike? Check. Get ready for a top-secret action-packed Spyceratops mission. Super fun – with a surprise ending.

A funny and inventive picture book that celebrates the power of storytelling. One dreary day Dad tells Jamie and Abby a story about a band of intergalactic heroes – the Space Pirate Bears – who must defeat evil Doktor Drab and save the galaxy from dullness…

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