Suggested reading for Reception & Year 1: Spring Term

You Choose In Space

Author: Pippa Goodhart Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 3-6
Reading age: 5+

You choose how this story unfolds, so a new adventure can be enjoyed each time of reading. A spectacular book to stimulate creative storytelling and language development, full of vibrant illustration. Not to be missed!

Little Red Reading Hood

Author: Lucy Rowland Illustrator: Ben Mantle
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Interest age: 3-6
Reading age: 5+

Written in witty verse and accompanied by colourful illustrations, this wonderful contemporary tale is great to read aloud and ideal to show young children that stories have the power to take readers on all sorts of exciting, imaginative journeys.

Ella Bella Ballerina and The Magic Toyshop

Author: James Mayhew
Publisher: Orchard Books
Interest age: 4-6
Reading age: 5+

This charming picture book with timeless illustrations is ideal for children who love ballet, theatre and a touch of magic.

Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet

Author: Sanae Ishida
Publisher: Little Bigfoot
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 7+

Little Kunoichi is a ninja-girl-in-training and has a very special pet – a fearless, powerful, super-duper Ninja Bunny. A charming picture book, combining the search for a suitable pet with a fun look at selected aspects of Japanese folklore and culture.

Rapunzel

Author: Bethan Woollvin
Publisher: Two Hoots
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 6+

Bethan Woollvin, winner of The Macmillan Prize for Illustration for Little Red Riding Hood, gives a 21st century twist to the traditional tale of Rapunzel: creating a strong, independent heroine who prefers to escape with a pony rather than a prince.

This Zoo is Not For You

Author: Ross Collins
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Interest age: 2-5

It is interview day at the zoo! Gentle humour, rhyming text and fabulous illustrations combine to create this wonderful picture book, which highlights the importance of being open, friendly and welcoming to all.

The Wildest Cowboy

Author: Garth Jennings Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 5+

The Wild West isn’t usually a setting for many picture books (at least in the UK), which seems a shame based on this riotous, colourful adventure, which fuses the joy of fancy dress with the dusty remoteness of a pioneer town.

Stardust

Author: Jeanne Willis Illustrator: Briony May Smith
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 5+

A little girl keeps hearing that her sister is a ‘star’. Desperate to be a star too, the little girl makes a wish, but then her grandad tells her all about how the world began... A gentle story of sisters and stars, which captures the busy scenes of family life.

Still Stuck

Author: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Interest age: 3-4

A boy wants to get ready for his bath on his own, but his top gets stuck over his head. What if he is stuck forever? This charming, funny picture book shows the boy realising that everything is OK – and thinking of all the advantages of this new point of view.

Suggested reading for Reception and Year 1: Spring Term