Time to Read books: past and present
We want parents and carers to keep reading to their child, even once they've reached primary school or have started to read on their own.
That's why, through our Time to Read programme, we give every Reception pupil in England their own book to treasure and share at home.
Here's a look at some of the fantastic picture books that we've handed out around the country, for free, over previous years. Why not take out some of these books at your local library?
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Little Monkey
Author: Marta Altés
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 5+Humorous illustrations in pencil and watercolour fill every page of this amusing tale, which is sure to strike a chord with any fearless little adventurer who is desperate to grow up.
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The Bumblebear
Author: Nadia Shireen
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 5+Norman the bear loves honey, so he thinks up an ingenious plan to get his paws on as much as he can eat - by enrolling at Bee School! An endearing tale about friendship and loyalty.
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Kitchen Disco
Author: Clare Foges Illustrator: Al Murphy
Publisher: Faber
Interest age: 3-5
Did you know when you go to sleep all the fruit in the bowl comes to life and has a fun-filled, night long party?
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Open Very Carefully
Author: Nick Bromley Illustrator: Nicola O'Byrne
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 6+A crocodile has invaded the pages of this picture book, and is causing chaos by gobbling up words!
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Mr Big
Author: Ed Vere
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 3-5
With its gruff hero, vibrant, strong colours, bold design and spare text, this story about looking beyond appearances has a satisfying punchy simplicity and jazzy feel.
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Hairy Maclary's Bone
Author: Lynley Dodd
Publisher: Penguin
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 6+Hairy Maclary is lucky enough to be given a big juicy bone by the butcher, Samuel Stone. This does not go unnoticed by all the other dogs who decide to follow him.
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Funnybones
Author: Allan & Janet Ahlberg
Publisher: Penguin
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 6+In the first book of this now classic series, we are taken down the dark, dark street to the dark, dark house and into the dark, dark cellar in which the skeletons live.
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"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth
Author: Eric Carle
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 2-5
Sloth lives in the rainforest with pumas, bats, monkeys and many more animals. Sloth's fellow creatures can't understand why he is so quiet, so slow and so lazy.
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Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School
Author: Ian Whybrow Illustrator: Adrian Reynolds
Publisher: Penguin
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 5+It's Harry's first day at school. He and his dinosaurs are very excited and perhaps a little bit nervous.
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Face Painting
Author: Monica Hughes
Publisher: Pearson Education
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 4+'I am a clown, I am a pirate', there’s a face painting design every child will enjoy in this fun non-fiction book, from a beautiful butterfly to a fearsome pirate and a scary monster.
Full of colourful photos of children with their faces painted, your child will enjoy engaging with this book by describing what they see and reading the words they know. -
Tim's Din
Author: Monica Hughes Illustrator: Bill Ledger
Publisher: Pearson UK
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 4+Tim’s Din is a lively and entertaining story about the mischief that little monkeys can get up to when they’re bored.
