Books We Love in January 2024

Pablo and Splash

Author: Sheena Dempsey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 7+

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.

Who Rules the Rockpool?

Author: Matty Long
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 7+

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.

Lunar

Author: Chris Bradford Illustrator: Charlotte Grange
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 7+

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.

The Best You

Author: Nima Patel Illustrator: Cally Johnson-Isaacs
Publisher: Little Tiger
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 6+

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 worl…

Beastlands

Author: Jess French
Publisher: Piccadilly
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+

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?

Get Off, Bear!

Author: Tony Neal
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Interest age: 4-5
Reading age: 6+

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.

Snail in Space

Author: Rachel Bright Illustrator: Nadia Shireen
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 4-5
Reading age: 7+

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.

Wonders of the Wild

Author: Éanna Ní Lamhna Illustrator: Brian Fitzgerald
Publisher: The O’Brien Press
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 7+

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.

Bright Stars of Black British History

Author: JT Williams Illustrator: Angela Vives
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+

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

Bhorta Bhorta Baby! A mashy squishy potato party

Author: Jumana Rahman & Maryam Huq
Publisher: Bok Bok Books
Interest age: 2-3

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!

The Mightiest Bite

Author: Howard Calvert Illustrator: Mike Moran
Publisher: Andersen Press
Interest age: 6-7
Reading age: 7+

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 …

Brave Little Bear

Author: Steve Small
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 4-5

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.

Doughnuts, Thieves and Chimpanzees

Author: Alex Wharton Illustrator: Rhi Smith
Publisher: Firefly Press
Interest age: 9-8
Reading age: 7+

A poetry collection to inspire budding writers, and to create poetry lovers. Full of fun word play and useful writing tips, from the Children’s Laureate Wales 2023-2025.

The Greatest in the World! (A TaterTales Book)

Author: Ben Clanton
Publisher: Farshore
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 6+

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.

Femi and the Mindfulness Machine

Author: Flo Fielding Illustrator: Sawyer Cloud
Publisher: Doring Kindersley in association with Woke Babies
Interest age: 4-5

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.

ULTRAWILD: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth

Author: Steve Mushin
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 12+

Steve Mushin is an industrial designer and inventor. This means that he spends his time inventing machines that transform cities into ecosystems: he’s made high-tech city farms, solar thermal ovens and even a 17-metre-long soil-making mechanical millipede.

The Wonderful World of Water: From Dams to Deserts

Author: Sarah Garré and Marijke Huysmans Illustrator: Wendy Panders
Publisher: Prestel
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+

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?

Someone Just Like You

Author: Helen Docherty Illustrator: David Roberts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Interest age: 6-8
Reading age: 5+

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

Rajiv’s Starry Feelings

Author: Niall Moorjani Illustrator: Nanette Regan
Publisher: Lantana
Interest age: 4-5

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.

Unseen Jungle: The Microbes that Secretly Control Our World

Author: Eleanor Spicer Rice PhD Illustrator: Rob Wilson
Publisher: mit Kids Press
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 12+

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.

Meet the Wildlings

Author: Gwen Millward
Publisher: Templar Books
Interest age: 4-5

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.

Have You Seen Mikki Olsen?

Author: Alex Macdonald
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Interest age: 4-5

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.

Was That Your Bottom, Dinosaur?

Author: Sam Taplin Illustrator: Ana Larrañaga designed by Anna Gould sounds by Anthony Marks
Publisher: Usborne
Interest age: 2-3

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.