Best books for your preschool child
Our panel of experts has chosen ten of the best picture books to read with your preschool child. All these titles are great fun to share and will help give your 3-4 year old child a flying start when they start school.
Look out for forthcoming lists of the best books for babies and toddlers - coming soon!
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Halibut Jackson
Author: David Lucas
Publisher: Andersen Press
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 6+One day Halibut Jackson receives an invitation from the Queen to a party at the palace and starts work on his most ambitious outfit yet, a bejewelled suit of silver and gold, which he thinks will go unnoticed amid the splendours of the palace.
Unfortunately, Halibut doesn’t realise that it is to be a Garden Party... Shortlisted for the Booktrust Ear…
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Shark in the Park!
Author: Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Random House
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 5+But wait it's only a cat. He looks again and there's another shark! Phew, only a crow, and the next time, it's just his dad. But as he sets off for home, is he really sure it's a shark-free park?
Some of the fun of this book lies in the sheer incongruity of spotting a shark in this spick-and-span, candy-bright park full of smiling people. Part of the fun com…
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The Smartest Giant in Town
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
Interest age: 4-7
Reading age: 5+George is the scruffiest giant in town, so he buys a new outfit to smarten himself up. On the way home, however, he meets others who are in greater need of his clothes than he is...
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Some Dogs Do
Author: Jez Alborough
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 6+One morning, Sid the dog is filled with an overwhelming feeling of happiness which – to his utter surprise – sends him floating into the sky and all the way to school!
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Penguin
Author: Polly Dunbar
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 2+
Reading age: 5+Polly Dunbar's illustrations are gorgeous and her palette stylish - from the endearing Ben's rosy cheeks to the magnificent turquoise lion who eats him up.
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Elephant
Author: Petr Horacek
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 5+Horáček's illustrations vividly supplement this many-layered story of a lonely child who finds solace in an imaginary world.
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LuLu Loves Stories
Author: Anna McQuinn Illustrator: Rosalind Beardshaw
Publisher: Alanna Max
Interest age: 1+
Reading age: 2+This lovely book introduces the magic of sharing stories.
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You Choose!
Author: Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Picture Corgi
Interest age: 3-7
Create your own story with this brilliant interactive book full of detailed, colourful illustrations.
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If You're Happy and You Know It!
Author: Anna McQuinn Illustrator: Sophie Fatus
Publisher: Barefoot Books
This lively and colourful retelling of a favourite action rhyme is accompanied by a fun watch and singalong CD.
