Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

Two professionals reading to a young child.

What is BookTrust Storytime?

BookTrust Storytime is an exciting library experience for families, offering a fun, easy way to entertain under 5s at your local library. Come and enjoy free and lively activities in a space you can have fun and enjoy stories together. It is part of BookTrust’s Early Years journey which also includes the Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler programme.

We are now in the fourth year of this exciting programme, which has been informed by work with libraries and families, feedback from previous years and BookTrust’s wider evidence and expertise.

Discover this year’s BookTrust Storytime books

We’ve chosen five books that we think are perfect for enjoying with children aged 0–5! Libraries taking part in BookTrust Storytime will be sharing these books, and families will be voting for their favourites.

Watch this year’s winner Lucy Rowland introduce the five books shortlisted for the BookTrust Storytime Prize 2026 in the following video:

The books in the shortlist are:

Five Enormous Dinosaurs

illustrated by Annie Kubler and Sarah Dellow

2024 0 to 2 years
- Board books
- Picture books
- Poetry and rhyme
A delightful rhyming treat for little ones to count along to.
Suki Cat Astronaut

by Grace Habib

2024 2 to 4 years
- Board books
- Interactive
Help Suki zoom to the moon by pushing and pulling the sliders. Interactive and with charming illustrations, this would be perfect for sharing with toddlers.
Superwolf

by Helen Docherty, illustrated by Thomas Docherty

2024 3 to 7 years
- Poetry and rhyme
- Early Learning
- Picture books
Can a wolf really be a superhero, especially if everyone seems to be scared of them?
The Jellyfish Jiggle

by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Nicola Slater

2024 3 to 7 years
- Board books
- Picture books
- Poetry and rhyme
Scuttle, swim, wiggle and jiggle in this delightful seaside rhyming story that will get children reading and moving along!
Tiger, It’s Snowing!

by Daishu Ma

2024 5 to 9 years
- Picture books
Tiger has never seen snow before and is excited to go out and play. But Mei isn’t sure… at first. A funny and charming story about adventure and friendship.

Bear’s Lost Glasses by Leo Timmers (Gecko Press)
Bothered By Bugs by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots)
Dance Just Like So! by Annemarie Anang and Natelle Quek (Five Quills)
Detective Catz and the Missing Nut by Marjoke Henrichs (Scallywag Press)
Don’t Think of Tigers by Alex Latimer (Andersen Press)
Five Enormous Dinosaurs by Child’s Play, Annie Kubler & Sarah Dellow (Child’s Play)
Hank Goes Honk by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Duncan Beedie (Little Tiger)
Kitten, Kitten, Peekaboo! by Samia Gundkalli and Grace Habib (Campbell)
Maya & Marley and the Great Big Tidy Up by Laura Henry-Allain and Yabaewah Scott (Ladybird)
National Trust: My Very First Spotter’s Guide: I Spot a Duck by Kay Vincent (Nosy Crow)
Nee Naw Nee Naw by Emma Garcia (Boxer Books)
One Goose Two Moose by Kael Tudor and Nicola Slater (Scholastic)
Panda and Penguin Find a Thing by Zehra Hicks (Andersen Press)
Suki Cat: Astronaut by Grace Habib (Nosy Crow)
Super Wolf by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty (Alison Green Books)
The Camel Who Had the Hump by Rachel Bright and Jim Field (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Jellyfish Jiggle by Caryl Hart and Nicola Slater (Orchard Books)
There’s a Gorilla at the Door! by Clare Helen Welsh and Sam Caldwell (Little Tiger)
Tiger, It’s Snowing! by Daishu Ma (Post Wave)
Uh-Oh Niko: The Park by Chris Chatterton (Ladybird)
Until You Find the Sun by Maryam Hassan and Anna Wilson (Hodder Children’s Books)
Who Ate Steve? by Susannah Lloyd and Kate Hindley (Nosy Crow)
Wow! What a Day! by Alberta Torres (Kumusha Books)

For more fun reading, check out previously shortlisted books from BookTrust Storytime

What our partners say

“I absolutely loved loved loved the Storytime sessions. We made some friends who came to the library for the very first time in their lives and they are coming back as regular borrowers. We have built amazing relationship with The Children’s Centre and are more aware of what services they provide for families. We will work together on helping local families with mental health, breastfeeding, and supporting child development.”
Librarian, Northamptonshire

How BookTrust Storytime has supported volunteer librarians in Chew Valley

Case study

Run by volunteers, Chew Valley Library in the village of Bishop Sutton is one of many community libraries in Bath and North East Somerset. Volunteer Angela Cruse reveals how BookTrust Storytime has equipped them with what they need to launch interactive sessions for families.

BookTrust Storytime for families

Listen to the authors from this year’s shortlist reading out their books.

Caryl Hart reads her book Jellyfish Jiggle:

Five Enormous Dinosaurs read by Neil

Suki Cat Astronaut read by illustrator Grace Habib

Superwolf read by author Helen Docherty

Tiger, It’s Snowing! read by author Daishu Ma

“My granddaughter feels really happy, she looks forward to it. Every morning she says to me, “Grandma, let’s go Zoom Zoom”. ‘Zoom, Zoom, we’re going to the moon’, that’s one of her favourite poems (songs), obviously she can’t say library yet, but ‘Zoom Zoom’ means library to her. She wants to go to the ‘Zoom Zoom’ every day.
Grandmother, Mrs Ahmed, talking about her granddaughter’s experience of Booktrust Storytime

BookTrust Storytime Prize

The BookTrust Storytime Prize was launched in 2019 to find the best book for sharing with children aged 0–5, and since 2021 it has been part of BookTrust Storytime programme, designed to support libraries to inspire families with children aged 0–5 to share stories together and make visiting their local library part of everyday life.