When my daughter was born one of her first gifts was a book – you can never start book love too soon – and each Easter I bought her a special book, many of which she still has. Books make perfect Easter gifts and last longer than chocolate eggs! There are so many books to choose from and I often give old favourites that have stood the test of time as picture books have to appeal to the adult reading them aloud as much as to the young children. Here are a few I've read recently and recommend.
are you big? by Mo Willems (Union Square Kids)
are you big? is a charming depiction of relative size, how children may see the world and be seen by others. Everything is relative. A hot air balloon is big, followed by a progression of things of increasing size though clouds to countries to planets, culminating in a galaxy cluster and then the final twist.
The text is minimal allowing the reader and child the space to to absorb the concept is size, and inspiring conversation. The illustrations are brilliantly child-friendly with at least one happy smile on each page. Plus there's a useful page of real world size differences on the final page
Sleepy Unicorn by Candy Bee and illustrated by Tom Knight (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Sleepy Unicorn is a delightful countdown to bedtime story that will appeal to young unicorn lovers everywhere. Sleepy unicorn is on her way to bed and passes through a magical landscape of a sky, a valley, a stream, a waterfall,a forest, a moonlit clearing, a meadow, a windy path, a rainbow, and home all populated by fairy tale characters and objects from ten twinkling stars to one shiny moon.
The illustrations are beautifully detailed and colourful. Perfect bedtime reading.
Maybe Later, Georgie by Luke Scriven (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Maybe Later, Georgie – who hasn't said these words to a child and I expect many of us remember hearing them too! Georgie is Ed's younger brother and he's full of imaginative ideas to excite his brother who is always too busy to be interested. That morning Georgie has noticed there are goblins at the bottom of the garden, but Ed is too tired as he goes off to school... Georgie creates lots of defences to protect them but when he returns Ed is still not interested. So Georgie has to go alone to attack the goblins until Ed comes to the rescue.
Great storyline and illustrations depicting the two brothers with a neat twist at the end – an endearing tale about growing up and maybe a hint that all of us should remember the child within us.
All books are available from bookshops, libraries and online.