Familiar characters combine with enchanting stories and captivating illustrations in these timeless tales – if the pre-schoolers in your life haven’t encountered these classics yet, now’s the time!
Playful pup Spot has gone missing and his mum needs help finding him, so little readers are encouraged to look for the mischievous dog under the flaps on each page. The sweet stories and the simply drawn but evocative pictures are perfect for pre-readers. Where’s Spot has been a family favourite ever since it was first published in 1980, giving grown-ups the added enjoyment of reliving their own early years by sharing this story.
Most children will easily empathise with Dave as he searches for his favourite toy when it goes missing. There is genuine heartache when Dogger is lost, nearly found and then whisked away again by another child at the school fair and a final heartening message about sibling kindness at the end. The beautiful illustrations and the involving story by renowned Shirley Hughes will help to foster a love of books to last a lifetime.
A twist on the original Peter Rabbit story has stealthy Mr Tod the fox trying to sneak up on the radish-munching rabbit. This exciting interactive tale allows children to get involved with peepholes to peek through and flaps to uncover. As always, playful Peter just about scrapes through.
Join our very hungry caterpillar as he munches and crunches his way through each day of the week until the magnificent feast on Saturday - where he gnaws through a child’s dream tea party menu! Finally satisfied, he spins a cocoon and soon emerges as a beautiful butterfly. This gorgeous bold illustrations and simple story of change has enchanted children since it was first published in 1969.
This beautiful and inventive book has the jolly postman making his deliveries to well-known fairy tale characters and the letters themselves are included in page-sized envelopes. The Wicked Witch gets a leaflet advertising spell ingredients, Baby Bear gets a missive from Goldilocks, Jack sends the Giant a cheeky postcard and Cinderella’s publisher sends an advanced copy of her book (so you get a story within a story!). This witty book is perfect for big and little fans of fairy tales.
In Each Peach Pear Plum readers are led from one fairy tale character to another as each beautifully illustrated page carries them through a gentle game of 'I Spy'. With beautifully detailed pictures to explore, the simple rhymes and the familiar characters make this the ideal read for tiny bookworms.
The first book in the Mog and Meg series introduces us to accident-prone Meg the witch and her companions Mog and Owl. The comedy comes when Meg’s spell goes awry and she accidentally turns all her friends into mice during their Halloween Party. As well as the spooky stories themselves, these books are brilliant in their cheerful imagining of the everyday life of a witch – perfect for keeping little ghouls spellbound during their bedtime read.
Burglar Bill gets more than he bargained for when he accidentally burgles, err… a baby!? Luckily for him, the baby’s mother – Burglar Betty – is forgiving (as you might expect) and this odd couple lives happily ever after. Children will love the cheekiness of turning traditional baddies into main characters and the comedy of the hapless Bill trying to entertain a cross baby. A fabulously funny story with enough complexity and humour that will keep tots asking for repeat reads.
