The Lights the Dance in the Night by Yuval Zommer

 2022      

  

The text is mainly about stars with a nod to the Northern Lights which are faintly illustrated here.

As we progress through the text we meet many arctic animals and then the people who live in this northern land.

There is a mixture of double spreads, single spreads and pages containing several pictures.  

As with picture books for younger readers, the pictures tell more of the story. In fact, much more of the story is told in the pictures than in the text. The pictures are particularly colourful and full of action.

The story is told in gentle rhyming phrases though some lines don’t rhyme at all. The text is integrated into the pictures.

The text uses a simple font and has simple 'a's and 'g's.

This is quite a large format book so a nursery teacher may also be able to share with a class.  

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

Best of All the Magical Mix That's You by Smriti Halls and Chaaya Prabhat

 

2025      

           

This book shows how we are all made up from what comes to us at birth and what we experience later.  In particular it show what happens to children from mixed-race parents.

It is particularly upbeat.  The topic may be a little complex for the early reader.  

As with picture books for younger readers, the pictures tell more of the story. In fact, much more of the story is told in the pictures than in the text. The pictures are very colourful.

The story is told in rhyming couplets that work well. The text is integrated into the pictures.

The text uses a simple font and has simple 'a's and 'g's.

Most of the text is in single lines though in the few places where there is more it tends to be centred.   

There is a short note form the author at the end of the book.  

Find your copy here  

 

 

Our Wartime Street by Fiz Osbonre and Katie Kear

2025      

This book provides information about:

·         How World War II started

·         Evacuation

·         The Blitz

·         The RAF around the world

·         War in London and Liverpool

·         Air raid shelters – four sorts

·         Wartime food

·         Schooling during the war

·         Getting by

·         Children helping out

·         Wartime clothing

·         Women during the war,

·         Families during the war

·         The ending of the war

·         Remembering the war

 Note, the Holocaust is only mentioned in passing and in the context of liberation.

As with picture books for younger readers, the pictures tell more of the story.

The text uses a smile font but has difficult 'a's and 'g's.

The text is ragged right.  

There is a very short glossary at the end of the book 

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing 

How to Grow a Garden by Frances Tophill and Charlotte Ager

2025   

 

Adult, fluent reader, ages 9 -99+, ages 7-11, Tophill Frances, Ager Charlotte, rewilding, environment, picture book, non-fiction, horticulture,   

This book would make an excellent contribution to a primary school library and interest wouldn’t be restricted to those who are passionate about the environment. It is aspirational.   

 A contents page near the beginning of the book identifies sections: Flowers and Herbs, Trees, Hedges and Edges, Grass, Fruit and Veg, Water, Exotic Plants and Further Resources.

Each double spread shows pictures of the topics discussed and provides bite-sized information.

At the end of each section there are suggestions about what you can do in each season.

The book opens with an introduction about how the text works. It invites the reader to join in an interesting journey.

Throughout the text there are many activities suggested to the reader.

There is a glossary and an index at the end of the book.

This works like a standard picture book in that the illustrations give additional information.  For the most part it uses a plain sans serif font with simple ‘a’s and ‘g’s. There are a few lines here and there in a font that looks like handwriting.

The book is in a quite a large format.    

Find your copy here  

 Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

 

Are You an Alien? By Sam Banfield-Keller and Rosemary Banfield

 

2025      

Makhosi is curious about aliens.

She looks everywhere for them and she asks everyone she meets if they are aliens. She gets to know many other earthlings.

On her quest Makhosi meets all sorts of animals which may or may not be familiar to the reader.  We learn something interesting about each animal. Here is an opportunity for the adult to discuss what the child sees in the pictures.  

Both Makhosi and her grandfather are curious and optimistic. But in the end Makhosi cannot find the alien she wants to befriend … except just at the last moment she meets a strange little green creature.       

As we would expect there is more story in the pictures.

The text uses a plain font with simple ‘a’s and ‘g’s.

Find your copy here.