Our top ten new picturebooks | Festive stories | NEW activity pages on Lovemybooks | Tiny Owl’s One Story Many Voices project | Why play matters | Doorstep LIbrary spreading the magic of reading | Students learn about LMB
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Shopping for Christmas presents? Picture books make lovely gifts. We've compiled a list of some of the best published in 2019, including these gems:
  
Find out more about these and the other books on our list and, in case you are tempted, we have included links to buy them too. |
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Our focus book is A Great Big Cuddle by Michael Rosen and Chris Riddell. Full of rhyme, humour and fun this would make a fantastic gift for under fives.
 
Jennie told us about sharing A Great Big Cuddle with her children, George and Lizzie.
 "It’s not just the title that resonates with children there are some really great poems in this collection, and I have loved sharing them with George aged two. He loves stories and that special time when we read together. He has been exploring sounds and words a lot lately and loves to watch your mouth when you make noises and your expression, and these rhymes are perfect for him to join in with. His favourites are 'Boing! Boing!' where he bounces with me and does an impressive roar. He loves the finger play in 'Finger story'. The illustrations are so eye-catching George can easily find his favourites and the pictures give him plenty to talk about.
 'My four-year-old Lizzie has just started school. She is already coming home and playing schools. She enjoys the 'Lunchtime' poem with its rhymes, repetition and different sized words. Her school cardigan has buttons which she is learning to do up herself so the 'Button Bop' has come in handy a few times too. She likes making up her own actions to join in with the poems and like most children the ‘silliness’. It is perfect.
We took this book away with us over the summer and it was lovely to see older children getting enjoyment out of it too, they loved performing the poems as well.'
Find out more about the book and see our activity ideas
Buy the book
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 Tiger Walk
Dianne Hofmeyr, illus. Jesse Hodgson
Fascinated by a painting of a tiger, Tom draws his own tiger picture. At night he dreams the tiger steps out of the picture and takes him on an amazing night-time adventure. Tom is nervous at first but with the tiger’s encouragement confronts his fears and by the end of the book he feels as brave as – a tiger!
Inspired by the famous tiger painting by Henri Rousseau this is a beautifully written and illustrated story.
See our activity ideas
Buy the book
 Quill Soup
Alan Durant, illus. Dale Blankenaar
Based on the European trickster story ‘Stone Soup’ this version is set in Africa. Noko the porcupine, very tired and hungry, asks some villagers for food but they are suspicious and refuse. Noko however devises a cunning plan, he tricks them into adding extra ingredients to his ‘quill soup.’
This is a great story to read aloud, with its repeated structure, amusing trick and array of exotic animals. The intricate illustrations invite close inspection with clues to the villagers lies.
See our activity ideas
Buy the book
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 Quill Soup, and The Secret of the Tattered Shoes included in our Top 10 new picture books are two of the stories in publisher Tiny Owl’s ‘One Story, Many Voices’ series.
We asked Tiny Owl publisher Delaram Ghanimifard her aims with this series, she said: ‘We at Tiny Owl build bridges between cultures and with ‘One Story, Many Voices’ series we wanted to create a series that paid homage to our global heritage and celebrated the diverse and colourful world we live in. Fairy Tales and Folk tales should be preserved as they help to convey important messages for children but show us how stories travel, evolve and adapt over time. They are the best way to share values of the past, from a modern perspective and by retelling we can use these stories to express our own feelings and thoughts to others.’
Visit Tiny Owl’s website:
See our collection of traditional stories
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We are delighted that Doorstep Library will be introducing Lovemybooks to the families they work with. Doorstep library is a brilliant charity, their trained volunteers visit over 500 children from 220 families each week in less privileged areas of London, sharing stories and lending books to promote reading for pleasure.
Programme manager Emily Oliver says:
‘We think Lovemybooks resources will be a fantastic incentive for parents to pick up the books we lend them and find fun and interactive ways to read with their children and really develop that love of reading for pleasure. It adds a further dimension to what we do. And as our volunteers are the ones giving out the information, they will also be informed about Lovemybooks – many of them are parents and grandparents themselves.’
Find out more about Doorstep Library’s work.
Their new film #WordsTakeYouPlaces aims to recruit new volunteers and is nominated for an award - see video below.
To vote see here, Voting is open until 1st December.
Tiny Owl are supporting Doorstep’s book by encouraging customers to donate a book to Doorstep. For every book donated Tiny Owl will also donate one to the charity. Find out more.
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 Book of Play by Michael Rosen
Wellcome Collection
As Michael Rosen says in his new book:
‘Play matters. Play isn’t just giving children something to do to keep them busy; play is about learning. Play develops creativity, communication and resilience.’
Play is joyful and valuable throughout our lives, and especially so for the young for whom it comes so naturally. With many children today playing less than in the past, this book has lots of wonderful ideas and activities to inspire children (and adults) to play more and spark their creativity and curiosity.
If you are interested in finding out more about how children learn though play and its transformative power, visit ‘Play Well’ a new exhibition at London’s Welcome Collection
Buy Michael Rosen’s Book of Play
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We were delighted to visit Greenwich University recently and introduce Lovemybooks to a group of Early Years Education students focusing on ways to encourage home school links and promote reading for pleasure.
Primary schools and HE tutors, if you are interested in introducing Lovemybooks to your staff or students or promoting home school links see the information here which includes an introductory PowerPoint.
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