Holiday Reading 2007

Picture Books

CoverAhlberg, Allan Previously
Do you know what Jack was doing before he climbed the beanstalk? Or what Jack and Jill were arguing about before they went up the hill? And what happened before that? This works helps you find out what your favourite storybook characters were up to previously, because every story, every person and everything started somewhere!
Arnold, Tedd The twin princes
A story about two royal chickens.
Banks, Kate Fox
A baby fox anticipates the time when he can go out alone, but first his parents must teach him the ways of the wilderness.
Bougaeva, Sonja Two sisters
Two sisters live peacefully on a tiny island. One day, they receive a letter, telling them their cousin John is coming to visit. At first, the sisters are pleased to have a visitor, but they soon tire of him wanting to bring order to their life of comfortable chaos.
Brown, Anthony My brother
A follow-up to the best-selling My Dad and My Mum, this title is a humorous tribute to brothers.
Bruel, Robert O Bob and Otto
Otto the worm is shocked to discover that his best friend Bob is actually a caterpillar who emerges one day as a butterfly.
CoverDonaldson, Julia Tyrannosaurus drip
Everyone knows that tyrannosauruses are big and scary, so when a placid duckbill dinosaur’s egg ends up in the wrong nest confusion is sure to ensue! When the baby dinosaur hatches out, he’s so out of place that his grisly big sisters call him Tyrannosaurus Drip.
Donnio, Sylviane I’d really like to eat a child
One morning Achilles, a young crocodile, insists that he will eat a child that day, but when he actually finds a little girl, she puts him in his place.
Gerstein, Mordicai Leaving the nest
The lives of a baby jaybird, a young girl, a kitten, and a small squirrel intersect as they venture out into the world.
Gorbachev, Valeri Heron & Turtle
Heron and Turtle celebrate the sweet pleasures of everyday friendship. Nothing is better than taking a nice long walk together, if Turtle can keep up, and Turtle will do almost anything to make Heron comfortable at a surprise lunch.
CoverGraham, Bob The trouble with dogs!
Brought home from the rescue centre, Dave is everything a pup should be. The trouble is, he sometimes gets too excited. He jumps uninvited onto guests’ laps, runs down the middle of flowerbeds and chews holes in the tights of Kate’s school friends.
Gravett, Emily Little Mouse’s big book of fears
Features a little mouse who documents his fears, from loud noises and the dark to being sucked down the plughole.
Gravett, Emily Monkey and me
This book allows young children to guess what animal they are pretending to be, before shouting out the answers as the pages are turned to reveal the real creatures.
Gusti Half of an elephant
When, one night, the world splits in two an elephant loses his back half, and the sections wander around the world trying out new partners and discovering the advantages of being separate.
Henkes, Kevin A good day
The Caldecott Medal-winning artist returns with a new picture book that looks at a single day from five points of view.
Hill, Anthony Lucys cat and the rainbow birds
Lucy needs to stop Artemis catching the birds, but how? Will Artemis and the birds ever live together in peace?
Hopgood, Tim Our big blue sofa
Every day brings a new adventure for Jessy and Tom and their big blue sofa. One day they are underwater explorers on a big blue submarine, the next they are flying high above the clouds in a big blue hot air balloon.
CoverKrauss, Ruth The growing story
A little boy worries throughout the summer that he’s not getting bigger, but at the end of the season he tries on his winter clothes and realizes that he has grown. First published in 1947, this edition is newly illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
Laguna, Sofie Stephens music
Unexpected magical things happen when Stephen first hears the music of the flute.
Lehman, Barbara Rainstorm
In this wordless picture book, a boy finds a mysterious key which leads him on an adventure.
Lobel, Anita Nini here and there
Fearing at first that her family is going on vacation without her, Nini the cat ends up traveling with her owners to their new home.
McNaughton, Colin Nighty night!
Littlesaurus doesn't want to go to bed and can think of a million reasons to stay up. A bedtime story, packed with prehistoric humour.
Melenhorst, Glenn The sock monster
“If at night your feet stick out, / You're in trouble, there’s no doubt. / Sleepy dreams steal you away / And now your toes are easy prey.” A cautionary tale about going to bed with bare feet.
Morecroft, Judith Malu Kangaroo
A modern indigenous story told in the traditional style combining Dreamtime legend and contemporary imagery, this tells how people first learnt to surf.
Newgarden, Mark Bow-wow bugs a bug
A wordless picture book about a persistent terrier who spends a day following a bug through his neighbourhood.
OConnor, Jane Ready, set, skip!
A little girl cannot skip until her mother shows her a special trick.
Offill, Jenny 17 things I’m not allowed to do anymore
A young girl lists the sixteen things she is not allowed to do anymore, including not being able to make ice after freezing a fly in one of the cubes.
Perkins, Lynne Rae Pictures from our vacation
Given a camera that takes and prints tiny pictures just before leaving for the family farm in Canada, a young girl records a vacation that gets off to a slow start, but winds up being a family reunion filled with good memories.
CoverRavishankar, Anushka To market! To market!
In this modern-day nursery rhyme, a little girl sets off to the market with some money in her pocket and no idea what to buy. But as her imagination romps through the magical world of the market, she finds the real fun’s not in the buying at all!
Ramos, Mario I am so handsome
“Then the wolf met the three little pigs. ‘Hey, little bacon bits! Still skipping about in the woods trying to lose weight? Tell me, little butterballs, who’s the handsomest of all?’”
Ramos, Mario I am so strong
“Next, the wolf met the three little pigs. ‘Hello what have we here? Three little pigs, a long way from home. That’s a bit careless. Tell me, little bacon bits, who’s the strongest in the woods?’ ”
Stewart, Joel Dexter Bexley and the big blue beastie
After running into a big blue beastie with his scooter, Dexter tries to come up with increasingly inventive ideas to keep the beastie from eating him.
Svendsen, Mark Whacko the chook
Every hen needs a friend, so Whacko the Chook sets out to find one. But where do you find a friend in a chook pen?
CoverTimmers, Leo I am the King
One morning Tortoise suddenly finds himself wearing a crown. ‘I am the King!’ he says. His friends can't stop laughing. Goat, Flamingo, Snake, Pig, Crocodile, Elephant and Ape each think they would make a perfect king. But who really is the King of the animals?
Willems, Mo Knuffle Bunny too: a case of mistaken identity
With her dad in tow Trixie hurries to school to show off her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny. But an awful surprise awaits her: someone else has the exact same bunny! Sequel to: Knuffle Bunny, a cautionary tale
Wilson, Mark The last tree
The last tree is the story of a beautiful eucalyptus tree that grew in one of the old-growth forests of south-eastern Australia. It was the centre of life in the forest and provided food and shelter for many forest dwellers for hundreds of years. But what happens when the old tree is threatened as the surrounding forest slowly disappears?