Picture books — Holiday Reading 2013

Allan Ahlberg Hooray for bread
: Three cheers for bread, HIP-HIP-HOORAY! Early in the morning the baker bakes a lovely loaf of bread. So lovely, in fact, that by the time the sun goes down it’s been gobbled up! Every. Last. Slice. Who eats it all? This picture book celebrates bread, whether it’s a yummy cheese and ham sandwich or some buttery toast.
Nicholas Allan The royal nappy: Meet the Royal Baby and of course, Nanny, who looks after the Royal Baby and the all-important royal nappy cabinet! A funny, warm look at the royal nappy through history from Henry VIII to the present day and a very special new arrival.
Jonathan Allen I’m not reading: Baby Owl is having a hard time reading a story to the little chicks. Poor Baby Owl.
Pamela Allen Bertie (New Zealand): When Bertie is grumpy, EVERYONE gets grumpy! This book for toddlers can be read from front to back, or from back to front. Together you can choose… are you happy or grumpy? Will you cry or will you sing?
Mac Barnett Count the monkeys: Kids will giggle as they count all the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages. Full of fun reader interactions and keeps readers guessing until the very last page!
Aaron Becker Journey: Using a red marker, a young girl draws a door on her bedroom wall and through it enters another world where she experiences many adventures, including being captured by an evil emperor.
Ben Brown The song of the ship rat (New Zealand): Unfurl the flag, my sea-worn souls... the ship rat has come home. But where has he been? What sights has he seen? Come. Listen to his song.
Peter Brown Mr. Tiger goes wild: Mr. Tiger knows exactly how you feel. Fed up of tea parties, top hats and talking about the weather, he astounds his friends when he decides to go wild. But does he go too far? After all, the wilderness can get pretty lonely.
John Burningham Picnic: One day Boy and Girl go out for a picnic. They meet all sorts of creatures along the way - some come with them and some chase them, but, whatever happens, today will be a day for adventure!
Rod Campbell My zoo: Come on in and meet all the animals! From the large grey elephant and the stripy zebra, to the bouncy kangaroo and the big friendly hippo, this board book contains 16 popular zoo animals.
Lucy Cousins Peck, peck, peck: Little woodpecker has just learnt how to peck and ooh! Yippee! What fun it is! Off he goes, on his first big pecking adventure, and he peck peck pecks his little heart out. Real holes in the pages add to the fun.
Drew Daywalt The day the crayons quit: Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring in all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?
Lynley Dodd Hairy Maclary, hide and seek (New Zealand): In this lift-the-flap book, the loveable and mischievous Hairy Maclary is hiding from the neighbourhood cats. But then he comes nose-to-nose with Scarface Claw!
Julia Donaldson Te Tanguruhau: The Māori language version of the children’s picture book, The Gruffalo. A clever mouse uses the threat of a terrifying creature to keep from being eaten by a fox, an owl, and a snake, only to have to outwit that creature as well.
Julia Donaldson Stick Man’s first words: This sturdy, colourful board book is the perfect way for tick Man’s youngest fans to learn their first words with numbers, colours, animal sounds and more!
Gareth Edwards The disgusting sandwich: One day, a boy drops his sandwich in a sandpit, and the race is on! A very hungry badger wants it, but he’s just not quick enough. The sandwich is dropped, squashed and slithered over by everyone from a squirrel, to a fox, to a band of slugs. Will the badger ever get his paws on that sandwich? And will it be too disgusting?
Ed Emberley Nighty night, Little Green Monster: With the turn of every die-cut page, see Little Green Monster’s face gradually appear. Then, as the stars come out, get ready to say good night!
Julie Fogliano If you want to see a whale: Advises the reader about what to do, and not do, in order to successfully spot a whale, such as wrapping up in a not-too-cosy blanket and being patient.
Mem Fox Yoo-hoo, Ladybug!: Search for Ladybug, who loves to hide in a variety of familiar locations.
Betty Gilderdale Te mihini iti kowhai (New Zealand): When little yellow digger gets stuck in the mud, a range of bigger diggers are sent to finish the job. The Māori language version of the children’s picture book, The little yellow digger.
Libby Gleeson Banjo and Ruby Red: A funny and touching story of antagonism and love. Banjo is a hard-working farm dog, Ruby Red is a haughty chicken, and they never see eye to eye. Can they ever be friends?
Taro Gomi Wiggle: Put your fingers through die-cut holes, to complete each illustration of an animal or bird.
Bob Graham Silver buttons: At 9:59 on Thursday morning, Jodie draws a duck. Just as she is about to add one final silver button to the duck’s boots, her little brother takes his first step. At this exact same moment, a man buys bread, a soldier leaves home, a baby is being born.
Petr Horáček Animal opposites: Turn the pages, lift the flaps, and see animals of all shapes and sizes bring the world of opposites to life. From slow snail to fast cheetah and heavy hippo to light butterfly, pop-ups and flaps make early learning fun.
Molly Schaar Idle Flora and the flamingo: In this wordless book with interactive flaps, a friendship develops between a girl named Flora and a graceful flamingo, as they learn to dance together.
Chloë Inkpen Look at me!: Zoe and Beans and their best friend Oscar have found a dressing-up box. But what will they be today? Join them in this board book as they become robots, doctors, bumble bees and even pirates!
Oliver Jeffers The Hueys in It Wasn’t Me: A fight has broken out amongst The Hueys. “It was not me! It was him!” But no one can remember what they’re fighting about. If only they could find an interesting distraction…
Emily Jenkins Water in the park: Relates how the water in a park is used in different ways by the human and animal inhabitants of a neighbourhood.
Jesse Klausmeier Open this little book: Die-cut pages open to reveal different animals, each opening a book of a different colour and reading about the next.
Philippa Leathers The Black Rabbit: Rabbit has a problem. There’s a big, scary Black Rabbit chasing him. No matter where he runs: behind a tree, over the river, the shadowy Black Rabbit follows. Finally in the deep, dark wood, Rabbit loses his nemesis only to encounter another foe!
Alison Lester Kissed by the moon: “May you, my baby, sleep softly at night, and when dawn lights the world, may you wake up to birdsong.” Part poem, part lullaby, this gentle story celebrates a baby’s wonder at our beautiful world.
Sam McBratney There, there: In this story, Little Hansie Bear loves to pretend, but walking like a duck can be hazardous, especially when he falls into a deep-down ditch and has to be helped out by his dad. With a “There, there” and a hug, Hansie is soon off to play again.
Margaret Mahy The green bath (New Zealand): Sammy’s mother tells him to forget about adventures and get cleaned up for his grandmother’s visit, but the new bathtub Sammy’s father brought home seems determined to have an adventure of its own.
Mineko Mamada Which is round? Which is bigger?: This deceptively simple concept book prompts the reader to compare pairs of objects and then choose which one has a particular attribute. At first the answer seems obvious until the page is turned to reveal a delightful twist!
Gianna Marino Too tall houses: Owl and Rabbit are good friends and neighbours atop a hill, but when Rabbit’s garden blocks Owl’s view of the forest Owl builds a higher house, which prevents sunlight from reaching Rabbit’s plants.
Yvonne Morrison The Three Bears, sort of (New Zealand): A humourous adaptation of the classic tale 'The Three Bears' is told to a cheeky child who constantly interrupts with questions. Don’t the bears prefer salmon to porridge? Why are they living in a cottage anyway? And how come they can talk?
Diana Noonan The teddy bear’s promise (New Zealand): When Dad discovers a mysterious, dusty box in Gran’s attic, and brings it home to Max, the scene is set for a poignant and intriguing family tale. What could be inside the box, and why is it so important that Max hear Dad’s story before he’s allowed to open it?
PatrickGeorge Oh no!: An owl is up in a tree and hasn’t noticed the cat licking its lips down below. Oh no!
Brian Patten Can I come too?: A very small mouse decided it wanted to have a very big adventure. “I’ll go and find the biggest creature in the world,” it thought. Along the way it meets many different animals and when at last they find the biggest creature, the little mouse feels a great sense of achievement.
Christopher Raschka Everyone can learn to ride a bicycle: A father teaches his daughter all about bicycle riding, from selecting the right bike to trying again after a fall.
Sherri Duskey Rinker Goodnight, goodnight, construction site: At sunset, when their work is done for the day, a crane truck, a cement mixer, and other pieces of construction equipment make their way to their resting places and go to sleep.
Tony Ross Drat that cat!: Suzy the cat is always getting into trouble much to the annoyance of her family. She can never do anything right! So Suzy decides to teach her family a lesson and make them realise just how much they love her.
Maurice Sendak Kei reira ngā weriweri: When Max wears his wolf suit and makes mischief, he is sent to bed without his supper. But in his room a forest grows and Max sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king. The Māori language version of the children’s picture book, Where the wild things are.
Lorena Siminovich Safari: Turn the pages of the little book nestled inside the bigger one to match the baby animals to their parents, and learn some early concepts along the way. A board book.
Philip Christian Stead Hello, my name is Ruby: Ruby, a very small bird in a very big world, is looking for a friend, so she introduces herself.
Simms Taback Peek-a-boo who?: The reader is invited to guess which animal is hiding beneath the flap on each page.
Leo Timmers Bang!: An almost wordless picture book for preschoolers, filled with bright colours, quirky details, car prangs, and animal mix-ups. It’s a big happy accident.
Hervé Tullet I am Blop!: Myriad variations on a simple shape that is easy for a child to recognize. An invitation to discover and explore everyday life and simple ideas.
Hervé Tullet Help! We need a title!: Taking the concept of reading to a new level, the author encourages young children to interact with the book form, teaching them, in the process, to think imaginatively, independently and creatively.
David Wiesner Mr. Wuffles!: A cat named Mr. Wuffles doesn’t care about toys. He’s much more interested in playing with a little spaceship full of actual aliens — but the ship wasn’t designed for this kind of rough treatment. Between motion sickness and damaged equipment, the aliens are in deep trouble.
Margaret Wild Davy & the duckling: When the baby duck hatched, the first thing it saw was Davy. It fluffed its feathers and started following Davy everywhere. Around the farmyard, under the apple trees and all the way home.
Margaret Wild On the day you were born: My daddy said: On the day you were born, I wrapped you up warm and took you for a walk to see the world… A celebration of the glories of existence, the world seen afresh on the birth of a new baby.
Mo Willems That is not a good idea!: A surprising lesson about the importance of listening to one’s inner gosling ensues when a very hungry fox issues a dinner invitation to a very plump goose. Inspired by the evil villains and innocent damsels of silent movies.
Jeanne Willis Prince Charmless: Since the day he was born, nothing was good enough for Prince Charmless. One day all the royal servants decided they had enough of his complaining and packed their bags. The pampered prince was left to fend for himself, with some unexpected results.
John Yeoman The Fabulous Foskett Family Circus: Roll up, roll up for the Fabulous Foskett Family Circus! There are Milly and Willy who perform with young Fred, who does a back flip and lands on his head. Uncle Phoenix Foskett who blows smoke rings, Jess and Bess with their conjuring tricks, not to mention singing dogs and birds and performing parrots.