The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. A strange and weary creature turns up with only his suitcase and it’s contents for his belongings. But what exactly is in the suitcase? The other animals want to find out. The book parallels the issues of displacement, refugees and mistrust of strangers. Thankfully it all ends with the benevolence and kindness needed to overcome …

The King Who banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth. This is rather a clever and unusual story which follows a King who was afraid of the dark as a child and decides to outlaw it. It creates some ridiculously funny scenarios of what it would be like if the lights were kept on the whole time. Children will be engaged …

Paper Planes by Jim Helmore and Richard Jones. Mia and Ben are two friends who enjoy making paper planes together. They dream that one day they will make a plane that will fly over the lake, but one day Ben and his family move house far away. Yes this bitter sweet tale is designed to tug at the heart strings, …

By Linda Herron and Marie Delon. A birthday party is coming up for two identical twins. Will the pair want to do the same things just like every other year, or will they want to start expressing their individuality? This book gives us a charming look at identical twins and how their similarities and differences are celebrated. The illustrations have …

One Dark Bird by Liz Garton Scanlon and Frann Preston-Gannon. This book is nicely different in that incorporates counting within the story. It’s cleverly done and adds an extra dimension to this atmospheric tale. The one dark bird is a starling, looking here much more glorious than his real life counterpart! Then there are two, then more, until they become …

Merrylegs by Pam Smy Merrylegs is a horse who feels rather lowly about his pony trekking role, unaware of the joy he brings to the children on his back. There are a few similarities in this with ‘Sugarlump and the Unicorn’ by Julia Donaldson, but it’s different enough and carries a stronger message to the reader about self belief. I …

Little Cloud by Anne Booth and Sarah Massini. A little cloud starts off small, fluffy and cute. All the people in the town are happy to see the little cloud, but gradually the cloud gets bigger, darker and not quite so popular! A really nice tale of acceptance that also teaches about the weather and the benefits of rain. The …

The Station Mouse by Meg McLaren. This is a nice book and full of traditional elements with trains, old style ticket booths and a lovely mouse who works there. It’s almost reminiscent of the opening of Disney’s ‘The Rescuers’. Of course the mouse must never be seen, heard or approach customers, but one day he decides to return an item …

Kites by Simon Mole and Oamul Lu. A boy has recently moved house and feels at a bit of a loss. Then he sees that the local children all have wonderful kites and sets about creating his own.  It’s a nice story that could help children who have moved house find confidence in meeting new friends, whilst teaching them to …

The Pink Hat by Andrew Joyner. This is a rather different book that is not what it first appears to be. It all starts out normal enough as the titular hat is knitted by an elderly lady which then goes on a bit of a journey before ending up in the possession of a young girl. After that it gets …