Books to help your child cover the basics before they start school.
Find more resources on preparing for school, including recommended books and a loanable school pack.
Baby Diplodocus Finds Shapes
Nicola Carthy
Little ones will love learning about all the shapes in Baby Diplodocus’ playful prehistoric world – oval, circle, triangle, diamond, and stars!
Follow Baby Diplodocus’ day as she explores, plays, and learns, before finally snuggling down to sleep under the twinkling night sky.
My Very First Shapes with The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle
Learn all about circles, squares, triangles and more with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and friends.
Each page of this chunky board book has been thoughtfully designed with a peep-through flap to encourage little ones to join in and guess the shape.
Perfect for getting very little ones excited about learning their very first shapes!
Borrow My Very First Shapes with The Very Hungry Caterpillar →
Shapes of Nature: A Kaleidoscope of the Natural World
Ben Hoare
Taking inspiration from the world around us, we have arranged iridescent beetles, eye-popping tree frogs, knobbly sea shells, glistening crystals, fabulous fungi, and exquisite feathers into stunning artistic arrangements that are full of colour and packed with detail.
These clever designs shine a light on nature’s variety with amazing clarity, they invite you to observe the differences between objects that look similar at first sight, and they reveal the intricate features that we normally overlook.
Paddington: Shapes
Michael Bond
Shapes are all around us, everywhere we look and Paddington is setting off to find them – from the rectangle front door to his tasty diamond-shaped sandwich.
This eye-catching board book is the perfect first introduction for little ones to shapes.
The Trouble With Triangles
Lily Murray
Doodle and Dot are best friends. They do everything together, like drawing shapes! But their drawings have a habit of coming to life. Can the pals work together to get the triangles under control?
‘The Trouble with Triangles’ is an introduction to shapes and art for preschoolers.
The Shape Badge
Zahara Andrews and Danny Stack
The Squirrels are practising their shape skills, but some shapes are more difficult than others.
Will Duggee and the Squirrels be able to help the animals take shelter in shapes that fit them before the rain starts?
Special Shapes
Dr. Seuss
Here is an introduction to a variety of shapes and the world of Dr Seuss, perfect for babies and toddlers! Flip the flap – what can you see?
Full of Dr Seuss’s craziest characters and wittiest rhymes, this board book explores a variety of shapes.
A Phizz-Whizzing Shapes Finger Trail Book
Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake
Have fun learning about shapes with your favourite Dahl characters in this interactive board book!
Chiddlers will have splendiferous fun learning how to make shapes with the help of this fun and colourful finger trail board book.
Peppa’s Shape Hunt
Learn all about different shapes with Peppa and her family! Peppa and George are on holiday aboard a cruise ship!
Encourage children to find and count the shapes on the ship, and talk about what they look like. Then lift the flaps to discover how two shapes placed together can make an entirely different shape!
Shapes with Little Fish
Lucy Cousins
Join Little Fish on an underwater journey, and count from 1 to 10 along the way.
Little readers will love Lucy Cousin’s bright, bold characters and will delight at the final page, teeming with colourful fish of all shapes and sizes.
Nibbles Shapes
Emma Yarlett
There are circles, squares and stars to spot. And maybe one final, extra-special shape from him to you.
A fun, rhyming, first introduction to shapes with Nibbles’ book-munching twist. Babies and toddlers will love peeping through die-cuts and lifting flaps as they follow Nibbles on his exciting, shape-filled journey.
Shapes
Airlie Anderson
Cat’s family return to introduce basic concepts. Babies will love the bold colours and enjoy listening to a reader share the simple text!
Bears Love Squares
Caryl Hart
Triangles are tremendous, circles are sensational, but Bear loves squares.
A gloriously colourful celebration of shapes, friendship and the power of seeing things from a different perspective.
All Aboard the Shapes Train
Sean Sims
This fun-filled story, which explores early-learning concepts, is great to share with very young children.
With lots of things to spot and describe on every page, this brilliant train ride is a trip worth taking again and again.
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