Books to help your child cover the basics before they start school.
Book cover of The Elephant and the Bad Baby

The Elephant and the Bad Baby

Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs

Follow along with the adventures of a giant elephant and a mischievous baby in this timeless picture-book story. When an Elephant meets a Bad Baby and offers them a ride, it’s the start of a wild adventure – going ‘rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta’ down the road, and helping themselves to ice creams, lollipops, and all manner of sweet treats. But as a long line of disgruntled shopkeepers and salespeople begin to follow them, Bad Baby learns the importance of saying ‘please,’ and all the trouble you can get into if you forget…

Borrow The Elephant and the Bad Baby

Book cover of Wrong

Wrong!

Ciara Flood and Lucia Gaggiotti

The animals of the jungle are all very good at sharing and taking turns. All except Hog. Hog barges and grabs, yells and stomps. He’s greedy and bad-tempered and terribly, terribly rude. Until, that is, he meets a tiger – an impeccably polite tiger with very sharp teeth – and suddenly the animals see a very different side to Hog.

Borrow Wrong!

Book cover of Rosie Signs Please and Thank You

Rosie Signs: Please and Thank You!

Rose Ayling-Ellis and Camilla Arnold

Join Rose and Kitten Casper in this special story for 0-5 year olds and learn to sign along the way. Every page shows Baby Rose introducing a new, essential sign to her Kitten Casper, with a simple step-by-step demonstration for young readers to follow and join in too.

Borrow Rosie Signs: Please and Thank You!

Book cover of Achoo

Achoo!

Simon Philip and Nathan Reed

You probably know it’s good manners to ALWAYS cover your nose when you sneeze. But when Sid forgets this very simple rule, the consequences are WILDER than he could ever have predicted. Get ready for a laugh-out-loud, sneeze-driven joyride, featuring elephants, pirates, acrobats, giants, princesses and a whole lot of pandas. Sneezing will never be the same again!

Borrow Achoo!

Book cover of Please!

Please!

Simon Philip and Nathan Reed

You probably know it’s good manners to ALWAYS say ‘please’ when asking for something. But when Bill forgets this very simple rule, the consequences are WACKIER than he could ever have imagined. Get ready for a laugh-out-loud adventure featuring spaceships, jungle tigers, mountain yaks, fairytale castles and a whole host of alien toads.

Borrow Please!

Richard Scarrys Please and Thank You Book

Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book

Richard Scarry

Join Richard Scarry’s beloved characters Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm and more on a very busy day in Busytown as they learn how to be polite, helpful, stay safe – and have a great time!

Borrow Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book

Book cover of When a Dragon Comes to Stay

When a Dragon Comes to Stay

Caryl Hart

When a dragon comes to stay, will she behave herself? Why, of course she will. Obviously she knows she must share her toys, eat daintily and skip happily upstairs at bathtime. Well, not quite. Like all toddlers, this little dragon finds good manners a tiny bit tricky. It’s lucky she has some friends to help her.

Borrow When a Dragon Comes to Stay

Book cover of Perfectly Polite Penguins

Perfectly Polite Penguins

Georgiana Deutsch

Penguins are ALWAYS perfectly polite. They wait their turn, they share their toys and they never forget to say please or thank you!

But then Polly the not-so-polite penguin decides that being polite is BORING! And when the other penguins start to agree… Uh oh! It’s chaos!

Borrow Perfectly Polite Penguins

Book cover of Please Mr Panda

Please Mr Panda

Steve Antony

Panda has a tray of doughnuts. Animal after animal tells him the one they want, but it’s only when Lemur says ‘please’ politely that Panda will give any out! A witty and stylish lesson that manners will get you EVERYTHING. Even a trayload of doughnuts.

Borrow Please Mr Panda

Book cover of My Name is Bear

My Name is Bear!

Nicola Killen

Bear can’t wait to introduce himself to his new neighbours because he thinks he has the best name in the world! But when he learns his neighbours’ names he can’t stop laughing and his comments become more and more rude! Will Bear ever learn some manners?

Borrow My Name is Bear!

Book cover of Miss Molly's School of Manners

Miss Molly’s School of Manners

James Maclaine

Join Algernon the raccoon at Miss Molly’s School of Manners and take lessons in the Careful Listening Laboratory and the Art of Sharing Studio, learn table manners in the Dining Hall of Decorum, visit Sorry Sickbay, and shine at Good Sports Day.

Borrow Miss Molly’s School of Manners

Book cover of I Want My Dinner!

I Want My Dinner!

Tony Ross

The Little Princess wants her dinner! And her teddy, and her potty. Several tantrums later, she learns that good manners go a long way. But not everyone else is so polite – Beastie must also master ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ if the Little Princess is to give him his dinner back.

Borrow I Want My Dinner!

Book cover of How To Apologise

How to Apologise

David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone knew how to apologise? For both listeners who are just learning and older readers who need a refresher, this book will come as a welcome reminder that even though apologising can be hard, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Borrow How to Apologise

Book cover of How Rude!

How Rude!

Clare Helen Welsh

Dot invites Duck to a tea party, but from the moment Duck enters the house, the tea party descends into chaos; from licking sandwich fillings to spitting tea, Duck gets ruder…and ruder…and ruder. Just how will Dot react to such outrageous behavior?

Simple, funny, and ultimately touching, this book will appeal to any child who is learning what it is not to be rude and, more importantly, what it is to be a true friend.

Borrow How Rude!

Book cover of Finn's Little Fibs

Finn’s Little Fibs

Tom Percival

When Finn accidentally breaks his grandma’s precious clock, he tells a teeny tiny little lie – and blames it on his sister instead! Soon, Finn’s little fib is OUT OF CONTROL, and it’s getting in the way of everything! Can he find a way to tell the truth?

This reassuring and humorous book is the perfect springboard for talking to children about the importance of honesty.

Borrow Finn’s Little Fibs

en_GBEnglish