Sharing a reading experience with loved ones makes stories more enjoyable. To celebrate the National Year of Reading, take a look at our favourite children’s titles, perfect for reading together!
Are audiobooks more your thing? Browse our top picks over on the BorrrowBox app, free to use with your library card!
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations or explore more of the National Year of Reading campaign.
The Gruffalo
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
“A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good…”
This is a rhyming story of a mouse and a monster. Little mouse goes for a walk in a dangerous forest. To scare off his enemies he invents tales of a fantastical creature called the Gruffalo. So imagine his surprise when he meets a real gruffalo.
Oi Frog!
Kes Gray and Jim Field
This is a tale about a frog who discovers that all animals have their special places to sit!
Cats sit on mats, hares sit on chairs, mules sit on stools and gofers sit on sofas, but Frog does not want to sit on a log!
Jam-packed with animals and silliness, this original story will have young children in fits of laughter.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
Follow and join in the family’s excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest!
For brave hunters and bear-lovers, the classic chant-aloud by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.
Shark in the Park!
Nick Sharratt
Timothy Pope has a brand new telescope and he’s testing it out at the park. Peep through the die-cut holes in this book to see if you can spy a shark. Is that really a shark? Turn the page and find out . . .
A delightful, entertaining story – with its rhyming text and ingenious die-cut pages, it’s a book children will want to read again and again.
Oh No, George!
Chrisas Haughtonas
This is the story of George the dog. His owner, Harris, is off to do some shopping. “Will you be good, George?” he asks his dog.
George hopes he can. He really wants to … but chocolate cake is just so very delicious and he does love to chase cat… What will George do now?
I Want My Hat Back
Jonas Klassenas
The bear’s hat is gone and he wants it back. Patiently and politely he asks the animals he comes across whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others.
But just as he begins to lose hope a deer comes by and asks a question that suddenly sparks the bear’s memory.
Aliens Love Underpants
Claire Freedman
Aliens love underpants, in every shape and size. But there are no underpants in space, so here’s a big surprise.
This zany, hilarious tale is delightfully brought to life by Ben Cort’s vibrant illustrations. With a madcap, rhyming text by award-winning Claire Freedman, this is sure to enchant and amuse the whole family!
So Much
Trish Cooke
Mum and baby are home alone when – DING DONG! – Auntie and then Uncle and Nannie and Gran-Gran and the cousins come to visit. And they all want to hug and kiss and squeeze and eat the baby right up – because everybody loves the baby SO MUCH!
With Helen Oxenbury lending her characteristic warmth and humour to a most exuberant family party, Trish Cooke’s rhythmic, cumulative story captures the joy of being the baby in a large extended family – a baby who knows that he is absolutely, utterly adored.
The Day the Crayons Quit
Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
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. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other.
The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Giles Andreae
Cha-cha with the chimps and rock ‘n’ roll with the rhino in this funny and very moving story about Gerald the Giraffe who longs to dance.
Gerald the tall giraffe would love to join in with the other animals at the Jungle Dance, but everyone knows that giraffes can’t dance . . . or can they?
Pip and Posy: The Friendly Snail
Camilla Reid and Axel Scheffler
Pip and Posy are spending a lovely afternoon outside, but Pip wants to do some gardening quietly and Posy wants to have fun playing noisy games. Posy’s racket even frightens Pip’s new snail friend back into its shell – oh dear!
But when a big, greedy bird tries to take Pip’s snail, it turns out Posy’s loud voice can be quite useful after all!
Tractor
Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock
Down on the farm, let’s plant the seeds. Tip them! Flip them! Go, go, go!
From the plough that cuts the earth and the harrow that churns the soil to the seed drill that plants the seeds, the sprayer that waters them, the combine harvester that reaps the corn, and the dump cart that brings the tasty load to the truck, there’s plenty of noisy excitement that happens on a farm.
And don’t forget the hard-working tractor, which rests when the farm workers take a break and sample the crop!
Car, Car, Truck, Jeep
Katrina Charman and Nick Sharrat
This board book edition of a favourite sing-along picture book is bursting with cars, buses, planes, trains, trucks, diggers and many more things that go. Add to that a musical accompaniment to the tune of ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’ and – what a combination!
Follow the web link on the back of the book and get ready to sing along.
Owl Babies
Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
Owl Babies is a comforting read for any toddler who has ever worried about mum leaving them alone, or any child starting pre-school for the very first time.
Sarah, Percy and Bill the baby owls wake one night to find their mother gone. And as the darkness gathers and they perch patiently on their branch waiting for her return, oh how they worry!
Never has the plight of young ones who miss their mum been so sensitively told or so beautifully rendered as in this tale from picture book masters, Patrick Benson and Martin Waddell.
Whatever Next!
Jill Murphy
The moon and back before bathtime? Whatever next!
Join Baby Bear as he finds a rocket, makes friends with an owl and has a picnic on the moon! This beautiful story of innocence and imagination is full of Jill Murphy’s characteristic warmth and humour.
A Good Place
Lucy Cousins
Four insect friends are looking for a place to live – one that has flowers for Bee, leaves for Ladybird, a pond for Dragonfly and dead wood for Beetle. But – oh no! – with dangers all around, a good place is not so easy to find.
This story brings the natural world to joyful and vibrant life for young readers, inviting them to consider what they can do to help make our planet a good place for all living creatures.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Judith Kerr
The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don’t expect to see at the door is a big furry, stripy tiger!
This warm and funny picture book story is perfect for reading aloud, or for small children to read to themselves time and again.
Frank and Bert: The One With the Missing Biscuits
Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
Frank and Bert are off for a picnic in the countryside. And Bert has brought a delicious surprise!
But when he falls asleep, Frank can’t resist taking a peek – WOW! Bert has made Frank’s FAVOURITE biscuits! Surely, he won’t mind if Frank eats one, or two, or three.
The Koala Who Could
Rachel Bright
In a wonderful place, at the breaking of dawn, where the breezes were soft and the sunshine was warm, a place where the creatures ran wild and played free… A Koala called Kevin clung to a tree.
Meet Kevin. A koala who likes to keep things the same. Exactly the same. But sometimes change comes along whether we like it or not… And, as Kevin discovers, if you step outside your comfort zone and try new things, you might just surprise yourself!
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
All over the world, babies are different. Yet in some ways they are very much the same: each one has ten little fingers and ten little toes – to play with, to tickle, to wave.
And each child is very, very special to its parents…
Lithuanian 
English 
Polish 
Romanian 
Portuguese 
Bengali