The Alligator’s Mouth Award has announced its 2025 shortlist! This prize champions both authors and illustrators of children’s fiction. Take a look at these visually engaging stories, available to borrow from our catalogue!
Book cover of Beti and the Little Round House by Atinuke

Beti and the Little Round House

Atinuke and Emily Hughes

Beti lives in a little round house in the woods with Mam, Tad, Baby Jac, her cheeky goat Naughty and many other farm animals. Written in Atinuke’s rhythmic, heartfelt style and brought to life by Emily Hughes’ illustrations, this collection of four stories centred around a strong-willed little girl is a celebration of having adventures with our friends in the lush wild with each changing season.

Borrow Beti and the Little Round House

Book cover of Murray the Viking by Adam Stower

Murray the Viking

Adam Stower

Murray is a cat. Murray loves snoozing, fluffy blankets, and peace and quiet. Bun is a bun. Bun loves. EVERYTHING! And together they are unstoppable! SOMETIMES Murray’s enchanted cat flap leads to the garden, but mostly it leads to ADVENTURE! And when Murray and Bun travel through the cat flap and find themselves in a land of VIKINGS, they are given a VERY IMPORTANT MISSION: to travel to TROLL ISLAND and rescue Eggrik the Viking – if he hasn’t already been gobbled up by the trolls, that is.

Borrow Murray the Viking

Book cover of Gordon: The Meanest Goose on Earth by Alex Latimer

Gordon: The Meanest Goose on Earth

Alex Latimer

There are plenty of mean geese in the world. They hiss and honk and chase you down for a handful of crumbs. But Gordon is the meanest of them all. He stomps on sandcastles, knocks ice-creams out of hands, and punches sharks – he’s the worst, and he loves it. Until one day, something extraordinary happens! Anthony the Piglet gives him a flower. With this one act of kindness, Gordon’s world begins to crumble. Join Gordon the Goose, Anthony the Piglet, and the citizens of Grover Gardens for a laugh-out-loud journey of empathy, courage, and soggy bread.

Borrow Gordon: The Meanest Goose on Earth

Book cover of This Lake is Fake by Julian Gough

Rabbit & Bear: This Lake is Fake!

Julian Gough

Rabbit is fed up. Spring has come, but it’s not as perfect as he thought it would be. Bear thinks that if they work hard, they can make it better. But Rabbit has a Plan. He sets off across the lake in search of a perfect world. Crossing the water together, Rabbit and Bear learn many things, and discover that their perfect world may be closer at hand than Rabbit had thought.

A story of hope, friendship, and an entire island made of bird droppings.

Borrow This Lake is Fake!

Book cover of Supersquirrel and the Crazy Rain Maker by Russell Punter

Supersquirrel and the Crazy Rain Maker

Russell Punter

When a top secret formula is stolen, it’s a job for Supersquirrel. Using her amazing superpowers, she tracks down the culprit, the ruthless Dr Drizzle, who has a plan to make a fortune. Help Supersquirrel to solve a variety of puzzles and put a stop to Dr Drizzle’s evil scheme.

Simple text and comic strips to make reading fun, packed full of puzzles to solve as you read the story. Perfect for shared reading!

Borrow Supersquirrel and the Crazy Rain Maker

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