TOP FIVE PICTURE BOOKS!
Our Five Fave Picture Books
It seems as though every time we visit a bookstore lately, we walk out with a picture book. The other day alone, we bought four! The obsession is real. We’re not sure what draws us to the picture book section above everything else, perhaps it’s the bright illustrations, the subtle but heart-warming lessons or the satisfaction of reading them in one sitting (and then reading them again and again), but we just can’t help ourselves. In order to do something productive with our ever-growing collection, we decided to share our five fave picture books that have come out over the last couple of years!
1. NOT QUITE NARWHAL – Jesse Sima
Our top spot goes to the one and only ‘Not Quite Narwhal’ by Jessie Sima. We were hooked on this book as soon as we saw the gorgeous glittering cover. It feels like holding a little piece of magic in your hands. The story of Kelp’s journey to discover who he is and where he belongs is a truly captivating one. The illustrations are simple yet enchanting and extremely memorable. It shares the important message that how you look, doesn’t matter to the ones who love you. Overall, we thought this story was incredibly sweet and our fave so far!
FAVE LINE: Did he want to be a land narwhal with the unicorns… or a sea unicorn with the narwhals? Kelp couldn’t decide.
2. THE SLOTH WHO CAME TO STAY – Margaret Wild & Vivienne To
This is an adorable story about the worlds speediest family who are forced to slow down and enjoy the little things in life when a super slow sloth comes to stay with them. The way that the illustrator, Vivienne To, has captured the chilled-out nature of Sloth is just way too cute! We especially love when sloth is having a bath and styling his hair. Once sloth’s job is done and the family have learnt to slow down, he moves onto the next speediest family. The message in this book is such a great one and we could all definitely learn a lot from sloth!
FAVE LINE: Sloth had a long leisurely bath with lots of bubbles, a purple duck and a red boat.
3. WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO THE MOON – Sasha Beekman & Vivienne To
We could not resist the beautiful illustrations within this book. Vivienne To is quickly becoming one of our favourite illustrators, making another appearance on our list! There is so much personality in her character design. The detail in the artwork is utter perfection, from the facial expressions of the characters to the knick-knacks in the little girl’s bedroom. The story is quirky and fun with a lovely rhythmic feel to it. Not to mention that the book has also provided us with great insight into all the things we would need to pack if we too decide to journey to the moon. Now we know we certainly couldn’t go to the moon without tap dancing shoes, a glittery yo-yo and a loveable pet iguana. We sure are suckers for specifics and Sasha Beekman provides all the details!
FAVE LINE: Done your lucky dance? A slide. A twirl. A jump to the sky! Now you’re definitely ready to climb really high.
4. ZOOM – Sha’an D’anthes
This book is full of endless possibility and wonder as it takes you on a journey to explore the ‘zoo among the stars’! The personification of each planet as an animal is absolutely amazing. 'Zoom' is dedicated to the dreamers and rightfully so. With vibrant and memorable illustrations, Scouts journey through the solar system will have you dreaming about pursuing your own adventures. It is such a great read for kids with big imaginations and a really fun way for them to learn all about the solar system!
FAVE LINE: Earth, their home, was third from the sun. She looked rather tickled (probably because of everyone walking about on her belly).
5. SOPHIE JOHNSON UNICORN EXPERT – Morag Hood & Ella Okstad
Clearly, we are suckers for books about unicorns because Sophie Johnson Unicorn Expert has stolen the final spot on our picture book list. The confetti coated cover most definitely caught our attention in the bookstore. With quirky illustrations and an incredibly fun main character, this book is a super cute read! We couldn’t help but giggle as self-proclaimed unicorn expert, Sophie, is completely oblivious to the fact that there is a real-life unicorn in her house. She is far too preoccupied with her toys, pets and siblings that she has given makeshift unicorn horns to. This is such a great story for kids, especially the unicorn lovers, who will have a great time spotting the real unicorn on each page!
FAVE LINE: I try to explain that magic is more important than mess, but I don’t think Mum understands.
BONUS BOOK! Ten Minutes to Bed Little Unicorn - Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
We stumbled across this magical little book the other day and we couldn’t help but include it in our list! Reasons why we loved this book, for one, it rhymes! We can’t resist a rhyming story, they are always so much fun for kids... and us. The cover was gorgeous and glittery. Twinkle the Unicorn is a cute and loveable character! The land of nod is such a fun place to follow twinkle through and the maps at the beginning and the end of the book are great fun for kids to explore! We were also very excited to discover that this story is part of a series, with different animals approaching bed time in the land of Nod. We can’t wait to read them all.
FAVE LINE: “Nine minutes to bed – let’s try to be quiet-” But Twinkle was causing… a bit of a riot!