Our Best New Books

Our Best New Books

Father Christmas must know how much we love reading because we got looooaaaaaads of new books for Christmas! They’re all lovely, of course, but there are a few that stand out as being special; modern classics that we will treasure forever. So to give you some inspiration for the new books you and your little ones need in your life, here are our top five:

1.  Helen Stephens, How to Hide a Lion.

When a friendly lion is chased out of town by terrified locals, he finds an unlikely friend in Iris, a little girl who decides to hide the lion in her house. This beautiful book depicts the relationship between child and beast in a manner reminiscent of The Tiger Who Came to Tea (one of our all-time faves) and the vintage-style illustrations are so old-fashionedly gorgeous that I was surprised that this was published in 2012. If you love the innocent charm of Judith Kerr’s books then this is for you. There’s a serious message here, about not making negative judgements and getting to know people before you, you know, chase them out of town with a pitchfork, but the story is so much fun that your little one will want to hear it again and again (and again and again).

2.  Usborne Books, The Story of Coppelia.

Forget those horrible, tinny-sounding “musical” books that you have to hide from your children because the sound drives you crazy. The music in this book, whilst not quite MP3 quality, still manages to sound beautiful because the publishers have used real orchestra recordings. The book tells the story of Coppelia simply, with bright, bold illustrations that children will enjoy, but it’s the music that takes centre stage. Watching Amelia dance to the ballet music was heart-melting, even on a hungover Boxing Day. If there’s a place in your heart that loves ballet, beautiful music, or both, then you will adore this (and you might even play with it yourself when the kids are in bed).

3.  Julia Donaldson, Stick Man.

Whether it was the BBC screening of Stick Man on Christmas Eve, or whether it is just the fact that Father Christmas makes an appearance, I don’t know; but Amelia is obsessed with this book and asks for it nearly every night. Every time we go out for a walk, she’ll find a stick and yell, “Look! Stick Man!” The story of Stickman’s struggle to be reunited with his family is genuinely emotional. At the part where he is woven into a swan’s nest, Millie always frowns and says, “Poor Stick Man.” This is a good thing; she’s learning empathy. The repetition, “I’m Stick Man, I’m Stick Man, that’s me!” delights toddlers who will love to join in with it. And the association with Christmas makes this book extra special.

4.  Julia Donaldson, Hide and Seek Pig.

This book was supposed to be a present for someone else, but Amelia found my not-very-well-hidden present box and claimed this as her own. In a way I’m glad it happened, because this is one of the most child-engaging books we’ve ever had. Little readers get to open gates and lift up blankets to find out who is hiding behind them, and they’ll be genuinely thrilled when they “find” Hen at the end. The rhyming couplets are brilliant for building word awareness and memory, and the illustrations are gorgeous. This is just perfect.

5.  Julia Donaldson, Rosie’s Hat.

Little Rosie loses her hat one windy day by the sea. The hat has lots of adventures of its own until years later, by sheer coincidence, it is reunited with grown-up Rose.

Now let me just get one thing straight- I have no problem with pink, I have no issue with princesses, and I deeply love traditional fairy tales and would defend them to the death. That said, I love love love the fact that when Rosie grows up she is a fire-fighter (as well as a wife and mother, if you must know). I do believe that, somewhere between the pink tutus and the sparkly shoes, our daughters need strong role models and although this is only one book in a million books, every little helps.

I realise that three out of these five books are written by Julia Donaldson, and that’s not a deliberate thing. We parents are not the real judges of children’s books, our children are, and I have very much found that the Julia Donaldson books “last” with Amelia; that she keeps going back to them long after the novelty of a new book has worn off. I think, in the end, that that is the measure of a great children’s book…. And I’ll look forward to expanding our already-substantial collection next Christmas.