In celebration of ‘World Book Night’ on Wednesday 23^rd May, we asked our staff what their favourites children’s books are. Hopefully it gives you an insight into their top reads and possibly some inspiration!

Pauline – When my children were small we had a couple of favourite books that had to be read at bedtime. We enjoyed reading ‘Wobble Bear says yellow’ by Ian Whybrow and Caroline Jayne Church. This was a good way to learn colours. Wobble Bear was a cheeky bear always saying the wrong colour to his mummy.

Another was ‘Hairy MaClary’s Bone’ by Lynley Dodd. We enjoyed the pictures of all the dogs and that Hairy MaClary manages to shake them all off to have his bone all to himself.

Sophie – I have two! When I was younger my favourite was ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ by Judith Kerr, because the girl character was called Sophie! It was read most nights. It’s a lovely story and classic book that we still enjoy reading at Playgroup now.

My favourite to read at Playgroup is ‘Someone Bigger’ by Jonathan Emmett. It beats a lot of competition from the likes of ‘Room on the Broom’, ‘Laura’s Star’ and ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’. A tale of everyone being important, no matter how big you are! Its filled with humour, great pictures and exciting characters. One I never get bored of reading.

Libby – My favourite book when I was little was “The Paper-bag Princess”. It’s about a clever Princess (who just happens to share my name!) who becomes the hero of the story by outsmarting the dragon and realising happiness is not being rescued by a handsome Prince. 

More recently, my favourite book to read with my boys when they were little was either “Pants” because the line “run away from scary pants” made them giggle every time, or “Monkey Puzzle” because it was a heartwarming story about a little monkey loosing, then eventually finding his Mum (and Dad) after looking everywhere in the jungle and meeting lots of other animals and their babies on the way. 

Paula – Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson “Hush little monkey, don’t you cry.  I’ll help you find her said Butterfly….. Let’s have a think.”.  Julia Donaldson never fails and this absolutely beautiful tale develops and works with many areas of early years learning.  It touches on the experience of feeling unsure and lost, something a child could so easily relate to.  It showcases the kindness of the butterfly which touches our hearts, as she reassures us the value of communicating freely and to be aware and embrace our differences.  My absolute fav !!!!! 

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. As a child. which I must point out was a very long time ago I found my imagination boosted by the adventures of Alice. When Alice saw a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket and then decides to follow it, unleashing a sequence of the most unusual events and the most amazing characters who could not fail to be captivated. I still feel this is one of the most gifted stories in literature written by an imaginative genius.

Kirsty – it’s just too tricky to decide… there are far too many amazing books choose from. I guess I’d have to say The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl was one of my all time favourites as a child; scary crocs trying their best to gobble up small children, their efforts thwarted at every turn 😂

Now I absolutely love Zagazoo, written and illustrated by Quentin Blake, which is a beautiful story, but a very clever metaphor for different stages of life. My kids love these stories too, even now at 12 and 9 years old ❤️

Donna – When I was younger my absolute favourite was The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It’s beautiful illustrations and cut out details chart the journey of a very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through the week. 

When my children were little we had many favourite books to read at bedtime, but my son’s favourite was Cockatoos by Quentin Blake. When eccentric Professor Dupont’s ‘feathered friends’ escape, he goes on an adventure to find them, but they’re always one step ahead of him. A wonderful and enjoyable hide and seek story.

Liz – Thinking back to the time when I read to my boys has brought back many happy memories. So many lovely stories to choose from but in the end I decided to go for one of my favourites – Old Bear. This is a tale of a bear left in the attic and seemingly forgotten until his friend works with all the other toys to rescue him. My much-loved childhood bear would have his time in the spotlight for a recreation of this heartwarming story of friendship and working together to achieve your aim.

At playgroup I love reading with the children, snuggled up in the book corner and creating new memories. I enjoy stories with rhyming text, exciting vocabulary and words that flow all on their own so I have gone with One duck stuck. The unlucky duck finds himself stuck in a muddy marsh and needs to be rescued. We may not live in a wetland but we do know about getting stuck in the mud! Many animals try and fail and it is only when they all work together is the duck finally released. At each attempt the number of animals increase by one so some counting is involved and the repetitive text quickly enables the children to join in. The language is fun with great descriptive words used to portray both the animals and the marsh. It is difficult to choose a favourite amongst the various attempts but I particularly enjoy the four crickets chirping in the thickets who leap to the duck in the pricky, sticky marsh and the seven snails making slippery trails who slide to the duck in the slippy, sloppy marsh. Such fun!