It's that time of year!
Time when I start planning my reading for #WorldKidLitMonth!
Are you ready to join me?
Visit the World Kid Lit Month website for booklists, resources, ideas... so many valuable resources!
It's that time of year!
Time when I start planning my reading for #WorldKidLitMonth!
Are you ready to join me?
Visit the World Kid Lit Month website for booklists, resources, ideas... so many valuable resources!
Are
you a banana?
Written
and illustrated by Robert Starling.
Pat-a-Cake,
2025.
Board
book.
Flaps.
A
riot of a read.
Possible
read-alikes:
Lost:
stories of people, places, and things lost throughout history.
Written
by Tom Adams.
Illustrated
by Daniela Martín Del Campo.
Dorling
Kindersley Limited, 2026.
Illustrated
nonfiction.
Pirates,
pharaohs, places, and people – an interesting collection of ‘lost’ things.
Possible
read-alikes:
The
grumpy ghost upstairs.
Written
and illustrated by Mamiko Shiotani.
Translated
from the Japanese by Polly Lawson.
Floris
Books, 2025.
Picture
book.
Translation.
Uncertainty
and being scared of new situations and people.
Possible
read-alikes:
Penny
& Pip.
Written
by Candace Fleming.
Illustrated
by Eric Rohmann.
Atheneum
Books for Young Readers, 2023.
Picture
book.
A
dream! Going to the museum and ending up adopting a dinosaur!
Possible
read-alikes:
Nora
notices.
Written
and illustrated by Tegan Moss.
Little
Book Press, 2025
Picture
book.
A
world of imagination when you go out with Nora.
Possible
read-alikes:
The
bin monster.
Written
and illustrated by Annabelle Hale.
Affirm
Press, 2025.
Picture
book.
Australian.
What
is causing the disaster of bin day?
Possible
read-alikes:
Great
Elizabethans: HM Queen Elizabeth II & 25 amazing Britons from her reign.
Written
by Imogen Russell Williams.
Illustrated
by Sara Mulvanny.
Nosy
Crow, 2022.
Illustrated
nonfiction.
A
diverse group of the famous, and not-so-famous. There are activists and
athletes, scientists and storytellers.
Possible
read-alikes:
The forever bear.
Written by Lu Fraser.
Illustrated by Pippa Curnick.
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025.
Picture book.
Teddy bears are magic.
Possible read-alikes:
Yellow
is a banana.
Written
and illustrated by John Himmelman.
Abrams
Appleseed, 2025.
Picture
book.
An
argument about colour and perception.
Possible
read-alikes:
Iron
Robin.
Written
by Rose Tremain.
Illustrated
by Richard Jones.
Puffin
Books, 2023.
Picture
book.
A
lovely book – but I’m not sure of the appeal to children.
Possible
read-alikes:
Now I see autumn.
Written by Mac Barnett.
Illustrated by Jon Klassen.
Simon & Schuster,
2026.
Board book.
I’ve now read all the books in this series – and I’m ashamed
of how long it took for me to pick up it’s all the same text in each one. The
magic in these books is Jon Klassen’s illustrations.
Possible read-alikes:
Wild places: the life of naturalist David Attenborough.
Written by Hayley Rocco.
Illustrated by John Rocco.
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2023.
Illustrated nonfiction / biography.
Just what it says on the tin.
Possible read-alikes:
I do not like stories.
Written by Andrew Larsen.
Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff.
Owlkids Books, 2020.
Picture book.
I’m with the protagonist – I, too, would rather be at home
with my cat/s.
Possible read-alikes:
All from a walnut.
Written by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
Illustrated by Felicita Sala.
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022.
Sophisticated picture book.
A poignant story of tradition, generational knowledge,
immigration, love, and grief. Life cycles, life lessons, and death.
Possible read-alikes:
Clara and the birds.
Written and illustrated by Emma Simpson.
Milky Way Picture Books, 2024.
Sophisticated picture book.
A story of shyness and needing solitude – and not fitting
in.
Possible read-alikes:
The whale and the snapper = Tohorā me te Tāmure.
By Jo Van Dam, Ariana Stevens, and Richard Hoit.
Scholastic New Zealand, 2026.
Aotearoa
Picture book.
Bilingual.
Rhyming.
Retelling of the Lion and Mouse by Aesop.
Possible read-alikes:
Kekeno, curious explorer.
Written by Katie Furze.
Illustrated by Ned Barraud.
Scholastic New Zealand, 2026.
Aotearoa.
Picture book nonfiction.
Katie Furze is doing a fine line in picture book nonfiction
featuring endemic creatures of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Possible read-alikes:
You're in my heart.
Written and illustrated by Sawyer Cloud.
Tate Publishing, 2026.
Picture book.
Rhyming text.
Missing family while away.
Note: creator lives in Madagascar.
Possible read-alikes:
Curly Cat. The Acrobat.
Written by Jennifer Somervell.
Illustrated by Zerika van Jaarsveld.
Landing Lights Press, 2025.
Picture book.
Aotearoa New Zealand.
A bit meh. A cat who wants to be an acrobat, and is
discouraged by friends.
Possible read-alikes:
Welcome to our table.
Written by Laura Mucha and Ed Smith.
Illustrated by Harriet Lynas.
Nosy Crow, 2023.
Illustrated nonfiction.
Food traditions from around the world.
Possible read-alikes:
No, I'm a... shark!
Written by Mike Henson.
Illustrated by Ana Gomez.
Happy Yak, 2026.
Picture book.
The perfect answer to “What do you want to be when you grown
up?”
Possible read-alikes:
This letter says I love you.
Written by Lucy Rowland.
Illustrated by Sharon Rentta.
Includes a letter by Matilda Handy.
Scholastic, 2025.
Sophisticated picture book.
Based on a real thing. A young girl writes letters to her late
grandmother.
Possible read-alikes:
What will my story be?
Written and illustrated by Nidhi Chanani.
Viking, 2021.
Picture book.
A wonderful group of aunties inspire a young girl to imagine
her future.
Possible read-alikes:
We are all one.
Written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.
Little Tiger, 2026.
Picture book.
Peek-through pages.
Connection to nature.
Possible read-alikes:
Storm.
Written by Claire Saxby.
Illustrated by Jess Racklyeft.
Allen & Unwin, 2026.
Picture book.
Wild weather with the build-up of a storm.
Possible read-alikes:
Welcome, Uncle Nowruz!: a Persian New Year's story.
Written and illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh.
NorthSouth Books Inc, 2026.
Picture book.
Based on a Persian tale of waiting for spring – and Nowruz /
New Year.
Possible read-alikes:
Solo.
Written and illustrated by Neil Clark.
Rocket Bird Books, 2026.
Picture book.
When your outside is shy, but your inside is full to
bursting.
Possible read-alikes:
Bracelets for Bina's brothers.
Written by Rajani LaRocca.
Illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat.
Charlesbridge, 2021.
Picture book.
Maths, patterns, problem solving – and a special holiday for
siblings. A great mix!
Possible read-alikes:
Do you see the tiger?
Written by Philip Ardagh.
Illustrated by David Melling.
Candlewick Press, 2025.
Picture book.
Is there really a tiger on the train?
Possible read-alikes:
Poems to save the world with.
Chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell.
Macmillan, 2020.
Poetry.
Part of a series, which includes: Poems to live your life by
ad Poems to fall in love with.
Possible read-alikes:
I say ooh you say aah.
Written and illustrated by John Kane.
Templar Publishing, 2018.
Picture book.
Interactive.
It’s like those tests when you have to say the colour of the
letters, rather than the content of the word…
Possible read-alikes:
Busy feet.
Written by Marcia Berneger.
Illustrated by Susanna Chapman.
Starry Forest, 2023.
Picture book.
Rhyming text.
A great book to act out. Includes some opposites.
Possible read-alikes:
Give him my heart / Debi Gliori.
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 1998.
Picture book.
Christmas.
A very Christian Christmas, based on “In the BleakMidwinter” by Christina Rossetti.
Possible read-alikes:
A gallery of cats.
Written and illustrated by Ruth Brown.
Scallywag Press Ltd, 2019.
Picture book.
Match the cat with the art.
Possible read-alikes:
The bear out there.
Written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan.
Quill Tree Books, 2025.
Sophisticated picture book.
A take on Goldilocks.
Possible read-alikes:
The big journey.
Written by Michael Rosen.
Illustrated by Daniel Egnéus.
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2026.
Picture book.
A journey to a new home, which also involves a form of loss
as they leave behind family and friends.
Possible read-alikes:
Where's my teddy bear?
Written and illustrated by Rocio Bonilla.
Translated from the Catalan by Edicions Bromera.
Albatros, 2025.
Translation. Board book.
A hunt for a missing bear – where the reader can see, but
the character just can’t.
Possible read-alikes:
Bluey and Bingo's book of bugs: a push-and-pull book.
Ladybird Books, 2026.
Board book.
Tabs, wheels, and bars make this a fun play book.
Possible read-alikes:
The eyeball alphabet book.
Written by Jerry Pallotta.
Illustrated by Shennen Bersani.
Charlesbridge, 2021.
Illustrated nonfiction.
Animal eyes and eye idioms.
Possible read-alikes:
Tiny worlds.
Written and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese.
Candlewick Press, 2026.
Picture book.
The value of noticing the little things.
A story of different perspectives.
Possible read-alikes: