How to be a cat.
Written by Juliette MacIver.
Illustrated by Carla Martell.
Scholastic New Zealand Limited, 2024.
Picture book.
Aotearoa.
Duck and his mumma were first introduced in Duck goes
meow.
In this, Duck questions his place – is he really a cat? But,
his mumma is very reassuring – and his siblings back him up against the
bullies.
Possible read-alikes:
- Duckat by Gaelyn Gordon and Chris Gaskin.
- The only dinosaur in school by Leonie Agnew and Julia Hegetusch.
- Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen.
- Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts.
- The odd egg by Emily Gravett.
Written by Juliette MacIver.
Illustrated by Carla Martell.
Scholastic New Zealand Limited, 2025.
Picture book.
Aotearoa.
A new Duck adventure! Following on from: Duck goes meow
and How to be a cat.
Duck shows off his impressive linguistic skills!
Possible read-alikes:
- Dazzlehands by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan.
- Moo, baa, la la la! by Sandra Boynton.
- No! said Custard the Squirrel by Sergio Ruzzier.
- How to talk like a chicken by Charlie Grandy and Alex G. Griffiths.
- Do cows meow?: a lift-the-flap book by Salina Yoon.
- I can roar like a dinosaur by Karl Newson and Ross Collins.
- What should a horse say? by Fleur McDonald and Annie White.
- Bark, George by Jules Feiffer.
Twisty-turny house.
Written by Lisa Mantchev.
Illustrated by EG Keller.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021.
The cats and dogs live completely separately – until one cat
changes it all.
Possible read-alikes:
- Otters vs badgers by Anya Glazer.
- The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
- Along came a different by Tom McLaughlin.
- Who left the light on? by Richard Marnier and Aude Maurel, translated by Emma Ramadan.
- The Kerfuffle by Clotilde Perrin; translated by Daniel Hahn.
Strictly no elephants.
Written by Lisa Mantchev.
Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo.
Picture book.
A story about friendship and pets – and being welcoming.
Possible read-alikes:
- The trouble with giraffes by Lisa Mantchev and Taeeun Yoo.
- The black and white club by Alice Hemming and Kimberley Scott.
- You must bring a hat by Simon Philip and Kate Hindley.
- The together treehouse by Michael Engler and Joëlle Tourlonias; translated by Polly Lawson.
Roman holiday: the illustrated storybook.
Adapted by Micol Ostow.
Illustrated by Diobelle Cerna.
Insight Editions, 2023.
Picture book.
I am puzzled as to the audience of this.
A picture book, with an ending that isn’t a common one in books aimed at
picture book reading-aged children (ie no real happy ending).
A picture book, based on a movie that came out when picture
book reading-aged children’s great-grandparents were teens. (Generalising
here.)
Mind you, the author has also adapted picture books based on
Seinfeld, Gilmore Girls, Friends.
If you want unexpected princess books, then read these
instead:
- Princess Charming by Zibby Owens.
- The ogre who wasn’t by Michael Morpurgo and Emily Gravett.
- A monster + princess + shark adventure by Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker.
- The lighthouse princess by Susan Wardell and Rose Northey.
- The fierce little woman and the wicked pirate by Joy Cowley (different editions have different illustrators.)
Smiling eyes.
Written by Linda Sue Park.
Illustrated by Lenny Wen.
Allida, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2025.
Picture book.
A celebration of Asian eye shapes and hues.
Possible read-alikes:
- Eyes that kiss in the corners, Eyes that speak to the stars, and Eyes that weave the world’s wonders by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho.
- Your name is a song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Luisa Uribe.
- Princess hair by Sharee Miller.
- Happy in our skin by Fran Manushkin and Lauren Tobia.
The tractor has a wobbly wheel.
Written by Tim Saunders.
Illustrated by Carla Martell.
Allen & Unwin , 2025.
Aotearoa.
Picture book.
Rhyming text.
A farm setting with a cumulative tale, of increasing
ridiculousness.
Possible read-alikes:
- Tractor by Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock.
- All of the factors of why I love tractors by Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie.
- The rusty, trusty tractor by Joy Cowley and Olivier Dunrea.
- My Aunt Mary went shopping by Roger Hall and Daron Parton.
Make new friends.
Written by Joshua David Stein.
Illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio.
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2025.
Tomasso is struggling to make human friends, so he makes friends
out of the things around him, and tells his father all about them. What will his
father do when he finds out?
Possible read-alikes:
- Tilly by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker.
- I'm going to make a friend by Darren Chettyand Sandhya Prabhat.
- The day the crayons made friends by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers.
- Meesha makes friends by Tom Percival.
- A friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey and Mika Song.
- Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and Daniel Egnéus.
Weirdo goes wild.
Written by Zadie Smith and Nick Laird.
Illustrated by Magenta Fox.
Puffin, 2024.
Picture book.
Sequel to Weirdo.
Maud and her human, Kit, are off to camp. Time for new
experiences and new friends.
Possible read-alikes:
- Squishy McFluff's camping adventure by Pip Jones and Ella Okstad.
- Ginny's big adventure by Matt Carr.
- The inside dog by Pip Harry and Carolyn Davis.
- Let's go! = haw êkwa! by Julie Flett.
If you run out of words.
Written and illustrated by Felicita Sala.
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024.
Picture book.
When the what-ifs strike, this father reassures his daughter
that he will always love her.
Possible read-alikes:
- Keys [also published as When Daddy tucks me in] by Sacha Cotter and Joshua Morgan.
- Somewhere by Robie H. Harris and Armando Mariño.
- Dad by my side by Soosh.
- Now matter what by Debi Gliori.
- Mama, do you love me? by Barbara M. Joosse and Barbara Lavallee.
- Wherever you go by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman.
- I'll be there by Karl Newson and Rosalind Beardshaw.
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