Weekend reads: 14 and 15 March 2026: Part two

 

Paddington: the original story of the bear from Darkest Peru.

Written by Michael Bond.

Illustrated by R.W. Alley.

HarperCollins, 2018.

Picture book.

It’s been a long time – if ever! – since I’d read Paddington. I’m not the only one with a soft spot for him – judging by the movies, visits to the (late) Queen, the stage show.

I figured there had to be some colonial attitudes going on, but I hadn’t realised that he didn’t choose his own name – or given the option to. His name is deemed too hard, and the English family give him one.

 

Weiwei's winter solstice: a Dōngzhì story.

Written and illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan.

Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025.

Picture book.

Finding a sense of home and familiarity in a new place – one with very different climate.

Possible read-alikes / read-alongs:

• Cookies and crescents: an Eid story by Nada Shawish Dutka and Zelma Firdauzia.
• Hanukkah upside down by Elissa Brent Weissman and Omer Hoffmann.
• Hettie's Christmas gift by Bernice Screech and Rita Parkinson.
• A Dragon called Spark by Lily Murray and Kirsti Beautyman.

The great big book of museums.

Written by Éva Bensard.

Illustrated by Benjamin Chaud

Translated by Karin Snelson from the French Grand livre des musées.

Red Comet Press, 2025.

Illustrated nonfiction.

Large format.

Facts and information about 12 museums: The Vatican Museums (Rome, Italy); The Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., United States); The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain); The Mucem (Marseille, France); The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, The Netherlands); The Louvre (Paris, France); The Oceanographic Musem (Monaco); The State Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia); The Palace Museum (Beijing, China); The National Museum of Fine Arts (Algiers, Algeria); The Frida Kahlo Museum (Mexico City, Mexico); The American Museum of Natural History (New York, United States); The Quai Branly Museum (Paris, France).

Possible read-alikes:

• Behind the scenes at the museum: your all-access guide to the world's amazing museums by Ben Ffrancon Davis and S.I. Martin.
• Wonders of the world's museums by Molly Oldfield, Harriet Taylor-Seed, and Peter Malone.
• Picture this! by Paul Thurby.

 

 

The map of me.

Written by Nicola Davies.

Illustrated by Olga Shtonda.

Templar Books, 2026.

Picture book.

After moving house, a young girl feels cut off from her familiar touchstones, like her grandmother and Joe-Dog. She makes a map to fit them all – and her new environment. As she makes friends, her map expands with their additions.

“There is no space on my future map for fear or war.”

Possible read-alikes:

• Ruby maps her world by Jane Yolen and Dow Phumiruk.
• Martha maps it out in time! by Leigh Hodgkinson.
• Coquí in the city by Nomar Perez.
• Max and the tag-along moon by Floyd Cooper.

The underwater moon.

Written and illustrated by Sandra Dieckmann.

Hodder Children's Books, 2026.

Picture book.

Mouse spends a lot of time talking to Moon – but her jealousy causes Moon to fall from the sky. On a rescue mission, Mouse realises that Moon is important to a lot of other animals.

Possible read-alikes:

• The day the moon came to stay by Gary Eck and Nick O'Sullivan.
• Little Rabbit and the Moon by Inda Ahmad Zahri and Claire Wee.
• The night the Moon went missing by Brendan Kearney.

What's it made of?: the materials that shape our world.

Written by Dr Kat Day, Clive Gifford, and Hilary Lamb.

Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2025.

Illustrated non-fiction.

About materials science. Little to no mention of environmental issues / impacts – apart from a smidgeon about recycling.

Possible read-alikes:

• 15-minute stem: quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5-11-year-olds by Emily Hunt.
• Invented by animals: meet the creatures who inspired our everyday technology by Christiane Dorion and Gosia Herba.
• The element in the room: investigating the atomic ingredients that make up your home by Mike Barfield and Lauren Humphrey.
• The everyday workings of machines: how machines work, from toasters and trains to hovercrafts and robots by Steve Martin and Valpuri Kerttula.

Norse myths, monsters and Viking voyages.

Written by Stephen Davies.

Illustrated by Seaerra Miller.

Big Picture Press, 2025.

Graphic non-fiction.

A comic book introduction to the Norse / Viking world.

Possible read-alongs:

• Vikings by Eugenia Nobati and Stella Caldwell.
• Viking voyagers by Jack Tite.
• 99 questions about the Vikings answered! by Annabel Savery.
• Legends of Norse mythology by Tom Birkett and Isabella Mazzanti.
• Introduction to Norse mythology for kids: a fun collection of the greatest heroes, monsters, and gods in Norse myth by Peter Aperlo and Valentin Ramon.

The Highway Rat.

Written by Julia Donaldson.

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Scholastic, 2026 – 15^th anniversary edition.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

The Highway Rat is mean – he steals from everyone! Until a duck hatches a plan.

Possible read-alikes:

• The robin who stole Christmas by Rachel Morrisroe and Richard Merritt.
• Cats and robbers by Russell Ayto.
• Pirates ahoy! by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton.
• The three robbers by Tomi Ungerer.

And, the inspiration: The highwayman by Alfred Noyes, illustrated by Charles Keeping.

A song of the seasons.

Written and illustrated by Yibing Deng.

Post Wave Children's Books, 2025.

Picture book.

A mother bear and her cubs travel through the trees, and the seasons.

A gentle story of time passing.

Possible read-alikes:

• A pocket full of rocks by Kristin Mahoney and E.B. Goodale.
• I hear the snow, I smell the sea by Janice Milusich and Christopher Raschka.
• The big dreaming by Michael Rosen and Daniel Egnéus.
• Stay awake, Bear! by Gavin Bishop. 

Science Detective Agency .

Written by Stevie Derrick.

Illustrated by Miriam Serafin.

Wayland, 2025.

Illustrated non-fiction.

Use the clues and science instructions to solve a mystery.

Possible read-alikes / read-alongs:

• How to be a detective and other crime-fighting jobs by DC Alexandra Beever and Sol Linero.
• Scene of the crime: tracking down criminals with forensic science by HP Newquist.
• Solve this!: forensics: super science and curious capers for the daring detective in you by Kate Messner and Anne Ruppert.
• Forensics for kids: the science and history of crime solving with 21 activities by Melissa Ross.