Weekend reads roundup: 27 April 2026

Waiters in elevators.

By Dylan and Amanda Shearsby.

Little Hare Books, an imprint of Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, 2025.

Australian.

Picture book.

Ignored and mistreated staff leave – and everyone realises their importance, and changes their ways. If only that were true.

Possible read-alikes:

• Wolfred by Nick Bland.
• Please! by Simon Philip and Nathan Reed.
• Gnome by Fred Blunt.

 

The way home in the night.

By Akiko Miyakoshi.

Kids Can Press Ltd., 2017.

Translation from the Japanese of: Yoru no kaerimichi.

A baby bunny imagines what is happening in the windows they go past on their way home.

A surreal, yet gentle story.

Picture book.

Possible read-alikes:

• Windows by Julia Denos
• A house that once was by Julie Fogliano and Lane Smith.
• Flashlight by Lizi Boyd.
• Teddy's midnight adventure by Yoko Mori, English translation by Cathy Hirano.
• Night lunch by Eric Fan and Dena Seiferling.
• The night gardener by Terry Fan & Eric Fan.

 

The sheep that stole the farmer's hat.

Written by Tim Saunders.

Illustrated by Carla Martell.

Allen & Unwin, 2026.

Picture book.

Aotearoa.

Rhyming text.

Semi-cumulative. Bouncy and fun.

Possible read-alikes:

• When grandpa wore a tutu by Dawn McMillan and Jenny Cooper.
• My Aunt Mary went shopping by Roger Hall and Daron Parton.
• The elephant and the bad baby by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs.
• Shoes from Grandpa by Mem Fox and Patricia Mullins. 

Party rhyme.

Written and illustrated by Antonia Pesenti.

Scribble, an imprint ofScribe Publications, 2024.

Board book.

Rhyming text.

Flaps.

Unexpected rhymes.

Possible read-alikes:

• Bumblebee grumblebee by David Elliot.
• Pūkeko who-keko? by Toby Morris.
• Don't put your finger in the jelly, Nelly! by Nick Sharratt.

The green bath.

Written by Margaret Mahy.

Illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013.

Picture book.

Aotearoa author.

The new second-hand bath is more than meets the eye.

As is often the case, Mahy’s work leaves you wondering whether it really happened.

Possible read-alikes:

• A lion in the meadow by Margaret Mahy and Jenny Williams.
• Grandpa Green by Lane Smith.
• The boy and the elephant by Freya Blackwood.

 

The snowflake.

Written and illustrated by Benji Davies.

HarperCollins Children's Books, 2020.

Picture book.

Christmas.

A snowflake questions their life purpose – do they really want to fall? Meanwhile, Noelle wishes for a perfect Christmas tree.

The illustrations show that Noelle and her family – mother, grandfather, and dog – aren’t well off. The house looks a bit ramshackle from the outside. They are also very rural.

Possible read-alikes:

• I'm a cloud by Tjitske Kamphuis.
• Flora’s garden by Debi Gliori.
• The Winter wish by Helen Mortimer and Rachael Dean.
• A Dragon Called Spark by Lily Murray and Kirsti Beautyman.

The curse of the vampire robot.

Written and illustrated by Graeme Base.

HarperCollinsPublishers, 2021.

Australian.

Rhyming text.

Sophisticated picture book.

Sepia toned illustrations and text that reads like “The Highwayman” this is a futuristic story, harking back to the past.

Written before the current shit-house-ness of AI.

Possible read-alikes:

• I follow the fox by Rob Biddulph.
• The treasure by Marcela Ferreira and Brian Lambert.
• The last Rainbow Bird by Nora Brech.
• The very polite knight by Ian Smith.

  

Kitty-Corn Club: Things that go.

Written by Shannon Hale.

Illustrated by Leuyen Pham.

Abrams Appleseed, 2024.

Board book.

Rhyming text.

Fun, with unexpected odd-one-out options.

• Who's hiding? by Satoru Onishi.
• Guess who, haiku! by Deanna Caswell and Bob Shea.
• Which one? by Professor Anna Franklin and Andy Passchier.
• One is not a pair: a spotting book by Britta Teckentrup and Katie Haworth. 

Utterly otterly night.

Written by Mary Casanova.

Illustrated by Ard Hoyt.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

Little Otter is determined to show they’re big – and manages to do so, while rescuing their family.

Possible read-alikes:

• Pup the sea otter by Jonathan London and Sean London.
• I'm not scared: a Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog adventure by Britta Teckentrup,  translated from the German by Nicola Stuart.
• I'm fine, thanks! by Jono Ganz.
• The mice of Mushroom Forest by Zanna Goldhawk. 

My grandad.

Written and illustrated by Anthony Browne.

Puffin Books, 2024.

Picture book.

A celebration of grandfathers – with nods to other books by Anthony Browne celebrating family members.

Possible read-alikes:

• Grandmas are the greatest and Grandads are the greatest by Ben Faulks and Nia Tudor.
• A Grandma's Magic by Asa Gilland.
• Pops by Gavin Bishop.
• What do you call your grandma? and What do you call your grandpa? by Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek. 

The boy with two shadows.

Written by Margaret Mahy.

Illustrated by Sarah Greig.

Hachette New Zealand, 2020.

Picture book.

Aotearoa.

I love how the witch isn’t stereotypically ‘witchy’ in these illustrations. But, that makes her even more of a threat – as she looks nice and kind. And yet, isn’t.

That’s a level of threat / realism that isn’t obvious in earlier versions. But is so very Mahy.

Possible read-alikes:

• Etta and the Shadow Taboo by J.M. Field and Jeremy Worrall.
• Shadow by Lucy Christopher and Anastasia Suvorova.
• Sneaky shadows by S C Manchild and Sam Caldwell.
• Witch cat by Lucy Rowland and Laura Hughes.
• The witch of Maketu and the bleating lambs by Anika Moa and Rebecca Ter Borg.
• Moggie McFlea: the witch’s cat by Anna Kemp.

Australia: from dawn to dusk.

By Brentos.

Affirm Press, 2022.

Nonfiction picture book.

The preference of First Nations names over imposed colonial names is good.

Note: the creators are Australian, but not First Nations.

Possible read-alikes:

• Going fishing with Nana by Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali, and Karen Briggs.  
• Ten scared fish by Ros Moriarty and Balarinji, Yanyuwa translation of text by John Bradley.
• 24 hours on the Kiwi seashore by Gillian and Darryl Torckler
• This is how we do it: one day in the lives of seven kids from around the world by Matt Lamothe.
• At the same moment, around the world by Clotilde Perrin. 

Work: interviews with people doing jobs they love.

Written by Shaina Feinberg.

Illustrated by Julia Rothman.

Candlewick Press, 2024.

Illustrated nonfiction.

An interesting and eclectic mix of jobs.

Possible read-alikes:

• See it, dream it, do it: how 25 people just like you found their dream jobs by Colleen Nelson, Kathie MacIsaac, and Scot Ritchie.
• Follow your dreams: 100 inspiring and extraordinary jobs by Katherine Mengardon.
• The big book of jobs: find out what you can be when you grow up! by Pavla Hanáčková, Hana Mokrošová, Helena Haraštová and Elena Pokaleva, translated by Andrew Oakland.
• Incredible jobs you've (probably) never heard of by Natalie Labarre. 

The dragon at the zoo.

Written by Melanie Koster.

Illustrated by Craig Phillips.

Scholastic New Zealand, 2026.

Aotearoa.

Picture book.

As a child, visiting Auckland Zoo, a trip to the see the dragon was a must. I, of course, was too afraid it would eat me. So, there are photos of me in a pram in FRONT of the dragon.

References to the work of Margaret Mahy.

Anyway, this is based on the Auckland Zoo dragon – who is teased because he doesn’t fit in with the other animals. They learn the errors of their ways, and how vital he is to the zoo community.

Possible read-alikes:

• The only dinosaur in school by Leonie Agnew and Julia Hegetusch.
• Flamingo bendalingo: poems from the zoo by Paula Green and 50 children, illustrated by Michael Hight.
• Freddy the not-Teddy by Kristen Schroeder and Hilary Jean Tapper.
• Vampenguin by Lucy Ruth Cummins. 

Fairy walk.

Written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall.

Candlewick Press, 2025.

Picture book.

One of those books where the characters inside can’t see what we, the readers, can.

Possible read-alikes:

• Up high by Matt Hunt.
• A recipe for magic potion by Jack Henseleit and Natasja Horne.
• A wild walk to school by Rebecca Cobb.
• How to find a yeti by Matt Hunt.
• There's no such thing as ghosts by Lucy Rowland.
• Hide and seek by Katie May Green.
• There’s a ghost in this house by Oliver Jeffers.
• I did see a mammoth! by Alex Willmore.
• How to spot a mermaid by Jane Yolen and Sally Deng.

Miss MacDonald has a farm.

Written by Kalee Gwarjanski.

Illustrated by Elizabet Vuković.

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2024.

Picture book.

A garden – vegetable forward, feminist version of Old MacDonald.

Possible read-alikes:

• Nanny Mihi's harvest = Te hauhake a Nanny Mihi by Melanie Drewery and Suzanne Simpson, te reo Māori translation by Kanapu Rangitauira.
• Blueberry Farm by Stephen Michael King.
• Logan's Greenhouse by JaNay Brown-Wood and Samara Hardy.
• Over in the garden by Janna Matthies and Tisha Lee. 

Row, row, row your boat (with monsters).

Written by Adam Simpson.

Illustrated by Gypsy Taylor.

Macmillan, 2025.

Australian.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

So many twists and quirks.

Possible read-alikes:

• The grumble rumble mumbler by Melanie Drewery and by Loudmouth Productions.
• A monstrous bedtime by Kerilynn Wilson.
• No swimming by Ross Collins.
• We know a place by Maxine Beneba Clarke.
• I will read to you by Gideon Sterer and Charles Santoso.
• The Boo Zoo by Kyle Mewburn and Lisa Allen. 

Mr Wizard's magic presents.

Written and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.

Walker Books, 2025.

Picture book.

Lift the flap.

Rhyming text.

The construction of this makes my head hurt. How can you open the flaps one way and get something expected and nice, then open the other way and get something weird and odd – that rhymes.

Possible read-alikes:

• This book is not a present by Max Greenfield and Mike Lowery.
• My presents by Rod Campbell.
• It’s my bird-day! by Mo Willems.
• Stick Man: the present hunt based on the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. 

Moose's book bus.

Written and illustrated by Inga Moore.

Walker Books Ltd, 2021.

Picture book.

The value of community, literacy, and friendship.

Possible read-alikes:

• Wild about books by Judy Sierra and Marc Brown.
• Just one more story by Perry Emerson and Sean Julian.
• Books on bikes by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Brizida Magro.
• Books are not just for Bedtime by Eleanor Pearson and Angela Perrini.
• The little street library by Amy Adeney and Erin McClean. 

Dalmartian: a Mars rover's story.

Written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins.

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024.

Picture book.

Another book about an ‘alien’ finding friendship on Earth.

That’s not to say that it isn’t beautiful.

Possible read-alikes:

• Invasion of the unicorns by David Biedrzycki.
• The spaceman by Randy Cecil.
• Bloop by Tara Lazar and Mike Boldt.
• Marty by Rachel Noble and Zoey Abbott.
• The stray by Molly Ruttan.
• Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner.
• Spacebot by Mike Twohy.
• Your alien by Tammi Sauer and Goro Fujita.
• Beegu by Alexis Deacon.