Weekend reads roundup: 10 May 2026, part two

Weekend reads roundup: 10 May 2026, part two

 

Torla & Smorla and the deeper than average hole.

Written by Kes Gray.

Illustrated by Chris Jevons.

Happy Yak, 2025.

Picture book.

The ‘sequel’ to Torla & Smorla and the lower than average cloud.

A fun exploration of averages and norms.

Possible read-alikes:

• Mouse & Giraffe by Kelly DiPucchio and Jen Corace.
• Giraffe is too tall for this book by DK Ryland.
• Sam and Dave dig a hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen.
• Hill & Hole by Kyle Mewburn and Vasanti Unka.
• What goes up by Paula Bowles. 

Luigi, the spider who wanted to be a kitten.

Written by Michelle Knudsen.

Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.

Walker Books, 2024.

Picture book.

Mistaken identity and friendship. Just sweet and perfect.

And spider!

Possible read-alikes:

• Sylvie by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins.
• Spiro by Anna McGregor.
• Aaaarrgghh, spider! by Lydia Monks.
• The man who didn't like animals by Deborah Underwood and LeUyen Pham.
• Spider by Bang on the Door.
• Lulu is a rhinoceros by Jason Flom, Allison Flom, and Sophie Corrigan. 

Look baby look: outside: a lift-the-flap baby's catalogue.

Written and illustrated by Louise Lockhart.

Nosy Crow, 2026.

Board book.

Rhyming text.

Lift the flap.

Possible read-alikes:

• First 100 words by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake.
• Titiro = Look by Gavin Bishop.
• At home by Matthew Oldham and Tony Neal.
• Baby's first words by Christiane Engel, Stella Blackstone, and Sunny Scribens.

Volcanoes.

Written by Nell Cross Beckerman.

Illustrated by Kalen Chock.

Orchard Books. 2024.

Picture book nonfiction.

Poetic language.

Possible read-alikes:

• Rangitoto: te toka tu moana = the rock standing in the ocean by Maria Gill and Heather Arnold.
• Volcano by Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft. 
• Home by Isabelle Simler, translated by Vineet Lal.
• Jumper: a day in the life of a backyard jumping spider by Jessica Lanan.
• The power of volcanoes by Tamsin Mather, David Pyle, and Daniel Long. 
• Stranded!: a mostly true story from Iceland by Ævar Þór Benediktsson and Anne Wilson. 

World kitchen: family recipes from around the world

Written by Abigail Wheatley.

Illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat.

Usborne, 2023.

Illustrated nonfiction.

Possible read-alikes:

• Chews your own tasty adventure: a cooking journey where YOU get to choose the ingredients!: vegetarian recipes from around the world by Dr Sai Pathmanathan and Lucia Vinti.
• Soup's on around the world by Denyse Waissbluth and Chelsea O'Byrne.
• Our favourite food: taste 20 delicious dishes from around the world by Valerie Wilding and Åsa Gilland.
• Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street: a collection of recipes to share by Felicita Sala.
• A taste of the world: what people eat and how they celebrate around the globe by Beth Walrond, translated by Laure Afchain.

 

Marvellous maps: the world as you have never seen it before.

Written by Simon Kuestenmacher.

Illustrated by Margarida Esteves.

Welbeck Editions, 2022.

Illustrated nonfiction.

Not your standard collection of maps.

Possible read-alikes:

• What's where on Earth? history atlas: history as you've never seen it before by consultants: Reg Grant, Philip Parker; illustrators: Adam Benton, Stuart Jackson-Carter, Arran Lewis. 
• Maps of the world: an illustrated children's atlas of adventure, culture, and discovery by Enrico Lavagno and Sacco and Vallarino.
• Me on the map by Joan Sweeney and Qin Leng.
• The world is a cat playing with Australia: and 39 other amazing maps by Simon Kuestenmacher and Margarida Esteves.
• Maptastic!: reimagine the world, one map at a time by Rebecca Fry, Clive Gifford, Ben Morgan, Isabel Thomas, Justine Willis. 

This is our first Christmas.

Written by Francesco Sedita.

Illustrated by Magenta Fox.

Viking, 2025.

Picture book.

A gentle and sweet story.

Possible read-alikes:

• How many sleeps till Christmas? by Mark Sperring and Sebastian Braun.
• All the firsts by Toni D'alia and Sian Wheatcroft.
• Our gorgeous baby by Smriti Halls and Eve Coy.
• That Christmas by Richard Curtis and Rebecca Cobb. 

I did see a Yeti!

Written and illustrated by Alex Willmore.

Farshore, 2025.

Picture book.

Sequel to I did see a mammoth! Seeing something doesn’t mean everyone believes you.

Possible read-alikes:

• Dragons are real! by Holly Hatam.
• Buttercup the bigfoot by Douglas Rees and Isabel Muñoz.
• Yetis don't exist by Kate Thompson and Loretta Schauer.
• The grizzled grist does not exist! by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis.

 

Capybara disco dreams.

Written by Frances Stickley.

Illustrated by Nikki Dyson.

Simon & Schuster, 2026.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

Dance like nobody is watching.

Possible read-alikes: 

• Craft Roach by Rachel Burke and Daniel Gray-Barnett.
• Bhangra boogie by Hena Khan and Sandhya Prabhat.
• Elephants cannot dance! by Mo Willems.
• How do you dance? by Thyra Heder.
• Luna loves dance by Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers.
• Giraffes can't dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees.
• Free to be fabulous! by David McMullin and Robbie Cathro.
• We will rock our classmates by Ryan T. Higgins.
• You can do it, Bert! by Ole Könnecke, translated by Catherine Chidgey. 

The only astronaut.

Written by Mahak Jain.

Illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier.

Kids Can Press, 2023.

Picture book.

Imaginative play. Learning to play with someone else, who has their own imagination.

Possible read-alikes:

• There's a beach in my bedroom by Kevin Jonas, Danielle Jonas, and Courtney Dawson.
• Fiona builds a fairy house by Kristen Dickson and Celia Krampien.
• Agatha May and the anglerfish by Nora Morrison, Jessie Ann Foley, and Mika Song.
• Silver linings by Fiona Woodcock.
• I’m a frog by Mo Willems.