Weekend Reads round-up: 4 October: part two

 

The ocean's heartbeat: the story of a jellyfish in search of a heart.

Concept and illustrations by dame & dusa.

Translated into English from the German text by Anna Taube.

Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2025.

Picture book.

An interesting one. Lots of science involved, but I’m wondering how confusing this would be – the concept of a living creature without a heart.

Possible read-alikes:

• Heartbeat by Doe Boyle and Daniel Long.
• A smack of jellyfish by Paul Worsley and Hannah Taufan.
• Little Turtle's book of the blue by Yuval Zommer.
• Lifesize ocean animals by Sophy Henn.
• Nudi Gill: poison powerhouse of the sea by Bonnie Kelso.

Shapes of nature: a kaleidoscope of the natural world.

Written by Ben Hoare.

Illustrated by Sally Caulwell. 

Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2026.

Illustrated nonfiction.

Amazing! Hours of interest!

Possible read-alikes:

• The wonder of nature: discovering the science behind its beauty by Natalia Harańczyk.
• The world around me illustrated by Anastasia Druzhininskaya.
• Explore: a collection of maps and diagrams that explain the world by Lizzie Munsey, Studio Muti, and Kaley McKean.
• Timelines of nature: discover the secret stories of our ever-changing natural world.
• The observologist by Giselle Clarkson. NZ author.

Bum Fish.

By Pauline Pinson, Magali Le Huche.

Translated from the French by Tim and Sofia Smith-Laing.

Pushkin Children's, 2026.

Picture book.

Teasing and being different.

Possible read-alikes:

• I am not a fish by Patrick Guest and Katie Abey.
• Gigantic by Rob Biddulph.
• The bear fairy by Paul Coccia and Fred Blunt.
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.
• Ish by Peter H. Reynolds.  

Picopaco: the woodpecker who built a town.

Written and illustrated by Mocculere.

Flying Eye Books, 2025.

Picture book.

Neurodiversity and sound issues (misophonia). Also loneliness v solitude v isolation. Note to everyone: being alone does not necessarily mean being lonely. Like solitude does not necessarily mean you are isolating yourself.

Possible read-alikes:  

• Too much!  an overwhelming day by Jolene Gutiérrez and Angel Chang.
• A friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey and Mika Song.  
• Duck, Duck, Bruce! by Dannika Patterson
• The wonderful stranges by Melanie & Monica Koster. NZ creators. 
• Koala ark by Stephen Michael King.  
• Alone on my rock by Smriti Halls and Luke Scriven.
• The fire wombat by Jackie French and Danny Snell.  
• Alone! by Barry Falls.
• Only: the bird who liked being alone by Airlie Anderson.

 

Wowee! look at that tree!

Written and illustrated by Ben Knight.

Scholastic Australia, 2026.

Australian.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

A tree decides to be itself – which saves it when developers come in.

Possible read-alikes:

• Gigantic by Rob Biddulph.
• I saw a tree by Kes Gray and Jim Field.
• Last tree in the city by Peter Carnavas.
• The city tree by Shira Boss and Lorena Alvarez.
• The oak tree by Julia Donaldson and Victoria Sandoy.
• My tree by Hope Lim and Il Sung Na.
• Survivor tree by Marcie Colleen and Aaron Becker.
• Adoette by Lydia Monks. 

Milo and Twig.

Written and illustrated by Liz Brizzi.

Post Wave Children's Books, 2026.

Picture book.

Rescued bird spreading its wings – literally.

Possible read-alikes:

• Come back, Gosling by Anne Booth and David Litchfield.
• Sparrow loves birds by Murry Burgess and Tamisha Anthony.
• Iron Robin by Rose Tremain and Richard Jones.
• Bird Boy by Matthew Burgess and Shahrzad Maydani.
• How to heal a broken wing by Bob Graham.
• The story of Girl and Fish by Carolina Parada.
• Where the heart is by Irma Gold and Susannah Crispe. 

Webs of words / written by Stephanie Ley ; illustrated by Julie Spencer.

Little Steps Publishing, 2026.

Australian.

Picture book.

Heading towards earnest territory. The problem with sharing mean words, and watching them spread.

Possible read-alikes:  

• If you plant a seed by Kadir Nelson.
• The sweater by Larissa Theule and Teagan White.
• A spider named Itsy by Steve Light.
• The teacup by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros.
• Punch!: a story about kindness by Michael Hall.

 

Glass: looking in, looking out.

Written by Larissa Theule.

Illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov.

Candlewick Press, 2026.

Illustrated nonfiction.

Possible read-alikes:

• The magic & mystery of Earth by Jason Bittel and Claire McElfatrick.
• Earth, wind, fire, water by Cameron Walker and Thomas Baas.
• What's it made of?: the materials that shape our world by Dr Kat Day, Clive Gifford, and Hilary Lamb.
• Explanatorium of science by Derek Harvey, Bea Perks, Kat Day, Hilary Lamb.
• Astonishing atoms and matter mayhem by Colin Stuart and  Annika Brandow. 

The blue tomato.

Written and illustrated by Amber Aü.

Little Tiger Press, 2026.

Picture book.

Fitting in and finding yourself.

Possible read-alikes:

• One of these is not like the others by Barney Saltzberg.
• We match! by Chris Barton ; illustrated by Sharon Glick.
• We're different and it's totally cool! by Camey Yeh.
• That bird has arms by Kate + Jol Temple, and Niharika Hukku + Ronojoy Ghosh.
• The circular Square by Simon Philip and Neil Clark.
• Marty by Rachel Noble and Zoey Abbott. 

Sylvie and the Wolf.

Written by Andrea Debbink.

Illustrated by Mercè López.

Sounds True, 2023.

Picture book.

Fear, anxiety, secrets of an undetermined nature.

Possible read-alikes:

• Mindi and the goose no one else could see by Sam McBratney and Linda Ólafsdóttir.
• Desi, Mami, and the never-ending worries by Eva Mendes and Abbey Bryant.
• When I feel brave by Britta Teckentrup.
• Victor the wolf with worries by Catherine Rayner.