Weekend Reads round-up: 4 October: part three

Bread is love.

Written by Pooja Makhijani.

Illustrated by Lavanya Naidu.

Roaring Brook Press, 2026.

Picture book.

Bread is nearly universal. This is a wonderfully warm celebration of bread and traditions. And acknowledgment that it doesn’t always work as planned, but is lovely all the same.

Possible read-alikes:  

• Curry means more by Maria Marianayagam and Geeta Ladi.
• The bakery dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz.
• To stir with love by Kate Mildenhall.
• A pinch of love by Barry Timms and Tisha Lee.
• Monster baker by Laura Lavoie and Vanessa Morales. 

Kupe and the great octopus of Muturangi.

Written and illustrated by Mat Tait.

Allen & Unwin, 2026.

Also published in te reo Māori as Kupe me te Wheke nui a Muturangi.

Illustrated nonfiction.

A retelling of Kupe and the discovery of Aotearoa.

Possible read-likes:

• Whenua and Wāhine by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White.
• Aotearoa: the New Zealand story by Gavin Bishop.
• Weaving earth and sky by Robert Sullivan and Gavin Bishop. 

Meerkat mayhem.

Written by Mem Fox.

Illustrated by Judy Horacek.

Puffin Books, 2024.

Australian.

Picture book.

Very reminiscent of Winnie-the-Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit’s doorway, but with more sarcasm.

Possible read-alikes:

• Torla & Smorla and the deeper than average hole by Kes Gray and Chris Jevons.
• Meerkat splash by Aura Parker.
• The good deed dogs by Emma Chichester Clark.
• Dude. Be nice by Sarah Scheerger with Brent & Jamie Camalich; and Alex Macnaughton.
• I fell in a hole by Claire Zorn.
• Sam & Dave dig a hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen.

 

Sarabeth's garage.

Written by Melanie Florence.

Illustrated by Nadia Alam.

Tundra, 2026.

Picture book.

Gender roles and old-fashioned views. Which are gloriously upended and ignored at the end.

Possible read-alikes:

• Maisy’s garage by Lucy Cousins.
• Zog and the flying doctors by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
• Fred gets dressed by Peter Brown.
• Princesses can fix it! by Tracy Marchini and Julia Christians.
• Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole.
• Boys don't fry by Kimberly Lee and Charlene Chua.

 

The pandas who promised.

Written by Rachel Bright.

Illustrated by Jim Field.

Orchard Books, 2023. 

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

Promises and temptations – and red pandas!

Possible read-alikes:

• How this book got red by Margaret Chiu Greanias and Melissa Iwai.
• I'm not sleepy by Raahat Kaduji. 
• Oona by Kelly DiPucchio and Raissa Figueroa.  

Little Owl's opposites.

Written and illustrated by Divya Srinivasan.

Viking, 2026.

Board book.

Opposites explored while out in the forest.

Possible read-alikes:

• Animal opposites at the zoo by Emilie Tavaearii.
• Little Fish's opposites by Lucy Cousins.
• Opposites with Owl and Bird by Rebecca Purcell.
• Sweet dreams by Becky Davies and Hannah Abbo.

 

Squabble and squeak.

Written and illustrated by Raahat Kaduji.

Alison Green Books, 2026.

Picture book.

Noise and neighbours, and danger!

Possible read-alikes:

• Crash! Bang! Wallop! by Neil Clark.
• Marcie and Giraffe by Kim Gregory.
• Tomorrow I'm in charge! by Jörg Mühle; translated by Melody Shaw.
• Tiger's perfectly different day by Alison Murray. 

Snake brought cake: a New Zealand birthday zooprise!

Written by Sam Smith.

Illustrated by Daron Parton.

Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand, 2022.

Aotearoa.

Picture book.

Rhyming text.

Fun and games, literally, at the zoo.

Possible read-alikes:

• Don't scare the dentist by qualified dentist and licensed comedian Sam Smith and Daron Parton. 
• One blue gnu by Danna Smith and Ana Zurita. 
• What’s the time, Mr Wolf by Debi Gliori. 
• Bin chicken feeding time at the zoo by Kate and Jol Temple, and Ronojoy Ghosh. 
• Good night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann. 
• Penguin's party problems by Alice Horn. 

The witch who couldn't spell.

Written by Jess Galatola.

Illustrated by Lu Baker.

Larrikin House, 2026.

Picture book.

Didactic.

How would a child, struggling with spelling / dyslexia, like this book? It’s all well and good saying that working on correctly her spelling mistakes will make it better – when that doesn’t work for you.

Possible read-alikes / instead-ofs:

• Stacey's remarkable books by Stacey Abrams and Kitt Thomas.
• Witchicorn by Angela Woolfe and Sarah Jennings.
• Broom for two by Jennifer Maruno and Scot Ritchie.
• Loops by Jashar Awan. 
• A spider named Itsy by Steve Light.
• The fastest tortoise in town by Howard Calvert and Karen Obuhanych.

The big one.

Written by Dashka Slater.

Illustrated by Myo Yim.

Random House, 2026.

Picture book.

Dreams can come true, in unexpected ways.

Possible read-alikes:

• On Nanna's boat by Anna Pignataro and Max Hamilton.
• The big fish by Pamela Allen.
• The susurrus by Genevieve Young-Evans and Cate James.
• Whoosh! by Sam Usher.