Our Favourite Books

 I wanted to share some of our favourite books with you and have chosen our favourite three in various categories.

Jeanie Fair
 Jeanie Fair
December 2022 | 5 min read
  
My boys looking at a book in their own time.
Teddy & Harry looking at a book in their own time.

We use books in a number of ways, not only to enjoy stories but also to find out information and inspire creative ideas. Many children’s books are beautifully illustrated and can be just as important, if not more so, than the story.

I wanted to share some of our favourite books with you. I have chosen our favourite three in various categories.

Our chaotic bookshelf.
Our chaotic bookshelf.

Books, Books, Books!

  • Pond by Jim Marche This book has the most beautiful illustrations; the story follows three children and their discovery of a pond. We discover the changes in the pond throughout the year as it is visited by different animals.
  • Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel A number of short stories following best friends Frog and Toad who are always there for each other, supporting and helping one another. These lovely short stories always make us laugh.
  • Journey by Aaron Becker This wordless book is part of a trilogy and the wonderful illustrations tell the story of a most wonderful adventure. The story changes every time we look at it as we explore new ways to tell the story in our own words.
Teddy is a huge sports fanatic and so we have quite a few sports books!

Using stories to help with maths.
Using stories to help with maths.

Our Favourite Maths Stories

  • Sir Cumference adventure series by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan A fantastic adventure series which incorporate different maths concepts.
  • Fables Tables by Jessie Wilson This book is amazing! The little anecdote’s really do help you to remember times table facts and are a lot of fun to read.
  • Bedtime Maths by Laura Overdeck and Jim Paillot Every now and then we pull out this book and look at a page. A short anecdote is followed by a couple of maths questions suitable for different abilities. You may need to adapt the questions to make them suitable for your child, but still fun.
One of our fossils activities we did from Hands-On Education.
One of our fossils activities we did from Hands-On Education.

Our Favourite Science Books

  • 24 Hours in Space by Rob Lloyd Jones Part of a series of books which follow characters through 24 hours. These books are really informative as well as engaging. Presented in comic book form, it is easy to read and digest information.
  • Fossil (DK Eyewitness) by DK This book was great when we recently looked at the topic of fossils. The photographs are large and clear so you can see the details of different fossils and provides snippets of information.
  • The Story of Life by Catherine Barr and Steve Williams The illustrations in this book are wonderful and really help to show children (and myself) the concept of evolution visually.
Doing a nature hunt activity.
Doing a nature hunt activity.

Our Favourite Nature Books

  • Encyclopaedia of British Wildlife by Miles Kelly This book is really useful if you want to look up specific birds, insects, flowers or trees. I especially like the way the photographs are labelled as an example of how diagrams can be labelled to show specific features.
  • Slow Down by Rachel Williams Beautifully illustrated, this book is good to inspire younger children to observe specific features in nature throughout the year.
  • Life Cycles by DK Useful to show the different stages of life in plants and animals.
Learning about Roman numerals.
Learning about Roman numerals.

Our Favourite History Books

  • The Usborne History of Britain by Ruth Brocklehurst This book tells the story of Britain with just the right amount of information so as not to be too overwhelming. We have used this book to support our understanding of how people and societies have changed through the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.
  • A Street Through Time: A 12,000 Year Journey Along the Same Street by DK The beautiful pictures in this book show one street as it changes through time from the stone age until modern day. There is a lot of detail so we always find something different to notice in the pictures.
  • The Romans: Gods, Emperors and Dormice by Marcia Williams We have just finished our topic about the Romans in Britain and enjoyed this book for a further insight to the culture of ancient Rome.
Using books to help with writing and learning in a fun way.
Using books to help with writing and learning in a fun way.

Our Favourite Poetry Books

  • Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian We have a number of poetry books by this author and enjoy them immensely. Each poem is accompanied by wonderful artwork to inspire our own artwork.
  • Bow-Tie Pasta: Acrostic Poems by Brian P. Cleary A fun poetry book showing examples of acrostic poems. I have used this book to explain the concept of this style of poetry and support Teddy in writing his own poems.
  • Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes Bright and bold illustrations with beautiful poems about nature.
Playing outdoors and being physically active and healthy.
Playing outdoors and being physically active and healthy.

Our Favourite Sports Books

Teddy is a huge sports fanatic and so we have quite a few sports books!

  • Weird But True Sports by National Geographic This book is full of funny facts about a range of different sports.
  • Sportsopedia by Adam Skinner This book explains the many different types of sports, from gymnastics to rugby.
  • Frankie’s Magic Ball by Frank Lampard It is important to us that to find stories which interest the boys and these are perfect for Teddy (8) who is mad about football! The stories are exciting and follow three children on adventures as they play football against pirates, romans and cowboys amongst many others.
Jack, Frankie and Billie, the boy’s current favourite characters.
Jack, Frankie and Billie, the boy’s current favourite characters.

What Teddy and Harry are reading now?

  • Hey Jack by Sally Rippen It took us a long time to find these books but we are so glade we did! These books are a great introduction to chapter books. With only three chapters in each story, they are not too overwhelming. Large print on each page and pictures sprinkled throughout. The stories are simple and there is no ‘bad guy’. Teddy enjoyed developing his confidence in reading and Harry (nearly 7) is now reading this series.
  • Billy B Brown by Sally Rippen We also have the sister series, Billy B. Brown. These stories follow Jack’s best friend Billie and both series feature these two characters.
  • Frankie’s Magic Ball by Frank Lampard It is important to us that to find stories which interest the boys and these are perfect for Teddy (8) who is mad about football! The stories are exciting and follow three children on adventures as they play football against pirates, romans and cowboys amongst many others.

Try out these topics, all of which have related timeline cards.

Year 3
Building Bridges

Building Bridges picture.

Year 1
Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong pics

Year 1
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus pics.

Year 2
Flying Machines

Flying Machines pic

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