There’s so much research which demonstrates how vital reading stories to the very littlest of bookworms is: it builds a bond between adult and child, dramatically increases their vocabulary by the time they turn five and teaches them early literacy skills in preparation for school and a lifelong love of reading. To that end, I am bringing to you some of the newest and loveliest board books which I’ve recently been sent. Just take a peek at these beauties!

‘Tim Hopgood’s ABC’ (OUP)

As ever, Tim’s illustrations are beautiful, making this board book a great gift choice. I love that the pictures included are not your ‘typical’ alphabet book standards – deserts, newts, and the universe all feature.

‘Bunny Makes Breakfast,’ by Seb Braun (Little Tiger Press)

I love this book as it aims to inspire a love of cooking and includes a delicious berry pancake recipe at the end! Lift the flaps to peek inside cupboards and into henhouses as Little Bunny and Big Bunny hop around collecting the ingredients they’ll need to make a tasty breakfast.

‘Gregory Goose,’ by Hilary Robinson & Mandy Stanley (New Frontier Publishing)

I love this series of board books about an adventurous goose named Gregory. He’s always off exploring and discovering new things. In his latest two adventures, Gregory heads to the peak of a snowy mountain to enjoy some Winter sports and visits the fairground to try his hand at the hoopla. Little ones will enjoy trying to spot where Gregory is hiding in the vibrantly illustrated pages.

‘ABC of Kindness,’ by Patricia Hegarty, illustrated by Summer Macon (Little Tiger Press)

It’s never too early to teacher children about be importance of being kind to others and to themselves. This soothing board book features a cast of very sweet animals taking us on an alphabetical journey through some of the many ways which we can be kind.

‘Kindness Makes Us Strong,’ by Sophie Beer (Little Tiger Press)

This pocket rocket packs a powerful punch about how kindness makes our communities stronger. Whether taking turns, sharing or helping each other out, there are plenty of ways to be kind. Books like this are brilliant for helping children develop consideration and empathy for others.

‘Let’s Go on a Train’ & ‘Let’s Go on a Tractor,’ by Rosalyn Albert & Natalia Moore (Catch a Star Books)

This is such a great series which makes efforts to avoid gender stereotyping roles in the vivid illustrations. Choo-Choo down the track and squelch through the farmyard in these bouncy rhyming books.

‘Homes’ and ‘On the Go,’ by Hector Dexet (Laurence King Publishing)

The bold, clean illustrations of this series are guaranteed to catch the eye of young book fans. Learn about island homes and animal homes, haunted homes and spotted homes in this fabulous peek-through book. ‘On the Go’ explores all the wonderful ways people can travel around – over the sea or on the ground.

‘Zoom Space Adventure,’ by Susan Hayes & Susanna Rumiz, and ‘Zoom Ocean Adventure,’ by Susan Hayes & Sam Rennocks )What On Earth Books)

Head into space with Ava and her cat as she pilots her rocket through our solar system. Collect rock samples and learn about the planets. Watch out for the amazing countdown pages at the start!

You can also journey with Noah to the depths of the ocean to swim with a great white shark before journeying down into the twilight zone. Fantastic vocabulary and plenty of peep-throughs to interactive with.

There you go – something to captivate any young reader!

Library Girl.

*Many thanks to all the publishers who sent me these titles to review*