Feel good books to start the new year - 2015
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers:
Age group 2-5
How to Catch a Star is the first time effort of new children’s author Oliver Jeffers. This is a charming tale of a young boy who is so in love with the twinkling stars that he wants to get one for his very own. This is a fun whimsical tale with a good moral for children, that things may not always be what we expect, but that reaching for the stars (our dreams) is always a good idea.
Gangsta Granny by David Walliams and illustrated by Tony Ross
Age group 8+
Ben is an eleven year old boy who has to stay with his granny every Friday night as his parents are big fans of ballroom dancing and go every Friday night, leaving him to stay with granny. Ben finds this really boring and would rather be home, Granny eats lots of cabbage and wants to play scrabble all the time.
Ben mistakenly finds a selection of Jewellery hidden away. He is then intrigued about his Granny and when spying on her stops her breaking into a Jewellers. This leads to Granny explaining how she is an international jewels thief and Ben is amazed to find out that his granny isn't boring after all, she isn’t a regular granny!
Ben and granny go on a jewel quest, to steal the crown jewels and from here the adventure begins, there are lots of funny parts with some sad too, lovely story to share with children.
This is a fun book to read with great illustrations to go with the story, another David Walliams book with great humour for children and adults to enjoy.
The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney
Age group 7+
The latest in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, sure to entertain, A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun . . . unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig—not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure—and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon forget.
A squash and a squeeze written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Age group 2-5
Another great story by the writer of the Gruffalo, this story is about a lady who feels her house is too small, my house is a squash and a squeeze she grumbles, when a wise old man hears her and offers to help.
The wise old man says bring in your hen; bring in my hen what a curious plan!
So the story proceeds with the wise old man advising the lady to bring in all her animals one by one and each time the house is getting to be more and more of a squash and a squeeze!
In the end the wise old man tells her to take out all the animals, to which she realises her house was perfect all along, she didnt realise what she had to begin with. It isn’t a squash and it isn’t a squeeze!
THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Age group: 8/10+
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, one of our must-read children’s books with philosophy for grown-ups, is among the most poetic and hopeful reflections on human existence ever penned. Lyrical, charmingly written and beautifully illustrated, it sweeps you into a whirlwind of childhood imagination to peel away at the deepest truths about the world and our place in it.
Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Published in 1943, translated into 180 languages since and adapted to just about every medium, Exupéry’s famous novella is one of the best-selling books of all time. More importantly, it’s one of the most important handbooks to being a thoughtful, introspective and, yes, hopeful human being.