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Sassy Mama’s Pick of the Best New Children’s Books 2014

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Reading to or with your children is always time well spent – not only does it aid in brain development, especially in the first 5 years of life, but you also get to bond over fantastical stories, new words and wonderful characters! We’ve put together a few of our favourite children’s picture books of 2014 (so far!) so you can add them to your child’s bookshelf alongside their much read old-timers and bedtime tales. Whether you’ve already got a little bookworm at home or you want to inspire your kids to read more, this is our latest lit list for littlies.

For preschool readers (or listeners!)

a gift

A Gift For Mama – Linda Ravin Lodding
A wonderful story about a sweet little boy trying to find the perfect gift for his mama’s birthday (yup, we were totally sucked in by the title!). He begins with a beautiful rose, but to help others, keeps trading his “finds” for someone else to use. The illustrations are gorgeous and the book is filled with details and pictures of olden day Vienna – and mama gets the best gift in the end.
www.amazon.com

edgar

Edgar Gets Ready for Bed: A BabyLit®First Steps Picture BookHardcover – Jennifer Adams
Meet the plucky toddler Edgar the Raven! He’s mischievous, disobedient, and contrary (sound familiar mamas?!). Dinnertime, clean-up time, and bedtime are all met with one word: NEVERMORE! But as the the day winds down, Edgar’s mummy knows just what to do to get her son into bed – a bedtime story.
www.amazon.com

happy street

Happy Street Pet Shop – Simon Abbott
Part of the Happy Street series featuring different shops for children to explore and learn about – there are pop out pieces to play with after enjoying this story. Mr Paws has a very busy day ahead of him at the pet shop. The pets need feeding and grooming, and there are lots of customers to serve. There are so many different types of pets – scaly, furry, soft and some with hard shells. Get the munchkins to think about what kind of pets they’d like best… (remember not to make promises of ponies and puppies mamas – they won’t let you forget!)
www.amazon.com

toot

Toot – Leslie Patricelli
If your little ones are anywhere near as obsessed with this particular body noise as ours are then they’ll love this frank and funny board book (we have to admit we find it hard not to giggle too). Everybody does it: Kitty, Doggie, Daddy — even Mummy! And when Leslie Patricelli’s beloved bald baby does it while running, it sounds like a train. Perfect for the youngest of listeners and their older siblings who will love getting involved and reading it aloud.
www.amazon.com

For readers aged 3+

a is for awesome

A Is For Awesome – Dallas Clayton
Heralded as the ‘new Dr. Seuss’, inspirational artist Dallas Clayton’s awesome alphabet book bursts with colour and life. Kids are invited to “learn some new letters that you can use to make magical words and share big ideas” with a poetic rendition of the alphabet where C is for Confident Cool and Collected, D is for Dreaming things never expected, Q is for Quiet to escape from the madness, and R is for Reading but also for radness.” Each page features gorgeous mini sketches of objects that begin with the featured letter… H is for Happy to see you today is paired with a horse, horn, hippo, hamster, harp, etc. Totally kid friendly with plenty to point out and talk about.
www.amazon.com

blow your nose

Blow Your Nose, Big Bad Wolf!: A Story About Spreading Germs (Fairytales gone wrong)
Back to school means back to picking up every bug going around — and if you’re a mama who is more than a little obsessed with keeping your kids germ free, this favourite fairy tale has a fab twist that encourages good health and hygiene. The three little pigs learn a lesson about spreading germs — when they won’t lend the wolf a tissue their houses are blown down by his sneezes! And to make matters worse, they then catch his cold.
www.amazon.com

froodle

Froodle – Antoinette Portis
We love this adorable book for its silliness and fun poke at conformity. The birds in the neighborhood give up their usual ‘tweet tweet’ when one of them changes everything! Tired of the same old song a little bird sings ‘Froodle sproodle’, and much to everyone’s amazement, as others join in the fun each finds his own special voice. Lots of laughter and ideas to share – yes, we’ve had the ‘be yourself’ theme in lots of books but it’s not a bad message for the kiddos to hear over and over again. Right mamas? This book lends itself to reading aloud – really smart and fun.
www.amazon.com

peck peck

Peck Peck Peck – Lucy Cousins
From the multi award-winning creator of Maisy, comes this funny little tale of a little woodpecker who’s just learnt to peck – and who goes on to peck holes in anything he can find, “I peck, peck, peck a magazine/a picture of Aunt Geraldine/an armchair/a teddy bear/a book called Jane Eyre”. Really fun story with bright colourful pages.
www.amazon.com

squishy mcfluff

Squishy Mcfluff: and the Supermarket Sweep! – Pip Jones
Ava and her invisible cat Squish get forced to go on a food shopping outing with Ava’s mum and because it’s boring they make their own fun. The whole outing turns into a crazy mess for Ava’s mother and it takes a long time to get the food shopping done! Great if your kids have their own imaginary friends – hopefully it will NOT encourage them to behave the same way during your next supermarket visit though, mamas!
www.amazon.com

the day the crayons quit

The Day The Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
Hysterical back to school story all about little Duncan who just wants to colour but who discovers numerous handwritten (in crayon) notes from his crayons who are fed up and want to quit. Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon. Black wants to be used for more than just outlining. Blue needs a break from colouring all those bodies of water. And Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking – each believes he is the true colour of the sun. This book inspired our littlies to role play with their own crayons and encouraged much fun debate – a win-win.
www.bookdepository.com

the storm whale

The Storm Whale – Benji Davies
An enchanting story about a little boy called Noi who is very lonely until he discovers a small beached whale to care of – and an unexpected friendship is born. We love this warm tender story and all its beautiful illustrations – a great choice for any little softies out there.
www.amazon.co.uk

the way to the zoo

The Way To The Zoo – John Burningham
Guaranteed to fire little imaginations, The Way To The Zoo is a magical story about a little girl, Sylvie, who discovers a secret passage leading to the zoo in her bedroom (pretty cool right!?) and regularly brings back a few of the smaller animals for adventures (think penguins at bath time and a baby bear for bedtime cuddles). No matter what Sylvie does though, she always makes sure to close the door to the secret passage… until one fateful day! Packed with warm humour and gorgeous drawings, this is a guaranteed favourite.
www.amazon.com

For readers aged 6+

bedtime maths

Bedtime Math: This Time It’s Personal – Laura Overdeck
Math at bedtime? No, we weren’t too sure about this combination either – but this book actually succeeds in making math a fun part of our kids lives and gives bedtime stories a cool new twist. With over 100 math riddles on topics from pillow forts and sneeze speeds to overfed pets and underwear, kids will find maths isn’t just fun, but can be found in their everyday lives too. And with three different levels of challenge (Wee ones, Little kids, and Big kids), there’s something for everyone.
www.amazon.com

Chicken Mission: Danger In The Deep Dark Woods – Jennifer Gray
The first in a series of brand new children’s books… about chickens! But they’re not your usual run-of-the-mill chickens, oh no, these chickens are elite fighters trained to defeat the evil in the world. And they look pretty cool doing it too! So much fun and totally bonkers, this story follows little chook Amy Cluckbucket who has always wanted to escape her parent’s farm and do something exciting and who one day gets an invitation to the Kung Foo School for Poultry in Tibet. She quickly becomes friends with fellow squad members Ruth and Boo and soon they’re on a mission to defeat their worst enemy – Thadeus E. Fox! An absolute fave with the Sassy Mama team.
www.amazon.com

oliver and the seawigs

Oliver and the Seawigs – Philip Reeve, illustrated by Sarah McInytre
The adventures of Oliver Crisp, on a journey to find his missing explorer parents (who met on top of Mount Everest – as you do!). Wonderfully silly, we love this book as much as the kids (hubby has been caught reading it a few times). When Oliver’s mum and dad go missing, he decides to set off in a dinghy to rescue them and on his journey meets a talking albatross who calls his tuna sandwich ‘new-fangled muck’, a Mermaid called Iris and a villain who has a hang-up about being a boy called Stacey de Lacey. Hilarious!
www.amazon.com

harry and the monster

Harry and the Monster – Sue Mongredien
A must if your children have recurrent monster nightmares and are frightened during the night – this book is actually one for all ages from 4 upwards (any younger and it might introduce something that isn’t actually an issue yet and scare them, which is definitely not the aim!). One night, a monster stomps into Harry’s dreams. The next day, Harry is scared to go to sleep. “If he comes back, just imagine him with pink pants on his head,” suggests Mum. Can Mum’s clever plan possibly work? A perfect bedtime story which will help conquer fears as the lights go out.
www.amazon.com

the dragons dentist

The Dragon’s Dentist (Early Reader) – John McLay
Eric is a dragon. A big, scary, grumpy dragon that everyone is afraid of (but not so scary that he’ll cause nightmares, mamas!). Harry wants to be a knight but is stuck cleaning shields – so he decides to take matters into his own hands and capture Eric to prove himself (as the title suggests, Harry ends up helping Eric with his toothache). A lovely little book that’s easy for new readers (not too much text on each page) but what really adds to the story though is the illustration throughout and the wonderful expressions on the face of Harry’s horse, Oats!
www.amazon.com

For readers aged 9+

diary of a wimpy kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck – Jeff Kinney
The eighth exploit in the Wimpy Kid series, this one focuses on the ‘best friend gets girl’ scenario. Greg finds it hard to makes friends in middle school when his best friend Rowley gets a girlfriend and ditches him. Easy to read with a few twists and turns along the way – a must for any DOAWK fans.
www.bookdepository.com

henry-hunter-

Henry Hunter and the beast of Snagov – John Matthews
If your minis like beasties, bats, Dracula, and mysteries then they’ll love this! A great adventure story centred around Henry Hunter, a most unusual boy with a private jet (could almost be plausible perhaps?) and an appetite for finding things. A little scary but very funny with plenty of twists and turns – best suited for the slightly older kiddos.
www.amazon.com

the jady boy

The Jade Boy – Cate Cain
A tale of mystery and magic – great escapism for your older kiddos. Eleven-year old Jem Green works as a kitchen boy in the London household of a powerful Duke during the reign of Charles II. He doesn’t know who his father is and his life consists of never ending drudgery. But when the sinister Count Cazalon pays a visit to the Duke, Jem’s world is turned upside down. The count is planning something terrible and Jem appears to be central to his wicked scheme. With the help of newfound friends – an apprentice sorceress, mind-speaking mute and his pet monkey, Jem must figure out what’s going on.
www.amazon.com

the mysterious

The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth – Julia Lee
11-year-old Clemency Wrigglesworth (cool name, right mamas?) journeys to Victorian England from India to find her long lost relatives but gets diverted along the way by various characters each having their own adventure. A fabulous book full of twists and turns, plenty of jaunty dialogue and a plucky heroine who will appeal to your boys and your girls.
www.amazon.com

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