Here, for your perusal, is our list of favourites.
The Fox And The Star
By Coralie Bickford-Smith
Inspired by William Morris and William Blake, this enchanting book is, in its author’s own words, ‘about love, loss and learning to accept change’. It’s divine. It may have been designed for children but it resonates with grown ups, too.
Father Christmas
By Raymond Briggs
Since it was published in 1973, this book’s comic version of Old St. Nick has become the definitive one for millions of British children. It won the Kate Greenaway Medal when it came out and has been delighting young and old ever since.
The Lost Words
By Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane
This one has a magically pacifying effect on any child who looks at it. It is quite large, so you often find them stretched out on the floor for optimal proximity to its exquisite pictures and poetic descriptions of the natural world. Frank Cottrell Boyce called it ‘the most beautiful and thought-provoking book I’ve read this year’ when it came out in 2019.
The Jolly Christmas Postman
By Janet & Allan Ahlberg
Younger kids will go mad for this perky tale of the Jolly Postman doing his rounds on Christmas Eve. Delivering cards and presents to the fairy-tale characters we all know and love, he embodies the spirit of Christmas.
Where Snow Angels Go
By Maggie O’farrell
You’ll almost certainly have read one of Maggie O’Farrell’s prize-winning novels for grown ups. (If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?) Here, she turns her hand to a charming book for children, complete with a snowy night, a little girl with an illness, a guardian angel and a happy ending. Sounds pretty good, right?
The Story Of The Nativity
By Geraldine McCaughrean
If you want to take things back to basics and revisit the Christmas story, this is just the ticket. The Bookseller magazine reckons that Geraldine McCaughrean ‘is one of the greatest living children’s authors’. In her hands, and with its captivating silhouette artwork, this tale of shepherds, wise men and the arrival of Baby Jesus is a classic you’ll want to return to year after year.
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox & The Horse
By Charlie Mackesy
Last year’s bestseller by the artist Charlie Mackesy is more pertinent than ever after the tribulations of this year. The characters of the title – brought unforgettably to life on the page by Mackesy’s ink drawings – go on a heartwarming journey of self-discovery, examining fear, vulnerability and hope. Elizabeth Gilbert says of it: ‘The world that I am required to inhabit is this one. But the world that I long to inhabit is the one that Charlie Mackesy has created.’
The Puffin Keeper
By Michael Morpurgo
Published last month to coincide with the 80th anniversary of Puffin Books (the children’s imprint of Penguin), this is the delightful tale of a mother and son who are rescued from a shipwreck by the lighthouse keeper on Puffin Island. Morpurgo, the former Children’s Laureate, has produced yet another gem that will live long on your bookshelves.
Dogger’s Christmas
By Shirley Hughes
This cosy book by Shirley Hughes proves that sequels aren’t always bad news. You will remember her original Dogger, about the loss and retrieval of a beloved soft toy (which also won the Kate Greenaway Medal when it was published in 1977). Well, this its seasonal complement. Amid the excitement of piles of brand new Christmas toys, will Dogger be forgotten?
An Anthology Of Intriguing Animals
By Ben Hoare
This beautiful bestiary is a pleasure to read to children but they’ll pore over it alone, too. With stunning photography and illustrations as well as compelling facts and details, it can’t help but capture the imagination. From the largest whales to the smallest insects, this book celebrates over 100 creatures. Curious kids will be hooked.
By Becky Ladenburg
December 2020
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