I have received some delightful picture books to review recently. Here are three which make perfect back-to-school treats for home, classroom or library enjoyment.

What’s In My Lunchbox? written by Peter Carnavas, illustrated by Kat Chadwick

I would imagine that every school child is familiar with the concept of opening their lunchbox in eager anticipation of the delights and surprises it might contain. From this everyday experience Peter Carnavas, an award-winning Australian author, invites children to let their imaginations soar as the young boy in his story finds an increasingly unusual collection of treats contained within his mischievous-looking lunchbox.

The simple rhythm of a repeated line leading to a revelation on the subsequent page makes this a hugely enjoyable book to read aloud and builds the audience’s anticipation of the next bizarre lunchtime snack! The illustrations by Kat Chadwick are bold, bright and wonderfully expressive as the young boy approaches his lunchbox with greater apprehension on each page.

I highly recommend this book for pre-school and Reception Class children for whom it will turn a routine experience into a feast for the imagination!

Yellow Dress Day written by Michelle Worthington, illustrated by Sophie Norsa

This sumptuously illustrated picture book tells the tale of Ava, a young girl whose rainbow-coloured selection of dresses provides the perfect dress to match the atmospheric conditions; red for sunshine, purple for rain, blue for snow. On “whistling, whirly, windy days Ava’s heart tells her that she must wear yellow – but disaster strikes one morning when the yellow dress cannot be found!

Michelle Worthington’s text presents the sensory world of Ava in simple and sympathetic sentences, illustrated with great warmth by Sophie Norsa and printed with beautiful typographic effects. This is a lovely book which I am sure will be greatly enjoyed by all young children who have very determined ideas about their clothing choices. A percentage of the proceeds from Yellow Dress Day are donated to the International Rett Syndrome Foundation.

Ruby and Graham written and illustrated by Lucy Barnard

In Acorn Wood, two great friends, Ruby red squirrel and Graham grey squirrel have very different personalities. Ruby is the fun party girl who loves to have a good time and is much-loved by everyone. Graham, on the other hand, is rarely seen without his clipboard as he tries to keep the wood under control. When his fellow woodland creatures stop listening to him, he decides that he will behave more like Ruby in an attempt to become as popular as her. The results are wonderfully portrayed by author/illustrator Lucy Barnard; on every page the chaos and disruption to the woodland habitat becomes more apparent.

This book makes clear to young readers the importance of staying true to yourself, working as a team and the need for all types of personalities to make the world a beautiful place. It also emphasises the need to take responsibility and could be used as a prompt for conversations about looking after the environment and learning about woodland animals. A delightful story for children in the 3-6 age range and I would imagine that it would work well in Forest School settings with Key Stage 1 learners.

I am very grateful to New Frontier Publishing UK for sending me copies of these beautiful picture books in exchange for my honest opinion.