Wilf, a spirited young wolf cub, insists on doing things his own way. Though younger than the other wolves, he believes he’s big and strong enough to lead the pack — until the wolves set out to find a new home in the Arctic, and Wilf becomes lost in a blizzard.

Jim Field’s stunning illustrations capture the vastness of the icy landscape — wolves howling in the wind, snow swirling around rocks, the wide sweep of the tundra. Panels of white, peach, deep blue, and black trace Wilf’s journey from innocence to vulnerability, and finally to friendship, as other animals help guide him home.

This chunky board book is perfect for small hands, with a lively rhyming text that makes it a joy to read aloud.

If you enjoy this story, look out for others in Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s series, including The Lion Inside.

📚 Recommended for ages 1–6

Hodder and Stoughton. Board Book. 2020 (1st publ. 2018).

ISBN 9 781408 35950 1

This classic picture book is loved for its gentle rhythm and comforting simplicity. From its bright cover in red, green, yellow, and blue, Goodnight Moon draws children into a cosy bedtime world. The soft, rhyming text works like a lullaby, helping little ones drift off to sleep.

Told through the eyes of a small bunny, the story moves around his room as he says goodnight to everything in it. Coloured pages are mixed with black-and-white ones, giving the sense of a child slowly moving from wakefulness into dreams.

As night falls, the shadows deepen, the clock ticks on, and the only light left comes from the doll’s house and the moon outside - a lovely, peaceful ending.

Margaret Brown was ahead of her time in writing Goodnight Moon from a child’s perspective rather than an adult’s. When it was first published in 1947, the book was dismissed by one influential New York librarian as overly sentimental. Now it’s one of the best-loved bedtime books ever written, with more than 48 million copies sold. This edition even includes notes from a sleep consultant to help parents create a calm bedtime routine.

A timeless bedtime story and one of my favourites.

📚 Recommended for ages 0–4

Two Hoots, 2016 (1st publ. 1947)

ISBN 978 150 982946 0

This classic picture book follows a baby’s day, told through the baby’s eyes. Each spread begins with a peephole and the question: “Here’s a little baby, one, two, three, standing in his cot — what does he see?” The rhyme and rhythm invite the reader to turn the page and discover the answer.

Through the cut-outs, richly detailed scenes unfold: parents in bed, mum pouring porridge, father at door with bucket of coal, grandma ironing, mum washing windows then dozing in her chair, siblings squabbling, a visit to the park and finally bath time, a goodnight kiss, and sleep. As Allan Ahlberg himself noted, Peepo is “a whole string of little suspenses, almost like a theatre” (The Guardian, 2011).

Janet Ahlberg’s pastel palette conveys calm while still bustling with activity. On another level, the illustrations quietly evoke 1940’s wartime Britain — a bombed-out building, a gas mask, a father’s uniform laid on the bed — giving the book historical depth alongside its tender domestic detail.

📚 Recommended for ages 0-2

Picture Puffin 1983 (Ist publ. 1981)

ISBN 9780141337418