UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

THERE’S A TIGER ON THE TRAIN (Mariesa Dulak, Rebecca Cobb)

You'll never guess what happened
On our trip down to the sea . . .
A tiger in a top hat
Came and sat right next to me!

There’s a Tiger on The Train (Faber, 2024) features a boy and his dad aboard a train to the seaside. But Dad is stuck to his phone and misses a whole menagerie of noisy, colourful, playful passengers! It’s an extraordinary journey with a family of hippos, a band of crocs, a mum with piglets in tow, pugs and more.

This energetic, vibrant story is bursting with fun characters, with a dynamic rhythm to match. The journey ends with a satisfying but surprising twist, in which the tiger helps Dad to pay attention to what is right in front of his nose. A delightful rhyming tale with a subtle nod to phubbing - choosing a device over a loved one.

TIME TO HUSH AND SAY GOOD NIGHT (Chitra Soundar, Sandhya Prabhat)

Count the stars that twinkle bright.

It’s time to hush and say good night.

Time to Hush and Say Good Night (Walker, 2024) is a loving lullaby from a father to a child. The rhythmic rhyme and sweeping illustrations give the story a dreamlike quality with lots to pore over and savour, including flora and fauna infused with the spirit of India. Inspired by ancient Indian lullabies, the father reassures the child by calming whistling winds, spinning a dusk of red and weaving a quilt of dreams as they prepare to sleep. Lovingly written and sumptuously illustrated.

HOW THE STARS CAME TO BE (Poonam Mistry)

Have you ever wondered how the stars came to be in the sky? In How The Stars Came To Be (Tate Publishing, 2021), the Fisherman’s Daughter learns a different and magical way to understand the night sky.

This beautifully designed, exquisitely illustrated book holds a modern-day folk tale starring the fisherman's daughter, who loves to dance in the sunlight and bathe in the glow of the moon. But when the moon disappears for a few nights each month, she worries about her father and how he will find his way home to her. One night, after the sun finds her crying, the girl discovers there is always light in the darkness.

A magical compilation of words and pictures.

THE BOY WHO LOVED EVERYONE (Jane Porter, Maisie Paradise Shaerring)

"I love you," Dimitri tells everyone, from his friends at nursery to the big tree in the playground. But Dimitri can’t understand why no one says ‘I love you’ back. When he worries that no one loves him, his mum explains that there are lots of different ways to show our feelings and to show love.

The old man tells the stray cats he loves them with tuna. The dinner lady says 'I love you' with a smile and Stella, Sue and Sophie feed the birds seed to show them they love them. Dimitri begins to see that there are many ways that love can spread through the world.

The Boy Who Loved Everyone (Walker Books, 2020) is a beautiful and uplifting story that oozes unconditional love.

MY DADDIES! (Gareth Peter, Garry Parsons)

My Daddies (Puffin, 2021) is a lovely celebration of imagination and stories as well as adoption and LGBTQ+ families. Battle dragons, dodge deadly dinosaurs, zoom to the moon and explore the world in a hot air balloon, before winding down in a wonderfully cosy bedtime ending.

The joyful rhyming text and artwork is full of life. The story was inspired by Gareth Peter’s own experience as a parent within a same-sex couple. This would be a wonderful and important to read with any child, in order for them to see all different kinds of families that exist.

(Reviewed Naomi Jones, author of Thunder Boots)

THE DRESS IN THE WINDOW (Robert Tregoning, Pippa Curnick)

The Dress In The Window (OUP, 2023) is a powerful, dazzling story about a boy who spots a glowing, flowing red dress in a second hand shop. The boy wishes that one day the dress might be his and imagines its life before. Then he spends his days doing chores for the neighbours, so he can save enough to buy it. But when that day arrives, the dress has already been bought.

This is a colourful, affirming, uplifting book for all children, with gorgeous illustrations and brilliant rhyme. With themes of unconditional love and acceptance, it shows children just how dazzling life can be when you are supported to be true to yourself.