New Picture Books for May

As always, this month brings a wonderful array of books for the littlest of readers. Click on the titles or covers below, and if you’ve got an older child, check out our list of May new releases for them too!

Before you read this list – are you sitting comfortably?! That’s the question a new picture book by Leigh Hodgkinson is asking, as her hero searches high and low for a comfy spot to sit and read in Are You Sitting Comfortably? We can all relate.

This May there are lots of great new titles featuring various animals! In Mrs Dog an old farm dog and discovers a little stray lamb and the two become incredibly close. It is an Australian story about change, courage and determination. Bird and Bear and the Special Day is the second book to feature Bird and Bear by award-winning illustrator Ann James. It looks at opposites, shadow play, and especially friendship.

Gary the pigeon can’t fly, but he’s not going to let that hold him back from having adventures in a fun picture book from Leila Rudge. In a story from award-winning writer and zoologist Nicola Davies there is a little girl who is pretty confident that she does NOT like snakes. Although as she learns a lot more about them, she might just come to realise snakes aren’t so bad afterall in the informative picture book I (Don’t) Like Snakes.

Travel around the world in There is a Tribe of Kids by Lane Smith and Hello World by Jonathan Litton! Lane Smith, author of It’s a Book, turns his hand to the natural world in this stunning picture book. The images are gorgeous and with lovely writing to match, this is a wonderful introduction through the jungle, down under the waves, and up into the sky. Hello World is an interactive atlas that will help teach children about different cultures all over the globe as they learn to say hello in over 150 languages, with flaps to life and helpful pronunciation tips!

Another excellent piece of of non-fiction for younger readers is Boomerang and Bat by Mark Greenwood and Terry Denton. It’s tells the story of the first Australian cricket team to tour England in 1886, who were a group of Aboriginal stockmen. While it is a picture book, this will certainly appeal to older children too.

Click on the covers below for more information, and be sure to let us know what you and your child will be reading this month in the comments!