Joint no 1 in my is...

“What is a River?” by Monika Vaicenaviciene. A book that explores the true importance of rivers to our lives. Beautiful, thoughtful and thought-provoking in equal measure. A delight.

21 103

No 2 in my is...

“Bandoola” by . Bandoola takes us on a dangerous journey as 200 refugees and 53 elephants seek to escape The jungles of Myanmar at the turn of the war. A moving true story. Visually sumptuous. Fantastic.

18 50

No 7 in my is...

“Wishes” by and . This Visually stunning story takes us on a harrowing journey of displacement. The use of “wishes” gives us true insight into the emotion and feelings. Powerful and heart-breaking

14 54

No 11 in my is...

“A Shelter for Sadness” by and . A beautiful book about understanding and living with one’s sadness. A visually stunning and deeply emotional book. Important and powerful.

17 85

No 16 in my is...

“I Am Smoke” by and . A fantastic book that explores the role of Smoke in our cultures, traditions and ours life. The art is extraordinary, the smoke almost dances on the page.

9 29

No 19 in my 40 is ...

“The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess” by . An utterly delightful fairytale that both feels new and timeless. Magical storytelling full of warmth and humour and a wonderful visual narrative.

14 51

No 25 in my is...

“Red” by . The third book in her colour trilogy. Red explores our complex and conflicted relationship to nature. Stunning art and careful wordplay tell a powerful environmental story.

5 17

No 28 in my is...

“Almost Nothing, yet Everything” by Hiroshima Osaka and Ryoji Arai. Thoughtful, contemplative and funny musings on the nature of water in the form of a conversation between a child and a grown up. Astoundingly illustrated.

6 31

No 37 in my is...

“The Longest Letsgoboy” by and . A stunning, poignant look at the role beloved pets play in a our lives, I laughed and cried in equal measure. Told from the old dog’s perspective it’s just lovely

10 40

From A WALK IN THE WORDS, my new book about being a slow reader. I loved books until they took away all the pictures. Then they looked like this!

8 16

“You Be You” by Richard Brehm and Rogerio Coelho is an absolutely stunning book about creativity, resilience and discovering what makes you you. It’s about dreaming big and overcoming your demons. The illustrations positively zing. A stunner.

12 106

“The Wind in The Trees” by is a brilliantly illustrated and magically written tale of life cycles. Written as a dialogue between the two trees, we see seasons and years pass, we see growth, change and decay. Great stuff.

9 30