6 books for the bank holiday weekend

The second May bank holiday is upon us here in the UK, and much like Memorial Day weekend in the US, it signals the start of summer.  However, instead of celebrating the opening day of an outdoor pool, I suspect we'll be warming our toes by a fire (coldest spring since 1979 apparently!). Regardless of your location, I think books are always a welcome addition and I've picked 6 to take with us to the seaside this weekend. In no particular order:

1. Busiest People Ever by Richard Scarry: You can't go wrong with Richard Scarry. E often reads this book with me 3 times in a row and points out something different each time. This one has a police chase, a train ride to town, a boat fire and a cargo plane full of apples. Join Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm on their adventures and enjoy the exploits of poor Mr Frumble.

2. Odd Dog by Claudia Boldt: Helmut is a dog who loves apples. Throughout most of this book he's in a state of high anxiety over an apple tree that just might, possibly, drop its shiniest apple into his neighbour's yard.  Indeed this is exactly what happens, but the result is not what Helmut expected. E loves the story and I'd like to wallpaper my whole house with the illustrations. http://www.claudiaboldt.com/

3. Just Imagine by Nick Sharrat/Pippa Goodhart: This is the follow up to You Choose and it's another successful interactive book. It asks you to imagine what would happen if say you were really small, or really big, or not human.  Some of the concepts are a little advanced for E but others are proving to be great fun.  He now likes to pretend he can't climb the stairs because he's too small like one of the characters in the book. And he has very specific opinions about what sort of animal he would be.

4. My Big Train Book by Roger Priddy: This does what it says on the tin as the Brits say.  It's essentially a photographic guide to different trains. It's very exciting when E spots one of 'his' trains on a page and I've already learned the proper names for a number of them too. This is less a book that we read together and more one for the journey.

5. What is a Crocodile's Favourite Thing? by Ben Hawkes:  This is new offering from illustrator Ben Hawkes and the first book that he's also written. It's blessedly simple with cute characters, wry humour and a strong theme.  So just what is a Crocodile's Favourite Thing? E can tell you at full volume ... dinnertime! This is currently a nightly request for supper time reading. We hope to see more of that sneaky elephant in another book one day! http://benhawkes.co.uk/

6. Llama Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney: We've been llama llama fans for a long time now and this is another fun tale in the series. The message is very clear and as always, Dewdney sets up completely realistic situations that leave me nodding my head with recognition and E giddy with expectation. And this one really does prompt that conversation about sharing toys.  As to whether or not it actually changes things I'll let you know.

Please leave a comment below if you have any other bank holiday titles to share!