5 Picture Books Exploring Amazing Animals


After our trip to the zoo last week my little zoologist is keenly flicking through the zoo guidebook & any animal related stories she can get her hands on. So we've gone for an animal theme this week!


This is one of my all-time favourite books for children. A great fun read with flaps to lift, beautiful illustrations, & a rhythmical rhyming text which you just can't forget. This is a book guaranteed to make children & adults giggle out loud! Where else would you find doves in gloves, pigs in wigs, bears in flares, or wombats in combats? Great for all ages to explore & perfect for encouraging interaction & imagination.

Some books you read & you just know you're going to end up dancing! This is one of them. A fun book which explores the movements of different animals. Its rhyming text makes it great for little ones to follow. Minnie now knows this off by heart. Great for encouraging imagination, movement, rhythm, & play.


"There's a rumble in the jungle, There's a whisper in the trees, The animals are waking up, And rustling the leaves." This is another rhyming masterpiece!  With bright bold illustrations & selection of short poems it introduces the amazing animals hiding in the jungle. Great fun to read & comes with a CD too, perfect for car journeys. (We've used this before in our 5 a day, but some books are worth repeating)

When kangaroo goes on holiday to France he discovers a new dance - the cancan! When he returns home he decides to open his own Cancan Cafe in the outback! Trouble is he is looking for his own cancan troupe & the auditions don't go so well. The beautiful & hilarious illustrations combined with a rhyming text full of tongue twisters make this a great book to share.

This is another favourite in our house. Little monkey is lost in the jungle searching for his mum, when a butterfly comes along & offers to help. Lots of adventures follow as butterfly can't quite work out what monkey's mum may look like, as none of her babies look like her! This book is full of clever, descriptive, rhyming text, with repeated refrains that are easy for children to pick up & join in with.