Picture Books > Sophisticated Picture Books

Uses the cumulative nursery rhyme, about the chain of events that started when Jack built a house, as a metaphor to illustrate the arrival and settlement of the European settlers in New Zealand during the early 19th century. Brilliant!

The House that Jack Built is a Gecko Press revival of an award-winning, modern New Zealand classic, which uses a familiar nursery rhyme to tell the story of Aotearoa New Zealand in the early 19th century.

A brand-new picture book from the creator of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE! BUMBLE-ARDY is a glorious picture book about a mischievous pig who has reached the age of nine without ever having had a birthday party. But all that changes when Bumble throws a party for himself and invites all his friends, leading to a wild masquerade that quickly gets out of hand. In this highly anticipated book, Maurice Sendak once again explores the exuberance of young children and the unshakeable love between parent (in this case, an aunt) and child. B... read more

Far, far away in Ancient Egypt, Jackal and Ibis are brought before the Cat Pharaoh to be punished for stealing from the town market. In a merciful moment, the cat Pharaoh decides to give the friends one last chance. She tells them they must journey up the River Nile to the temple of Karnak and bring back something that has been taken from her - a beautiful and precious Jewel Fish. But she has a warning for the two prisoners: 'Do not take anything else while you are in Karnak. And be warned that the Jewel Fish is magical. Be sure it... read more

In a 1950s-looking future, Jack and his mum run a little burger van cafe. The cafe is close to broke because of the new flyover so when Jack comes home with only an old can of baked beans in return for their last few pennies, his mother throws it out of the window. Overnight it grows into a gigantic baked beanstalk, which takes Jack to the castle of a giant who spends his life counting his huge fortune. Jack helps the giant to find something more fun to do - namely becoming the famous chef at Jack's new cafe.

When two ragamuffins stumble across a book in the dust their world begins to change. The familiar becomes fantastical, the mundane becomes magical, and a fractured community finds a focus. Set in a dreary, underprivileged, contemporary world, "Look, A Book!" is an exhilarating whirl through the magic of imagination that leaves the reader in an vertiginous trance.

Told entirely through pictures, The Birthday Cake is a detective story, filled with humorous details and red herrings. Children can follow the many different leads presented in the illustrations, and read it themselves or in pairs. Questions to help you follow the story: "What keeps happening to the birthday cake each time Dog tries to make it?" "Whose birthday party is it?" "Who stole the necklace?" "How do the others catch the thief?" "Where is Rabbit's party dress?" "What are Frog and Piglet doing in the tree?" "Who is hid... read more

A modern day fable that's so funny you'll laugh your head off!
What would you do if your daddy lost his head? Make him a new one of course! All you need is some old newspapers, paint and a potato for his nose. It turns out there are lots of advantages to having a dad with no head: he doesn't shout or snore, he always agrees with you, and he loves doing the vacuuming. But will Daddy ever find his real head?

It's a big universe and there are some truly terrifying monsters out there! Here are the 100 scariest monsters the Doctor has ever encountered so far, from the devious Daleks to the weird Weeping Angels and the sinister Cybermen. With facts and stats on all the most fearsome scary monsters, this book will have you cowering behind the sofa!

The little rabbit is loved by his family, even though whenever they ask him a question, he answers very rudely. Every morning when his mother said, "Time to get up, my little rabbit," he would reply, "Poo bum!" At lunchtime when his father said, "Eat your spinach, my little rabbit," he would reply, "Poo bum!" One day, he meets a hungry wolf. Will the little rabbit learn his lesson once and for all?About the author:Stephanie Blake was born in 1968 in Minnesota, USA, and lives in Paris, France. She has written and illustrated dozens ... read more

Irene Bobbin's mother has made the most beautiful dress in the world for the duchess, but is too ill to deliver it for tonight's ball. So brave Irene - a fan of snow - packages up the dress and heads out into a raging storm. The deep snow and the howling wind have other ideas...

Doctor De Soto, mouse and expert dentist, does very good work, curing toothache in animals large and small. He and his able assistant, Mrs De Soto, usually refuse to treat any animals that have a taste for mouse, but one day a fox arrives at his office begging for relief from a rotten tooth. Will the kind-hearted De Sotos turn him away?

Told through the eyes of a small girl who goes to the pre-dawn service to watch her grandfather marching in the parade, this picture book introduces children to the story behind Anzac Day, and the importance of traditions and remembering. Ages 5+.

When a new baby is born it's difficult to tell if it will grow up to be big or small or brave or scared of the dark and spiders. So sometimes babies get the wrong name. It's the same with dogs. So when the Claybourne-Willments, who should have been called the Smiths, got Fearless as a little puppy, it seemed a good name for him. Except Fearless wasn't. How does Fearless finally live up to his name? By accident, of course!

This beautiful picture book by award winners Roger Vaughan Carr and Ann James portrays the theory of the butterfly effect in a simple yet informative way.
Malani went to the forest each day with her father and his elephant. She played at the feet of the great forest trees, where she watched a beautiful butterfly. It is just a frail pretty thing that cannot do anything grand, she thought. But Malani never knew that the butterfly's delicate wings held strength enough to make even the mighty elephant tremble.

When King Colin's golden pants go missing, he calls for Sir Scallywag, the bravest knight in the land. But ...Sir Scallywag is only 6 years old and with an evil giant to pursue, it's nearly mission impossible! Luckily, it's a story of David and Goliath. With his trusted steed Doofus at his side, Sir Scallywag proves that even the unlikeliest hero can be the bravest knight of all.

High in the sky above Parkville, tooth fairies April and Esme Underhill are on their way to collect their very first tooth. April and Esme Underhill have never collected a tooth before. Mum and Dad always do it. But tonight it's their turn. So, equipped with a bag, a coin and a mobile phone, the sisters head for Daniel Dangerfield's house, and a very unusual first tooth visit! This is a charming story of a pair of young tooth-fairy sisters on their first tooth-collection adventure. As always, Bob Graham depicts an offbeat, lo... read more

Minnow the cave boy longs to be big enough to go hunting. When he is swept away by the river, he loves learning to fend for himself. He even finds a friend far from home, a little bear. Together Minnow and the bear grow big and strong, but winter forces them to make the difficult journey home. Will their new experience be enough to keep them safe?

Delightful chaos ensues when a young boy gets his kite stuck in a tree in this laugh-out-loud new picture book from award-winning, internationally best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers! Floyd gets his kite stuck up a tree. He throws up his shoe to shift it, but that gets stuck too. So he throws up his other shoe and that gets stuck, along with! a ladder, a pot of paint, the kitchen sink, an orang-utan and a whale, amongst other things! Will Floyd ever get his kite back? A hilarious book with a wonderful surprise ending.

In this beautiful, evocative text, Isaac does his best to explain colour to his blind friend Luke using sensation and touch.