My Dad's the Coolest by Rosie Smith and Bruce Whatley

Since Father's Day is just around the corner in Australia, I thought I'd look at another one of our favourite Dad books: My Dad's the Coolest.

Maximilian gave this book to his Dad as a Father's Day present last year. I like to give picture books to adults as gifts because it creates a wonderful excuse and opportunity for parent and child to spend some time together. And it's always nice to receive presents that tell you how cool you are!!

Like Some Dads, each page of this book features a different animal Dad and child and simple text about why that Dad is the coolest. I like this book because of the great range of animals it features, from the obvious (brave lion) to the bizarre (funny puffer fish). It is also a great celebration of the father-child bond and of the fun that all different kinds of dads have with their children.

My Dad's the Coolest has plain coloured pages with just a few words of text and facing pages with animal illustrations, again on plain coloured background. This is a really simple book, which is a refreshing change from the really busy, detailed full page illustrations in many picture books. Bruce Whatley's illustrations are terrific, and each picture shines with the love between the dad and child. If you haven't seen this book, it really is worth a look. With only a very small amount of text, My Dad's the Coolest is also suitable for even the youngest baby to enjoy reading with their dad.

If you are keen to get this book as a gift for the cool Dad in your child's world, I have also just found this awesome gift pack which includes the book My Dad's the Coolest in a mini hardback edition and a drink cooler - how cool is that?!? (Thought I'd throw in a dad joke there to finish with!)

Some Dads... by Nick Bland

This is one of the best books about Dads that I've come across.

Sadly, many Dad books feature crude humour like farting and burping or narrow gender stereotypes like sports and cars, which I find pretty offensive really.

Some Dads... is different, and I love it. Each page features an animal dad and child engaging in an activity of some kind, such as skiing, swimming, playing Wii, or throwing water bombs.

The back of the book says this book "brilliantly captures the simple joys all dads bring to everyday life" and I couldn't agree more.

There is a real sense of fun throughout this book, with dads and their children enjoying each other's company. My personal favourite is the rocking Rhino dad Elvis impersonator with baby rhino banging on pots and pans!!

The text in Some Dads... is really very short - each page has only one sentence of text, so the whole book is only a few paragraphs. This makes it a really quick book to read aloud, but rhyme is used to good effect.

The painted illustrations are just marvellous and the double spread artwork rewards close inspection as there is so much detail in the pictures. There is also humour and surprises to be found in the illustrations that both parents and children will enjoy, so the illustrations are a great discussion point whilst reading with your child.

At the heart of this book is the love between a dad and their child and the fun and pride they share - it is a really nice message told in a way that is sincere and fun without being schmaltzy.

This means Some Dads... would be a terrific book to give to a Dad for Father's Day - Maximilian's dad has had many hours enjoyment reading this one with him, and I think there is a special thrill when your child chooses a book for you to read which is about you!

Noni the Pony by Alison Lester

Noni the Pony is a sweet and simple story about a pony and her farmyard friends: Dave the dog and Coco the cat.

The story is told in simple rhyming text - "She lives on a farm at Waratah Bay, and likes eating apples and carrots and hay." This makes it a satisfying story to read aloud and the language is very accessible for very young children.

Noni the Pony has very sweet illustrations that are very engaging for even the youngest reader. The colours are really lovely - the cornflower blue sky and green grass capture the colours of outdoor Australia beautifully I think.

There is also lots in the story for young children to relate to, such as the way that Noni gets scared in the dark. There are lots of nice messages about kindness and friendship in the story - with the help of her friends Noni overcomes her fear of the dark and feels much braver.

We borrowed Noni the Pony from the library and it is a book we have both enjoyed very much. With two kids under two, our trips to the library are a bit of a mixed bag at the moment - Maximilian randomly throws things into the book bag and I just grab handfuls of whatever board books are available before leaving in a rush, so what we end up with is a bit of pot luck :) but this story was a real hit from the first time we read it.

Alison Lester has published over 25 picture books for children since 1985, so her books are always a very safe choice!

This board book is a lovely size and shape and perfect for little hands to enjoy. I'd recommend this book for all ages - even the youngest babies will find something to enjoy in this sweet tale.

Peek-a-boo Forest by Lamaze

Peek-a-Boo Forest is a cloth book for young babies made by Lamaze.

We love this book! Maximilian received it as a gift and the 3D furry owl on the front cover immediately piqued his interest. The bright, colourful, cartoon-like illustrations are also very engaging.

Each of the colourful double pages asks a simple "Who is?" question and features a shaped flap behind which the "Peek-a-boo" animal is hiding. See the image below for an example - the animal is owl!

Although simple, each page features lots of images that provide learning and discussion opportunities with toddlers. As well as owl, there is a ladybird, tree, leaves, moon and stars and more in the image below.

The interactive flaps are made from crinkly fabric, which makes reading this a lovely tactile experience - Maximilian has always loved grabbing and turning the flaps.

The story is short, featuring just five animals: moose, owl, raccoon, bear and beaver, so it will engage even the shortest attention span. I also found the rhyming text very engaging and fun to read aloud.

This book is quirky and interesting for us as Australians, because it features animals from faraway places such as moose and beaver. My favourite page is the last one - "Who built this dam? What an achiever!" "Peek-a-boo! It's the beaver!" Ha ha!

Like all Lamaze products, this cloth book is very well made and has excellent construction which withstands even the most ferocious chewing and sucking! One of our first books which Maximilian still enjoys at over 19 months age - he still loves flipping the flaps and saying "boo" to the animals!

Bug Me! by Jeanette Rowe

For some reason bugs became a bit of a theme when we were preparing Maximilian's nursery space. We have a bug mobile and several bug toys, so when I came across this cloth book while still pregnant, I couldn't resist adding it to our collection.

Bug Me is a very basic book for very young babies. 

Being a cloth book, it is perfect for chewing and sucking! The cover page also has a lovely crinkly texture which makes it attractive for grabbing and scrunching and squeezing.

There is no story in this book - each page simply features a picture of a bug with the word beneath the image eg. caterpillar, ladybird, spider. The images are stylized, cartoon like and very bright and colourful. This would appeal to very young babies limited vision and focus and boost their development. We also use it to sing songs such as Incy Wincy Spider.

This would make a great first book and is definitely suitable from birth. It's appeal lies in its colour and tactile qualities so is probably best for babies up to around 18 months age. We still read Bug Me occasionally and Maximilian still enjoys touching and crinkling the pages - now that Maximilian can say all the bug names in the book, he reads it to me!! We'll hand it over to Walther now so he can start enjoying it too.

Maisy's Fire Engine by Lucy Cousins

Fire engines are big in our house right now!

Maximilian has several toy fire trucks and he learned to make a siren sound around a month ago and it is now one of his favourite sounds.So, when he found this board book in his book box recently, it was immediately a big hit.

Like all Maisy stories, this is simple and short - Maisy and Cyril are firefighters and when testing the fire hose Cyril wets little black cat. The cat then climbs onto the roof of the shed and Maisy climbs the ladder to rescue it.

Lucy Cousins' illustrations are bright, colourful and engaging and the short story and simple text make this a great book for the very young - there isn't enough content to interest older toddlers. The version we have is also the "shaped board book", which is nice for little hands to hold and easy to turn the pages.

As parents, we generally avoid branded character stories and shows, as we aren't fans of the way that everything is branded these days. I only bought this book as it was at a discount bookstore for $3.95 and I was looking for hardy board books to add to our collection.

Having said that, this is a great little book that Maximilian is really enjoying right now - as of yesterday his new word is "again" - so I read this story 4 times in a row this morning - "again", "again", "again"!! 

Ben & Duck by Sara Acton

Ben goes to the park to feed the ducks. One day, there is just one duck - one very large duck, that eats all of Ben's bread before following him up the path, through the gate, into a tree and home. The way the friendship develops between Ben and Duck throughout this book is delightful.


The illustrations throughout Ben & Duck are simply marvellous - gorgeous watercolours with an almost unfinished feel in muted colours that give the characters true warmth and life. It amazes me that such minimal illustrations can still give the characters such expressive faces - Sara Acton is truly talented. Because the illustrations are so muted in colour, they will be especially appreciated by older children and the adult reader - but the images are instantly recognisable for a 15-month old as well.

Ben & Duck was one of Maximilian's first favourite books. "Duck" was one of his first words, so he immediately loved to point to the pictures of duck throughout the story while saying "duck, duck, duck". When Duck comes to Ben's house, there is a picture of the front door with "tap, tap" written on it, and Maximilian also loves to knock on the page of the book while saying "tap, tap". It is really wonderful to see him engage with the story and language in this way, and our favourite picture books are the ones with opportunity for him to become part of the story - not surprising I guess when my favourite books are often ones that I can engage in some way with the story.

This would be a great addition to any storytime session with a duck or friendship theme and there are lots of duck themed crafts freely available. You could also use it as a "food" theme and discuss whether ducks would really eat spaghetti and bread and butter pudding - it would make a great story alongside The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Recommended for readers aged 1-5.

Whose Baby Am I? by John Butler

Whose Baby Am I? is a simple and engaging picture book for very young children.

The words are very basic - each baby animal picture is captioned "whose baby am I?" and the following page has an image of the parent animal with the caption "I am x's baby".

The charm of this book lies in the absolutely delightful illustrations of baby animals and their parents. The pictures really are gorgeous and Maximilian loves to touch and stroke them because they look so good!!

Although the words are extremely simple, they can be used as a jumping off point for further discussion with older toddlers. For example, "that's Owl's baby. What noise does owl make?" The back of the book also includes a double page "Can you guess whose baby is whose?" for the child to match up the baby and parent animals and a page which names the baby animals, ie owlet, calf, etc.

We enjoy this book regularly but it probably doesn't have enough content for long lasting value - but is often Maximilian's choice at the moment (at 19 months of age). However, if you enjoy gorgeous illustrations it is definitely worth a look.

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

This is a terrific book by veteran children's author Mem Fox with colourful, cute, quirky illustrations by Judy Horacek.

The simple, repetitive text makes this a great read aloud book to be enjoyed by children of all ages. The short story makes this book a good choice for sharing with very young children - Maximilian has been enjoying this book since around six months age and now, at 19 months, enjoys it just as much, as does my 3 year old nephew.

It would also be a great book for learning to read. When looking into it, I was fascinated to discover that this book has 190 words - 188 have one syllable, 1 word has two syllables and 1 word has 3 syllables - perfect for teaching words and reading skills to young children. This simplicity can be the secret of success in a picture book and certainly is in this case.


The illustrations are just fabulous and reward multiple reads, which is always a joy since reading the same book hundreds of times on request can get tiresome :-) We've been reading this book for more than a year now and it is still a rewarding pleasure to read each time. We still find new things to talk about and the book continues to teach Maximilian new words and concepts - for example, he loves to say "Wheeee!" for the slide sheep! I also love that he now knows what's coming, so when we get to "Turn the page quietly, let's take a peep", Maximilian already puts his finger to his lips and says "Shhh".

We have the small board book version but it is also available as a traditional sized soft page or board book (and the fabulous illustrations would reward the larger format).


Mem Fox has written an amazing number of children's books, including classics like Possum Magic and Koala Lou, won multiple book awards and is also a passionate advocate of reading to children - her book Reading Magic has wonderful tips on how and why to read aloud and how to choose books. Also check out her website for heaps of great information, including the fascinating and hilarious story of writing Where is the Green Sheep? !