Best of 2024: Children's Nonfiction Books about Poetry, Language and Stories - Christchurch City LibrariesLike this list

57 items

• The Bard and the Book

  How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare From Oblivion

  Bausum, Ann

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  Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters' lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor's role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Big Book of Words

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  The simple, straightforward text pairs with bright, detailed artwork for an interactive educational experience.

• Big Ideas From Literature

  How Books Can Change You World

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  Books can be so powerful, helping us through tricky times, offering us wisdom we haven't learnt yet, showing us that there are people like us, or showing us the opposite, that other people live very different lives.

• Titiro Look

  Look

  Bishop, Gavin, 1946-

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  Words in te reo Māori and English with images include the unexpected and imaginative alongside the familiar, making this more than just a first-words book.

• 1000 More Words

  Budgell, Gill

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  This busy picture book broadens children's vocabulary, strengthens their language and literacy skills.

• Time Runs Like a River

  Carlisle, Emma

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  Time runs like a river, never resting, moving steadily on. But if we notice how different each minute can be, we can appreciate them before they are gone.

• The Secret Gardens of Frances Hodgson Burnett

  Carpenter, Angelica Shirley

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  Secret gardens, hidden gates, flowering passageways. A picture book biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett's winding and captivating life.

• Shakespeare's First Folio

  All the Plays : a Children's Edition

  Chouhan, Anjna

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  Created in partnership with Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust, this remarkable collection includes thirty-six abridged plays from Shakespeare's First Folio, exuberantly illustrated by Emily Sutton.

• Joseph Coelho Presents Spin!

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  Britain's Children's Laureate has chosen poems from ten debut poets.

• A Lot of Silly

  a Book of Rhymes and Nonsense

  Cowley, Joy, 1936-

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  Joy Cowley knows what makes children laugh.

• Blue Heart

  Words and Illustrations About Whales

  Davies, Nicola, 1958-

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  An educational and entertaining series of poems providing readers an insight into the various species of whale living across the world.

• Hope Is the Thing With Feathers

  Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886

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  A beautiful retelling of a favourite poems, perfect for the youngest readers.

• Dear Moko

  Māori Wisdom for Our Young Ones

  Elder, Hinemoa

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  Māori child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has shaped her beloved book Aroha into this special collection of whakatauki and whakatauaki for mokopuna of all ages.

• A Midsummer Nights Dream

  Ellinas, Georghia

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  Retold for a picture book audience, the Bard's mischievous take on love run amok in fairyland meets its match in luminous illustrations by Jane Ray.

• The Hidden World of Magical Creatures

  Evans, Maz

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  The perfect book for fans of myth and magic.

• Windsongs

  Poems About Weather

  Florian, Douglas

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  Discover the fascinating world of weather through clever and entertaining poetry in this "delightfully sunny" picture book from celebrated poet Douglas Florian.

• Peter & the Wolf

  An Extraordinary Retelling

  Friday, Gavin, 1959-

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  An incredible retelling of the well-loved classic story Peter and the Wolf - with a twist.

• Alexander the Great

  Man, Myth or Monster?

  Gavin, Jamila, 1941-

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  The compelling story of the greatest warrior hero of ancient times.

• Caterpillar Cake

  Read-aloud Poems to Brighten Your Day

  Goodfellow, Matt

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  A diverse and inclusive collection of original poems for younger children by a top performance poet.

• Tomorrow We Begin

  Poems to Find Yourself in

  Goodfellow, Matt

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  A powerful new collection of poems from award winning poet Matt Goodfellow.