Story books for group drawing

From Head to Toe (1997)

Eric Carle

This book is beautifully written and illustrated, and provides children with the opportunity to mimic the movements within. It is perfect for encouraging children to try different body movements, by copying the movements of different animals on each page.

It’s a great book to start a discussion on how different parts of our body can move and the funny shapes that they can make. We use this book in our incursions with children as it promotes engagement and gets their bodies warm and ready for drawing!

Wheels (2020)

Sally Sutton

This book is a joy to read, featuring a delightful rolling pace and repetition designed to empower children to join the guessing game about common vehicles in the neighbourhood – “Shout what’s coming, if you know!”

The illustrations are bright and engaging and there is scope to explore sounds – “vroom vroom” noises and other variations.

Hooray for Fish! (2005)

Lucy Cousins

Bright and engaging illustrations and simple playful rhyming language pitches this book straight into a kinder room or a parent’s lap for bedtime reading.

Full of delight and learning, this book showcases fish, colour, design (spotty and stripy), emotions (happy fish and grumpy fish) and numeracy (One, two, three…how many can you see?) and more.

Monkey Puzzle (2000)

Julia Donaldson

A fun-filled story with an enticing pace that will delight both a kinder classroom or a child in your lap.

Features of the jungle animals are described playfully – for example, the elephant has “great thick baggy knees.”

Includes a joyful twist at the end before the baby monkey solves the puzzle and finds his mum. Hooray!

Up, Down, Over, Through (2026)

Jane Godwin

This gorgeous picture book follows two children playing at the park. Through colourful illustrations and simple language, the book identifies key spatial concepts for the early years, including position and location, direction, movement and time.

A great one for reading before a trip to the park – with inspiration for things to try -“Swinging high and swinging low.”

Red House Blue House Green House Tree House (2018)

Jane Godwin

There is so much joy and so much to learn in this colourful and interactive book – including about colours, shapes, the weather and size.

However, we think the best message in this book is about being playful with making, and not worrying about ‘mistakes’. The illustrations are engaging and fun, but they’re not perfect: the lines are irregular, colour spills from them, no picture is 1:1 with reality.

So don’t worry, just draw: permission granted!

If I had a crocodile (2023)

Gabby Dawnay

This bright, entertaining book is funny from teeth to tail!

With quirky details about crocodiles for children to consider (they’re “jazzy” and have “super powerful” jaws), this rhyming book invites engagement and delight. And would it be complete without a steaming poop (illustration only)? Probably not!

Check out the other pet options in the “If I had a …” series by the same author and illustrator team – including a kangaroo and a unicorn!