Guess How Much I Love You. Sam McBranty, Anita Jeram. A beautiful story, which my daughter and I both loved. Definitely one to return to!

The Very Hungry Caterpilla. Eric Carle. Sophia liked this story and is dreaming of the day when she can eat all the foods that the very hungry caterpilla does!

Rumplestiltskin. Betty Boot. Although pleased that the Miller’s daughter got to keep her baby, Sophia was not impressed that she was trapped in a marriage to a man who once locked her up and threatened to kill her. We do not think this is something to aspire to.

Gruffalo, where are you? Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler. This is not a very long book, but Sophia likes the different characters hiding under the flaps.

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin. Oh what a story! It’s like a warm bowl of soup or comfy slippers to me. It’s one I come back to over and over again and I’m pleased to have reread it at this time in my life.

See, Touch, Feel, Roar. Roddy Priddy. Now this is super fun: things to see, touch and hear! Sophia can’t wait to be able to press the buttons herself!

Princess Poppy Ballet Shoes. Janey Louise Jones. Sophia liked the story and I think it will be one we come back to again and again. Sophia is wondering if she will be a dancer when she grows up!

How to be more Paddington: A Book Of Kindness. Michael Bond. This is such a lovely, heart warming book! Sophia enjoyed it right to the end.

Mr Large in Charge. Jill Murphy. Sophia liked this story and could see how Mr Large is a bit like her Daddy!

Yucky Worms. Vivian French. Sophia and I loved reading this book together. Loads of interesting facts and a great story. We can’t wait to get out and have some fun in our garden!

Sleepy Places. June Hindley. We think this book is super cute but as Sophia isn’t the biggest napper in the world, we can’t quite relate! Sophia is trying to take tips from all the people and sleepy places in the book.

The Lorax. Dr Seuss. What a great book! Rhymes, colour and a really important message. Sophia loved it.

All In One Piece. Jill Murphy. We liked this story and I could really empathise with Mr and Mrs Large trying to go out and get some time to themselves!

The Highway Rat. Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler. I know this book from being a Godmum! I loved reading it to Sophia who liked the rhyming, the colours and the naughty Highway Rat!

Be Kind, Be Cool, Be You! Nikki Miles. We enjoyed reading this book together. With great words of encouragement and bright, colourful graphics, what’s not to love?!

Marli’s Tangled Tale. Ellie Jackson & Laura Callwood. Sophia and I enjoyed reading this book. Sophia loves balloons, but from reading the book we’ve learned to dispose of them responsibly so that animals like Marli don’t suffer! A great read, one we will come back to again.

One Snowy Night. Nick Butterworth. Sophia thinks that a sleepover with lots of animals sounds like fun, Mummy thinks they would make a big mess! A great book with lots to look at.

Farmyard Tales: Christmas. Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright. We loved reading this book. There were so many things to lift and look out for on every page! Lots of fun.

The First Christmas. Jan Pienkowski. I really enjoyed reading this to Sophia. The Biblical Christmas story is told in traditional language, which makes for a nice change, and the accompanying pictures are absolutely beautiful.

The Crown: The Inside History. Robert Lacey. Look, I managed to read a grownup book! As A huge fan of The Crown, I really enjoyed this book. It is interesting and connects the drama to the history. It’s got big glossy pages and pictures from the series as well as real life. Great book!

The Snowman and the Snowdog. Raymond Briggs. We both really like this one! The story is good although Sophia was a bit sad about the snowman right at the end. But we are looking forward to building a snowdog together one day.

The Polar Express. Chris VanAllsburg. I liked this book but it might be a bit better when Sophia is older. There’s lots of words to each picture!

Never touch the dinosaurs! Stuart Lynch. We absolutely loved this one! All the colours and the bumpy dinosaurs and the shapes in the pages were a hit!

Dear Zoo. Rod Campbell. We read this when we got back from Sophia’s first trip to the zoo and we loved it! A firm favourite for the future.

A Piece of Cake. Jill Murphy. We do love a story about the Large family! This one was especially funny as we could see it happening in our house!

Jesus’ Christmas Party. Nicholas Allan. What an awesome book! Funny, with bits of repetition and absolutely heart warming.

Home. Julie Andrews. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big enough fan of Julie Andrews to love this book. I’m sure that if you adore her you’ll find this book super interesting and a great read. But for me, it wasn’t a huge hit. It took me ages to read and although I did enjoy parts of it, there were often references to people I didn’t know.

That’s not my… Christmas. Fiona Watt. This little collection features Penguins, Santas, Evles, Reindeer and Polarbears! A lovely little collection of books for a little girl who is currently touching everything she can to find out what it feels like!

Odd Dog Out. Rob Biddulph. This book is just gorgeous! We love it so much, especially the ending: Be who you are!

And Tango Makes Three. Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell. I’d heard about this book before we read it and it did not disappoint! It’s about two male penguins who adopt and look after an egg who becomes fluffy little Tango. A beautiful book to read and I’m so pleased it exists.

The Other Bennet Sister. Janice Hadlow. Well, what a story! To begin with, this book made me really sad. The way Hadlow describes all that goes on in Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Mary is beautiful but it made my heart ache. I raced through it, keen to see her come out of her shell and find some happiness. I loved the way Mary eventually develops as a character and grows, and of course, the ending is lovely. I did find that it dragged a bit in the middle, but otherwise I very much enjoyed it.