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Children’s

At Tales you find a wide variety of children’s books, because we all know that our children deserve the best. In our selection you will find all the classics with the most beloved children’s books characters, but you can also let your child take on an adventure with some new heroes. Either way the world of books is an enchanting place for a child experiencing the magic of a good children’s story for the first time, and what makes the world of children’s books even more magical is the many beautiful and thrilling childrens’ books illustrations. They make the characters come alive. So if you want to introduce your child to the magical world of books let the magic begin here.
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  • by Lynley Dodd
    £7.99

    Features big, bullying tom cat, Scarface Claw, Hairy Maclary's arch-enemy. But like most bullies, Scarface turns out to be not quite as tough as he and the other animals think when he is scared by his own reflection.

  • by Shirley Hughes
    £6.99

    A lavish volume of heart-warming verse dedicated to one of Shirley Hughes's most endearing characters - Alfie's little sister, Annie Rose. From tea-time treats to secret adventures, Shirley Hughes has a perfect understanding of the things that encapture a small child.

  • by Ian Beck
    £7.99

    Peter and the Wolf was composed by the great Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra. This timeless tale is beautifully retold and illustrated with by award-winning Ian Beck, and remains a wonderful introduction to the world of music.

  • by A. G. Smith
    £4.99

    Young children can create a busy airport scene with the images in this entertaining activity book. Features 30 full-color peel-and-apply stickers depicting passengers, flight crew, luggage handlers, a fuel truck, supersonic and conventional aircraft, and more that can be applied to a background scene of a runway, hangars, and a control tower. Full-color. 4 plates.

  • by Robert Munsch
    £7.99

    Love You Forever is a heartwarming book written by the renowned author, Robert Munsch. Published in 2001 by Penguin Random House Children's UK, this book falls under the genre that tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you with a warm feeling. Love You Forever takes you on a journey of a mother's enduring love for her son, a theme that resonates with readers of all ages. Robert Munsch, with his unique storytelling, captures the essence of motherhood and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child. His writing style is simple yet powerful, and his characters are relatable, making this book a must-read. Penguin Random House Children's UK, an esteemed publisher, has done a commendable job in bringing this beautiful story to the readers. So, get ready to immerse yourself in this touching tale of love and relationships.

  • Save 11%
    by Neil Gaiman
    £7.99

    Includes an audio version of the picture book.

  • by Jon Scieszka
    £7.99

    A retelling of the "Three Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka.

  • by Steve Harpster
    £6.49

  • Save 10%
    by Marlene Goodman
    £8.99

    Introduces beginning language learners to more than 1,550 commonly taught basic words. The color dictionaries in this series contains 30 two-page spreads that illustrate the meanings of words. The panoramas focus on scenes familiar to children aged three through eight, such as home life, the classroom, city life, sports, the zoo, and outer space.

  • by Quentin Blake
    £7.99

    When Uncle Cosmo buys himself a motorbike and gives Mrs Armitage his boring old car, it soon becomes obvious that her driving skills leave a lot to be desired. As the bumper, the doors, the mudguard and even the roof disappear along the way, the car is transformed into a mean machine and Mrs Armitage becomes Queen of the Road!

  • Save 11%
    by Quentin Blake
    £7.99

    Meet Fantastic Daisy Artichoke. She's got three fat cats we like to stroke and a pond in which she likes to soak. . . . She isn't quite like other folk!

  • Save 18%
    by Miroslav Sasek
    £11.49

    Explores the capital of the United Kingdom, presenting drawings of its streets, buildings, bridges, market areas, and people.

  • Save 20%
    by Lynley Dodd
    £11.99

    Inlcudes five Hairy Maclary stories from the first, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy to Hairy Maclary's Rumpus at the Vet.

  • by Anthony Browne
    £7.99

    'I was a little boy and I didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be a day that changed my life forever.'A family reluctantly visits an art gallery but one by one each member is energized by a different picture in the gallery and transported into the imaginative and colourful world of art.

  • by Colin Thompson
    £7.99

    Colin Thompson's books are mystical and complex, they will appeal to children and adults alike and demand to be returned to as there is always a new image to see .

  • by Audrey Wood
    £7.99

    Twenty-four robbers display their cooking talents in this retelling of the traditional skipping rhyme.

  • by Lynley Dodd
    £7.99

    "They sniffed and they snuffled, they bustled around, and they saw WHAT was making the terrible sound." Scarface Claw, the biggest cat in the neighbourhood, is out exploring when he gets stuck up a tree. His yowling is terrible - so terrible that it draws Hairy Maclary and all his friends from Donaldson's Dairy to investigate.

  • by Jan Pienkowski & Helen Nicoll
    £7.99

  • by Camilla Reid
    £6.49

  • by Camilla Reid
    £6.49

    LULU: OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD'Simply told, full of familiar activities with wonderful attention to detail ... Very pretty to look at too' The Children's Bookseller on Lulu booksIt's a lovely, bright morning and Lulu is just waking up.There's a noise outside her window . . .Join Lulu as she listens to her favourite noises - and has lots of fun along the way! From the tweeting birds to the ding-a-ling of Lulu's tricycle, little ones will love picking out familiar sounds in this brilliantly interactive book. With a flap to lift on every spread, these perfectly-sized board books with rounded corners are just-right for little hands. Collect all four in the Lulu Loves series - including Colours (781408849644), Noises (9781408849637), Numbers (9781408849576) and Shapes (9781408849583).

  • by Camilla Reid
    £6.49

    LULU: OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD'Simply told, full of familiar activities with wonderful attention to detail ... Very pretty to look at too' The Children's Bookseller on Lulu booksLulu and her mummy are having a day out together, and spotting Lulu's favourite shapes along the way. Little ones will love learning with Lulu in this brilliantly interactive book - and having lots of fun, too! With a flap to lift on every spread, these perfectly-sized board books with rounded corners are just-right for little hands. Collect all four in the Lulu Loves series - including Colours, Noises, Numbers and Shapes.

  • by Quentin Blake
    £7.99

    When eccentric Professor Dupont tries to track down his troupe of brightly-coloured cockatoos, they're always just one step ahead of him. This counting book won the 1992 Smarties Children's Choice Award.

  • Save 11%
    by John Burningham
    £7.99

    A little boy sets off on a round-the-world night train to dreamland with only his toy dog for company. But soon all sorts of endangered animals are asking if they can jump up and join them on their journey. . .

  • Save 11%
    by Shirley Hughes
    £7.99

    This gorgeous storybook is full of snapshots of family life, from breakfast to bedtime and from birthdays to walks in the park. All small children will be able to identify with Alfie and Annie Rose, two hugely appealing pre-schoolers who are constantly tackling new experiences and making new friends.

  • Save 23%
     
    £15.49

  • Save 11%
    by Suzy Senior
    £7.99

  • by Albert Ernest Wier
    £21.99

  • by Barefoot Books
    £6.49

  • by Elinor Jayne
    £10.49

  • by Sarah Hutchinson-Jarman
    £8.99

What defines a children’s book you may ask? The first and the most obvious characteristic of a children’s book is the fact that it is written it to children. Secondly is the importance of how the story is told. In children’s books the story is often told from a children's perspective, or the story has a child or an adult addressing a child as the storyteller. Thereby the child reading or hearing the story can identify with the main character or characters in the children’s story making the child more engaged in the plot. 
Another significant characteristic of children’s books is the use of pictures or illustrations. A children’s story is often told through a combination of written words and children’s books illustrations. It can also be in the form of a picture book, where the child creates the story from the pictures he or she sees. In the newest books we also see a frequent use of sound as an extra level of engagement. You can both find sound books and picture books in our selection of children’s books. 

Genres
Children’s books can cover a wide range of genres, but there are two main categories. Either we have the lyric kind that covers both children’s songs, rhymes or nonsense poetry, which often have a fun or silly theme that makes the children laugh while singing or rhyming along. The other kind of children’s books is the narrative story. This is the category of the fairytales, the children’s novels and the classical novels told for children. Here we see a frequent use of figurative language, which speaks to the children’s imagination. The plot in these narrative stories can both be set in a fictional or realistic world. 


The Classics 
The world of children’s books contain a lot of beloved classics by all the great children’s authors. Classics that never lose their magic. Classics that make you reflect. Classics that move you, because of all the lovely memories you have with the stories and all the wonderful children’s books characters. You probably remember yourself when your mom or dad read them to you before bedtime and you couldn’t sleep because of the fascination of all the amazing places, characters and action in the books. Then when you fell asleep you would dream the most wonderful dreams where your imagination would build on to the story and you could be the hero of your favorite fairy tale. You could give that same wonderful experience to your children when you read the timeless classics to them and in doing so sharing the magical world with them and thereby creating a unique bond between you and your children.
You can for example choose to travel back to Neverland with your children following the second star to the right with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, or you could take a trip through the mysterious rabbit hole and experience the curious world of Wonderland with Alice and the Mad Hatter.  

Colouring and learning books
If your child is in a creative mood, we also have a selection of children’s colouring books for both toddlers and tweens. Your child can colour everything from famous artworks by Frida Kahlo to all their favorite children’s books characters and magical creatures like unicorns. The colouring books are beautifully illustrated and just waits to be introduced to the world of colour making them even more beautiful. By letting your children colour figures in a children’s colouring book of their own choice you stimulate their creative side and fine motor skills. Colouring also works relaxing on your children given them a break from the busy everyday. 
You can also stimulate your child with the use of learning books. You will find a wide range of children’s learning books in our store. Your child can both learn about animals of all kinds including dinosaurs, but they can also learn how the body works, or get an introduction to the universe. No matter the topic the books are specially developed for children’s minds and are told in a language they can understand. 

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