My Pet Goldfish by Catherine Rayner

"When I was four, I got my first ever pet: a fish no bigger than my hand, with red and orange scales. My very own goldfish! He didn't have a name yet so I got to choose one - and I called him 'Richard'".

Richard is not alone - he lives in a fish tank with her sister's fish. The young girl loves spending time with Richard - telling him about her day. Sandy, the boy next door also has some goldfish but this live in pond in his garden. When you turn to the page filled with the fish in Sandy's pond you will gasp at all the colours.

There are facts on each page of this book: did you know there are over two hundred different kinds of goldfish with names like comets, bubble eyes and pompoms. And did you know that a group of goldfish is called a “troubling” or that the oldest ever goldfish was 43 years old?

Eventually Richard grows too big for the fish tank and so the girl takes him over to Sandy's to live in his pond. 

Because this book is a combination of narrative and nonfiction it contains an index, further reading list, and a page of author notes. 

My Pet Goldfish was published in 2021 - I am not sure how I missed it. AND it is illustrated (and written) by Catherine Rayner which is another reason I should have been aware of this book. Here is a video of Catherine reading her book. 

The lovely and delicate mixed-media illustrations sparkle with color; we see Richard, other fish, bubbles, and aquatic plants drift serenely in gentle waters. ... Delightful and validating for first-time or would-be goldfish guardians. Kirkus

In the US this book has a different cover:

In the library where I spend a joyous day as a volunteer the Teacher-Librarian has gathered together all of her books from the Nature Storybook (or previously Read and Wonder) series from Walker books. I think she might have nearly every one of these splendid nonfiction titles. Recently she set up a display of books about goldfish and it proved very popular with the children and now this topic links perfectly with one of the CBCA 2026 Early Childhood shortlisted titles - Derek.

Derek

Otto the top dog by Catherine Rayner

Otto has a terrific life and best of all he has his 'lovely comfy' cushion-soft basket. Otto is also a kind dog, and he loves to share so it seems quite natural that he would ask a friend to come over for a visit and, because they are both a little tired, Otto tells Lupin he is welcome to share his basket. 

This is of course just the beginning because Lupin tells other dogs at the park about Otto's wonderful basket. Eventually even more dogs arrive, and poor old Otto is totally squashed and unhappy. How can he solve this problem without hurting the feelings of his friends?

If you love dogs and you love endpapers you have to find this book! I can imagine spending time with your young reading companion looking closely at the face of each dog (there are over 90) talking about each dog - their breed and personality.

Publisher blurb: After Otto invites one of his friends to share his comfy basket, word quickly spreads around the neighbourhood. Soon he's sharing his cosy bed with all the dogs in the area, even taking in the local strays! Before he knows it, everyone is having the best sleep in his beloved basket: everyone, but Otto! Will Otto ever get his basket back to himself? And will he still like it if he does?

Here is a review from IBBY.uk: The illustrations are wonderful, so accurately drawn in each dog’s own body and character. A perfect book about kindness and sharing, and re-thinking what to do when things at first don’t work perfectly.

I think all primary school libraries should have at least one, but preferably more, book by Catherine Rayner. Her art is amazing yes, but her stories also always have another deeper layer of meaning such as the themes in this book about kindness, sharing, and problem solving. You can see a few pages inside this book here. My friend is crazy about her dog - she is sure to love this book because one of the dogs from the park is named Bentley! With your class you could make a list of all the dog names from this book and then make a list of pets and their names from your class. This book was published in 2024 and the hardcover is only AUS$27 but many of Catherine Rayner's books are now available in paperback. 

Pop the name Catherine Rayner into my side bar or 

click her name on the labels for this post to read more about some of these books.

Meet the Bears: An around the world adventure by Kate Peridot illustrated by Becca Hall

"So, you love bears? Fantastic! You have great taste. Bears are smart. Bears are curious. Bears are strong. And they can smell you coming from miles away."

A father gifts his daughter eight tickets to see the bears of the world. They pack their bear spotting kit with maps, a torch, water bottle, camera, warm clothes and most important of all the young girl takes along her teddy bear. She wants to find out which bear family he belongs to.

Arctic - travel by icebreaker - the polar bear fur white and pale and translucent.
Match - no - her teddy bear does not have white fur.

Alaska - travel by fast plane - the brown bear has brown fur with flecks of blond or black

Match - no - her teddy bear is not brown

Appalachian Mountains - you will need a trail pass - the black bear has short fur

Match - no - her teddy has a long black fur coat

Andes - travel by lama - the spectacled bear looks though she is wearing glasses

Match - no - he has no spectacles

Sri Lanka - take a jeep safari - the sloth bear has very long claws for digging up termites and ants

Match - no - her teddy does not have long claws

Borneo - canoe ride - the sun bear has a very long tongue

Match - no - as you have guessed her teddy bear does not have a long tongue

Tibet - another trail hike - meet the giant panda

Match - no - teddy does have a white face

So who does her teddy belong with? There is one more bear to meet - the Moon Bear from Japan, Korea, Siberia, Pakistan, Taiwan, and China.

On the final pages of this very enjoyable book, written for children aged 4+, there is a double spread explaining the animals that are NOT bears - the red panda; our koala; and a creature called a bearcat which I had not heard of. The bearcat is related to the civet and mongoose. He has a long tail for balancing in trees and white whiskers to help him feel his way around the forest at night. There is also a world map showing all the places the various bears are found. And a bear size chart. And finally some helpful information about staying safe if you are exploring an area where bears live.

This book is the perfect combination of a fiction narrative and nonfiction content. Unfortunately, it is another very expensive book - here in Australia it is listed at over AUS$40. It is published by Welbeck Children's Books from the UK [9781804535110].  If you ever see this book for a price you can afford it would be a good addition to a school library or perhaps you will see a copy to borrow from your own local or school library. Here is the webpage for the author Kate Peridot. Read the Kirkus review.

In your library head to the bear books in the nonfiction section [599.78]. Even though this is a fiction book I would read this one alongside Meet the Bears:

Five Bears

Molly, Olive and Dexter by Catherine Rayner

Molly's favourite game is hide and seek. I am sure your young reading companion will know how to play this game and that gives this book an extra layer of enjoyment because your child or library group will laugh when they see how Olive and Dexter really have no idea how this game works.

First Olive and Dexter hide their own eyes! Then they hide behind the tree which is right beside where Molly has been counting.  Let's try this one more time. Oh no! The friends are really hidden. Molly cannot find them. 

"What is they got lost when I told them to hide? I'll never see them again and it's all my fault."

Never fear - Molly just needs to look in one more place!

This is a perfect book to share with a very young child. The illustrations by Catherine Rayner are fabulous. She gives each of the animal friends such expressive faces. Every preschool should add this book and the others from this series to their shelves. Here is the Kirkus review. 

There are four books in this series:

Here are two other books about the game of Hide and Seek:

The Best Hiding Place

Victor: The wolf with worries by Catherine Rayner

"Wolves are BRAVE and BIG and FIERCE. They are very wolfish! 

Wolves do not worry about anything."

"This is Victor. Victor thinks he is not wolfish enough, and he is very worried about it. 

In fact, Victor worries about pretty much everything."

Victor worries about being not being brave so he pretends to be brave but then he worries that he might actually have to DO something brave - oh no. Victor worries that he is not big enough so he tries to pretend to be big but then he worries that he might have to DO something because others think he is big - oh no! Is he fierce enough? What if he frightens the others? Pretending is not working. 

Luckily Victor has a wonderful friend named Pablo. Pablo explains the idea that a problem shared is a problem halved. So, Victor opens up to his friend about all of his worries. Pablo has other strategies. Put the worry into a bubble and blow it away. Go for a run in the forest and take your mind off things for a while. And best of all Pablo explains that everyone worries and it is actually okay.

I am slightly torn about my feelings for this book. I am a major worrier - I wonder if this book could have helped me? I applaud the possible discussions this book are sure to generate. But are the solutions to Victor's worries too simple? I do have quite strong reservations about books that warrant the label 'bibliotherapy' but perhaps that is not the appropriate label for this book. Take a look at this thoughtful article from Horn Book Magazine about bibliotherapy. 

On the other hand, I adore the art in this book and all books illustrated by Catherine Rayner. See inside this book here. Her little wolf has such an expressive face and every page turn is just a delightful experience. And some of the strategies are very appropriate to share with young child. 

Blurb: Victor the wolf has lots of worries. He worries that he isn't brave enough, that he isn't big enough and that he isn't fierce enough. In fact, Victor feels anxious about almost everything. But when Victor shares his concerns with his best friend Pablo, he starts to feel a bit better. And with Pablo's help, Victor learns even more ways to deal with those pesky worrying thoughts. And as the worries grow smaller, Victor feels a bit bigger, a bit braver, and bit fiercer inside!

There is a very subtle difference between the front and back end papers of this book. At the front we see four birds flying over a lake towards the mountains and at the back it is the same scene but three birds are further away and only is still travelling over the lake.  Does this have a deeper meaning - perhaps. I need to do more thinking. 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has worked with me to create Pinterest collection of picture books about worries and anxiety with over 120 titles. Here are a couple of screen shots.

Use the label below - Catherine Rayner - to see other books I have shared on this blog. 

Five Bears: A friendship tale by Catherine Rayner

"All the bears looked at each other.

All the bears thought for a while.

All the bears felt happier than they had in a long time.

Then they all spoke at once. 

Because actually, it was simple ...

'We all just like each other!'"

Here is another book that has just popped up and it utterly surprised and delighted me. This is one of those books you could share with very very young children and equally with much older readers where I am sure their discussion would touch on very deep themes such as:

• how are friendships formed?
• is there a 'right' way to react to offers of friendship?
• how can you diffuse anger if a greeting receives a hostile response?
• what does acceptance of others and acceptance of difference mean?
• can you link this book with human relationships, tolerance, race relations?
• what should you do if an offer of help is refused?
• are there tiny things you might do to alleviate the loneliness of others?
• has this book shown you anything about the way teamwork works?
• why is is significant that the "stuck" bear is a polar bear?

Here is the blurb: Bear is walking through the forest, minding his own business when he comes across another bear. The Other bear is different. The two bears wander along, thinking different thoughts, and looking in different directions. Soon the two bears come across another bear and then another bear and eventually find a bear stuck in a tree. The bears realise that perhaps they aren't that different after all and perhaps they could be friends?

This is a large format, hardcover book with an affordable price so I highly recommend you add it to your library shopping list. 

It is my dream that this book helps to make a difference to our future generations' attitude toward helping 'stuck bears' all over the world. Catherine Rayner

Picture books have a great deal to offer to young readers from exciting stories of derring do to direct instruction and, as here, reflective texts that through the perfect marriage of image and word allows the audience to make a connection from the imaginative to reality. Excellent. Books for Keeps

I do adore art by Catherine Rayner - take time to explore her wonderful web pages.

The Go-Away Bird by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Catherine Rayner

The Go-Away bird rejects every offer of friendship from her rain forest companions. 

"I am the Chit-Chit bird. Will you chat with me? We can talk of the weather and other things like the colour of eggs, the the ache in our wings."

"I'm the Peck-Peck bird. Will you eat with me? There are juicy berries on every twig. We can peck, peck til we both grow big."

The four potential friends are each rejected and then along comes a huge brown bird - the Get-You Bird. This huge bird will not go away simply because the Go-Away bird demands this. Luckily the rejected friends see the danger. They form a team and save the day. But what of the Go-Away bird? Her life has been saved - how will she react? How should she react? I love stories that contain a life lesson but not in a didactic way. With an older group you should take a look at Shelter which is a perfect book if you want to talk about rejection and forgiveness. 

Everything about this book is of the highest quality as you would expect from the team of Julia Donaldson and Catherine Rayner. Too many authors attempt rhyme and it just fails but rhyme in the hands of a master like Julia Donaldson can sing. In fact in this book the words do feel like a song. The rhyme is not used for every line and the repetition of "go away" is simply a perfect way to engage young children.  This is a book that should be added to preschool read aloud program.

Make sure you take time to notice the fern leaf pattern on the end papers which is repeated on the title page and then used in various ways throughout the book. 

This is a delightful story about the value of friends especially in times of need. Kids' Book Review

A lovely tale about needing time to oneself, but also the value of friendship and teamwork. Lovely. Rogan's Books

This is a stellar author/artist partnership. Julia’s witty, bouncy rhyming text is pure pleasure to read aloud and highly join-in-able; and Catherine’s art is simply awesome – richly coloured and textured, superbly expressive: every spread is a joy to linger over – after you’ve read the story aloud once first. Red Reading Hub

Companion reads:

The Bad Mood

Oddbird

Little Wise Wolf

Welcome

Elmore

Arlo: The lion who couldn't sleep by Catherine Rayner

This book reads just like a lullaby for a young child with delightful lyrics repeated three times throughout the text. Here are a couple of verses:

Relax your whole body, slow your breathing right down,

Imagine you're sinking into the soft ground ...

As you fall into calmness so comfy and deep,

Your mind will rest and you'll drift off to sleep."

Arlo cannot fall asleep. He is so tired but the grass feels prickly, the earth is hard, the trees are noisy and the desert is way too quiet. His wife, the lioness, and his cubs are all too restless. Thank goodness for the wise owl who sings the all important lullaby. Arlo stretches and relaxes and lets his mind wander to all the places he would like to visit and before he knows it he has fallen into a delicious long sleep. He races over to thank his new friend the owl but it is daytime and the owl should be asleep so Arlo repays the favour and sings the song himself. Owl then falls in to a deep sleep. When he wakes up, Arlo and Owl share their song with the lioness and cubs.

Recently a friend of mine was talking about the glorious art found in children's books by Edward Ardizzone. I passionately want children to experience the best art in the picture books that we share with them. I would add the work of other illustrators who have very fine hand drawn illustrations to this list such as Brian Wildsmith, Ron Brooks, Charlotte Voake, Patrick Benson, Quentin Blake, John Burningham, Helen Oxenbury and Christian Birmingham.  I could of course, list heaps of others but my point here is you need to also know Catherine Rayner - her work is equal to the work of these other famous names. Take a look at Catherine's web pages.

Image Source; My Book Corner

Here are some other examples of art found in picture books by Catherine Rayner:

Iris and Isaac by Catherine Rayner

All of us have disputes. Iris and Isaac need each other they just have to work out a way to heal the rift caused by the too small snow nest made by Iris. There are good things all around which they want to share with each other. Fortunately the do find a much better and bigger snow nest and their relationship is healed.

Through their gait and posture, these lovely bears express arange of emotions -grumpy, lonely, sad, thoughtful, excited, content andsecure. They gracefully pad across the pages and the vastness of their habitatemphasises their loneliness when they are separate from each other. Missusbspicturebookreviews

If you are not familiar with the glorious art of Catherine Rayner here are a few examples:

Norris - The bear who Shared by Catherine Rayner

Image source https://tinyurl.com/y7h9s9jz

Several years ago I visited the main public library in Edinburgh and saw their newly refurbished children's library where I spied the beautiful art work of Catherine Rayner. Ever since I have kept an eye open for her books and art.

This week I found Norris - The bear who Shared.  This is one of those perfect picture books.  Important topics (sharing and kindness) handled gently (feels like a fable), beautiful illustrations and a poetic text.

Norris was wise.

And being a wise bear,

Norris knew that plorringes

were the best fruit of all.

Don't you love the idea of plorringes.  I adore "invented" words. One of my all time favourite books Hairy Tales and Nursery Crimes by Michael Rosen contains invented words I use every day such as orange wash (orange juice), chocolate kick (chocolate cake), you can eat a sandwitch and put something in your sneezer (freezer). I often tell the children I live in our 'li-berry'.

Back to that plorringe. It is also seen by Tulip (a curious raccoon) and Violet (a tiny mouse).

They clambered closer to the plorringe

and gazed at it.

It looked delicious ...

It smelt of honey and sunny days. ...

It felt as soft as candy floss.

The ripe plorringe is due to fall from the tree and Norris is patiently waiting below. When it falls it bops him on the head WHOMP and now Norris can enjoy his treat but what of Tulip and Violet?

Take a look here at all the books by Catherine Rayner.  This reviewer gives more details about the language in Norris - the bear who Shared and links her comments with the illustrations.