Picture books are not just for the very young, they're for all ages and children will enjoy them as they become readers and are able to read longer texts. Introduce characters such as Harry and his Dinosaurs, the wonderful dancing Angelina, and the adventurous Skeleton family. Lauren Child is a picture book creator to wonder at and her characters will be familiar from TV. Don't miss Jeanne Willis or the books of Nick Sharratt, one of today's most popular illustrators. Enjoy sharing books as long as your children will let you - as long as it's fun they won't want to stop!

But Excuse Me That is My Book » Lauren Child A book about a book and a library too - a tie in with the TV series.

Funnybones » Janet & Allan Ahlberg The first in a series of stories about the Skeleton family who live in 'a dark dark cellar' - entertaining and popular and very good for beginner readers.

Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs » Ian Whybrow
» Adrian Reynolds Harry is mad about his plastic dinosaurs and takes them everywhere - the first of his stories, a mix of dinosaurs and real life!

Angelina Ballerina » Katherine Holabird
» Helen Craig Angelina is a beautiful young mouse, mad about ballet dancing - a must for every young girl.

Hairy Maclary From Donaldson's Dairy
» Lynley Dodd Lynley Dodd is a genius and her stories are hugely popular for their humour, rhyming teats and wonderful animal characters.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? » Eric Carle Everyone Knows The Very Hungry Caterpillar but it's worth trying other Carle titles too - this is a good one about animals and colours.

Delilah Darling in the Library » Jeanne Willis
Rosie Reeve Delilah could well become a new favourite - in this story, her first, she visit's the library and drives the librarian mad!

Alphabet Ice Cream » Nick Sharratt
» Sue Heap There's no more entertaining way to learn the alphabet than with this book.

Baba's Gift » Beverley & Maya Naidoo This beautiful, evocative picture book takes readers to South Africa and teaches that gifts can be very simple.

The Enormous Crocodile » Roald Dahl There's no more popular tale than this and children will delight in their first meeting with the greatest of storytellers.

Princess Smartypants » Babette Cole The ever-popular story of the princess who doesn't want to be ruled by a prince, she wants to be a Ms!