August is probably the best month of the year to be a book-lover.
The CBCA Winners List is announced and all things bookish are celebrated during Book Week.
(Did your littles have a Book Week Parade this year? Who did they go dressed as?)
We’ve come across so many amazing books this month.

Lots to get through, so let’s just dive in.

ABCs by Charley Harper
You know a book is going to be amazing when it has endpapers like this!
Could you get a cooler introduction to your ABCs?
Charley was a lover of the Great Outdoors and this book features his signature illustrations of animals and nature.
It’s like a mini-Art Gallery in a picture book!

Float by Daniel Miyares
We had an amazing run on wordless books this month.
This is just one of them.
Told with a simple palette of greys, whites, blacks and yellows, it follows the adventures of an imaginative, little boy and his paper boat in a downpour. (The endpapers show you how to fold your own paper boat.)
It is a tale that transcends words.
Magical.

Please, Mr Panda by Steve Antony
If these endpapers don’t make you crave doughnuts, then I don’t know what will!
If you know a little person who forgets their manners occasionally, this is the book for them.
Panda offers his doughnuts to his animal friends, but they forget their manners.
The illustrations are bold and striking and the story simple but delightful and effective.
Find Me a Castle by Beci Orpin
A look-and-find book of the most glorious order.
Each double page spread instructs you, via rhyme, to look for certain items amongst the colourful illustrations.
This is the kind of book that can be enjoyed in short spurts or in long, leisurely snuggle sessions.
Definitely the kind of book that you can return to again and again. And again.
Footpath Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith
I’m calling it. I think this could be one of my favourite picture books of 2015.
Another wordless wonder.
A little girl follows her distracted dad as they walk through an urban landscape.
He fails to take in the beauty around him as he rushes around. She stops to pick wild flowers.
Each flower becomes a gift for a person or animal that she encounters.
This book celebrates the small acts that make a big difference in the every day.

The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade by Davina Bell and Alison Colpoys
Anxiety is a tough emotion for kids to deal with.
This book gently and exquisitely explores the anxiety that little Alfie deals with on the day before the underwater fancy-dress parade.
The illustrations are grey with pops of fluorescent colour.
This is a masterpiece- a book that lingers with you long after you’ve read the final word.
The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty by Beatrice Alemagna
Beatrice Alemagna is one of my favourite illustrators. Her work is charming and quirky.
Eddie thinks she isn’t very good at anything.
On the morning of Mum’s birthday, she hears her sister say, “Fluffy…. Squishy… Itty… Bitty.”
So Eddie sets off on an adventure through the streets of Paris to find the perfect Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty for mum (without knowing what a Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty is- nor do the shopkeepers she visits.)
It turns out that Eddie is very good at finding a Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty.
Watch a clip of it here.
Where’s the Elephant? By Barroux
Where’s the elephant? Where’s the parrot? Where’s the snake?
These words appear on the first double-page spread. The rest of the book is wordless.
This book starts as a colourful, cheerful Where’s Wally-esque book.
As you turn the pages, it becomes apparent that it actually very seriously addresses the issue of deforestation.
It took my breath away.
Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
Madame Chapeau creates one-of-a-kind hats perfectly tailored to her customers.
For her birthday, she sets off to dine solo, resplendent in her birthday bonnet.
However, a crow flies away with her bonnet and what happens next is a lesson on why it’s worth waiting for the perfect match.
The pictures and rhyming text in this glorious book made my eyes, ears and heart sing.
Black Cat, White Cat by Silvia Borando
A lovely tale of how others can introduce us to a whole new world of experiences.
Black Cat only ever goes out in the day. White Cat only ever goes out in the night.
When they decide to explore the world of the other, their paths cross.
A palette of black, white and grey illustrations lead to a surprise colourful ending.
Currently The Toddler’s favourite read.

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
It is hard to stay true to yourself when the rest of the world is trying to change you.
Especially when you are a blue crayon trapped in the body of a red crayon.
No matter how hard he tries, he can’t be red.
A new friend gives him the helping hand he needs.
This is a humorous and heart-warming book.

What picture books have you enjoyed at your place this month?