CLPE runs Bookstart sessions for young children and their parents and carers in libraries and community centres in conjunction with public library staff in the London Borough of Southwark. Books for reading together are arranged in themes with related toys and play materials. Here are some examples from one of these categories:

Hungry Hen by Richard Waring and Caroline Jayne Church
Oxford University Press
A hen down on the farm eats and eats and grows bigger and bigger, seemingly oblivious to the fox on the hill who is eyeing her hungrily. The fox waits, anticipating a more satisfying meal the larger the hen becomes until, one day, he can bear it no longer and he dashes down the hill… This story has a folk tale opening, a great build up, played out on bold textured pictures, and an ending that can be likened to that of a fable.

Old MacDonald by Jessica Souhami
Frances Lincoln
An intriguing interpretation of the well known rhyme introducing animal noises, which features flaps to reveal which animal is being introduced next, although there are hints in the preceding collage pictures. This Old MacDonald uses increasingly sophisticated forms of the transport and the appearance of the final creature is something of a surprise!