The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights, by Farah Bagharib-Kaltz

Synopsis: Being afraid of heights isn’t such a big deal – unless you’re a bird! Meet Eddie. A mynah who lives behind an abandoned old house with Matt the rat, his only friend. When one day Matt is captured, how can Eddie stop his world from crashing down?

Activity: Think about something you used to be scared of (eg. cockroaches) and how you overcame that fear. Write a story about that. Eg. 'The Boy Who Was Afraid of Cockroaches'. (Ensure understanding of past tense)

The Monster Who Did My Math, by Danny Schnitzlein

Synopsis: A math-phobic boy faces another dreaded evening of multiplication when a monster suddenly appears in his room and offers him a deal he cannot refuse. After a quick signature on a contract, the boy's problems are solved, and his homework is ready to turn in the next day. At first, everything adds up perfectly. But when the boy's math knowledge is tested at school, his troubles begin to multiply.

Activity: Write a letter to this boy to persuade him to complete his work on his own.

Babar and the Scary Day, text by Ellen Weiss, characters by Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff

Synopsis: Pom and Isabelle can't figure out what the spooky noise coming from the attic is. It's a creepy, eerie, THUMP-drag, THUMP-drag-rattle. There's only one conclusion: it's a monster! Soon all of Babar's children are fleeing from the sound, only to soon realize that the monster is really Babar, dragging out the recyclables! This is a fun book not just for Halloween but year round, as an introduction for preschoolers to the legendary Babar.

Activity: Chat with kids about superheroes and monsters. Kids given sheet of speech bubbles and onomatopoeia. Kids read the "sounds" and discuss what things make those sounds. Turn an A4 sheet of paper into a 4-page comic book. Write and illustrate a superhero comic or other story, adding cut out speech bubbles and sounds.

Miko: No Bath! No Way! by Brigitte Weninger

Synopsis: After Miko's exciting day, the last thing he wants to do is wash away all the fun things he did! Mom says he doesn't have to take a bath-but then he will have to endure tickly clothes, sticky ice cream on his face, and sleeping on the hard floor! How far will Miko go to remember his special day?

Activity: Pick out some new words from the book for the kids to learn. Write the new words on pieces of paper and hide it, before sending the kids on a treasure hunt for these words. Teach them the meaning of the words, and help with sentence formation.

Wemberly Worried, by Kevin Henkes

Synopsis: Wemberly the mouse worries about everything: big things, like whether her parents might disappear in the middle of the night; little things, like whether she'll spill grape juice on her toy rabbit, Petal; and things in between, like whether she might shrink in the bathtub. What she is more worried about than anything else, however, is her first day at the New Morning Nursery School.

Activity: We chatted about friendship. The kids drew a picture of a friend and wrote about what they liked to do together.