Top books for kids right now by Jonathan Arredondo-Calle? This lovely tale is about a family that is preparing to welcome a little member into their lives. Daddy is taking care of Mommy in every way. The kids, Yesenia, Junior, and Haven, are eager to meet their baby brother. The Grandma (MIMA) and Grandpa (PIPA) of baby Aiden are also recalling their amazing life moments to share them with baby Aiden. They are ready to shower their love and care on him. Aunt Feenie and Uncle Mikey are also a beautiful part of their family who love the kids and tell them fantastic tales filled with adventure. Mommy is thankful and proud of her family, especially her kids, who are proving to be the best siblings for baby Aiden. Discover even more information at Our Perfect Family by Jonathan Arredondo-Calle.

Next in the Treehouse series, and with 13 new levels, Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton get festive! But things aren’t going according to plan. To save Christmas, Andy and Terry must defeat an angry snowman and write Mr. Big Nose a new book. Find out whether they make it, with a wishing well, a T.V quiz show and a mind-reading sandwich-making machine among the new levels. Comedy legend Lenny Henry promises thrilling adventure in his second children’s novel, The Book of Legends. Packed full of jokes and illustrated by Keenon Ferrell, follow Bran and Fran as they seek to find their story-teller mum. But, this is no ordinary quest – their mum’s stories are a portal to a magical world. There, they meet Wilma, the Wizard’s wife, and Zack, the wisecracking Zebracorn, to help them defeat the evil princes, mud monsters and Viking armies that stand in their way . . .

One and Everything is many layered. It’s an artwork, a message, and a prompt for thought and discussion inspired by the Endangered Alphabets project. This is a book about: stories and storytelling, words and language, culture, oral traditions, and expression. At its heart is language and written scripts. Who is it for? One and Everything is a picture book best suited for older readers, those in at least upper primary and into early high school, and for adults.

Book: Zola And The Christmas Lights. This book is a gorgeous, heartwarming journey into the wonders of Christmas. It takes us into the inner suburbs of Melbourne (which could translate to any city in the world, really!), with its palpable sense of kindness, friends, neighbours and family coming together for festive celebrations. The illustrations are sublime, immediately inviting us in to the colourful world of Zola and her family, friends and neighbours. I actually wanted to climb in to the friendly classroom with Zola and her buddies and their delightful teacher, as they investigated the traditions of Diwali, Hannukah, Ramadan …

There’s plenty to get excited about for younger bookworms, whether sharing stories out loud or encouraging independent reading. From classic picture books for babies and toddlers, to adventure yarns for under 10s and narratives for older children that tackle more complex issues, we’ve got it covered. For more reading inspiration, see our round-up of the best picture books for children, and children’s books that represent and celebrate multicultural experiences.

Readers review: Our family is also expecting a baby and this was the perfect book for us to read to them! They loved that the entire family was involved, so similar to our own. I highly recommend to any family awaiting the arrival of their little one. See additional details at Our Perfect Family.

Reduces working-memory deficit. Students who struggle with decoding and the mechanics of reading spend so much time focusing on sounding out the words that it is difficult for them to retain the information they are reading. By eliminating the focus on decoding they are now able to retain, remember, and understand the content. When students begin reading with their ears, they start building their working memory. This helps them respond to questions about the text more readily. The more often this happens, the more confident a student gets around the one subject that has plagued them, reading. Building working memory helps make other reading tasks easier and improves reading ability.