Welcome to our monthly book recommendations for June 2026! In this month’s round-up, we thought we would highlight some of the wonderful bookpost we’ve received over the last few weeks. It includes a great range of non-fiction picture books and some amazing activity books to keep children busy whatever the weather over the summer!
Non-Fiction
Communication: How We Connect and Exchange Information – Eduard Altarriba and Meli (pub. Button Books)
It’s easy to forget that humanity communicates constantly, and often without even realising it!
This book looks at the history of human communication, from the many languages and writing forms to how people have adapted communication over time to convey ideas, emotions, beliefs, and even abstract concepts. It also shows how we have developed ways to communicate faster using radio, television, and the internet, plus the ways that we store information.
With clear, detailed illustrations, this is an ideal book for just browsing, or for supporting communication and human development topics.
Thank you to Paul Eckersley at GMC Books for this fascinating read!
Next up, Messy Press is a new independent children’s publisher, and we’d like to thank them for sending us these two non-fiction board books:
The First Works of Shakespeare – Adam Thompson and Erica Harrison (pub. Messy Press)
This is the first entry in ‘First Works’, a new series of board books aimed at introducing younger readers and future wordsmiths to the works of well-known writers.
Shakespeare contains a brief, child-friendly description of six Shakespearean plays, together with a page about the Bard himself. Alongside bold illustrations of some of the characters and props, this shows you are never too young to engage with literary giants!
Watch out for The First Works of Dickens, coming out in October.
Where Do They Sleep? – Adam Thompson and Erica Harrison (pub. Messy Press)
We don’t often receive board books, but we’re always happy when we see them arrive!
This gorgeous book is ideal for a little one’s bedtime, looking at places a range of animals go to sleep. Each single colour double-page spread has a bold illustration of the animal and a single sentence – for example, ‘elephants lean on trees’ and ‘mice snuggle in nests’.
Its simple style makes it a wonderfully calming book for the end of the day!
A big thank you next to Post Wave Publishing for these three non-fiction picture books, a combination that we love to see!
Beacons of Light: A Journey Through the World of Lighthouses – Gemma Koomen (pub. Post Wave)
This is a beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book that looks at the history and diversity of lighthouses around the world.
It takes us through the first beacons lit on the coast to guide vessels home, the oldest known lighthouse of the Pharos of Alexandria, and the lighthouses built further off the coast to warn ships of rocky outcrops or reefs. It also shows the development of the Eddystone Lighthouse, from Winstanley’s Lighthouse to the present day.
Together with the many and varied ones that are found around the world, this is a book that introduces lighthouses to a younger readership – and it’s such an unusual topic, which we really enjoyed!
The Very Last Drop!: Meet the Animals at the Waterhole – Joanna Rzezak (pub. Post Wave)
This thought provoking non-fiction picture book looks at the many visitors to an African Savannah waterhole during a long, hot day.
It starts first thing in the morning with bathing hippos and hungry crocodiles, then as the day warms up and the waterhole begins to shrink, other animals arrive for a drink. As the sun sets, there’s hardly any water left and it looks like some will have to go without! But with the help of a young elephant the following morning, water is found again.
Highlighting the importance of water and conserving it, it also has a section with some brilliant water saving ideas in the back. With its evocative illustrations that capture the passing day, The Very Last Drop is great for browsing and a must for KS1 classes.
This Is What A Slug Does – Mimi May and Aniek Bartels (pub. Post Wave)
Slugs are not my favourite creature, but this funny, colourful book is full of charm!
We learn all sorts of fascinating facts about slugs as we join Simon sliming his way around the garden for a day.
From clearly and simply explaining the parts of a slug, to how they travel, eat, drink and avoid being eaten, this book gives you the real inside story of what slugs get up to when nobody’s looking.
It’s the perfect gift for any minibeast and creepy crawly fan!
Activity Books
The Boring Drawing Book – Erica Harrison (pub. Messy Press)
It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, at some point boredom will strike. But with this book, those doldrums can be turned into something fun!
Providing over 70 pages of colouring and drawing activities, children can restock bookshelves with their own titles, add to an art gallery, or help decorate the Grand Spider Hotel, to name just a few of the full-colour pages of ideas.
Children don’t need to be great artists to enjoy this unconventional boredom-busting book – and we suspect many adults would enjoy it too!
Thanks again to Messy Press for our copy.
Thank you so much to Nosy Crow for the next two books, perfect for indoor and outdoor play:
Pen, Pad, Play!: Over 50 Amazing Ideas for Drawing and Designing – Elliot Ryan (pub. Nosy Crow)
Created by an art teacher, this brilliant series of books is guaranteed to spark the imagination of any child from 6 years up.
Packed with prompts on each page for designing everything from superheroes to cloud-reaching skyscrapers, from hairstyles and hats to underground cities, this entry will keep budding artists and illustrators occupied through the summer and beyond.
If that’s not enough (how could it not be??), they can even draw the rest of a dinosaur skeleton and much more in Over 50 Wildly Wonderful Ideas for Drawing Nature, out now!
Rewild This Book!: A Nature Activity Book That Can Be Planted – Lizzie Lomax in collaboration with the National Trust (pub. Nosy Crow)
This is an interactive activity book with a difference, which invites children to go out and get messy…with the book itself.
With pages where children can make a raindrop painting, stamp their muddy footprints, stick on petals and seeds, or draw a picture with their eyes closed, it’s a book that begs you not to just sit there but to go wild!
Since it’s printed on biodegradable paper with vegetable ink, it can safely be returned to nature after use, which we think is a lovely way to round off using the book.
Finally, we have a book aimed at parents, teachers, or anyone who wants to make a visit to the beach just that little bit more exciting! Thank you to Paul Eckersley at GMC Books for this amazing book:
Beach School: Seaside Adventures For Young Explorers – Georgina Maw (pub. Button Books)
Written by the Head of Education at the Final Straw Foundation, Beach School contains almost everything you need to know about making a trip to the beach a bit more special, regardless of the weather or time of year.
It opens with ‘What is Beach School?’, its benefits, staying safe and The Seashore Code, and a kit list. It also covers beach skills, what to discover, games to play, beach crafting, and storytelling. Each page explains everything clearly, accompanied with excellent photographs throughout. Children can learn about the Beaufort Scale, longshore drift, and much more, including the problem of plastic on our coastlines and the work of the Final Straw Foundation.
This book is chock full of guidance, ideas, and best practice for any adult looking to help children engage with all a beach has to offer.
That’s it for June’s recommendations, and thank you again to all the publishers and reps who sent us these fantastic books. Join us on Threads/Instagram, Bluesky, or Twitter/X, and let us know what you’ve been reading!
If any of the books have grabbed your attention, you can pick up a copy of them via our recommendations list below.
(Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.)
If you’re looking for more book round-ups, check out our previous reviews here.
