Catherine Rayner's Reading List

"As I’m sure you’ve gathered, I just love guinea pigs, and this book was a big inspiration to me. I used to read it and read it. I love Anita Jeram’s drawings of guinea pigs—they’re absolutely exquisite. They look friendly and realistic all at once. They’ve got character. It’s a story about Dick King Smith’s own guinea pigs and there’s a little bit of their history, a bit of non-fiction, a bit of how to look after them, and just some lovely little facts about them—about how they talk to each other and what they’re like with their babies. It’s a lovely starter book for people who are thinking about getting a guinea pig, but it’s also just a nice story. The illustrations are so, so sweet. It’s a truly lovable book."

"Ginger ‘s almost in a similar thread to I Love Guinea Pigs , in that it is about the authors own cats—Ginger is a real cat. The design of this book gets me as well. It’s so beautifully put together and so clean because there’s no background. There’s just gorgeous typography telling an absolutely touching story. Again, it’s non-fiction. If you’ve got a cat, you can relate to it—but I’d never had a cat when I first read it and I still loved it. And it’s great to read aloud. A few lines just here and there just capture, quite delicately, everything about these two cats. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . This story is about how Ginger loves his basket and how he loves his life. But then a kitten appears and he’s pretty cheesed off about it. The kitten follows him about and annoys him, and eats his food, and steals his basket. Ginger leaves home because he’s so cross. In the end, of course, the kitten and Ginger become friends and love each other. It’s just gorgeous. The illustrations are scratchy and simple. I like the fact that they’re a bit wonky. They capture the essence rather than trying to do exactly what is there, which I think is clever. It’s a beautiful, stylish book."

"It’s a kind of book of opposites, but there’s a narrative as well. On one of the pages the chameleon meets a banana, then turns himself yellow and mirrors the bananas shape. My children always laugh at the contorted chameleon! When the chameleon meets a pink cockatoo, he also tries to mirror it’s characteristics. Young children recognize the bird, but then when they’re a bit older they think it’s funny that the chameleon’s doing an impression. My favourite is what appears to be a plain white page, but then you see that the chameleon is just a raised outline. You can touch the page and feel him, but you can’t really see him. It’s a simple and quick book. Brilliant for your handbag, because you can just pull it out if you need an ‘emergency story’. I’ve got two copies, a board book and a hardback. I bought it in board so I could carry it about. Emily Gravett is so distinctive. All her books make me smile. She’s brilliant at creating characters and illustrating their expressions perfectly. Emily is very clever in the way that her words and pictures don’t say too much. She leaves just enough to the imagination. My children and I are hooked on her books."

"Well, Hairy Maclary, a scruffy little dog, trots about town. On the way he gathers up lots of dog friends. They’ve all got funny names; Bottomley Potts (all covered in spots) or Blitzer Maloney (all skinny and boney). It’s told as a rhyming text and it’s lovely to read aloud, and the repetition builds with each new dog. Eventually there are lots of dogs trotting along and then they meet a cat. The dogs are terrified and all run away. And that’s the end of the book! There’s no deep or heavy moral. It’s just funny, really entertaining and fun. Perfect for children who love dogs."

"John Burningham is so clever and was ahead of his time. His layering and his textures are absolutely phenomenal. The way that his illustrations are put together is fascinating. His mixture of collage and paint washes are a feast for the eye. They are simply beautiful. His compositions and line work are so impressive. He doesn’t draw things to be appealing or cute. He just, I think, draws things how he sees them. Borka is no exception. It’s a stunning book, full of character, texture and charm. It’s a classic that would be a treat for any child to read. Sign up here for our newsletter featuring the best children’s and young adult books, as recommended by authors, teachers, librarians and, of course, kids."