Babies love soothing lullabies and this book and CD focuses on some of the best loved lullabies. The large board book, with it’s rounded tabs and colourful images, provides the text of 12 popular lullabies, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mockingbird, Now the Day is Over and Kumbaya. Lift the flap at the front of the book and you’ll find the CD tucked in, containing 30 minutes of listening. Sung by FUNtastic, a group of five young musicians, it’s a lovely way of introducing your baby to lullabies, as well as refreshing your knowledge of the words so you can sing along.  Buy Now

These chunky board books are aimed at ages 6-12 months and feature a nifty sliding tab that you or your infant can slide out to the top or side to reveal pictures and words. One Little Bunny is based on counting, from one to five, all featuring animals. With Guess Who?, it’s a case of guessing which animals are doing certain things, like ‘mewing for her tea,’ or ‘flying around the flowers.’ As is typical with the Amazing Baby series, both books are strong and hard-wearing, full of vibrant colour and simply designed illustrations with added holographic touches. They’re fun to read and babies will love the interactive element.  Buy Now

When it comes to books for this age group, simplicity is the key and Yes certainly fulfils this. Using only eight words throughout, the book tells the tale of Bobo the chimp, wholoves bath time, but isn’t keen to go to bed. His response of ‘yes’ to bathing soon turns to ‘no’ when it comes to going to bed and, through vibrant pictures and limited words, the book shows how it takes two friends and a lot of splashing about in the water to convince him to say, ‘yes!’ With lots to look at, this will keep young children captivated. Buy Now

These small board books are designed for children aged 1-3 years old and use simple stories focusing on familiar scenarios. The highlight of both is the added extra features – touch-and-feel shapes, peep holes and lift up flaps. Our New Baby is pretty self-explanatory, as the crux of it is about a new baby in the family, with the rest looking at all the other babies a child likes, such as kittens, puppies and baby chicks. The second book hunts down something to cuddle in bed, looking under flaps for suitable people or objects. You can be sure the touch-and-feel parts will be well used in these books and they’re the perfect size for little hands. Buy Now

These fun books in the Gossie and Friends series are great for one-year-olds and over. Gossie and Gertie are the best of friends and, where one goes, the other is usually close behind. Peedie the gosling forgets things sometimes, but until one day is always remembers to wear his red baseball cap. He hides it in a secret place, but forgets where and has to get Mama Goose to help him out. Both books are simple, colourful and cute, both in their language and pictures, and are ideal for toddlers. Buy Now

These two chunky board books in the Charlie and Lola series each focus on one simple concept – one deals with shapes, and the other with ‘things.’ The images are bright and colourful, and the pages generally only have two or three key words on them. Examples of the ‘things’ that Lola likes are ‘found things,’ ‘messy things’, ‘furry things,’ and ‘ouchy things.’ The shapes include, ‘star shapes, ‘crescent shapes,’ ‘flowery shapes,’ and ‘fiddly shapes.’ Between them, both the shapes and the things provide a lot of interest and are a good starting point for conversation about shapes and things with your child.Buy now

Ben is given Penguin as a present but, despite doing all he can to get Penguin to talk, he has no luck. It’s not until a lion comes along that Penguin reacts and finally speaks – and it’s worth waiting for. Written and illustrated by Polly Dunbar, the book has simple text for young children, accompanied by quirky illustrations. Buy Now

This book tells the tale of a dragon who meets a boy called Benjamin in the wood one day. Even though they have little in common, they make friends and both get to introduce the other to their very different worlds and families. The book puts an amusing spin on how our habits can seem so unfamiliar to someone, or something, else. It’s also a great tale of friendship and highlights the fact that an unlikely pair can be great friends, despite coming from different backgrounds.  Buy now

The Castle Playtime Activity Book is packed with lots of different puzzles and activities, such as mazes, dot-to-dot, spot the difference and colouring in. Pre-school children will enjoy solving the puzzles and completing the scenes in the pages of both books.

The Little Princess series of books was recently transformed into a children’s animation series on Channel Five. These books bring the characters to life and provide lots of activities for children to do. The Sticker Book uses a story to set the scene, then provides heaps of stickers at the back for children to stick in the relevant characters on each page – or make it up as they want! Buy Now

It’s Blue Monster’s first day at the Monster Academy and Little Green Monster starts calling him rude names. He comes up with all sorts of horrid names and then has a nasty shock when he discovers Blue Monster isn’t who he thought he was. Many of the pages in this bright and vivid book are cut into sections, so you can turn the individual pieces and create your own selection of weird and wonderful names and silly pictures of monsters. It’s a great book to read aloud and children will have fun putting together new names and pictures. Buy now 

Subtitled, “A Diary of a Mother Under Siege,” this book is part diary, and part helpful hints. Caroline records family life and the antics of her two year old – the Emperor – for a year, in an honest, thought-provoking and entertaining way. Unlike other books on the topic, this focuses on real life, so there are plenty of ups and downs, tricky moments and times of despair, when Caroline wonders what she’s doing wrong. In between the diary entries are boxes packed with useful guidelines, practical ideas and handy hints, covering issues such as potty training, sleeping, healthy eating, childcare, bad habits and TV watching. If the terrible twos stage is nearing, or you’re currently going through it, this book provides plenty of reassurance that you’re not alone and inspiration to tackle the situations that arise.  Buy Now

If you’re keen to stay fit during pregnancy and get rid of any post-pregnancy weight gain, the Yummy Mummy Workout is for you! Devised by US fitness expert, Leisa Hart, and used by her to stay fit during her own pregnancies, the two disc set is designed to support you both during pregnancy and after you’ve given birth.

On Disc 1 you’ll find a varied mix including yoga, salsa dancing and stretching and relaxing exercises, that together aim to increase your energy levels, prepare your body for delivery and give good groundwork for a quick recovery after the stress and strain of giving birth. Disc 2 is devoted to all kinds of post-natal exercise – ideal for when you want to burn off any excess fat – and includes aspects such as yoga, fat burning and pilates. Practical and inspirational, it’s an ideal set for pre- and post-pregnancy and can make keeping fit during your new stage of life fun and enjoyable. Buy Now