Parents frequently ask for books for their pre-school or prep child to encourage reading. Less frequent is the request to help with numeracy. Here’s a charming picture book from France that will help with both, about a polar bear who is very proud of how big he is. ‘I’m almost a giant!’ he declares on the very first page. But is he as big as two walrus? Or three foxes, one on top of the other? And what about six sardines standing tip-to-tail? Using lino-cut styled images One Very Big Bear makes learning to count delicious fun.

Mike Shuttleworth