Sylvanian Families John Lewis Department Store £79.95 exclusively from John Lewis

Tunable Drum £25.49 from Toyella 

Wooden Tea Shop £100 from ELC

Baby Sock Monkeys £7.50 each from The Heart Hut

Horrid Henry’s Christmas Play by Francesca Simon (Orion, £4.99)Horrid Henry wants the starring role of Joseph in his school nativity play, so is appalled when it goes to his younger brother, Perfect Peter. Worse still, Henry only has one measly line

Yawn by Nick Sharratt and Sally Symes (Walker, £9.99)A joyous take on the bedtime story, with lots of linguistic fun for young ears. Sean opens his mouth wide and gives a wide yawn (a huge hole cut into each page), which then in turn prompts a cat, bird, fish and all of Sean’s ot...

1. Use props While it may be difficult for a young child to grasp the concept of colours in an abstract sense, relating them back to everyday objects should help to drive the message home. Fruit works well with vibrant green apples, yellow bananas, red tomatoes and of course oran...

Colours by Orla Kiely (Egmont, £9.99)It is hardly surprising that the queen of gorgeous graphics, Orla Kiely has come up with a colours and objects baby book that is as sophisticated as it is simple. It’s not just reds and blues – tasteful greys, browns and purples also feature a...

encourages the progression of listening and commnication skills, both vital for their later reading development," says Stuart Wilkinson, Project Director at the National Literacy Trust. Between birth and the time they start school, children are in a stage

arrivals. Plus in May a whole new themed land will open as Duplo Valley promises a pre-school paradise of splash-tastic play. The brand new themed land, Duplo Valley will feature the Duplo Splash Safari - the ultimate wet play environment with a menagerie