Picture books for children. A knowing smile for the adults.
Counting. Colours. The alphabet. They're familiar building blocks in a little person's world. And, as anyone who has shared a home with a toddler knows, they tend to arrive surrounded by a surprising amount of real-life chaos.
That combination is the idea behind Relatable Little Books: three picture books made for little readers, with something familiar for the grown-ups turning the pages.
I wanted the stories to have room for both things. Children can notice numbers, colours and letters. Adults can recognise the cups of tea that never quite get drunk, the mysterious new stains and the small domestic adventures that nobody saw coming.
Counting Catnaps
Counting Catnaps: An Honest Numbers Book for Sleep-Deprived Parents travels through numbers one to twelve in the company of the ordinary, tender and decidedly tired moments of life with a baby.
There are cuddles, a cat and those little victories that seem oddly enormous when you're running on very little sleep. It's a counting book, but the numbers aren't the only point. There's also that quiet recognition: oh, yes, this is what these days can look like.
For a little reader, you might point to the numbered details or find the cat. For a grown-up, there may be a moment of solidarity.
Covered in Colours
Covered in Colours: An Honest Colour Book for Stain-Streaked Parents looks at the bright side of family mess. Think paint, mealtime mishaps and all the things that find their way onto clothes which were clean approximately four minutes earlier.
Colours are wonderfully easy to spot away from the page too. Once you've looked at a colour in the book, you can see where it turns up around the house: on a sock, a favourite toy, a flower or, inevitably, the floor.
The fun is in noticing, not making a perfect activity out of it.
C is for Chaos
C is for Chaos: An Honest ABC Book for Survival-Mode Parents takes a trip through an alphabet that may feel suspiciously like the average family home.
There are the sort of unexpected scenes children find hilarious and parents may recognise instantly. Little readers can enjoy letters and look for visual details, including the butterfly woven into the book's world.
One page can be enough to start a conversation. One letter can lead to a game. And a house that looks lived in is very much welcome here.
Why bring these three stories together?
Because the best family moments are rarely immaculate. They're a mixture of silly, lovely, exhausting and unexpectedly funny, sometimes all before breakfast.
These books aren't a promise that the learning will be effortless or the house will stay tidy. They're an invitation to sit together, notice a little more and perhaps smile at a scene that feels very familiar.
You can explore the collection on the Little Petal Press website. For current formats and purchasing options, please use the links provided there.
