The winner of the 2014 Association of Illustrators' Award for Children's Books, Shh! is the covetable new picture book from Chris Haughton, one of the most exciting new voices in children's literature.

One of the most exciting author/illustrators in children’s books today and this latest offering is a delight ... a lovely book for reading aloud full of expression and fun, with a final twist in the furry tail' Look at the expressions of the characters in the illustrations. How are they feeling? What are they thinking at different points? Shh! We Have a Plan is a book to fall in love with . . . The characters are so warm and endearing, their antics so gentle and funny that children will take them to their hearts. . . a lovely, lovely book' Armadillo Through seemingly simple but wonderfully sophisticated visual techniques, Haughton excels in his goal and in doing so, proves that even as profound a concept as achieving peace through understanding can be conveyed visually, without words'This simple tale of adventure and innocence is a delight to the senses, stunningly crafted in his signature style. . . a sensational picture book for early readers and will leave adults coveting the captivating design' This is his best yet: simple, original, very blue and HILARIOUS...every single school in the country should have a copy' The truth of one of Bornholdt’s observations – “Reading a book of pictures is still reading” – will become immediately obvious to the “reader” of Chris Haughton’s picture book Most of the illustrations use different shades of blue. Could you try to create your own pictures using different shades of the same colour? Read the story aloud, talking together about the pictures as you do. Talking about the book makes space for children to ask questions, share their thoughts and deepens their understanding. What do they imagine the little one is thinking? Join in

Make some puppets to represent the characters in the story. Could you use them to perform it to an audience? Pleasingly spare and simple in design and storyline, and ending with a good joke, this is a perfectly executed picture book. ... Chris Haughton plays tribute to Tomi Ungerer’s classic Children can re-enact and retell the tale of the hilarious villains. Using movement and the repetition to build the suspense, swiftly followed by disappointment, will make it exciting and amusing for their audience. Play a gameWhen children hear the story several times they’ll get to know it really well. This helps them to tell it in their own words, using the pictures as prompts. Listen for the ways they use words and phrases from the story. This familiarity will help them to read the story independently and with increasing accuracy. Watch a Trailer Re-read the story, encouraging children to join in with the repetition and fun: ‘ready one, ready two, ready three… GO!’ Tell the story