- Picture Books
- Ages 2–5
- Animals
Molly, Olive and Dexter: The Guessing Game
Book 2 of 4 in Molly, Olive & DexterView the full series
Part of the Catherine Rayner universeOpen the collection
A soft, funny friendship story about guessing games and realising that friends may think differently from you. Lovely for preschoolers learning turn-taking, patience and social imagination.
- Best for2–5
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Repetitive
- Comedic
Tone
- Gentle
- Warm
- Funny
- Cosy
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Olive the owl loves guessing games, so Molly the hare and Dexter the fox decide to play one with her. At first the game seems simple enough, but when it is Olive's turn, her friends cannot work out what she is thinking about at all. The fun lies in the gap between what one friend imagines and what the others expect. This second Molly, Olive and Dexter book gives Olive the spotlight, using a very small game to explore a useful social idea: friends can see the world differently, and that difference can be charming rather than frustrating. The story is gentle, short and emotionally safe, with just enough comic puzzlement to keep toddlers involved. Rayner's artwork gives the trio warm personalities and a soft woodland-garden world that feels comforting and familiar. It is especially useful for shared reading about listening, guessing, taking turns and understanding friends.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 2–5
- Read aloud · 2–6
- Independent · 5–7
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
5 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Toddler friendship
- Guessing games
- Gentle bedtime
- Animal friends
- Beautiful illustrations
Avoid if
- Wants high energy plot
- Wants laugh out loud funny
- Needs older picture book
Particularly good for children who are…
- Making friends
- Starting nursery or preschool
- Bedtime battles
- Neurodiversity or learning differences
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Gentle, warm read-alouds about friendship and belonging for the very young — lovely for joining in and talking about kindness.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is Olive's turn — guessing games working fine until Olive is up, then Molly and Dexter completely unable to work out what's in her head. The Catherine Rayner toddler picture book on friends thinking differently and that being charming rather than annoying.
- Friendship and belonging
- Animal companions
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
The second Molly Olive and Dexter — Olive in the spotlight, social-imagination and turn-taking as the gentle theme. Same soft woodland-garden world. Useful shared-reading for listening, guessing and understanding-friends-think-differently.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Bedtime appropriate
- Quick to read
- Nostalgia
In the series
Molly, Olive & Dexter.
4 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Catherine Rayner.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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