- Picture Books
- Ages 3–6
- Adventure
Stick Man
Part of Julia Donaldson & Axel SchefflerView the full series
Part of the Julia Donaldson universeOpen the collection
A funny, emotionally satisfying homecoming story with brilliant repetition and strong Christmas-read potential. It is perfect for children who enjoy cumulative mishaps, family reunions and a tiny hero surviving a big world.
- Best for3–6
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Rhyming
- Repetitive
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Warm
- Adventurous
- Heartwarming
- Cosy
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Stick Man lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three, but one ordinary jog takes him much too far from home. A dog wants to play with him, a swan uses him for a nest, children turn him into all sorts of things, and he even ends up dangerously close to a fire. The running joke is that everyone sees him as just a stick, while children know he is a person with a family he desperately wants to return to. Julia Donaldson's rhyme gives the story constant momentum, and Axel Scheffler's expressive artwork makes Stick Man's predicament comic rather than bleak. The emotional pull is stronger than it first appears: this is a story about identity, being seen, surviving indignities and getting home to the people who love you.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 2–7
- 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
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Family
- Christmas
- Homecoming
- Rhyming read aloud
- Funny adventure
Avoid if
- Very sensitive to lost parent scenarios
- Prefers realistic stories
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Separation anxiety
- Bedtime battles
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's modern rhyming classics — the gold standard of join-in read-alouds, ideal for prediction, sequencing and performing.
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 feeling is wanting to get home — a small character being mistaken for an object again and again, treated as a stick when he is a person, and the slow desperation of trying to be recognised. The dragon-tear ending and the Father-Christmas rescue land hard. The Donaldson with real stakes.
- Adventure and freedom
- Cosy safety
- Family belonging
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
Donaldson's seasonal Christmas staple — the one that does proper plot under the festive premise. A picture book about being mistaken for the wrong thing and longing to get home, resolved with one of her most satisfying endings. Read aloud after the BBC animation has done its work; the book carries the same emotional weight.
- Shared humour
- Bedtime appropriate
- Beloved classic
- Quick to read
In the series
Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler.
14 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
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.
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