Author jillrbennett

We Found a Seed

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We Found A Seed
Rob Ramsden
Scallywag Press

In this follow up to I Saw a Bee, Rob Ramsden adds a female character.

While outside playing, the boy and girl find a seed. They put it in a box and use it in their play, dancing and singing to it;

but the seed doesn’t grow.

They ask the seed for advice, listen and wait for a response; and then they know. …

The seasons change – gusty autumn winds, icy wintry rain and then spring with its gentle warmth. The seed grows and grows and …

The friends are delighted but when autumn comes again the flower dies; that though isn’t the end for what lies scattered around is full of potential …

Next time the children will know what to do.

This simple look at a sunflower life cycle and the seasons is again pitch perfect for the very young. Rob’s rhythmic text is memorable while his illustrations show just how worthwhile and rewarding continuing contact with the natural world can be.

A small piece of brilliance.

The Mole and the Hole

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The Mole and the Hole
Brayden Kowalczuk
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

It’s kind of dark and boring being Mole if you’re stuck inside your dark hole, never seeing a fellow creature or the light of day.

Try as he might, our Mole narrator finds that however much he digs, there’s always something blocking his exit to the great outside.

“No moles above ground!” comes the cry from the rocks doing the blocking.

Mole muses on the problem: thus far his time spent above ground has always been devoted to playing with friends, basking in the sun and doing his business,

whereafter down he’d go again. A good neighbour most certainly – or is he?

No matter what clever ideas he comes up with – disguise, joke telling or downright lying – nothing succeeds in shifting the determination of those rocks to keep him down under..

Is he now destined to be forever sub terra, he wonders.

Suddenly though there is light at the end of the tunnel and Mole finds himself face to face with …

He beats a hasty retreat but not long after our friend is heard extolling the virtues of his new living place.

What about his new neighbours though: are they equally enthusiastic about their new neighbour? Um …

Disney character artist and now debut picture book author-illustrator Kowlaczuk’s digitally created scenes of Mole’s totally inappropriate, un-neighbourly behaviour and what his neighbours think of it, are depicted with a deliciously dry humour that will delight young listeners. Listeners who will enjoy the fact that no matter what, no matter where, Mole is always accompanied by his best friend and silent participant Grub..
At the same time, the story wherein showing not telling is key, wryly demonstrates the importance of being a good neighbour for all concerned.

A thought-provoking addition to the FL First Editions list.

Cherry Moon

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Cherry Moon
Zaro Weil, illustrated by Junli Song
ZaZaKids Books

I was over the moon (cherry and otherwise) to receive a copy of Zaro Weil’s latest poetry book. It’s subtitled ‘Little Poems Big Ideas Mindful of Nature’.

Little in length, some might be, but little in impact? – definitely not; not even the very shortest haikus.

It’s nigh on impossible to choose favourites from the round about 100 offerings so I’ll start with one – Story Time Orchestra – that in essence for me sums up this entire collection:
‘a story time orchestra / lives inside my book / and when I open / to my favourite part // everyone starts to play’.

Play is what Zaro does in her writing –she plays with ideas, plays with words, plays with language and plays with nature itself, painting wonderful word pictures in the mind. Try reading the tongue twisting ‘Preposterous penguins’, an elaborate alliterative poem that beings thus: ’thousands / of preposterously pensive penguins / pause to participate / in a particularly polar poetry pageant’.

Many poems are interpreted through Junli Song’s stylish, almost stylised illustrations.

Unsurprisingly the elements feature in a fair few of the poems: I’ll never walk again along the muddy cycle track behind my home in the rain without thinking of ‘Mudpuddling Tonight’ that portrays so perfectly the experience of welly walking near Stroud on a rainy evening; and it will certainly help lift the spirits:
‘mudpuddling tonight / sloshgurgling / all the way home through / a well-shined slipstream of / a million and one raindrops / lit by / a million and one moondots’.

This is assuredly a terrific collection and one to encourage readers, young and not so young, to open wide their eyes and sharpen all their senses to the wonderful world of nature waiting to be discovered in the great outdoors from early morning to late at night and all through the seasons.

Enchantment through and through.

When We Became Humans

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When We Became Humans
Michael Bright, illustrated by Hannah Bailey
Words & Pictures

Here’s a large format, illustrated book that provides an accessible overview of human evolution from our earliest primate ancestors right through to Homo sapiens.

Having explained such terms as hominids, hominins and haplorhins, the author takes readers back to our earliest primate ancestors – tiny rodent-like mammals – of some 65 millions years back; then moves on 35 million years to the monkey-like ape ancestors that were starting to bear a greater resemblance to the apes we know today. (Here, I was fascinated to read of the theory of the parallel evolution of primates and fruit trees).

Then comes a spread on how scientists study fossil evidence and the kind of information this can yield.

Next is a look at the move to bipedalism and how this enabled early hominins both to see further across the plains and to grasp and carry tools, food and even babies.

Bright presents the theory that a number of different hominid species lived at the same time, as well as stating that as DNA analysis shows, Neanderthals and modern humans interbred.

There is just so much absorbing information packed between the covers. In addition to exploring physical changes,

the author includes a look at the stages of cultural development, tool use and its modification.

I was particularly fascinated by the cultural spreads such as the look at health care, and jewellery, (Neanderthals and humans both wore it),

trinkets and charms.

The book ends with the question of whether or not humans are still evolving, plus a visual presentation of chronology and migration routes.

Hannah Bailey’s plentiful illustrations are excellent, making the considerable amount of information feel much less challenging to primary school readers.

A book I’d thoroughly recommend adding to family shelves or a KS2 collection for supporting both the history and the science curriculum, as well as for interested individuals.

Leaping Lola

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Leaping Lola
Tracey Hawkins and Anil Tortop
New Frontier Publishing

Young Lola the Jersey cow has a penchant for dancing and is energetically practising her steps for the ball to be held that evening in the barn. But then comes information from her mother that entirely deflates Lola: ‘It’s the Black and White Ball’ so a brown cow such as she won’t be welcome.

Having heard her tale of woe, Pearl the pig offers to disguise her friend.

Suitably attired that evening, Lola is admitted to the ball and she’s immediately swept along by the beat of the music as she swoops and slides across the floor, then kicking up her heels she wows the crowd by ‘swirling and twirling her large derrière.’

Then disaster strikes as Lola mistimes her landing and slithers on her stomach through the Friesians

and straight into a tower of milk churns. Chaos ensues as she’s washed clean of her muddy disguise and cries of ‘imposter’ issue from the frightened onlookers. Is that the end for Lola?

Happily not for then up steps the prize-winning bull who urges her to dance no matter what.

And so she does. Led by Lola in a joyful romping, stomping line, all the cows dance the night away.

With plenty of drama, Tracey Hawkins’ lively rhyming text complemented by Anil Tortop’s splendidly expressive illustrations make for a smashing read aloud to share with youngsters who will delight in the spirited mooover, Lola.

The book has much to say about the importance of inclusivity and might well be a starting point for a discussion on the topic of insiders and outsiders.

Marcel’s Parcels / Prima’s Missing Bunnies

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Marcel’s Parcels
Prima’s Missing Bunnies
Kate Hindley
Simon & Schuster

These are the first of Kate Hindley’s lift-the-flap board book stories set in Treacle Street.

Marcel the elephant stars in the first title and youngsters accompany him on his post round. His trolley, we discover when the flap is lifted, is loaded with lots of parcels so he has a busy time ahead.

His first delivery is to Prima Pavlova’s dance school with some much needed gear for their next performance.

The next stop is to unload a very large parcel for William at the pie shop,

followed by a wheel delivery for Arabella at Grease Monkeys Garage.

What about the final parcel; it’s addressed to the resident of the very last house in the street: now who could that be? …

We’re back at Prima Pavlova’s dance school for the second story and it’s the evening of the bunnies’ very first performance. There’s a big problem though: all the star performers have gone missing and Prima is in a terrible state. So much so that she needs the help of readers to search for them.

It’s a search that takes us high and low to the café, the prop shop, the orchestra pit

and finally the dressing room. How could they do such mischief on that important night? The audience are ready but can the curtain go up on time?

Kate’s characteristic quirky, patterned illustrations packed with wonderful details, along with her interactive narrative, ensure that little ones will demand these stories over and over, and eagerly anticipate further visits to Treacle Street.

Wigglesbottom Primary: The Classroom Cat

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Wigglesbottom Primary: The Classroom Cat
Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Becka Moor
Nosy Crow

This contains three more stories set at Wigglesbottom Primary.

In the first the appearance one Monday morning in 2R’s classroom of a very large stripy cat causes their teacher Miss Riley to jump almost right out of her skin in surprise at the sight of the creature sitting on her keyboard.

But is the cat actually trying to communicate something to the children and if so what on earth does the message WURGLERSSSHHHH that emerges from the printer mean?

Then the creature starts perambulating along the bookshelves and paying particular attention to a cookbook. It isn’t long before Evie MckIntosh is telling the others that the intruder is warning them about the fish soon to be served up for school lunch and Irfan is 99% certain the message is that the fish is dangerous.

Maybe the children don’t want to consume it but what about a certain feline? And was the fish dangerous or not? You’ll need to read the end of the story and make up your own mind.

The second story centres upon the vexed question of whether or not eating a crisp that you’d dropped in a puddle could give you a serious disease – Puddle-pox – for instance, said by Y6 children to be like the plague but even worse.

Imaginary Margaret as the third story is called, is supposedly Joel Jack’s imaginary friend who accompanies the class on a school trip to the museum. He says she’s 100% real and the one responsible for crisps being scattered all over the museum floor, not to mention the loo roll that comes hurtling over the cubicle wall at Jayden King; and even worse, the handprints on the newly painted Viking boat.

Becka Moor’s engaging, wonderfully expressive illustrations are the ideal complement for Pamela Butchart’s super-silly stories that are just right for newly independent readers to giggle their way through.

King Dave Royalty for Beginners

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King Dave: Royalty for Beginners
Elys Dolan
Oxford University Press

In the third book featuring Dave the dragon along with his trusty sidekick, steed Albrecht, said dragon knight, cum wizard, cum, the on the way to being qualified hero, receives an urgent summons to the castle from the King.

On arrival he learns that this majesty is about to depart for a very important Annual Conference for royals and he needs a trustworthy kingdom-sitter to stand in during his absence.

Handing Dave his copy of Royalty for Beginners, the King leaps into his coach and is on his way.

Be prepared for more medieval mayhem to ensue pretty much as soon as Dave dons the crown.

He starts with inspecting knights, waving – the royal wave naturally; paperwork – plenty (even if he doesn’t know what it all means,) and opening places: all in a day’s work even if somewhat weird.

So far so good but then the following day a visit from some ambassadors is on the agenda and Dave decides a party is just the thing to impress the important dignatories.
And so it does – eventually – and so much so that they decide to stay on a bit longer. Uh-oh!

From that point things begin to unravel starting with a special event …

It’s as well Albrecht doesn’t take his eye off the ball, despite being banished from the kingdom, for there’s a dastardly plot afoot.

Elys Dolan delivers another full on fairy tale farce full of the sort of silliness that will keep young readers turning the pages as they laugh their way through from beginning to end, spluttering over both text and the plethora of illustrations.

My Friends

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My Friends
Max Low
Otter-Barry Books

We don’t actually meet the narrator of this book until the final endpapers but that’s getting ahead of things, so let’s be content and accept the invitation to meet ‘My Friends’.

An interesting and diverse lot they definitely are, starting with Mossy, the perfect friend for some quiet interchange or silent contemplation.
Then comes lion-loving Archibald …

followed by cloud watching Ezra who points out all manner of interesting shapes drifting across the sky.

There’s Pepper who cooks tasty food; Olga, the music lover;

Herman the knitter (or should that be, tangler); the inventive Lina ; Bert who cares for minibeasts on account of their smallness and his bigness

as well as Plim and an imaginary friend, Klaus.
Each is unique, special and loved; but occasionally it’s good to be on your own.

And as for the narrator, I’m not revealing the identity of same – you’ll have to get hold of a copy of the book to find that out.

This quirky, playful look at friendship offers a great starting point for exploring the topic with young listeners who will readily relate to rising star, Max Low’s bold bright images.

Why not treat your friend to a copy to celebrate International Friendship Day on 30th July?

The Colour Monster Goes to School / Beautiful Bananas

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The Colour Monster Goes to School
Anna Llenas
Templar Publishing

It’s the day Colour Monster starts school and he’s rather confused about what to expect as he anticipates what this new place might be like.

His friend Nuna is there to reassure him about what to put in his bag as well as to introduce him to his teacher and new classmates and to accompany him as he discovers the activities on offer that day.

First comes Nuna’s favourite, music, in which Colour Monster is let’s say, an enthusiastic participant though he seems even more enthusiastic about stories …

There are lessons to learn about turn taking, appropriate use of the toilet facilities

and how to eat lunch.
The afternoon comprises some gymnastics – with an additional piece of equipment; followed by a creative session with Colour Monster as the subject.

Come home time, it’s clear that the newbie has had a fun-filled day; but poor Nuna is completely worn out.

If you’ve not come across the Colour Monster in his previous escapades, then this is a great place to start especially if you have little ones starting school or nursery next term.

With her wonderful mixed media illustrations, Anna Llenas’ funny story of the risk-taking protagonist is a delight, reassuring with plenty to giggle over, as the big day draws close.

Beautiful Bananas
Elizabeth Laird and Liz Pichon
Oxford University Press

There are gentle echoes of Handa’s Surprise in this African setting tale of Beatrice, who sets out through the jungle with a bunch of beautiful bananas for her granddad.

That’s her intention, but along the way a giraffe flicks his tail accidentally displacing the bananas and sending them into a stream.

This sets off a concatenation of animal-related mishaps involving a swarm of bees, then some mischievous monkeys,

a lion, a parrot and finally an elephant each of which apologises and provides a replacement gift, with the story coming full circle with the elephant’s offering. It’s a delighted Beatrice who then heads to her Grandad’s home, assuring herself that after all, “Bananas are best.”

There’s plenty to spot in Liz Pichon’s vibrant scenes, not least the tiny jungle creatures

and the pairs of eyes peeping out from among the foliage as youngsters listen to Elizabeth Laird’s amusing story that is still a winner with me 15 years after its first publication.

The Naughtiest Unicorn at Sports Day

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The Naughtiest Unicorn at Sports Day
Pip Bird, illustrated by David O’Connell
Egmont

Hurrah! Dave the unicorn is back for another appearance as most imperfect unicorn on the planet.

When Mira’s teacher announces that the following day is to be Unicorn School Sports Day, Mira’s abiding thought is her sister’s comment that Dave is the naughtiest, rubbishest unicorn in the world. It most certainly looks as though Mira’s team – the Sloths – will have their work cut out if they’re to be the victorious ones  and get to go on that mystery quest. Things don’t look at all promising when Dave’s response to Mira’s question about the possibility of their team winning is to deposit an enormous pile of poo on the hall floor.

A massive challenge this is surely going to be even for super-enthusiastic Mira: how on earth is she to fire up her anything but excited Unicorn Best Friend Forever? It doesn’t appear that Team Sloth will be winning the MASSIVE gold glittery trophy any time soon: even more so when there are some very strange occurrences during the “fun” events.

Could it be that someone or something is trying to sabotage their chances even before the start of the Seriously Sporty Events?

Even more determined than ever, Mira prepares for the first jumping event but will she be able to convince her UBFF to kick up his hooves and jump?

With its cast of cracking characters, this second Unicorn School adventure is absolutely bubbling with wonderfully funny moments, many made all the funnier by David O’Connell’s liberally scattered drawings, Pip Bird’s second Unicorn School is guaranteed to enthuse the countless unicorn-obsessed readers out there. More please, I hear them cry.

Emmanuelle (6) is lapping up the story

Hello Horse / How Far Can a Kangaroo Jump?

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Hello Horse
Vivian French and Catherine Rayner
Walker Books

This is one of the Nature Storybooks series that provides a perfect amalgam of information in narrative form and superb illustration, in this instance with Vivian French as author and Catherine Rayner as illustrator.

Vivian’s text gives just the right amount of detail for a young child to absorb as she describes via her boy narrator what happens when he is introduced to her friend Catherine’s horse named Shannon.

The boy soon overcomes his initial apprehension about meeting the horse but under Catherine’s guidance his fears are soon allayed as he learns about how to approach, touch and feed a horse. He also learns about grooming and finally, how to ride Shannon.

Every one of Catherine’s watercolour illustrations is beautiful and she does bring to life beautifully the equine creature that we learn in an author’s note really does belong to the illustrator.

A gorgeous introduction to horses and riding.

How Far Can a Kangaroo Jump?
Alison Limentani
Boxer Books

Ever wondered how far a kangaroo can jump; or perhaps four rabbits, or even eight coyotes? If so this book is definitely for you.

It’s beautifully illustrated by the author who showcases eleven different animals in total, each demonstrating its leaping, diving, hopping, bouncing,

skipping, bounding, vaulting, hurdling or springing skill.

Don’t be misled into thinking the titular marsupial is the longest jumper of all though; there’s a creature that well and truly outsprings it; now what might that be?

The book concludes by answering Alison’s own question: ‘How many kangaroo jumps would it take to get all the way around the earth?’ and posing another for young humans to answer.

Trainers on? Ready, steady, jump …

On landing, readers can compare their efforts with those of the other animals from the book, each of which is shown mid spring on the explanatory back endpapers.

Deep in the Ocean / The Big Sticker Book of Birds

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Deep in the Ocean
Lucie Brunellière
Abrams Appleseed

In this large format board book, readers follow Oceanos, a shiny silver submarine, as it takes an exploratory voyage into the depths of the oceans.
From the first opening, we’re immersed in the ocean’s waters along with the submarine’s scientific crew

but as their craft dives deep and travels through a deep abyss, a fierce storm blows up, whisking the little shiny submarine right off its intended course.

Instead, eddying whirlpools cause it to journey to the polar waters of the Arctic; then it’s pulled by a blue whale towards tropical waters of a coral reef, travelling on until one imagines, it resurfaces, with the crew having collected a wealth of information.

There is a free accompanying 10-minute, atmospheric sound track available to download, though to get the most out of the dual experience, you need to synchronise the track timings with page turns.

It’s easy to get lost in the colourful ecosystems with their standout bright flora and fauna depicted in Brunellière’s multi-layered, finely detailed spreads that do a splendid job of capturing the awe and immensity of our ocean ecosystems.

Dive in and be amazed at the riches therein.

The Big Sticker Book of Birds
Yuval Zommer
Thames & Hudson

Following Yuval’s wonderful The Big Book of Birds comes an activity book on the same theme.

Readers are in the company of Polly the Pigeon. She guides us through as we’re told, ‘the feathery world of birds’ and all that’s needed for the journey is a pencil, some colouring pens and ‘a flighty imagination’. Some of the latter might be used in deciding how to adorn the pages with the 200+ stickers provided at the end of the book.

There’s a wealth of fascinating facts embedded within the spreads that are allocated either to specific kinds of birds such as albatrosses or puffins, or to avian topics including feathers, nesting, and migration.

Children might accept Yuval’s invitation to complete a maze,

design a feather for a new bird species, spot the difference, design a bird box, imagine and draw what a dozen magpies might have picked up in their beaks and more. Or what about playing a game of Blackbird bingo or adding foliage to a tree for wild birds to hide among?

I love the way all Yuval’s creatures be they birds or other, have a slightly mischievous look in their eyes, which adds to the allure of the already engaging pages.

Immersive and fun while unobtrusively educating the user(s).

Everyone Can Draw

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Everyone Can Draw
Fifi Kuo
Boxer Books

Having been a foundation stage teacher for many years, I know that within each and every young child is an artist; this is what is celebrated in Fifi Kup’s upbeat book wherein she calls upon that innate creative spark, a spark that we adults need to nurture and do our utmost to make sure is never extinguished.

As she states and shows in her wonderful scenes of artists at work however, people exhibit different preferences when it comes to drawing. Some like drawing characters whereas others would rather draw scenes.

Then there are those who favour black and white drawing in contrast to those whose preference is for bright colours.

There are a variety of tools that can be used for drawing as the increasing number of enthusiastic artists demonstrate – scissors, parts of the body such as hands or feet; and some people favour needle and thread drawing.

If you don’t enjoy drawing alongside others, you can find your own special corner or even draw in your dreams.

The most important consideration of all though is saved until last

– or almost last.

Finally comes a question addressed to us all – ‘What will you draw?’

Fifi further explores different tools for drawing on the endpapers for which she uses childlike images akin to those a four or five  year old might create.

Crayons, pens, paints, scissors, pencils, inks ready. Everybody draw! First though immerse yourself in this joyful book.

Eco Rangers: Pelican in Peril & Eco Rangers: Microbat Mayhem

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Eco Rangers: Pelican in Peril
Eco Rangers: Microbat Mayhem
Candice Lemon-Scott, illustrated by Aśka
New Frontier Publishing

Seaside dwellers, best friends, Ebony and Jay have a passion for wildlife welfare.

In the first story, the two come upon a half-buried oil drum on the beach; then more alarmingly deposits of thick black sludge and an injured pelican covered in the stuff.

Ebony names the bird Poseidon and together they take it to the wildlife hospital at the conservation centre. There they learn that the black sludge on the pelican is in fact oil.

In addition to assisting with the recovery of Poseidon, the children are anxious to find out what caused the oil leak. Excited to have been called ‘real Eco Rangers’ by the vet at the hospital and fired by Doctor Bat’s comment about the possibility of the oil having come from the cruise ship that has become an all too frequent visitor to the town’s harbour, the children are determined to discover the source of the oil contaminating the waters.

It’s when they turn detective that things really start to hot up, especially when they incur the wrath of the cruise ship manager.

Wildlife lover, Candice Lemon-Scott’s story moves along at a rapid pace sweeping readers along in its action and the children’s enthusiasm and curiosity.

So too does the second story that begins with the friends making use of the Super World Theme Park passes given to them by the docs. as a thank you for their sterling work in the first book.

Needless to say being Ebony, the girl ignores a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign they come upon and the two discover a pair of tiny baby bats in the rubble surrounding a disused ride. Having rescued the little creatures, the Eco Rangers take them to the conservation centre to Doctor Bat and Doctor Tan.

Later on, convinced that there is an entire bat colony in the condemned Wild Jungle ride, the two children head back to the theme park where they discover that indeed there is are more than one hundred bats in the ride’s cave. Thus begins operation ‘save the bat colony’.

Things are not straightforward though. When Ebony and Jay are at the hardware store buying nails to complete the bat boxes they’re building, they see Ms Pitts, manager of the theme park with a security guard. The conversation they overhear sets alarm bells start ringing. It sounds as though Miss Pitts isn’t to be trusted over her promise of a three week hold-off before the old ride is demolished and with it the entire bat colony.

As the deadline draws ever closer, it’s up to the Eco Rangers to get the bats to safety. No pressure then!

With the huge focus on caring for our precious environment, these stories may well help fuel more youngsters to get actively involved in wildlife causes.

The Spacesuit

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The Spacesuit
Alison Donald and Ariel Landy
Maverick Publishing

Over the last week many of us have been enthralled to watch the first moon landing in 1969 relived on our televisions screens for its 50th anniversary; but how many of us thought about what went into the designing and making of the protective spacesuits worn by the three Apollo astronauts, and in particular, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when they walked on the moon.

These suits were the work of a team of women, led by Ellie Foraker, who were employed by the manufacturer of Playtex bras.

Even as a child, Ellie had loved designing and sewing on her machine and when an adult she got a job making garments with ILC Dover in the Plaxtex division. It was there that the quality of her work caught the attention of a company engineer. He asked Ellie if she was interested in entering a competition to design and make a prototype for a spacesuit that would be worn on the moon.

The competition was fierce with teams of engineers and military designers also participating but Ellie had a great team of hard workers determined to complete the task in time.

Their suit was to be flexible, have lots of soft, thin layers and protect the wearers from extremes of temperature.

Working all day and into the night, the women stitched and glued the layers until eventually the AL7 spacesuit was done – all 21 layers of it.

The entries were tested by the judges and finally the winner was declared. It was Ellie and her team’s AL7.

Alison Donald’s straightforward, accessible narrative focuses on Ellie Foraker’s skills and her determination to win the NASA competition, making it one of a very few moon-related books I’ve seen this past few months that has chosen to put the spotlight on women and their role in helping to send men to the moon.

Ariel Landy’s digitally worked illustrations too capture the resolve of Ellie and her team throughout the task, showing the tension when things get tough as well as the times when the mood was upbeat.

Along with the facts included in the story itself, the inside covers have short snippets of space travel information and there’s a glossary and a space time line extending from1957 and the launch of the 1st Russian satellite, through to the 1969 moon walk.

All in all an inspiring picture book for young readers. I received my copy after returning from a few days away so was unable to beat the 20th July commemoration but nonetheless this is well worth seeking out whatever the date.

Baby Touch: Playbook Baby Touch: Animals / Little World: In the City Little World: To the Moon

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Baby Touch: Playbook
Baby Touch: Animals
illustrated by Lemon Ribbon Studio

Little World: In the City
Little World: To the Moon
illustrated by Allison Black
Ladybird Books

I’ve always advocated that adults should share books with babies almost from the time they’re born so it was good to receive these samples of two new series from Ladybird Books.
With their simple, colourful images, differently textured objects to feel, and texts that are baby appropriate, the Baby Touch books are ideal for the very youngest.

The Playbook even introduces lines from such classic nursery rhymes as ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ and “Teddybear, teddybear’.

In the Animals book the focus is on the animal names and their sounds. Both offer lots of sensory stimulation for babies from around 3 months although it very much depends on the child.

The Little World books are smaller in format and have a simple narrative running right through; and there’s an alternate push-and-pull element or slider on each of the four double spreads.

In the City keeps feet firmly on the ground – almost – as two very young children in the company of what could be grandparents encounter the hustle and bustle of urban life. There’s lots of traffic, a square to relax in for a while and perhaps watch some performers, an exciting museum to visit and the trip is rounded off by a boat trip down the river.

To the Moon blasts listeners off into space and thence to the Moon and is billed as being ‘based on the Apollo Moon landings’.

There’s a final fold-out vertical flap to add to the fun, as the explorers fire up the engines ready to lift off back home to Earth.

Both have lively illustrations that keep toddlers engaged and extend the potential beyond the basic narrative.

Oh! and there’s also a ladybird to find on every spread of all four books.

Bloomsbury Young Readers

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A Tiger for Breakfast
Narinder Dhami, illustrated by Christopher Corr
The Ugly Little Swan
James Riordan, illustrated by Brendan Kearney
Jack and the Jungle
Malachy Doyle, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
Happy Birthday, Sausage!
Michaela Morgan, illustrated by Felicity Sheldon
Bloomsbury Education

These are four newly illustrated stories published in Bloomsbury Young Readers series for children who, as well as reading picture books, want to extend their range. These stories still have colour illustrations breaking up the text on every page but have short chapters.
Those who are familiar with my background will probably be aware that I am no fan of reading schemes, controlled vocabularies or book bands and these stories are ‘levelled’. They are however, the work of established children’s book authors and illustrators and I’d happily include them in a classroom collection as books worth reading in their own right.

A Tiger for Breakfast has a folk tale feel to it and tells how farmer Ram’s wife, Reeta, tricks the hungry tiger intent on making a meal of the entire family. Christopher Corr’s richly coloured folk art style illustrations are an ideal complement to Narinder’s punchy text.

Turning the Hans Andersen classic tail up is James Riordan’s The Ugly Little Swan wherein one of a Mother swan’s hatchlings is ostracised by the others for being different. Herein, illustrator Brendan Kearney’s blend of humour and pathos speaks volumes.

Jack and the Jungle, tells what happens when young Jack kicks his ball over the wall of his new garden into Abbie’s next door. Could there really be snakes, a wolf and tigers living among all that vegetation, as she would have him believe?Young readers will enjoy the extended joke delivered through Malachy Doyle’s text and Paddy Donnelly’s equally lively pictures.

Happy Birthday, Sausage!, Michaela Morgan’s story extends over 48 rather than 32 pages. Herein poor dachshund, Sausage eagerly anticipates the ‘birthday’ party Elly, Jack and their gran are planning for him unaware that arrogant cats that share his home are intent on sabotaging it. Will their plot be discovered in time? This fun tale of subterfuge and assumptions will please readers, as will Felicity Sheldon’s scenes with their amusing details; her portrayal of the plotting felines and canine characters in particular is splendidly expressive.

Alice in Wonderland: A Puzzle Adventure

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Alice in Wonderland: A Puzzle Adventure
Aleksandra Artymowska
Big Picture Press

When it comes to totally breath-taking puzzle adventures, Aleksandra Artymowska is your artist.

This one, again inspired by a classic novel, has mazes to tantalise, hidden objects to locate – not as easy as you might think (unless you’re familiar with Aleksandra’s work) – and a wealth of clues to ponder upon as we join Alice on her awesome subterranean adventure that begins as she tumbles down that famous Rabbit Hole.

According to the White Rabbit whose invitation to the Mad Hatter’s tea party is on the opening spread, there are 80 puzzles in all to solve; but if you get totally lost you can always turn to the back of the book for help.

Much better though to spend ages pouring over such out of this world wonders as the floating islands,

the carousel ‘caucus race’, the potted mushroom, the flying cutlery, the plethora of pepperpots, the funky teapots, the crowns of the Red and White Queens,

the incredible card constructions or the beguiling flower faces, until you finally come up with the solutions.

In fact this isn’t just one visual story, it’s an absolute wealth of them, all seamlessly woven into a totally immersive narrative.

This is most definitely a book to enchant readers of all ages, whether or not they are familiar with the Lewis Carroll classic. Alice’s Day is celebrated on 6th July but with this stunning book you can make every day one to celebrate Alice.

Molly and the Whale

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Molly and the Whale
Malachy Doyle and Andrew Whitson
Graffeg

Following a stormy night, Molly and Dylan go down to the seashore in search of interesting items that might have been washed up. What they find however is not what they’d been anticipating.

“Daddy! Daddy! … There’s an enormous whale on the beach!” comes Molly’s cry.

Loading up the barrow with buckets and spades, the father and children head for the beach again where it’s now low tide.

There, with the help of their friends, Molly and Dylan keep the whale’s skin cool and her dad digs a trench around the huge creature.

Then they wait the long wait for the tide to come in, which they hope, will be sufficiently high to enable the whale to free itself and swim away. Molly sings to the massive creature in an effort to calm her own nerves although her heartfelt song cannot cool the increasingly unhappy whale.

Disappointment comes when the high tide proves insufficiently deep to enable the creature to swim off.

Molly is distraught: her father sends her home promising to wait on the beach for the full moon tide. Perhaps that will be higher … and happily, so it proves.

This is the second story to feature island-dwelling Molly, her family and friends. I quickly found myself drawn to the young girl, her empathy with the whale and her determination to save it.

I’m sure young listeners will be too as they hear Malachy’s tale and see Andrew Whitson’s quirky, richly coloured, patterned illustrations of teamwork set against beautiful sea and landscapes .

Zanzibar

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Zanzibar
Catharina Valckx
Gecko Press

Zanzibar the crow wants to be in the newspaper but can he impress special correspondent Achille LeBlab who comes knocking on his door? Seemingly not, for his talk of mushroom omelettes does nothing to inspire The Voice of the Forest lizard reporter, who leaves him his business card, just in case.

Dented though his ego might be, Zanzibar isn’t entirely deflated when he retires to bed that night. The lizard’s visit has set him thinking and the crow’s thoughts turn to a rather bizarre possibility. “I’m going to lift a camel in the air with just one wing!” he resolves.

Then comes the task of locating a camel but thanks to seagull mail deliverer, Zanzibar is soon on his way, heading south to find the desert and therein hopefully, a small skinny dromedary.

Further help comes courtesy of Sidi, a fennec fox that leads our traveller to a tent wherein resides the object of his desire.

When the task seems doomed, Zanzibar’s new friends come up trumps and then it’s back to the forest for the crow.

His mole pal, Paulette believes his astonishing story but what about Achille LeBlab?

Let’s just say that the power of friendship (not forgetting that of mushroom omelette) works wonders in this enormously engaging story that demonstrates that within us all lies something extraordinary. Also working wonders are Catharina Valckx’s charmingly droll, three colour drawings.

The Boy Who Knew Nothing

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The Boy Who Knew Nothing
James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon
Templar Publishing
In the town of Solo Capoo lives a boy who supposedly knows nothing at all – his classmates tell him so, calling him a ‘fool’.

However when the lad comes upon an unusual-looking object in a dressing-up box, he’s eager to find out what it is. Waking his dozing parents he asks them. “Everyone knows that’s a sleepy giraffe!” comes his dad’s reply.
Unconvinced, the boy cycles off to consult the old whispering witch who tells him it’s a whispery owl.

Not satisfied however, the lad pays a call on ex-astronaut, Miss Susan only to be told the object is a clumsy gnu.

Exasperated our questioner climbs onto the back of the ‘thingy’

and flies home, where his parents greet him with questions about his attire and his companion.

Now the boy speaks out telling of his magical adventure and those he conversed with;

but his parents merely pack him (along with his fellow travellers) off to bed.

It’s there, tucked under his covers, that the boy learns from his ‘thingy’ its true identity – something listeners will have enjoyed being in the know about from the outset.

Back in class next day, our erstwhile adventurer has some words of wisdom to impart to the other children …

Delivered through James Thorp’s wacky rhyming text and Angus Mackinnon’s bizarre imagery that reminded me of 1960’s psychedelic pop art, this surreal picture book questions the nature of knowledge and knowing, but I’ll leave the philosophical ideas to those who decide to hold a community of enquiry with their audience having shared the story.

The Dragon in the Library / The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden

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The Dragon in the Library
Louie Stowell, illustrated by Davide Ortu
Nosy Crow

Kit is anything but enthusiastic about reading; she much prefers to be playing outdoors and the library is definitely not her choice of destination on the first day of the summer holidays. But when her friends manage to persuade her to accompany them she discovers that she’s a wizard. Not just any wizard though, possibly the youngest ever wizard. The librarian doubles up as a wizard too.

Before long Kit learns that she has to play a crucial role in protecting the dragon sleeping in the library. The existence of the library itself is at stake though (the villainous Salt is determined to destroy it and it seems as though he knows too much about that dragon).

There’s another snag however, over-enthusiastic Kit is, shall we say rather impetuous in the use of her new-found power and it might be that her action has put not only the library but the entire world in danger.

The plot moves at a rapid pace and with its plethora of wonderful one-liners, allusions to other children’s books, and excellent characterisation, Louise Stowell’s debut story is a cracking one. Throw Davide Ortu’s illustrations into the mix and the magic becomes even more potent. ‘True magic’ indeed as the final words of the story say.

The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden
Tom McLaughlin
Walker Books

This book is totally crazy; it’ll likely have you giggling your way through in one gulp as you encounter its diverse cast of characters. There’s metal detecting enthusiast Billy and his trusty dog Shakespeare, Billy’s nan (who loves to snooze and in between bakes cakes (rocky ones) and watches television. Then come – thanks to the wormhole of the title – Queen Victoria, Roman warrior and wonky road builder Atticus, Einstein (self explanatory), Shakespeare – the real one this time and Professor Jones, scientist specialising in time travel and consumer of quantities of his favourite dunkable chocolate biscuity confection.

How on earth can all those co-exist you may be wondering; it’s on account of that time portal aka wormhole. When you toss into the mix a whoopee cushion, (it reminds Queen Vic. ‘of my Albert after a pork-pie session’),

a toaster – which according to HRH “has utterly blown one’s mind.”, a dinosaur and the frantic race to close that wormhole before the whole of history is forever altered, you’ll be sure Tom’s day cannot get any more complicated.

Splutter-inducing dialogue, a plot that moves so fast you almost have to run to keep up, and a liberal scattering of suitably silly drawings by none other than Tom himself, not to mention a quiz, a maze and instructions for making an olde quill pen, make for a terrific adventure to tickle the taste buds of independent readers.

It would make a super class read aloud too – as long as you don’t laugh so much you lose the plot.

Prudence and Her Amazing Adventure

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Prudence and Her Amazing Adventure
Charlotte Gastaut
Thames & Hudson

Amazing is something of an understatement when it comes to young Prudence’s flights of fancy that take place as she blocks out her parents’ increasingly urgent calls to tidy up and get ready to go out.

Out she certainly does go, far, far away to wonderful woodlands,

incredible tropical jungles, deep down into the ocean and way, way up among the stars.

All kinds of creatures, strange and stranger still, as well as some more expected ones, inhabit the landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes she visits on her imaginary journey; until eventually those parental voices once more break into her fantasy worlds and it’s time to answer their call.

As well as her awesome double spread illustrations, French artist extraordinaire, Charlotte Gastaut has included cut-outs and translucent pages to flip back and forth, as readers join the little girl on her incredible adventures.

There is SO much to see in every scene, some of which almost leaps from the page thanks to Charlotte’s bright pink colour pops, whereas other details are less easily discernible hidden between the swirling textures of the rocks, stones and foliage.

Who would want to tidy up a room when it can furnish such breath taking experiences as Prudence’s?

A stunning book to immerse oneself in, and to visit over and over, losing track of time just like Prudence.

Unicorn Club / Ten Minutes to Bed Little Mermaid

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Unicorn Club
Suzy Senior and Leire Martin
Little Tiger

It’s Saturday morning and young Amy is eagerly anticipating the inaugural meeting of her unicorn club, but as the time comes for the grand opening it seems as though there won’t be any takers. Upset, Amy rips down her poster and heads to her tree house.

There however, she receives a wonderful surprise and what’s more the creatures can’t wait for the promised crafting to commence.

They have to though, for long enough to relocate to Amy’s more spacious garage where she gets out all the resources.

Being creative gives those unicorns an appetite and one of their number demands the promised snacks, which are enthusiastically consumed in almost no time at all.

Fuelled up with cake, it’s time for the unicorns to show their dance moves but they’re all so groovy that Amy just cannot pick a winner; her chalks however are certainly the losers as they’re unknowingly squashed to pieces by the dancers.

Poor Amy: how will they create that club mural now? I wonder …
Illustrated in suitably garish hues and with scenes of unicorn frolics, this tale should certainly enchant the seemingly ever-growing numbers of young unicorn enthusiasts out there who will enjoy discovering how Amy’s nearly disastrous Saturday becomes the start of something magical.

Ten Minutes to Bed Little Mermaid
Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
Puffin Books

In the third of their countdown to bedtime series, Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton take a dive down to the kingdom of merpeople and in particular little mermaid, Splash and her grandpa. It’s he who keeps count of the passing minutes as the playful Splash frolics with dolphins, dives beneath waves, bops with crabs, swims along with rainbow fish,

talks to turtles and has a scary encounter with a shark before pausing on a beach where she’s reminded of the time by a friendly passing whale that helps her on her way.

But will she make it in time before that final minute has gone …

The magical formula still holds good in this latest pre-bedtime fantasy that should ensure your little ones have sweet dreams in The Land of Nod. (The final map shows several more potential settings so I suspect this series will run and run.)

Song of the River

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Song of the River
Joy Cowley and Kimberly Andrews
Gecko Press

In this new illustrated Joy Cowley story first published 25 years ago, Kimberly Andrews re-imagines a journey of a little boy, Cam and his adventure as he follows a river from its trickling source all the way to the sea.

One spring morning the lad decides not to wait for his grandfather’s promise to take him to the sea but instead he listens to the watery voice of the first trickle, the waterfall, the leaping trout, the green and gold frogs as the stream becomes a river

that widens, deepens and joins other rivers. Then its voice is that of ‘big brass engines soaked in oil’,

growing louder at the wharves to become ‘the voice of salty wind and crying birds and deep, secret places where whales swim with their young.’ And all the while the river urges Cam to continue his journey until eventually there before him, ‘wild and blue and beautiful … and going on forever’ is …

A sea whose song is deep and wide and truly wonderful.

Back home again, the boy tells his grandfather of his adventure and once again receives the ‘One day we will go there,” response.

No matter whether the boy’s travels were real or imagined, his journey was filled with wonder.

Joy Cowley’s poetic narrative truly sings throughout and is made all the more powerful in the company of Kimberly Andrews’ superb landscapes executed in muted, natural earthy hues.

An awe-inspiring tribute to the natural world and to storytelling itself.

Pirates Don’t Go To School!

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Pirates Don’t Go To School!
Alan MacDonald and Magda Brol
Little Tiger

There seems to be no limit to the stream of piratical picture books set on the high seas; but a young pirate enrolling in a primary school, now that’s something rather different.

It is though what young Jake, fed up with ‘mopping parrot poop’ from the deck of the Salty Prawn, eventually persuades his Ma and Pa to allow him to do.

On arrival however, he does have some first day jitters.

And when he gets inside the classroom and removes his hat, both teacher and children – not to mention Jake himself – are in for something of a surprise.

His stowaway parrot, Poll, is in playful mood and leads Jake, children and teachers a merry dance

until the young pirate suddenly has an idea.

His action succeeds in calming down the lively bird, much to everyone’s relief, leaving Jake anticipating being sent home in disgrace.

Not so! Miss Cherry is an accommodating teacher and the lad happily spends his first day with the others until it’s time for his family to meet him.

That evening he regales them with the story of his first day at school; but will they allow him to return next morning? You bet; can Miss Cherry cope though?

Dirty Bertie author, Alan Macdonald has struck gold with this unlikely starting school tale. It’s perfect for young listeners soon to start school themselves, but equally will delight anyone partial to funny stories. This one’s made all the funnier thanks to Magda Brol’s spirited scenes of Jake, his family and his new friends, whether at sea or on land.

Nits! / Encyclopedia of Grannies

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Here are two picture books from New Zealand publisher Gecko Press

Nits!
Stephanie Blake
Gecko Press

In the latest Simon story, Sephanie Blake brings her own brand of humour to nits, the dreaded little creatures that make your scalp itch.

Simon decides he loves his classmate Lou, but she loves another named Mamadou.

Then Lou gets nits.  Where might they have come from?

Now Simon is in with a chance … The outpouring of affection he receives from Lou isn’t the only thing she bestows upon her new love however.

Nits are part and parcel of foundation stage classrooms nowadays, so much so that the mere mention of them from a parent or carer gives we teachers itchy heads too; (even reading this book made me start scratching).

This simple, funny story provides a good opportunity to reassure everyone how it’s not shameful to have those ‘little visitors’ and to talk about how they can be treated.

Share at home or at nursery or playgroup.

Encyclopedia of Grannies
Eric Veillé (translated by Daniel Hahn)
Gecko Press

Here’s a modern and amusing take on grannies that starts with a focus on the different kinds of grannies you might come across, followed by a look at age: ‘Some grannies are 58 … some are 69 … and some are even 87!’ (Perhaps it should span an even wider age range. I once taught a five year old whose granny was 35 although she called her ‘mummy’; her actual birth mother was then 18 but the child had been told she was her big sister.)

Veillé employs questions to explore inside a granny;

and out: ‘Why do grannies have creases?’; the mystery of why grannies travel on buses –we don’t learn the answers to the last two however; and ‘Do grannies only knit cardigans? – definitely not.

Other scenarios look at flexibility; time – grannies appear to have more of it at their disposal than others;

what a good rummage in a granny’s bed might yield, hairstyles, travels and more.

In reference book style, the book includes a contents page (of sorts), a glossary and a list of suggested further reading (all tongue in cheek of course) and the illustrations are a quirky delight. There’s one snag though, apart from the “Green Gran’ included in the reading list, every single one is white.

Sturdily built to withstand the frequent reads this book might have; but don’t be deceived into thinking it’s for the very young; the droll humour requires a degree of sophistication.

Playing with Collage

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Playing with Collage
Jeannie Baker
Walker Books

I still have a treasured copy of Jeannie Baker’s exemplary Where the Forest Meets the Sea as well as several more of her books, and so was excited to learn of this one.

Following introductory spreads on basic tools, some key tips and ‘playing with materials’, the author has divided her books into four main sections, Paper, Out in Nature,

On the Beach and In the Kitchen.

In each one she offers practical tips for assembling your chosen materials, advising readers to look closely, let the items themselves and their textures act as a guide be they scraps of torn or cut paper, leaves and lichens or shells and seaweed.

I like the way she guides rather than instructs and that her examples give the impression of being unfinished and totally unintimidating, albeit exciting and beautiful.

This is a perfect book to encourage playfulness with materials right from the early years (when children generally are that way inclined anyway) through to adulthood when that creativity may have got buried and need re-awakening.

The clear photographic illustrations, that leave plenty of space on the page, along with succinct captions, help make the entire topic approachable and fun. To add to the book’s playfulness, there’s a final collage quiz.

Highly recommended as a resource for home and school use.

Sneaky Beak

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Sneaky Beak
Tracey Corderoy and Tony Neal
Little Tiger

The dangers of succumbing to advertising are hilariously explored in this tale of friends and house-sharers, Bear and Hamster.

First, Bear allows himself to be persuaded by Sneaky Beak that his bed had lost all its bounce when he’s summoned in response to the previous evening’s TV ad.

Not only does Sneaky rock up in his van, but he brings an entourage of bunnies to help clinch a deal for the ‘Snores-Galore Mega bed’.

Poor Hamster is less than pleased when his things are moved out of the bedroom to accommodate Bear’s purchase.

But worse is to come. That Sneaky Beak leaves a leaflet about a very special kind of bathtub. Bear’s determination to resist lasts only until bathtime when he’s on the phone again and guess who he’s calling …

Not a wise move, Bear; and nor was his ‘twirly thing’ investigation …

I’ll leave readers of this romp to decide themselves which is more catastrophic – that, or his next purchase, revealed at breakfast time the following morning, which results in …

That definitely doesn’t have the Hamster mood-lifting effect Bear’s hoping for.

So why oh why is he letting that wily Sneaky Beak beguile him into making yet another purchase?

Disastrous as the Beak’s new sale might have been, it actually provides Bear with some much-needed thinking space

and all ends happily – with some serious recycling and a certain salesbird’s beak somewhat out of joint.

The combination of Tracey’s tongue-in-cheek telling and Tony Neal’s superbly entertaining scenes of the results of falling prey time and again to a determined capitalist’s sales patter, make for a crazy consumerist caper that is bound to bring on fits of laughter on the part of both listeners and readers aloud.

Billy and the Dragon

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Billy and the Dragon
Nadia Shireen
Jonathan Cape

One of my favourite picture book characters from last year, Billy, and her sidekick Fatcat, return for another action-packed adventure.

It all begins with the two setting out to a fancy dress party, Fatcat rather more reluctantly, but fuelled by the promise of cake.

On arrival Billy greets their friends while Fatcat heads straight for the food. He doesn’t quite make it though for he’s seized by enormous claws and whisked skywards.

After a quick rummage around in her hair Billy produces a telescope that she uses to locate Fatcat’s whereabouts

and operation ‘save Fatcat’ commences.

Billy, the mice, the little bunny rabbits, Fox and Hedgehog (less enthusiastically) head for the Deep Dark Forest. How on earth (or sky) is Billy going to get herself up the massive tree wherein Fatcat has been plonked?

Happily Hedgehog has come with some of the party stuff. But a fiery roar from the fearsome dragon kidnapper puts paid to her first attempt and then the catnapper takes to the air again, coming to land in an even more terrifying spot.

So terrifying in fact that only Billy continues on the perilous journey during which she comes upon and ‘rescues’ a scaly little creature that she takes along with her.

This might just be the wisest move she’s made, for eventually this is the sight that meets her eyes …

Once again, Nadia’s perfectly paced story is a winner; it’s full of moments to savour and the drama is brought out so brilliantly in her smashing scenes of the chief protagonist and her supporting animal cast. (Watch out for the worm.)

Bring on the next one.

Monkey On the Run

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Monkey on the Run
Leo Timmers
Gecko Press

This wordless picture book starts with a father monkey collecting his little one from school and right away their funky motorbike is in a nose-to-tail traffic jam.

Rather than sit frustratedly in the side car, Little Monkey gets out and starts wending his own way home.

Every spread offers potential stories aplenty so this definitely is not a book to hurry through. Rather one needs to slow the pace and relish the on-the-move fire fighting scenario; Little Monkey’s cake-lifting episode from the royal ‘feastmobile’…

cake he subsequently consumes in the crow’s nest of a wheeled boat.

There follow a confrontation with a rooster; a circus-like dangling act from a very bendy drinking straw

and later on Dad monkey gets an ice-cream surprise from above.

Then our inventive traveller secures a wonderful gift box

that he presents to his mum when father and son finally reach home.

Timmers’ vehicles are veritable inventive wonders, every one; and the way in which the interaction on each spread occurs is sheer comic genius. I’m sure readers will discover new things to relish on every re-reading, of which I’m sure there will be many.

The Runaway Pea

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The Runaway Pea
Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore
Simon & Schuster

We’ve all heard of the runaway gingerbread man and the runaway pancake but now they’ve got some opposition in the exciting escapade stakes – from a fleeing pea no less.
Said little green seed decides to up and leave the plate before tea-time and so he does, despite taunts from fellow veggies over a minor mishap with a splodge of sauce.

Although the little pea might have escaped from becoming tea for a human there are still plenty of hazards to contend with: the dog’s drinking bowl,

a goldfish tank, a mousetrap, a toaster, a tumble dryer and an iron to be precise.
Having managed to avoid the dog’s mouth, been squirted unceremoniously from Adele’s tank, catapulted onto a shelf, blown into a toaster and pinged out again,

buffeted round inside a revolving drum and almost squished flat ‘neath a steam iron, our pea finds himself rolling under a fridge.

Exhausted, in this dark spot he comes upon several shrivelled shapes, which he hears, were also runaways,

They advise the newcomer against remaining to get wrinkly and stinky like them as well as telling him that there’s no point returning to his original plate, leaving the little fellow to fall fast asleep.

And that’s when something amazing happens to him that might just be the start of something truly eye-poppingly astonishing …

Poskitt’s zany narrative rolls merrily along in faultless rhyme and makes for a smashing read aloud, all the more so thanks to Alex Willmore’s dramatic, action-packed art. His scenes of near disaster will likely have your little ones rolling around in laughter at the pea’s plight and clapping in delight at the hapPEA ending.

The Jacket

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The Jacket
Sue-Ellen Pashley and Thea Baker
Walker Books

Young Amelia is absolutely thrilled with her present – a new jacket, ‘soft like dandelion fluff … ‘ ‘warm like the afternoon sun … comforting like a hug from your favourite teddy’, and with four bright, shiny buttons down the front.
She wears it everywhere until the day it no longer fits her.

It’s then given to little sister, Lily who also wears it everywhere – even to the beach – until she too grows too big for it.

Lily’s doll is the next recipient but then Lily starts school and sets aside doll play.

The jacket has lost a button and with paint and dirt on it, that specialness has gone; it’s left unwanted in a corner of Lily’s room. But is it really unwanted?

Not so: Cornflake the cat has kittens and they’re kept snug and warm on the jacket.

With the kittens gone to new homes, Mum decides the jacket has served its purpose. “We should get rid of this old, dirty thing,” she tells the children.

Lily is sad; but not for too long; Mum has a change of heart when she realises and she refashions the garment for yet another life …

A beautifully told, and equally beautifully illustrated tale of a treasured childhood object that shows how we all learn to let go of childhood attachments as we grow up.

Thea Baker’s mixed media scenes bring out the inherent warmth of the text in a book that will resonate with readers aloud as well as young listeners.

Baby’s First Jailbreak

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Baby’s First Jailbreak
Jim Whalley and Stephen Collins
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

The Bank Heist baby Frank is back for another rollicking rhyming adventure, but he’s not the only baby that features in this follow up story. There’s also baby Bruce – more of him shortly.

In case you don’t already know, baby Frank has turned his home into a zoo so that his debts can be paid off for the bank raid he was involved in. This zoo was doing very well for itself but gradually the crowds have dropped off until one morning nobody at all was waiting to pay to enter Frank’s Zoo.

While out for a walk with his parents they come upon the reason for this loss of custom: baby Bruce, of rich parentage,

has opened a zoo too (on his parents private polo pitch) and is now coining it in by showing tutu clad tigers, dancing chimps, bicycling elephants, not to mention penguins wandering around giving out free ice creams. Hmmm! And to make matters worse, the place is festooned with flags bearing Bruce’s face.
Pretty soon, Frank’s Mum has seen enough and Dad is ready to give up in the face of unbeatable competition.

That evening however, Frank is visited by an escaped penguin who tells of the terrible treatment he and his fellow animals at Bruce’s establishment receive, and begs his help.

Needless to say, Frank is on the case immediately, planning a ‘daring prison break’ and by 2am he, together with a few animal friends, head to Bruce’s zoo.

Scaling the high wall isn’t too much of a challenge and neither is picking the lock on the door of the penguin enclosure.
Before long not only the penguins but also the tortoises, hyena and every other creature from the zoo has been liberated and is on the way to the safety of Frank’s home.

The infant zoo-breaker will have a bit of explaining to do next morning when his parents confront the lad about the sudden increase in animal numbers residing with them but before he can do so, there’s a knock at the door.

Baby Bruce and his mother have come calling and are making accusations.

Now what? Can Frank and the animals convince the visitors that they belong right where they are?

The answer is both yes and no, though what happens finally, you’ll have to discover by getting your flippers, trunks or other appropriate appendages on a copy of this corker of a read aloud. That way you can also relish Stephen Collins’ superbly droll illustrations each of which is packed with wonderful chuckleworthy details.

Think Big!

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Think Big!
Kes Gray and Nathan Reed
Hodder Children’s Books

Humpty Dumpty sits on a wall, but he’s not alone; his friends sit alongside and they are considering their futures.

Humpty however, sets the bar very low: “A boiled egg” is his only ambition. Shock horror among the others who go on to urge him to Think Big!

“Buy a pair of football boots and become a footballer,” suggests Wee Willie Winkie.

“Look for clues and become a detective, says Little Bo-Peep.

He could perhaps, like Little Miss Muffet, consider becoming a scientist.

Egg though he might be, he “really should try thinking outside of the box.” as Jack and Jill recommend. I second that!

An artist, a policeman, a doctor or a firefighter are also put forward as possibilities; but it is perhaps the Cow who jumped over the moon that really gets Humpty’s brain buzzing with potential personal achievements.

But will our eggy friend actually manage to live up to his elevated thoughts and reach for the stars …

Storytelling maestro Kes Gray smashes it again with this tale that will surely have you giggling from start to final, laugh-out-loud punchline (or more accurately crunchline).

Nathan Reed does a terrific job capturing Kes’s droll humour in his high-voltage illustrations, every one of which is a cracker.

With its powerfully positive ‘believe, work hard and you can achieve’ message this is an eggstra-special offering for young children.

Pink! / Alfred and the Blue Whale

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It’s always good to discover new publishers so Red Reading Hub was excited to come across Wacky Bee Books to whom thanks for sending these for review.

Pink!
Lynne Rickards and Margaret Chamberlain
Wacky Bee

Patrick is a penguin, a pretty ordinary young penguin until one morning, shock horror; he wakes up and discovers he’s turned pink overnight.

Dr Black is no help suggesting that he tries getting used to his new hue. “But I’m a BOY! And BOYS CAN’T BE PINK!’ is his response.

At school, his fellow penguins tease Patrick until he’s had enough. Deciding he wants to fit in, he packs his rucksack and sets off to find the African flamingos his Dad had showed him in a bird book.

It’s a seven-day, seven-night swim but Patrick is a powerful swimmer and on day eight he reaches his destination.
The flamingos are friendly, inviting the newcomer to join them for lunch; but the visitor’s beak is all wrong, so things go very badly.

The same is true when Patrick tries out other things flamingo, like standing on one leg.

Patrick realises he doesn’t fit in here either.

Back home he swims. His parents welcome him; and then to his surprise, so too do his schoolmates. Indeed they’re mightily impressed by what their pink pal has to tell them about his travels; now being pink is cool.

Acceptance rules: not only Patrick but also his classmates have realised that real friends love you no matter how different you might appear on the outside.

With Margaret Chamberlain’s characterful illustrations, Lynne Rickards’ story of Patrick’s learning journey will help little ones both at home and in early years settings understand that diversity is something to be celebrated, as well as help challenge gender stereotypes.

Alfred and the Blue Whale
Mina Lystad, (trans. Sian Mackie) illustrated by Ashild Irgens
Wacky Bee

This is one of the publisher’s Buzzy Reads titles for those readers just starting to fly solo and has been translated from the author’s original Norwegian.

Young Alfred is scared of lots of things, but his worst nightmare is speaking in front of the class. Imagine how he feels then when he learns that everyone must take their turn to talk to the others about the animal named on the paper his teacher gives them.

Alfred’s animal is the Blue Whale and all he wants to do at the thought of the following Friday is to hide away.

Little by little though, he starts collecting information about the creature and the more he discovers, the more interested he becomes, so much so that he forgets about his nerves …

until Friday morning.

But then those scared feelings come flooding back. Can he summon up the courage to share all that Blue Whale information he has in his head with his classmates?

The author seamlessly includes a number of easily digested Blue Whale facts in her very readable story about facing your fears and self belief. (There’s also a final double spread fact file.)

Ashild Irgens’ plentiful illustrations convey so well Alfred’s fluctuating emotions over the five days from Monday till Friday.

Babymoon

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Babymoon
Hayley Barrett and Juana Martinez-Neal
Walker Books

A new baby has just been born and the two new parents spend their first days after their baby’s arrival on their ‘babymoon’.

During this precious time they experience tender moments, ‘A sweet, secluded afternoon – / this restful time, our babymoon’; joyful ones, ‘ A tender dance of give-and-take. / We share a tiny birth day cake.’

and occasionally, anxious ones – ‘Here together. So much to learn. / We muddle through each new concern.’

From the opening alliterative line, ‘The house is hushed. The lights are low.’, readers are enfolded in Hayley Barratt’s gentle rhyming narrative of moments to savour, moments shared not only with parents and child but the family dog and cat are also included in the building of that loving bond.

The sense of serenity is reflected in Juana Martinez-Neal’s breathtakingly beautiful illustrations, which show the warm loving involvement of both parents.

This is a gorgeous book to give to new parents especially perhaps, to encourage them to savour the precious ‘babymoon’ time (the word was coined by the late anthropologist Shelia Kitzinger to do just that.) I absolutely love that the parents are shown sharing stories right from the start of their baby’s life.

Who’s Going to Bed? / Somewhere Out There, Right Now

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Who’s Going to Bed?
Abie Longstaff and Eve Coy
Puffin Books

‘The stars are out, / the moon is bright’; that means it’s bedtime for the pirates on the high seas, most of the animals in the jungle, the teddy bears in their cottage, the king and queen and their family of young knights.

There’s one mischievous baby though, who embarks on a very noisy adventure. His music making meandering arouses all those would-be slumberers,

who with the infant playing a kind of pied piper role are led a merry dance all the way to the beach where they come upon …

The trouble is, she’s an extremely tired little dragon and wants nothing more than to be allowed some peace and quiet so she can snuggle down for the night.

Now it’s time for that cheeky toddler to take control of the situation. With a single “SHHHH!” he sets in motion a concatenation of actions that see the baby dragon safely tucked up in her bed.

The efforts of his helpers however have brought on a desire for sleep in all the revellers, not least the instigator of the fun; and so finally the little babe is transported all the way home …

to bed. Goodnight and sweet dreams.

An enchantingly playful bedtime story told through Abie’s carefully measured text and Eve’s moonlit scenes of the nocturnal high jinks. I love her colour palette and the way she brings out the inherent gentle humour of a tale that’s a terrific one to share with little ones before bed. (I suggest any musical instruments are tucked right away first though – just in case …)

Somewhere Out There, Right Now
Gemma Wells
Ragged Bears

This softly spoken picture book connects young listeners to the natural world outside while at the same time helping them to find calm within as they wind down for bedtime.

Somewhere in the darkness a monkey takes cover from the heavy rain, baby beetles are buried beneath the earth,

birds come in to roost, there’s a fox out in a city street – perhaps seeking shelter or food – and waves gently lap a moonlit beach; there are kittens snuggling up to their mother.

All these peaceful scenes help to induce a sense of inner calm as the body slows, safe in the knowledge that the beloved listener to the gentle narrative is in a safe, nurturing place and all is well.

Gemma Wells’ affinity for nature is reflected in her bold, digitally worked scenes of the animals, the adult and child looking outwards.

A lovely book for parents and carers to share with the very young just before bed.

Engineering for Babies, Economics for Babies / Little Adventurers Airport

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Engineering for Babies
Economics for Babies
Jonathan Litton and Thomas Elliott
Caterpillar Books

There’s a brand new ‘Science’ title as well as a ‘Business’ one in the Baby 101 board book series.

In the first book, tinies can find out some of the different roles engineers perform be that making, problem solving , improving how things work or perhaps investigating health-related issues.

Some will make enormous things while others such as molecular engineers work with things that cannot be seen with the naked eye alone.

A molecular engineer and a chemical engineer at work

Maths and science are often used by engineers in the planning of their projects: to a considerable extent our futures are in their hands.

Economics looks simply at the development of trading from bartering/swapping to pricing and what might affect changes in prices.

Both titles end by asking ‘Can you be a little … ?’ with a final lift the flap surprise.

Thomas Elliott’s boldly illustrated, bright colourful scenes will help babies focus their attention on each spread.

Just right for kick starting your toddler’s interest in STEM topics.

Little Adventurers: Airport
Jonny Marx and Cinta Villabos
360 Degrees

There’s plenty to engage little minds, eyes and fingers in this large format board book with its busy airport setting.
We start in the check-in area then move through security all a beep with detectors and a buzz with gizmos.
From there it’s on to the departure lounge to wait until the flight is  at the gate and ready for boarding.

On board the plane we see things from inside – the seating and cockpit, as well as being able to view the take off.

The final spread has a gatefold that opens right out to show the passengers’ arrival, passage through passport control and airport exit.

Every spread has straightforward narrative information, questions to think about, flaps to explore, speech bubbles and a bottom border of four items to spot.

Fun, interactive and with lots of potential for language development, this will keep your little ones interested throughout and they’ll likely keep going back to join the jet-setting family on their journey.

A Clutch of Activity and Craft Books

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Scratch and Learn: Space
illustrated by Victoria Fernández
Scratch and Learn: Animals
illustrated by Natasha Durley
Wide Eyed Editions

These are new additions to the series, both of which have seven interactive spreads and an attached stylus for young readers to do the scratching.

Each spread explores a different theme and in the Space title, these start with the Big Bang and the scratching reveals 10 galaxies. Then come a look at the solar system, the Moon, ‘Spacecraft’, which has the Space Shuttle as a featured image, a peep at life on board the International Space Station, an account of the life cycle of a star, and finally, a constellation map.

Spencer investigating the map

There are 10 ‘scratch and discover’ shapes to investigate with the stylus on every spread as well as a lead-in, easy to understand, factual paragraph (or two), clearly labelled objects and an additional ‘fact’ most in speech bubble form, for example ‘The light from the closest star still takes 4 years to reach us.’

The Animals featured in the second book come from different habitats around the world and as in the previous title, Lucy Brownridge supplies the succinct text.

Ten animals have ‘hidden’ themselves in each of Natasha Durley’s alluringly illustrated locations: the Amazon rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sundarbans Mangrove forest, (between India and Bangladesh), the grasslands of the African Savannah, a coniferous forest of northern Canada, the arid Gobi Desert and Antarctica.

Both titles are appealing early interactive books that can be brought out anywhere especially on a journey or a rainy day.

The Mermaid Craft Book
Laura Minter and Tia Williams
GMC Publications

Prolific craft book creators, Laura and Tia have added a new title to their series, this time with a mermaid theme.
It’s filled with ideas for making things to use, things to wear and tasty things to eat.

Having provided a list of what is needed, the authors give step-by-step instructions for such diverse projects as creating a seashore garden, making aquarium puppets and a theatre to use with them,

and you can even bake a mermaid cake or throw an ‘under-the-sea’ party serving only sea themed food and serve up that cake then. Young merpeople will love it.

Youngsters will also be enthusiastic about the book as a whole though they’ll require adult support with several of the activities.

Ancient Egypt Adventure Activity Book
illustrated by Jen Alliston
Button Books

Historical fun aplenty Ancient Egyptian style is found in this activity book.

Little ones can immerse themselves in the world of mummies, pyramids, pharaohs, hieroglyphics and ancient gods as they engage in mask making, maze manoeuvring, maths, message decoding, crafty creations, unscramble muddled up words and more. There are more than 100 activities in all as well as 4 pages of stickers to use to complete some of the scenes.

While engaging in these activities youngsters will likely learn some Ancient Egypt related language and facts too, as well as developing their fine motor and observational skills.

Jen Alliston has provided the illustrations and where relevant, answers are provided at the back of the book.

The Princess and the Shoe

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The Princess and the Shoe
Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton
Nosy Crow

Young Princess Jasmine, hater of fancy frills and beribboned gowns has much better things to do than think about dancing with a prince, let alone getting one to kiss her. She’d far rather run about playing on the green with the other children, so when she spies a poster announcing a cross country race scheduled for the following Sunday, she’s determined to enter.

First though, she has to practise, which proves something of a challenge, especially as she ends up waist deep in muck.

And then she discovers that the date of the race clashes with her Big Birthday Ball.

It’s a rather downcast young Jasmine who sits in her window that night contemplating her lot. Suddenly out of the darkness there appears …

The tiny being offers to grant young Jasmine her wish and with a swish of her wand she produces some super go-fast shoes, saying that the magic runs out at midday.

On race day, Jasmine is ready at the starting line and sets off confidently, looking as though she’ll easily finish in time to get to the ball. But then as she’s crossing a sticky, muddy patch disaster strikes and one of her shoes is washed away down the stream.

Does the princess give up in despair: oh no she doesn’t. On she strides wearing just one red trainer gaining speed all the time …

Guess who makes it first through the finishing tape where a welcome party awaits.

Was her win due to those magic trainers or could it have been Jasmine’s self-belief and determination?

As always Caryl’s faultless rhyming narrative slides off the tongue making it a joy to read aloud, while Sarah’s scenes are sheer delight, brilliantly expressive and full of sparkle without the need for any added glitter or foil adornment.

A deliciously different Cinderella tale.

Ariki and the Island of Wonders / Magical Kingdom of Birds: The Silent Songbirds

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Ariki and the Island of Wonders
Nicola Davies, illustrated by Nicola Kinnear
Walker Books

Nicola Davies’s sequel to Ariki and the Giant Shark is equally rooted in island life, the natural world and the Pacific Ocean.

Strong-minded Ariki and her good friend Ipo, who live on Turtle Island, ignore the advice of Ariki’s guardian to learn about wave behaviour from a bowl of water and set sail on Sea Beauty. “We’ll be in trouble, ” says Ipo as they discover the wind is rather stronger than expected and Ariki has to agree.

It isn’t long though before there’s a storm brewing and it’s impossible to turn back: the only option, they realise, is to let the storm blow them where it will.

After several days without food and virtually nothing to drink, they encounter a wounded whale that has become separated from its family, which the children help. The whale then assists them by towing them towards an unfamiliar island that looks like paradise.

On the island they meet a strange man calling himself Crusoe McRobinson and learn of a dangerous creature the man calls “Dog”. There are in fact a number of these ‘dogs’ lurking and because of them the other island residents – humans and animal – as well as the two children, are in jeopardy.

Is there anything Ariki can do and if so will the two friends ever get back safely to Turtle Island?

Zoologlist story weaver, Nicola Davies cleverly entertains and educates at the same time in this gripping tale. Her affinity with the natural world shines through in her narrative with its vivid description of wildlife showing the interconnectness of human beings and the natural world.

To add to the magical mix, Nicola Kinner’s black and white illustrations perfectly capture the relationship between the human characters and nature.

Magical Kingdom of Birds: The Silent Songbirds
Anne Booth, illustrated by Rosie Butcher
Oxford University Press

Combining magic and wonder with facts about birds is this latest story in Anne Booth’s series of chapter books for young readers that began when its main protagonist, Maya was made keeper of a very special colouring book that could draw her into the Magical Kingdom of Birds.

The picture that appears to draw her to the Kingdom (where in addition to being a schoolgirl she is the Keeper of the Book) in this adventure is this one.

Instead of the usual focus on one particular kind of bird, songbirds from many parts of the world are featured; the reason being there’s to be a special singing gala so her friend Willow tells Maya. But can they really trust Willow’s wicked Uncle, Lord Astor, who claims to have become a reformed character wanting only to bring everyone together in friendship?

Of course not: he has set his sights on stealing the songs of all the participants in the event and using them for his own nefarious purposes.

Maya certainly has a big problem on her hands and she also has to face up to singing in her school concert if she succeeds in saving the songbirds.

Another exciting episode, with Rosie Butcher’s enchanting black and white illustrations, this is certain to excite Maya’s established fans and capture some new enthusiasts for the series too.
(The final pages contain fascinating facts on the real birds that inspired the story, plus fun things to make and do as well as additional information about the plight of endangered Indonesian songbirds).

This is Frog / Let’s Find the Tiger

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This is Frog
Harriet Evans and Jacqui Lee
Caterpillar Books

Rainforest dwelling Frog (a tree frog) needs help with everyday life and little ones can help him by following the author’s suggestions throughout the story.
Occasionally though the outcome is somewhat unexpected as when having followed him up the page, we discover Frog now upside down, but happily he can use those sticky feet to stay attached to the branch.
When he has a brief attack of forgetfulness as a swarm of yummy-looking flies are blown in his direction, he needs readers to show him how to use his tongue, and then to stop all but the one he’s savouring from buzzing away.

If Frog’s not careful he’ll be the next meal of a toucan who most definitely hasn’t come along for a friendly visit – a loud croak will warn our Frog though, along with a deft hand movement.

There’s more to do however, when monsoon rains come splashing down, especially as our Frog friend, being a tree frog isn’t enthusiastic about swimming, so help is needed to ensure that he ends the day’s adventure safe and sound on his branch to recover for his next round of froggy fun.

With a spattering of playful language throughout and a plethora of interactive opportunities for little ones to perform, Harriet Evans’ narrative should keep them interested throughout.

With occasional cutaway pages, Jacqui Lee’s amusing illustrations of Frog in his lush habitat make for a fun book to share with the very young, and along the way they might absorb a few Tree froggy facts.

Let’s Find the Tiger
illustrated by Alex Willmore
Caterpillar Books

In this seek-and-find, peep through, felt flap board book, little ones are invited to find Tiger. The playful creature has hidden away somewhere in the jungle wherein live lots of other creatures some of which when almost completely hidden away behind the flora or even in the water, might at first glance be the animal they’re looking for.

But the supposed long stripy tail, sparkly white teeth, curly whiskers,

and striped curvy objects are not Tiger.

Could the dark, tucked away location be its hideaway?

With an engaging question and answer, repeat refrain narrative and Alex WIllmore’s colourful jungle scenes to explore, this is both fun and gently educative.

Swarm of Bees

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Swarm of Bees
Lemony Snicket and Rilla Alexander
Andersen Press

This is the second ‘Swarm of Bees’ to arrive at my house in the last couple of weeks. A real swarm dropped down our chimney the other day and after an initial invasion of our bedroom, the bees are now safely at home nesting in the chimney flue.

In the story, a boy throws a tomato at a nest of bees. Why, one wonders. He certainly looks pretty angry as he walks along pulling that cart. But to take his anger out on the bees is surely not acceptable behaviour. His action causes the nest to swing, and disturbed, the bees come swarming out: do they do so to protect their queen perhaps?

Through the town fly the bees with the narrator wondering about possible targets for their stings. A sailor? No he’s spent nine months at sea and is rushing home to give his mother a hug. Maybe a mother, a bricklayer,

chefs, a cat or residents of a flat: using repetition the narrator considers each potential target and provides reasons why not.

What about the boy? We then see that he in fact is pelting each of the potential targets with tomatoes; they’re all feeling indignant and chase the boy across a tomato-splattered town layout

in a sequence of wonderfully buzzy spreads.

Eventually the beekeeper calms the swarm and catches them in his bee sack.

The boy meanwhile, is pacified by an embrace from a parent who doesn’t chastise,

but the narrator echoes his thoughts with ‘It can feel good to be angry. / it can feel better to stop.’

Clever use of metaphor for the feelings of the characters, combined with the exuberant illustrations provoke ideas about anger management and the other emotions the characters exhibit in Rilla Alexander’s bold, mixed media scenes, providing a nice balance of humour and emotional charge.

The entire book is thoughtfully designed from cover to cover with the story starting and concluding on the endpapers.

An interesting, thought provoking book to share as a prelude to a circle time discussion with young listeners.

Why Do I Poo? / Freddie the Fox Feels Frightened

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Thanks to Booklife Publishing for sending these: it’s always good to discover a new publisher.

Why Do I Poo?
Kirsty Holmes
Booklife Publishing

Bodily functions and in particular, poo, seem to hold an endless fascination for young children; mere mention of the word often elicits giggles among those in a reception class or nursery group; and with a cover like the one on this book, I’m sure it will arouse interest straight away.

Actually the whole book isn’t about poo; rather it offers a straightforward look at the workings of the human digestive system, (using a pizza as exemplar)

along with some other poo-related information such as that ‘poo gives off methane and that can be burned to produce power for our homes’, as well as powering buses. Also, animal poo is useful as a fertiliser for plants and, since it contains a lot of fibre, can also be made into paper – not human poo but that of sheep, elephants and even pandas.

After a look at other waste products we make,

there’s a spread on poo-related tummy troubles, as well as one inviting you to ‘rate your poo’ (using the Bristol stool scale). Don’t try that if you’re suffering from those tummy troubles though.

If your little ones are feeling quizzical, then they might like to try matching the poo piles to the four animals illustrated on the opposite page.

The book concludes with a glossary and index. Are you ready, steady, air freshener to hand? …

Freddie the Fox Feels Frightened
John Wood and Danielle Jones
Booklife Publishing

This is one of the Healthy Minds series aimed at the foundation stage and would work either shared at home or with a nursery group.

The author uses a narrative style to explore Freddie’s feelings on the evening before and morning of Freddie’s first day at school.

Despite Andy’s reassurances, Freddie goes to bed feeling frightened about what the next day might bring. So much so that he has a scary dream about being fired from a cannon, his fall being watched by countless pairs of eyes.

When the two leave for school, Freddie takes with him his comfort blanket and even so Andy is concerned that he looks rather unwell; he certainly feels that way on account of his fears of what might happen when they arrive.

His procrastinatory tactics take the two on a rather longer than expected route and during their journey Freddie talks more about his feelings.

Eventually the wet, muddy pair arrive just in the nick of time, with Freddie’s tail all a-tremble and his heart beating fast. Andy continues to reassure him as he opens the door

and following her instructions he counts to ten, looks around and very quickly finds himself absorbed in the children’s game.

With questions to ponder during the story and more to discuss afterwards, this book is, like Andy’s words to Freddie, a reassuring one to use with those soon to start school (or a nursery class). Danielle Jones’ bright, uncluttered illustrations show how both Freddie and Andy feel throughout and should help allay those pre-first day fears in little humans.

The Rabbit Listened

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The Rabbit Listened
Cori Doerrfeld
Scallywag Press

Something terrible happens to Taylor in Cori Doerrfeld’s story. It certainly appears devastating when a flock of birds swoops through, knocking down the complicated construction the small, momentarily proud, child has just built.

One after another various animals come along and attempt to help; but Taylor doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t feel like shouting,

nor remembering as the elephant suggests, certainly doesn’t want to laugh, pretend the event never happened or do any of the other things the creatures, from their own view point think might be supportive.

Eventually Taylor is left alone and that’s when a rabbit creeps up. The rabbit says not a word; it merely snuggles up beside Taylor, offering a listening ear and creating space until the little human is ready to respond to those pent-up emotions held within.

The author/illustrator too creates space, a lot of white space on the page for the story to unfold as Taylor moves from grief, to anger and finally, resolution.

Perfectly paced, seemingly simple but with plenty of space for deeper connections to be made where and when appropriate, this is a book for adults to share especially when there’s a child in need of emotional support who will process it in his/her own way, just like Taylor does.

Cori Doerrfeld’s elegant, empathetic illustrations perfectly orchestrate her wonderfully wise story that’s a must have for anyone who lives or works with young children.

Suzy Orbit, Astronaut / Make & Play: Space / Balloon to the Moon

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Here are three very different books all with a space theme:

Suzy Orbit, Astronaut
Ruth Quayle and Jez Tuya
Nosy Crow

Space engineer, Suzy Orbit lives with her boss, Captain Gizmo in a lunar space station.

One morning they learn that aliens have been spotted within range of their location and they need to act quickly to launch their space pod. The Captain orders one forthwith but it arrives without batteries and those the Captain has don’t fit.
Furthermore his shiny new space suit is way too small and as the aliens have by now arrived, it’s pointless trying to get a new speak-o-phone.

Happily though, the aliens are peaceable beings but they have bad news to share. Earth is about to be blasted by a meteor storm unless Suzy and her boss can stop it. No pressure there then.

Fortunately Suzy, with her tools always to hand, is an engineer extraordinaire and just happens to have a wonderful new invention ready and waiting. It’s as well that one of the team realises that it’s better to rely on ingenuity than ordering things on the net. Before you can say ‘blaster’ the two are heading out into the meteor storm with Suzy at the controls to do battle with those errant meteoroids. Can they save the day and see off the storm?

It’s great to see Suzy as a positive STEM character in the role of engineer/inventor in Ruth Quayle’s quirky tale. Jez Tuya’s bold illustrations show her as having determination and resourcefulness – exactly what’s needed in the face of the Captain’s lack of drive and inability to show any innovative aptitude.

Make & Play: Space
Joey Chou
Nosy Crow

The latest of Joey Chou’s Make & Play interactive activity book series is sure to please young space enthusiasts.
It contains eight pages of bold, brightly coloured, double-sided press-out play pieces that can be used to create a space scene (some have a hole to suspend with thread while others slide together to stand). The entire set would make a great diorama with space dogs, aliens, astronauts and spacecraft, though if desired, the pieces can be fitted back into the spirally bound book for safe keeping.

There are also other space-related activities – a fruit rocket made from fresh fruit pieces; a song to learn; a ‘blast-off rocket’ science experiment, alien models to create (they could be made into puppets perhaps) and more.
There are hours of fun to be had with this, whether used by an individual, or a small group of young children.

For older space enthusiasts is:

Balloon to the Moon
Gill Arbuthnott and Christopher Nielson
Big Picture Press

Rather than concentrating on the Space Race, this takes a historic look at the steps that began in the late 18th century with the Montgolfier brothers flight of a large unmanned balloon and led on to their sending a variety of animals skywards on a 3km flight three months later.

In the same year came the first manned untethered flight by inventor Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes who flew 8km in a Montgolfier balloon. Hot on their heels came the first woman to do similar, the following year (1784). There’s a whole spread given over to this balloon bonanza.

The narrative then shifts to the first half of the 20th century with a look at some aviation pioneers, followed by a focus on some iconic planes.

I was especially pleased to find some literary references on the opening page of the ‘rockets section’ where there’s a mention of both Cyrano de Bergerac and Jules Verne. The author uses numbers in her selection of what she includes so we have, for instance ‘8 Rockets’

and ‘Into the Unknown 7’. The seven referring to the seven animals that became the first astronauts; and this chapter cleverly links these with an explanation of g-forces and their relation to fighter pilots and astronauts.

Much of the remaining part of the book provides information on the endeavours of the US and the Soviet Union to win the space race; and what happened thereafter. In conclusion there’s a quick look at some of the new information the Apollo Moon flights gave us; what ‘space travel has done for life on earth’ and a final look to the future.

Christopher Nielson’s retro style illustrations are full of humorous touches adding to the allure of the book and the enjoyment of the whole narrative.

Harry in a Hurry

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Harry in a Hurry
Timothy Knapman and Gemma Merino
Macmillan Children’s Books

Harry the hare is always in a frantic rush to do everything and go everywhere, so much so that he’s apt to cause chaos wherever he goes.

He makes some pretty perilous moves as he speeds around on his scooter until he suddenly finds himself hurtling through the air and into a pond.

Happily Tom Tortoise is there to fish him out, scooter and all and is even good enough to offer to mend Harry’s battered scooter.
Being a tortoise however, means that whatever Tom does, it’s at an extremely slow speed and inevitably it will be so with the task he’s kindly undertaken.

The badly bruised Harry has no choice but to wait and accept his friend’s offer of lunch.

As he does so, something strange starts to happen.

After their lunch Tom suggests a walk and more of Harry’s grumpiness dissipates as he pauses and takes notice of his surroundings.

Tom slips quietly back to finish his task, returning several hours later with the job done, to discover a decidedly more composed Harry, now mindful of his previous bad manners, and appreciative of both his friend’s efforts and the beauty all around.

Timothy’s tale, funny though it may be, has serious messages about kindness, friendship and the importance of taking time to enjoy everything that slowing down offers, not the least being good-natured interactions with others and the beauty of the natural world.

Gemma Merino’s expressive illustrations orchestrate the action brilliantly, bringing out the contrasts between the characters with gentle humour, and providing lots of amusing touches, not the least being the activities of the little mouse and other unmentioned creatures – an extra reward for those who read the book slowly.

Small World

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Small World
Ishta Mercurio and Jen Corace
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Quietly powerful is Ishta Mercurio’s lyrical story of Nanda.
Her life starts as a tiny baby, wrapped safely in the ‘circle of her mother’s arms.’

As she grows, so too does her world; it grows to encompass the ‘circle of her loving family’ and spreads outwards and outwards to become ‘a sway of branches …’

… ‘a sun-kissed maze of wheat … Pinecone-prickled mountains and the microscopic elegance of fractals in the snow.’

As a young woman her interest in flight takes her to the skies, piloting a plane and then as an astronaut, clad in a spacesuit far out into space, the culmination of her pushing out the edges of her world.

Standing among ‘A sea of stars’, gazing into ‘ink-black space’ viewing Earth from afar she realises that she’s come full circle;

for what she sees is a distant place ‘safe, and warm and small’, as it was when she was that tiny baby in her mother’s arms all ‘those years ago.

The author’s richly detailed narrative paints a gorgeously meditative picture of the girl’s life and this is beautifully visualised in Jen Corace’s gouache, ink, and acrylic, richly patterned spreads that have a quiet, graceful serenity.
The empowering message that emerges from both is that the combination of learning and of the imagination has the potential to open up the entire world.

All in all it’s an elegant celebration of dreaming big, working hard and the joys of discovery especially in things STEAM.
This is a book that should work with older readers/listeners rather than little ones.