Category Picture Books

The Tree That’s Meant To Be

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The Tree That’s Meant To Be
Yuval Zommer
Oxford University Press

Both his wonderful sense of humour and his love of nature and its beauty, shine forth from Yuval Zommer’s festive story of a little tree.

The tale is told by the tree itself. It speaks of its perceived imperfections right from the start – its asymmetry and lack of rapid growth: ‘Looking wonky. Feeling small’ we’re told.

The seasons come and go. People search the forest looking for the perfect tree to cut and take inside for Christmas. One by one the trees are felled until one snowy winter’s night the little tree finds itself alone, seemingly forgotten and unloved.

It’s not so though, for the forest animals have heard its cry and it turns out that the little tree is to have a very special Christmas after all.

Such important themes for all, children especially – unconditional love, enduring companionship and support – are woven into this tale. And what a wonderful way to end, which ensures that this is a story to share beyond Christmas.

All Yuval’s rich, detailed illustrations are a joy to behold. Breaking into rhyme from time to time, the narration really gives a sense of what it feels like to think you’re far from perfect, but this is ultimately, an uplifting book, one to keep and revisit.

The Little Fir Tree

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The Little Fir Tree
Christopher Corr
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Christopher Corr’s reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen classic story is a cautionary tale that ends rather differently from the original.

Christopher’s characteristic dazzling folk art style illustrations follow the little fir tree from its place deep in the forest where it stands feeling discontented with its lot, as other, bigger trees around are felled. Learning that they are to be used to build cabins and ships, the tree insists it too wants to “become a ship and sail on the sea.”

“Don’t wish your life away … Every moment is precious” is the sage advice from the birds that comment on its beauty, as do others – human and animals during the next couple of years.

But then comes the fir tree’s opportunity to have a sparkling adventure of its own. Having been cut down it’s taken into a grand house where children adorn its branches with festive decorations.

Its time of glory though is short-lived, although the fir tree does enjoy a sharing of The Snow Queen

before its branches are stripped of all its adornments by eager hands just before bedtime, leaving the tree eagerly anticipating their replacement the following day.

But it’s not to be, for next morning the tree is taken outside and put in the shed where it stays abandoned with nothing to do but reminisce about its life back in the forest – “It was the best place in the world … If only I’d known it then.”

Corr doesn’t leave the tree rueing its fate though, for come spring, the children drag it outside once more and there they give it a new persona; and thanks to its old friend Squirrel, there’s also an opportunity to create life anew.

Live in the moment and appreciate what you have is the gentle message that emerges from this fine book.

A Christmas Carol / A Cat’s Christmas Carol

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A Christmas Carol
retold by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Mike Redman
Orchard Books

In faultless rhyme, poet and author Tony Mitton tells the story – albeit a somewhat shortened one – of the Charles Dickens Christmas classic that begins on Christmas Eve with the miserly Scrooge responding to his clerk Bob Cratchit’s Merry Christmas wishes thus “Christmas? Humbug … A feast for foolish men.”

Then back in his room, come the ghosts – first that of Marley and later in turn, those of the Ghost of Christmas Past,

the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future, each one eerily portrayed in Mike Redman’s atmospheric filmic spreads.

As you’ll know, the vision of Bob’s invalid son looking so frail and ill, and that of all the working poor toiling to earn but a pittance, result in a change of heart in old Scrooge who instead of Scrooge the Miser is transformed into ‘Scrooge, the Man / who keeps as kind a Christmas / as any person can.’

This book offers a highly accessible introduction to the famous seasonal classic for children.

A Cat’s Christmas Carol
Sam Hay & Helen Shoesmith
Simon & Schuster

It’s Christmas Eve and closing time in the large department store. The shoppers have gone and the staff are on their way out bidding each other a “Merry Christmas”.

That leaves just Clawdia the security guard’s cat and a trio of mice that have come in out of the cold. Clawdia attempts to apprehend them but they lead her on a merry chase all round the store, stopping from time to time to point out things that make her ponder on the past, present and future,

and begin to question her “Christmas is for sillybillies” attitude.

But then she receives an unexpectedly kind invitation from the tiny rodents she’s been chasing. That’s not quite the end of the kindness though: there’s an even bigger surprise in store and it’s one that results in a wonderful family Christmas Day for the moggy, the mice and the warm-hearted, welcoming humans with whom she gets into proper festive mood.

Helen Shoesmith’s hilarious scenes of the chase around the store

and the superbly expressed feelings of both animal and human characters bring out the warmth and humour of Say Hay’s story: just right for spreading some seasonal cheer at home or in the classroom.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland / The Night Before Christmas

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The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland
Carys Bexington and Kate Hindley
Macmillan Children’s Books

Demonstrating the true meaning of Christmas, this is a marvellous mix up of two classics– Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas.

It begins thus: ‘Twas the night before Christmas, a dark snowy night / When St Nick and his reindeer were just taking flight.’

Debut picture book author, Carys Bexington manages to sustain the jaunty rhyme unfalteringly throughout the tale. Therein she gives Santa aka St. Nick a turn to go adventuring down the rabbit hole when he responds to the plea of the Princess of Hearts who sends a letter begging for a Christmas present after her parents have said no.

Having made their way down the royal chimney St. Nick plus reindeer come upon a decidedly unseasonal scene and disturb the Queen of Hearts. She, we learn hates Christmas because as a little princess, her Dear Santa letter missed the last post on account of the White rabbit’s tardiness and so she was presentless.

As a consequence, presents, along with tinsel, mince pies and good cheer are all banned.

Now though, at long last, it’s time to deliver that gift to the erstwhile little princess.

Can St. Nick succeed in restoring the ‘Happy’ into Christmas? Perhaps, but only if her royal grumpiness, the Queen of Hearts responds positively to Rudolph’s assertion, that alluded to at the start of this review.

A full cast that includes the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter, are depicted in Kate Hindley’s absolutely priceless scenes of seasonal mayhem and festive frolics, each of which is bursting with delicious details and Kate’s own brand of brilliance.

The Night Before Christmas
Clement C. Moore and Roger Duvoisin
Scallywag Press

If you are looking for a version of the classic Clement Clarke Moore seasonal poem this year then I’d wholeheartedly recommend this superbly designed one first published in 1954.

Its tall, slim shape and size is perfect chimney shaped design and here we follow Santa – portly and with an enormous beard – as he alights on the rooftop and slides down the chimney of the narrator’s residence (in how many homes would that be possible nowadays?).

Observant readers who are familiar with Duvoisin’s creation for Louise Fatio’s The Happy Lion will spot the striking resemblance of one of the soft toys left as a gift, to said lion.

Retro brilliance this!

The Hero’s Quest

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The Hero’s Quest
Jeffrey Alan Love
Walker Studio

Told in rhyming couplets writ large on the page, and dramatic scenes of a rider who, tasked by the Ancient One, sets out on a quest into the unknown, this epic tale has a satisfying circularity.

We see the quester looking dwarfed as he encounters the array of massive, terrifying adversaries that threaten. There are dragons, elves wielding swords wreathed in flames,

a terrifying wolfpack

sea monsters and more, each presented in a limited colour palette that serves to heighten the impact of the drama.

Totally brilliant: this enormously accomplished, immersive book will appeal particularly to myth and fantasy lovers across a very wide age group who, due to its structure, will want to read it over and over marvelling at each and every spread.

Having seen this picture book, it’s no surprise to learn that Jeffrey Alan Love is a multi-award winning artist and writer.

Dinosaurs vs Humans

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Dinosaurs vs Humans
Matt Robertson
Orchard Books

Can dinosaurs and humans co-exist harmoniously? Seemingly not: the humans do things that annoy the dinos. and the dinosaurs tease the humans.

One day though, one little human, Pearl by name and one little dinosaur, Dexter, both decide to take a walk and they bump into one another – literally! Surprisingly they get on well and before long have become besties – ‘a Human-Dino team’ no less. Needless to say this incurs the wrath of their respective tribes.

Time to seek a new place to enjoy themselves they decide and off they go.

Suddenly though disaster strikes and the friends find themselves in great danger.

Their cries for help are heard by both tribes and each rushes to the rescue but neither the humans nor the dinosaurs can reach sufficiently far down to where Pearl and Dexter are trapped.
Is it perhaps time to set aside the antagonism towards one another and join forces?

Told in rhyme, this unlikely adventure with themes of friendship, community spirit, and respecting and celebrating differences, offers plenty to ponder upon and discuss with young listeners, some of whom will doubtless enjoy pointing out the impossibility of the two sets of characters ever meeting. Matt Robertson’s delightfully daft scenes of dinosaurs and early humans certainly provide lots to explore and giggle over.

Queen of Physics

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Queen of Physics
Teresa Robeson and Rebecca Huang
Sterling

Subtitled How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secerts of the Atom, this is a fascinating exploration of the life of a woman who overcame the barriers of gender and race to become a ground breaking experimental physicist.

Born in China in 1912, Wu Chien Shiung (meaning Courageous hero) was fortunate in having forward thinking parents. Her mother even opened a school in Liuhe to encourage parents to educate their daughters, so it was waiting by the time her own daughter was ready to start.

But it wasn’t long before Chien Shiung had outgrown her parents’ school

so they sent her fifty miles away to the city of Suzhou. There, despite opting for teacher training, she developed a passion for science, especially physics. Not only that but she became her fellow students’ leader in an underground group to fight against the injustices of the oppressive Chinese government.

Eventually her talents took her far from home, first to Berkley and then to New York’s Columbia University to continue her studies in beta decay.

Three times her outstanding work deserved the Nobel Prize but it was those men who had enlisted her help in their research, not Chien Shiung who won the award.

Not only that but she was passed over for jobs she wanted  ‘because she was a woman, because she was Asian’.

Sadly she never saw her parents again but Chien Shiung continued achieving amazing things in physics while continuing to fight prejudice against woman and Asians and in 1963 was declared ‘Queen of Physics’ by Newsweek.

Robeson explains scientific concepts in a straightforward, accessible manner, providing at the end of the book a summary of her subject’s life and there’s also a glossary and suggestions for further reading. Rebecca Huang’s mixed media illustrations add further inspiration to this biography that is rich in potential for classroom discussion as well as for aspiring young scientists.

The Small Five / Scapegoat

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The Small Five
Ralph Johnstone and Harriet Stanes
Little Steps Publishing

The “Big Five’ of Africa are the lion, the elephant, the leopard, the rhino and the buffalo, known the world over. In this subtly humorous rhyming story Ralph Johnstone tells how these are the creatures that ruled supreme in wild life habitats until the Small Five (Buffalo weaver, Elephant Shrew, Antlion, Rhinoceros Beetle and Leopard Tortoise decide to take them on.

We learn what happens as The Battle of The Bush unfolds. With Doc the Croc as referee, there are five challenges focussing on different skills each time, with a representative of the Big and Small teams participating …

Which side will emerge as the winners?

The theme of this tale is summed up in Old Doc’s closing speech, “ And it’s time we all realise / that being big and tough isn’t ever enough’. Size alone does not equate to an animal’s (or a child’s) worth and nobody should be judged on size and stature alone – definitely something to be discussed at home or in school.

Harriet Stanes’ lively, amusing illustrations move readers, along with the action, through different parts of the African landscape adding fun details as well as zoological ones.

Part of the proceeds of sales of the book will through the purchase of produce from Nairobi’s Organic Farmers’ Market go to supporting children living in Kenya’s Children’s home.

Cleverly constructed this is an enjoyable, thought-provoking read aloud.

Scapegoat
Ava Keyes and Alexandra Szmidt
Little Steps Publishing

There are lots of picture books that deal with bullying but I’ve not come across one before that looks at bullying at home. Debut author Ava Keyes presents in her rhyming narrative a story of a family member that always gets the blame when others, young and adult feel angry or frustrated about something. So deep does this cut the young Scapegoat that sometimes even at school, which he loves on account of his friend Harry, the little character feels overwhelmed by shame.

On one such occasion, Harry notices his pal’s tearfulness and alerts their teacher thus allowing Scapegoat to share how he feels. Mr Sheep’s response is ‘Never apologise for what you feel. / It’s like saying sorry for being real’.

He goes on to explain that adults, in spite of doing their best, do get things wrong at times.

He has a talk with dad and mum who eventually see what has been happening to their son who then starts to believe in himself: ‘Inside he knew that he could cope, / Scapegoat had help now, he had found hope,’

Through the story (despite occasional clunks in the rhyme) combined with Alexandra Szmidt’s expressive, mixed media illustrations readers are shown that confiding in a trusted friend or adult, along with finding their own inner strength, are effective when it comes to dealing with bullying.

This is a useful book to have in a foundation/ KS1classroom collection.

Musical Mac / Just So Willow

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Musical Mac
Brendan Kearney
Sterling

Here we have a solo offering from the illustrative half of the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series.

Millipede Mac loves to play music but the thought of competing solo in the Soggy Bog Talent Show fills him with fear.

To get round this he decides to join a band, so packing up his numerous instruments he sets out in search of a suitable one.

He tries his luck with several rehearsing groups – a tiny antennae orchestra, a band of alleycats, he plays guitar with frogs and drums with dogs but despite his talents none of the bands will take him on.

After a too close for comfort encounter with a bird choir, Mac is so thoroughly frightened that he dashes right on to the stage of the talent show – all alone.

Can he – with a bit of encouragement from the other bands he’s met on his way – summon up the courage to give it a go? He certainly has plenty of instruments …

Full of zany detail. Brendan Kearney’s illustrations provide plenty to pore over and the scattering of alliterative phrases adds interest to the text.

Just So Willow
Sara F. Shacter and Stephanie Laberis
Sterling

Bear cub, Willow, is fanatically finicky even ironing her underwear and unscrambling her spaghetti.

When a snowstorm covers her backyard one morning, Willow is delighted at its perfection and is determined to keep it just so. But then a stray snowball tossed by one of the children playing close by is deemed to be the start of her perfect space being turned into a ‘lumpy, bumpy mess’ Willow just has to stop them. But how?

Shouting doesn’t work as she can’t get close enough despite some athletic efforts, but the little bear just keeps on trying.

Eventually she accidentally toboggans into the centre of the group of frolickers creating a perfect ‘crisp white ribbon around the yard.

Then it’s time to discover the possibilities of different kinds of perfect and a whole lot of fun with friends too perhaps …

It’s evident that author Sara Shacter understands children like Willow (I love all the playful language) and illustrator Stephanie Laberis goes to town with the characters’ expressions especially those of Willow in her comical scenes.

A fun story about stepping outside your comfort zone and risk taking.

Snow Still / Flip Flap Frozen

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Here are two decidedly shivery offerings from Nosy Crow Books

Snow Still
Holly Surplice
Nosy Crow

A young fawn experiences the world while taking its first steps in a snowy landscape.

Told through a sequence of rhyming couplets beginning ‘Snow white. // Snow slide. // Snow chase. //Snow hide. and gorgeous visuals, we follow the little creature through a series of beautiful watercolour scenes that show a game with rabbits; an encounter with a group of perching birds; an owl gliding high overhead across a silent empty plain;

a squirrel curled up in the hollow of a tree … and finally as the fawn struggles with the extra depth of a further snowfall, we meet the adult deer ready and waiting to provide a warm safe haven for their little one.

I love all the different perspectives used and how the seeming simplicity of the words allows the visual landscapes plenty of space to convey the beauty and starkness of the countryside – its woodlands with the berries all aglow, the umbel seed heads a-sparkle with touches of silver, and the vastness of the open field. (This is some of the best use of silver highlighting that I’ve seen in a picture book certainly this season).

Lyrical and lovely; a beautiful book to share with the very young on a chilly winter’s day.

Flip Flap Frozen
Axel Scheffler
Nosy Crow

There’s a decidedly icy feel to the latest in Axel’s terrific Flip Flap series.

Readers can discover what happens when a polar bear is crossed with a walrus (you get a polrus), or a reindeer with an orca (a reinca – naturally!) and a host of other brilliantly bonkers species as they play around with the spit pages.

Samuel experimenting with combinations

Of course if you play it straight then Axel’s animals have provided factual rhyming descriptions about themselves and they even accompany them with their characteristic sounds.

Guaranteed hours of fun whether consumed solo or with the help of an obliging adult reading the main text and a youngster making the noises and flipping the flaps.

The Snow Queen

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The Snow Queen
retold by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Laura Barrett
Orchard Books

Like everything else she writes, award-winning author, Geraldine McCaughrean’s retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen classic tale is simply stupendous: the way she uses words herein is sheer enchantment: ‘From that moment, Kai was full of goblin mischief … and empty of joy. … And when in the market square, he saw the beautiful lady again, in her curlicue silver sleigh, he just climbed in beside her. Had to. Something made him. A magic bigger than mischief.’

That’s when Kai disappears in the company of the wicked Snow Queen and thus begins the search for Gerda’s dearest friend.

During her search Gerda encounters a kindly witch, a clever crow, a prince and princess,

a den of robbers and in particular a Robber Girl. It’s the latter who gives her a pet reindeer to ride.

At the top of the world she comes to a house wherein dwells a wise woman who knows the way to the palace of the Snow Queen. This woman urges Gerda to find courage and sends her on her way.

And find Kai she does, once the Snow Queen has departed leaving him with a puzzle to solve, but convinced he’ll fail.

However with Gerda at his side, a word takes shape …

and then it’s time to flee for their lives, Gerda, Kai and two brave reindeer …

Geraldine’s out of this world telling has the perfect illustrator in Laura Barrett. Putting me in mind rather of Lotte Reiniger and Jan Pieńkowski’s work, her silhouette illustrations are incredibly beautiful.

The Blanket Bears

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The Blanket Bears
Samuel Langley-Swain and Ashlee Spink
Owlet Press

Here’s a little book, written by an adoptive Dad that provides an outline of the adoption process from a child’s point of view.

The author’s story of two little bears removed from a dangerous situation, doesn’t gloss over the fact that adoptive children will have had troubling experiences that they bring with them into their ‘forever’ homes, and thus provides an honest sensitive look at the adoption journey that the very young can relate to.

Herein we meet and follow the two little bears from the time they’re visited by a care worker, Tilly, one snowy day. She secures them a temporary foster home where the two begin to feel safe while their carers, Bailey and Niko make sure that their foster ‘children’ know this is a temporary arrangement until Tilly has found them a ‘forever’ home.

One day she arrives with a huge smile and a picture book about a family and the little bears’ new home, explaining that they’ll soon be having a visit from their ’forever family’.

All goes well and very soon the little bears, with mixed feelings of excitement and apprehension leave Bailey and Niko and move into their permanent and very loving home.

Ashlee Spink’s illustrations portray the emotions of the little bears and the characters who help them beautifully, showing both the downs and the ups the main characters’ experience.

Endorsed by Adoption UK this is a book for early years settings to have in their collections, as well as for adopters and their children.

Argh! There’s a Skeleton Inside You! / A Cat Called Trim

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Allen & Unwin offer some unusual ways of presenting information in these two non-fiction books

Argh! There’s a Skeleton Inside You!
Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost
Allen & Unwin

Quog (a blobbly armless thing) and Oort (a gas cloud) are in their spacecraft going to a party but mechanical issues hold things up. They need to get out and fix the problem but without hands or arms, opening the door isn’t possible. Or is it? That’s when the narrative becomes interactive – the reader turns the page and … out they come.

‘Give Quog and Oort a wave,’ we’re told and a page turn reveals Quog has grown arms and hands. That’s a good start but there are further issues.

Little by little youngsters are then introduced to the bones,

muscles …

and nerves of the hand – their form and function.

With simple, bright, lively illustrations, this, zany mix of fact and fiction is enormously engaging: little humans will love the idea of helping the little aliens reach their destination, and in so doing learning some basic human biology – anatomy and physiology – as presented by the clever human team Idan Ben-Barak (author/scientist) and illustrator Julian Frost.

A Cat Called Trim
Corinne Fenton and Craig Smith
Allen & Unwin

‘Trim was a cat born for adventure.’ That he surely was having been born aboard the sailing ship Reliance bound for Botany Bay and then not long after, finds himself hurtling over the side of the ship into the inky depths of the Indian Ocean.

Happily for the kitten and his saviour Matthew Flinders, a special relationship is forged, with Trim accompanying his master on all his expeditions until the fateful day when Flinders was accused of spying, his precious books, charts and journals confiscated and he became a prisoner on the Isle de France (Mauritius).

After a while Trim disappeared and his master never saw him again.

Both educative and entertaining, Corinne Fenton’s telling of this true story is compelling and accompanied by Craig Smith’s dramatic, detailed illustrations, and maps, makes for an absorbing starting point for primary readers interested in Australia and its history.

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

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Sofia Valdez, Future Prez
Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
Abrams Books for Young Readers

I can’t think of a better time than now for this continuation of the Questioneers series to appear: young Sofia Valdez has a vision to make the world – in particular her own neighbourhood – a better place.

From a very young age Sophia has been a caring, helpful child and one morning on the way to school with her much loved Abuela (granddad) a squirrel chasing dog precipitates the downfall of a huge mountain of rubbish, causing an injury to her grandfather.

Thereafter, Sofia decides to become an environmental activist leader who campaigns for the mess mountain to be cleared and a community park constructed in its place. Her neighbours are on board with ideas but then Sofia has a crisis of confidence.

However, despite feeling daunted she heads to the City Hall next morning and after being directed from one office to another,

she eventually rallies the support of all the employees including the mayor.

Operation Blue River Creek Citizens’ Park is underway.

A slight departure from STEM subjects, this fourth, rhyming story adds a social science/citizenship strand to the series: stand up for what you believe is right is one message in this tale of empathy, finding your own voice, courage, leadership, community spirit and creativity. For adults wanting to encourage any of those in youngsters, this is must have book. Along the way readers will enjoy meeting some old friends from previous books before David Roberts’ wonderful, uplifting final spread.

Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales

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Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales
Jen Campbell and Katie Harnett
Thames & Hudson

This is dragon Franklin and his human pal, Luna’s third adventure. Herein the two are about to celebrate bibliophile Franklin’s six hundred and sixth birthday.

Luna and the villagers are planning a special surprise party and to distract Franklin, Luna takes him to a strange bookshop where spiders act as assistants to the lady owner and there are exciting books in abundance.

But the real adventure begins when Luna’s pet tortoise Neil is entrapped by an old book,

and Franklin and Luna follow into what turns out to be, the wondrous world of fairy tales.

There they meet the likely characters – the three little pigs building a hotel,

three bears, a boy who has so he says, sold his cow for magic beans, a ‘yawning princess with a bag of frozen peas’ (love that), as well as a host of other story book inhabitants.

Some of these, including the final one they encounter – a large grey wolf – don’t conform to the stereotype: this huffing creature informs the searchers that he’s turned vegetarian and practises yoga. Not only that, he actually points out the missing tortoise (engaged in a race with a long-eared leporine).

Yes, they do escape from the book – just! – and return to the village for that surprise party, but whether it turns out to be their ‘happily ever after’ as Luna wonders during the celebratory picnic, we’ll have to wait and see.

Young listeners will delight in the story and especially relish pointing out their favourite fairy tale characters, while adult sharers will welcome the creators’ promotion of books, stories and proper bookshops.

Greta and the Giants

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Greta and the Giants
Zoë Tucker and Zoe Persico
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

The impassioned 16 year old Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg is often in the headlines and here we have an allegorical picture book tale of a forest-dwelling Greta and the troubled animals whose beautiful home environment is threatened by thoughtless greedy giants.

The importance of conscious interaction with both the land and the animals that make its various environments their home, comes across powerfully through both Zoê Tucker’s words and Zoe Persico’s spirited illustrations.

One can’t help but wish that the real world culprits were as responsive and had consciences that made them respond as positively as the giants who, in this heartfelt fable, change their ways for the better.

Yes, this inspiring story has a happy ending but as its creators acknowledge, the real Greta is still fighting the Giants (industry and governments).However there are things that everyone, no matter how young, can do to make a difference where climate change and the climate crisis is concerned; if we all work together ‘we can change the world’. That in itself makes the book a must for all families and classrooms where there are young children.

(Thanks to the publishers, 3% of the cover price of every copy of the book, which in the UK is printed on 100% recycled paper, will go to Greenpeace UK.)

Scruffle-Nut / Hugless Douglas Plays Hide-and-Seek

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Here are two very different stories with a theme of friendship:

Scruffle-Nut
Corinne Fenton and Owen Swan
New Frontier Publishing

‘As winter leaves tumble and twirl / a wisp of memory / wraps itself about me / and whispers me back / to long ago … ‘

So begins a gentle tale told by Olivia whose childhood memories we share in this sensitively told, equally sensitively illustrated story with its soft-spoken bullying theme.

As a young child her Nanny Clementine would take her to the park and there one day she sees a shy stumpy-tailed little squirrel that is chased away by the squirrels with large bushy tails.

It’s the beginning of a friendship that develops between child and squirrel – a squirrel that is, like the girl, a little different from others.

Time passes, the days turn colder until the snow falls and visits to the park come to a halt and Olivia is left wondering whether Scruffle-Nut, as she calls her friend, will be able to ward off attacks from the Bully-Bunch, the name she gives to the bushy-tail squirrels.

Although she never sees her squirrel friend again, he stays in her heart along with the lesson she learned from him so long ago.

Hugless Douglas Plays Hide-and-Seek
David Melling
Hodder Children’s Books

Playing hide-and-seek with his woolly friends is somewhat problematic for Douglas; he’s always the one to be found first.

But when Little Sheep invites him to team up and become a seeker, he certainly proves his worth; in fact he’s a little too good.

The game continues apace until there’s only Flossie left to find and then in his enthusiasm Douglas picks up the only possible hiding place remaining, in its entirety, which has the desired result. They locate Flossie but then find that Little Sheep is missing.

Can they discover where their friend is before it’s dark?

Another eventful episode from the adorable Douglas to please his fans and more than likely win him a whole lot more.

Early Years Bookshelf: Moon and Me / All Around Me: A First Book of Childhood

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Moon and Me
Andrew Davenport and Mariko Umeda
Scholastic

Not being familiar with the TV programmes I watched an episode and with its generous sprinkling of ‘tiddle toddle’s, it certainly does have some of the magic of the Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.

What we have in this book is a sequence of episodes starting with Pepi Nana’s sending of a magical letter to the moon that results in a visit from Moon Baby and his magical kalimba; and thus she makes a new friend.

Once at Pepi Nana’s Toy House he wakes her friends with his music: for the uninitiated they are Mr Onion, Colly Wobble, Sleepy Dibillo, Little Nana, Lambkin and Lily Plant. They create tissue paper flowers from the resources in the curiosity box and one ends up looking like a seed that becomes the inspiration for the next Storyland tale wherein ‘Tiddle toddle’ Pepi Nana’s magical seed grows into a large beanstalk which everybody climbs

and there they see something wonderful.

And so it continues until finally, it’s time for sleep and for their visitor to return to the moon.

There are songs to learn and the repeated “And I think she was right about that’ to join in with, as well as a lot of playing of Moon Baby’s magical kalimba.

If your little ones enjoy the Moon and Me CBeebies series then I suspect they’ll love this attractively presented, whimsical picture book.

All Around Me: A First Book of Childhood
Shirley Hughes
Walker Books

Putting together five previously published books, this is the most delightful children’s collection of basic concepts done with genius as only Shirley Hughes can.

Enormous fun and wonderfully engaging for little ones, we’re shown the world of childhood through the eyes of Katie and her smaller brother, Olly.

Whether it’s the rhyming look at Opposites; the story of an outing (Grandpa and Katie) to the park that provides a superb opportunity for Counting; Colours identified through wondrous scenes and accompanying rhymes;

the enchanting visual presentation of All Shapes and Sizes, again with accompanying rhymes; or cacophonous Sounds alongside some gentler ones, each section offers sheer pleasure (and some gentle learning) at every page turn.

If you have a little one or know others who have, then this is for you. Equally it’s a classic to add to a nursery or playschool collection.

The Underhills: A Tooth Fairy Story

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The Underhills: A Tooth Fairy Story
Bob Graham
Walker Books

This is the wonderful Bob Graham’s second story about Esme and April. Herein while their parents work, they are to spend a whole day and night with their Grandma and Grandpa in the teapot house by the airport fence. What joy!

As they’re just settling in Grandma’s phone rings. It’s Mum about a job: Akuba, a small girl shortly arriving from Ghana by plane has lost a tooth and it needs collecting.

With Mum’s permission it’s decided that Grandad will remain behind to look after baby Vincent, and Esme, April and Grandma will get the tooth, taking great care not to be seen.
Off they go to the ‘terminable’ as Esme calls it to await Akuba’s arrival.

There follows an exciting time as they fly around in the terminal among angels and cupids some of whom they actually meet and learn about their jobs.

Then the Ghana flight’s arrival is announced; can the tooth fairies locate Akuba’s tooth and get hold of a coin with which to replace it without Akuba catching sight of them?

What a gorgeously whimsical, magical tale of determination, hoping and believing. Bob Graham’s telling is absolutely full of delicious moments. For instance Grandad’s reading ‘A Poem for Every Day of the Year’ as the tooth collectors depart and is still so doing ‘with Vincent’s sweet breath in his ear’ on their return and what’s more he’d managed to read four months in that single sitting.

Equally wonderful are Graham’s distinctive illustrations – I just love the scene where Grandad has tethered himself to Vincent so that should he drop off while reading, the baby can’t float away like a balloon.

Totally adorable from start to finish.

Aaahhh!

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Aaahhh!
Guilherme Karsten
Thames & Hudson

Aaahhh! Aaahhh! Aaahhh! Whatever is that noise?

The world’s highest mountain collapses; something weird is happening between the north and south poles; the biggest tiger in the world becomes stripeless.

Aaahhh! Aaahhh! Aaahhh! A terrible eardrum shattering noise is permeating the entire planet.

Nobody can think straight let alone hear other voices. Chaos and confusion reign as computers go crazy with buzzes and beeps.

Where can such a havoc wreaking sound possibly be coming from? Outer space perhaps? Or could it be a catastrophic hit on the trombone factory, or an enormous out of tune saxophone being played? Whatever it is, the sound seems to be drawing more and ever more people towards its source.

A plot spoiler I won’t be so I’ll leave you to decide what or who is the cause of the cacophonous din. The answer certainly came as a complete surprise to me; I was anticipating something completely different.

Enormous fun and full of witty artistic allusions, illustrator and graphic designer Guilherme Karsten’s mixed media illustrations of paint, crayon and collage have details aplenty to pore over. You might want to reach for your earplugs as you read his resoundingly zany tale aloud to a participatory child audience.

The Adventures of Moose & Mr Brown

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The Adventures of Moose & Mr Brown
Paul Smith and Sam Usher
Pavilion Books

Like the book’s author, Mr Brown (a monkey) is a famous fashion designer.

He meets Moose on a plane en route from the USA to London. Moose has lost his twin brother at the airport and seeing his distress Mr Brown offers to help Moose find him.

This however isn’t straightforward for Moose finds himself assisting his new friend, offering ideas to extend his fashion range and travelling the world at the same time.

His ideas are certainly interesting – parkas for penguins, sneakers for cheetahs, scarves for giraffes, go-faster slippers for sloths and more.

But it’s during the styling of snow-shoes for a bear that Mr Brown has an idea. He enlists the ursine creature’s help and eventually at the Paris fashion show a happy reunion takes place and a dream team is born.

A fun story that celebrates creativity and highlights the importance of kindness and friendship. Illustrator Sam Usher has clearly enjoyed letting his own creative juices flow for this quirky book.

Angel on the Roof

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Angel on the Roof
Shirley Hughes
Walker Books

Come with me to 32 Paradise Street, Notting Hill, London where something wonderful unfolds.

In her inimitable style, Shirley Hughes presents the story of a friendship that develops between a boy, Lewis Brown, and an angel.

One night this angel alights unnoticed on the roof of the building wherein Lewis lives with his parents, spends the night there and next morning shakes his wings causing a golden feather to fall, landing on the sill of the window through which Lewis is peering.
(Having an underdeveloped leg, Lewis prefers people watching to interpersonal encounters.)

The boy notices the feather, knows it’s something special and clambers up to the roof to investigate.

What he sees is an angel with a beaming smile. Lewis pours out his heart to the being and thus begins their relationship.

The two walk together through the streets of west London, the angel wearing an overcoat belonging to Lewis’s father.

We never see its face, but alongside the angel Lewis feels alone no longer and gradually things change for the better at 32 Paradise Street.

For fear of spoiling the story, I’ll say little more other than that one night Lewis has the experience of a lifetime and things continue to change for the better both in his life and those of other people.

This is such a sublimely beautiful book; it’ll make you feel uplifted and having read it and wondered at Shirley’s illustrations with those touches of gold, you’ll want immediately to find others to share it with. I certainly did.

Silly Mr Wolf / Wolf in the Snow

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From Andersen Press come not one but two wolfish stories from award winning picture book creators this month:

Silly Mr Wolf
Tony Ross
Andersen Press

Like most storybook wolves, Mr Wolf is a very tricky character and a master of disguise – at the outset at least.

Said lupine has long outgrown his ‘sheep’s clothing’ and so in more recent times in order to obtain a juicy sheep for his dinner he’d put a bag over his head and changed his name, first to Mr Jones – which worked briefly; then (with a new suit and bigger bag) to Mr Smith. Again this ruse was temporarily successful,

so could it be third time lucky with a change of bag and outfit?

The sheep appear ready to fight their corner except for an old one . He points out that as well as whacking Mr Wolf, they need to deal with his pals. How can they drive away four wolves?

Is it he who’s the silly one? I don’t want to be a story spoiler so remember the title of the book and decide for yourself …

Daftness as only Tony Ross can deliver it, but there’s an important stranger-danger message here too.

Wolf In the Snow
Matthew Cordell
Andersen Press

Almost wordless, this is a wonderfully satisfying story about a little girl whose kindness is repaid one chillsome day.

The book opens with a view of a family warm inside their home.

Then, clad in a red hooded jacket, the little girl leaves the house, bids her dog farewell and sets off into the gently falling snow.
At the same time a pack of wolves is on the move.

This is no Red Riding Hood tale though, for then comes the title page after which we see the same child waving to her schoolmates and setting off homewards in the now, heavily falling snow.

Turn over and the wolves emitting steam from their mouths are heading in the girl’s direction.

The snow falls ever faster as the girl and a wolf cub approach one another to the accompaniment of the beginnings of a soundtrack.

With the pack’s howls resounding across the distant hills, she tenderly lifts the little creature and proceeds to carry it towards the sound with the blizzard swirling all around. Across streams, past antagonistic animals she trudges until at last she reaches its mother.

By now the child is well nigh exhausted but she continues her journey until she can go no further and collapses into the snow.
Then it’s time for the wolves to show their gratitude and they do so by surrounding her in a protective circle and howling.

Their call reaches her family and eventually all ends happily.

How brilliantly Cordell captures the multitude of feelings, both human and animal, in his pen-and-ink and watercolour ilustrations; and what an enormously satisfying circularity there is – both verbal and visual – to this superb tale.

Dinosaur Day Out

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Dinosaur Day Out
Sara Acton
Walker Books

Like the child characters Sally and Max in Sara Acton’s story, most young children love dinosaurs, so there’s always room for just one more dinosaur book.

We follow the exploits of the children as they visit the museum with their dad only to discover that on this particular day the dinosaur exhibition is closed.

Instead Dad buys a book about dinosaurs and they head into the city.

As they explore Dad reads the book telling the children about the diplodocus, the pterodactyl,

the stegosaurus, the tyrannosaurus and lesser-known dinosaurs but so engrossed is he that he fails to notice the exciting and occasionally alarming things around him.

Cleverly conceived, this is a case of showing not telling where the text and illustrations are delightfully mismatched. Little ones will delight in being in the know as Sally and Max give their imaginations free rein as they delight in the opportunities offered.

Woven into the narrative are some basic facts – dinosaur facts to please dino-curious youngsters, while all will enjoy the predominantly watercolour illustrations.

What Not to Give an Ogre for his Birthday / Caveboy Crush / Iguanas Love Bananas

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What Not to Give an Ogre for his Birthday
Will Hughes
Little Door Books

Stanley and Martha love buying birthday presents for people and always manage to find just the right thing; but when it comes to their new neighbour, Len the friendly ogre, the task is shall we say, a challenge. The usual things – a bike, clothes, a theatre trip or a pet don’t really fit the bill and a ride in a hot air balloon would be somewhat problematic.

Can the two come up with an idea that could make Len’s birthday the best he’s ever had?

This story of determination and friendship is the first of the Little Door Debuts imprint and it appears as though the publisher has found a new talent with Will Hughes, whose scribbly style illustrations are great fun, putting me in mind slightly of Quentin Blake’s work.

Caveboy Crush
Beth Ferry and Joseph Kuefler
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Here’s a sweet story of a first crush Neanderthal style.

Meet caveboy, Neander, who falls for the ‘most beautiful girl in the prehistoric world’ short, hairy Neanne, who is perfect in every way. His parents accurately diagnose the problem when he becomes all moony.

Armed with flowers picked from The Field of Bees, Neander rushes off to try and woo the little cave-girl but …

and there she isn’t.

The disappointed caveboy decides a grander plan is needed but this too is a dismal failure of the CRUSH kind and Neanne decides her wooer is just a little a bit crazy.

Could it be a case of third time lucky perhaps …?

A fun tale with splendidly expressive illustrations should make for an enjoyable, somewhat noisy storytime as youngsters enjoy the opportunity to let rip with a CRUSH or two during the telling.

Iguanas Love Bananas
Jennie & Chris Cladingbee and Jeff Crowther
Maverick Publishing

I suspect the authors of this crazy rhyming narrative about animals and their food predilections are fans of Kes Gray & Jim Field’s ‘Oi!’ picture books.

In this story we meet all kinds of creatures, large and small, dining on their favourite foods much to the consternation of the humans from whom they steal or otherwise procure such things as fajitas – that’s cheetahs; sausage rolls – the water voles raid a picnic basket for theirs; vindaloos, though these are seemingly paid for at the take-away, but the people on whom they sneeze on account of the spices are less than impressed.

I’m unsure how the manatees got hold of a crate of blue cheese but the end result is constipation, so we’re told.

I have to say though, that I’m with the guy on the final page who is the only one relishing Brussels sprouts. Yummy!

Jeff Crowther clearly enjoyed himself creating the illustrations for this culinary romp; his scenes of all those animals stuffing themselves are full of gigglesome details.

Shadow

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Shadow
Lucy Christopher and Anastasia Suvorova
Lantana Publishing

A little girl and her mother move into a new house. The girl narrator discovers a shadowy boy under her bed whom she names Shadow. They spend time together while the mother who seems completely distracted fails, despite his shape shifting, to see the boy, allowing the two freedom to wander together all through the almost dark house.

One day they go outside and into the woods where the girl is left alone.

After a very long time the girl’s mother finally leaves the house, comes searching for her daughter and the two are reunited.

They return home and then it’s time for mother and daughter to get to know one another again, and for the mother to start letting other people, and the light, back into her world.

There’s a distinct eeriness to Lucy Christopher’s enigmatic story; is it a metaphor for grief, depression or fear perhaps? No matter what, it ends happily as the facial expressions of mother and child on the final page show.

Anastasia Suvorova’s textured digital illustrations are a perfect complement for this rather dark tale for adults and children to share and discuss together.

Snow Leopard: Grey Ghost of the Mountain / Who Am I?

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Our precious wild animals are under threat as these two books show:

Snow Leopard: Grey Ghost of the Mountain
Justin Anderson and Patrick Benson
Walker Books

Here we have the latest addition to the Nature Storybook series that Walker Books does so brilliantly.

Filmmaker Justin Anderson debuts as an author; his narrative is accompanied by award winning Patrick Benson’s awesome,  finely detailed illustrations. The result is a wonderful look at the animal the inhabitants of the high Himalayas call the “Grey Ghost’, a very rare and beautiful animal.

Patrick Benson takes us right up close to the creature as it weathers a blizzard,

then communicates with other snow leopards by squirting pee.

She uses her camouflage coat to sneak up close to her prey – half a dozen ibex – lower down. Her meal however eludes her on this occasion because her cub alerts them to the danger.

We then follow mother and cub as they seek the sun’s warmth, then briefly curl up together before as the sun sinks they wake and continue their climb, disappearing into the silence of the mountain.

A final note provides further information highlighting the vulnerability of the species and detailing conservation organisations, while accompanying the narrative, in a different font, are snippets of factual information not woven into
the main text.

One feels privileged to have met these stunning animals in this quietly beautiful book.

Who Am I?
Tim Flach
Abrams Books for Young Readers

The award winning photographer Tim Flach whose superb photographs grace the pages of this ‘peek-through-the-pages’ book of endangered and threatened animals is passionate about rewilding.

Here, using riddles, full page shots, small circular images of parts of animal faces, and die-cut peek-through windows,

he introduces youngsters to a dozen animals (or rather they introduce themselves) including the Bengal tiger, a white-belied pangolin,

an axolotl and a giant panda.

In the final pages we learn what makes each creature special and why it’s endangered, and the author ends by asking young readers to help save these amazing animals, indicating how best to get involved in so doing.

A rallying call indeed.

The Boy Who Loved Everyone

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The Boy Who Loved Everyone
Jane Porter and Maisie Paradise Shearring
Walker Books

Dimitri is new at nursery. “I love you,” he tells everyone and everything from his classmates to the ants and the tree in the playground.

Come the afternoon the other children are finding all this loving rather too much.

At bedtime Dimitri and his mother tell each other they’re loved, but the following morning Dimitri doesn’t want to go to school. “I told everyone I love them, and no one said it back” he tells his mum as they get ready to leave the house.

Her response is that people have different ways of showing their feelings, not everyone says ‘I love you’ in words; it can be felt and takes root in new places.

On the way, they see the old man feeding the stray cats – his way of telling the cats he loves them, Mum explains.

Further examples of non-vocal ‘I love you’s are observed in the park and in the school playground where Dimitri is still unsure of his welcome. Not for long though as his classmates invite him to join them.

A feeling of warmth begins to spread through Dimitri and by storytime it seems that everyone wants to sit with him. Dimitri is accepted at last.

Tenderness and warmth emanate from both Jane Porter’s telling and Maisie Paradise Shearring’s illustrations in this book about the power of kindness.

Little Spiral / Friends Don’t Like Roaring

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Little Spiral
Pat Simmons and Patrick Shirvington
Little Steps

Deep in the rainforest ‘In a pearl-like egg’ grows Little Spiral safely tucked away but when he hatches, a tiny baby forest snail with a perfect spiral shell, the little mollusc must grow

and survive dangerous environments as he traverses the pages journeying over the forest floor, over stones, leaves and bracken through day and night as he encounters other creatures one of which – a rustling rat – scares him and another, a hungry lizard for which a snail would make a tasty snack.

Can he thrive as well as survive as he slowly moves and grows on his way to continue nature’s cycle: ‘Stay safe, Little Spiral’.

Perfectly complementing Pat Simmons’ poetic narrative, Patrick Shrivington’s wildlife watercolour illustrations provide a veritable visual feast of Little Spiral in his natural habitat.

Nature isn’t really magical but this book makes it seem almost so.

Friends Don’t Like Roaring
Antje Taylor and Matt Howarth
Little Steps

Lap is a small dinosaur with a large problem: he wants to play with the other little dinosaurs in the playground but he cannot figure out why they all beat a hasty retreat when he approaches them.

Happily Mummy Dinosaur is on hand to pacify her little one and having done so, to offer some words of about how to approach his potential playmates: “try using your words” she suggests and with a helpful lesson learnt, the day ends happily for Lap and all the little dinosaurs.

Antje Taylor’s straightforward present tense telling in combination with Matt Howorth’s bright, digital illustrations provide a simple story about building empathy and developing social interaction to share with the very young, especially those who are finding making friends and playing with others something of a challenge.

Mother Goose of Pudding Tale

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Mother Goose of Pudding Lane
Chris Raschka and Vladimir Radunsky
Walker Books

How many young children know nursery rhymes in this day and age? During my time as a foundation stage teacher I discovered that when they start school, comparatively few, and of those who did the majority knew only Baa Baa Black Sheep and the first verse of Jack and Jill; yet nursery rhymes are the bedrock of literary language and help in the development of an ear for language rhythms, rhymes and much more. In my early days of teaching reading I used picture book nursery rhymes with beginning readers who soon began to match what they had in their heads with the words printed on the page.

This book, subtitled ‘A small tall tale’ explores in playful fashion possible backstories about Mother Goose and her origins with Raschka’s poetic text suggestion that one Elizabeth Foster who married Isaac Goose was the true Mother Goose persona. He goes on to provide a biographical account of this woman from the time of her courtship, her wedding and raising of a family,

(fourteen children in all and all kinds of animals) weaving into the narrative thematically organised Mother Goose rhymes, and concluding thus: ‘Elizabeth Goose, / As / Mother Goose, / Can still be heard today.’ Would that it were so, and long may her rhymes continue.

Most spreads begin with Raschka’s own words

which are followed by a tradition Mother Goose rhyme that is illustrated with Vladimir Radunsky’s gorgeous, gouache, almost hypnagogic images, while at times there are also childlike pencil scribbles scattered on the page.

Wonderfully playful and silly, its great to read aloud or to read along with and provides a trip down memory lane for adults sharing the book with youngsters.

What I Like Most / Goodbye House, Hello House

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What I Like Most
Mary Murphy and Zhu Cheng-Liang
Walker Books

A small girl narrator takes us through the day sharing the favourite things in her life.

Assuredly she has much to like – the window through which she watches the comings and goings, apricot jam to spread on her toast, her trainers with the flashing lights,

the tree-lined river, her red pencil, chips, the storybook she knows by heart, her teddy bear.

All these are favourite things but the girl knows that while the view through the window changes, the jam is finished, her feet outgrow her shoes, the river changes,

her red pencil is all used up, her plate empties, the book is no longer interesting, there is someone there whom no matter what, she’ll always, always love and that someone is what she likes ‘the very, very most in the world.’

What a lovely way to express one’s love for a mother while also showing that maternal love is constant. Mary Murphy’s lyrical text combined with Zhu Cheng-Liang’s richly coloured illustrations with their unusual and varied viewpoints offer a wonderful demonstration that it’s not the flashy, expensive things in life that make us happy but the everyday ones we could so easily take for granted.

Goodbye House, Hello House
Margaret Wild and Ann James
Allen & Unwin

Endings and beginnings can be challenging for anyone, but here in this story the little girl narrator appears to be embracing change bravely.

She spends a while on ‘last times’, bidding farewell to things she has loved to do – fishing in the river, running through the trees;

swinging on the gate.

Inside she embraces domestic last times before saying goodbye to the rooms in the country house. Then Emma (only now her name is revealed), changes the writing on the wall to the past tense …

and it’s time to leave.

At the new city house, there are exciting first times

and hellos to be said, new writing to put on the wall and anticipation of things to come.

Yes the landscapes may be very different but with a positive attitude familiarity can be found. . Emma’s body language says much about her emotions, but no matter the location Emma is still Emma.

Margaret Wild’s minimal text combined with Ann James’ muted story-telling illustrations leave plenty of room for the reader’s imaginations.

This heart-warming book offers a great starting point for opening up discussion about change whether or not children have had an experience similar to Emma’s.

My Friend Fred / Pip Finds a Home

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My Friend Fred
Frances Watts and A. Yi
Allen & Unwin

An unseen narrator (mostly), dachshund Fred’s best friend tells of the doggy things he gets up to. He loves dog food (disgusting!), chasing balls, sniffing trees and digging holes.

However he doesn’t like stairs unlike his pal; he loves baths, (his friend hates them)

and Fred does some rather odd things like howling at the moon and turning around thrice before sleeping.

Youngsters will delight in guessing the nature of Fred’s best friend (there are some visual clues in A. Yi’s adorable watercolour illustrations) so may work it out before the final reveal. Whether or not they do, with its themes of friendship and difference this is an engaging book to share with your little ones.

Pip Finds a Home
Elena Topouzoglou
New Frontier Publishing

Due to a case of mistaken identity Pip undertakes a long journey to the South Pole for that’s where those that look like him live.

He’s met by four friendly Adélie penguins who want to know what kind of penguin Pip is.

They attempt to identify him but he doesn’t have feathers on his head like a Macaroni penguin, is too short to be an Emperor Penguin and lacks the orange beak of a Gentoo.

Perhaps he isn’t a penguin after all.

Nonetheless he’s made welcome by the Adélies until another black and white bird approaches and then Pip learns his real name.

It’s time to go home …

This simply told, beautifully illustrated in watercolours, tale of friendship, similarities and differences and belonging gently informs young listeners too; and the final three pages give additional facts about the four kinds of penguins and the species to which Pip belongs.

Most of the Better Natural Things in the World

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Most of the Better Natural Things in the World
Dave Eggers and Angel Chang
Chronicle Books

Stunningly illustrated, this book is really unusual.

The opening spread shows on a bleak STEPPE, an empty chair draped with coloured rope.

We then accompany a black and white tiger through a series of lush landscapes on a solitary journey that takes him with the chair now strapped to his back, through a gorge, a valley, across a plain, through a cloud forest,

past an atoll, an archipelago, an estuary, an oasis, a lagoon and an alpine lake. He climbs, strides, swings, swims, rows,

walks upright and on all fours; occasionally we see a white bird that may be travelling along too.

Pausing after the chaparral, the tiger puts down the chair and takes in the incredible vista. (shown in a double gatefold).
But where is the creature going and why the chair?

On he travels until finally after another pause to view the northern lights he arrives here:

This cleverly named ‘taiga’ destination reveals the purpose of all his travelling and there’s an empty place for one that has come so far.

We never lose interest in the tiger’s almost dreamlike journey thanks in no small part to the way each page turn reveals a different visual perspective.

The combination of Eggers’ minimal text  – a prose poem of sorts – and Angel Chang’s awesome art make for an exciting picture book that leaves much for readers to imagine and decide for themselves.

Early Years Picture Book Shelf

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How About a Night Out?
Sam Williams and Matt Hunt
Boxer Books

We join a kitty cat embarking on a nocturnal excursion through the city where  adventures aplenty await. There are friends to meet for a ‘catercall’ upon the wall,

a roundabout to ride upon, birds to scare and much more. A ‘night to sing about’ claims our adventurer but all too soon the sun comes up and it’s time to head for home and some city kitty slumbers.

Delivered in jaunty rhyming couplets and Matt Hunt’s alluring art showing the cat’s journey against the inky dark sky, this will surely please early years listeners.

What Colour Is Night?
Grant Snider
Chronicle Books

If you’re thinking night is black, then have another think. You certainly will having read Grant Snider’s poetic nocturnal exploration. Herein he shows us the multitude of colours that a closer look will reveal. There’s blue for a start, ‘a big yellow moon beginning to rise’, the fireflies glowing gold in the park.

But that’s just the start: there are ‘Fat brown moths dancing in yellow streetlights’, a whole city lit with red neon signs, the green-eyed glow of prowling raccoons, silver stars spilling across the sky above the barely visible countryside.

The silent stillness of his scenes though, is not confined to the outdoors. Inside we see the grey face of a clock, the shapes afloat in the bowl holding a midnight snack are yellow blue and pink; while through the window we start to see the moon’s rings and outdoors once more are ‘all the night’s colours in one moonbow’.

I’m pretty sure that young readers and listeners will envy the sleeping child picked up and taken on a dream flight through pink and purple clouds over the city aglow with colours. Snider offers an ideal excuse for little ones to request a delay to their own slumbers in order to view those ‘colours unseen’.

What Can You See?
Jason Korsner and Hannah Rounding
I Like to Put Food in My Welly
Jason Korsner and Max Low
Graffeg

What Can You See? invites little ones to develop their observation skills as they focus on in turn a table laid for tea, a lounge, the garden, the sky, the jungle, a flower and a host of other focal points to locate the objects named in the relevant verse in Hannah Rounding’s delectable illustrations.
In I Like to Put Food in My Welly, playful topsy-turvies result from putting butter on the bread, pulling a rabbit from a hat, climbing an apple tree and other starting points, each scenario being presented in Max Low’s zany sequences (Did I see two of Max’s popular characters making a guest appearance?)

Engaging rhymes and art: just right for putting across the ‘language is fun’ message to pre-schoolers.

The House of Madame M

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The House of Madame M
Clotilde Perrin (translated by Daniel Hann)
Gecko Press

Following on from Clotilde Perrin’s super-sized Inside the Villains comes another large format lift-the-flap picture book.
Once again this one immediately snares the reader’s attention as they’re invited to enter and explore the residence of Madame B by an extremely strange-looking being.

Enter if you dare for she doesn’t, so we’re told, live alone in this strange house. There too dwell creepy creatures aplenty, hiding in unexpected places to fill you with the frights.

As you peek inside each room you’ll likely be brushed by cobwebs, scuttled over by spiders, grimaced at by alarming monsters and your nostrils will be assaulted by smells of mould and decay; you’ll feel icy winds and hear creaks as you open doors, lift flaps, and come upon jokes of the weirdest kinds.

Hilariously creepy details abound – lurking in the cupboards, in the pots and pans, even beneath the loo seat, in this veritable treasure trove of frights and giggles for chilly nights.

Assuredly a book to relish far beyond the night of Halloween; this is one to enjoy snuggled in a warm place with a comforting hot chocolate and cosy slippers.

I still have a much treasured copy of Jan Pieńkowski’s awesome Haunted House on my shelves. This slightly more macabre offering will sit alongside it as a 21st century complement.

The Woodcutter’s Tale

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The Woodcutter’s Tale
Carol Florence and Emily Ford
Ragged Bears

This is a story with a timeless feel that has much to say to readers and listeners in our acquisitive times.

It tells in highly descriptive prose of a hard-working Woodcutter who lives with his family in at cottage at the edge of the woods, a Woodcutter who likes to tell magical tales to his children at bedtime to send them off into dream worlds.

One night the Woodcutter himself has a dream. In his dream he sees in a tree, a Faery who fills his heart with joy.

Next morning as he goes to the forest he takes with him memories of the dream and having done his work, instead of going home he walks onto the common to a thorny grove and there he comes upon the tree of his dream.

Throughout the winter and into spring the Woodcutter returns to the tree but although he never sees the Faery he can feel her presence. He brings tiny gifts for her and pours out to her the story of his life.

One day the Faery leaves a gift of three golden eggs in a nest for the Woodcutter to find. The gentle soul can barely believe what is before his eyes.

On his return journey things happen

and the Woodcutter arrives home with only one of the eggs, but even that is stolen the very same night.

That isn’t the end though, for this is not just a tale of receiving and loss; all ends happily with all three eggs safely restored to the rightful owners in the family cottage on the edge of the wood.

Carol Florence’s poetic narrative combined with Emily Ford’s distinctive illustrations make for a modern interpretation of an ancient story that will speak to readers and listeners of all ages. It’s a tale to share on chilly days and dark nights that will fill everyone with warmth and a feeling of having been part of the unfolding of something magical.

The Best Kind of Bear / Keith among the Pigeons

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The Best Kind of Bear
Greg Gormley and David Barrow
Nosy Crow

We first meet Bear sitting in the library trying to find out what kind of bear he is.

When a little girl Nelly, comes in and asks him the very same question he sets out on a journey of self-discovery. “Maybe there’s a bear out there who can help me,” he says.

Travelling west he meets, deep in the forest a big brown grizzly bear who tells Bear he loves ‘nice long naps’. So too does our identity seeker but he definitely does not want to sleep for the next six months and with the ‘funny little stitches’ on his tummy that Grizzly Bear points out, he knows he can’t possibly be a grizzly.

Thereafter Bear visits a polar bear in the north, a spectacled bear in the south, and finally, a Sun Bear in the east.

Each encounter only confirms what Bear is not so he decides to go home.

In the library Nelly is waiting. It’s a very dispirited Bear who enters admitting that he’s no further forward. He knows what he isn’t, but not what he is: I’m just ordinary, he concludes.

Then Nelly draws his attention to his unique features – the ‘funny little stitches … washing label on his bottom,’ soft bounciness and smart bow tie; she invites him to be her bear and … then he knows that’s the ‘very best kind of bear to be.’

Greg Gormley’s wonderfully warm story is essentially a tale of identity and belonging and with David Barrow’s superbly expressive, smudgy ursine scenes that are an absolute delight from first to last, this is a book to read and re-read over and over, perhaps with small children cuddled up with their very own special bears.

Keith among the Pigeons
Katie Brosnan
Child’s Play

When is a cat not a cat? That is the question; and the answer? Perhaps, when he is Keith.

Like other cats, Keith has a predilection for pigeons, spending much of his time observing them. Not with the intention of catching the feathered creatures; rather he wants to be a pigeon himself. His feline acquaintances certainly don’t rate him highly as a member of the feline fraternity.

His avian efforts however meet with little success until he hits upon an idea …

Foolproof it might be, but water proof – er?? …
Perhaps after all, it’s best to stick to honing one’s feline skills.

Or is there perhaps another solution that allows Keith to feel happy in his own furry skin.

This reviewer is ailurophobic but despite this, couldn’t help but fall for Keith. His’ ‘hi-coos’ are a hoot; I love his poster creating,

note taking and his sheer determination to be more pigeon. And he certainly gets across the message that being ourselves is what really matters.

How the Stars Came to Be

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How the Stars Came to Be
Poonam Mistry
Tate Publishing

I’ve loved Poonam’s art since I saw her first collaboration with Chitra Soundar, so was totally thrilled to learn of her new solo picture book.

Perhaps like most people you’ve wondered how the stars came to be in the sky and this story offers one possibility.

Way back in time the only light came from the sun and the moon.

A fisherman’s daughter loved feeling the Sun’s rays on her during the daytime while at night she would lie in her bed thinking of her father on his boat out at sea with only the light of the Moon to guide him.

That’s fine, other than for the few nights every month there’s no visible Moon at all, leaving the fisherman to work in total darkness. This troubles the Girl so much that one morning the Sun discovers her shedding tears and asks what’s upsetting her.

On hearing the girl’s concern and pondering upon it, the Sun takes one if its golden rays and throws it down to earth where it breaks into a million glowing fragments.

“Gather together all the shining pieces,” the Sun tells the Girl,  “…Then tonight when I drop beneath the horizon … place each of them into the sky. … We will call them stars.”

The Girl does as she’s bid, naming the brightest Polaris; then continues her task creating wonderful images with her positioning of the pieces.

Week after week she works on her skyscape but months later her bag still seems full of stars. How will she ever complete her work?

Meanwhile a Monkey has been watching the Girl and while she’s distracted he descends, seizes the bag and dashes back up into the tree.

A tussle follows,

and out of the bag tumble all the remaining stars, spoiling the work of the Fisherman’s daughter.

Or perhaps not; for sometimes accidents have happy outcomes …

This is an incredibly beautiful book – let’s call it a neo pourquoi tale – where every spread stuns you with its awesomeness. Poonam’s art is inspired by her love of nature, and her gorgeous, intricately patterned work, is based on Indian designs and colours that I as a frequent visitor to India appreciate all the more.

I wish I could show you every single illustration but for that you’ll have to get hold of a copy for yourself.

The Caveman Next Door / Twelve Days of Kindness

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The Caveman Next Door
Tom Tinn-Disbury
New Frontier Publishing

Penny’s street is perfectly ordinary until a caveman moves in next door to her. He does little but grunt by way of communication, is scantily clad and his only furniture is made from sticks or stones.
Thinking he seems a little lost, Penny decides to befriend him and takes him on a tour of the town starting with the library where he receives a less than welcoming reception.

No matter where they go Ogg seems to manage to annoy somebody or embarrass Penny; seemingly he just doesn’t fit in.

But then, having seen inside Ogg’s cave with its wonderful mural documenting all their adventures, Penny has a great idea;

Ogg will visit her school.
After an initial setback, the headteacher recognises that in Ogg he has not only an interesting artist but someone who can educate his pupils about the natural world.

Tom Didsbury’s fanciful story of friendship and finding a place to fit in, with its wonderfully quirky illustrations will delight and amuse young listeners.

Twelve Days of Kindness
Cori Brooke and Fiona Burrows
New Frontier Publishing

When Holly realises that new girl Nabila is having trouble making friends among her classmates she decides something needs to be done to help her.

Both girls are picked for the school soccer team but despite this her fellow team- mates are not showing any signs of welcoming Nabila. With just twelve days left before the first match, the girls still haven’t gelled as a team.

Nabila and Holly devise a plan: for every remaining day they will do something good and kind for the team and gradually not only does the team come together

but the “Twelve Days of Kindness’ is a winning formula.

An effective lesson about acceptance, welcoming strangers, friendship and of course, kindness, beautifully delivered in Cori Brookes’ straightforward narrative and Fiona Burrows’ powerful pictures of the girls is one to share and discuss in lower classrooms especially.

Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention

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Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention
Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie
Simon & Schuster

It’s great to see a second rhyming story about young designer/inventor Izzy Gizmo and Fixer her crow collaborator.

Now she’s super excited, for an invitation to the annual Invention Convention has arrived through her letterbox. Grandpa ensures she overcomes her initial uncertainty about the reliability of her machines and off they sail to Technoff Isle in a machine of Izzy’s design.

Izzy has set her sights on the badge to the Genius Guild to be awarded to the winning design. Inevitably so have all the others

and one in particular is a selfish hoarder of materials.

Despite this and other setbacks, Izzy’s unfailing creativity and ingenuity (not to mention some assistance from Fixer) finally win through …

Izzy’s such a powerful role model – resilient, inspiring but also on occasion apt to let her frustrations get the better of her until Grandpa and Fixer offer encouragement.

Fast paced and spirited as Izzy herself, Pip Jones’ narrative drives its message to a satisfying finale and in combination with Sara Ogilvie’s splendidly energetic, offbeat illustrations, this is a smashing book to set the imagination of young readers and listeners sparking with creativity.

More please!

Together / Insect Superpowers

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Red Reading Hub looks at two interesting, unusual and very different ways of presenting non-fiction:

Together
Isabel Otter and Clover Robin
Caterpillar Books

By means of gorgeous collage style, die cut illustrations and a series of haiku accompanied by factual paragraphs, illustrator Clover Robin and writer Isabel Otter present a nonfiction nature book that looks at animal partnerships in the wild.

Beginning thus: ‘ A vast migration. / Cranes take turns to lead their flock: / The feathered arrow.’ and explaining that when cranes migrate and the leader of the group becomes tired, another takes its turn to lead and so on.

The migrating cranes fly above in turn, a pack of wolves; a herd of chamois deer; and a pod of pilot whales. They then pass above a shark that has its skin kept parasite free by remora fish that get a free lift;

anemones kept clean by goby fish; a badger that works with a honey guide bird; a crocodile that has its teeth cleaned by plovers; a herd of loyal elephants; giraffes with oxpecker birds that help keep down their fleas,

and finally, zebras and ostriches that use their complementary sense organs to alert each other to danger.

At last the cranes reach their winter feeding grounds and their journey is over – for the time being.

A fascinating way of presenting non-fiction that offers youngsters an introduction to an intriguing aspect of animal life.

Insect Superpowers
Kate Messner, illustrated by Jillian Nickell
Chronicle Books

Taking advantage of the seemingly never-ending popularity of superheroes, author Kate Messner and illustrator Jillian Nickell present in action-packed, graphic novel format, an alluring array of eighteen insects with extraordinary abilities.

Before plunging readers into the specifics of the various insects’ superpowers, Messner provides an introduction to insect orders and using the Monarch butterfly as her example, shows how biological classification works.

Dramatic illustrations immediately snare the reader’s attention as they confront the bugs one by one starting with in the first FAST & FIERCE chapter, ‘Supersonic Assassin Giant robber fly – more like a supervillian – that uses its venomous spit to paralyse its prey.

Also in this chapter are The Decapitator aka the Asian giant hornet with its painful sting and fierce jaws that often rip bees apart before stealing their larvae and feeding them to their own hornet larvae.

Other chapters feature insects that use mimicry (the ‘Great Imposters’); the ‘Big & Tough’ bugs some of which are among the strongest creatures on earth; then come the ‘Masters of Chemical Weaponry’. I definitely wouldn’t fancy being sprayed by the hot noxious mist that the African bombardier beetle can emit from its abdomen when something bothers it. Yikes!

Further chapters are devoted to ‘Engineers & Architects’ and ‘Amazing Ants’ (although some of the insects in the previous chapter are also ants).

For each insect included there are facts about habitat, size, diet, allies and enemies, and of course, its superpower.

If you have or know children who are into superheroes but have yet to discover the delights of insects, this book that’s all a-buzz with superpowered bugs might just fire up their enthusiasm.

Storytime with Child’s Play Picture Books

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Red Reading Hub welcomes the opportunity to catch up with some recent Child’s Play picture books

Astrid and the Sky Calf
Rosie Faragher

This is a truly magical story about a young doctor and a very unusual, special hospital. The doctor’s name is Doctor Astrid and she runs The Hospital for Magical Beasts. Thus far there’s not been a single untreatable patient or incurable illness at her hospital but that changes when a new patient suddenly arrives, a sky calf no less.

Doctor Astrid does her very best to diagnose the problem but none of her usual methods are any good at all. She’s bemused and frustrated, doubting her own skills, and her patient is far from happy. Surely there must be something she can do to restore the sky calf to her usual healthy self.

Happily there is, but it’s not sticky tape, potions or bandages: rather, the successful treatment involves showing empathy and friendship.

Full of heart, this is a sweet story beautifully illustrated by Rosie the author in a delightfully scribbly fashion. Adorable!

King Leonard’s Teddy
Phoebe Swan

Wealth and consumerism reign in King Lion’s world of use once and throw away; life is peachy so he thinks, merely sending his servant out to buy a replacement for anything that breaks or even gets dirty. Not once does he consider the idea of the environmental impact of his lifestyle.

But then his beloved teddy bear is broken one night. This is something irreplaceable so what can he do? The toyshop can only sell him a new one, the toy factory only manufactures brand new bears and all the repair shops have long since closed down.

Back home a further accident happens and this gives King Leonard an idea: perhaps he can fix the bear himself. It’s not an east task for sure but eventually determination wins through and what’s more the king has learned a host of new skills that he can use for the good of the whole community.

A delightful story that has a strong and very important environmental message that is never too soon for young children to hear. To that end King Lion and his trusty helper Max have compiled a final spread of ideas for reducing, reusing and recycling items to help the environment. Love the bold mixed media illustrations that really help increase the impact of the telling.

The Things
Petronela Dostalova

This is a somewhat surreal tale about  Thing. Thing has a best pal, Cactus, actually make that two best friends; the other is Moose the shadow puppet. Thing loves spending time with these two; he even talks to his prickly friend in bed.

Life ticks along well in its uneventful way until one day Thing discovers another Thing nearby. Thing 2 also has two friends Mitten and Mitten. But Thing starts to worry about the Other Thing: could it be dangerous?

Then Moose suddenly disappears and guess who suspect number one is. Nevertheless perhaps working with Thing 2 might help work out what has happened to the shadow puppet.

Young readers and listeners will definitely enjoy being in the know in this quirky tale of tolerance and friendship

The Lost Homework
Richard O’Neill and Kirsti Beautyman

This is the latest of the author’s stories set in a traveller community and features young Sonny.

Sonny loves school and usually gets his homework done on a Friday so he has the entire weekend to spend helping his family and fellow travellers with all manner of tasks.

On this particular weekend there’s to be a wedding – one of his cousin’s is getting married and there’s a huge amount of preparations even before the family leaves for the venue which is 180km away. Over the weekend Sonny uses a great many different skills that involve maths, music making, story telling, ICT and painting. Pretty well the only thing that doesn’t get done is Sonny’s homework.

Happily though despite Sonny’s fears, when he tells the class about his weekend, his teacher shows considerable insight and understanding.

A super story showing that school isn’t the only place where important learning happens; it’s illustrated by Kristi Beautyman whose artwork is truly captivating.

Milo and Monty
Roxana De Rond

Monty and Milo are two new canine additions to the McKenzie family but they’re very different dogs.

Monty is a sociable animal whereas Milo prefers being quiet and on his own. This behaviour worries the latter dog’s new family.

One Sunday afternoon some cousins pay a visit and Milo goes off to his favourite quiet place but when he gets there, it’s already occupied – by cousin Henry. It seems that Henry and Milo have much in common – both are tactile sensitive, have special toys that go everywhere with them and like a regular routine.

With new understanding, perhaps if the McKenzie family make some adjustments both Monty and Milo can be happy family members.

A sensitive, warm-hearted tale of differences and learning how to accommodate them with super equally warm-hearted illustrations by the author.

Sulwe

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Sulwe
Lupita Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison
Puffin Books

You’ll surely be awed by the sheer beauty of the illustrations in this wonderful book.

It tells of young Sulwe (her name means star in the Kenyan Luo language) who was ‘born the colour of midnight.’ Her skin is darker than anyone else in her multi-hued family and when children at school call her names, Sulwe decides to lighten her skin. Nothing she tries, however, makes any difference,

and next morning her mother talks to her of her inner brightness and beauty; still though Sulwe isn’t convinced:

how can she be a star, she wonders.

That same night on a magical journey she discovers a fable wherein two sisters Night and Day get very different reactions from people, those towards Day are positive while Night receives negative ones. As a result she leaves the earth taking with her dreams and secrets, until her sister’s “we need you just the way you are” persuades her to return.

Now Sulwe understands that she too is “Dark and beautiful, bright and strong.’

This is a debut picture book for Kenyan actor/producer Lupita Nyong’o who based the story on her own childhood experience. She confronts the crucial and sensitive topic of skin colour head on, but in a way that young children can relate to. (I recall being extremely distressed when I first started teaching to find a 5- year old boy from Nigeria covering his arms with white chalk. He told me that he was trying to get his skin light like his friends. Nothing I said could persuade him that he was just perfect as he was.) Vashti Harrison wonderful illustrations are a celebration of all skin tones reinforcing Lupita’s message that everyone, like Sulwe, is uniquely beautiful, inside and out.

A must have book for all primary schools.

Madame Badobedah / A Sea of Stories / Zippel: The Little Keyhole Ghost

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Madame Badobedah
Sophie Dahl and Lauren O’Hara
Walker Books

This is a rather longer than usual picture book story of an unusual older woman and the young narrator, Mabel.

Mabel lives at The Mermaid Hotel an establishment managed by her parents. She’s an only child with a fertile imagination and a thirst for adventure and here she acts as narrator of the tale of what happens when a certain rather unusual guest arrives. Not only does the woman have twenty-three bags, two large trunks, lots of jewels and a dressing table but also two cats, two dogs and a tortoise, oh! and a penchant for toffees too.

So high-handed is her manner that Mabel takes an instant dislike to her, naming her Madame Badobedah and deciding she’s a villain. Donning her large raincoat, hat and sunglasses the girl becomes Mabel the Spy.

One Saturday morning the strange guest invites Mabel into her room for tea.

We learn that Madame Badobedah had long ago come across the sea on a big ship to escape war and had once been a ballerina – hence the jewelled tiara.

Gradually as this rather unlikely friendship blossoms we learn more about Madame Badobedah – she’s ready to apologise when she thinks it’s due, enjoys visiting the mermaids,

and also has some secrets that she wants to keep to herself. I love the way Sophie Dahl’s narrative gradually reveals things about the lonely Irena (as we discover is her real name) but leaves plenty of gaps for readers to fill in for themselves.

Lauren O’Hara captures the inherent warmth of the story in her deliciously whimsical illustrations that are just perfect for the quirky telling.

Another story about an intergenerational friendship is:

A Sea of Stories
Sylvia Bishop, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
Stripes Publishing

Young Roo loves to visit her grandpa who lives in a cottage beside the sea with Bathsheba, his ancient cat and a large collection of Bits-and-Pieces he’s accumulated over the years.

Grandpa has a garden that has become overgrown and wild, the ideal place for a game of hide-and-seek when she goes to stay for a few days. When he gets tired there’s nothing he likes better than to sit in his favourite armchair and tell stories to Roo; stories inspired by the objects in his collection.

They all relate to the hidden cove at the bottom of the cliff, a place that Grandpa’s legs won’t carry him to any longer on account of the ‘rambly-scrambly path’ that leads down there.

On her final night at Grandpa’s Roo turns her wish for a way to bring Grandpa and his favourite cove back together into a plan; a plan that the following day is brought to fruition.

Highlighting the importance of sharing stories, this unusual story is both warm and infused with a delightful quirkiness.

Zippel: The Little Keyhole Ghost
Alex Rühle, trans. Rachel Ward, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Andersen Press

One day after the holidays Paul returns home from school and gets the surprise of his life: a voice comes from the keyhole when he inserts his key and it turns out to be a tiny ghost claiming he lives in the keyhole.

He names the being Zippel; but later on that same day he learns that the lock on the front door is to be replaced in just three days.

Later that evening Paul’s parents leave him alone and go to a meeting. Immediately the lad informs Zippel and the race is on to find the enormously inquisitive ghost (with an interest in everything including toilets) a new home before the three days are out.

With smashing Axel Scheffler colour illustrations and absolutely full of delicious wordplay and puns, not to mention Zippel’s rhymes, this warm-hearted story about discovering friends in the strangest of places is fun around Halloween especially, but worth reading any time.

Our Favourite Day / Around the Table That Grandpa Built

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Our Favourite Day
Joowon Oh
Walker Books

As we’re shown in Joowon Oh’s expressive watercolour, gouache collaged illustrations, Grandpa has a routine: every day he gets up, drinks tea, tends his plants, does the odd domestic job, dresses and catches the bus into town.

There he takes a walk, window shops, partakes of his favourite dumpling lunch, returns home and on this particular night is in bed early with an idea in his head generated by his walk past the town craft shop.

The following day he starts off in the same manner but stops at the craft shop to buy some supplies

before heading to the usual restaurant. Today however, he doesn’t eat in; instead he orders two take-away portions of dumplings, stops to pick wild flowers on his way home and then waits.

Once all his preparations are set out on the table, a page turn shows the reason for his different actions – his granddaughter appears.

The joy of both on meeting is palpable as she dashes into his open arms; and so it is too in what they then do together.
The remaining narrative takes the form of the dialogue between the two as they spend an uplifting Thursday together.

Full of warmth and tenderness, debut author/illustrator Joowon Oh’s portrayal of the special relationship between a child and grandparent is a charmer.

Around the Table That Grandpa Built
Melanie Heiiser Hill and Jaime Kim
Walker Books

Using the rhythmic structure of ‘The House that Jack Built’ Melanie Hill has created a lovely story as we join in the celebration meal that is being prepared for when family and friends come together ‘Around the table that Grandad built.’

The table isn’t the only item with family associations: there are sunflowers picked by the young narrator’s cousins; napkins sewn by Mum; glasses from Mum and Dad’s wedding are set out; and the cutlery was given long ago by Dad’s grandma.

Then comes a look at the food – squash, roast potatoes and peppers, beans, ‘toasty tamales’, spicy samosas and rice pudding; there’s warm bread, butter made by the children and jam made by Dad; not to mention pies a plenty.

Everyone is thankful for the tasty food and for the bonds they share ‘around this table that Grandad built.’

Feelings of joy radiate from Jaime Kim’s bright mixed media illustrations in this story that celebrates togetherness and sharing the bounties of the season.

What’s that Noise?

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What’s that Noise?
Naomi Howarth
Otter-Barry Books

Naomi Howarth introduces young readers and listeners to seven wonderful Arctic animals in her latest story.

Set in the frozen north we meet first of all, a ringed seal Magnus, a very fine creature that is woken one morning from his deep slumbers by a loud, low rumbling that he doesn’t recognise.
Could it be the wind perhaps, or the sea, or even a crumbling iceberg? Eager to identify the sound he sets off, asking first his friend Hare but Hare is equally puzzled.

Over the ice they go together, stopping by the forest to ask Owl. She knows it’s not the trees creaking but nothing more, so they travel further.

Neither Fox on the snowy rocks,

nor Polar Bear beside the icy river knows, but when they reach the sea they meet Walrus who has a suggestion that might just help find the source of those rumbly emanations …

Mystery solved, the animal friends enjoy a feast and then settle down to sleep … rumble, rumble, rumble – now what could it be this time?

Naomi Howarth’s gently humorous telling with its simplicity and repeat pattern has the feel of a folk tale while her watercolour illustrations are outstandingly gorgeous. She succeeds in portraying the animals realistically in their Arctic setting and yet readers can relate to them as real characters capable of showing feelings.

Make sure you peruse the back inside cover where there are key facts about the creatures from the story.

The Hairdo That Got Away / My Name is Bear

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The Hairdo That Got Away
Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers
Andersen Press

A small child narrator tells us how he’s used to a monthly visit to the barbershop with Dad, till one day Dad isn’t there. We don’t know the reason for this separation – perhaps his cool new haircut precipitated a parental row. The consequence though, is that the child’s hair starts growing and growing.

The days become weeks and then months; the hair grows ‘ginormous’ until his teacher, Miss Clarke is unable to recognise her pupil and Mum can’t hear her own child.

There follows a class visit to the zoo when the child, who is without any spending money, is accused of ‘teasing the animals’.

It seems that it’s down to the headteacher to recognise the recalcitrant child is actually struggling with his now unmanageable tangle of emotions and provide some bibliotherapy rather than a telling off.

All ends happily with Dad’s return (now also with a huge mass of troublesome hair) and a new hairstyle for each member of the now re-united family.

Like this reviewer, others both children and adults may find performance poet and author, Joseph Coelho’s warm-hearted story slightly enigmatic. Assuredly youngsters will delight in the unruly head of hair the narrator grows during his emotional upheaval and the funky stars the barber cuts for him.

My Name is Bear
Nicola Killen
Egmont

The bear in this story has just moved home and is extraordinarily fond of his name, Bear. So much so that he soon starts introducing himself to his neighbours: “Hello! My name is Bear’ he says to Bird and Fish in turn but can’t stop himself from being rude about their respective names.

This doesn’t slip the notice of an observant earthworm that pops up every time Bear stops to talk.

The exchange with Elephant is downright insulting and Bear continues with his rudeness

until he comes face to face with another ursine character. Now there’s a problem: both claim to be called Bear.
However although Bear 1 loses it completely throwing a tantrum on the spot,

the other Bear is ready to compromise. Eventually, after giving it some consideration, Bear number one agrees that perhaps after all they can share the same name.

Thereafter it’s a case of apologies to all the neighbours who in turn start to think that perhaps the newcomer isn’t quite so bad after all.

That’s not the end of this tale though for not long after a third new neighbour, bear number three, arrives and introduces himself … To reveal the finale would make me a story-spoiler so I’ll merely say that the worm actually has the last word.

Nicola Killen’s amusing tale of acceptance and learning how to get along with others is just right for little humans learning to make their way in the wider world, perhaps having started at playgroup or nursery.

Just Because

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Just Because
Isabelle Arsenault and Mac Barnett
Walker Books

Would that every young child had a parent as ready and willing to answer the seemingly endless string of questions as the father of the small girl in this book even though her “Why is the ocean blue?” ; “What is rain?”; “Why do leaves change colour?”

and the other posers she puts forward as she lies tucked under her duvet in the dark, are clearly in part a tactic for delaying bedtime.

Quality time is what he provides and never once does he find himself trotting out the titular ‘Just because’.

Instead his responses are flights of fancy: the ocean’s blueness is because ‘the fish take out guitars. They sing sad songs and cry blue tears’; rain is “The tears of flying fish”; Leaves change colour because “the trees keep warm by setting quiet little fires in their leaves? By winter, their branches have all burned up.” (I love that!).

The answers get increasingly and wonderfully outlandish: The reason dinosaurs disappeared is that “Millions of years ago thousands of asteroids fell on the earth. / But the dinosaurs had planned for this. They fastened themselves to big balloons, floated up to space, and stayed there.”

The ever-patient father’s benedictory finale is surely, pitch perfect to send his little daughter off into her own dream world at last.

Mac Barnett’s story takes creative thinking to a new level that will likely inspire youngsters to think up their own playful answers to the questions his child protagonist poses.

A perfect complement to the telling, Isabelle Arsenault’s mixed media illustrations have a retro feel, while the imaginary worlds she conjures forth are intricately detailed and full of wonderful whimsical otherworldly touches.

Patience, Miyuki

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Patience, Miyuki
Roxane Marie Galliez and Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Princeton Architectural Press

I’ve not met Miyuki before although this book is a follow up to Time for Bed, Miyuki and it seems slightly strange to receive for review as summer gives way to autumn, a story about the magic of spring. Nonetheless it’s a beauty and so worth drawing attention to.

Miyuki is excited at the arrival of spring and cannot wait to revel in the joys it brings. On her walk with her Grandfather she notices a flower that is yet to open. “Be patient” she’s told, this delicate little flower needs the purest water.

At these words she’s off on a mission to find that water to make the flower burst into bloom.

Her quest leads to an encounter with a toad in a well, a pretty cloud, a beautiful waterfall

and a boy watering his garden who does provide her with what she seeks.

In her haste to return however she trips, hurts her leg and spills the water.

As a result she has to stop and in the silence of the moment she hears the song of the river. “Be patient,” it says promising to take her home.

Lulled by the water, she falls asleep and the river keeps its promise carrying her home, borne by an origami swan to her Grandfather.

Next morning, the second day of spring, Grandfather is able to get her to be still

so that she can observe the wonderful surprise that awaits.

There’s a dream-like quality to this sweet, soft-spoken story that is reflected in Seng Soun Ratanavan’s beautiful jewel-coloured, occasionally playful, illustrations of the natural world, some of which include traditional Japanese objects.

Enjoy the moment is the message of this book, and it’s one we could all do with paying heed to in our increasingly busy times, whatever the season.

One Fox / The Button Book

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Just right for an early years collection are:

One Fox
Kate Read
Two Hoots

One moonlit night down on the farm, with his two sly eyes, one famished fox is on the prowl. Lots of lovely alliteration describes the happenings:

The three plump hens need to keep their ears and beady eyes open.
However that fox is in for a big surprise when he takes six silent steps towards the hencoop and taps seven times upon the outside …

In a dramatic and satisfying climax (although not for the fox), debut author/illustrator Kate Read takes us right up close to the action in her counting story.

With an economy of words she creates a visual comedy that is both exciting and gently educational; but It’s her superb visuals that carry the power – bright, textured art combining paint and collage – that build up expectations of the outcome

and then turn the tale right over on itself.

The Button Book
Sally Nicholls and Bethan Woollvin
Andersen Press

Take a group of inquisitive animals and an assortment of ‘pressable’ buttons of different shapes and colours; add several generous spoonfuls of imagination and stir. The result is this playful interactive picture book for little ones.

Squirrel starts the whole thing off by prodding at the red button with his stick and wondering what will happen. It beeps, and that sets off the button investigation.

To discover which is the clapping button, which one sings songs;

which blows a raspberry;

what joys the yellow button delivers, and the pink and purple ones, you need the fingers of a child or so, and the willingness to indulge in some pretend play.

This is children’s / YA author Sally Nicholls debut picture book and it appears she’s had as much fun creating it as will its intended preschool audience. The latter will take great delight in all the noisy, occasional mischievous activities offered at the mere touch of a button. Adult sharers on the other hand might well be relieved to learn what the white button does.

Seemingly too Bethan Woollvin had fun creating the illustrations; she’s certainly done a cracking job showing the seven characters having a thoroughly good time as investigators and participants in their own comedic performance.