Category Picture Books

Just Read!

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Just Read!
Lori Degman and Victoria Tentler-Krylov
Sterling

This is a picture book that really does fly the flag for the pleasures that reading has to offer and the multitude of ways and places it can be enjoyed.

We begin in a library with a group of children, one of whom declares, “Hooray! I know how to read on my own!” going on to say, “But sometimes I don’t want to do it alone. So …”

We then learn that this reader (who isn’t identified) shares the bibliographic propensity with an astronaut, pirate or farmer … a clown or knight wearing armour.

An animal can also act as reading companion be it a penguin, moose, bear, tortoise or hare.

Choosing what to read can on occasion be tricky – there’s so much choice – I definitely empathise with that – and the text need not be a book; there are codes, road signs, maps, sheet music, menus, recipes, comics, on screens and much more besides.

Moreover, some people read with their ‘fingers across bumpy lines’,

others using voice, or hand signs (inclusive though slightly inaccurate the latter two which are essentially, ways of communicating what has been read)

As for where to read – again there’s a multitude of possibilities both inside (in a bus, train, plane, cave perhaps) and out.

The book concludes with an idyllic book club setting – in a tree where many children have gathered to enjoy their chosen books.

Imagination knows no bounds, no matter what kind of book you choose, is Lori Degman’s rhyming message; and Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s stylish watercolour illustrations affirm this: all in all a great way to encourage reading and readers everywhere.

Counting On Katherine

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Counting on Katherine
Helaine Becker and Dow Phumiruk
Macmillan Children’s Books

There is so much to like about this splendid picture-book biography of Katherine Johnson, a NASA mathematician.

We first meet the young Katherine as a lover of numbers and everything to do with counting, and an insatiable curiosity– about the universe in particular.

An excellent student, she jumped three school years but her US hometown high school was racially segregated and barred Katherine from attending. As a consequence, her family moved to a town that had a black high school and there the girl flourished, excelling at all subjects although still liking maths the best.

Despite there being no jobs for women research mathematicians at the time, Katherine was tenacious, holding fast to her dream while becoming a primary school teacher.

In the 1950s she finally secured a post with NACA, which was later subsumed into NASA although the job she and other women did was one the men deemed unimportant. Undaunted, Katherine knew that her role was crucial: she was able to determine the trajectory of a spaceship.

Eventually her skills in mathematical accuracy, leadership as well as her creativity and intellectual curiosity led to a promotion to Project Mercury a programme designed to send the first US astronauts into space. She won the trust of the project’s lead astronaut and promised him, “You can count on me,”.

Again it was “You can count on me” when she calculated the flight path for Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and when she ensured the safe return of Apollo 13.

Having overcome much in the way of racism and sexism, on the way, Katherine had earned her place among the stars.
Helaine Becker’s direct telling is highly readable and she makes clever use of the word ‘count’ along the way; while Dow Phumirik’s excellent uncluttered illustrations, some with background computations subtly underline Katherine’s passion for things numerical.

What a splendid partnership this is; and the resulting book will surely inspire and empower youngsters, especially girls to pursue what they love.

Sea: A World Beneath the Waves / Dolphins

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Sea: A World Beneath the Waves
Britta Teckentrup and Patricia Hegarty
Little Tiger

In her latest non-fiction, die-cut peep-through picture book, in a series of wondrous scenes Britta Teckentrup plunges us beneath the ocean waves, way, way down to view the wonders of the deep.

Amid the corals and seaweed fronds we see small fish, sponges, tiny graceful sea horses; a baby dolphin and its mother chirping and clicking in communication, a Lionfish with its poison spines ready to use should it be attacked.

Suddenly there’s a feeling of fear: the fish sense danger as a great white shark casts its shadow. The other sea creatures though, employ their defence mechanisms while the tropical fish swim in formation and all is well.

Night comes and the ocean is a-glow with light;

his song echoing far the humpback whale sings for all to hear, the manatee glides through sea grasses and the corals provide safe spaces for small ocean creatures.

Patricia Hegarty’s lyrical text ends with a plea to protect ocean life by keeping the oceans clean and free from rubbish.

Dolphins!
Laurence Pringle and Meryl Henderson
Boyds Mills Press

Pringle immediately grabs readers’ attention with his introductory ‘If you were a young dolphin, your mother would keep you close, feed you milk and teach you’ that could almost be referring to a human mother. The remainder of the paragraph however negates that with its ‘Soon you would learn to swim fast and catch fish to eat. And sometimes you would leap from the water, high into the air!’ while his final statement on the first page “People would be very curious about the secrets of your life beneath the surface’ sets the scene for the remainder of this fascinating book.

It covers many aspects of the thirty or so dolphin species including classification, morphology and physiology. There’s a fascinating account of dolphins’ use of echolocation;

another of feeding – dolphins are predators, consuming huge amounts of food daily –

and communication. I learned that in addition to sounds, dolphins send messages with their bodies, sometimes by rubbing skins, at others, by touching flippers.

All this and more is related in the author’s highly readable prose that is superbly illustrated by Meryl Hendersen in watercolour and pencil.

Although it’s likely that this will be read by individuals, this book also works really well if read aloud – a testament to the quality of the author’s writing.

My Island

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My Island
Stephanie Demasse-Pottier and Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Princeton Architectural Press

“To dream and to invent allows you to discover yourself,” So said Stephanie Demasse-Pottier, the author of this book that she wrote as a tribute to the inventiveness of her two young daughters. Hurrah for her flagging up the link between the imagination and the power to be inventive – in whatever field.
The little girl narrator of the story conjures up an imaginary island world filled with flying fish, birds, constantly blooming flowers, and animals aplenty.

In this place she has tea parties for the animals, she reads, makes coffee, interacts with snails, arranges flowers – all in her own little house.

We too can share in the riches of this place, so long as we know ‘how to sing’, ‘how to share’

and ‘how to dream’.

 

What adult wouldn’t want their child/ren to gain access to such a place – this extraordinary and wonderful world created by the imagination of the intense, creative little girl. A place where they too can wander, or pause awhile, letting their imaginations soar, further fuelled by the vivid scenes conjured by Seng Soun Ratanavanh in her watercolours, coloured pencils, and red thread stitched illustrations (which serve both to link together what the narrator imagines and to leave gaps for readers’ imaginations to enter).

Not only is this a tribute to two little girls, it’s a tribute to the power of the imagination itself.
Remove all technology and let youngsters take that leap and linger long. Who knows what might happen …

Ceri & Deri: The Treasure Map / Ceri & Deri: Build a Birdhouse

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Ceri & Deri: The Treasure Map
Ceri & Deri: Build a Birdhouse
Max Low
Graffeg

These are the latest titles featuring best friends Deri the Dog and Ceri the cat that introduce young children to specific concepts/skills through fun stories. (Here it’s orientation and design.)

The Treasure Map in the former is an old one that once belonged to Ceri’s nan, an erstwhile pirate, so the stripy feline claims. Ceri’s story of said nan sailing the high seas inspires Deri and the two set off excitedly, map in paws, to find treasure.

En route they are joined by the equally enthusiastic Gardener Glesni, Owain the Optician and Farmer Ffion who are more than willing to leave their respective allotment, spectacle selling, and vegetables to join the search.

Eventually the map leads them within smelling distance of the sea.

But is that treasure buried on the sandy beach as they’d been led to believe by the X, and if so just what will they discover when they dig?

The Bird House tells how the friends come upon a curious little bird while out walking together in town. Clearly it cannot remain on Deri’s head so the two decide to build it a house.

They think carefully about the design – a hallway with telephone for making ‘bird calls’ and ‘a place for all its shoes,” they decide; a kitchen with a plethora of bird seed, flowers, a sink; a balloon-filled dining room , amazing tree-patterned wallpaper, a record player (for listening to bird songs) a bathroom complete with bird bath entered by waterslide

and (obviously) a wave machine. The friends get even more carried away with their elaborate plans; but, tools and materials assembled, can they actually put them into action: I wonder?

This one made me laugh out loud a couple of times, it’s so sweetly silly and I’m happy to report that despite Ceri’s feline-ness, the bird has found two new friends.

If you’re yet to meet Ceri and Deri, I suggest you start here. The friends are a delight and Max Low’s stories are full of charm and engagingly illustrated.

Migrations Open Hearts Open Borders

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Migrations Open Hearts Open Borders
Introduction by Shaun Tan
Otter-Barry Books

llustrators from all over the world responded to the request by The International Centre for the Picture Book in Society (based at the University of Worcester) to create an original postcard for the 2017 Migrations exhibition to be displayed at Bibiana, Bratislava. The exhibition’s creators felt that the installation should reach a wider audience and this wonderful book is the outcome, although the fifty or so images representing 32 countries reproduced in their actual size herein, are only a selection of the hundreds of postcards they received.

Each of the postcards in its unique way focuses on the positive impact of the migration of peoples the world over, showing how the flow of ideas and cultures transcends borders, barriers and even bans.

The book is divided into four themes: Departures, Long Journeys, Arrivals and Hope for the Future.

I would love to show every single one of the awesome, enormously moving postcards but can only make a very small selection for this review, so have included representatives for each of the themes, which spoke to me on my very first reading.

Departures: In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take./ It begins with a single step …                 Rhian Wyn Harrison – UK.

Long Journeys: The skies have no borders.      Christopher Corr – UK

Arrivals: New friends coming from afar / bring us different tales!                        Marcelo Pimentel – Brazil

Hope for the Future: Share the world in peace and freedom. / The Earth and its people have no owners.           Isol – Argentina

On another day I may well have picked completely different ones, such is the power of each contribution, some of which use quotes from writers including John Clare, WB Yeats, Anita Desai and Robert Macfarlane.

If ever there was a time in our increasingly fractured world when we need this treasure of a book, it’s now. Let’s hope that those of us with open hearts who want open borders continue working to make a difference for, as Shaun Tan writes at the start of this book ‘All migration is an act of imagination, a flight of imagination. A hope that frequently exercises a previously unknown human potential. … What can be done? … That’s for us, the living, the thinking and feeling: descendants through millennia of successful migration – whose ancestors dreamed of something better … It’s left for us to imagine what to do, to pass on the dividends of hope that have been invested in us.’

Re-reading his message in its entirety in a week when our UK politicians continue wrangling about how – the universe forbid it happens – we should leave the European Union, brought tears to my eyes. Everyone needs a copy of Migrations; it reaches out to us all, offering another beacon on the uphill climb towards the creation of a better world for everyone, young, old and in-between.
(All royalties are donated to Amnesty International and IBBY)

I Don’t Want To Be Small

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I Don’t Want To Be Small
Laura Ellen Anderson
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

The little boy narrator of this rhyming tale rues his lack of stature; “It’s not fair,” he says. Frequently overlooked, he’s the smallest among his friends and big bro’s castoffs are way too large.

In a fit of pique the lad tosses his Teddy Bear skywards only to get it stuck in a tree out of reach.
Nothing he tries succeeds in getting Ted down;

superfast consumption of green veggies merely serve to give him wind and attempting to become flower-like is let’s say, a damp squib.

His “I JUST WANT MY BEAR” shout causes a tall girl to come and offer her assistance; but not even she can reach Teddy.

Light bulb moment: teamwork might just do it suggests our narrator, and … hurrah! Success; but much more important, is what  ensues.

Laura’s spirited illustrations abound with humour and pathos, and her seemingly simple, funny story with its powerful messages about self-acceptance and the importance of co-operation, will resonate with all those who feel inferior for whatever reason.

Slow Samson

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Slow Samson
Bethany Christou
Templar Books

Samson’s favourite activity is spreading happiness as a consequence of which he has lots of friends and many party invitations.

However this is problematic as he frequently stops on route to a venue to help a fellow animal or merely for a friendly chat.

This tardiness causes him to miss out on all the fun, not to mention the cake at Terry’s birthday bash.

Samson resolves to do better and hurry to the next party. True to his word, he dashes past all those in need but still when he arrives, the party is over; worse though without his help, others had suffered. Poor Samson sobs, despairing he’ll ever be on time on account of his slowness.

Unbeknown to the sloth, Samson’s friends are concerned and after considerable thought, come up with a plan. An invitation is sent and Samson decides that despite his lack of speed, he just cannot disappoint his pals.

Next day, off he sets but he doesn’t rush – his friends do however, causing him to feel bad; but on he goes – slowly, slowly, convinced he’ll be very late. But is he?

For fear of being a party pooper, I’ll leave the little creature dangling and you deciding for yourself.

What I will say is that with its rainforest setting, debut picture book creator Bethany Christou’s warm-hearted tale of altruism, friendship, determination, kindness (and the odd piece of cake – oops!) is a great read aloud and a perfect starting point for discussions with young listeners.

I love the expressively portrayed animals especially Samson, and there’s plenty of gently humorous detail to enjoy in every scene as well as in the playful endpapers.

Tony T-Rex’s Family Album

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Tony T-Rex’s Family Album
Mike Benton and Rob Hodgson
Thames & Hudson

The stream of dinosaur books is never ending and it’s tricky to find new angles but who better than vertebrate palaeontology professor Mike Benton to come up with a novel way of presenting one of children’s favourite topics.

Using Tony-T-Rex as dinosaur family album writer, readers are provided with rip-roaring authentic information about dinosaurs from the tyrannosaurus’ mouth. And Tony really does grab the readers’ interest and grips them between those 20cm long ridged gnashers of his throughout.

First of all he digs deep, unearthing for us just how a dead dinosaur becomes fossilised and how scientists such as the prof. differentiate between a dinosaur and a ginormous lizard. We’re then plunged back 201 million years to the Jurassic Period when dinosaurs rose to power.

Next it’s time to introduce the creatures themselves, starting in the UK with Megalosaurus Big Liz, one of the first dinosaurs and the first to be discovered, surprisingly by one, William Buckland who had no idea of the existence of dinosaurs, mistaking his find for a massive lizard. Happily though scientists soon identified differences between dinos. and lizards.

Thereafter, we travel the world meeting a host of awesome, mind-blowing relations of Tony’s, each of which has a funky name and an extraordinary body.

There’s Tony’s distant ancestor pigeon sized Crash-Test Dex (aka) Epidexipteryx with its long claws and sharp buck teeth. Dex had to perfect tree scrambling for it was a favourite nibble for young dinos with near ground level noses.

We meet the familiar Diplodocus (Dippy herein), Cowboy Spike (Stegosaurus) and then it’s Cruella the Flesh-Eater hailing from Portugal, with 70 dagger-like teeth just right for attacking unsuspecting stegosaurs and diplodocuses – EEEK!

Big Bellied Bill – Tony’s great-great-great-grandpa is memorable for his insatiable appetite for leaves that made him one of the heaviest ever land animals; unsurprisingly he suffered from horrendous wind – PHOOOAH!

It’s impossible to mention all Tony’s Cretaceous relatives here but the fossil of winged Flighty Aunt Nyx is extinct proof of a dinosaur with the ability to fly.

Moving forward to the Cretaceous Period (between 145 and 66 million years ago) we meet another creature with the ability to propel itself through the air: part lizard, part bird, Sinornithosaurus or Crouching Glider, with its alarmingly long teeth and upper jaw pocket was, reputedly, a terror.

I had a good giggle at Dead-Weight Diana (Titanosaurus), Tony’s Argentinian cousin, the heaviest dinosaur in the world, scoffer of the trees’ topmost, juciest leaves. Roamers these, for fossils have been found on every one of Earth’s continents.

You simply must meet the most elegant of all the dinosaurs, Siegfried the Swan (Olorotitan), which I have to admit is new to me. I was fascinated to learn that it had a penchant for dancing and despite its 8m length and 5 tonne weight, this crested beauty loved to demonstrate its ground-shaking prowess to all around.

Two T’s bring the family album to a close, Triceratops and finally our presenter, Tony T-Rex Tyrannosauarus. He’s excited to inform us that his poo might weigh as much as a 6-month old human baby.

The final spreads are devoted to how the dinosaurs died out; a visit to the Great Hall of Fossils; a world map showing where fossil evidence has been unearthed (and might still be); how to go about a fossil hunt and some useful dinosaur lingo for those who want to impress their friends.

This splendiferous tome is a must for family bookshelves and classrooms; all the more so as Rob Hodgson has provided the funky illustrations with the delicious wry humour of his that I loved so much in The Cave.

Kind

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Kind
Alison Green & 38 illustrators
Alison Green Books

With a foreword by Axel Scheffler, this book about kindness has been illustrated by 38 ‘kind’ artists (including Axel) all of whom donated their work for free in aid of the Three Peas charity.

‘Imagine a world where everyone is kind. How can we make that come true?’ are the opening lines and what follows are a host of suggestions for fulfilling that dream which almost every single human being would love to come true.

Most of what’s suggested are easy, everyday acts such as smiling at somebody, listening to people especially when they’re feeling sad, hugging a lonely person; offering a hand to hold to someone who is frightened or worried, or helping someone in trouble.

by Pippa Curnick;                    by Barbara Nascimbeni

Stories can help make others more cheerful be they listener or teller and it’s vital to ensure nobody feels left out or uncared for.

top LHS by Moni Port, bottom LHS by Anke Kuhl: top RHS by Philip Waechter, bottom RHS by Jörg Mühle

I’ve had a kindness jar like the one suggested in some of my classrooms and I know how fast it can get filled up; and acts of kindness can be directed towards animals as well as humans.

Everyone needs to be given the opportunity to shine – after all we’re all good at something.

by Sarah McIntyre:               by Benjamin Chaud

There are occasions however, when extra kindness is required – maybe towards a newcomer, or somebody who is trying to learn our language whatever that may be and it’s always good to learn some important words in their language too. Then there are those who have overcome tremendous odds in leaving their own country which is no longer safe and travelling to find a safe haven elsewhere – let’s listen to their stories but only when they’re ready to share them. Meanwhile toys and creative acts can be shared; and people might need accommodating so it’s wonderful to invite them in …

by David Barrow:             by Marianna Cop

An open mind and an open heart are what’s required similarities and differences notwithstanding. Who knows, if everyone tried just that little bit harder, something extraordinary might happen; now is the time to start. What will you do – today? And tomorrow? And …

We all need constant reminders in the current climate, no matter what part of the world we live in.

I’d absolutely love to be able to show every single one of the awesome illustrations in this celebration of kindness but I’ve only been able to include a few as examples in a book that’s bursting with inspiring suggestions and positivity.

The final spread is devoted to the work of Three Peas a charity that gives crucial practical help to those who have had to flee their war-torn countries and seek a safe haven elsewhere. (£1 of every copy sold goes to the charity).

What a terrific book to share over time with a class, perhaps using a spread or illustration as the starting point for the day and should you exhaust the ideas herein, children could suggest their own perhaps together making a follow-up book or picture gallery spreading throughout an entire school.

Meanwhile I’d like to see a copy of this in every home and classroom, after all children are the future.

The Anzac Billy

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The Anzac Billy
Claire Saxby, Mark Jackson & Heather Potter
Walker Books

I totally fell for the little boy character in The Anzac Billywhen I saw him on the front cover. Based on true events, it’s set during World War 1 in a week when Christmas is approaching and the boy (and his family) are packing carefully chosen items into a billy in the hope it will reach his dad in time for Christmas. From Monday to Friday, one thing per day, the small boy puts in butterscotch (his own favourite), yucky fish (Dad’s favourite), walnuts from their tree, a bar of chocolate, and a pair of ‘just-knit’ socks.

On Saturday it’s Mum’s turn and she adds a razor, safety pins and soap (‘to wash his undies’) and Nan fills the remaining space on Sunday with a couple of handkerchiefs and paper and pencil for writing home.

Now all this so lovingly packed cannot be posted, nor sent by road or rail; it has to be shipped along with boxes of other billies; and naturally the boy is concerned that it might not reach his own dad for as his Mum tells him, ‘there’s a Christmas billy for every warfield soldier, filled by families, filled by friends’.

To make sure though, Billy puts in a note requesting that if another soldier receives his offering, then ‘please send my letter on.’ – this letter that he so carefully penned during that week from which we see how much he misses his Dad.

Claire Saxby’s telling feels authentic and is full of tenderness and poignant moments; all this is echoed in Mark Jackson and Heather Potter’s soft sepia scenes of Australia in a bygone era when light was not electric and life was much harder for everyone.

An ideal book for young readers, and KS1/ lower KS2 pupils studying the period; it would also make an unusual, but highly pertinent, Christmas time story.

 

Nell & the Circus of Dreams

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Nell & the Circus of Dreams
Nell Gifford and Briony May Smith
Oxford University Press

Circuses hold a tremendous fascination for many children and so it is with young Nell although she doesn’t know it when the story begins. What she does know though is that she feels sad on account of her mother being ill and then, when she discovers a tiny chick in the farmyard, very happy.

Nell and the lost chick – she names it Rosebud – become almost inseparable.

One night Rosebud disappears from the end of her bed and when Nell wakes next morning her feathered friend is nowhere to be seen. Dashing outside she leaves the farmyard and heads through the still dewy meadows till she finds herself surrounded by enormous wooden wheels.

There’s an intoxicating aroma of coffee, toast and hedgerow flora, and she hears hammers striking metal. Lo and behold, she’s walked right into a circus.

Up goes the huge tent and Nell sees girls busy adding adornments inside and out. She helps and is invited into one of the wheeled homes where she joins a large family meal. She endeavours to communicate that she’s searching for her lost chick but suddenly the music starts and everyone rushes out and into the big tent.

Nell is mesmerised by the performances she sees …

but even better a wonderful surprise awaits her in the ring: there’s something feathery standing in a circle of light.
From then on, although sadly the circus has to depart, remembering doesn’t;

Nell carries the memories always in her heart and relives them in her own way.

Beautifully and movingly told by Nell, founder of Giffords Circus that has its home on the outskirts of Stroud, near to where I currently live much of the time, her words really capture the magic of all things wonderful about a circus community such as theirs.

I can think of nobody better than Briony to illustrate the story. Her jewel-like scenes are out-of-this-world wonderful, be they of Nell’s farmhouse home and yard, the temporary homes of the circus community or of the performance.

A must have picture book, this.

Will You Help Me Fall Asleep? / I’m Not Grumpy!

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Will You Help Me Fall Asleep?
Anna Kang & Christpoher Weyant
Hodder Children’s Books

Little Frog is anxious to fall asleep and asks readers to help him for if he doesn’t get sufficient sleep his mother won’t allow him to participate in the Frogatta boat races the following day; in other words he’ll be in BIG, big trouble and there’s no fooling his observant mum.

He tries our (supposed) suggested counting sheep, a bedtime book – definitely not the best idea – and a chat with last year’s prize caterpillar toy all of which fail and then he recalls his teacher, Miss Chon’s advice to breathe long and deep then mind travel to his ‘happy place …

and joy of joys, zzzzzzzz.

Whether the final wordless spread is Monty’s blissful dream or the young frog’s elated presence (along with his parents) at the next day’s Frogatta is left open to readers to decide: no matter which, one cannot help but root for little amphibious Monty in this frog-a-licious bedtime tale.

With Christpher Weyant’s super, lively, cartoonish scenes of Anna Kang’s dramatic telling, the book is enormous fun for pre-sleep sharing, especially for little ones with a touch of insomnia.

I’m Not Grumpy!
Steve Smallman and Caroline Pedler
Little Tiger

Waking up to discover a huge furry bottom blocking your door might put most of us in a bad mood; it certainly does Mouse whose mood further deteriorates when he’s splatted on the nose by – so he thinks – a splashy raindrop.

In fact it’s a tear shed by a distraught little badger just outside his window wailing, “Where’s my Mummy?”

Together the two animals set off in search of the Mummy Badger only to find themselves lost.

Encounters with Squirrel and Owl both of which recognise Mouse as ‘that grumpy mouse”, (hotly denied by said Mouse), are willing to help in the search and off they all go deep into the forest.

There they come upon a large bear. On learning that Mouse is in fact helping Little Badger get home, the bear changes his grumpy accusation to “a kind friend”; a first for Mouse.

They travel deeper into the forest until Mouse becomes overwrought

which results in Owl giving him a cheer-up hug – another unusual event for the little creature. Suddenly out of the bushes emerges a very scary, very hungry predator.

Does that mean Squirrel, Badger, Owl and Mouse become a lupine’s evening meal?

Happily not. I won’t divulge the ending, but what ensues will certainly bring a happy smile to the faces of young listeners.

With opportunities for audience participation, Steve’s warm-hearted story with Caroline Pedler’s expressively portrayed woodland animals provides a good starting point for circle time discussion with early years children on themes of friendship, kindness, and on how their moods might affect other people.

Helping Hedgehog Home / Grotwig the Goblin

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Helping Hedgehog Home
Karin Celestine
Graffeg

This is the ninth adventure of Karin Celestine’s Celestine and the Hare series in which friendship, fun and kindness are the essence. The characters are little felt animals, particularly the Water Vole family comprising Bertram who likes sewing, his gardening lover dad Bert, Grandpa Burdock a nature expert who makes others laugh with his silliness, Granny Dandelion, fixer extraordinaire and Bertram’s mum Beatrice, explorer and inventor.

When a hedgehog in a hot air balloon crashes into the pond while Grandpa Burdock is investigating it for possible newcomers, he learns that the prickly creature has been shut out of her log pile home in the garden next door on account of a new fence. Now her balloon has burst and Hedgehog has no way of getting back.

While she refreshes herself with tea and bramble biscuits, Grandpa’s head buzzes with ideas for getting their visitor home. As his drawings of possible contraptions get ever more dangerous-looking,

Granny has been otherwise occupied, but when she appears on the scene and learns of Hedgehog’s plight, she too gets busy to find a solution.
Her workshop resounds with sawing and hammering and before long Granny reveals something that sends Hedgehog’s heart soaring with happiness …

This super-sweet altruistic tale bubbles over with kind thoughts and deeds; with a papier-mâché hot air balloon making activity and information about hedgehogs and how to help them at the end, it’s a delightfully playful, warm-hearted book for sharing with little humans.

Grotwig the Goblin
John Swannell
John Swannell Studios

‘Where’s Wally?’ and ‘a needle in a haystack’ sprung to mind on opening this photographic book, even though there’s not a haystack in sight.

Narrated in rather creaky corny rhyme by goblin, Grotwig, we share in his ramblings through the countryside: ramblings that, at different times of the year take him, as we see in Swannell’s photographs of topiary, pine and mixed deciduous woods, dry stone walls and hedgerows, ancient Yews and Oaks,

moorland hills and byways, and tranquil lakes, through all kinds of terrain.

There are times when the goblin asks readers to find him (with the aid of a magnifier housed in a pocket on the inside front cover) in the photos, This makes us slow right down and look closely at each of the rural landscapes. In itself, that is a good thing: the photographs are lovely and the peaceful scenes well worth paying attention to,

reminding this reviewer of some of the walks taken around the Gloucestershire countryside.

Children are increasingly pressurised and tend to seek escape on screens rather than going outdoors. A book like this might help to tempt them to do the latter and although they won’t encounter any goblins, there’s nature’s magic aplenty to discover in the great outdoors.

The Colour of Happy / Some Days / A Thank You Walk

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The Colour of Happy
Laura Baker and Angie Rozelaar
Hodder Children’s Books

This sweet, simple rhyming story of a boy finding a dandelion seed head and what happens thereafter is the means for an exploration of feelings for young children around the age of the child narrator, using a rainbow of emotions and the fluffy seed head.

The child, out walking with a pup, spies a dandelion clock: ’Yellow is for happy when I spot a special thing,’ he tells us and having picked it, hops and skips along. But when a gust of wind whisks his treasure away, the boy is engulfed in dark blue sadness.

His emotions then run through the colour spectrum: red for anger as he watches it sail away;

green for feelings of envy when he sees a girl with the seed head; grey when he cannot believe things will be okay; gold for the kindly response from a little girl, and the return of hope as they play together chasing the dandelion clock while it sails off again;

purple for the proud feeling when the boy again holds his treasure safe and bids his friend farewell; orange for the mounting excitement as he heads home and finally, pink as he reaches the front door with his somewhat depleted, love-filled offering …

Little ones will certainly relate to Laura Baker’s lovely story, which offers a great starting point for becoming mindful about their own responses to situations. With a foundation stage class, I envisage children talking about the book, their own feelings with regard to a particular happening; and then perhaps responding with paints or whatever medium they feel right, in music or a dance with coloured scarves perhaps.

Some Days
Karen Kaufman Orloff and Ziyue Chen
Sterling Children’s Books

We all experience different feelings at different times and so it is with young children and this book, with Karen Kaufman’s lively rhyming text and Ziyue Chen’s warmly hued illustrations, conveys that huge gamut of emotions through the course of a year.

Through two young children, we share in their everyday highlights such as ‘chocolate pudding pie day’s’, ‘Kites up in the sky days. Jumping super high days’; the joys of swimming and sunbathing;

as well as the downs – a nasty cut knee for instance.

Some days are extra special like that for ‘picking out a pup’ or winning a cup. Then come fussy mum days

and days when raincoats just won’t do, and there are  too wet to play football days with glum stay indoors faces; better though are snow angel making days and watching a warm fire days.

The author acknowledges those bad days when everything feels wrong

and those when it’s best to be alone.

Finally comes ‘Learning to be me days’ which is really the essence of the whole, a book that celebrates the positive but doesn’t gloss over the negative feelings. It’s a good starting point for discussion in an early years setting, or after a one-to-one sharing at home, perhaps about how best to respond to and deal with negative emotions. After all, being mindful of, and being able to talk about, our emotions and feelings helps us best deal with them.

Helping to develop mindfulness in even younger children is:

A Thank You Walk
Nancy Loewen and Hazel Quintanilla
Words & Pictures

Nancy Loewen’s brief story of a mother and little girl walking their dog, Duke, is one of the Bright Start series aimed at developing emotional intelligence in the very young.

Simply expressed it tells how as they stroll hand in hand mother and child interact with the animals they encounter. The barking sounds of Duke, the chirping of birds eating seeds, a neighing pony fed carrots, an overturned beetle that they rescue, which flies off with a buzz-buzz,

are, the child is told, the creatures’ ways of saying thank you.

Cutely and expressively illustrated in black and white with orange pops, by Hazel Quintanilla the book demonstrates the importance of showing appreciation and thankfulness. It’s never too soon to start saying thank you and as an introduction to being mindful about expressing gratitude it offers a useful starter for a circle time session with a nursery group, or for individual sharing at home.

The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears

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The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears
Alastair Chisholm and Jez Tuya
Walker Books

This is essentially a bedtime story treasure trove – a fairy story with a very clever twist or two, or even more.

It begins with Dad asking son Jamie what kind of bedtime story he’d like. Jamie requests “A made-up one!” to include the titular characters and so Dad does as he’s bid and begins to tell his tale within a tale and a right rambling yarn it is into which Jamie insists breaking with questions and interjections. Dad then weaves these into his telling, no matter how far off piste they might be or how irritating. “Why couldn’t the Princess rescue the Prince? … Mum says Princesses in stories are rubbish.” Dad eventually concedes only for Jamie to decide, “No actually I want the Prince.” …

The Princess has been incarcerated in a tower by “her wicked aunt, a Witch with an Evil Eye, ” Dad continues and so it goes on.

We discover that the castle is made (to Jamie’s disgust) entirely out of broccoli and the Witch is really a Ninja. Uh-ha! And if that’s not enough topsy-turvyness, then I’ll have you know that as they approach Castle Broccoli the Prince is actually carrying the horse

and the Princess isn’t all she seems.

Nonetheless all ends happily – twice over- in this splendid romp of a bedtime tale telling experience that will delight both receivers and deliverers. It well and truly flips the traditional fairy story right on its head and not only is it a smashing bedtime offering (albeit not a brief one); it’s absolutely bursting with classroom potential too; and not simply because Dad promises a continuation involving the Bears on the following night.

Yes, Alistair Chisholm’s telling is terrific, but Jez Tuya’s illustrations are pretty cool too – or should that be hot – certainly so here …

and full of hilarious, chortle worthy details.

Dogs in Space: The Amazing True Story of Belka and Strelka

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Dogs in Space: The Amazing True Story of Belka and Strelka
Vix Southgate and Iris Deppe
Wren & Rook

We’ve already had picture books about Laika (notably Owen Davey’s Laika the Astronaut) but now this, author Vix Southgate’s debut, celebrates two canine heroes from Moscow, Belka and Strelka, the first living creatures to actually survive being hurtled into space to orbit several times before being brought safely back to earth.

That though is getting ahead of ourselves so let’s go back to earlier in their amazing lives when the two stray dogs were roaming the streets of Moscow. From there they were picked up and taken to Moscow’s Space Centre for training to become part of the Russian Space Programme. The two little dogs were, so a space centre scientist Oleg decided, just right as they were clever, brave, calm and obedient; perfect characteristics for Space Dogs.

They were then subjected to all kinds of scientific experiments and a training regime before being blasted off in a rocket in August 1960. As Belka and Strelka orbited in space there were anxious times on earth; so still were they, that it was feared they’d not survived the launch. All was well however

and after circling Earth many times, the two dogs started their descent – a dangerous operation – but finally …

History had been made.

The book doesn’t end there though: we learn that Strelka gave birth to six healthy puppies, both dogs lived long happy lives and that their incredible adventure acted as a trailblazer for Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and other astronauts. All this and other key events are presented, timeline style, in the final pages.

A real life story, engagingly and dramatically presented both in words and Iris Deppe’s pictures. It’s a fascinating and exciting way to introduce young children to the history of human space exploration.

Early Years Round-Up

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Father’s Day
Shirley Hughes
Walker Books

A gorgeously warm celebration of moments shared with a beloved dad are woven together to make a super little book for dads and their very little ones to share around Father’s Day, or on any other day. There’s a lively early morning awakening and musical rendition at breakfast time and a walk to playgroup. The highlight though is a day spent at the beach, playing, snoozing, sandcastle building and picnicking. Then it’s back home for bathtime, a spot of first aid,

a goodnight story and some moon spotting.

Bliss! And who better to show all that than the wonderful Shirley Hughes.

Maisy Goes to a Show
Lucy Cousins
Walker Books

Maisy and friends are off to the theatre to see a performance of Funny Feathers, starring Flora Fantastica. Maisy finds it hard to contain her excitement as they queue, browse a programme and eventually take their front-row seats just as the music starts and the curtain lifts for the drama to begin.

During the interval, there’s time for a loo visit and snacks before the bell rings for curtain up again and the cast, led by Flora, sing in the big city of their desires before heading back to their jungle home, and a curtain call farewell.

Maisy fans will love it, and she’ll likely win some new followers with this latest “First Experiences’ story.
More new experiences come in:

The Scooter
Judy Brown
Otter-Barry Books

Twin rabbits Bruno and Bella and back in a second story. Bruno is thrilled to bits with his brand new scooter, practising eagerly using alternate legs and travelling at different speeds in different places. The only trouble is he forgets to perfect one crucial aspect of the entire process: how to use the brake. This precipitates some high drama as he whizzes downhill, through fields, a garden, the market and the park before Bella finally catches up with him – almost.

Anyone for a repeat performance?: Bruno certainly and I’m pretty sure very little humans will demand a re-run too; it’s smashing fun and who can resist Bruno’s enthusiasm?
And for slightly older listeners:

Sandy Sand Sandwiches!
Philip Ardagh and Elissa Elwick
Walker Books

Philip Ardagh and Elissa Elwick’s ‘sticky stickers’ awarders, The Little Adventurers return with their zest for life and bonhomie. It’s a very hot day as they assemble in their HQ shed, collect the necessary items and await one of their number, Finnegan who eventually turns up already sporting his snazzy trunks.

Off they go to the beach in his daddy’s car, arriving full of enthusiasm but with a modicum of good sense as they share the safety rules before heading onto the sand for some sculpting.

Masterpieces complete, it’s time to stand back and admire each one in turn.

Then after ice-cream treats it’s off for some paired rock-pooling,

followed by shell collecting and an unplanned treasure hunt. Then it’s time for a quick dip before they all head home with a few grains of sand to remind them of their day and back at HQ, a final sticker awarding, including one to Snub for his very helpful ‘mouse-sitting’.

Brimming over with silliness, friendship, sandy treats and other adorable delights (including the occasional fact), this is a treat for littles around the age of the characters herein.

Finally, if you missed the original, there’s now a board book version of:

Princess Mirror-Belle and the Dragon Pox
Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks
Macmillan Children’s Books

Now a tiny version of a favourite spotty tale for very littles.
Ellen has chicken pox; she’s covered from head to toe in horribly itchy spots; and what does she want to do to those spots? Scratch them, especially the one right on the tip of her nose. As she gazes in the bathroom mirror, about to do the deed, she hears a voice – no, not mum’s but Princess Mirror-Belle’s.

Thus begins a funny story, delivered for a change in prose rather than Donaldson’s more usual rhyme. Lydia Monks’ sparkle-spangled, collage constructed illustrations offer readers an abundance of opportunities for visual and tactile exploration.

 

It’s Your World Now!

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It’s Your World Now!
Barry Falls
Pavilion Children’s Books

This upbeat rhyming picture book offers three lessons to young ones, lessons about the world, what it has to offer, the disappointments that sometimes befall us all, and how to live life to the full. Barry Falls’ rhythmic narrative calls to mind the Seuss manner of delivery in The Cat in the Hat.

The first lesson talks of a wealth of delights – singing birds, brightly coloured butterflies … autumn leaves / and splashy puddles. / Chocolate cake and ice-cream sundaes, / never-ending-summer-fun-days.’ Now who wouldn’t want those?

But more important is the assurance to the small child that ‘your future’s bright’ (not so bright with BREXIT looming, I fear) and that she and others like her ‘ … can choose whate’er they want to be / and be that thing, quite splendidly …’ Not of course, without hard work and application though; and the sky’s the limit – literally. I love the fact that pushing boundaries and rule breaking are acknowledged as lesson one draws to a close.

Life though isn’t always peaches and cream as the second lesson says and youngsters must be aware of the likelihood that along the way, things will go wrong, others will win or do better; some might seek to disenchant you or thwart your enthusiasm and determination, try to push you around or block your goals.

But each must follow his/her own path and purpose: that way lies fulfilment and ultimate success.

The final and most important lesson is a love-fuelled sending forth into the future, safe in the assurance that in this magical world of the next generation, these particular children are cherished no matter what.

Fascinatingly detailed and vibrantly illustrated (other than in lesson 2 – which has some rather menacing images) this is a wonderful celebration of the worth and potential of every child.

Grumpycorn

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Grumpycorn
Sarah McIntyre
Scholastic

We all use displacement activities to avoid things we ought to get on with, like writing, as those of us who write for whatever purpose know all too well; and these are what we find Unicorn employing as he starts his session ensconced in his special writing house intent on writing ‘the most fabulous story in the world’.

Inspiration is lacking though and he just cannot get going. Up he jumps reaching for his special fluffy pen – still nothing comes. He makes himself a cup of ‘special moonberry tea.’ Surely that will help bring ideas flooding in; but no.

His wish for an idea to knock at his door isn’t fulfilled; instead Narwhal comes a-knocking. Rather than inviting him in or indeed granting his request to be in the story, Unicorn insults Narwhal and sends him packing.

When Narwhal meets Mermaid he tells her what’s happened and she too goes to see the writer, inquiring how the writing is going. Unicorn’s response that he needs cookies to get his genius working gives Mermaid an idea and she offers a deal: cookies in return for being in his story. So long as those cookies provide inspiration is his response and off goes Mermaid to start baking.

Despite scoffing the entire plate full of delicious-looking delicacies, Unicorn deems Mermaid’s efforts uninspiring.

Next to try their luck is Jellyfish but Unicorn’s reaction to her visit is to lose his temper completely and hurl his writing accoutrements into the sea.
Is that to be the end of his creativity or can his would-be story characters save the situation for everyone?

Funny, reassuring in its demonstration that everyone – even a unicorn- suffers from writer’s block (why don’t all teachers make allowance for that in school?); and that friendship rules; and deliciously illustrated in wonderful rainbow hues, this story is a great one to share – perhaps accompanied by some pizza.

The Tide

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The Tide
Clare Helen Welsh and Ashling Lindsay
Little Tiger

What a heart-wrenchingly beautiful story Clare Helen Welsh’s little girl narrator tells as she talks of her beloved Grandad. ‘Mummy says that Grandad loves me very much but that sometimes he gets confused.’

We then spend a day with the family at the beach – the child, her mum and Grandpa set up camp and as Mum watches, child and Grandad build sand castles and forts, crown themselves ‘king and queen of net and shells’. They all share a picnic (Grandad gets confused and buries the sandwiches) and then they go rock pooling (Grandad and granddaughter) and watch the movement of the tide as it comes in.

Mum likens Grandad’s memories to the tide – ‘sometimes near and close and full of life. Other times, far away and distant.’

Their musings are broken by voices and the family proceed together to buy ice-creams and again child and grandfather watch the tide

before becoming ankle deep in sea-water.

All too soon it’s time to go home but first they must shake away and wash off the sand and salty water.

Then it’s back home to talk lovingly together about their shared day.

The likening of Grandad’s memory to the ebb and flow of the tide is both moving and enormously powerful: Clare has chosen the perfect figurative language to help children to begin to understand dementia and be at ease with the subject. And, I can think of no better illustrator than Ashling Lindsay whose work I’ve loved since seeing her very first picture book. Her warm colour palette here is just gorgeous, radiating the unconditional love that so clearly exists between family members, especially child and Grandad.

A must have for family collections and for primary schools to share and talk about together.

You Can’t Cuddle a Crocodile

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You Can’t Cuddle a Crocodile
Diana Hendry and Ed Eaves
Hodder Children’s Books

Why would anyone want to, was my immediate response to the title of this book but said crocodile doesn’t actually make an appearance until quite a way into the story – on Friday to be precise – so let’s go back to the start and meet the family on Monday morning.

There’s our narrator, a fresh-faced boy together with his smiling parents who counter the lad’s claim that on this particular day his sister is a monkey, with a question about the nature of monkeys’ choice of breakfast, and go on to fabricate further fanciful monkey-associated notions.

Come Tuesday, said sister has morphed into a bear whose ursine antics cause early morning chaos in the household.

And so it goes on through the week: Wednesday a camel accompanies mum and boy to the beach; Thursday sees a rainy shopping expedition with a flat-footed, flap, flap, flippered sibling slowing down the journey and causing consternation with the shopkeeper.

Friday it’s the turn of a visit from that crocodile – a decidedly uncuddle-able incarnation, particularly at bedtime story time and on Saturday the unsuspecting postie is scared silly when something roars at him and makes a grab for his sack. He isn’t impressed, preferring the human sibling.

On Sunday, Freya makes a welcome return as herself but suddenly Mum notices the absence of our narrator. What could have happened to him? … Seemingly he has the final chuckle in this tall tale.

Diana’s crazy story coupled with Ed’s zany digital scenes of young Freya’s incarnations and their outcomes, is likely to entertain youngsters in an early years setting or at home as well as providing a gentle introduction to, or reminder of, the days of the week sequence.

I’m a Baked Potato

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I’m a Baked Potato
Elise Primavera and Juana Medina
Chronicle Books

As a stylish woman sits relaxing in her garden she admires her potato plants for she has a particular penchant for potatoes.

She also has a great liking for dogs and one day she goes out and gets a little brown terrier, likening it to her favourite baked potato food and constantly calling it “Baked Potato” as they spend their days inside together.

One day though, the two sally forth but not together.

As the dog searches for the woman, little by little he starts to wonder whether perhaps after all, he’s not a baked potato; but nor is he as the big dog tells him, a groundhog; nor is he a plump bunny like the fox says, igniting his oven and licking his lips in eager anticipation.

Happily for the ‘bunny’ an owl happens along and taking the little canine under its wing, explains that he’s a dog and points out that “dogs are very good at finding things, especially with their noses.” And the rest, shall we say is a sniffing journey and a joyful reunion.

Slightly crazy, but full of cosy charm and gentle humour is Elise Primavera’s telling; and with Juana Medina’s brightly coloured, detailed, swirling, whirling digital art, the book is a delightful read aloud either to a class or individuals with lots of possibilities for adult/child dramatising along the way.

Beetles, Butterflies and other British Minibeasts / Look and Say: What You See at the Seaside / Queen Victoria

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Beetles, Butterflies and other British Minibeasts
Nikki Dyson
Nosy Crow & the National Trust

In all my time teaching under 7s, I’ve probably never come across a child, however lively or challenging who, when outside (or sometimes in) failed to become engrossed in watching such minibeasts as woodlice, ants, ladybird larva or caterpillars.

This beautifully illustrated Nature Sticker book takes users to several locations where minibeasts are likely to abound: the vegetable patch – several, but not all of the minibeasts therein are likely to be pests.

Anything but pests are bees, hugely important garden visitors that have a vital role in pollination, as do some butterflies like the beauties shown herein.

The shed is a likely place to find spiders and their webs in abundance as well as daddy-long-legs and perhaps other less desirable kinds of flies.
You’ll probably hear grasshoppers and crickets before you see them as they’re often camouflaged in the long grass they like to frequent.
Tree trunks like this one are good spots for discovering and observing beetles.

What better time that now to get outside, look for small creatures and then come back and enjoy hours of learning and fun with this beautifully illustrated book?

Look and Say: What You See at the Seaside
Sebastien Braun
Nosy Crow & the National Trust

Whether you’re building sandcastles at the water’s edge, swimming in the sea, looking at the boats in the harbour, walking on the cliffs, rock-pooling, fishing, exploring the estuary, strolling on the sand-dunes, or perhaps diving down beneath the waves, there’s always plenty of interesting things to see. when you visit the seaside.

This is what Sebastien Braun shows in his engaging scenes of the various locations, each of which has an introductory sentence and another pointing out a particular feature of note. At the bottom of each spread is a row of named objects to find in the large illustration and say together, if sharing the book as intended with an adult (or older child).

A fun way to develop vocabulary and observational skills with little ones.

Queen Victoria
Illustrated by Nina Cosford
Puffin / V&A

Readers with an interest in the past will enjoy this mini-hardback book that looks at the life of Victoria and her legacy.
It tells how, when the young Victoria became queen she was determined to break free from the controlling influences of her mother and her courtiers and rule Britain on her own, even if she didn’t always get things right. It was against royal protocol for her cousin Albert, with whom she fell in love, to propose marriage to her; instead she did the honours and was accepted.

As well as information about the Queen, there are spreads about the industrial revolution; the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, the royal couple’s work in support of the arts and science,

their interest in the latest technological developments as well as Albert’s popularising of the Christmas tree and Victoria’s golden and diamond jubilees.

Illustrated with a mix of photographs and finely detailed illustrations by Nina Cosford this is one to add to primary school classroom shelves, or for young readers wanting an introduction to a fascinating period of great change.

Springtime Picture Book Delights

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This is a catch-up of some Macmillan titles:

The Nature Girls
Aki (DelphineMach)
Macmillan Children’s Books

Sixteen inquisitive girls – I love the fact they’re introduced by name on the title page – don identical yellow safari suits and sally forth to explore nature, in particular different biomes.
Bags on backs, having observed some rabbits in their garden, they head for the beach and clad in sub aqua gear, dive down

and swim with dolphins.

Then it’s back on with the safari suits and off they go walking through rainforest, across a desert,

then aboard a safari bus travelling through grasslands; on a plane tundra bound where they board a dog sledge

and finally, they sail off destination a forest alive with sounds of its wildlife.

Observant listeners and readers will notice the less obvious as well as obvious animals and other detail in Aki’s playfully adorable scenes, as her rhyming text bounces along as enthusiastically as the intrepid travellers. I absolutely love the sense of mischief occasionally shown by some of the young female friends in this joyous adventure and the final scene hinting of further wonder-filled adventures in the offing. Hooray for girl power!

A fun introduction to the scientific notion of biomes – the final spread about these may well set the inquisitive off researching the topic further.

Little Bear’s Spring
Elli Woollard & Briony May Smith
Macmillan Children’s Books

As any walk in town or rural parts will show, spring has well and truly sprung now and what better way to celebrate its joys (apart from a walk) than with terrific twosome Elli and Briony’s gorgeous book collaboration that celebrates not only the coming of my favourite time of year, but also, friendship.

When a little bear awakes one morning all he sees is a vast, seemingly empty snowy landscape.
Without a playmate, Little Bear spies a small smooth stone that feels like a promise.

Tucking it into his fur, he heads off down the track in search of friends.

Too busy for friendship, the birds are nest building and bear’s efforts to do likewise fail so off he goes again.

He finds however that the hares and wolves are also busy with spring preparations and his attempts to emulate them are, in the first instance merely a flop and in the second, pretty scary. This brief scariness however, precipitates the perfect finale of the story …

for when Little Bear awakes next morning a whole new world with an exciting surprise awaits …

Delivered in faultless lyrical rhyme Elli’s terrific tale with its wonderful evocations of spring, and Briony’s stupendous scenes of the natural world and the changes therein, (her use of ‘night and light and the half light’) with the terrific portrayal of the zestiness of life in springtime make this book’s a true treasure no matter what time of year you share it.

What Clara Saw
Jessica Meserve
Macmillan Children’s Books

Clara’s enthusiasm for the school trip to a wildlife park could so easily have been thwarted by the egotistic, know-all, humans are vastly superior to other animals, attitude of teacher, Mr Biggity, as he walks around intent on proving the veracity of his fake-scientific assertions to the children in his class at every opportunity, talking down the animals’ awesome characteristics.

Clara in contrast walks around with an open mind and eyes, wondering and observing what the residents of the animal park are doing. “Do animals feel sad?” she asks … ‘no, no and NO, … their brains are far too small for feelings” comes his retort.

And of course they can’t possibly communicate, use tools to get what they need and absolutely ‘don’t care about the world around them’ …

As Mr B. rabbits on, the animals are engaged in using their aptitudes, knowledge, skills and natural instincts to outwit the park keeper and come to the aid of a giant tortoise, about to be transported away from her fellow animals.

So much is shown rather than told. Jessica’s exquisitely observed watercolour and pen illustrations say far more than her words: Clara’s fascination and joy as she watches the animals is evident from the outset as is Mr Biggity’s condescending attitude both to his charges and the animals. Note the position of his right hand as they enter the park, his meticulously tied laces, his upturned foot as he strides forth and in contrast, the expressions of the children, as they look in wonder at what they see.

This humorous, cleverly constructed story brilliantly demonstrates how best to learn; how not to be gulled by false information (HMMM!) and there’s not a tiny weeny touch of the dogmatic preachiness that is Mr B. anywhere in sight.

My Pet Star / Little Fish

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My Pet Star
Corrinne Averiss and Rosalind Beardshaw
Orchard Books

Beneath a tree one night, a little girl discovers a star. The star has been hurt by its fall and its glow has gone, so she takes him home.

There she acts as a ‘cosmic super vet’ tenderly nurturing her ‘pet’ star, sharing books with him

and cuddling up with him at bedtime.

The days go by and the young narrator finds out a great deal about her star and his habits and all the while, the star glows brighter. She misses him during the day when he sleeps a lot; and he eschews her games merely looking on silently and benevolently.

At night though, he comes to life, his sparkle preventing the girl from sleeping as he twinkles above her bed – until she makes a decision.

Leaping from her bed she opens wide her window and … whoosh! Away flies her astral friend, fully restored, back into the dark sky where he belongs, from there to brighten up the sky and his new friend’s life from afar.

Corrinne’s magical story demonstrates the importance of kindness, altruism and friendship; it’s beautifully illuminated by Ros. Beardshaw in her mixed media scenes. Her narrator is shown as an adorable child who seems to live alone in a shepherd’s hut or travellers’ caravan.

Little Fish
Emily Rand
Thames & Hudson

Five vibrant, layered neon scenes of life beneath the ocean waves pop out of this book, the covers of which can be tied back to create a standing carousel.

A short rhyming narrative introduces two orange goby fish playing among the corals. The duo become separated when a large shoal swims past sweeping one of them with it, into a dark patch of kelp in which rests a friendly-looking turtle.

Less friendly though is the hungry grouper that lurks in the cave nearby eyeing the little goby. Then, even more scarifying are the white teeth of a marauding shark that appears on the scene snapping its jaws threateningly.

Happily though, the little fish finally makes it back home where it re-joins its playmate on the reef.

A lovely way to introduce your little ones to marine life, but equally this would be great as part of an early years display for a sea-related theme.

Most Marshmallows

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Most Marshmallows
Rowboat Watkins
Chronicle Books

Imagine an entire world populated by marshmallows; it’s what story-inventor extraordinaire, Rowboat Watkins does, one way or another.
As he informs us at the outset, ‘Most marshmallows don’t grow on trees … or come from storks — or even Mars.’

Instead most are mostly born of marshmallow parents and reside in various kinds of homes. They do the kind of things you and I would do like celebrating birthdays, watching television, going to school – well the young ones do, and presumably the marshmallow teachers.

Lessons are taught in being squishy – yes even these already soft confections have to perfect their squishiness, and in standing in rows – I’m not a big fan of that one, but some educational establishments think it’s super important;

and most definitely they should come to understand why they cannot breathe fire (that art is the preserve of dragons).

Now happily there are some divergent thinking marshmallows with secret knowledge and it’s something SO important I’ll share it with you humans so you can make sure your little ones know too: ‘Marshmallows – all of them – can do or be anything they dare to imagine.’

Now I’ve always said how crucial the development of the imagination is in education, or anywhere really and now THANK YOU Rowboat for your affirmation of this, with the help of those malleable little confections of yours.

Superbly creative, funny and positively inspiring, this is a truly tasty tale to share with young humans. Rowboat’s mixed media photo images are absolutely terrific; his scenes of what marshmallows do – be that most, the exceptions, or indeed all, are quite brilliant.

I was partial to marshmallows before reading this book, I’m even more so now.

How To Light Your Dragon

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How To Light Your Dragon
Didier Lévy and Fred Benaglia
Thames & Hudson

What do you do when you discover that your much-loved pet dragon’s spark has gone out? This delicious book with its exciting amalgam of words and pictures offers a range of possible curative strategies.

The dragon belonging to a child owner emits not a single flicker when first we encounter it but the child remains upbeat as ideas are put forward one by one in the manner of an instruction guide.

What about lifting his rear legs and giving him a ‘good shake’? Nothing doing?

Maybe use his tummy as a trampoline. No? A feather duster toe-tickle, underarm feathery feel or a nasal nudge duster-style maybe. Uh-uh, no go!

Make him really, really angry by cheating at cards or make a large cake complete with candles – irresistible surely? Actually no; and even the oven shop with its jealousy-inducing latest models pointed out fails to spark a response.

By now said dragon appears decidedly downcast and even consumes the false flames stuck on his snout then flops down defeated and immobile.

Perhaps the time has come for an entirely different approach; unconditional love – now there’s an idea … recollections of good times shared, a big smacking kiss right on his nostrils and … TA-DA!

The fusion of near show-stopping typography, arresting design, and wildly bright colours is powerful enough; but even that is eclipsed by the message that someone or here, something, is loved no matter what, gives the book its hottest, most radiant magic.

Didier Lévy and Fred Benaglia most definitely lit my fire with this one.

The Phoenix of Persia

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The Phoenix of Persia
Sally Pomme Clayton and Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif
Tiny Owl

What better way to welcome the month of May than with this wonderful new book and music project from Tiny Owl, The Phoenix of Persia. The tale, told by acclaimed storyteller Sally Pomme Clayton is the second in the publisher’s One Story, Many Voices series.

It’s based on a story from Iran’s most important epic, and one of the world’s greatest, Shahnameh, by 10th century Iranian poet, Ferdowsi and tells of an ancient Persian king.

The setting for the telling is Daneshjoo park where children, including Ali and his sister Shirin, are gathered awaiting the magical ‘Once upon a time …’

We hear of the birth of the multi-hued Simorgh, a firebird with a secret: her feathers have the magical power of granting wishes and making dreams become reality, a bird that is reborn every thousand years from the ashes of her nest. This magnificent creature is the titular Phoenix of Persia.

At that time the land is under the rule of King Sam and Queen Aram who are overjoyed at the birth of a long-awaited child, a son and prince whom they name Zal.

The ruler’s joy is short-lived though for when he uncovers the child’s head he sees, not the locks of a baby but the white hair of an old man. Immediately rejecting what he considers an imperfect infant, the king summons a soldier and orders him to take him to the mountains and leave him. Reluctantly the soldier does as he’s bid, placing Prince Zal on a wind-swept rock.

The sobs of a hungry, distraught babe reverberate over the mountains and are heard by the Simorgh out hunting for food for her chicks. Resolving to care for the tiny human, the creature picks him up, carries him to her nest and tucks him in among feathers.
Years of lessons in languages, the arts,

sciences and princely skills follow and sixteen years later Zal is a wise teenager. His parents meanwhile are suffering – his mother from nightmares, his father from regrets. So terrible does he feel that King Sam calls the soldier and the two men ride off into the mountains, and come upon …

“Can you forgive me?” called King Sam.

Forgiveness follows and a paternal plea to return home initially refused, is accepted thanks to Simorgh’s words of wisdom to Zal that bring about a change of heart.

Then father and son (with some special feathers from the phoenix’s tail) travel home to be welcomed by an overjoyed mother. He adds a fiery phoenix feather for protection to his new crown

and there the storyteller in the arena stops, leaving one of the audience wondering about whether it was ever burned.

With acceptance at its heart, Sally Pomme Clayton’s telling really does feel like a drama unfolding before you, all the more so accompanied by Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif’s wonderful, richly textured, jewel-hued scenes. That’s not all though: there’s a QR code at the beginning of the book you can use to listen to a beautiful musical accompaniment on Iranian instruments to Sally’s narration.

Rich in classroom potential, this book is FAB-U-LOUS!

 

Have You Seen My Blankie?

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Have You Seen My Blankie?
Lucy Rowland and Paula Metcalf
Nosy Crow

Lucy Rowland is a highly skilled rhyme writer and here she uses her verbal artistry to tell the tale of young Princess Alice and her soft, warm, snuggly blankie.

One day this exceedingly cuddlesome item goes missing. Alice hunts high and low unsuccessfully

and then heads outside to consult her brother Jack playing in his den. Jack informs her that he’d used it a while back but then a giant took it away.

Off goes Alice to find the giant. He invites her in to partake of tasty pies but tells her that yes, he’d had the item, used it to wipe his nose, whereafter a witch flew off with it. Again, the witch had made use of the object (as a cloak) until it was snatched by a dragon.
Following a snoring sound coming from the forest, Alice puts on a brave face and walks towards a cave wherein, seated at the entrance she finds …

Surprisingly however, the dragon isn’t at all ferocious and instead tells the child how much he benefits from such a soft item to protect him from the cold, rough cave floor when he sleeps.

Alice’s first thought is to establish owner’s rights, then on further consideration she comes up with an alternative plan: to help the dragon find a warm, soft, snuggly substitute.

Easy, you might be thinking but their search is far from so and both Alice and dragon become increasingly troubled

until finally they arrive back at the royal palace sans anything suitable.

Eventually up in the attic the little princess extricates the perfect item … Sleep well Alice, sleep well dragon friend.

Equally as enchanting as Lucy’s telling are Paula Metcalf’s illustrations. Her colour palette – mainly greeny, orangey, browny, bluey hues is a great choice and her characters human and animal are adorable and splendidly expressive.

A felicitous collaboration, an enormously successful mix of words and pictures: in short, a super read-aloud picture book to enjoy especially just before snuggle up time.

Oink! / Daddy Fartypants

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In your face or subtle, toilet humour books are always winners with young children: here are a couple of recent, contrasting examples:

Oink!
David Elliot
Gecko Press

David Elliot tells this hilarious tale entirely through delicate watery scenes of a pig’s bathtime along with onomatopoeic sound effects, mostly animal but punctuated by ‘Knock! Knock! (s)

It starts with pig climbing into his, one assumes, eagerly anticipated steaming bath-tub; but he’s no sooner sat back for a relaxing soak when ‘ Knock! Knock!’ “Maaa?” a sheep clad in pink frilly skirt and clutching a toy boat enters and proceeds to climb into the tub. (Her utterance, one assumes is a polite request).

Further knocks see more unruly creatures, first a horned bovine character …

followed by an ungulate (donkey/horse?) ensconcing themselves in pig’s increasingly noisy bath.

Pig though utters not a sound but then … One tub-emptying action later

 

things – or actually animals – start to move …

Peace at last! Time to top up the hot water and relax. Ahhhh! Bliss.

No telling – just showing – and absolutely brilliantly done in Elliott’s subtly comic, brilliantly expressive pencil and watercolour scenes.

An absolutely smashing pre-bedtime sharing book for which your little humans will delight in supplying the various noises. If I was in an early years setting I’d set up a small world play scene complete with tub and animals for the children to act out the tale.

Daddy Fartypants
Emer Stamp and Matt Hunt
Orchard Books

Meet dad bear, farty bum extraordinaire. The trouble is no matter how clear it is that’s he’s the culprit when it comes to noxious rear end emissions, he never never owns up to his trumps and parps. Instead he blames others, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when.

Not a single apology or pardon so much as reaches his lips, no not ever.

One day when collecting his forbearing son from school, Daddy Fartypants encounters an attractive new teacher, Miss Lovelybear and as he eagerly approaches, she lets loose a gargantuan gust from her derrière. And does that teacher issue an excuse? Oh dear me, no she does not: instead she points the paw at guess who … Outrageous!

Game, set and match to Miss L. Her terrible toot triggers a realisation on Daddy F’s part. Repentant, he promises to become a changed character when it comes to rear end rumbles and so far as we know he’s been true to his word.

Totally terrific fun, Emer Stamp has come up trumps with this thoroughly moral tale, and Matt Hunt’s splendid, sonic blast, pant-ripping illustrations speak volumes – quite literally. PHOOAW! Your little ones will relish this book as did this reviewer whose partner could give Daddy Fartypants a run for his money when it comes to windy issuances – he does own up though, I hasten to add.

Brian the Brave

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Brian the Brave
Paul Stewart and Jane Porter
Otter-Barry Books

Paul Stewart’s story stars a curly-horned, white woolly sheep going by the name of well, Brian.

It all begins one sunny day with Brian busy nibbling in a grassy meadow when along comes curly-horned, black woolly sheep Rose. The two agree to become friends and are happily playing chase when along comes Stanley. This sheep wants only to play with Rose on account of their both being black. Hmm – you can see where this is going. Poor Brian is now excluded and he feels sad.

Two spotty sheep arrive; they share the horny characteristic with Brian and Rose leaving a fed up Stanley out of the gang.

Up trot a hornless striped trio, Cassidy, Lou and Hamish, Brian suggests they all become friends but the three snub his invitation.

Enough is finally enough for Brian: He tells them ” We are all sheep, … We should all play together!” It looks as though things might just work out well for all but suddenly things kick off again leaving blue-eyed Brian exceedingly downcast and isolated.

Off he walks, looks at his reflection in a lake, continues his stroll up a hill, through a forest and there comes face to face with …

He dashes away, hotly pursued by the hungry lupine creature, to warn his fellow sheep. The situation is grave: somebody has to do something and fast.

Good old Brian steps in as operation attack-wolf co-ordinator and happily his fellow sheep co-operate until their joint biffing (the curly horners’ contribution) and butting (by the noses of the hornless ones) sees off their would-be guzzler once and for all.

There are SO many ways you can interpret this book in our increasingly troubled, B–X-T times but however you do – and it might be different on different days – it’s definitely a biffing, butting, cracking celebration of courage, self-belief, acceptance, co-operation, difference and friendship.

Jane Porter’s various sheep characters are splendidly portrayed in her dramatic, often funny, colourful collage scenes of the ups and downs of life ovine style.

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life / Dreaming in Code

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Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life
Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu
Sterling

Elegant film star Hedy Lamarr’s first love wasn’t in fact for making movies – she wasn’t at all interested in glitz and glamour – rather her passion was science and technology. It’s this lesser known side of her that’s the focus of this book.

Her greatest invention was ‘frequency–hopping spread spectrum’ a wonderful technological idea developed in collaboration with musician George Antheil, that helped allow the communication devices of torpedoes to change frequency quickly cutting down the opportunities for radio signals to be altered, intercepted or blocked completely; sadly it wasn’t used by the US navy during WW2 though.

Still relevant today, their invention now helps to keep our mobile messages private and defends computers from hackers.

Hedy’s various inventions are described and each spread includes a quote from her: here’s one I particularly love.

We also learn of her childhood in Austria in the early 1920s and how her father, who also had a love of science and technology was such an encouragement to her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, and her creative ideas.

Laurie Wallmark’s engaging text is both inspiring and concise; and Katy Wu’s stylish, retro feel illustrations transport readers to the time when women’s achievements were under played and often undervalued (it took 50 years for her awesome brilliance to be fully recognised). However when Hedy and George finally received in 1997 the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for their contribution to computers, Hedy commented thus.’” It’s about time.” … “My life was full of colours, full of life … I don’t regret anything … I learned a lot.” Brilliance recognised at last.

So too will readers of this picture book, which also includes a timeline, bibliography, suggestions for further reading about women in STEM, a list of her films and an explanation of her secret communications system.

Equally inspiring, for older readers is:

Dreaming in Code
Emily Arnold McCully
Walker Books

This is a fascinating biography of Ada Lovelace, daughter of poet Lord Byron, who is celebrated for being the first computer programmer.

Ada’s childhood was anything but conventional; she never got to know her father and was brought up by her domineering mother who, despite showing little emotional warmth, provided for her daughter through private tutors, an intellectually stimulating education, a protection in part from any instincts towards developing her father’s poetic talent. Thus Ada developed a terrific thirst for mathematical and mental puzzles and scientific discovery.

At age seventeen, the young aristocrat Ada, was introduced at a party to widower and famous inventor and mathematician, Charles Babbage, who was to transform her life. We learn of their collaborative friendship and how Ada’s leap of imagination took her pioneering thinking beyond that of her friend and his ‘Analytical Engine’. This is what she wrote, ‘Many persons imagine that because the business of the engine is to give its results in numerical notation, the nature of its processes must consequently be arithmetical and numerical, rather than algebraical and analytical. This is an error. The engine can arrange and combine its numerical quantities exactly as if they were letters or any other general symbols.’

We read of her marriage to William King who admired Ada’s intellect as well as being rich and handsome; her motherhood years, her addictions and death at an early age from cancer.

Beautifully written by Caldecott-Medal winning author, Emily McCully this carefully researched, accessible portrait of Ada Lovelace is likely to inspire future groundbreakers to follow their dreams and not let anyone or anything stand in their way.

(There are also photographs from archives, illustrations, source notes, a glossary and a bibliography.)

The Secret Lives of Unicorns

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The Secret Lives of Unicorns
Dr Temisa Seraphini and Sophie Robin
Flying Eye Books

Most people consider those much loved unicorns, that are all the rage just now, are imaginary; Dr Temisa Seraphini, author of this book and ‘leading expert’ so she says, on unicornology, would like to persuade readers to think otherwise.

She divides her fanciful presentation into three parts: the first being “What is a Unicorn?; the second provides examples of unicorns from various parts of the world and the third looks at the relationship between humans and unicorns. Her over-arching aim in all this is to encourage those magical creatures of yore back into our technological world of today.

In her introduction to the first part we read that unicorns are herbivorous but unlike their horse cousins, have magical properties; the author places them in the order Artiodactyla that includes, giraffes and goats among other even-toed ungulate creatures, assigning them to a separate family: Unicornus.

Then on the first spread we’re shown the six different species of the legendary creatures on a evolutionary timeline.

This is followed by a page detailing which parts of the unicorn’s anatomy have magical properties: Did you know that unicorn tears can apparently heal the sick and that the drinking of unicorn blood provides unimaginable strength. Hmmm!

The Horn is the next topic and there are supposedly three varieties – ridged, smooth and pearlescent; the latter so loved by some recent picture book creators; and if you believe it, in 1858 someone unearthed a skull that had once borne a unicorn’s horn. Uh-huh!

The second section takes us to six different habitats (with accompanying atlas), from the regions around Mount Everest

to the sandy African dunes and the moorlands of northern Europe. We learn  how different adaptations to climate have occurred over time  There’s an introduction to the winged variety and flight.

The final part talks of legendary unicorns; those who found their way into the annals of history or became subjects of artistic representation, as well as introducing some other unicornologists, giving guidance on tracking and communicating with the creatures.

Tongue in cheek though all this may be, it’s fun and rather enchanting. So too are Sophie Robin’s detailed illustrations that will definitely make readers smile as they peruse the pages and get lost in the spellbinding silliness.

Little Frida

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Little Frida
Anthony Browne
Walker Books

Who better than the inimitable, brilliant Anthony Browne to create a picture book about another brilliant artist, Frida Kahlo? And what a wonderful and surreal (it is Anthony Browne after all) story he tells. It was inspired by her ‘magic friendship’ and her “The Two Fridas’ self-portrait that she painted in 1939.

From the start our young narrator Frida says, her physical difference made her an outsider, often lonely but not unhappy at being ‘separate’, which she quite liked.
The wish to fly filled both her night-time dreams and her daydreams but her birthday dream of a toy plane is dashed when instead her parents give her a pair of wings. Rather than show her disappointment, alone in her room the young girl lets her imagination take flight.

She runs and runs and when all her energy is spent she stops by a dairy. Finding no way in, she’s about to return home, another door opens,

cascading her down, down to the earth’s depths and there she meets a strange but seemingly familiar girl.

This girl then begins a magnificent dance of life and while she does so, Frida shares with her, her own secret worries

and a close friendship is forged.

All too soon the time comes for Frida to bid farewell to her friend from the dairy and return to her own reality a much happier child than before, and ready to begin her artistry with a paintbrush.

Iconic Frida truly was, so too in his own way is, Anthony Browne. Allowing the imagination to take flight and soar so you become free is what Frida did and what Anthony has done here in his magnificent magical scenes, every one of which is packed with images that will inspire in readers further flights of their own fancy.

I’d love to show every single illustration but to see the rest, you will need to get your own copy of this stunning, out-of-this-world picture book.

Super Sloth / The Great Dog Bottom Swap

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Two treats from Andersen Press: the first from rising star, the aptly named Robert Starling; the second an oldie but real goodie:

Super Sloth
Robert Starling
Andersen Press

Superhero characters always go down well with little human would-be superheroes, but a Super Sloth? Could one really make the grade?
Jungle resident, Sloth is far from fast and unable to fly; but when he comes upon a picture book story of a superhero he’s totally enthralled and it gets him thinking.

He sets about assembling the necessary accoutrements: mask – tick; cape – ditto. Off he goes in search of rescue possibilities. Before long he hears Toucan’s cry for help, but arrives too late – he is a sloth after all. Nevertheless he’s determined to help find the dastardly mango-thieving Anteater.

Up the highest tree he climbs – an ideal vantage point for Anteater spotting he thinks and so it is.
Wheee! Sloth launches himself skywards but … disaster!

Is that the end of his superhero aspirations? Not quite: when he learns of the potential starvation of the other jungle animals and hears from Bear about the need to break into Anteater’s well-guarded stronghold, it sets him thinking again and makes him extremely angry.

A plan forms in his mind, one that capitalises on his sloth abilities and off he goes,

slowly, slowly making his advance towards Anteater’s garrison until he’s ready to strike …

And there we’ll have to leave him dangling for fear of spoiling the ending of this laugh-out-loud sequel to Fergal is Fumingand just borrow a bit of the old adage, ‘slow and steady … ‘

As well as presenting readers with a dramatically illustrated, delectably droll super-story, Robert provides endpapers of factual information – Sloth Facts and Super Sloth Facts. Love it!

The Great Dog Bottom Swap
Peter Bently & Mei Matsuoka
Andersen Press

Thank your lucky stars this isn’t one of those scratch and sniff type books that used to be all the rage when this romp of Peter Bently’s first burst onto the scene a decade ago.

If you’ve ever wondered why dogs sniff each other’s bottoms when they meet, then this book is definitely one you MUST read; and even if you haven’t, I’d still strongly urge you to get hold of a copy. It’s brilliant, delivered in Peter’s faultless rhyme and tells what happens on the day of the Dogs’ Summer Ball.

The dogs, as per instructions …

hang up their bottoms in tidy rows in the cloakroom of the venue and proceed to the table to eat, drink and make merry.

Thereafter they participate in the canine cabaret and generally have a wonderful time.

Dancing is then announced; more fun and frolics until …

Catastrophe! Fire breaks out, engulfing much of the furniture and furnishings in flames: the dogs flee for their lives.

In their haste however, they each grab the nearest reachable bottom and dash out. That’s why when they meet in the street dogs sniff one another’s bums – in the hope of finding their own again.

Cheerful, cheeky – children roll around over it – while adults endeavour – in my case unsuccessfully – to stop themselves spluttering as Peter’s wonderful narrative trips from the tongue. In tandem with Mei Matsuoka’s hilarious illustrations of dogs of all shapes and sizes, this neo-pourquoi-tale is a rip-roaring read aloud gift for teachers and others who share stories with the young (and maybe not so young).

Superkitty

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Superkitty
Hannah Whitty and Paula Bowles
Simon & Schuster

There’s a new superhero on the block – or rather as Hannah Whitty’s story opens – a would-be one. It’s the fluffy feline narrator of the story and she works at the Sensational Superhero Agency located in Big City.

Her chief role however seems to be office stooge in contrast to Cheetah, Wildebeest, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Bear. These guys get all the crook-chasing, crime-busting fun while kitty is left behind to answer the phones.

So, when a call comes in from Dr Fossil reporting the theft of a precious bone from her most recent dinosaur discovery, kitty is determined to get in on the act of the most ‘dastardly and diabolical crime EVER’. Grabbing the appropriate gear. She quits the office and despite being told to return to her post by the six scoundrel catchers, she manages to join the action and tails the Sensational Superheroes through the streets as one by one,

they stop off to attend to their own personal whims and fancies.

Eventually the crew reach Sky Tower where it’s kitty’s turn to shine. Scaling up the side of the building she finds herself face to face with the dastardly dog burglar, Nefarious Norman and we all know what dogs love best …

Can Kitty summon up sufficient bravado, face off the thief and save the bone from the stinky breathed canine or is she destined to become a dog’s breakfast instead?

Let’s leave her there and merely add that there’s one mightily happy feline and an enormously satisfied agency customer at the conclusion to this rip-roaring saga. Never let it be said that it’s always the guys who wear the pants (and capes and masks) hereafter.

Fast-moving, funny and illustrated with aplomb by Paula Bowles, this will hold the attention of young listeners throughout; and if my experience is anything to go by, action replays will be the order of the day.

Norm

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Norm
Sylvia Liang
Thames & Hudson

Is there such a thing as normal? The narrator – Normal or Norm for short – of Sylvia Liang’s debut picture book certainly thinks so and he epitomises that normal, he and his friends Plain and Simple. These individuals live in an extremely orderly village, made so because its residents spend much of their time measuring themselves and everything around them, and merely hiding or turning away from wrongly sized items be they animal, vegetable or mineral.

Life with this uniformity is, so we hear, pretty peachy with its set shapes, sizes and times for doing things like partaking of afternoon tea from matching crockery.

One day into this utter normality bursts a yellow bird that leads Norm to meet Odd(ette), a very friendly little lass who lives in a town of boot houses.

Norm’s foray into her far from normal environment is shall we say, shocking, but altogether friendly and in fact, enchanting. With such characters as Clouded Apple sweet maker Eddie with his recipe of apple, sugar and imagination in equal measures; milliner Lady Lily whose hats are adorned with marine animals

as well as Mr King, musical maths teacher and messy Professor John whose stories cause the world to melt away.

It’s young Odd though who has something important to convey to her guest: ‘ if you focus on your ruler all the time … you’ll miss the things that will amaze you in this world.’ And when Norm sets aside his ruler, he discovers to his surprise that it’s true.

But what about his friends back home? Are they open to the possibility of the new and surprising; do they too have the potential to accept the odd change?

This reviewer has always been a rule challenger/subverter, so Sylvia Long’s book really spoke to me, for who can measure the freedom one finds when one loosens the hold on the strictures rules impose.

Let’s celebrate all who find the courage to be a little freer in the way they live their lives.

Monty + Sylvester: A Tale of Everyday Astronauts

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Monty + Sylvester: A Tale of Everyday Astronauts
Carly Gledhill
Orchard Books

Space exploration picture books seem to be all the rage at present and here’s another.

We first met this terrific, best pals twosome in A Tale of Every Day Super Heroes and now they are in training to become space explorers. Really? Yes really and thus far their regime has lasted around 20 minutes – we’re allowed to watch Sylvester demonstrating his astro lunge in preparation for their mission to the depths of dark space to find an undiscovered planet and hence become famed as astronauts. Well, let’s see.

Their friends are not totally convinced of the likelihood of their space success telling them so in no uncertain terms.

Undaunted however, the two approach the launch pad where Monty’s ship is at the ready.

Following a successful launch their rocket heads towards ‘deepest, darkest space’ with the crew keeping an eye (or four) out in case of aliens, black holes, or meteors, and hoping to spot an undiscovered planet. All seems to be going well until a black hole looms large …

Fortunately more by luck than judgement, they manage to avoid it, only to run into a meteor shower of galactic proportions. Their meteor shield fails dismally. Could that spell the end of Monty, Sylvester and their mission?

Let’s merely mention little green aliens, leave it there and allow readers to imagine what might happen thereafter; and having done so, head off to the nearest bookshop to grab a copy of this super, silly space tale.

Like her two characters, it seems Carly’s imagination knows no bounds; her scenes of comic chaos are simply out of this world and I love the way she seamlessly integrates the visual and verbal narratives.

Bring on the next adventure says this reviewer who is heading off to grab some more little ones to share this howlingly funny book with.

B is for Baby

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B is for Baby
Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank
Walker Books

Here’s an absolutely cracking circular story that’s simply bursting with love. Atinuke’s verbal narrative focuses entirely on things starting with the letter B as she takes us on a journey through a West African rural landscape.
First though we meet the titular Baby; see her mother Beading her baby’s hair and Baby raiding the Banana basket, toppling in and partaking of some Breakfast.

Brother is next on the scene; in he bops and loads said basket complete with baby, on the back of his bicycle ready to go to visit Baba.

Oblivious to his stowaway passenger, he pedals along the Bumpy road towards Baba’s bungalow.

Passing beneath the Baobab – a Big one – they emerge into an area with fields either side; and a bird from the previous spread is now seen in full view with its gloriously coloured plumage – Beautiful – as is the blue butterfly that flies behind the bike, while ahead are trees filled with baboons.

As they pass under a tree a Baboon grabs the lid from the basket revealing the stowaway baby.

The journey continues with baby handing out a banana to a child leaning from the Bus window as they pause before crossing the Bridge (B is for Bridge) and before long they arrive as their destination: a Bougainvillea surrounded Bungalow outside which waits a happy-looking Baba … ‘B is for … Baba!’

That happiness increases enormously though when he opens the basket …

One shocked brother and an overjoyed Baba.

After all that there’s only one thing to do: sit down together and partake of some yummy snacks – ‘B is for Biscuit!’ as well as some bubbly bottled liquid refreshment; and I bet they polish off the whole lot.

A sensory delight if ever there was one, is this rural ride from one much loved family member to another. (The last two spreads show the return journey, which culminates back where the siblings started, and finally, a relieved-looking mama clutching tight her Baby.) Visually stunning, vibrant and infused with humour, the entire book is bursting with energy, warmth, rich colour and beauty.

A total treat to share and to pore over; an enriching must have for home, nursery or school collections and another terrific Atinuke/ Angela Brooksbank collaboration.

Bikes For Sale

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Bikes For Sale
Carter Higgins and Zachariah OHora
Chronicle Books

Meet Maurice, seller of lemon drinks from his mobile stall: ‘No matter where he rode, he always had customers.’

Also meet hedgehog Lotta; she owns a red bicycle that she uses to collect sticks, which she gives away for stilts, swords and limbo bars: ‘Everyone loves sticks … They’re the best thing to collect.’

Both pedal all over town but thus far the two have never met. Then however both need to move on and all of a sudden a stick – just a small one – becomes caught in Maurice’s wheel spokes and …

Almost simultaneously Lotta’s bike skids on some petal-like peel and she too takes a tumble. That’s two ruined bikes, but the two characters are unhurt so they endeavour to make do without them, losing business all the while.

In the meantime Sid, local bike restorerer makes a find – two actually –

and before long signs appear in the town advertising his wares; signs that both Maurice and Lotta read and decide to pay a visit to Sid’s establishment.
Hip hip hurrah! Two bikes have become one – a splendiferous tandem.

Then it’s a case of four legs are better than two as the wheels of the bike go round and round, a new friendship is forged and business begins to flourish once more.

With gentle anti-consumerism messages about making do and mending, re-using and recycling, Carter Higgins’ enchanting story is a celebration of friendship, collaboration and much more. I love the alliteration and quirky poetic nature of her verbal narrative.

Equally I love OHora’s characterisation and chosen acrylic colours for his delightfully detailed, sunny scenes of the ups and downs of life animal style. Make sure you take time to look at the maps on both front and back endpapers when you share this super book.

The Pawed Piper

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The Pawed Piper
Michelle Robinson and Chinlun Lee
Walker Books

Michelle Robinson’s moggy twist on the Pied Piper legend was specially written for illustrator Chinlun Lee because her home in Taiwan has an over-abundance of cats. In addition Chinlun asked others to send pictures of their cats to her and as a consequence every feline featured herein is real.

The story begins with the small girl narrator telling us of her desire for a cat. She then relates how she goes about acquiring such a cuddlesome creature by means of kitty creature comforts along with some advice from her gran.

Preparations done, the child waits … and waits, but not even a kitten comes so she retires to bed, cuddles up with a book and falls asleep.
Suddenly though, something soft, warm and purry disturbs her slumbers: it’s her gran’s Hector but he’s brought some friends along with him, rather a lot of them.

Sixty seven moggies of all shapes, colours and sizes.

The next day our narrator enjoys the company of her new feline friends but on her way to return Hector to her gran, she makes a rather alarming discovery … She’s not the only one looking for a cat …

Gran’s instruction to return all her new acquisitions seems somewhat unfair but back at home the little girl makes an exciting discovery.

Even if like this reviewer, you’re not a feline fan, you’ll likely fall for Michelle’s furry tale that breaks into rhyme from time to time. Chinlun Lee’s cat characters are terrific – every one looks different and despite my allergy I almost felt myself reaching out to stroke some of the softest seeming, most cuddlesome-looking ones among them.

Snuggle up and share with your little ones, with or without an accompanying moggy and make sure you look at the endpapers.

Willbee the Bumblebee

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Willbee the Bumblebee
Craig Smith, Maureen Thomson and Katz Cowley
Scholastic

A plug for bees and a slightly crazy story of an unravelling black and yellow jersey belonging to one particular buzzy bumblebee named Willbee are knitted together in this rhyming story endearingly portrayed by Katz Cowley.

One day while out and about foraging Willbee snags his jersey on a rose thorn and as he flies away, the jersey gradually unravels until his bare bum is exposed. The now decidedly chilly little insect has to remain unprotected in the garden as he’s too cold to fly home.

Alone and scared humless, he’s spotted by kindly butterfly, Monica who flies down to his aid. She frees the wool and takes it off to spider Steve who agrees to weave the yarn into a brand new jersey for Willbee; and so he does. Back to Willbee flies Moni with the jersey.

Donning his new garment at super fast speed, Wilbee revives, gets back his hum, rewarms his bum, gives thanks to his benefactors and buzzes off happily home to his mum.

A fun, giggle inducing read aloud to share with little ones at home or in an early years setting.

The Big Beyond

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The Big Beyond
James Carter and Aaron Cushley
Caterpillar Books

Using rhyming couplets, Poet James Carter blasts readers off in a rocket and whizzes them into deep space and backwards into history, to early stargazers and their telescopes.

We read of early attempts at flight in kites, balloons, gliders and aeroplanes, pausing in 1957 to watch Sputnik 1 orbiting, and in 1969  to see ‘Saturn Five’ rocket blast off and the lunar module from which two men emerged onto the moon’s surface.

We’re reminded of the various roles of satellites, spacecraft (sending home information), probes (exploring Mars), and crafts to land (air testing, soil sampling and more).
James’ final future suggestion is likely to tempt young readers’ rockets … will head through the atmosphere. We’ll need an astronaut (or two_ / so what do you think? / Could it be YOU?

In like fashion to his previous Once upon a Star the author concludes his whistle-stop historic foray with an acrostic – ROCKETS this time – that provides additional pointers for possible investigation by small space enthusiasts.

Cool endpapers and some enticing art by Aaron Cushley complete this package tour of the cosmos.

Alone Together / A Number Slumber / The Bus For Us

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Alone Together
A Number Slumber
The Bus For Us
Suzanne Bloom
Boyds Mills Press

Suzanne Bloom knows just what works for beginning readers; but much more important she knows what will help foster a love of books and reading in young children as these three books demonstrate.

Of the three my favourite is Alone Together, a Bear, Fox and Goose story wherein Bear endeavours to have some solitude.
Fox however doesn’t seem to appreciate what this means as he bounces up to bear demanding to know, ‘Why are you all by yourself, bear? /Are you sad? / Are you mad? ? Are you lonely?’

The humour mounts when, following Bear’s ‘Occasionally, I like some quiet time.’ response, Fox agrees and proceeds to Hmmmmmm repeatedly, twirl and whoosh! around an increasingly agitated Bear who looks as though he’s about to tear his fur out.

But covered ears and eyes and other signs of his ursine friend’s increasing agitation have no effect on Fox, so Bear has to spell it out explaining that hush means ‘No noise! Quiet! Please.’

It now appears as though Fox might have worn himself out as open-mouthed, he topples back into Bear’s snuggly fur just before Goose reappears. With a seeming truce between Bear and Fox now in place, Goose demands to know if Bear has had sufficient alone time.
Perhaps that truce was a little short-lived after all …

A smashing piece of picture book comic theatre, this delightful tale unravels rather like a silent movie.

A Number Slumber is a lovely count down to bedtime animal style that begins by asking readers, ‘What do you do to get ready for bed?’

It goes on to posit a series of likely pre-bed activities – tooth brushing, listening to a story and more before turning the focus to other sleepyhead creatures.
There follows a series of lovely alliterative examples as ‘Ten terribly tired tigers tiptoe to their beds. Nine normally nimble newts rest their sleepy heads.’ And so on …

until ‘One really weary wombat yawns …’ and the final page shows a sleeping bundle … ‘just like you.’ Now who might that be?

Readers will have to turn back to the title page to confirm if their guess is correct.

You can count on this soporific delight to help send your little humans off into slumberland, thanks to Suzanne Bloom’s soft focus scenes rendered in gorgeous dreamy colours that accompany her rhyming text.

For vehicle enthusiasts especially is The Bus For Us that introduces a variety of vehicles. By means of a question and answer text and accompanying sightings of the traffic that passes the bus-stop at which a brother Gus, and his questioning sister Tess wait. (Watch that bus-stop as you turn the pages).

There’s much more to it than that though: plenty of action, involving both humans and animals, takes place as the queue for the bus increases …

until at last a yellow school bus arrives to pick up all the waiting passengers.

My City / In The City

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My City
Joanne Liu
Prestel Children’s Books

A small boy, Max, is given the job of posting a letter and sets off to the post box.
His route through the city takes him past a launderette where he stops to watch the swirling whirling clothes in the machines;

then he stops at a crossing to look in a puddle (in stark contrast to the other people many of whom have their eyes on their phones)

and has an encounter with a rubbish collector and his truck. He chases after a leaf as it’s whooshed by the wind, catches it and eventually presents it to a man on a bench.

Each of these small happenings is followed by a shift in perspective that puts the reader as it were, behind the boy’s head as he meanders, ever watchful through the bustling city and through the day, all the while open-armed as though embracing each and every new experience until finally, he arrives back home to his watchful mother, and the mail box right by their house.

Almost wordless, Joanne Liu allows her vibrant, textured paintings to tell the story while allowing readers to create their own too, perhaps about the spotty dog that appears in several scenes.

A visual delight to explore and re-explore making new discoveries on each reading.

In The City
Dominika Lipniewska
Button Books

Dominika Lipniewska takes readers on an exploratory journey from the stirrings of early morning through twenty-four hours back to another sunrise.

Her graphical style urban landscapes have the playful appearance of a construction block city, comprising Lego-type figures, buildings and vehicles.

The streets and railway are full of hustle and bustle as commuters hurry on their way to work or perhaps take a more leisurely walk with a dog.

Noise is at times overwhelming, but not everywhere is so frenetic; there are green leafy spaces where wild life abounds, and quieter spots to pause and partake of some rest and repast.

Different as people may be, they share much in common including a love of ice-cream and engaging in fun activities as well as shopping – be that in a shopping centre

or smaller shops on the street, as well as the market, a great location for buying fresh produce.

Like most cities this one has other places of interest: a large variety of eating places, museums and art galleries, a zoo and more; and it’s both ever-changing and never still for some people work through the night to provide essential services.

Every spread offers enormous potential for observing and talking; in fact the whole book is visually appealing and immersive.

Wakey Birds

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Wakey Birds
Maddie Frost
Templar Books

A host of insomniac birdies feature in this story set in the jungle, an exotic location wherein reside all manner of interesting creatures including the titular avians.

To facilitate their sleep with soporific sounds though, are other feathered friends, notably the Soothing Shushers and the Go-To Sleep leapers. Such sounds appears to have worked wonders on this particular night except for the very Littlest Wakey Bird who seems full of life and raring to go.

Eager for some fun and games she sets about some noisy wake-up sounds to rouse her fellow Wakeys. And the cacophony works a treat;

in fact the noise escalates rousing the very noisiest of all the jungle dwellers, the Shrieking Monkey. Big mistake!

The din disturbs that which should ‘never, ever be disturbed -the Dreaded Jungle Beast fast asleep in his cave and he is NOT amused.

Out he comes confronting the Littlest Wakey Bird who, fearing for her life, speaks out. Guess what: she doesn’t become his next snack but soon she and the other Wakeys are entranced by a wonderful story read in the dulcet tones of the dreaded beast;

and it’s effect is to bring on a wonderfully satisfying finale …

Maddy Frost’s book is bedtime reading of the first order, but equally, fun in the daytime. The nocturnal frolics of the jungle inhabitants will delight youngsters at any time; be prepared for a very noisy story session when you share this one.

Tomorrow Most Likely

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Tomorrow Most Likely
Dave Eggers and Lane Smith
Chronicle Books

Dave Eggers has penned rhyming ponderings upon the possibilities of what tomorrow might have in store. None of us knows what the next day will bring but Eggers’ likelihoods are safe, reassuring, sometimes weird like this something that won’t rhyme

and sometimes totally delightful: ‘Tomorrow most likely / there will be a sky / And chances are it will be blue.’ … ‘Tomorrow most likely / you’ll smell the good smell / of an unseen flower you can’t quite name.’ … ‘Tomorrow most likely / you’ll pick up a stone / striped like a spiderweb or maybe a brain.’

In this bedtime story, his laid back languorous, rhythmic textual repetition provides both comfort and cheer –seemingly spoken by the mother from the title page bidding her child goodnight and in so doing looking forward.

Lane Smith holds up a two-way mirror to Egger’s contemplations with his mixed media images of a boy heading out through the door to wander around his urban environment encountering such oddities as a troubled big-eyed bug missing his friend named Stu; or that curved-beaked creature sporting a paper-hat, as well as envisaging eccentricities like eating the cloud-cone as he pauses in a flower-filled patch of green and then, clutching the cone, sings atop a rocky tower;

and closing with the boy now sleeping, dreaming of tomorrow, happy in the belief that because he’s in it, it will be ‘a great day.’

Touches of whimsy abound in this detailed urban landscape especially for those who know how to look for the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary.

Meet the Penguins

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Meet the Penguins
Mike Brownlow
Oxford University Press Children’s Books

The penguin duo are eager to play; but their ‘Please can we play?’ overtures are turned down by in turn an elephant intent on riding his bike; a fox in a ball pool;

a paint daubing hippo; a giraffe building with blocks, a tortoise out riding, a pair of noughts and crosses players, a puzzling primate, a racing rabbit

and a cat fishing, each of which proffers so s/he thinks a pertinent reason why not – well all except the cat and she merely gives an unequivocal ‘No’.

As two despondent penguins sit pondering on their next move, they’re approached by a little bear asking if she can play.

Their loud affirmative response precipitates a truly astonishing display of balancing and juggling as the penguins open their bags and showcase their playful talents aided and abetted by their new playmate.

Pretty soon the three have an audience and guess what they want to do …

With superbly ironic rejoinders from the animals the penguins want to play with, Mike Brownlow’s narrative reminds us how easy it is to push people (or penguins) away and make them feel unwelcome whether or not it’s intentional.

Its vital message about welcoming newcomers and all they have to offer, especially those who might seem different, is timely and pertinent, and this is a great book for opening up discussion.

And of course, youngsters will be unable to stop themselves from joining in with the oft repeated ‘Please can we play’ request.

Little Green Donkey

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Little Green Donkey
Anuska Allepuz
Walker Books

This is another absolutely delicious story from Anuska Allepuz. It’s narrated by Little Donkey who is, shall we say, a rather picky eater.

When we first meet him, his food obsession is grass: grass first thing in the morning, – he starts by eating his grassy pillow – grass all day, every day by all accounts.

On this particular day though our little grey ungulate friend hasn’t noticed the effects all this grass consumption is having upon him (observant readers doubtless will immediately do so) and as he heads off cheerfully for some refreshing water to quench his grass-induced thirst, he’s in for a shock.
What he beholds in the water certainly brings him up short and his immediate concern is what his mother’s reaction will be.

Some hasty disguise art takes place …

before Little Donkey heads home; but his Mum isn’t fooled at all. “It’s really time to try and eat some new food,” she urges.

Her son’s response is to sample several different coloured items – oranges ‘too juicy’; watermelon- too seedy; broccoli too green – really? Apples are just too yucky; grapes are instantly ejected, but what about crunchy carrots? Now they are …

Uh oh! we know what’s coming …

Little ones, as well as this reviewer, will eagerly anticipate the finale as well as giggling helplessly at upbeat Little Donkey, his antics and his foodie fads as portrayed by Anuska. Adults will relish the opportunity to plead their case after sharing this tasty neo-cautionary tale with their own picky eaters.

A laugh-out-loud delight through and through – grey, green, orange or any other colour!