Written and Illustrated by Tony Ross
Andersen Press
£10.99
ISBN: 978-1849394642
All is not well at the castle.
Someone has muddied the floors, stolen the chocolate cake, trampled the
radishes and sunk the Admiral’s toy boats. Guess who everyone thinks is to
blame? No matter how many times the Little Princess tries to explain that ‘I
didn’t do it’, no-one believes her. Finally, the real culprit unmasks himself,
and the Little Princess gets a share of the naughty spoils. Children will
clearly identify, rather strongly, with the injustice of being accused of
something you haven’t done by ill-informed grown-ups, and they will love the
big reveal at the end when we discover that the real villain is, of course, the
Little Princess’ equally naughty brother. Of course, it’s the brother who’s
really to blame! A great book for your own mischievous pre-schoolers!
Stella Maden
Written and
illustrated by Éric Battut
Sterling £5.99
ISBN:
978-1402794445 ISBN: 978-1402794445
Little Mouse peeps though a hole in the jacket of this
beautifully understated picture book. Its plain, red cover and unpretentious
typeface, prepare us for what on the surface seems like a simple tale. A greedy
mouse finds an apple and decides to keep it secret from his friends by burying
it in the ground. But, the selfish mouse has overlooked one thing: if you plant
seeds in the ground, they grow into great big trees, and, trees produce fruit.
Little Mouse’s secret is out and he eventually realises it is more satisfying
to share with friends than store things up for himself. Battut’s miniature
watercolours of tiny animals, finely observed, will captivate readers, and his
carefully selected words will resonate with young and old. A timeless tale with
a universal message: sharing is better than hoarding.
Richard Monte
Mr Zinger’s Hat
Written by Cary
Illustrated by Dusan Petričić
Tundra Books £12.99
ISBN: 978-1770492530
Do stories grow out of hats? And can a bouncing ball help the
process? Balls and hats seemed to be
involved when Leo sat on a bench with old Mr. Zinger. Leo really liked the story they made up. Later, he finds he can share another story
with his new friend, Sophie and the magic begins again. This Canadian import is a pleasure from
beginning to end.
Marianne Adey
The Princess and the
Peas
Written
by Caryl Hart
Illustrated
by Sarah Warburton
Nosy
Crow £10.99
ISBN:
978-0857631077
Lily-Rose refuses to eat peas, even when her dad
disguises them in a multitude of ingenious ways, and so her doctor diagnoses
that she must be a princess. She leaves her home in the woods and goes to live
with the king and queen, who understand that princesses should never be made to
eat peas. However, life at the palace turns out to be less fun than Lily-Rose
had expected. There are far too many lessons in waving and shaking hands and
the food is awful, so she goes back to her dad in their home in the wood and
learns to like peas. There is so much to like in this book. The modern
reinvention of the well-loved fairytale is told in the form of rhyming
couplets, which flow beautifully with rhymes that are never too contrived. The
illustrations are large and colourful with plenty of intriguing detail for
young book lovers to seek out.
Jan Lennon
Written
and illustrated by David McKee
Andersen £10.99
ISBN: 978-1849394505
The herd of pink elephants are celebrating the
100th birthday of their oldest elephant, aptly named Old, at their
special clearing near the cliff top.
However, all their stomping and stamping causes an earthquake and poor
Old is left stranded on a pillar of rock. In fact, it’s the pink elephants and
certainly Super El who are responsible for the action in this story, although
Elmer can be relied upon for his characteristic optimism and words of wisdom.
Another Elmer classic!
Gill
Roberts
Written and illustrated by David Wiesner
Andersen £5.99
ISBN: 978-1849394055
Note these pigs are not little,
and that is the first of several variations on the traditional tale. The pigs fly away on a paper aeroplane and
have lots of adventures. They run into a nursery rhyme and they find a dragon
in danger. They rescue the dragon and
return home, but, there’s the Big Bad Wolf waiting. However, he comes to a traditional,
satisfying end. Children will love the way it veers away from the traditional
plot line and be delighted when they see the book deconstructed and torn apart
to be re-made as a paper aeroplane. The visuals are amazing with a lot of white
space waiting to be filled by the reader’s imagination.
Julia Jarman
Written and illustrated by Ian
Falconer
Simon and Schuster (eB) £12.99
ISBN: 978-0857078872
Olivia wants to be original. She doesn’t want to be like all the other
piglets, who are obsessed with being fairy princesses at every party and dance
recital. She can’t see why the
princesses always have to be pink and are never from other countries with
interesting costumes. Her mother just
wants her to go to sleep. It seems that
Olivia will never be able to settle on a future career but eventually there is
a resolution which in her indomitable style is feisty, and fun for the reader.
Ian Falconer does not draw conventionally appealing characters but the
distinctive line drawings and restrained use of colour fit perfectly with
Olivia’s unique character and her mother’s no nonsense approach. Like many contemporary picture books there is
as much, if not more, here for the parent as for the child, however, even
children meeting Olivia for the first time will be taken by her spirit and
individuality. And all little girls need
to know that there is more to life than being a fairy princess.
Annalise Taylor
Written and illustrated by Linas Alsenas
Abrams £10.99
ISBN: 978-0810989726
Clearly drawn pictures set with
small blocks of text tell this illustrated story of a lonely princess living in
a contemporary American town. The
princess is, of course, a regular small girl, but one who finds the rough and
tumble of the playground hard to cope with.
In this story, our princess confronts her fears of playing with the
other children and makes a friend.
This book works well as a read
–aloud for individual children or for groups.
There’s plenty of scope for talking around the story. Why is this girl
is a princess, and why is she afraid of the other children? Who is the naughty Toad, and what does it
take to make a friend? There’s a great opportunity here to widen children’s
thinking about friendship and loneliness.
Liz Dubber
Written and illustrated by Mandy Sutcliffe
Orchard books £10.99
ISBN: 978-1408316108
Belle and Boo, her rabbit, are
getting ready for bedtime after a busy day. As Belle and Boo go through their
usual bedtime routine, Boo decides to rebel as he creates noise and plays hide
and seek, until Belle finds him tucked up in her bed having forgotten his
goodnight kiss. Belle soon puts that right and everyone can settle down for the
night. This is an old-fashioned, delightful look at traditional bedtime
activities, told with economy and simplicity and balanced by delightful
illustrations. Parents will delight with children at the antics of Boo the
rabbit, as he thinks up the usual excuses for not getting ready for bed. The
illustrations are drawn clearly, using soft block colours against a creamy
yellow background which brings a warm glow to every page. The text is simple, warm and gentle, and
ideal for inducing that sleepy bedtime feeling for children who are lucky
enough to have this among their bedtime stories.
Liz Dubber
Mammoth Pie
Written by Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Andersen Press £5.99
ISBN: 978-1842707579
When Og the caveman sees a hairy
mammoth at the top of the hill, his mouth starts to water. It’s a long time
since he has enjoyed meat, so he resolves to catch the mammoth and make a pie.
Recognising that this is quite a difficult task, Og ropes in help from a series
of caveman friends, each of whom contributes something to the hunt. But, catching a mammoth is harder than you
think, especially when the whole mammoth herd decides to charge! This is yet
another amusing story from this wonderful duo.
The text works well as it appears on the page like free verse, not
exactly rhyming, but set out to encourage a rhythmic approach, with some happy
rhyming sections. There are lovely opportunities for playing with the words and
with the cavemen’s names. As always, the illustrations are full of humour and
can be used to talk about the technology available to early cave dwellers!
Liz Dubber
Zoe and Beans: Hello
Oscar
Written and illustrated by Chloe and Mick Inkpen
Macmillan £10.99
ISBN: 978-0230763685
Zoe and her best-friend, Beans,
are back for another quirky adventure. The discovery of a guinea pig in the
back garden heralds the arrival of a menagerie of pets ranging from another
guinea pig, a rabbit and a tortoise to a chameleon, parrot and duck! Where are
all the pets coming from? A friendly face in a hole under the garden fence
brings the answer. This lively and well-paced book with witty text and
illustrations that sparkle with energy and good humour reinforces the benefits
of inquisitiveness. Zoe is an independent and bright child, willing to rush to
“Google” in order to feed the chameleon – very delightful but also very modern.
Benjamin Scott
The Yoga Ogre
Written by Peter Bently
Illustrated by Simon Rickerty
Simon and Shuster
£5.99
ISBN: 978-1847389039
This picture book with blocks of
primary colours and bold shapes has a rhyming text which many children
enjoy. Ogden Ogden
Louise Stothard
Written by Laurence Anholt
Illustrated by Arthur Robins
Orchard (eB)
£4.99
ISBN: 978-1408324189
Three newly recast traditional
tales here; Daft Jack and the Bean Stack,
Shampoozel and Eco Wolf and the Three Pigs.
Mix Monty Python with pure slapstick and you’re somewhere near the style of
these decidedly daft tales. Daft Jack and his mother lived under a cow. The cow
must go, as his mother is sick of milk, milk, milk, until they win a
competition and a juggernaut full of baked beans arrives. Jack stacks the beans
and climbing them, finds an angry, hungry giant who actually loves beans and
may even want to meet his widowed Mum. In Shampoozel
a hairdresser named Dan Druff sings naughty hair songs. Dan Druff and Tam O’Tei
solve their hairy problems, and Prince Garie Baldie rescues baby Shampoozel
ridiculously from her tower, regaining hair in the process. Eco Wolf and the Three Pigs involves
engagingly hippy eco-warriors pitted against sinister black suited pigs.
Defeated in their plans to demolish homes and made to restore the valley, the
tale celebrates natural resources and wind energy. Ridiculously good fun!
Tina Massey
Atticus Claw Breaks the Law
Written by Jennifer Gray
Faber & Faber (eB) £5.99
ISBN: 978-0571284498
What else would you expect a cat
burglar to be other than a cat? Which is exactly what Atticus Grammaticus
Cattypus Claw is – a cat! Although quite happy with his life of crime, Atticus
accepts a commission from an unpleasant gang of magpies, to relieve all the
citizens of a small seaside town of all their jewellery. However, his cover
means that he has to live with the family of the policeman who, ultimately, and
successfully, investigates Atticus’ crimes. Our cat burglar becomes very fond
of his adopted family and decides that perhaps a life of crime is no longer for
him. The latter part of the story is concerned with his efforts to put right
all his misdeeds. This is a lovely book, with classic villains in the shape of
magpies and, of course, the villain turned hero, Atticus. Despite his crimes he
is a very appealing character, full of charm and a brilliant pet. The climax is
fast-moving and exciting, with a very satisfactory ending.
Pat Thompson
Written by Christopher William Hill
Orchard Books £9.99
ISBN: 978-1408326350
Welcome to Schwartzgarten, a
sinister city ruled over by The Institute, a private school that selects only
the brightest children from the city as its pupils and has a fearsome
reputation for the cruelty of its educational methods. The first of a series of
adventures, Tales from Schwartzgarten, set in this unsettling
fictional world, this book is a darkly humorous, twisty-turny read. Osbert
Brinkhoff seems an unlikely candidate for heroism, but after he is expelled
from the Institute and his family financially ruined by the Institute’s
Principal, he sets out to avenge himself on his persecutors. Osbert uses his
intelligence and resourcefulness to engineer a series of satisfyingly fiendish
deaths for the Institute’s teaching staff. Professor Ingelbrod starves to death
after being tied to his bed with violin strings, while greedy Dr Zilbergeld
meets a sticky end at the strudel factory. Osbert seems to have developed quite
a taste for revenge, and the closing picture of him stalking his former love, Isabella
Myops, gives us the disturbing sense that Osbert might well have launched
himself into a life-long career in avenging. I look forward to meeting him
again in Schwartzgarten soon.
Stella Maden
Written by Daniel Finn
Macmillan (eB) £12.99
ISBN: 978-0230738003
The story begins in a small fishing
village in a poor country, probably in Central or South
America . Reve and his sister Mi were abandoned by their mother
five years earlier, and their father murdered.
Reve spends his time fishing, helping at his uncle’s cantina, and
watching out for his big sister. Mi is a
girl apart, living in an abandoned car on the edge of the village. She suffers
from epilepsy, and is developing a reputation as a visionary. Meanwhile, the
local drug baron is seeking revenge for a tip-off that interrupted his latest
exploit. The tension mounts and the children face a series of terrifying
experiences. Reve is a strong character within a strong and convincing story.
We witness drug running, extortion, and gangland violence through his young
eyes, and believe every minute. Realistic dialogue and short, but telling,
descriptions characterise this very readable novel. There is a varied array of
well drawn characters and the author always has the drama under control. Thoroughly recommended for confident pre-teen
readers.
Liz Dubber
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Bloomsbury (R) (eB)
£12.99
ISBN: 978-1408818610
Coraline has moved to a new flat
inside an old house just before school is to start. Her preoccupied parents hardly notice when
she disappears through a blocked-off door and enters a menacing, parallel
world. At first her ‘other’ mother and
father seemed kind, almost too kind. The
more Coraline explores her new house; full of rats, spiders and lost children,
the more she knows that she must use all her ingenuity and courage to
escape. This modern fairy tale, with its
remarkable illustrations, is a compelling read. Now, reprinted to mark its 10th
anniversary, with new illustrations by Chris Riddell.
Marianne Adey
The Apothecary
Written by Maile Meloy
Andersen (eB) £6.99
ISBN: 978-1849395069
Dealing with a little-visited era
in children’s literature, the book touches on the McCarthy trials when the
House Committee on Un-American Activities encouraged people to denounce
Communists and Communist sympathisers. As free-thinking liberals in the film
industry, Janie Scott’s parents come under suspicion, and this triggers the
family’s move from sunny L.A. to drab and dreary
London
Stella Maden
Written by David Massey
Chicken House £6.99
ISBN: 978-1908435170
Set in Afghanistan, this novel
shows what many people would imagine is a true representation of life for the
British soldiers in the war zone, with the patrols, the road-side bombs, the
heat, the not knowing who is friend and who is enemy. For newly arrived army
medic, Elinor, it is a shock for which all her training had not truly prepared
her. The appearance, and the apparent shooting, of a young Afghan girl that
occurs on her very first patrol lead Elinor down a strange and dangerous path,
where secret special American forces are pursuing their own agenda. The book is
a real mixture of the shocking and the frustrating, with the very occasional
touch of humour. The reader never knows, nor can even begin to guess, what
might happen next. Once started, it is impossible to put this book down.
Pat Thompson
Written
by Keren David
Frances
Lincoln (eB) £6.99
ISBN:
978-1847802866
This final sequel to When I was Joe and Almost
True is equally compelling. It
begins with Ty’s cousin, Archie, maintaining his silence when the headmaster
tries to investigate how drugs got into school, for to protest that he’s
innocent would spoil his chances of being expelled! So, once he’s successfully home in London London
