Picture Books for young children
Kipper’s Beach Ball
Written and illustrated by Mick Inkpen
Hodder (R) £6.99
ISBN: 978-1444924022
First published in 2003, this new
edition forms part of Kipper’s 25 year celebrations. The story sees Kipper
finding something colourful and wrinkly in his cornflakes, but he has no idea
what it is. He goes round to Tiger’s house to share his excitement. Tiger has
already collected the other toys in the series so decides it must be the ball,
but it doesn’t look or behave like a ball - then the adventure starts. Mick
Inkpen manages to portray all the emotions from excitement to disappointment to
optimism on the faces of Kipper and Tiger – another triumph.
Bev Archer
Written and illustrated by Leo Lionni
Andersen (R) £6.99
ISBN: 978-1783441570
Originally published in 1970,
this simple story of friendship and being true to oneself will still appeal to
young readers and listeners. The illustrations are reminiscent of a subdued
Eric Carle, with what appear to be pencil and crayon drawings evoking the world
of Fish and Tadpole, with rubbings creating textured backdrops. Of course,
tadpoles don’t stay tadpoles for long and soon Fish’s friend has transformed
and left the pond to see the world. Fish is confused at first, and then alone.
But, Frog returns to share his adventures with his friend. Children will enjoy
seeing how Fish pictures the creatures that Frog tells him about - birds, cows
and humans - all variations of fish in Fish’s mind. Fish’s attempt to leave the
pond, his rescue by Frog and his return to his own habitat, help him appreciate
the beauty of the world he lives in. The story also shows readers the
difference between fish and amphibians, and something of the process of
metamorphosis.
Annalise Taylor
First Steps in reading for young children
The Princess and
the Pony
Written and illustrated by Kate Beaton
ISBN: 978-1406365382
In the kingdom of warriors Princess
Pinecone, by far the smallest, craves a warrior horse for her birthday. For
previous birthdays she has received cosy sweaters so, in an attempt to indulge
her warrior ambitions, her somewhat unimaginative parents, buy her a horse. It
is, however, not the horse of her dreams but a squat, sausage of a pony with divergent
eyes. When put through its warrior paces in preparation for the great battle,
it fails on all necessary equine skills. Then, in the midst of battle, the
mighty Otto the Awful, bearing down on pony and princess, is stopped in his
tracks by the pony’s cuddly, heart-melting adorability and cuteness. Instantly
hostilities are subdued as the warriors queue to pet and stroke the little
steed. Cuddly sides now exposed, all are eager to embrace the changed corporate
identity and each warrior wears one of the surplus sweaters from the princess’s
birthday store. Kate Beaton’s comic-style talents are well exemplified in this
unusual book that glories in the art of eloquent gesture and facial expression.
In addition to the intrinsic humour, readers also learn that victory can come
in unexpected and benign ways.
Catriona Nicholson
Written by Claire Burgess
Illustrated by Marijke Van Veldhoven
Orion (eB) £4.99
ISBN: 978-1444014693
A welcome addition to this
popular series of Early Readers, Lottie and Dottie decide to enter the
Sunflower Competition and we follow their journey from seed to flower, with a
few hiccups along the way. With handy advice at the end on growing your own
sunflower (and keeping off the snails!), this is an appealing title. Full
colour illustrations on every page guide the reader through the story,
providing support for reading and enhancing the story by adding emotion and
detail. Text is appropriate for the audience and accessible with plenty of
dialogue. With lots to talk about when sharing with an adult, this is a useful
title for classroom book boxes and libraries.
Lucy Russell
Tin
Written and illustrated by Chris Judge
Andersen (eB) £6.99
ISBN: 978-1783441631
Tin’s Mum asks him to look after
his little sister, Nickel, for the afternoon. Just as he is enjoying his comic
book for a few minutes, he notices that Nickel is at the top of a tree, chasing
a balloon. An exciting adventure unfolds as Nickel tries to rescue his sister.
Detailed, colourful illustrations make this Irish import a real pleasure to
share with a young audience.
Marianne Adey
The Enchanted Wood
Written by Enid Blyton
Illustrated by Mark Beech
Egmont £14.99
ISBN: 978-1405276658
The children are excited to be
moving from the town to the countryside. As they explore their new home they
are amazed to discover an enchanted wood and a magic tree near their house.
This leads them into many adventures as they meet the weird and wonderful folk
who live there and visit new lands at the top of the tree. The 1940 edition I
read as a child had a single colour plate at the front and line drawings
throughout, very different from this brightly coloured, much illustrated new
deluxe gift edition. Some changes have been made to the text to update the
story. Jo, Bessie and Fanny are now Joe, Beth and Frannie, Dame Slap is now
Dame Snap and Joe now makes sandwiches instead of just bringing in radishes
from the garden. There are also three additional chapters about the children’s
adventures in the Land
of Toys
Sue Wilsher
Titles for the Confident Reader in Primary School
The Rats of
Meadowsweet Farm
Written by Dick King-Smith
Illustrated by Victor Ambrus
ISBN: 978-1781124178
Farmer Green is a bit of a
slapdash farmer. His farm is pretty mucky, especially the huge muck heap in the
middle of the yard. As muck heaps go, it was truly magnificent. The happiest
animals on the farm are the rats, for they love the muck heap and they also
love the fact that Farmer Green never, ever, puts his grain or his seeds or his
animal feed into metal bins. The rats chew their way into the sacks and eat and
eat as much as they want. The chief rat, known as Ripper the King Rat, runs his
rat empire with no interference at all from Farmer Green, until one day Farmer
Green kills some of his best workers. Ripper is not pleased and plots his
revenge! The battle for Meadowsweet Farm is hard, but, who wins? Read the book
and see! It is a humorous book, but the humour is quite dark at times. Very
enjoyable.
Patricia Thompson
Written by Georgia Pritchett
Illustrated by Jamie Littler
Quercus (eB) £6.99
ISBN: 978-1848668614
Wilf spends his life worrying about
so many things; his list of things to worry about is pretty long. However, when
a new neighbour called Alan arrives he has even more to worry him. Alan tells
him that he is the most evil man on earth and his intention is to destroy the
world, with the help of his side-kick, Kevin Phillips and his robot, Mark III.
Can Wilf stop him or should he just hide under the bed and worry? This is a
wonderful book, very funny and very fast moving.
Patricia Thompson
Titles for readers Moving On from Primary to High School
Where I Belong
Written by Tara White
Tradewind £7.95
ISBN: 978-1896580777
Carrie is constantly questioning
her identity and her feeling that something isn’t right. Adopted as a young
child, she has never felt that she belongs and, tormented by recurring dreams,
she is sure someone close to her is in danger. Then she meets Tommy, the boy
from her dreams, and everything changes. Although quite short, this is a
powerful story about a girl who feels she does not fit in, but has the courage
to find her roots and, ultimately, come to accept both worlds. Set in Canada
Sue Wilsher
Titles for Young Teenage Readers
Dumb Chocolate Eyes
Written by
Kevin Brooks
Illustrated by
Emma Shoard
ISBN:
978-1781124512
This novella describes an imperfect friendship between two
boys, basically bored with each other, but unwilling to make the effort to find
anyone more compatible. One of them, Pete Cassidy, decides to trap some
invading rats in his huge, unkempt garden. The other, who tells this story,
goes along with the plan only to recoil in disgust when it all goes wrong.
Illustrated in splashy water-colours, this very short story still manages to
create a strong atmosphere, with Pete Cassidy’s large, untidy house having
something in common with the rats’ nests he was out to destroy. With never a
word wasted, and a typically Kevin Brooks bleak ending, this story stays in the
mind long after it is finished.
Nicholas Tucker
Titles for More Mature readers
The Year It All Ended
Written by Kirsty Murray
Allen & Unwin
£6.99
ISBN: 978-1743319413
It is Adelaide , Australia France Europe and see
for herself where her brother and friends lost their lives. Her sister, Nette,
is learning about being a wife and mother and struggling to make a new life
with her soldier husband. Meanwhile, Minna leaves to find independence, and
artistic Thea has tragedy of her own with which to contend. The sisters are
strong, different characters and roundly portrayed, whilst the atmosphere of Australia
Louise Stothard
