Joanne Schwartz (text) & Sydney Smith (artwork) (Walker Books) The story of Town Is by the Sea focuses on every day life in the coastal mining towns of Cape Breton, Canada in the 1950s and offers two contrasting narratives as a boy and his father follow their daily routines. While the child’s day is full of …
families
Five Minutes’ Peace
Jill Murphy (Walker Books) Mothering Sunday is nearly upon us and no other series has ever quite captured the highs and lows of parenthood as effectively as Jill Murphy’s Large Family series. The first in the series, Five Minutes’ Peace, celebrates its thirtieth birthday this year and has been republished in several formats for the occasion. The children were having breakfast. This was …
A picturebook a week: The NEW Small Person
Lauren Child (Puffin books) A new Lauren Child picturebook is always a treat, and they have been few and far between in the last few years as the award-winning illustrator has focused on writing fiction of late. But she is back with a BANG, with a candid tale of welcoming a new sibling and the many …
All the Colours of Paradise
Glenda Millard, with artwork by Stephen Michael King (Phoenix Yard Books) All the Colours of Paradise is the fourth installment in the splendid Kingdom of Silk series, which follows the everyday life of bohemian family, who live in the Australian countryside. Though there is a sequential order to the series, there is enough recap in each …
Meet the Parents
Peter Bently (text) & Sarah Ogilvie (illustrations) (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books) Sometimes it just feels like parents are only here to nag, nag, nag. But actually if you start to think about it, parents can be quite useful: they mend broken things, they are always around to wipe your hands on, you can sit …
The Storm Whale
Benji Davies (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books) Noi and his father live in a house by the sea with their six cats. While Noi’s father is busy fishing, Noi is left to occupy himself at home, often wandering on the beach. After a great storm hits, Noi goes down to the shore, looking for what the angry sea …
Two brand new series from Holly Webb
May saw the publication of two brand new series by bestselling author Holly Webb. Though she is best known for her animal stories, these two series focus on different genres, although interestingly both feature a dog as one of the main characters! Maisie Hitchins: The Case of the Stolen Sixpence with artwork by Marion Lindsay (Stripes …
Poo Bum
Stephanie Blake “Caca Boudin”, translated by Linda Burgess(Gecko Press) There was once a little rabbit who could only say one thing: Poo Bum. Day and night, this is his answer to everything. But his ill-mannered attitude might just be the thing that will save him on the fateful day he comes across a wolf who gobbles …
The Princess and the Peas
Caryl Hart (text) & Sarah Warburton (illustrations)(Nosy Crow) Lilly-Rose May is a lovely and kind little girl who does everything her dad expects her to do. Until the day he tries to feed her peas. He tries everything, but it just won’t do, she just can’t eat them. The doctor’s diagnosis is surprising: Lilly-Rose is …