You know me, I am VERY partial to a good picturebook. Here is a selection of beautiful picturebooks to suit all ages. Olivier Tallec is one of my favourite French illustrators, ever since I came across his excellent Rita et Machin series (Rita and Whatsit) and his brand new title Who Done It? (Chronicle Books), …
gift books
Christmas Gift Ideas (2)
Shamelessly pink and glittery , My True Love Gave To Me (Macmillan Children’s Books) is a collection of twelve winter romances aimed at teen readers. Edited by Stephanie Perkins (of Anna and the French Kiss fame), it includes short stories by bestselling authors such as herself but also David leviathan, Rainbow Rowell and Holly Black …
Christmas gift ideas (1)
So many wonderful books are available at this time of year. It is a near impossible task to make a choice. Here are a few nonetheless, with part 2 coming in a few days’ time. My Little Library by Edouard Manceau (Twirl) is a gorgeous and intriguing little box (with clever magnetic closure) with nine …
Cinderella
Jane Ray(Walker Books) Everyone knows the story of Cinderella and her misfortunes. This new pop-up edition is definitely one to treasure. In Cinderella, Jane Ray uses the technique of layered cut papers to create six three-dimensional theatrical scenes, and the result is striking. Her elegant drawings convey the right atmosphere, and the amount of detail in each scene …
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman(Scholastic Children’s Books) Christmas is the perfect time to give classic books as gifts, whether they are old or modern. With its Arctic setting, Northern Lights is most perfectly fitted for this purpose, and His Dark Materials, the classic award-winning trilogy it is part of, is now available as a single volume in this stunning …
A tradtional Christmas Tale: The Nutcracker
The story of a little girl’s favourite toy coming to life is one that has enchanted children at Christmas time for over one hundred years. Whether it is in book form or on the stage, this is most definitely a Christmassy story. Here are two new adaptations of the tale, one focuses on the ballet version, one …
The Goldilocks Variations
Allan Ahlberg (text) & Jessica Ahlberg (illustrations)(Walker Books) We all know what happened to Goldilocks met the three bears and how that story ends. But what happens when she meets a very large family of thirty-three bears, or in the future when she meets some rather friendly looking space aliens? And how about when she …
Big Book of Nursery Rhymes
Kali Stileman(Doubleday) Every baby should receive a nursery rhyme anthology, whether it is to celebrate their birth, their naming ceremony (or religious equivalent) or their first Christmas. They are an essential part of language development as well as developing an ear and love for rhyme and stories.There are many wonderful nursery rhyme anthologies on the market and …
BROTHERS GRIMM WEEK (1): Illustrated Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Ruth Brocklehurst & Gillian Doherty (text) & Raffaella Ligi (illustrations)(Usborne) This beautiful cloth-bound edition (part of the Usborne Clothbound Collection) gathers a selection of fifteen tales retold in a language that is easily accessible for newly independent readers, and include the most famous of the Brothers Grimm’s tales, including Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, The …