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Dec 27, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
All Aboard the Bedtime Bus by Karl Newson and Tim Budgen, Little Tiger, £7.99 Ding! Ding! The Bedtime Bus is on its way in this friendly, cuddly, pastel picture book, with gentle repeating verses to help toddlers wind down to sleep.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
The TwelveLiz Hyder, illustrated by Tom de Freston, PushkinOn the night of the solstice, Kit’s wintry Welsh holiday turns terrifying when Libby, her beloved, infuriating little sister, falls from an ancient tower and vanishes – not just from sight, but from their mother’s memory. Only Story, a mysterious local boy, remembers Libby.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
From uplifting picture books to absorbing nonfiction, comic adventures to colourful fables, 2024 has produced a wealth of wonderful writing for children.
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
I Am Cat by Jackie Morris, Otter-Barry, £20A ginger cat curls up “ammonite tight” and dreams of ranging the Earth as tiger, cheetah, lynx and other big cats in this huge, gorgeous edition of Morris’s 2012 classic. Condensed, poetic text, glorious watercolours and additional information about each creature make this a picture book with serious growing room.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
Alphonse, You’re Ruining the Show! by Daisy Hirst, Walker, £12.99During a sleepover at Granny’s house, Alphonse and Natalie decide to put on their own play – but things go awry when Alphonse isn’t allowed a ticket as well as being in the show. Acutely and affectionately observed, Hirst’s adorable toddler monsters are on spectacular form in this funny, endearing picture book. Trick or Treat?
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
MiniTouch: Nature – Touch-and-Feel First Colours, by Rhiannon Findlay and Mini Magique Studio, Happy Yak, £6.99Finger-tempting textures and sweet, simple rhymes make this stylish board book of first nature colours (red ladybird, orange leaf, black beetle) appealing for both babies and parents.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
The Moon Seed by Sally Anne Garland, Sunbird, £7.99Taken into space aboard a rocket, a sycamore seed spots something beautiful. Once planted back on Earth, the growing tree pines for the Moon, waking only by night and yearning to reach it – until at last it sees the dawn revealing that where it stands is the beautiful planet once viewed from afar. A quietly spectacular picture book, reimagining the journey of a seed aboard Apollo 14.
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Jul 26, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
Hot Dog by Doug Salati, Pushkin, £12.99When the summer city is just too hot, a frazzled dachshund is whisked away for a restorative adventure in this witty, gorgeous picture book effortlessly evoking heat, noise and overwhelm, sparkling seaside coolness and human-dog affection. Changing Tides by Júlia Moscardó, Little Tiger, £12.99Lula’s not sure about sharing her summer holiday with her new big brother Theo – until she discovers that together they can build the biggest and best of sandcastles.
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Jun 28, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Williams
Grotti by Leonie Lord, Walker, £7.99When a knight discovers a lost green baby, battling beasts and defending kingdoms must give way to making Grotti happy. But what will happen once Grotti finds his family? A funny, sweet, original picture book about adapting to babies’ needs. Best of All – The Magical Mix That’s You by Smriti Halls and Chaaya Prabhat, Two Hoots, £12.99A joyful, poetic picture-book paean to diverse heritage, family stories and the unique mixtures that make up every child.
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Jun 22, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | David Shariatmadari |Lisa Allardice |Imogen Williams
FictionJames by Percival EverettIn this retelling of Mark Twain’s 1884 Huckleberry Finn, narrated by escaped slave Jim, the reader is pulled along on a journey of picaresque adventures as helplessly as the two runaways on the Mississippi River – and for them it’s a matter of life and death. “My name is James,” the protagonist writes with a stub of stolen pencil. “I wrote myself into being.” This angry, exhilarating, entertaining novel has been hailed as a masterpiece to equal the original.
