Where the fairies fly

By Jane Simmons

Year: 2001

Publisher: Orchard Books, London

Age: 3 - 7 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book, Bedtime

ISBN:  978 1 84121 108 7

Little Jamie can’t sleep. His sister Lucy, an avid storyteller, takes him on a magical adventure in search of the Dreamtime Fairies.

After several stops on the way, they finally find the fairies who work their magic until the children and their toys are fast asleep.

This sweet bedtime story serves to allay the common fears that children have about the dark and its shadows.

Excerpt

Lucy loved to tell stories.

She told deep blue sea stories to Mum... flying up high in the sky stories to Dad, and magic stories to her little brother Jamie.

In the Shadow of the Derricks - A Lucky Luke Adventure (5)

By Goscinny and Morris

Year: 2007 (English translation)

Publisher: Cinebook Ltd., Kent

Age: 8 – 10 years

No. of Pages: 46

Book Type: Comic Book

ISBN:  978 1 90546 017 5

Meet Lucky Luke, “the man who shoots faster than his own shadow.” Set in the Wild, Wild West, Lucky Luke, the cool-as-cucumber cowboy is sworn in as sheriff of Titusville, a town that’s just discovered oil and plenty of it.

The town, naturally, attracts con artists and men with dubious intentions. It takes all of Lucky Luke’s wits to finish his mission and get rid of the bad people.  

There’s plenty of humor, wit and hilarious situations to keep young and old engaged. Remember the magic of Asterix comics? It’s all there except set in a different time and place. :-)

Dear Father Christmas

Text: Jeanne Willis, Wikipedia

Illustrations: Rosie Reeve

Year: 2008

Publisher: Puffin Books

Age: 4 - 8 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book, Christmas

ISBN:  978 0 14150 209 0

This warm festive book is essentially a kind little girl’s Christmas letter to the Christmas Father. (Hmmm… The book doesn’t use the name Santa Claus, once!) Her requests are quite nice, refreshingly so.

She doesn’t ask for toys (she has enough, she says) but for genuine and heartfelt wishes. She’d like a little baby brother and for her Grandma to come and stay with her forever and so on.

There’s a little twist at the end, too. :-)

Excerpt

Dear Father Christmas,

I’ve been very, very good ….

I’m writing you this letter

Because Mummy said I should.

Angels Watching Over Me

Adapted by Julia Durango

Illustrations: Elisa Kleven 

Year: 2007

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, New York

Age: 4 – 8 years

No. of Pages: 32 

Book Type: Picture Book, Poetry

ISBN:  978 0 68986 252 6

This book finds inspiration from the well-loved spiritual Angels Watching Over Me. The text is essentially the song expanded with additional verses to weave a soothing blanket of comfort and reassurance for little ones.

It is a beautiful song. :-)

Excerpt

All night, all day angels watching over me.

Day begins, dawn breaks anew.

Sun wakes up, I wake up too.

Books Always Everywhere

Text: Jane Blatt

Illustrations: Sarah Massini

Year: 2013

Publisher: Nosy Crow, London

Age: 3 – 6 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 0 85763 090 2

This endearing picture book looks at books from a toddler’s perspective. While the text engages children with all that a book is, it also introduces us to some of its unusual functions like a hat or as a chair. Well, that’s how a toddler would see it! :-)

Excerpt

Book build

Book mat

Book chair

Book hat

Dinosaur Sleepover

Text: Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrations: Deborah Allwright

Year: 2010

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books, London

Age: 3 - 7 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book, Bedtime

ISBN:  978 0 23074 052 5

This beautiful bedtime story blends thoughtfully laid out text with warm, witty illustrations to create a memorable book.

The story traces the concerns of a little boy just before his first-ever sleepover. Never mind, that he ends up pretending that it’s his dinosaur who’s worried about staying away for a night. :-)

This ought to be a classic. We loved everything about this book.

Excerpt

What would you do if it was your cousin’s birthday and he invited you and Dinosaur to a sleepover party?

What if dinosaur looked puzzled?

Katie and the Sunflowers

By James Mayhew, Wikipedia

Year: 2000

Publisher: Orchard Books, London

Age: 5 - 9 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 84121 634 8

This is the first time we’ve come across a book that skillfully introduces the enchanting world of art, the masters and their timeless masterpieces to little ones.

The story weaves in Paul Gauguin’s Breton Girls Dancing and Tahitian Pastorale, Paul Cezanne’s Still Life with Apples and Oranges and Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Café Terrace at Night.

We loved it!

Excerpt

The gallery was full of warm sunny paintings. Katie liked a painting called Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh.

The sunflowers looked dry and crunchy and were full of seeds.

Hey Jack! The Crazy Cousins

Text: Sally Rippin

Illustrations: Stephanie Spartels

Year: 2012

Publisher: Griffin Press, Australia

Age: 5 - 9 years

No. of Pages: 44

Book Type: Picture Book (Black and white)

ISBN:  978 1 74297 125 4

This story is invaluable for little children.

Little Jack’s perfect day is interrupted when his dad announces that his cousins are about to arrive. Jack is horrified as he remembers all the annoyances his cousin caused during their last visit. He doesn’t want to be around them.

However, he’s in for a surprise. He realizes he’s being the worst cousin. He has a quick change of heart and soon the house is filled with the laughter of children playing together, happily!

Excerpt

Jack gets a warm honey feeling in his tummy. Now he feels bad for acting so grumpy.

He certainly hasn’t been the best cousin today.

Rose’s Garden

By Peter H. Reynolds, Wikipedia

Year: 2010

Publisher: Walker Books, London

Age: 4 – 8 years

No. of Pages: 40

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 40633 076 2

Rose, an adventurous free spirit, embarks on a long, long journey to explore the world. She gathers seeds as mementos. Soon, her quaint little teapot, which also happens to be her vessel of choice on her voyage, is filled with seeds. She finds a city to plant her unique garden and sets about working on it.

Her plans turn awry but the kindness of the people around her result in a spectacular garden that is a source of joy for everyone else in the city.

Excerpt

Rose was a dreamer.

An adventurer.

She explored the world in her fantastic teapot.

Grandpa Bear’s Fantastic Scarf

By Gillian Heal

Year: 1996

Publisher: Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., USA

Age: 6 - 8 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 88522 341 2

Little Bear is excited to learn about Grandpa Bear’s extraordinary scarf.

Grandpa Bear explains how his scarf grows as he grows. Its beautiful colors reflect his life’s journey and every bit of it is filled with warm and some not-so-warm memories. Little Bear understands and can’t wait to get started on his own.

This book certainly has some nuggets of wisdom and astute insights about life’s journeys though some may be a mite too deep for young ones to comprehend. 

Excerpt

Dreaming about colors and feeling rather hungry with all this thinking, the Little Bear said hopefully, “I like honey.”

“There!” cried Grandpa Bear. “That’s your first color. Think of the color of honey!”