I’m a huge fan of award-winning author-illustrator Sami Bayly’s two previous books in this superb series of illustrated encyclopaedias that highlight just a few of the wonderful animals that we share the planet with. I was absolutely thrilled to receive a copy of her latest book, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature, and began reading full of excitement, wondering what amazing animals and plants would be revealed.

We all need a best mate right? Someone to scratch our back, to give us a lift, to help keep us safe, to offer a room for the night, to feed us. Sixty pairs of various plants and animals have got it all worked out down to a tee and know exactly who they need to be friends with. From spiders and lizards to crocodiles and birds to kinkajous and trees. Get ready to meet some of the most peculiar BFFs…

Bee books are something of a thing at the moment and this is another one that will have young readers buzzing about insects and nature. Down the Road, Little Bee is one of the latest offerings from Affirm Press and it would be a bee-rilliant addition to any child’s bookshelf.

No matter the weather or the time of year, Little Bee is on the hunt for pollen. But where can it be found? Cicada knows that flowering gums are the place to go in January, beetle thinks that banksias will provide plenty of pollen on a frosty morning in May and mosquito suggests visiting the bright blooms of the waratah shrubs in balmy November. Pollen can can always be found if you know where to look for it and Little Bee has plenty of friends to point them in the right direction…

Award-winning Australian author Favel Parrett addresses the negative reputation of Australia’s native dingo in a beautifully written story of heart-ache, loss and hope.

High up in the mountains, a young alpine dingo cub lived a happy life learning the ways of the world from his mama and papa. One day disaster struck, picked up by an eagle and deposited in a garden the young cub was injured and alone.

Unlike the humans that his papa had warned him about, the one to find him was kind and caring. Whilst the cub dearly missed his family and his mountain home, a new life beckoned, a life that would make him the most famous dingo in the world…

Who doesn’t love a story before bedtime? How about a story that can help to calm a busy body and mind and prepare it for a peaceful night’s sleep? Goodnight, Toes is a book that does just this, best described as a guided meditation for the very young.

It’s time for bed. But before eyes are closed, let’s be thankful for everything our body has allowed us to do. From wriggling toes to noses for smelling, hands for making to ears for listening, mouths for smiling to comfy bums for sitting on. Now, sleep tight, sweet dreams and by morning your body will be ready for another day…

Written by Australian-Scottish rock legend, Jimmy Barnes, and inspired by his own granddaughter, who when playing a word game decided that she didn’t want to be Rosie the rhinoceros but wanted to be Rosie the unicorn, comes a fabulous story about being who YOU want to be and getting others to accept you for who you are.

Meet Rosie, she lives in the savannah with the giraffes, monkeys, zebras, lions, elephants and birds. Up bright and early every day, Rosie loves to greet the other animals and they are always delighted to see her happy little rhinoceros face. But there’s a problem. Rosie isn’t a rhinoceros, she is a unicorn, she even has the delicate hooves and a beautiful horn on her head to prove it. Frustrated that the other animals cannot see her for who she really is, Rosie comes up with a daring plan. Can she convince the other animals to recognise her for who she really is…

As one year draws to a close and another is about to begin, people around the world celebrate in their own special ways. Families and friends get together, food is prepared, houses are cleaned and special rituals and traditions are performed and enjoyed.

Menorahs are lit in Jerusalem, special meals are eaten in France and New Zealand, and big parades take place in Cape Town and the Bahamas. Greek families make special cakes, festivals are enjoyed in Edinburgh and San Fernando, and New Yorkers enjoy a midnight run as fireworks light up the sky.

Rabbit and Bear return in another brilliant story of bravery, friendship, teamwork and standing up to bossy polar bears.

There’s a new arrival in Rabbit and Bear’s valley and he is demanding to be King. The kind and caring animals are desperate to understand their new arrival but the more they talk the angrier the Icebear gets. Before long he has claimed the valley, declared himself King and demands that the animals build him an ice palace by morning. And if they don’t…well he’ll just have to eat everyone.

When Bear cannot think of a solution to the problem, Rabbit sets off to seek out Wolf for advice. Will Wolf be able to come up with a plan or do the animals need to look within themselves for the solution to defeating Icebear…

M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman are back! The train enthusiasts, friends and all-round brilliant humans have whipped up another extremely clever mystery that will keep readers of all ages hooked. It is full steam ahead in the series that keeps on giving.

Hal is thrilled when Uncle Nat appears at the start of the Easter holidays. Having received a letter from an old friend asking for help, the duo head off to the Harz mountains in Germany to investigate a family curse and the inexplicable events surrounding the death of Alexander Kratzenstein. Is Alexander another victim of the curse or is something more sinister going on? 

With Uncle Nat acting suspiciously and a family shrouded in mystery, Hal needs to uncover the secret of Dead Man’s Pass and the family curse before another disaster strikes…

You’ve heard of the game ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf’, right? Well the Wolf in this story clearly has no idea what the time is as he is always late and no one is happy about it.

On no, Wolf is late again and the other fairytale characters are not impressed. There’s no time for blowing down houses and Little Red’s Grandma is getting tired of waiting for Wolf to arrive. After the Three Little Pigs get grumpy with Wolf, he decides that he has had enough. There’ll be no more Big Bad Wolf. No one is worried though, I mean, how hard can huffing and puffing and frightening grandmas be? But Big Bad Wolfing is a lot harder than it looks and soon everyone is desperately trying to twist wolf’s paw and persuade him to come back…

EK Books publish such meaningful reads that support children and adults in coping with the big, and often scary, issues that life throws up. Dealing with illness, embracing a message of positivity in the face of a struggle and encompassing the healing power of nature, Pear of Hope is a tender-hearted read about a little girl with cancer and her recovery.

Anna loved hanging out in the old pear tree at the bottom of her garden, it was great for climbing up, swinging from and lazing under. But one day everything changed. With Anna seriously ill in bed and the tree fighting its own lonely battle for survival they need each other more than ever. The pear tree provides comfort, strength and hope, and when Anna sows a seed from one of the tree’s pears, she is planting the seeds of recovery in every sense.