There is something fascinating about sharks, the wonderful, graceful and often misunderstood and misrepresented powerful ocean-dwellers who many children are keen to learn more about.
Shark is searching for a place to call home. But where is the perfect home? Is it amongst the African penguins and the cape fur seals? Could it be in the cold waters off the coast of Wales? What about with the lemon sharks in the mangroves? Or is the colourful Great Barrier Reef where shark belongs? Dive in to find out…
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The Tale of the Tiny Man; Barbro Lindgren, illustrated by Eva Eriksson, translated by Julia Marshall11/3/2022
Originally written in Swedish and published in 1992, The Tale of the Tiny Man gets a welcome English translation thanks to Julia Marshall.
Despite being kind, no one cared much for the tiny man and this made him feel lonely. He desperately wanted a friend but no one wanted to be friends with the small man who wore an ugly hat. In a final act of desperation, the tiny man pins a note to a tree: FRIEND WANTED…and waited. Just when it looked like no one was ever going to turn up, someone did. It was not who the tiny man was expecting but it was a friend, a friend of the loyalest kind…
The Easter eggs and hot cross buns are filling the supermarket shelves and books for sharing at Easter are starting to arrive at my door. First up is this hare-larious tale from Australian Adrian Beck, author of the Derek Dool books, and illustrated by James Hart.
It’s the night before Easter and a special helper has appeared to assist with the hiding of eggs this year. The young girl plans to make this year’s Easter egg hunt egg-tra egg-citing. She has some egg-cellent hiding places and even more great puns to have the whole family laughing. But when one too many bad Easter jokes makes the Easter bunny crack will bunny be left hopping mad…
Coen is having one of those days, a day where he just doesn’t feel like his usual self and his body is feeling all sorts of funny things. He is blue, trapped, tense, angry, heavy. His loving family have lots of ideas to cheer Coen up; mum tells jokes, dad wants to play footie and his sister Junie has brought her teddy. Nothing works. Slowly but surely Coen is able to show his family exactly what he needs…
We all have difficult days like Coen, ‘Slumping, sighing, sobbing,’ kind of days. But those days won’t last forever and with a loving family around you who know that feelings cannot be rushed, the sadness will eventually melt away and the feeling of warmth will return.
Everyone in Bea’s family plays a musical instrument and Bea couldn’t wait for the day for her music to start. But when Bea’s tentative musical steps fail to hit the right notes it looks like she may need to have a rethink. Then she meets Maestro Gus, a helpful ghost from the piano, who is sure that Bea has music within her. But can he help Bea discover her piano fingers…
Told in mellifluous prose - a violin is described as ‘a honey fog machine’ and piano song is noted as ‘a sound more delicious than mulberries between your toes’ - and with magical watercolour illustrations, this sweet and simple story of unearthing your talent and expressing yourself in a way that makes you happy is one that we can all relate to.
Sweet and gentle David is the boy with the colourful flowers in his hair and everyone likes him, even his teacher who has an allergy to flowers. He is the best person to jump in puddles with, to sing songs with and to run away from bees with. When David’s flowers start to fall out and all that’s left behind are twiggy, spiky and brittle pieces his best friend is there for him and has a plan to help David blossom again…
The Boy with Flowers in His Hair is a celebration of friendship and being there for your bestie when they need you most. With charming, bright illustrations and a wonderfully sweet story children will be captivated by what it takes to be a great friend and will surely remember David, the boy with the flowers in his hair, long after the last page has been closed.
Stories that deal with grief are never easy to share with children but death is a part of life and picture books like this play an important role in supporting children who experience loss. Daddy’s Rainbow is kind, caring and gentle, making it an essential book to have on the bookshelf.
Erin’s daddy fills her life with colour. Grey days are perfect for splashing in puddles, bright blue days are spent at the beach, red and orange days are for crunching in leaves, finding conkers and toasting marshmallows, white days are for having fun in the snow. Even black is beautiful for Erin’s dad, ‘Stars can’t shine without the dark.’ But when daddy becomes poorly all of the colour drains from Erin’s life and every day is a grey day. Can Erin find the colours in the world again…
This is the fifth book starring the loveable Little Owl from Debi Gilori and Alison Brown.
Little Owl has no interest in making new friends, why would he when he has his bestest best soft toy Hedge. And he most definitely does not want to play with the small Something that is holding hands with Mummy Owl. Small Squirrel is confident, loud and eats all the cinnamon buns. But with bears, snaffle-worms and ghosts around, perhaps a friend to share the adventure with wouldn’t be so bad after all… Return to FACTopia!: Follow the Trail of 400 More Facts; Kate Hale, illustrated by Andy Smith4/3/2022
I’m a massive fan of little-known facts and random pieces of information so this series of books is right up my street. With its luminous green cover, Return to FACTopia is sure to stand out on the shelves and will grab the attention of many a reader.
Welcome to FACTopia, a land of facts, fun and seemingly impossible connections. Stick to the trail and embark on an incredible journey where facts on honey lead to Ancient Egypt, facts about libraries lead to lions, and vegetable facts lead to astronauts. Don’t like sticking to the path, choose your own route and take a shortcut along the way. Your curiosity can take you anywhere in FACTopia…
The latest picture book from Sonya Hartnett is a heart-warming story about a boy, his cat and the possibility of getting the thing you love more than almost anything else in the world.
Nicholas is thrilled when he finds a silver coin in his garden, proudly proclaiming to his cat, ‘I can buy liquorice with this.’ Excitedly heading towards the sweet shop with the thought of his favourite sweet swimming around his head, he is surprised to hear a familiar voice. ‘Marl.’ His cat has followed and despite Nicholas’ requests for her to return home, she seems intent on accompanying him the whole way. And when she finds herself in a perilous situation, Nicholas will have to make a huge choice…liquorice or his cat… |
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