Younger fiction
Here are our recommended favourite fiction books from previous months.
The key stage/s indicate the age range for which each title is most appropriate.
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Aesop, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney The lion and the mouse When Lion captures Mouse, she pleads with him to let her go and later repays her debt tenfold by releasing him from a poacher’s trap. Every surface of this outstanding picture book contains a stunning piece of artwork, retelling the Greek fable with beautifully drawn animals in rich, vibrant colours. With its timeless theme of the triumph of the small and weak over the powerful and its sumptuous illustrations, this almost wordless picture book has already won the Caldecott Medal in America. 5+ Walker Books 2010 £11.99 ISBN 9781406327595 |
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Grahame Baker-Smith Farther A little boy’s father dreams of being able to fly. He spends all of his time constructing a beautiful set of mechanical wings and, although the father loves his child, his dreams take over his life, until one day the call to fight in the war takes him away. As the boy grows up, he realises that his father’s dream has been passed to him and with a few tweaks of the wings, he flies. This is a stunning picture book, which is difficult to convey in a review as the illustrations need to be experienced to be fully enjoyed. The use of photography, paint and collage creates a beautiful effect, portraying an incredible sense of darkness and light and a wonderfully emotive feel. Great for sharing and discussing. 6+ Templar 2010 £10.99 ISBN 9781848771260 |
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Ruth Brown Monkey’s friends In a slight departure from acclaimed artist Ruth Brown’s usual illustrative style, this very simple picture book contains half pages hiding each of Monkey’s friends, some of them friendly, some of them not so friendly. The rhyming text supports striking pen and watercolour illustrations of animals and plants that must surely be nominated for an award. 3+ Andersen Press 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9781849390941 |
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Ross Collins Doodleday It’s Doodleday and, although Mum warned Harvey not to do any drawings, she didn’t tell him why. What harm could drawing a little fly do? But Harvey’s drawings come to life and unleash themselves on an unsuspecting public. The fly wreaks havoc in the kitchen, the spider ties up Harvey’s Dad and leaves him dangling from a street light, and the giant squid smashes everything in sight. Only his Mum can come up with a solution to the mayhem. This is a brilliantly clever picture book, with fantastic attention to detail and funny illustrations, sure to delight readers of 4+ Gullane Children’s Books 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9781862338166 |
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Alexis Deacon and Viviane Schwarz A place to call home The baby hamsters have outgrown their home so it’s time to find a new one. They live in an old mattress and have to go on a mission across the garden, in various funny disguises, so that they’re not attacked. Their quest takes them through a puddle that looks as big as the sea, across the sand, which they think is a desert, and the most dangerous part of all is getting past the beast! But it’s all worth it in the end when they find their new home. This is a perfect combination of a funny story, complimented by wonderfully comedic illustrations, which will be great for using with children who are moving house. 4+ Walker Books 2011 £11.99 ISBN 9781406323023 |
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Mini Grey Three by the sea Cat, Dog and Mouse are living happily together and sharing the household chores until one day Fox arrives at their doorstep, selling the benefits of change, and throws the three friends into chaos. This a beautifully-illustrated and simply-told modern fable with a thought-provoking message about the importance of friendship and the ability to embrace change. While the text and illustrations are sparser than in previous picture books by this award-winning author/illustrator, it still bears her distinctive style and there is plenty to enjoy and discuss for children of 7+. Jonathan Cape 2010 £10.99 ISBN 9780224083621 |
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Carl Hart and Sarah Horne Rhino? What rhino? When an unhappy rhino escapes from the zoo his escape route leaves a trail of devastation. A succession of farm animals is blamed for Rhino’s damaging and selfish behaviour. The bright and colourful illustrations support this simple and amusing story told in rhyme. The story is wonderfully resolved as, happily, Rhino does not have to return to the zoo. Great fun, a nice moral message and perfect for reading aloud. 4+ Hodder 2010 £10.99 ISBN 9780340981399 |
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Leigh Hodgkinson Limelight Larry Limelight Larry the peacock has decided to write a book about himself and he is going to be the only thing in it. Unfortunately, his friends have other ideas as they manage to creep onto the pages to add their own touches to the story. Larry is not happy about this and resorts to really showing off in order to get rid of them all, but this doesn’t quite have the desired effect. This is a wonderfully humorous look at boasting, with great characters and amusing illustrations. Perfect for sharing in groups. 5+ Orchard Books 2010 £10.99 ISBN 9781408301838 |
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Meg McKinlay and Mark Jackson The truth about penguins The penguins are coming to the zoo, and everybody’s excited. The squirrel has never heard of penguins, so one by one the animals tell him what they’ve heard about them. The tales they tell get more and more ridiculous, with penguins portrayed as pizza-loving party animals who hate to swim! Who will set the record straight? With lively, colourful illustrations, this hilarious picture book shows the popular birds in a whole new light. 6+ Walker Books 2010 £11.99 ISBN 9781921150487 |
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David McPhail No! Against a backdrop of aircraft, tanks and soldiers invading the town, a young boy out delivering a letter is confronted by a bully. He says ‘no’ to the bully, who is made to stop and think about his action. The boy realises that ultimately, if enough people use the power of that simple word, they can collectively stop any tyrant from using violence and cruelty to stay in power. Endorsed by Amnesty International, this almost wordless picture book carries a message of hope for all those people who are prepared to say ‘no’ and raises an interesting moral issue, perfect for discussion and sharing with children of any age. 5+ Francis Lincoln 2011 £12.99 ISBN 9781847801203 |
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Tom MacRae and Ross Collins When I woke up I was a hippopotamus If you could be something or someone different, what would you be? This little boy has an amazing imagination and, throughout the day, he changes into different things, starting as a lazy hippopotamus wallowing in bed, a statue when he can’t be bothered to walk to school, a cheeky monkey in class, a monster in the playground, a rocket ship on the way home and a giant in his bedroom. What do Mum and Dad have to change into so that he’ll go back to being himself? This is a lively, colourful story, with much attention to detail in the illustrations and an idea that lots of kids will be able to identify with. 4+ Andersen Press 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9781849390736 |
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Mel Peet and Elspeth Graham Cloud Tea Monkeys Tashi is a young girl who is helped by tea-picking monkeys to find the finest high-grown tea for the Empress of India, Queen Victoria. Based on an Indian legend, the poetic text is lifted by Juan Wijngaard’s outstanding colour illustrations, which adorn every two-page spread and bring Tashi, the wicked overseer, and the inscrutable royal tea-taster - not to mention the kindly monkeys - vividly to life. 7+ Walker Books 2011 £12.99 ISBN 9781406300925 |
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Steve Smallman & Joëlle Dreidemy Little stinker! Percy is an adorable looking fish, but the other creatures in the coral reef learn that, despite this, he is best avoided. This is because Percy has a great gift for ‘blowing bubbles with his botty’. The mischievous fish has no qualms about using his gift to full, surprising effect - or about blaming other creatures for his flatulence. An attempt at retribution inadvertently helps scare off a terrifying tiger shark, but has Percy seen the error of his ways? This brightly coloured exploration of the undersea world is supported by very humorous rhyming text and is sure to appeal to the sensibilities of children aged 5+. Little Tiger Press 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9781848951341 |
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Lane Smith It’s a book Monkey and Jackass discuss the various merits of the computer and the book. The case for the book is made so clearly that even a Jackass is impressed. The sparse text and stylised illustrations in this excellent example of the bookmaker’s art convey the author’s timely message in an accessible and amusing way to readers of all ages. 5+ Macmillan 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9780230753136 |
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David Wojtowycz Elephant Joe is a knight Elephant Joe is back, this time with his friend Zebra Pete. Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to find the Dark Knight, who has stolen the king’s crown. With the offer of a huge feast as a reward, they go off through the Enchanted Forest, where they discover more than they had anticipated. The Dark Knight is pretending to be a damsel in distress and locks them in the tower. Can they escape before he reaches the king and ousts him from his throne? This is a fun story, with fantastic collage-style illustrations, helped along by the frog narrator who is desperate to be turned into a handsome prince. Sure to be a hit with fans of knights, dragons and castles. 4+ Scholastic 2011 £12.99 ISBN 9781407115573 |
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Louise Yates Frank and Teddy make friends Professor Frank is a lonely and reclusive mouse but also a gifted inventor. So he decides to make Teddy as a new friend for himself. But when Teddy tries to make Frank a surprise present, it goes wrong and Frank throws Teddy out of the house. Inevitably, reconciliation follows, Teddy introduces Frank to the other animals and shows him how to be a good friend. This sweet story is complemented by endearing illustrations that evoke the emotions of the characters very well, showing the importance of sharing and making up after an argument. 4+ Jonathan Cape 2011 £10.99 ISBN 9780224083690 |
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Sonia Harnett Sadie and Ratz In this charming and imaginative story from an award-winning author, Hannah’s hands, Sadie and Ratz, have their own personality, which Hannah uses for crunching, squishing and squeezing. Sadie and Ratz rub her younger brother ears, which gets Hannah into trouble. Her brother creates more trouble for Hannah by blaming Sadie and Ratz for scribbling on the wallpaper and for him falling over. When eventually he is caught telling lies he blames Colin and Scraps, his own imaginative hands! This is a beautifully-written book for young children, liberally illustrated by Ann James. 6+ Walker Books 2010 £3.99 ISBN 9781406325409 |
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Atinuke The No. 1 car spotter Oluwalase Babatunde Benson, or No. 1 as most people know him, lives in a village in Africa. His family have to work hard selling mangos, oranges, palm oil and other delicious foods to make money for the things that only money can buy. No. 1 is the best car spotter in the village but his siblings think he is lazy, until one day he comes up with the ideal solution to their transport problem when the family’s cart breaks down. Readers are given a genuine insight into the hustle and bustle of African village life and the characters are wonderfully drawn, with humour and a real sense of family unity. The story is told in four accessible chapters and young readers will love the nicknames of the main characters, such as Coca-Cola and Nike. 7+ Walker Books 2010 £3.99 ISBN 9781406320770 |
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Caroline Binch Road Horse Wonderful illustrations support this gentle story by an award winning artist who is pre-eminent at drawing horses. Sammy’s father races Road horses, the small Pinto trotting ponies favoured by Gypsies and Travellers. Sammy dreams of finding his own pony to train and when his family visits the Appleby horse fair in their Romany Vardo, Sammy finds the perfect pony to make his dream come true. This is an ideal portrayal of an alternative, highly agreeable and traditional lifestyle where a person’s prestige is measured not by material possessions but by their ability to handle a horse. 9+ Francis Lincoln 2010 £5.99 ISBN 9781847800701 |
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Narinder Dhami A tiger for breakfast Ram the farmer is terrified when a hungry tiger jumps out of the forest and threatens to eat him. He offers him his wife’s pretty white cow to eat instead. But Ram’s wife won’t hear of such a thing and quickly comes up with a plan to trick the tiger. This Indian folk tale, in an attractive new series called White Wolves, has simple text and colourful illustrations to appeal to the newly emergent reader. 6+ A & C Black 2011 £4.99 ISBN 9781408126530 |
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Eva Ibbotson The Ogre of Oglefort Imaginative and adventurous, this is the tale of young Ivo, who is whisked away from his dull children’s home and becomes a hag’s familiar when the current incumbent, Gladys the toad, crawls under a rock and refuses to come out. Together with a wizard and a troll he is given an awesome task – to track down a princess imprisoned by a monstrous ogre, rescue her and pulverise the ogre. But does the princess want to be rescued? Full of humour and eccentricities, this story is sure to delight young readers with its madness and mayhem. 9+ Macmillan 2010 £9.99 ISBN 9780230746473 |
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Donald Lemke and Douglas Holgate Zinc Alloy: Super zero Zack is suffering at the hands of some bullies at school and decides to take matters into his own hands. He builds himself a robotic suit and, once he has honed his control of his destructive invention, decides to test it out properly by stopping a runaway train. This humorous and colourful tale may be derivative of established superheroes such as Spiderman and Iron Man, but it’s a great example of Raintree’s expanding line of graphic fiction and non-fiction titles and should be an appealing read for comic lovers and reluctant readers aged 8+. Raintree 2010 £7.99 ISBN 9781406216530 |
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Jeremy Strong Cartoon kid Casper and his class get a big surprise when their new teacher Mr Butternut tells them they’re all superheroes. Casper loves to think how much easier life would be if he were the ‘Cartoon Kid’, able to take on villainous fellow classmates like the ‘Incredible Sulk’ and the ‘Vampire Twins’. These imagined hero-and-villain fights are shown in short cartoon strips throughout the book, but the reality is that Casper and his friends have to deal with all-too-mundane problems like making his mum a birthday cake and dealing with school bullies. Jeremy Strong’s trademark crazy humour and Steve May’s wacky illustrations, which feature on every page, should ensure this is a hit with wannabe superheroes of 8+. Puffin 2011 £5.99 ISBN 9780141334769 |
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Jean Ure Galaxy Patrol Fast, exciting and gently funny, the world of science fiction and aliens is a new departure for author Jean Ure. Star Trek buff Jake is delighted when he is abducted by the friendly alien Galaxy Patrol, who patrol the universe recruiting children as agents for missions against hostile aliens. Jake is less delighted when he discovers that his stroppy younger sister has also been recruited. The story is broken up into ten cliff-hanging chapters, with humorously sophisticated illustrations by Mark Oliver. Ideal for confident younger readers of 9+. A&C Black 2010 £4.99 ISBN 9781408111550 |
Page Last Updated: 17 January 2012
