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Greta Thunberg is the inspiration for this heartfelt and moving allegory. A little girl lives happily in a beautiful forest until the actions of neighbouring giants start to threaten her home and the wild animals who share it. The fictional Greta, like her real-life counterpart, begins a strike and is gradually joined by more and more people until the giants take notice. In this story they change their ways and everyone lives happily. Simply but powerfully the story explains the impact of human activity on the climate and our world, but reassures children that there’s something they can do: within notes about Greta Thunberg at the end is her quote, “No one is too small to make a difference.”
This is a very special picture book, and not just because of the beauty of Leslie Sadleir’s illustrations. Zoe Greaves has created a hymn to the hare, in nature and mythology. Of all our wild creatures, hares have the most secrets she says, all at once comical and regal, provoking a mixture of awe, affection and fear. Beautiful colour spreads of hares in the countryside at different times of the year are accompanied by short lines of lyrical text and followed by pages of stories and narratives about hares. This is a book with a very wide appeal, one to be savoured by adults and children. ~ Andrea Reece
This is a very special picture book, and not just because of the beauty of Leslie Sadleir’s illustrations. Zoe Greaves has created a hymn to the hare, in nature and mythology. Of all our wild creatures, hares have the most secrets she says, all at once comical and regal, provoking a mixture of awe, affection and fear. Beautiful colour spreads of hares in the countryside at different times of the year are accompanied by short lines of lyrical text and followed by pages of stories and narratives about hares. This is a book with a very wide appeal, one to be savoured by adults and children. ~ Andrea Reece
July 2018 Non-Fiction Book of the Month | | 2018 sees the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth and this is a wonderful book to introduce children to one of the most inspiring figures of modern times. The text takes the form of questions from Nelson Mandela’s great-grandchildren Zazi and Ziwelene to their Grandma Zindzi. As she answers them, readers learn about Mandela and his years in prison, why he was arrested, what he was fighting for and the joy there was on his release. They’ll understand the hardships his children and family endured, and how they kept themselves strong. They’ll also take away the word ‘ubuntu’ - ‘I am because we all are’. The narrative puts readers at the heart of the story while Sean Qualls’s evocative illustrations reveal even more about Mandela’s fight for fairness and freedom.
May 2018 Debut of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2018 | A wonderfully warm-hearted animal adventure based on Zeb Soanes observation of a local urban fox. Waking up hungry one evening, Gaspard sets out to find something to eat. Luckily, he quickly makes two new friends - Peter a rather cool cat and Finty a frisky dog who has dug a way out of his garden so that he can roam the streets without an owner. Helped by his new friends Gaspard secures himself a delicious meal and returns happy and FULL. The three friends and their adventure and the urban landscape of the setting are all perfectly captured in James Mayhew’s illustrations.
April 2018 Book of the Month Beautifully illustrated by Jo Riddell, this collection of poems and stories is a perfect gift book. It’s ideal for dipping into, for quiet reading and for reading aloud; indeed, unusually amongst the stories, haikus and poems, there are a couple of rhyming plays too, great fun for the family or a group of friends. Single collections of poems are relatively rare these days, and it’s lovely to find one that gives the poet the space and time to explore ideas and return to themes. Poetry speaks to children directly, and this should become a real favourite, a book, to quote Rachel Rooney’s review, ‘to spark the imagination’. Other recommended anthologies for children include A Poem for Every Day of the Year edited by Allie Esiri, and Kate Wakeling’s CLiPPA winner Moon Juice.
Winner of 2020 CLiPPA | At a time when children need nature more than they ever have, Cherry Moon is a book to treasure. It contains one hundred short poems – intense bursts of colour, sound and sensation, all inspired by the natural world – a plum tree coming into fruit , the moon in a rosy twilight sky, that noise your feet make walking through mud... Though they seem over in a moment, there’s a thoughtfulness and depth to the poems that will make you pause and images that will stay with you, so that you’ll find yourself returning to them again and again. It’s a superb introduction to poetry for the very young and a wonderful book to share; beautiful to look at too, thanks to Junli Song’s stunning screen print illustrations.
Shortlisted for the UKLA Shortlist Book Awards 2019 | Nominated for the 2019 Kate Greenaway Medal | Take a tour of the oceans in Yuval Zommer’s engaging reference book. It guides us through the seas in the company of the living creatures you’d see there, from the sea turtles and rainbow schools of fish in tropical waters, to whales and tuna, shoreline dwellers and the inhabitants of the deepest, darkest waters. Each page is wonderful to look at, and answers the questions children really want to ask: how fast does a flying fish need to swim to launch itself out of the water? Who does an octopus need eight arms? How long can a seal hold its breath underwater? There’s information too on the danger to the oceans from pollution and global warming, while a page of ‘fishy-phrases’ gives children the technical language to use when describing the animals that live in the sea. A book to inspire and entertain as well as inform.
This is a wonderful way for young children to discover different emotions in a fun, creative way. Full of drawing based activities, Yasmeen Ismail's playful illustrations invite children to express themselves and add to the fun with their own drawings, doodles and decorations. What has made Dog happy? Do you know what Cat is scared of? And why is Donkey so excited? Lots to look at and talk about and the added bonus of the encouraged activities make this a lovely book to share with young children learning to understand their feelings.
It’s not often here at Lovereading4kids that we select a book of this kind, but this one along with its sister book, Create your own Superhero Stories, is a great way to get kids inspired to write and draw stories. With missing pictures and missing words to fill in, kids will thoroughly enjoy adding their own touch to each of the stories including ‘Noah the Polar Bear’ and ‘Lex the Lion Cub’. Hours of entertainment will be found for children as young as 4 or 5 between the covers of this book.
This is one of a range of marvellous comic books created in the '50s and '60s now with artwork re-coloured and covers digitally enhanced for a new generation. Perfect Bound at a terrifically good value price. A message from the publisher:Classics Illustrated - A wonderful History - We're delighted to re-introduce these marvellous comic books to new generations of readers who will surely enjoy them as fantastic tales of adventure and excitement but will also improve their reading skills as a result and be inspired to read the complete versions of many of these fine works. I sincerely hope that you enjoy these superb adaptations and are similarly inspired as I was, nearly 50 years ago. Jeff Brooks, CEO, Classic Comic Store Ltd
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month March 2017 Irresistible for anyone mad about trucks! There’s so much to learn about the extraordinary world of trucks and truck-mad William Bee is the man to explain it all. There are steam trucks, amphibious trucks, rescue trucks, snow plough trucks, fire engine trucks and much, much more. Gloriously bold illustrations celebrate the wonders of trucks while the texts adds some useful details. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for March 2017 Jellicle Cats by T.S. Eliot and Arthur Robins William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks by William Bee The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake George's Marvellous Experiments inspired by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake My Name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley Many Moons by Remi Courgeon Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer by Alexanda McCall Smith Black Cats and Butlers by Janine Beacham Triangle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
