The Flyaway Alphabet is the only book we selected that is overtly 'educational'. The story plays with letters, so in the park the letter p may turn upside down and the park becomes a bark and off the dog runs. For children struggling with letter sounds it is a lovely, light hearted alternative.
Computers mean that children are very familiar with collage and cut and paste and Lauren Child taps into this better than any other illustrator in her amusing story Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Book?
Ben's Magic Telescope by Brian Patten lends itself to pictures that children will pore over. A Whole World is a fascinating collection of pictures for children to imagine their own stories.
Stephen Biesty's highly detailed cross sections work well on the architecture of his latest subject, Rome, and for older readers, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell have created Muddle Earth, a slapstick story full of wonderful characters.