The best books for kids 2012
Cheer up cranky kids in the post-Christmas slump with one of the exciting new books out in the New Year. Here are January and February's highlights for toddlers to 11-year-olds.
January
Little Nelly’s Big Book by Pippa Goodhart (Bloomsbury, £5.99)
Nelly is an elephant with an identity crisis. She thinks she’s a mouse. She crams herself under the skirting boards and nibbles cheese with her new-found family. But, somehow, she always feels that little bit different...This fun tale of friendship is lovely for two to four-year-olds. Click here to buy
The Diabolical Mr. Tiddles by Tom McLaughlin (Simon and Schuster, £10.99)
Mr. Tiddles the cat loves his new owner so much that he goes on a crime spree to bring him ‘rockstar guitars, peculiar paintings, fearsome dinosaurs, yummy jelly beans and whooshing jet packs’. The mischievous mayhem of this story is sure to delight pre-schoolers. Click here to buy
The Children of Hat Cottage by Elsa Beskow (Floris Books)
Published for the first time in English, this charmingly retro story is by classic Swedish writer-illustrator Elsa Beskow, who died in 1953. When their mother leaves them for the day in their hat-shaped home, three children attempt to do the housework. But when they light a fire (health and safety was less of an issue when this was written!), things get a little out of hand. Beskow’s original illustrations are simply beautiful. Suitable for those aged three to six. Click here to buy
A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Sheldon (Random House)
A boy and a bear go to sea. They take a suitcase, a comic book and a ukulele. The story of their friendship is quirky, funny and touching. Click here to buy
Muncle Trogg and the Flying Donkey by Janet Foxley (Chicken House, £5.99)
Aimed at readers of seven and over, this is the second story of kindly, affable Muncle Trogg, the world’s smallest giant. He’s worried because his home is about to explode – and the bigger giants aren’t taking any heed. So he calls on the help of a flying donkey, as you do. Click here to buy
Opal Moonbaby by Maudie Smith (Orion, £6.99)
A purple-eyed alien from the planet Carnelia is sent to Earth to find out about humans. She causes the milkman to crash when she arrives in an egg-shaped craft and forms a friendship with lonely Martha, who’s been hurt by her former best friend. A simultaneously comic and poignant debut for young readers aged, roughly, around seven and upwards. Click here to buy
Stormswept by Helen Dunmore (Harper Collins, £12.99)
Helen Dunmore writes adult and children’s books equally brilliantly. Stormswept is the latest of her hauntingly atmospheric mermaid series, the Ingo Chronicles. Aimed (approximately) at those aged nine and over, it’s about a young girl who finds a merman in a rock pool on the Cornish coast after a storm. Determined to return him to his undersea world, she tries to enlist the help of her twin sister, only to find her story is not believed... Click here to buy
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (Usborne, £5.99)
Caitlin has Asperger’s Syndrome. In her view, things are always black or white. Her big brother helps her navigate life by explaining the many shades of grey in between. When he is killed in a school shooting, she is left to deal with the lurid, messy aftermath on her own. This won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in the US and, due to some gruelling content, is for readers aged nine and over. Click here to buy
February
Goat Goes to Playgroup by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan, £10.99)
Children’s laureate Julia Donaldson heads a veritable empire of rhyming picture books. Teaming up with popular illustrator Nick Sharratt (their previous collaborations include toddler favourites like Hippo Has a Hat and One Mole Digging a Hole), she’s now written an ode to the joys of playgroup. Cheery, funny and vibrantly colourful. Click here to buy
Christopher’s Caterpillars by Charlotte Middleton (Oxford Children’s Books, £10.99)
Christopher Nibble is a cultured guinea pig who hangs out in cafes, sends emails and attends art gallery openings. When his beloved pet caterpillars go missing, he sets about solving the mystery. This gentle toddler tale of the not-so natural world is wonderfully illustrated. Click here to buy
Socks by Nick Sharratt and Elizabeth Lindsay (Random House)
Yes, it’s the follow-up to the hilarious Pants (and More Pants) – a linguistically inventive and vividly illustrated celebration of...socks. Toddlers should love the utterly daft rhyming text, which is perfect for reading aloud. Click here to buy
Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants by Giles Andreae and Korky Paul (Puffin, £6.99)
Purple Ronnie greeting creator Giles Andreae and illustrator Korky Paul – of Winnie the Witch fame – have got together for this rhyming story of chivalry, underwear and general silliness for five to eight-year-olds. When the king’s pants are stolen by a giant, who promptly pops them on his head, six-year-old Scallywag comes to the rescue... Click here to buy
Poo at the Zoo by Sarah Eason and Kirsten Collier (£8.99, A&C Black)
One of a whole new series of books created in partnership with London Zoo (http://www.storiesfromthezoo.com/) to teach little ‘uns about wild animal conservation, this factual book exploits kids’ sniggering love of scatology. Don’t be put off though: it’s full of genuinely interesting facts about animal behaviour. Who knew, for example, that lions eat only every three to four days? Click here to buy
Mysteries According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney (Faber and Faber, £5.99)
Lovable classroom hamster Humphrey’s latest adventure sees him turn sleuth to investigate the disappearance of his teacher. This comic series, which sensitively explores family and friendship issues, looks set to run and run. It’s just right for newly independent readers. Click here to buy
SWITCH Series by Ali Sparkes (Oxford University Press)
SWITCH stands for ‘Serum Which Instigates Total Cellular Hijack’. It’s a secret potion developed by a mad scientist that can change humans into all kinds of bugs and beasties. In the first series, school boys Josh and Danny had adventures as spiders, flies, grasshoppers, ants and beetles. Four new titles out at the start of February see them morph into lizards, chameleons, turtles and geckos. These books are great for any reluctant reader boys. Click here to buy
The Worst Thing About My Sister by Jacqueline Wilson (Random House, £12.99)
She certainly prolific that Jacqueline Wilson! Her latest tale is of two warring siblings. Tomboy Marty loves playing football and doing DIY. Girly Melissa is into Justin Bieber and pink. When they have to share a room, the enforced proximity has unexpected consequences. For readers age nine upwards. Click here to buy
Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge (Nosy Crow, £6.99)
More feisty fictional heroines are definitely welcome – and Penelope Tredwell certainly fits the bill. In Victorian London, the 13-year-old orphan heiress runs The Penny Dreadful magazine. Under a pseudonym, she also writes the macabre stories within it. As the mystery around her fictional alter ego grows, she hires an actor to play him at public readings.
When the governor of a mad house wants to meet him to solve a paranormal mystery, Penelope is intrigued. The first in a series of historical-supernatural thrillers, this is a bit of a page turner. Some pretty scary content means it’s only suitable for those aged 10 and over though. Click here to buy
See also:
Comments