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Reviews of Children's Books recommended by our children's books editor.
Authors
A & B
| Author
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Allan
Ahlberg
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Illustrator
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Fritz
Wegner
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Title
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The
Little Cat Baby
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Date
of First Publication
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2003
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Publisher
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Penguin
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 6 to 8 year olds, with longer text and beautiful line and wash
illustrations. Likely
to appeal particularly to girls. Follows a couple who adopt a cat baby
and the adventures the cat gets into. Adventures are divided into
chapters, the text is longer and features more complicated words to
stretch the reader.
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Author
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Allan
Ahlberg
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Illustrator
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Katharine
McEwen
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Title
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The
Man Who Wore All His Clothes
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Date
of First Publication
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2001
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Publisher
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Walker
Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 7 to 9 year olds and ideal for younger, more confident readers
tackling their first longer books. Full of bright, clear illustrations
that sit alongside, above, below and between text. Illustrations follow
text and give clues to its context. Story follows a man who wears all
his clothes (there is a reason for this – a twist) and a day
in his life. Full of humour, slightly surreal and very human.
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| Author
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Jez
Alborough
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Illustrator
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Jez
Alborough
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Title
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Captain
Duck
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Date
of First Publication
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2002
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Publisher
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Collins
Picture Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 5 to 7 developing readers. Ideal for those who encountered Duck in
board book form. Use of rhyme, rhythm and alliteration. Bright,
enjoyable illustrations bring fun story to life. Children would enjoy
looking at the detail and humour (such as Duck’s attempts to
hide) in the illustrations, which clearly show what is happening.
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| Author
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Jez
Alborough
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Illustrator
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Jez
Alborough
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Title
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Duck
To The Rescue
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Date
of First Publication
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2005
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Publisher
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Harper
Collins Childrens Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 3 to 5 year olds and printed as a board book. Bright, clear
illustrations bring the story to life. The story of friendship is told
humorously using rhyme and rhythm to aid the reader. Illustrations
match text further helping new readers and allowing them to become
involved in the story.
|
| Author
|
Allan
Ahlberg
|
|
Illustrator
|
Fritz
Wegner
|
|
Title
|
The
Little Cat Baby
|
|
Date
of First Publication
|
2003
|
|
Publisher
|
Penguin
|
|
Qualities/Features
|
Aimed
at 6 to 8 year olds, with longer text and beautiful line and wash
illustrations. Likely
to appeal particularly to girls. Follows a couple who adopt a cat baby
and the adventures the cat gets into. Adventures are divided into
chapters, the text is longer and features more complicated words to
stretch the reader.
|
|
Author
|
Allan
Ahlberg
|
|
Illustrator
|
Katharine
McEwen
|
|
Title
|
The
Man Who Wore All His Clothes
|
|
Date
of First Publication
|
2001
|
|
Publisher
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Walker
Books
|
|
Qualities/Features
|
Aimed
at 7 to 9 year olds and ideal for younger, more confident readers
tackling their first longer books. Full of bright, clear illustrations
that sit alongside, above, below and between text. Illustrations follow
text and give clues to its context. Story follows a man who wears all
his clothes (there is a reason for this – a twist) and a day
in his life. Full of humour, slightly surreal and very human.
|
| Author
|
Jez
Alborough
|
|
Illustrator
|
Jez
Alborough
|
|
Title
|
Captain
Duck
|
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Date
of First Publication
|
2002
|
|
Publisher
|
Collins
Picture Books
|
|
Qualities/Features
|
Aimed
at 5 to 7 developing readers. Ideal for those who encountered Duck in
board book form. Use of rhyme, rhythm and alliteration. Bright,
enjoyable illustrations bring fun story to life. Children would enjoy
looking at the detail and humour (such as Duck’s attempts to
hide) in the illustrations, which clearly show what is happening.
|
| Author
|
Jez
Alborough
|
|
Illustrator
|
Jez
Alborough
|
|
Title
|
Duck
To The Rescue
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Date
of First Publication
|
2005
|
|
Publisher
|
Harper
Collins Childrens Books
|
|
Qualities/Features
|
Aimed
at 3 to 5 year olds and printed as a board book. Bright, clear
illustrations bring the story to life. The story of friendship is told
humorously using rhyme and rhythm to aid the reader. Illustrations
match text further helping new readers and allowing them to become
involved in the story.
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Author
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Antonia
Barber
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Illustrator
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P
J Lynch
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Title
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Catkin
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Date
of First Publication
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1996
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Publisher
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Walker
Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 6 to 8 year olds. Follows a cat who journeys to a land under the
green hill to retrieve a lost child. Story uses traditional folk tale
struck and touches on ideas of responsibility, courage and negotiation.
Heavily illustrated with beautiful glowing pictures which complement
text and add to story.
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| Author
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Simon
Bartram
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Illustrator
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Simon
Bartram
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Title
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Dougal’s
Deep-Sea Diary
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Date
of First Publication
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2004
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Publisher
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Templar
Publishing
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 6 to 8 year olds. Dougal is an office worker who goes diving on his
days off and discovers Atlantis during his holiday. Funny story told in
the form of a diary. Bold, beautiful, detailed illustrations add an
extra dimension to the story and make it particularly special. Every
water-based illustration features a mermaid hidden together with many
different kinds of illustrations. A joyful book about following your
dreams. Quite stunning.
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| Author
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Marie
Birkinshaw
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Illustrator
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David
Pace
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Title
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Daisy,
Little Dancer
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Date
of First Publication
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1997
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Publisher
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Ladybird
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at6 to 8 year olds. Sweet story about a little girl who is the smallest
dancer at her dance class and thinks she’ll never be in the
play. Dynamic, clear watercolour illustrations with speech bubble
captions add detail and humour to the text, which is a mixture of
complex and simple sentences. Likely to be particularly enjoyed by
little girls who go to dance classes themselves.
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Author
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Quentin
Blake
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Illustrator
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Quentin
Blake
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Title
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Clown
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Date
of First Publication
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1995
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Publisher
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Random
House
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 3 to 7 year olds. This book is entirely without text and follows a
clown who is thrown away. Useful for getting children to tell and
retell stories, here based on visual prompts. Adults reading to
children can model the story-telling and show how imagination can be
used.
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| Author
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Alison
Boyle
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Illustrator
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David
Wojtowycz
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Title
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Wishing
Bird
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Date
of First Publication
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2003
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Publisher
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Puffin
Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 4 to 6 year olds. The story of a bird of many colours who does not
like how she looks and tries different colours before realising
she’s fine just the way she is. Lots of bright, bold
illustrations help reinforce colours for very young children.
Repetitive text gives opportunity to practice reading skills. Engaging
and sweet story is likely to appeal especially to younger children.
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| Author
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Nick
Butterworth
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Illustrator
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Nick
Butterworth
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Title
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The
Whisperer
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Date
of First Publication
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2004
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Publisher
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Harper
Collins Children’s Books
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Qualities/Features
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Aimed
at 6 to 7 year olds. A new take on Romeo and Juliet with a happy
ending. Striking use of illustrations on black paper. Text is longer
and more complex but complemented perfectly by accompanying
illustrations. Use of slang and colloquial language to make the story
more “real”.
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