Titles in this preview are published in June


Jack, Cinderella and the Gingerbread Man – must teach him how to play nicely. If they can’t, their town is at risk of being destroyed. Third in a series.


Bethan Clarke, Nikolas Ilic (illus) Snarky Sharky


Little Tiger, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781838917197


A shark thinks he is king of the sea and that all the other creatures should keep out of his way in this funny story from the author of Holey Moley.


Trish Cooke,


Sophie Bass (illus) The Magic Callaloo Walker Books, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781529523676


Paperback publication of Cooke and Bass’ gorgeously illustrated story about a greedy man who steals the magic callaloo and kidnaps Mister and Missus’ beloved child. It was an Editor’s Choice in The Bookseller when released in hardback.


Caroline Crowe, Nia Gould (illus) Weather Tots: Sunny Starts School


Oxford University Press, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780192788085


OUP is launching a new series of picture books about adorable weather


characters – the Weather Tots – and in this story Sunny starts school, where the different types of weather learn about working together to make sunflowers grow. Released alongside book two in the series: Weather Tots: Breezy’s Beach Day.


Sheena Davies Unity Street School Saves the Planet


Otter-Barry Books, 5th, £13.99, HB, 9781915659613


A group of children at Unity Street School decide they want to


create a wild area in the grounds in this picture book about rewilding.


Helen Docherty, Gwen Millward (illus) Kerfuffle Bird


Oxford University Press, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781382053822


The Hushlings are quiet and polite, unlike Maeve, who is delighted when the noisy Kerfuffle Bird arrives. She wants to whoop and shriek, but will Maeve and the Kerffufle Bird find a way to live in harmony with the other Hushlings? A key release for OUP in June.


Polly Dunbar Put Your Shoes On


Walker Books, 5th, £12.99, HB, 9781529524697


Mummy and Josh are at loggerheads. She wants him to put his shoes on, but he is still in the middle of his imaginative world. This sensitive story about a very common family battle uses illustrations from Dunbar’s son to show Josh’s imaginative world, and demonstrates how non-verbal children communicate via movement, body language and sounds. Visually gorgeous.


Adam and Charlotte Guillain, Gareth Conway (illus) What Would You Say to an Astronaut?


Hachette Children’s Group, 19th, £7.99, PB, 9781444970661


Astronaut Grace and her sidekick JoJo navigate their way through an intergalactic funfair, avoid a collision with a bus full of aliens, and win a lightning-fast space race as they attempt to get to Planet Woof. Second in a series.


Adam and Charlotte Guillain, Tony Neal (illus) Tell Your Own Fairy Tale


Ladybird, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780241622292


There are 60 different story options to choose from on every page in this interactive story, which encourages children to take charge of the narrative. Readers can choose from noble princesses, big bad trolls, glistening palaces and more. A sequel to Tell Your Own Story.


Stephen Hogtun Sparks of Imagination DK, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780241661895


Paperback publication of Hogtun’s celebration of the imagination, which shows children moving skies, painting rainbows, shaping clouds and creating whole new worlds.


Onyinye Iwu The Best Jollof Rice Ever! Otter-Barry Books, 5th, £12.99, HB, 9781915659484


Kamsi thinks his mum’s jollof rice is best but Kwame is sure his mum’s is better. They decide to make their own but when they start adding unusual ingredients – a caterpillar, nettles and ants – they realise they have made the worst jollof rice ever. A sweet story about friendship, co-operation and food.


Helen Kellock The Wild Beastie: A Tale from the Isle of Begg


Walker Books, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781529523928


2


On the Isle of Begg, a creature called Bumple has no interest in the island’s wonders, until a mischievous little beastie crash lands in her world and teaches her that wildness can be fun. Previously published in hardback.


Alex Latimer,


Phillip Cullen (illus) Dragon Dave the (Not-So) Brave


Scholastic, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780702314858


Dragon Dave is stuck in the book. He wants to get out but the story always has a sticky ending. Will Prince George be able to convince Dave that story endings can be changed?


Jonny Leighton, Robert Starling (illus) Bunnies Don’t Like Bedtime!


Ladybird, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780241612644


The bunnies do not like going to bed in this gentle rhyming story, which Ladybird hopes will encourage children to sleep. Part of a series that also includes Penguins Don’t Like Pants.


Ben Lerwill,


Mark Chambers (illus) The Biggest Dog in the Book


DK, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780241695876


Turn the pages to meet increasingly larger breeds of dog in this informative and fun picture book, published with a surprise gatefold at the end.


Alex Macdonald Nelly The Very Different Bird Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781836000754


Nelly, a bird who cannot fly, finds another way to make a trip and teaches a


new friend that embracing your uniqueness is an incredible adventure. Previously published in hardback.


Bryher Mackenzie, Gillian Eilidh O’Mara (illus) The Night Whale


Walker Books, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781529506617


A grandmother and grandchild take a trip on the back of the Night Whale in this beautiful exploration of moving on and saying goodbye, now out in paperback.


Erika McGann, Gerry Daly (illus) It’s Too Dark, Puffling


O’Brien, 9th, £8.99, PB, 9781788496032


Puffling loves her cosy underground nest, but when a smaller friend is afraid of the dark she takes him to visit a playful rabbit, a happy crab and a friendly blue shark to show that the dark is not so scary after all. From the creators of Where Are You, Puffling?.


Louise McGettrick, Emma Shoard (illus) Gavin the Glamour Snail


Graffeg, 5th, £8.99, PB, 9781802587036


Gavin likes decorating his shell in bright colours and sequins, much to the distaste of his fellow snails. But when the snails wander too far from home, they realise they can follow Gavin’s sparkly trail to find their way back. A humorous tale about having the courage to be yourself, and the importance of accepting difference.


Lily Murray, Jenny Løvlie (illus) The Dress with 100 Pockets


Macmillan Children’s Books, 12th, £7.99, PB, 9781035004409


Lucy, who designed dresses packed with pockets for her aunt’s store, is invited to take part in the Fabulous Fashion Show in this follow-up to A Dress with Pockets. Also published in hardback (393).


Kate Pankhurst ( 2) We Are All Inventors! Bloomsbury Children’s, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9781526615466


In this sequel to We Are All Astronauts!, Ruby, Lizzy’s super-smart babysitter, shows Lizzy that inventors never give up, and that determination will come in handy given that Lizzy’s hamster has gone missing. The story is mixed with facts about famous female inventors, biomimicry, how inventions are made, life-saving inventions and planet-saving inventions, and pioneers such as Ada Lovelace and Sarah Boone are profiled.


Sophia Payne,


Ruchi Mhasane (illus) The Beautiful Layers of Me


Walker Books, 5th, £12.99, HB, 9781529513974


Ameena learns to take pride in her cultural heritage after someone comments on her ‘pyjamas’ when she puts on her salwar kameez. A tale about courage, familial love and self-belief.


Michael Rosen, David Melling (illus) Snow White and the Seven Bears


HarperCollins Children’s Books, 5th, £7.99, PB, 9780008510022


Paperback publication of Rosen’s latest nursery rhyme-inspired picture book, and this time Snow White has lost her teddy bear. She takes the magical mirror out


15


JOANNE CRAWFORD


Books Children’s Previews


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72