Bob's Blue Period by Marion Deuchars (Laurence King Publishing)

"Mood" books are very much a thing at the moment, as children are increasingly aware of (and often concerned about) emotional states from a very early age...
We've often championed books that are chock full of atmosphere, and of course we love any book that is 'artsy' so "Bob's Blue Period" by Marion Deuchars (which is out today, hooray!) instantly became a firm favourite.

Bob is a blackbird, and he's a very talented fella indeed.

Bob's best friend is Bat, and they do lots of amazing things together, their friendship grows stronger as they share adventures and activities.

But one day Bob is distraught. He can't find Bat anywhere, but eventually discovers a postcard. Bat has gone away, and with very little information to go on, Bob enters a deep blue funk...

Happier times for Bob and Bat

Of course, being blue all the time isn't great when you're an artist, and folk from all over the place commission you to paint their portraits.

Bob (like Picasso before him) enters his blue period....

Poor Bob. Not much information to go on, just a simple postcard from Bat. 

Bob is sad, so when he sits down to paint, all his work is rendered in shades of the deepest darkest blue.

Portraits of Owl - Blue. Landscapes? Blue.

But Bob soon discovers that his friends can show him how to love and appreciate colour again in the most spectacular way...

The glorious dawn, the most amazing colours. Who could resist inspiration that amazing?

We'll leave it up to you to discover how the book beautifully wraps up, suffice to say that this is a lovely and touching tale encompassing emotions, friendships and the beauty around us in such a delightful story. Marion is so talented!

C's best bit: Bob's wonderful (but moody) soulful blue works of art.

Daddy's favourite bit: Such a lovely tale that just about anyone who's ever missed someone will fully identify with. Really beautiful book this.

"Bob's Blue Period" by Marion Deuchars is out today, published by Laurence King (kindly supplied for review).