"Leyla" by Galia Bernstein (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

When you're a kid, sometimes you get really fed up with your family - and perhaps just want some time alone.

There's such a neat little message in "Leyla" by Galia Bernstein - a message that is delivered alongside some of the most gorgeous simian artwork I think we've ever seen in a children's picture book.

Leyla is the youngest in her Baboon family troop and she's so fed up with her big, loud and noisy family. They're always making a noise, always snuggling or grooming each other, and never give her time to think.

So one day Leyla decides to run away, as far away from her family as possible.

And as she runs, she takes a moment to rest in the middle of a desert where she finds a single tiny Lizard sunning itself on a rock.

At first she's a bit frightened of this skittish new individual, but soon a firm friendship develops as Leyla finally find the one thing she wanted all along - just a nice quiet space to sit and do absolutely nothing! Because, as we all know, sometimes just lounging around doing nothing is the perfect antidote to a noisy busy world.

Yikes! Yep, skittish lizards can be a bit alarming when you first see them!

Just so much loveliness in this, from the subtle and reduced word count still managing to convey the story so effectively...

Imagine waking up amongst this lot every day!

...to the truly stunning illustrations, which are just GORGEOUS!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A gorgeous book extolling the virtues of having a bit of quiet time alone from time to time when life gets too busy and hectic, and your family do your head in!

"Leyla" by Galia Bernstein is out now, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers (kindly supplied for review).