"A Stone Sat Still" by Brendan Wenzel (Chronicle Books)

How I wish I had a more soothing and lilting read-aloud voice, it would be perfect for "A Stone Sat Still" by Brendan Wenzel.

It's the sort of book that feels like those amazing 'slow journey' TV programmes you sometimes see in the schedules over the christmas vacation.

"Stone" is the story of just that, a stone - but to all of the creatures across the world, that one stone can be far more.

To some it's a shelter, a place for refuge, to keep your family safe.

To some it's a gigantic throne, standing high above the rest of the world, allowing you the best viewpoint to see your kingdom from.

Brendan deliciously describes each animal's interpretation of the stone - and as I said, if you could somehow imagine either Richard E. Grant or Jenny Agutter reading this one, you'd be so relaxed you'd probably melt.

To a humble snail, the stone is a mountain, the whole world in fact!

We particularly loved Brendan's mix of papercraft and painted artwork throughout this book. His animal characters are just adorable, I mean look at this little beaver!

Oh my gawwwd he's so adorbs!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Utterly beautiful storytelling this, a brilliant book to explore the seasons with, and change your interpretation of a simple object into something magical.

"A Stone Sat Still" by Brendan Wenzel is out now, published by Chronicle Books (kindly supplied for review)