Four gorgeous new books to brighten up your summer from Walker Books

The summer holidays are here, as is the sunshine, and you can almost hear the exasperated exclamations of parents across the land as their kids grump around the house, listlessly scrolling on their tablets or mobiles. But hark, there is hope - and there's no better time to drag 'em outside, find a nice sunshiney nook to curl up in and enjoy a truly glorious set of books from Walker UK.

Starting with "Too Small Tola" by Atinuke and Onyinye Iwu, this is a trilogy of treats, three stories featuring the effervescent little Nigerian girl and her family.

Tola might be small but she's a mighty girl after our own hearts, loving life in Lagos alongside her brother Dapo, sister Moji and Grandmummy (the real boss of the household).

Tola's adventures span the three stories, whether it's visiting the vibrant market with her Grandmummy, or saving a local tailor when his goods aren't delivered. This determined little girl is always ready to pitch in and help, and these stories are filled with atmosphere and enjoyment for emergent readers just beginning to stretch their reading legs with longer books, still filled with plenty of gorgeous illustrations.

"Too Small Tola" by Atinuke and Onyinye Iwu is out now, published by Walker Books. 

Nest up is the glorious "Anna Hibiscus" again by Atinuke with illustrations this time from super-talented Lauren Tobia.

It's another slice of African life with awesome Anna, who never turns down the chance to have an adventure or two. This edition features four stories featuring this fearless mighty girl, enjoying a day at the beach with her family and her cousins, or partying with her aunties in her home town.

Anna has a secret wish though. She would love more than anything else to see something you don't often see in Africa. Glorious crisp snow! Will she ever get her wish?

Again this title is perfect, taking content from the hugely successful picture books featuring Anna Hibiscus, and wrapping them in a pocket sized edition that's just perfect for tucking in your bag and taking to the beach with you.

Illustrated throughout by Lauren, this is a fab compilation of Anna's best stories.

"Anna Hibiscus" by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia is out now, published by Walker Books. 

Younger readers can also join in the fun with a glorious pair of large format picture books.


"Catch that Chicken" by Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank is a fab little story featuring Lami, a little girl who absolutely loves all her feathery friends, and is the very best in her village at rounding up and catching the chickens when they escape from their pens.

Poor Lami has an accident one day and really hurts her ankle, making her chicken-catching duties very hard and very painful.

But Lami is smart and clever, and begins to think about other ways she can be the best at what she does.

Watch out chickens, you can't keep a mighty girl down!


We really loved the illustrations in this one, I mean just look inside at this page spread and how gorgeously detailed and atmospheric it is. It's almost like being there!



"Catch that Chicken" by Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank is out now, published by Walker Books.

One last book, and this one's probably our favourite, a superb slice of non fiction describing the sights, the sounds and what life is like in "Africa Amazing Africa by Atinuke and Mouni Feddag.

More than just an atlas, this is a country-by-country tour of all the amazing places, people and culture that you'll find in the African continent.

From the busy cities to the desert plains, from the coastal towns and villages right into the heart of the savannah, this is a truly amazing guide that will make you want to visit this amazing place.

With 55 countries covered in the book, you'll find a rich and diverse set of contentfor younger readers, dividing Africa up into five sections: South, East, West, Central and North, each with its own introduction.

This is followed by a page per country, containing a delightful mix of friendly, informative text and colourful illustrations. With just a a couple of facts per page, the book is perfectly geared toward seven year old readers, and imagined as a diving-off point: to inspire children to find out more about each and every country, and perhaps make Afrida the subject of classroom projects and topics of discussion.

It's a real treat and the large format with gorgeous colour illustrations makes it a real winner, and so eyecatching that you can't possibly pass it by.

"Africa Amazing Africa Country by Country" by Atinuke and Mouni Feddag is out now, published by Walker Books.

(All books kindly supplied for review).