We've been taking a look at Little Tiger Press's brilliant range of new titles arriving this spring.

Kicking off with a true feast of glorious natural history facts and figures, curated by Libby Walden and featuring the work of ten amazing illustrators who truly bring the subject to life.

"In Focus: Forests" is a book packed with amazing animals, glorious greenery and all the things that call the forest "Home".

The book talks about some of the most famous forests on the planet such as the Black Forest in South-West Germany, on the border with France. This vast area is a truly amazing biodiverse environment that is protected, and thus is full of life from the forest floor right to the tips of the tall spruce and fir trees that stretch into the sky.

Grace Easton draws an amazing picture of The Black Forest and in turn, other artists examine the Rainforests (Suzanne Washington), The Anatomy of Trees (Julie Colombet), National Parks (Sol Linero), Forest mythology (Irene Montano), Peoples of the Forest (Alessandra Santelli), Produce and Preservation (Jenny Wren), Mangrove Forests (Aaron Cushley), the Amazon Rainforest (Marc Pattenden) and Kelp Forests (Stephanie Fizer-Coleman).

As you can see, this one really does cover a lot of ground and is a nice hefty book to dig into, with great fold-out spreads.

"In Focus: Forests" curated by Libby Walden is out on the 4th April, published by 360 Degrees Publishing. 

Next is a really fun way to take a step back in time with "Wilfred and Olbert's Epic Prehistoric Adventure" by the rather amusingly named Lomp.

Wilfred and Olbert are our time-travelling guides on a trip back to the very dawn of time, as the dynamic duo discover a mysterious artefact that allows them to nip through a portal back to any period in history.

By presenting a really cool comic-like story but also seeding the story with amazing and incredible facts about prehistoric life, this is a really excellent approach to helping kids cross over from stories into non-fiction with ease.

With characterful and brilliant illustrations, and a whole host of facts all about prehistoric times, from life that began under the sea, to gigantic creatures that later stalked the earth and soared through the sky, this is a real winner and we absolutely love this approach. Let's hope there are more adventures for Wilfred and Olbert soon!

"Wilfred and Olbert's Epic Prehistoric Adventure" by Lomp is out on the 4th April 2019, published by Little Tiger. 

A truly out-of-this-world treat for younger readers now, with the perfect introduction to outer space in "The Big Beyond" by James Carter and Aaron Cushley.

James specialises in interesting and absorbing books on the subject of space, and this is no exception as we learn a little more about humankind's efforts to move beyond our home planet out into the inky blackness of space.

Learn all about space shuttles, rockets, and the International Space Station in this beautifully illustrated and presented guide that will give tiny tiddlers a real head start when it comes to learning more about space science and space exploration.

Really brilliant this. We never get tired of space books!

"The Big Beyond" by James Carter and Aaron Cushley is out on 4th April 2019, from Caterpillar Books

"When the Bees Buzzed Off" by Lula Bell and Stephen Bennett is our final book from Little Tiger's spring selection and carries one of the most important eco-messages relevant to our lives at the moment.

Bee numbers are in decline. For most people this doesn't feel like it's a big deal but bees are a truly vital part of our ecosystem, our pollinators that make sure that all our amazing plant life - and of course our food - can grow and flourish.

The rest of the minibeasts realise the bees have disappeared, so it's up to them to join together and find out what has happened to their buzzy friends.

This is beautifully presented, with engaging "lift the flap" bits to enhance a story that is a great introduction to the importance of bees and other insect life that lives on our planet.

"When the Bees Buzzed off" by Lula Bell and Stephen Bennett is out on 4th April 2019, published by Little Tiger Press.

(All books kindly supplied for review)

Let's take a closer look at some awesome Autumn releases from Little Tiger and its imprints...

Little Tiger Press have been really spoiling us this month with a huge selection of gorgeous new books for little ones...

Tackling the tricky subject of childhood emotions, this beautiful peep-through book is a bit of a winner...

"Sorry Dad!" by Maxine Lee (Caterpillar Books)

Fathers Day is coming (June 15th, this Sunday, take note mums and kids!) and we know what you're thinking. Dads always say "Look I'm fine, I don't want anything" or "I don't want a huge fuss" but what they really mean is that they'd like nothing better than for you to buy them a book that you can read together. So here are a few ideas to get you started with some new and classic books to tempt dad away from the footie (or more likely the rain-soaked barbecue) with.

First up is the sublime "Sorry Dad!" by Maxine Lee (Caterpillar Books). A riotous book full of mischief and mirth with a naughty kitten and his long-suffering dad 'bonding' in lots of different ways, which usually end up with the poor dad getting a bonk on the noggin for his trouble.

Maxine's bold and colourful illustrations and exquisite comic timing are giggle-worthy, and we absolutely couldn't get enough of that bit where Dad erupts like Mt Vesuvius. (Dad doesn't stay angry for long though :)

"Daddy is my Hero" by Dawn Richards and Jane Massey (Picture Corgi)

An altogether more soothing and calm celebration of dads in our next book - "Daddy is my Hero" by Dawn Richards and Jane Massey (Picture Corgi). From a toddler's perspective it tells us all the wonderful things that dads are great at. They're tickly, they're funny, sometimes they do get grumpy (right, Charlotte?) but they're amazing and fun so hooray for dads everywhere, particularly booky dads!

"My Amazing Dad" by Ross Collins (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

"Me and my Daddy" by various authors and illustrators (Little Tiger Press)

Is it possible to have too many pirate-based children's books? Purely looking back over the last year at the sheer amount of pirate-based titles we've looked at (and we've by no means caught them all) you could easily drown in the piratical sea. So it takes something pretty special to keep the jaunty theme going and engage kids in yet another swashbuckling tale.

Pi-Rat, written and Illustrated by Maxine Lee introduces us to the fearless titular rodent. With his brave animal crew, he fears nothing, he thirsts for treasure, adventure and excitement on the high seas!

Children, Charlotte included, love pirates because they represent so many things that tap into a child's tastes. The chance for a bit of subversive naughtiness, vicariously played out through pirate characters. The vast rewards of a treasure-chest full of booty. Huge levels of excitement and anticipation tracing the lines of a treasure map, following mysterious legends that tell tales of great danger and equally great riches.

Pi-Rat has these things, played out in the mind of a rather mischievous and cheeky little rat. I personally didn't connect with the book as much as Charlotte did. She loved it, and I think she really loved Pi-Rat's energy and sheer stick-your-tongue-out cheekiness. Perhaps the problem I had with it was that we've seen similar tales before (in fact if you take a look at Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves' excellent book "Plunge into the Pirate Pool" it's eerily similar, replacing a bath tub for a swimming pool but with the same core story underneath).

Pirate books are great, don't get me wrong. Charlotte will avidly enthuse about them and the fresh approach of an imagined pirate tale seen through the eyes of our cheeky rat friend is indeed engaging and fun. With another pirate-based title waiting in the wings for review (more on that very soon) perhaps it's just me but I'd seriously love to see folk leave the pirates alone for a while and seek out new characters and stories to base their brilliant books on.

Charlotte would probably say "Don't be silly Daddy, it's ace" (in fact she has told me off for being a bit 'down' on Pirate books before). So ignore my mumblings, take her advice and sign yourself up for a nautical tale aboard the good ship Soapy Dodger with Pi-Rat today!

Charlotte's best bit: The scariest monster of them all, towards the end of the book! Eeeeek! Run!

Daddy's favourite bit: Lots of fizzing energy and a good rip-roaring pirate tale. Even though I'm a little burned out on pirate books I still love 'em to bits.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Caterpillar Books)

We're back on the trail of super little festive books to pick up in time for Christmas, and this lovely little book from Caterpillar Books / Little Tiger Press is perfect for fidgety and curious little youngsters who are just beginning to count.

A family of bears looks out at the snowy landscape and can't wait to get out there in the snow and play (I know exactly how they feel! C'mon, we've had enough rain now!) As children turn the pages, the bright shiny bumpy snowflakes magically disappear, encouraging children to count down and try and guess which snowflake will disappear next!

With lovely snowy illustrations and text by Russell Julien, it's fun and tactile and children can't resist the snowflakes. Great for a range of ages but absolutely perfect for the really tiny who are looking for something cooler than the average chewable board book.

Charlotte's best bit: Guessing which snowflake will disappear next (She's sneaky though and kept cheating!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Beautifully made, really sturdy and touchable. Absolutely perfect for tiddlers!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)