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).

Babies eh? Tiny little Winston-Churchill-Pug-Dog lookalikes or cute bundles of fun, always busy and chaotic (and usually up to things they probably shouldn't be!) We love a book that feels like a joyous celebration of ordinary everyday life, and thanks to Kathy Henderson and Lauren Tobia, babies get to be the stars of this particular show.

In "Babies don't walk, they ride!" we find all sorts of babies, mums, dads, grans and grandads all going about their daily business - but of course the most important part of the daily outing is how you get from A to B. Do you bowl along in a buggy? Trickle down the street on a tagalong? Cuddle up to mum or dad in a wrap, a sling or a baby carrier? Or whoosh along the pavement in your very own red rocket push-along?

Babies are everywhere, all on the move and all giggling gleefully (usually as mum and dad puff and pant with the strain of pushing teenies along at a pace).

Words are kept to a minimum purposely so younger readers can snuggle up on our laps and check out what all those busy little babies get up to around town. We utterly loved going through this book again and again, each time finding some new and gorgeous little detail to chuckle at (and lots of things that made us shout "HOORAY!" too, like the hugely diverse cast in this book (well, this is Lauren Tobia we're talking about, she's a champ for promoting diverse books and characters - see Anna Hibiscus for reference!) We particularly loved the supermarket scene, a crazy chaotic page spread with an awesome wheelchair mum and her baby scooshing through the aisles.

A brilliant bouncing baby-boomer of a book!

Charlotte's best bit: Following the babies in the tow-along trailer throughout the book right to bedtime! Oh and that rocket-shaped pushalong. We want one!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic and joyful little book that's packed with fun and detail, and busy busy babies on the move!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)

When books speak to Charlotte in her own language, about things that she experiences herself, they're usually a big hit. When books like "Splash!" by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia arrive on our doormat, with its utterly charming and joyful cover (a book that does indeed 'talk' to Charlotte in her own language), they're an even bigger hit - or should we say a big splash?

This book has been in great demand and it's easy to see why. For starters, Anna Hibiscus is such a fantastic character. A little younger than Charlotte perhaps but with the same joie de vivre and the same love of the seaside. Secondly this book doesn't care that the weather is yucky and storm clouds keep chasing the sunshine away, it's a beautiful blue-sky book that is like carrying your own summer around in your book bag.

Thirdly, and this is the important bit, it talks about family and though Anna's family is different to our own, Charlotte could recognise the same characteristics. Big boy cousins who don't really want anything to do with girls, big girl cousins who are a bit too old to play Barbie Washing Hair or splash around in the sea.

So this tale is woven from colourful threads. Anna Hibiscus is enjoying a brilliant day by the seaside but no one wants to splash in the waves with her. Mum and Dad are busy as are her aunties and uncles. Grandma and Grandad are fast asleep (as usual!) and her cousins are wrapped up in their own games, so poor Anna feels a little lonely and neglected.

The lure of the sea is too tempting to pass up on a boiling hot sunny day so Anna can't wait any longer. If no one will play with her then perhaps...perhaps the sea will!

Soon she is busy happily frolicking in the surf, much to everyone else's amusement. What happens next? Well that's the best thing about going to the seaside with your family and friends - We bet you can guess what happens. Better still go and grab this book and if you're wistfully staring out of the window at the rain, or are stuck in a dismal office at work or covered in glitter and glue at school, long for hot sunny days and wrap yourself up in this brilliantly told and beautifully illustrated story.

There's a whole truckload more Anna Hibiscus stories to enjoy. We're latecomers but we'll be sure to catch up with Anna again as soon as we can.

Charlotte's best bit: Big Girl Cousins on their mobile phones (probably texting each other even though they're sitting right next to each other!)

Daddy's favourite bit: A brilliant inclusive book, beautifully told and with the sort of illustrations that make you long for sandy summers at the beach and the thrill of dipping a toe in the briny deep.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Lauren Tobia)