Little Tiger's brilliant non-fiction range gets down to the atomic level with a truly fantastic book for budding scientists.

"Once Upon an Atom: Questions of Science" by James Carter and William Santiago is perfect for younger children who are just discovering the magic of science, and the amazing ways in which science features in our everyday lives.

With clever rhymes and clear explanations, James and William take us on a journey that stretches right back to the Big Bang, then brings us bang up to date, sending us out into space to find out all about amazing experiments out there in the inky blackness, and down on earth as we begin to learn more and more about our amazing world through the main science disciplines.

It's the perfect book for kids who are beginning to attend science clubs for the first time, or are just finding out about the sciences at school.

With tons of beautiful illustrations, it's perfect for curious kids who love asking "Why!"

Sum this book up in a sentence: A dazzling introduction to the sciences for younger kids who love to find out more about their world, even at a microscopic level!

"Once Upon an Atom: Questions of Science" by James Carter and William Santiago is out now, published by Little Tiger (kindly supplied for review). 

This is an adorable new book packed with colour illustrations that once again shows there's definitely a fantastic emerging market for books that successfully bridge the gap between picture books for early years, and chapter books for early readers.

"Midge and Mo" is a wonderful little heartfelt tale of friendship and starting anew, as Midge is anxious about starting a new school in a new town. Midge misses his old school and really wishes more than anything else that things could have stayed exactly the same. He misses his old friends too, and his first day is filled with worry.

But when Midge is given a new school buddy in class, he realises that this fab smiley little girl - called Mo - could be just the new friend he's been hoping for. But Midge is still not sure - and Mo wonders if she's done anything to upset him.

Mo is our kind of girl though, and doesn't give up. She remembers what it was like when she was new at school on her first day - and this helps her to understand Midge's feelings and slowly bring him round.

After all, that's what good friends do, right?

We love this - it shows that kids can cope with 'wordier' books that still keep their plots fairly simple, but convey a lovely little message. This range of early readers from Stripes / Little Tiger are perfect, with full colour illustrations to help drive the stories along, and really fantastically observed characterisations that kids can readily identify with.

Lovely stuff!

Sum this book up in a sentence: An absolutely perfect book for readers transitioning between picture books and chapter books, with a lovely heartfelt message that's perfect for kids on their first day at school

"Midge and Mo" by Lara Williamson and Becky Cameron is out now, published by Stripes / Little Tiger (kindly supplied for review)

We're horribly late to the party with this one but after tracking down our lost copy (post office had somehow managed to lose it down the back of the sofa) we're glad to be all caught up with one of the most powerful and impressive books about dementia that we've ever had the good fortune to read as part of this blog.

"The Tide" by Clare Helen Welsh and Ashling Lindsay taps into this tricky and difficult to describe subject with aplomb.

It beautifully describes the fantastic relationship between a grandpa and his grand-daughter. They love spending time together, particularly at the beach.

The little girl always feels safe with grandpa as he holds her hand, splashing through the tide or when they make sandcastles. But the little girl senses that there's something wrong. Sometimes Grandpa forgets things - even her name.

The little girl's mummy explains that poor Grandpa's memory isn't what it once was, sometimes things get jumbled up - and just like the ebb and flow of the tide, Grandpa's memories come and go - and sometimes they're distant and quiet, and sometimes they're near and full of life.

Where the book wins out is in the delicate way it describes not just what it's like to live with Alzheimers, but simple things that families - and in particular children or grandchildren - can do to make life a little easier for those who suffer from this horrendous disease.

As a family who have had first hand experience of Alzheimers ourselves (several times, in fact), and the effect it has on everyone, we really thought this was one of the most sensitive and thought-provoking children's books dealing with the subject, through a truly touching and beautifully observed story about cross-generational relationships between grandparents and their grandkids.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Quite rightly being celebrated as one of the best children's books ever written on the subject of Alzheimers, with the most amazing illustrations helping to reinforce the touching and sensitively handled story.

"The Tide" by Clare Helen Welsh and Ashling Lindsay is out now, published by Little Tiger Press (kindly supplied for review)

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

There aren't many bedtime reads to go until Christmas so thank you once again for joining us with our Booky Advent Calendar for the month of December. Each day we'll be delving into seasonal, snowy and christmassy books to bring you the very best new books as well as some well loved classics and reprints.

To kick off, we've been very good this year so Santa has bestowed upon us THREE different versions of Clement C. Moore's classic poem in book form, each with a different publisher and each illustrated by a superbly talented artist bringing their own unique vision of Santa's epic sleigh ride on Christmas Eve.

First up, we have Mark Marshall for Little Tiger Press with a glorious fuzzy and dream-like santa for their version of the tale. This big-page-format paperback is absolutely perfect for younger children, filled to the brim with a good dose of yuletide atmosphere. We really loved the reindeers in this version, speeding through the sky on sparkly christmas magic!

"The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore and Mark Marshall" is published by Little Tiger Press in Hardback and Paperback versions.

Next, we have a rather novel version of the story, this time adapted and illustrated by Daniel Kirk...


In "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from Abrams Young Readers, we get to see Christmas Eve through the eyes of a teeny tiny mouse family who wait for Santa's visit in their tiny mouse house. Once again interpreting the words of Clement C. Moore's poem in his own way, Daniel Kirk has come up with some gloriously colourful and clear illustrations with utterly adorable characters who listen out for the sound of Donder and Blitzen's hoof falls on the roof (and santa's big bum squeezing down the chimney!)

Charlotte adored this version, with one of the jolliest Santas around.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore and Daniel Kirk is published by Abrams Young Readers in Paperback, Hardback and Kindle versions.

Let's squeeze one more in...this time from Top That Publishing and Marcin Nowakowski...

"'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from Marcin and Top That is very much a beautifully produced and more traditional version of the poem. This time the sumptuously detailed illustrations really feel like they could leap off the page and prance around your living room at any moment. This beautiful version really sets the scene of the poem so well, with glorious snowscapes and a fabulous present-filled sleigh jetting across the inky dark skies as Santa makes his rounds.

This is probably our favourite version for children of Charlotte's age (7 and up). The artwork is truly spectacular and it's easily one of the most impressive versions of the poem that we've ever seen.

"'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore and Marcin Nowakowski is available in Hardback and Paperback editions from Top That Publishing. 

Phew! After all that gadding about in the snowy sky we need a hot chocolate! Hope you enjoy these three versions and do watch out for more Booky Advent Calendar posts throughout the rest of December!

Come and celebrate Holly Webb's 30th awesome animal book with us!

We're still not quite sure how we managed it but we've crammed in a mammoth animal book reading session over the last month or so. What better reason to pledge to read at least 30 animal stories (other than absolutely loving animal books) than to celebrate the 30th title released in Holly Webb's brilliant "Animal Stories" for Stripes / Little Tiger.

"The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb.

Could we really read 30 animal or animal-related books? Tough challenge? Naw, not tough at all for us - so over the past month or so, here's our list of titles which we've read (and in most cases reviewed) to help celebrate Holly's momentous achievement! In no particular order:

1) "The Special Guest" by Steve Smallman (QED Publishing)
2) "The Perfect Job for an Elephant" by Jodie Parachini and Caroline Pedler (QED Publishing)
3) "Jules and Nina Dine Out" by Anita Pouroulis and Agata Krawczyk (Digital Leaf)
4) "Cheep Cheep Pop Up Fun" (Little Tiger Press)
5) "Lily and Bear" by Lisa Stubbs (Boxer Books)
6) "Rabbits Don't Lay Eggs" by Paula Metcalf and Cally Johnson-Isaacs (Macmillan Children's Books)
7) "Catkin the Fairy Kitten" by Clare Bevan and Cally Johnson-Isaacs (Macmillan Children's Books)
8) "Chicken Mission - The Curse of Fogsham Farm" by Jennifer Gray and Hannah George (Faber and Faber)
9) "Hungry Roscoe" by David Plant (Flying Eye Books)
10) "Harry and Lil, The Hog, The Shrew and the Hullaballoo" by Julia Copus and Eunyoung Seo (Faber and Faber)
11) "Mister Mistofelees the Conjuring Cat" by T.S. Eliot and Arthur Robins (Faber and Faber)
12) "Tim and Towser" by Edward Ardizzone (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
13) "You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus" by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman (Bloomsbury Publishing)
14) "Squishy McFluff Meets Mad Nana Dot" by Pip Jones and Ella Okstad (Faber and Faber)
15) "Beautiful Beasts" by Camilla De Le Bedoiyere (QED Publishing)
16) "Ice in the Jungle" by Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar (Child's Play)
17) "The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb (Stripes)
18) "Fuzz McFlops" by Eva Funari (Pushkin Children's Books)
19) "I Need a Wee!" by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet (Simon and Schuster)
20) "Felicity Fly Meets the Dragon Fruit and Friends" by Christina Gabbitas and Ric Lumb (Poems and Pictures)
21) "Missing Jack" by Rebecca Elliott (Lion Publishing)
22) "Deadly Creatures" (Usborne Publishing)
23) "Those Pesky Rabbits" by Clara Flood (Templar Publishing)
24) "The Great Cheese Robbery" by Tim Warnes (Little Tiger Press)
25) "The Dog Detectives in an American Adventure" by Zoa and Monika Suska (Maverick Publishing)
26) "Never Tickle a Tiger" by Pamela Butchart and Marc Boutavant (Bloomsbury Publishing)
27) "The Hide and Scare Bear" by Ivan Bates (Templar Publishing)
28) "Lemur Dreamer" by Courtney Dicmas (Templar Publishing)
29) "Tales from Acorn Wood - Rabbit's Nap" by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children's Books)
30) "Don't Chew on the Royal Slipper" by Kate Leake (Alison Green Books)

PHEW! That's quite some reading list, and I am sure there were more - but when you read 3 or 4 (or sometimes more) books a day, it's very easy to lose count.

Lucy the Poorly Puppy - Another huge favourite of Charlotte and her classmates at school.

Holly Webb's 30th Animal title "The Secret Kitten" is out now from Stripes / Little Tiger and you can find out more about Holly's "Animal Stories" range on the Little Tiger website.