Our second Picture Book of the Week - and in fact our final Picture Book of the Week for 2019 once again touches on a theme that has, without a doubt, dominated the headlines and of course kidlit this year.

"PlanetRescue" by Patrick George follows other titles in the acetate-paged "Rescue" series, using a minimal word count and innovative design to allow children to make a change for the good when it comes to the environment.

Each page allows them to see one aspect of pollution or planet-affecting change and flip the page to see what could be done instead.

Engaging kids very early on when it comes to environmental issues really is the way forward (in fact we'd like to make a point that more early years books along the lines of this one are desperately needed).

A book that is both brilliant for use in early years classes to drive class projects around the environment and ecologically sound practices, and one that also uses clever observations and even a touch of deft humour to get its points across (the "eat less meat" page-flip is just superb and SO clever, have to say!)

Sum this book up in a sentence: Showing kids how to be kinder to our planet never looked more stylish and was never more cleverly executed than in this brilliant book!

"Planet Rescue" by Patrick George is out now, published by Patrick George Publishing (kindly supplied for review)

It's surreal, it's spacetastic, and it's quite unlike most of the picture books we see on the blog - Our Picture Book of the Week this week is "Taxi Ride with Victor" by Sara Trofa and Elsa Klever.

Victor isn't your ordinary everyday cabbie. In fact Victor is an intergalactic cab driver and has always wanted to be one, so he's living the dream.

The only problem is that space is big. Really big. In fact it's vast, and the mere act of popping to the shops requires more than just 'the knowledge' from this effervescent and well-meaning cabbie.

Sat Nav doesn't work in space either, so Victor quite often gets hopelessly lost.

As his customers request a particular destination, they quite often end up somewhere entirely different and unexpected. Though they dutifully pay up, Victor starts to worry that he's annoying everyone - until one particular cab ride ends in a destination he could never have dreamed of.

Poor Victor. Frustrated at his lack of navigation skills!

It feels like a bit of an odd 'message' at first, that failing miserably at your job could actually make people happy - but Victor's strange destinations for his customers often work to their advantge, and quite often they end up in a place that they probably should have requested all along (and yay to a book that considers libraries as an important destination!)

There's no left and right in space, you've gotta think in three dimensions, buddy!

As Victor realises that his customers actually quite like the adventure, he becomes what he always wished to be - a famous and amazing galactic cabbie!

We loved this book, it's completely weird and surreal, very different to our normal (some might say 'boring') picture book intake, with a wholly original story (why aren't there more children's books about cabbies?) and some really funky artwork too.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A strange, surreal and thoroughly brilliant book about that modern phenomenon, 'failing upwards' - but in this case for a character who's well meaning and cool rather than a bumbling idiot who ended up as Prime Minister!

"Taxi Ride with Victor" by Sara Trofa and Elsa Klever is out now, published by Prestel Publishing (kindly supplied for review). 

Our first book of the week this week will bring out the inner science geek in you and your kids, with a series of truly fantastic fully functioning maker projects for all ages and abilities (with quite a few requiring adult supervision, so roll up your sleeves and get stuck in!)

"Inventor Lab" with a foreword by Dr Lucy Rogers, is a superb and weighty book filled with a ton of projects designed to not only tax your brainpower, but show you something of how real-life gadgets and machines work and function.

Inside the book you'll find everything from cool noisemakers, fan-powered electronic cars, and even a remote controlled snake!

The book begins by showing you some of the most common components and tools in a maker kit, most of which can be obtained fairly cheaply (in fact some time ago we picked up a simple electronics kit for less than a tenner that had most of the electronic components listed in this book - add to that some essential tools and you'll be well on your way to making some of these).

A simple motor-powered breadboard car ready to speed off across your floor!

As we said at the top of the review, it's best to get an adult to help with some of these - as soldering and using glue guns is probably something left to responsible grown-ups, but kids will definitely enjoy helping out and they will most definitely enjoy playing with the makes once they're done.

Making a matchbox microphone

Above all, each make and experiment shows how a real-world gadget's inner workings function, a great way to teach kids about electronics and resistors, capacitors, transistors and other electronic goodies.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly brilliant 'makes' books for advanced science geeks, each of the projects is brilliantly designed to teach kids how real-world gadgets work.

"Inventor Lab" with a foreword by Dr Lucy Rogers, is out now published by Dorling Kindersley (kindly supplied for review). 

If this didn't make our "Book of the Week" slot, I'd be doing Laura Howell a huge disservice - simply because this is a book that I've heard C sniggering and snorting over for days now.

"Where's Gnasher?" by Laura, one of the Beano's best comic artists, is more than just an homage to those old "Where's Wally?" books, it's actually a piece of comic entertainment in its own right.

Subtly hidden in a ton of different scenes from everyday Beanotown life, the scruffy munchy little hound and his faithful sidekick Dennis the Menace (wait what, isn't that supposed to be the other way around?) are up to mischief.

Can you spot Gnasher in every scene?

Can you also spot other classic Beano, Dandy, Beezer and Topper characters sneaking in too?

This is an absolute delight for Beano fans, C absolutely loves the comic - but more than just spotting Gnasher, she's been constantly dragging me over to look at some new tiny little detail she's noticed in Laura's brilliant illustrations, packed to the gills with detail and hilarity.

How many classic Beano, Dandy, Topper and Beezer characters can you spot (as well as Gnasher himself!)

Absolutely guaranteed to keep your kids occupied and quiet for days, so worth the entry fee on that basis alone!

This must've been so much fun to work on!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Spot the mischievous pooch and other amazing Beano characters in this brilliant spotting book filled to the brim with chortlesome details from comics maestro Laura!

"Where's Gnasher?" by Laura Howells is out now, published by Beano / Studio Press (kindly supplied for review). 

Somehow, Bethan Woollvin's darkly delicious and thoroughly brilliant versions of classic tales have eluded our slippery grasp up until now, but we're very pleased to nominate "Hansel and Gretel" by Bethan for a well-deserved Book of the Week award, mostly because it's an absolutely brilliant read, but fully because it goes quite a long way to restoring our faith that there are agents and publishers out there who buck the trend for the usual picture book fare.

"Hansel and Gretel" doesn't begin with the wayward babes lost in the wood, instead it begins with the story of Willow the Witch, yes, she of the confectionary-based house and rather large oven.

But ah, Willow isn't the evil old hag depicted in the usual versions of Hansel and Gretel. In fact Willow is a good witch, good to a fault because when she first meets the twins, they are disrupting the quiet and peaceful forest by throwing breadcrumbs willy nilly about the place.

Anxious to avoid a nasty situation where those crumbs attract rats and pigeons back to her lovely gingerbread cottage, Willow befriends the two, and takes them back to her house - where they rather rudely begin nibbling at its roof and walls! OH NO!

That's a lovely tasty lookin' house you've got there, shame if anything happened to it *munch*

Willow is a good witch though, so rather than blasting the twins to kingdom come with her wand, she takes them in and gives them a slap up feed instead.

Replete, the two aren't quite finished trouble-making just yet - and when they find the witch's wand, things go from bad to worse!

No lashings of ginger beer spotted, but that most definitely is a slap-up feast!

Willow, her patience tested to the very limit, has had enough! So what happens next?

Oh you just know what we're going to say. You'll have to read the book to find out. We've waited ages to get on board the Bethan Woollvin story train, and we're glad to be aboard. She has an exquisite gift for tweaking, teasing and twisting well loved fairy tales into subtly dark tales of comeuppance. If you've lost faith that nasty people in the world get their just desserts in the end, this book may just restore some of that faith indeed. There are very few author-illustrators who 'get' exactly what kids love when it comes to subversion (Kate Beaton is the other author-illustrator who springs to mind, and I dearly hope she's back and writing for kids very soon now she's got a little smasher of her own). But oh Bethan, you've won us over. Like we said on Twitter, no one draws a sly side eye like you!

Sum this book up in a sentence: An absolutely brilliant, nay definitive version of the classic Hansel and Gretel tale shot through with a brilliant dark heart and an utterly satisfying ending.

"Hansel and Gretel" by Bethan Woollvin is out now, published by Two Hoots Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Our Second Book of the Week this week is a truly stunning delve underneath our own skins, in what has swiftly become our favourite of the fantastic "Welcome to the Museum" books.

"Anatomicum" by Dr Jennifer Z. Paxton and Katy Wiedemann peels back our outer layers for a look inside our truly amazing bodies.

From our skeletons through to our vital organs, our skin, our eyes, our teeth and our ears we are truly amazing - as are our bodies.

In this luxurious book, Jennifer has produced thoroughly intelligent and thought-provoking text to work alongside Katy's amazing anatomical illustrations, making this book feel like a classic Victorian anatomy book brought bang up to date in colour and detail.

As you've come to expect from the "Welcome to the Museum" series, you have front row seats in an exploration of our bodies, from the sublime to the grisly, the functional to the truly amazing.

Let's take a look inside at some of the gorgeous page spreads...

Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance? Because he had no body to go with!

Clearly labelled illustrations, with accompanying text that piques children's curiosity, this is a stunning piece of work indeed.

Ooch, me Alvioli!

Sum this book up a sentence: A fabulous, truly luxurious book about our bodies, inside and out, and our favourite addition to the "Welcome to the Museum" series.

"Anatomicum" by Dr Jennifer Z. Paxton and Katy Wiedemann is out now, published by Big Picture Press / Wellcome Collection (kindly supplied for review). 

We've recently been musing on Twitter about the sheer quality of picture book releases we're seeing now that the chilly autumn breeze is once more upon us. There's definitely something comforting about cosying up with a picture book together as the weather turns colder, and what better book to cosy up with than a delightful and thoroughly original mighty-girl-and-dino tale.

"The Girl and the Dinosaur" by Hollie Hughes and Sarah Massini is the sort of book we've been hoping to see more of - one where the "quiet kids" get their chance to shine, and become heroes of their own stories - rather than a story that just blares loudly that you need to be charismatic and outspoken to get on in life.

The "Quiet kid" in this story is a little girl called Marianne (and if you haven't already fallen in love with her purely from the cover pic and hearing her name for the first time, you most certainly will by the end of this story). Marianne doesn't really play much with the other kids, but she's often seen scouring the beach near her home.

She's looking for something special - Dinosaur bones. But not just your ordinary everyday fossils, she wants to collect enough to build a very special friend indeed.

As she slips into a blissful sleep one night, she first wishes with all her might that her dream might just come true. Her wish - to meet and befriend an amazing dinosaur companion to go on adventures with. 

Oh we're complete and utter suckers for books like this, and so this week's second book of the week is none other than "Strange but True: 10 of the World's Greatest Mysteries Explained" by Kathryn Hulick and Gordy Wright.

Mostly through my influence, C has latched on to books about the unexplained, strange phenomena, ghosts, UFOs, bigfoot and the like.

It used to be difficult to source books for kids on these weird and 'out there' subjects, but it's got a lot better in recent years, with publishers swiftly realising theres gold in them thar unexplained hills after all.

This book is superb, going into fine detail about a huge and diverse range of subjects from alien abductions, strange disappearances, zombies, monsters of the deep and of course what book about mysteries would be complete without a Sasquatch or two.



Using real-life accounts, brilliantly detailed illustrations (no grisly photos though, boo hiss! Most kids books seem to miss out on the photos these days) and a thoroughly researched scientific attempt to explain each case, this is scintillating reading and the perfect entry point if you've been struggling to find kid-friendly books that aren't too gruesome, grisly or disturbing but cover the world's greatest weird phenomena.



Sum this book up in a sentence: Truly mind blowing mysteries ready to be cogitated over in this fab book for kids.

"Strange but True" by Kathryn Hulick and Gordy Wright is out now, published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Imagine all the places words have taken you in your lifetime. If you're an avid reader, you know instinctively that somewhere out there in the world are avid writers who are anxious to tell you their story, in their own words, in their own style.

In "A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks" by Alice Faye Duncan and Xia Gorgon, a little girl grows up in the south side of Chicago, not quite knowing that her stories will one day hold the world in thrall - but knowing that she truly loves writing, and feels that she has a voice that is strong, funny, and perhaps could just change the world's views.

Gwendolyn began to write poetry from an early age, always encouraged by her parents in her creative pursuits (so how could we not love a book that celebrates that very thing we wish more parents would do when they have creative kids).

Gwendolyn Brooks realised her dream, and became a hugely well respected and well loved writer of stories and poetry.

She ultimately published 20 books of poetry, two autobiographies, and one novel, and was the first black author to win the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in writing.

Beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated, it will absolutely draw you in, this one!

Following Gwendolyn's lead, Alice Faye Duncan has put together a gently lilting and lyrical story of Gwendolyn's life, and the important moments that shaped her as a world-renowned talent.

Even from an early age, Gwendolyn's creative mind was constantly racing

Sum this book up in a sentence: A gorgeous biographical picture book of one of America's most talented black writers, brought to stunning life by a fabulously creative duo.

"A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks" by Alice Faye Duncan and Xia Gordon is out now, published by Sterling Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).

Our third book of the week, yes third, once again dips into the Disney archives for a brilliant adaptation of a movie that didn't just break box office records, it completely destroyed them!

"Frozen (Disney Animated Classics)" begins with a foreword from production designer Lisa Keene, one of the many, many talented individuals who worked on this amazing movie.

You'll probably be a tiny teeny bit familiar with Disney's version of The Snow Queen - a classic tale but given Disney's usual amazing story treatment, turning it into a complete phenomenon.

The story of sisters Anna and Elsa is so well known that most kids can probaby rattle it out by heart. Their lives tinged with early tragedy as an accident imbues Elsa with mystical icy powers, before both their parents are lost at sea, the movie chronicles their lives as they become queen and princess in a kingdom in an icy grip, with nefarious ne'er do wells ready to sieze power at a moment's notice.

As the movie's sequel begins to build momentum, this is a truly beautiful book filled once again with those gorgeous production and design illustrations, showing off the amazing talent at Disney studios.

Baby Anna is so cute, and Olaf steals every scene

Sum this book up in a sentence: Definitely one you won't want to let go!

"Frozen (Animated Classics)" by Studio Press / Disney Studios is out now

Oh these two! They always hit us in the funny bone with all their books, and if you've loved their previous brilliant stories (such as "The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer") then you're in for a real treat with our Picture Book of the Week choice this week, the fabulous "Grown Ups Never Do that!" by Benjamin Chaud and Davide Cali.

One of my favourite phrases is "I used to be a people person, but people pretty much ruined that for me" and this book gives you a hilarious - if slightly depressing insight into all the things that adults spend ages and ages nagging kids about not doing, then go ahead and do themselves - quite often on a regular basis.

Humans (particularly adults) you see are a useless lot when it comes down to an analysis of their behaviour.

They're bratty and spoilt.

They throw tantrums.

They're horribly, horribly clumsy.

They cry!

Hands up those adults among you who have ever walked into a lamp-post while gazing lovingly at your phone.

This book gleefully pokes fun at us all, but does at least come round to a wonderfully positive ending. But if you're a kid, and you've ever been moaned at almost daily, this is like sweet, sweet revenge!

Oops! Temper temper!

We love how there are usually hapless kids in each page spread, looking on agog as their 'grown ups' misbehave in the most spectacular ways.

Lego. On the floor. Worse than bear traps!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Utterly brilliant, poking fun at adults - who are supposed to be the ones setting an example to their kids.

"Grown Ups Never Do That!" by Benjamin Chaud and Davide Cali is out now, published by Chronicle Children's Books (kindly supplied for review)

Do you ever get that "Rabbit in the Headlights" moment whenever anyone asks you what you want to be when you grow up? C changes her mind on an almost daily basis - and to be honest I still don't have a clue either.

But think outside the box with the fantastic "Incredible Jobs you've (probably) Never Heard Of" by super-talented Natalie Labarr.

Natalie uses a goodly dose of humour, truly fabulous illustrations - but an entirely non-fiction approach to gathering together some of the wildest and wackiest jobs on the planet.

Fancy being someone who has to sniff-test everything that will go on space missions, to make sure the items are not too whiffy and distracting for astronauts? Yep that's an actual job.

Or better still, someone who colour-coordinates people's lives if they have absolutely no colour sense of their own (dear lord, I think I need to hire this person!)

Perhaps someone who babysits baby Sloths? That sounds exactly like the sort of job C would love to do.

You'll find all these and more in a gorgeous large-format hardback packed with amusing and cartoonish illustrations, but real actual things you can do instead of the usual aspirations in life. I mean who wants to be a boring YouTube Streaming Superstar when you can be a waterslide tester or a matress jumper instead?

Sum this book up in a sentence: A fabulous book of the week that will offer tons of inspiration if you're the sort of person (like us) who has no idea what they want to be when they enter the world of work.

"Incredible Jobs you've (probably) Never Heard of" by Natalie Labarre is out now, published by Nosy Crow (kindly supplied for review).

We've seen a fair few amazing adaptations of "The Legend of Monkey: Journey to the West" and other Monkey chronicles, but none as gorgeous as "Kai and the Monkey King" by Joe Todd-Stanton.

In fact it's almost unfair to describe this as another Monkey chronicle, because it's really the tale of a mighty girl and her adventurous mother who end up with a most difficult quest - to defeat a gigantic monster that intimidates a local village every year.

Kai is restless and feels she's ready for battle, but Mum is far more sensible - and instead of heading straight to the armoury, Mum goes to the library.

Kai doesn't realise that sometimes you need to do a bit more than run into battle, a bit of research is required but she soon becomes restless - and when her mum banishes her to the other side of the library so she can concentrate, Kai discovers a mysterious tome that speaks of the captured Monkey King.

This undefeatable warrior is currently imprisoned, so Kai decides to free him and enlist his help in defeating the gigantic fiery beast.

Monkey is arrogant and full of himself, so eventually Kai realises that perhaps this rather aloof simian might not be that much help after all. Will Kai somehow have to defeat the monster alone, or will someone else leap in and save the day at the last minute?

We've not read previous adventures in Joe's amazing "Brownstone Mythical Collection" but we very much want to, now we've devoured this amazing book. Once again it's clear that Flying Eye / NoBrow not only has a knack for finding the most amazing artistic talent on the planet, but they produce some of the most gorgeous picture books - that stretch the medium to the very limit, truly lovingly produced and crafted.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Again, as with Luke Pearson's "Hilda" series, if you're looking for picture books to bat someone around the head with when they assume that PBs are "for babies", this will do nicely.

"Kai and the Monkey King" by Joe Todd-Stanton is out on 1st October 2019, published by Flying Eye Books / NoBrow Press (kindly supplied for review).

We just can't get enough of the amazing books that have arrived, Autumn is definitely our favourite time of year for book releases - and there are just so many books that deserve top honours. So with that, here's a book that pulls rather a nice little bait-and-switch on you as you begin reading.

In "The Misadventures of Frederick" by Ben Manley and Emma Chichester Clark" you'll meet the titular young boy who lives a life of quiet and protected bliss. At first you might be mistaken for thinking this is a book about over-protective parenting. But as you read, and re-read this one you pick up the delicious visual clues that tell you that Frederick is, for want of a better way of describing him, a happy go lucky klutz (see if you can spot the crutch propped against a wall, or even the big blaring clue on the cover of Fred penning a letter and spilling ink all over everything).

Frederick's mother tends to like to keep an eye on him to ensure he doesn't get into more trouble. So the poor fellah spends a lot of time mooching around in his room, making his own entertainment.

That is, until, a little girl comes along who loves to play outdoors, go on adventures, and wants a friend to join her in her games. She spies Frederick while playing, and comes up with an ingenious way to catch is attention, inviting him to come outside.

Frederick knows though that his mother would definitely NOT approve (and sure enough she very quickly puts the kybosh on Frederick's plans to escape).

Frederick is SO bored though. Why should he spend all his time indoors, leading a sheltered life when there's so much more to do outside - and a new friend to play with?

Frederick's mum is a bit over-protective to say the least (ooh, almost a cameo from Plumdog there, has he changed colour?)

All the toys in the world can't make up for being stuck in the house without a friend

Our Second Book of the Week should appeal to those of you who know your Meeple from your Exploding Kitten! Super-fab board game experts Kevan Davis and Viviane Schwarz have created the ultimate maker project book for those of us who love to shake a dice or spin a spinner in our spare time.

"Board Games to Create and Play" is the sort of book that's designed to be pulled apart, scribbled on and turned into something truly amazing (I know, it's not easy for us to wreck gorgeous books - but this one positively begs you to!)

Inside, Kevan and Viviane have given you all the information and templates you'll need to start building your own games - and a ton of superb ideas covering just about any subject you can think of basing your game on.

"Cobweb Castle" - A superb example game to get you started with ace ideas!

Game design is educational, teaching kids valuable lessons about building rule sets, structural construction of the actual game / play pieces (if you really want to go all-out to create something super!) but also about building something that's fun to play, even downright sneaky and tactical if you're so inclined.

The example games are fab fun to just play through as well, if you're not feeling creative. But once you've dived into this book you'll find the perfect entry point - not just for board gaming, but for making your own - which is durned exciting stuff in itself.

An introduction to game design and what you'll need.

It's a truly brilliant timesink - and it's definitely going to be something we'll spend a lot of time with as we're absolute board game fanatics. In fact if you want to find out how our first game design went, check out our accompanying article here!

We really can't recommend this book highly enough and can't wait to start building our next game! Thanks Kevan and Viviane, you've come up (top) trumps with this one!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A superb jumpstart kit for would-be board game designers, or just folk who love playing games from a truly amazing creative team!

"Board Games to Create and Play" by Kevan Davis and Viviane Schwarz is out on 3rd October 2019, published by Pavilion Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Our Second Book of the Week sees a fabulous illustrator taking his own storytelling journey in a tale that's got a lovely twist at the end.

"Small in the City" by Sydney Smith shifts away from his glorious collaboration with Joanne Schwartz ("Town is by the Sea", a previous Book of the Week winner) into the dense and noisy environs of a huge metropolis.

A small child makes their way through the hustle and bustle of the city, with a hidden narrator detailing the various landmarks and places that there are to discover there.

It sounds like a simple setup, but your brain works overtime on this book, simultaneously soaking up Sydney's utterly brilliant and atmospheric visualisation of a modern city - all skyscrapers, busy humans, traffic and noise - alongside those more ethereal moments, quiet corners where vents gout sweet smelling steam into the street, or a lone plastic bag billows in a twisted tree like a macabre totem to modern life.

The child's eye view of the city is mesmerising - but the neat twist the book pulls towards the end really draws you in, and practically begs you to go through the story again with your new-found knowledge.

Everything looks huge when you're a kid.

Sydney is an incredible artist, using a really gorgeous ink-line style with simple washes to sometimes convey the way cities look grey and washed out, but always pulling the eye back to tiny details in each page spread. We loved the way the actual text doesn't kick in straight away - there's no need for it, the visuals speak for themselves so when the narrative does begin, it does so with good reason.

Tiny pockets of nature manage to break through the urban landscape

To some extent, it feels like 2019 has saved all its best picture book work for the last quarter of the year - as ever! This is sublime, and it's obviously going to be a shoe-in for all sorts of awards. Again, a prime example of a children's picture book you can shove under the nose of anyone who doesn't believe PBs are for everyone, regardless of age - as this story really works on just about every level for kids and adults alike (in fact it's very reminiscent of a lot of high-end graphic novels in that respect).

Not to be missed!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Utterly and completely sublime storytelling from someone who doubles up as storyteller and visualist with ease and aplomb.

"Small in the City" by Sydney Smith is out now, published by Walker Books (kindly supplied for review). 

The usual September bookapocalypse has descended on us with mighty force, meaning that this week we just had to squeeze in one more extra-special "Book of the Week" winner. A book that quite literally took our breath away.

"Lights on Cotton Rock" by David Litchfield once again proves that just about everything David turns his hand to ends up being kidlit gold.

In fact, this book might well have usurped "The Bear and the Piano" as our fave DL book yet.

The story begins with a young girl, who (rather like me as a kid) spends a lot of time gazing up at the night sky. Is there anybody out there in the inky void of space? Are we truly alone in the universe?

Heather believes there are others out there, and maintains a nightly vigil. One night she uses her torch to blast signals out into the night sky, and it seems someone was watching - as a vast colourful spacecraft descends into the quiet forest glade - something Heather has wished for since she was a little girl.

But despite this world-shattering event, it's all over far too soon - and the spacecraft leaves once again. Will the spaceship ever come back? And if it does, will Heather be ready to leave everything she has on earth behind?

Where to start with this one. I mean, you could start with the amazing expressions on Heather's face as her deepest wish comes true - only to be cruelly taken away from her, leaving her wondering if she'd dreamed the whole thing.

You could continue as Heather lives out her earth-bound life...continuing on despite the amazing thing that happened to her. Growing old, having a family of her own, but still gazing up at the stars and hoping.

You could also talk about "that bit" - which we really don't want to ruin for you - where Heather makes a decision that underlines and underpins the whole point of the story in such a beautifully emotive and heartfelt way.

Or you could just go on, and on, and on, and on about how utterly stunning and beautiful this book is. I don't think there are any other illustrators working in children's picture books who have such a delicious and brilliant artistic way of working with light and dark the way David does, and his character expressions are just *chef's kiss*. It's like a gorgeous homage to movies I loved as a kid, spliced perfectly with a bang-up-to-date core message about the things that end up meaning more to us than the things we sometimes break ourselves in half wishing for.

Just so, so good!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Honestly, picture books like this don't come along very often so grab this one with both hands, it's truly out of this world.

"Lights on Cotton Rock" by David Litchfield is out now, published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Sorry, bit of a double-header of Picture Book of the Week noms for books about grief and loss this week, perhaps it's the turning of the seasons but there's something slightly sombre about September, no?

But this one, oh this one we could not let slip by without a Book of the Week win - the divine "Rabbit and the Motorbike" by Kate Hoefler and Sarah Jacoby.

Rabbit likes to play it safe in life. Never straying from the comfortable confines of his farm, Rabbit isn't what you'd call an adventuresome sort - but his best friend, dog, most certainly is.

Dog may be gettting on in years, but has spent his life on the road, always eager to explore on his motorbike and see what's over the rise of the next hill.

Rabbit loves hearing about Dog's adventures, almost living vicariously through Dog's amazing life stories - until that sad day when dog's days are up, and there are no more stories to tell.

Rabbit's life is simple and safe, no need for adventures

Rabbit discovers that Dog has left him his leathers, helmet and motorbike in his will. But that's not about to change Rabbit's ways. Even though he misses his best friend dearly, the motorbike begins to gather dust and rust, and the leathers and helmet are dutifully tucked away. Yes there is a road to travel but Rabbit is still reluctant to go on any kind of adventure, full stop!

Dog's motorbike sits unused. But it plays on Rabbit's mind...

I don't think we've ever encountered a children's picture book that deals with loss and grief in this way, turning Rabbit's story from one of sorrow into one where he slowly begins to come round to Dog's way of thinking, and dog's legacy of willing his friend to go on adventures is just too tempting a lure to pass up forever.

So will Rabbit ever venture off down the road?

We loved how this was written, the gentle coda reminding us that Rabbit isn't just stubbornly set in his ways, and Dog, his dear departed friend, obviously saw something in this flop-eared fellah that Rabbit himself didn't even realise.

So much more than just another children's book about loss and grief, this is about the healing process too, and where we go from the point where we lose a loved one so dear to us. Utterly, breathtakingly beautiful stuff.

Sum this book up in a sentence: There is adventure out there, and it's there for the taking, if only we can be brave enough!

"Rabbit and the Motorbike" by Kate Hoefler and Sarah Jacoby is out now, published by Chronicle Books (kindly supplied for review)

Time for yet another "WOW" book from those lovely folk over at Book Island, again combining the considerable talents of Anna Castagnoli and Carll Cneut (with translation by Laura Watkinson).

"The Golden Cage" is exactly the sort of brilliant tale we want to see more of in children's picture books, one that doesn't slather on the moral message at its heart like too much butter on too little bread - but one that weaves a story world that is enticing, captivating and draws you straight in (again, largely thanks to Anna's utterly amazing writing style and Carll's truly sumptuous and luxurious illustrations.

The story centres around Valentina, the Emperor's daughter who is a rather spoiled and over-privileged girl. She wants for nothing, yet sends her servants off around the world to collect all manner of birds of all shapes and sizes, colours and hues.

Despite her amazing collection one type of bird completely eludes her grasp.  A bird that talks.

Her long-suffering servants search far and wide to fulfill her impossible quest - and she beheads those who fail.

In Valentina’s palace, heads roll every day! Will the golden cage ever be filled?

We won't spoil the end, suffice to say that Valentina might just learn her lesson. If you adored Carll's illustrations for the gorgeous "The Witch Fairy" (written by Brigitte Minne) you know what to expect with the amazingly details panels in "The Golden Cage" - truly a feast of a book.

We're always instantly attracted to new picture books that have a bit of quirkiness and eccentricity about them, particularly if they present something original and fun.

"The Inner Child" by Henry Blackshaw absolutely sings out to all those parents who (like me) love messing around with lego with their kids, or getting messy with finger painting, or (ahem) love new toys and gadgets and absolutely MUST have them.

Henry's fun book presents this as a self-help manual for kids, informing them of a fact they may have completely missed. Inside every adult there is also a child - and quite often that child springs out at unexpected moments.

Sometimes our inner child expresses our fears and anxieties (but honestly, who could possibly be scared of such adorable kitty cats as the ones in this book?)

Sometimes people's inner children are horrible shouty poopy-butted monsters (again as deftly demonstrated by Henry in this book).

But above all, now and again, it's good to let our inner kids go on the rampage a bit. Have fun, enjoy life, and enjoy the world - you only get one shot at this so even if you get a second chance at enjoying a second childhood, you grumpy adults, just do that thing! A philosophy we can all get behind!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A quirky, original and brilliantly presented story of how we adults aren't always quite as grown up as we pretend to be.

"The Inner Child" by Henry Blackshaw is out now, published by Cicada Books (kindly supplied for review).