Here's a fantastic book that serves rather a brilliant dual purpose - both as an informative non-fiction book showing how we share our immediate world with some of the most amazing animals on the planet, and also how you can develop a love for language through the use of various different types of poetry.

In "Wild in the Streets: 20 Poems of City Animals" by Marilyn Singer and Gordy Wright, prepare to meet some truly amazing animals who have taken back their territories from humankind - explored in a lyrical, playful and wholly absorbing way through verse.

This beautifully illustrated book pairs poetry with nonfiction, telling the fascinating stories of these animal species, from the pythons traveling Singapore's sewers to the monkeys living in India's temples and cities, running cheeky raids on market stalls and homes when owners forget to secure their goodies. 

Make way for Ella May! No, really, you see in "Ella May Does it HER Way" by Mick Jackson and Andrea Stegmaier you'll meet a little girl who really does love to cut an unusual figure as she weaves her way through the town.

It all started out when Ella May's usual dinner was replaced with something rather strange, something she hadn't seen before.

"Try it" her mum urges her. She does, and discovers that perhaps trying new things isn't as bad as all that after all.

In fact...Ella May discovers the joys of a backwards world. She walks upstairs backward, she climbs backwards into bed, she even reads her books backwards (we tried this with this actual book to see if it revealed the secrets of the universe, but sadly it was not to be).

Ella May is a fab character though, a little bit kooky, a bit crazy, but our kind of crazy. Let's take a look inside the book:

I have to say, if this was our house, Ella would probably have had a massive tantrum when asked to eat some new weird foodstuff she hadn't seen before

We've recently blogged about a need for children's books to remove the requirement to deliver a moral - but Mick and Andrea have created something that feels like an entertaining romp without too much of that going on, just a simple message that we should all try new things and maybe look at the world in a different way.

Kids - don't try climbing up the stairs backwards at home.

A fun quirky story full of appeal, and the illustrations are lovely, don't you agree?

Love the bouncy intro to this one

Sum this book up in a sentence: A simple and joyful story about trying new things, and what it's like to be an imaginative kid with a world of possibilities opening up before you.

"Ella May Does it Her Way" by Mick Jackson and Andrea Stegmaier is out now, published by Words and Pictures (kindly supplied for review). 

What would you do with the elephant in the room?

One set of nursery school kids find out in the adorable "Humperdink, our Elephant Friend" by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander.

Playtime at the nursery is always awesome, but one little girl discovers that she loves to play games that the other kids don't.

She has a daring streak and loves rough and tumble games but when Humperdink the baby elephant joins the children’s playgroup, he seems friendly enough, but it soon becomes clear that he’s not very good at the usual games the children play, like dressing up or hide-and-seek.

When he breaks the children’s favourite slide, everyone feels sad.

But with a little patience and understanding the children soon discover that Humperdink is good at some things – especially if they use their imaginations – leading to a riotously fun conclusion.

There are lots of neat little touches to this story, acceptance and learning that sometimes playing games others prefer rather than pushing your own choices can reap rewards, and maybe gain you a new friend or two (elephant shaped or otherwise!)

Sum this book up in a sentence: Sean Taylor makes storytelling look easy in this rather delightful little tale, perfectly complimented by Claire Alexander's characterful and gorgeous illustrations.

"Humperdink Our Elephant Friend" by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander is out now, published by Words and Pictures (kindly supplied for review). 

What makes the perfect bedtime picture book? Shhh, and we'll tell you...!

It's quite often disappointing to see new non-fiction books about animals feature the same species over and over again...

Wow! Words and Pictures are really spoiling us this Autumn with some really amazing Natural History titles...

Here's a truly splendid non-fiction title that demonstrates how various animals evolved from their ancient counterparts...

With a dazzling and colourful cover to match the amazing plant species within, here's an original and fascinating non-fiction title from Words and Pictures...

"Manners maketh the Man" or so the saying goes. But what of the duck?!

Tigers are fairly simple creatures aren't they? They get up, stalk through the jungle, catch unwitting prey and spend a substantial part of the day snoozing, right?

Beautifully combining the story of a young child's imagination with a huge homage to grandparents everywhere, let's step into Joy!

Have you ever had a brilliant idea for a labour-saving gadget or wanted to invent something that could change the world...?

Rarely has a book caused such a fuss and provoked such a quandary as this one. Prepare for a brutally honest review as demanded by "The Boss"...

As soon as the calendar turns over for December, we're longing for Snow (though it's not much fun to try and commute through, it is lovely to imagine that the dusty cobweb-covered old sledge in the loft might get some action this year).

Imagine being tiny again, and looking out your window at the flurries and drifts of snow, and all the endless possibilities for fun that can be had.

That's what Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander perfectly capture in our Booky Advent Calendar book for Day 10, "The Snowbear".

Snow comes in the middle of the night, and Iggy and Martina can't wait to get out in it and make a snowbear.

Beautiful snowy landscapes and the sort of story that pinches your cheeks with that frisson of winteryness. Love it!

Oh my! A moment of danger and excitement.

Such beautiful characterful artwork to underpin a story that's destined to become a christmas classic

Time for an amazing animal book, this time one for younger readers who love learning about all the different species right across the planet...

Here's a very neat little moral message story that feels absolutely relevant and timely...

Who knows what lurks in the deep dark jungle? This lushly illustrated book will definitely offer some clues

This one's a sheer delight, with a bit of history to it (which just makes us love it even more), Joyce Dunbar and Claire Fletcher's "Tibs the Post Office Cat"...

"Oh no, another baby book!" wailed Charlotte as we unwrapped this one for review. But never, ever EVER judge a book by its cover, little one!

Our second Book of the Week poses a rather fascinating question to curious little kids - Do you know what's going on right beneath your feet right now?