Some of Maverick Publishing's greatest picture books will soon be available in a new format perfect for early readers cutting their teeth with stories and picture books and reading them on their own.

Maverick's new Early Readers range comes in a series of banded colours by ability and complexity, drawing on Maverick's awesome back catalogue of previously published picture books.

The initial range of titles includes:

"The Black and White Club" by Alice Hemming and Kimberley Scott

"A Scarf and a Half" by Amanda Brandon and Catalina Echeverri.

"Yuck said the Yak" by Alex English and Emma Levey

"Hocus Pocus Diplodocus" by Steve Howson and Kate Daubney

"Preposterous Rhinoceros" by Tracey Gunaratnam and Marta Costa.

Designed to be schoolbag-friendly, and perfect for class or home, these early readers introduce key stage reading concepts utilising Maverick's trademark colourful characters and engaging stories to make a range of early readers that are perfect for that difficult transition from listener to self-reader.

"The Black and White Club" by Alice Hemming and Kimberley Scott

"Yuck Said the Yak" by Alex English and Emma Levey.

Sharing a house with not one but TWO fussy eaters can challenge anyone's culinary skills. I seem to constantly fight a running battle with Charlotte and her mum to put some jazz and sparkle into our home cooking, but nine times out of ten I find they'd both live on pizza and pasta all day every day if I let them (very frustrating when I can whip up a mean pilaf, or put together gorgeous salads full of colour and flavour).

Young Alfie encounters a similar problem when a big hairy Yak comes to stay at his house. Yak is starving, and so Alfie goes to work in the kitchen cooking up tempting treats to feed to his new friend.

But Yak says "YUCK!" He says "YUCK!" to dinner, he even says "YUCK!" to ice cream and jelly (something that made Charlotte literally gasp in shock, surely EVERYONE loves ice cream and jelly?)

Yak has something else in mind though...so what would YOU feed to a hungry Yak (and more to the point, would you eat it yourself?)

An awesome and fun tale, and we particularly loved the texture of Emma Levey's illustrations (you can almost stroke the Yak's gorgeously thick and luxurious fur as Emma's thick oil paints lend the picture spreads an added dimension).

If you've got fussy eaters at home, you'll definitely identify with this!

Charlotte's best bit: Yak wouldn't even eat chocolate cake, tshhh!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fun read, very entertaining if you too have to put up with dietary demands from fusspots!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Maverick Books)