There's a real surge of interest in relatively unknown but still classic children's books...and Pikku Publishing has picked up the rights to reprint some real corkers...

Oooh we do love a gorgeous and pretty book, but one that's full of depth, history and a brilliant look at one of Science's true pioneers? Sign us up!

Here's a quirky and hilarious new children's picture book that asks a very important question. Is it really that great being a penguin?

Atmospheric and lovely - two good ways to describe "Home in the Rain"...

It was quiet...almost too quiet. The rain beat down like a cold grey mist as a shadowy figure clad in red roughly shoved a parcel through the letterbox...

Our First Book of the Week is unshakeably cool, gloriously surreal and wonderfully odd. Meet "The Liszts"!

When Charlotte was very young and just developing her own language skills, wordless picture books were a fantastic way to let "Daddy" take a back seat and let her actually relate the tale.

Visual language - illustrations of course - are the reason that children's picture books are still such a huge draw (if you'll pardon the pun).

Even though Charlotte will firmly maintain that most picture books are 'for babies' we both still crave picture-heavy stuff. But what of wordless books? Do they still retain their magic now that Charlotte is a competent and confident reader?

We recently picked up Aaron Becker's fabulous "Journey" series where the whimsical and adventurous plot unfolds entirely without words. A female hero makes her way into a dreamy surreal land, tripping between 'real life' and a fantasy realm and instantly challenging the 'reader' to tell her story in their own way.

With "Journey", "Quest" and "Return" forming the trilogy, we were on the edge of our seats as the adventure opened out. Moments of peril, of triumph, plotted in such a fantastic way once again let Charlotte firmly tell me her own interpretation of the tale - and if there's one thing all adults need to learn, listening to your child let rip with their imagination is one of the most splendid pleasures you can enjoy when they're young.

Wordless picture books are of course a huge benefit to children who aren't confident readers, or indeed adults who lack the confidence to read aloud to their kids for one reason or another. I have nothing but huge admiration for authors and illustrators who can 'script' a story in wordless form, where the emphasis is placed firmly on the visual language being universally 'translatable' to the point where even with some wiggle room for your own interpretation of the plot, the characters and the audience will arrive at their destination conveying a solid message.

I think we've seen one or two instances where the wordless picture book format has been stretched far too thin, perhaps too open to a wider perspective, where the tale's track gets obfuscated and lost but it's a rare thing and I think once authors and illustrators get used to the fact that their storytelling medium will not feature words, merely pictures, they can really start to have fun with the format and let their own imaginations go to town on it.

I thoroughly recommend Aaron's books if you haven't already encountered them, and of course we're always interested to hear your own wordless book recommendations in the comments below.

Newly released by QED Publishing are a glorious pair of Natural History titles that encourage little ones to explore, create and investigate.

Planet Earth is an amazing place to live and these first two titles in the "What on Earth?" range explore the power of the wind, and the power of water.

So let's take a look at the first one - which covers the mystical power of the wind. Harnessed for centuries by humans as a power source (we are lucky enough to live near a couple of amazing windmills that are still operational and there's no better sight on a windy day than to see the sails gently turning) the book teaches children what the wind is, how it forms, and what it can be used for.

Through practical experiments and fun activities, kids can find out for themselves what happens when wind hits the sails of a paper windmill or indeed how animals and birds, plants and trees use the wind to their own advantage.

Also in the "What on Earth?" series is "What on Earth? Water" again by Isabel and Paulina.

This time the book focuses on the planet's water. With two-thirds of the planet's surface covered in oceans, it's a fascinating look at how water is vital to our lives, how water is again used as a power source, and how creatures in our rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans use water as a habitat, a hunting ground and an amazing place to live.

The quality and presentation of both books is extremely high. Both are small enough for easy handling by youngsters, and each topic is presented with a ton of amazing facts and interesting points for a wide range of ages, encouraging children to take part in experiments and activities of their own to find out more.

We're always championing really great quality non-fiction titles on the blog and both Charlotte and I really enjoyed these two.

"What on Earth? Wind" and "What on Earth? Water" by Isabel Thomas and Paulina Morgan are out now, published by QED (Kindly supplied for review)

If there's one thing children love to see more than anything else in a picture book, it's actually themselves...

Roll up, roll up for the greatest dino-spectacular on earth. A fantastic "Day at the Dinosaur Museum"...