BAKER-SMITH, GRAHAME FArTHER
Templar (Ages 8+)
ISBN: 97848771260

Father's house is safe and rooted in the rock. Inside however, he dreams of flight, and tries to make the perfect machine that will let him take to the air. Then, another call claims him and he never returns. But dreams can be passed from father to son, and become possible once again.

This is a clever picture book with a dream-like quality. It is beautifully designed with a wealth of detail, conveying dark emotions, storms of war and weather, and a powerful sense of loss and bereavement.

BROWNE, ANTHONY ME AND YOU
Doubleday (Ages 4+)
ISBN: 9780385614894

In this fresh take on the Goldilocks story, a girl comes into a little bear's house, eats his porridge, breaks his chair and falls asleep in his bed. When she runs away, he is left wondering who on earth she was.

This multi-layered work creates a modern fable from the familiar story, contrasting the fairy tale world of the bears, with the realism of the world Goldilocks inhabits. A simple text is combined to great effect with a striking use of light and shade, using sepia and brighter tones to evoke a response in everyone, as all good picture books should do.

GRAHAM, BOB APRIL UNDERHILL TOOTH FAIRY
Walker (Ages 5+)
ISBN: 9781406321555

Young tooth fairies, April Underhill and her sister Esme don't do tooth visits yet. They're too youngÉor are they? When a boy's grandma calls April on her mobile to request them specially, they must persuade their parents that they are up to the job.

A delightful and humorous story with a contemporary edge, which explores themes of identity and friendship. Graham makes great use of line from the endpapers and title page onwards, also employing light and colour to highlight the action effectively throughout. The wealth of background detail will absorb young readers.

GREY, MINI (text by Hilaire Belloc) JIM
Jonathan Cape (Ages 6+)
ISBN: 9780224083676

"There was a Boy whose name was Jim; His Friends were very good to him". The cautionary tale of Jim who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a Lion.

In this book full of treasures, Grey has reinterpreted Belloc for the 21^st century in a very memorable way, bringing a perceptive understanding to his rebellious text. Her illustrations really bring out the humour of the original in a variety of styles, but with coherence and wit throughout, covers and endpapers included. Grey also employs filmic techniques and the idea of ephemera to great effect.

JEFFERS, OLIVER THE HEART AND THE BOTTLE
HarperCollins (Ages 5+)
ISBN: 9780007182305

Once there was a girl whose life was filled with all the wonder of the world around her. Then one day something happened that caused the girl to take her heart and put it in a safe place. After that however, things seemed emptier than before. Would she know when, and how to get her heart back?

In this moving exploration of love and bereavement, Jeffers makes great use of colour, collage and placement on the page, and the recurring images of the beach and the chair subtly convey the passing of time. The endpapers and cover beneath the dust jacket are also employed to maximum effect. The whole has great substance, and invites the reader to reflect on their own experiences.

OFTEDAL, KRISTIN (text by Carl Norac) BIG BEAR, LITTLE BROTHER
Macmillan (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781405051989

Big Bear is out on the ice, dreaming away as the wind blows gently. Suddenly a child falls from the sky, and Big Bear catches him. Together they talk, play in the snow, and protect each other when danger arrives.

With a very limited colour palette, Oftedal skilfully evokes the snowy setting of this story. Her pencil line is fantastically expressive, conveying emotion as well as fluidity and texture. And the incredible softness of the bear contrasts beautifully with the hardness of the ice.

RAYNER, CATHERINE ERNEST
Macmillan (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9780230529199

Ernest is a LARGE moose with a BIG problem.... he can't fit into his book! What is a moose to do, but enlist a little friend with some big and helpful ideas...

This is an ingenious picture book which combines excellent draftsmanship with a brilliant sense of scale and perspective. Both expression and character are well portrayed, and Rayner builds a terrific sense of anticipation in her story towards the fold-out dŽnouement, which comes as a wonderful surprise to the reader and really extends the book as a consequence.

WIJNGAARD, JUAN (text by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham) CLOUD TEA MONKEYS
Walker (Age range: 8+)
ISBN: 9781406300925

Tashi lives in a tiny village close to the plantations where her mother picks tea for a living. When her mother falls ill, Tashi tries to pick the tea herself. But she is too small to reach the tender shoots, and the cruel overseer sends her away. Just when she needs a miracle, the cloud tea monkeys arrive to provide one.

A beautiful production with a gorgeous jacket which works wonderfully well as a whole, combining Wijngaard's oil paintings and line drawings. The colours he employs are wonderfully vivid, and his use of light masterful, evoking a great sense of setting, landscape and of the heat of the day. And the monkeys are great!