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Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The 18 best books for your kids this summer holiday
Picture Books SLEEP TIGHT, DISGUSTING BLOB by Huw Aaron (Puffin £7.99, 32pp) A monstrously original twist on a bedtime story in which Disgusting Blob is lulled to sleep with tales of how the other evil creatures are settling down: the Goblins and Glitches, the Werewolves and Witches – even Dracula has cleaned his fangs . . . Full of reassurance, humour and brilliant illustrations. WILD by Katya Balen, Illustrated by Gill Smith (Walker Books £12.99, 32pp) A little girl thrives in the wildness of the woods until her family move to the city. There she sees nothing but grey and worries she has 'lost my wild'. But even urban landscapes keep secrets and by following a bird she discovers that there is nature in everything – if you know where to look. An absolute joy. LETTERS TO A MONSTER by Patricia Forde, Illustrated by Sarah Warburton (Bloomsbury £12.99, 32pp) Sophie writes to the monster under her bed, demanding he leave or she'll call the Monster Police. But he replies to say he has already left, because of the gorilla hiding there . . . A friendship grows and Sophie realises she'd like the monster to come back. Perfect bedtime reading. GOZZLE by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Macmillan £12.99, 48pp) It's spring and a gosling hatches and believes Bear, emerging from winter sleep, is his Daddy. Nothing Bear does can shake off devoted Gozzle until summer arrives, bringing a family with whom he migrates for winter. Bear is bereft – until a lovely twist brings a happy ending. Superb. FRANK THE PIZZA by Eoin McLaughlin, Illustrated by Mike Byrne (HarperCollins £7.99, 32pp) His parents know that a little slice of pizza like Frank is too tempting, so when he's invited to a birthday party they protect him by topping him with anchovies and olives. He's shunned, until he meets Frances the cupcake, with similarly unappetising icing... Full of gourmet giggles and silliness. I COULD BE EATEN BY A SHARK by Marcela Ferreira, Illustrated by Mark Chambers (OUP £7.99, 32pp) Soothing young children's anxieties gets a clever spin in this story of Louie, terrified that he could be eaten by a shark wherever he goes – even in the park. Wise Grandpa recounts the story of the bear he feared, until he realised it was stopping him having fun. Gradually Louie gets his life back, with a delightful surprise ending. Young Fiction A MERMAID'S DIARY by Chris Riddell (Macmillan £12.99, 240pp) Sleepy Cove, home of little mermaid Atalanta, is under threat from unscrupulous developers. Outraged Atalanta gathers her 300 siblings and friends to protect the beach. Packed with puns and cultural jokes, Riddell's illustrations are stunning. Age 7+ HOW TO BE A SPY by Cecily Sawyer, Illustrated by David Tazzyman (HarperCollins £7.99, 240pp) Despite being only ten, Cecily is training to be a spy – assisted by her mouse, Mrs Maple Syrup. But when her parents go missing, Cecily's ability to code-crack and use gadgets prove vital in tracking down the gang who have taken her family. A must for every would-be 007. 8+ THE BOY WITH THE BIG DECISIONS by Helen Rutter (Scholastic £7.99, 360pp) This book gives readers the choice of where the story goes. Fred's parents make all his decisions – including his school. But Fred prefers the artistic Browtree academy, so when the bus arrives on his first day he (and you) must decide – should he pretend to be a pupil there? 8+ SCHOOL FOR FIREFLIES by Erica Gomez (Knights Of £7.99, 268pp) When friends Siddy and Zadie are enrolled in a secret, magic school, they discover both their fathers had gone there. But Siddy's dad is missing – accused of killing three former students – so when the girls find a lost diary they must use their powers to expose the enemy. Rip-roaring stuff. 9+ HIDDEN TREASURE by Jessie Burton (Bloomsbury £14.99, 320pp) During the First World War, Thames mudlark Bo finds precious jewels on the shore. But wicked Lord Muncaster demands she hand over the stones – sparking a thrilling mystery of treachery and deceit. The mystical power of grief that drives this life or death drama is deeply moving. 9+ THE BLOCKBUSTERS! by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Macmillan £12.99, 258pp) When his mum loses her job, Rafa starts a new school where an inspirational teacher takes him to watch a movie being filmed locally. His resemblance to the child star, BB, leads to him being her body double – until she disappears, and Rafa finds himself on a madcap journey to Hollywood . . . Action-packed. 9+ THE DAWN OF ADONIS by Phil Earle (Andersen Press £7.99, 240pp) This prequel to Earle's award- winning When The Sky Falls gives the backstory of how Adonis, a silverback gorilla, came to London Zoo during the Second World War. When the baby ape is born at the docks, Toff and vet's daughter Nettie fight to rescue him from Toff's boss, an evil trader in exotic pets. 9+ YA THE OTHER GIRL by Emily Barr (Penguin £8.99, 368pp) Rich, troubled teen Tabbi is heading for a Swiss rehab clinic when she meets broke backpacker Ruby on a train and persuades her to swap identities. But who is conning whom? This thriller keeps you guessing until the end. 13+ BEST OF ALL WORLDS by Kenneth Oppel (Guppy Books £14.99, 256pp) Teenage Xavier, his father and stepmother wake up to find their house transported to an isolated setting. Yet all that's needed to survive is provided. Are they trapped or protected? Then another family arrives – but the dad is determined to escape. Who knows the truth? Gripping. 13+ LIVE by Luke Palmer (Firefly £9.99, 356pp) George is the driving force of his sixth-form band, but when tragedy strikes, everyone has to find their own way through grief. Tackling hard-hitting issues of online porn and sexism, this is authentic in its portrayal of teen boys, yet ultimately uplifting. 14+ Non-fiction THERE WAS A ROMAN IN YOUR GARDEN by Bettany Hughes, Illustrated by Nathan Reed (Puffin, £8.99 224pp) Historian Bettany Hughes asks readers to imagine they have dug up Roman artefacts in their garden and explore what it was like to a be a child 2,000 years ago through things as varied as jewels and knucklebones. Fact-filled, fascinating and fun. 7+ CHOOSE YOUR OWN EVOLUTION by Jules Howard Illustrated by Gordy Wright (Nosy Crow £14.99, 112pp) The premise here is intriguing – starting with the most primitive blob, you choose the next step in an evolutionary journey to discover which creature you might develop into next. (But be careful you don't become extinct . . .) 8+
Wall Street Journal
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Children's Books: ‘Everyday Bean' by Stephanie Graegin
Stephanie Graegin uses observant lines of text and affectionate, detailed illustrations to tell 10 short stories about a tiny hedgehog named Bean in 'Everyday Bean.' Most of the tales in this humane and beguiling collection for children ages 3-7 run no longer than a handful of lines over three or four pages. In one, Bean has great success in spooking other forest creatures by pretending to be a ghost: 'I'm much better at this than I expected,' she thinks. She is looking forward to making her grandmother jump, too, but day turns to night and still Grandma (who is also a hedgehog) has not emerged from the house. Bean eventually shouts her hope that the old lady will come outside. 'Absolutely not!' Grandma shouts from inside. 'There's a ghost out there!' A ghost figures in the cavalcade of horribles summoned at bedtime in the humorous rhyming pages of Huw Aaron's 'Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob.' In most respects, this lullaby for readers ages 4-8 runs according to type, with a parent ushering a child through the stages of evening ritual—teeth-brushing, bath-taking, pajama-donning—and saying tender things at tuck-in and lights-out. The difference is that the protagonists here are heaps of green slime (with googly eyes and cheery smiles) and the characters the narrator enlists are not winsome animals or cute human children but creepy creatures such as minotaurs, mummies and vampires. 'Closed is the Cyclops's glowering eye. / Steady is the Brain's gentle throb,' we read. 'Settled and snoring is the Beast of the Moor. / Shush now, my horrible Blob.' It will not be to every parent's taste for an author to make light of demons and evil, as Mr. Aaron briefly does here, but the less finicky are likely to relish this entertaining variation on an old nursery staple. A stormy confrontation leads to domestic bliss in 'The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate,' a revival of Joy Cowley's 1984 text with new illustrations by Miho Satake. The fierce little woman, as we see her, is a redhead who lives in a house at the end of a jetty. During the day she knits and plays bagpipes. At night she enjoys listening to 'the sea breathing in and out under her door.' When a wicked pirate asks to be allowed into her home, the fierce little woman refuses to admit him. (In earlier editions, this fellow was haughty, pale and Captain Hook-ish; here he is a brawny sea dog with a dark complexion and a big gold earring.) Only when the pirate confesses his fear of the dark does the woman relent, and in short order the two are married. Happy scenes of the husband and wife later gamboling with their three children ('who are never fierce, and only sometimes wicked') give warmth and charm to this picture book for readers ages 4-6.
