Warm, consoling, funny and sad, this month’s picture books offer something for every mood. From Anne Booth and Robyn Wilson-Owen, Bloom (Tiny Owl) is a story of hope, persistence and finding love in small things. Every day, a little girl speaks to a beautiful flower on her way to school, telling it how much she loves it, until the possessive gardener sends her away. Unable to understand why the flower then closes, he tries to make it bloom again – but only when he asks the girl’s advice will the flower again share its beauty. Wilson-Owen’s delicate illustrations are the perfect complement to Booth’s poetic text, with echoes of The Selfish Giant.
The tender simplicity of the tiny While We Can’t Hug (Faber), meanwhile, pairs Eoin McLaughlin’s text with Polly Dunbar’s rosy-cheeked images. Hedgehog and Tortoise, who love hugging, are not able to touch for a while – but Owl reminds them that a wave, a funny face, a letter, a shared song or a painting are wonderful ways to show love.
There is heartbreak and resolution in The Perfect Shelter (Little Tiger) by Clare Helen Welsh and Åsa Gilland, in which two sisters create a blissful den in the woods. When one sister gets ill, the other feels sad, angry, sometimes overwhelmed – but eventually they make another perfect shelter somewhere new in this hope-filled book.
John Bond’s single-minded bunny returns in Mini Rabbit Must Help (HarperCollins). Mini Rabbit is determined to post Mother Rabbit’s very important letter, but first he must pack his snack – and his slime. Will he catch the bus in time? There are eyewateringly bright landscapes, a comic series of misadventures and a final sting in the tale.
For five-plus, especially those feeling restless, the Little People Big Dreams Journal (Quarto) invites children to draw, colour and catalogue their strengths and ambitions alongside images and quotations. These include Harriet Tubman’s “Every great dream begins with a dreamer” and Muhammad Ali’s “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”
Children who like to travel via books will enjoy Maggie Li’s Big City Atlas (Pavilion), an absorbingly detailed guide to 28 world cities accompanied by a cheery penguin tour guide and boasting a nice balance of funny trivia and weightier facts.
Poetry lovers of all ages, especially those with a lunar fascination, must snap up Dom Conlon’s This Rock, That Rock (Troika). It commemorates 50 years since the Apollo 11 landing with 50 poems dedicated to the moon – dazzlingly playful and thought-provoking, with atmospheric illustrations by Viviane Schwarz.
Eight-plus readers with a taste for adventure and science will immerse themselves in the Uncommoners author Jennifer Bell’s exciting new Wonderscape (Walker). When an explosion startles Arthur, Ren and Cecily on their way to school, they don’t expect to be swept into an adventure game on a ship captained by Isaac Newton. Guided by heroes including the environmental activist Wangari Maathai and Mary Shelley, the three must play their way home in order to save their future.
From the debut author Elle McNicoll comes A Kind of Spark (Knights Of), the powerful story of an autistic girl called Addie and her determination to win a memorial for the women executed as witches in her small Scottish village. McNicoll, who is neurodivergent herself, evokes Addie’s kinship for the women who “didn’t fit” with vivid immediacy, as well as her bond with her older sister. This intensely readable little book punches well above its weight.
Finally, Kacen Callender’s poignant King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic) is a story of grief, growth and hard-won understanding. In a small Louisiana town, Kingston James is mourning his brother. Before Khalid died, he told King to cut ties with his best friend, Sandy, who had just told him he was gay. But Sandy runs away from home – and asks King to hide him. This tender novel has some breathtaking moments – not least those in which King’s father promises to support his son no matter what.
Teenagers roundup
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
by Samira Ahmed, Atom, £7.99
Khayyam is in Paris for the summer, fleeing academic and emotional disaster. When she meets Alexandre, a descendant of Dumas, she is drawn into a whirlwind romance – and a quest to solve a historical mystery. But are Alexandre’s motives all they seem? A smart, feminist holiday romance, asking some pointed questions about whose voices are honoured by history.
A Phoenix First Must Burn
edited by Patrice Caldwell, Hot Key, £7.99
A treasure-house anthology of science fiction, fantasy and magic stories centred on black women. From a novice sorcerer who unleashes killer unicorns to a girl who can stop time, and another whose heart is slowly turning to ash, the collection is filled with beauty, fierceness and excitement.
The Falling in Love Montage
by Ciara Smyth, Andersen, £7.99
After her exams, Saoirse plans to blot out her mother’s absence and her dad’s remarriage by getting drunk and kissing girls, no strings attached, until she leaves for university. But when Ruby appears, Saoirse’s resolution is tested – so they make a pact to keep things light . What could go wrong? An outrageously comic, moving debut.
Date Me, Bryson Keller
by Kevin van Whye, Penguin, £7.99
When Fairvale Academy football captain Bryson Keller accepts a dare to go out with whoever asks him, no one specifies that only girls can do the asking. Kai is not out yet, but when he finds himself fake-dating Bryson, he soon realises the real thing might be even better. But Bryson is straight – isn’t he? A featherlight romance, with weightier moments giving it conviction.
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