When a little boy's ball disappears down a mysterious hole in the garden, he can't stop thinking about what could be down there - a little mouse's house? The lair of a hungry troll? Or maybe even a dragon's den. Whatever it may be, he's determined to find out!
The Something is a glorious imaginative adventure from Rebecca Cobb, the award-winning creator of Aunt Amelia and Lunchtime, and illustrator of The Paper Dolls, written by Julia Donaldson.
Autumn 2 - Star in the jar
An enchanting bedtime story for toddlers, perfect for fans of Oliver Jeffers' How To Catch a Star.
Up high, in the dark, dark sky . . . a message: LOST, ONE SMALL STAR.
When a little boy stumbles across a special star, he puts it in a jar and takes it on adventures. Together with his big sister, he takes his special treasure with him everywhere – to the cinema, to the swimming pool and even to the toilet!
But the poor star is sad and misses its home . . . Can the little boy and his big sister find a way to send the star safely back?
Sarah Massini's artwork glows with warmth and humour and perfectly captures the friendship between the two siblings in this warm-hearted bedtime book. Told from the perspective of the big sister, this is the perfect picture book for siblings to share and read together. The short text and warm tone is ideal for toddlers aged 2 years and up.
'A cheery, warm-hearted tale, beautifully told' – The Guardian
'Hay carefully keeps an even tone, never letting the whimsy descend into treacle and always maintaining a sense of wonder. Massini's lively and imaginative illustrations beautifully complement and enhance the text, providing additional insights into the children's activities and emotions' – Kirkus Reviews
'Perfect for sharing just before sleep but too enjoyable to be restricted to bedtime reading only' – Red Reading Hub
Sam Hay grew up in Scotland in a family of bookworms. She always wanted to be a writer and filled endless notebooks with stories and poems. She trained as a journalist in Edinburgh and went on to work in newspapers for the BBC, before deciding to move to Wales and write her first children’s book. Since then she’s had more than 30 children's books published including Do Not Wash this Bear, Princess Ice Palace and Dinosaurs United and the Cowardly Custard Pirates for Egmont UK.
Drawing has been a life-long habit for Sarah Massini which has seen her through careers in corporate design, children’s book design and now as an illustrator. She has illustrated several picture books including Books Always Everywhere, Zac and Zeb and the Make Believe Birthday Party and, most recently, a stunning edition of The Velveteen Rabbit. Sarah lives in Sussex with her husband, young son and her utterly mad terrier Tess, who keeps guard as she draws.
Spring 1 - Juniper Jupiter
Juniper Jupiter is a real-life superhero. It's no big deal. She's super brave, super fast, super strong, super smart and she can even fly, but something is missing. What is a hero without an amazing sidekick? It turns out that lots of people want to be a superhero's sidekick, but none of them are quite right. They're too big, too scratchy, too weird, too scared, or WAY too prepared… will Juniper ever find the perfect one? This is a fun and feisty story about friendship and learning to value what you already have from the winner of the 2017 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Illustrated Book Category for There's a Tiger in the Garden.
A witty twist on a favourite fairy tale, Little Red was chosen as one of The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books 2016.
Little Red Riding Hood meets a wolf on her way through the woods to visit her sick grandmother. The wolf is hungry, and Red Riding Hood looks tasty, so he hatches a dastardly plan, gobbles up Grandma and lies in wait. So far, so familiar. But this Little Red Riding Hood is not easily fooled, and this big bad wolf better watch his back. In this defiant interpretation of the traditional tale, the cheeky, brave little girl seizes control of her own story (and the wolf gets rather more than he bargained for).
The perfect gift for fans of darker fairy tales, complete with tree-shaped cover flaps that make this a sumptuous sight to behold.
Printed using rich pantone colours, the graphic illustrations in Little Red offer a bold, visually arresting interpretation of the classic story by Bethan Woollvin, the winner of The Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2014.
Summer 1 - The extraordinary Gardener
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE 2019 and longlisted for The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2019. New into paperback this spring! Joe is a boy just like any other, but Joe loves to imagine. Joe lives in a pretty ordinary tower block, in a rather ordinary city. His world is rather grey. However, he spends his time imagining a wonderful world filled with exotic plants and unusual animals. Once day Joe decides to plant a seed on his balcony, he waits and waits but nothing happens! Joe gives up and goes back to his daily life, but one day when he least expects it he spots that the seed has turned into the most beautiful tree. Joe begins caring for the tree and growing lots of other plants on his balcony and soon everyone in the neighbourhood is getting involved. A charming story about the important of nature, teaching us that if we work hard enough our dreams really can come true!
Summer 2 - The storm whale
Noi and his father live in a house by the sea, his father works hard as a fisherman and Noi often has only their six cats for company. So when, one day, he finds a baby whale washed up on the beach after a storm, Noi is excited and takes it home to care for it. He tries to keep his new friend a secret, but but there's only so long you can keep a whale in the bath without your dad finding out. Noi is eventually persuaded that the whale has to go back to the sea where it belongs. For Noi, even though he can't keep it, the arrival of the whale changes his life for the better - the perfect gift from one friend to another.