One thing which struck me immediately on surveying the books on offer for children this Christmas is the large number which are really toys, with only a minor bookish element. Walker Books have produced several of these this year. Cars by Robert Crowther (£12.99) boasts moveable pop-ups of cars ancient and modern, with realistic detail and turning wheels, from the Mini to the Bluebird, culminating in a full fold-out model of a Formula 1 racetrack. There is an informative text, but it is definitely subordinate to the models.
The same is true of Gladiators by Toby Forward, illustrated by Steve Noon, (£16.99). This includes a book about the Roman games, but the main attraction is the spectacular pop-up model of the Colosseum. Also by Walker Books and aimed at girls is Swan Lake by Jean Mahoney, illustrated by Viola Ann Seddon, (£14.99). Again there is a story booklet, but this time the reader can create her own theatre, complete with backdrops, dancers and a CD of the music.
Even the reissue of Judith Kerr’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea (HarperCollins, £12.99) includes a china tea-set. Although all these books, produced in China, are extremely good value, it is as if publishers are losing confidence in the power of the written word alone to catch and hold the young reader’s attention. Surely the lesson of the Harry Potter phenomenon was that if a child is really gripped by a story there is no need for models or CDs, nor for abridged versions or dumbed down language.
Luckily there are still plenty of excellent writers and illustrators of the traditional book. For younger readers, My First Nursery Collection by Tony Ross (Andersen Press) is a boxed set of two well-produced books, one of nursery rhymes, the other of fairy tales, with delightful illustrations, rather in the manner of Quentin Blake. It is outstandingly good value at £14.99.
Paul Howard’s atmospheric, slightly fuzzy pictures of the Antarctic set the scene for The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out by Jill Tomlinson (Egmont, £10.99.) In following the adventures of Otto the emperor penguin chick the reader will become familiar with the bizarre life cycle of that most long suffering of birds.
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have created many brilliant books for younger children, including, of course The Gruffalo. Their latest hero, Tabby McTat (Alison Green Books, £10.99) is a busker’s cat. All is well until Fred the busker is taken to hospital and Tabby McTat has to make a new life for himself with the kindly couple, Prunella and Pat, who ‘would gladly find room for a fine tabby cat’. McTat settles down to a life of ease and becomes the father of three, and when eventually he finds Fred, does not really relish the thought of a return to life on the streets. Luckily his young son, Samuel Sprat, steps into the breach: ‘Then out of the shadow sprang Samuel Sprat “Oh please let me be the busker’s cat” ’. This is an excellent book for reading aloud.
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