A choice of children’s books

This year my village school, like hundreds of others, is scrimping and saving to afford that Holy Grail of modern education – the Computer Suite. Of course computers are an essential part of every child’s world, and will presumably be even more so in the future. Yet there is something rather soulless about the rows of mesmerised little figures staring into their screens while skilfully manipulating an army of mice. Somehow that world needs to be balanced by introducing children to the very different pleasures of the book, and there has never been a time when children’s books were so varied, well-produced and such good value as today. Probably the fact that illustrated books for young children still cost no more than they did three or four years ago is because so many are now produced in China. Whatever the reason, they are excellent value as Christmas presents.

There is a good crop of picture books for the very young this year, combining high- quality illustrations with an excellent text for reading aloud. One of the best is The Smartest Giant by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan, £9.99). Children will love the rhythmic, repetitive story of George the philanthropic giant, who gives each item of his new clothes to some needy recipient:

My shoe is a house for a little white mouse,One of my socks is a bed for a fox …

Another book which combines the pleasure of repetition and delightful pictures is Snow Bears by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies (Walker Books, £10.99). The three little bears are so covered with snow that their mother pretends not to recognise them. ‘I wonder where my baby bears can be.’ ‘I don’t know where we are,’ said the biggest snow bear. ‘I haven’t seen us,’ said the middle-sized snow bear. ‘We aren’t here, Mummy Bear,’ said the smallest snow bear. Home in their house, the snow melts and all is revealed. ‘Then they all had hot toast by the fire.’ All very soothing and conducive to a calm and peaceful bedtime.

Little Rabbit Lost by Henry Horse (Puffin, £9.99) also has a cosy ending after poor Little Rabbit spends a stressful afternoon, having lost his family in the Rabbit World Theme Park. The pictures have the zest and meticulous detail which children love. It is a huge relief when Little Rabbit is reunited with his mother. ‘I think we’ve all had enough of Rabbit World for one day’, said Mama, echoing the thoughts of any parent who has spent an afternoon mislaying children at Alton Towers.

In Mole and the Baby Bird by Marjorie Newman (Bloomsbury, £9.99), Mole has to learn the bitter lesson most of us face in childhood, that the luckless creatures we adopt or save are much happier free. When I was six I used to catch butterflies and keep them in jam-jars to protect them from the rigours of the English summer. It took considerable pressure and a 10-shilling note from my brother to persuade me that this was not in their best interest. Mole also needed to be persuaded to let the baby bird free, but eventually ‘he opened the cage and let his bird fly away, because he loved it. Then he cried.’ How sad and how true!

Willow at Christmas by Camilla Ashworth is a bargain from Walker Books at £6.99 and tells the Christmas story of Willow the teddy bear, who lives at Paradise Farm. The farm, its surroundings and animals are depicted in charming pictures in the tradition of Beatrix Potter, although the agricultural ethos is rather less robust. One doesn’t feel that the animals at Paradise Farm are in any danger of being sent to the butcher, but this is a happy Christmas story for small children.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Candlewick Press, £10.99) is a new American version of the famous poem first printed in 1823, which launched St Nicholas on a whole new career as a driver of sleighs and filler of stockings. Matt Tavares provides the atmospheric black and white illustrations. One of the advantages of owning this book is that it means one has the names of all the reindeer at hand. They are bound to come up in one of the Christmas quizzes.

Slightly older children who can read for themselves will enjoy two books with a royal flavour. Princesses are not Quitters by Kate Lum (Bloomsbury, £9.99) tells the story of three princesses who think it would be fun to change places with servant girls for a day, only to discover that life below stairs is rather more strenuous than they had imagined. It is a very amusing upbeat story with lively illustrations by Sue Hellard. Queen Munch and Queen Nibble, by the poet Carol Ann Duffy, is written in the vivid language one would expect and tells the tale of two very different queens – a sort of a royal Fattypuff and Thinifer – Queen Munch, round, rosy and extrovert and Queen Nibble, tall, pale and reclusive – and how they became best friends. Lydia Monk’s illustrations point the contrast between these two opposites admirably (Macmillan. £12.99).

The Nightingale (Walker Books, £12.99) is a beautiful new version of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, sensitively retold by Stephen Mitchell, with extraordinary illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline in the manner of traditional Chinese paintings. They give this much loved story a completely new dimension and there are endless fascinating details to be explored. An opportunity to bring the same sense of discovery to European art can be found in Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilson, illustrated by Andy Parker (Kingfisher, £12.99). This is an activity book (magnifying glass included) in which the reader is the detective, trying to discover which of the paintings in the Town Gallery – all strangely familiar: ‘The Hay Wain’, ‘The Arnolfini Marriage’ etc – have been replaced by copies. The fakes all have mistakes in them, which can be found by comparing them with the originals in the gallery catalogue. It is a sort of up-market Spot the Difference quiz and it certainly makes one look at familiar pictures far more closely.

There are two worthwhile collections of myths for older children from Orion. Atticus the Storyteller’s 100 Greek Myths, a handsome book by Lucy Coats (£16.99), is a lively retelling of all the best-known stories, lavishly illustrated by Anthony Lewis. It would be an ideal way to attract new readers to this fascinating world. Kevin Crossley-Holland’s Vikings, Myths of Gods and Monsters (£9.99) is aimed at a slightly older audience, is not illustrated, and relies on the force of the language and the imagination of the reader to picture all those strangely named characters: Athal the Offspring, Geirrod and his Grisly Daughters and my favourite, Snot the Serving Woman. These stories are selected from the author’s Norse Myths and are told with great spirit and panache.

Among novels for children 8-12, Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by newcomer Georgia Byng (Macmillan, £12.99) is a racy and gripping story which combines the more enjoyable elements of the Roald Dahl books and Annie, with its grim orphanage setting and its relish for the gruesome and grotty. Molly is a redoubtable and believable character, whose mastery of hypnotism transforms her from victim to New York celebrity with predictably disastrous results. Her pug, Petula, is an excellent personality in her own right.

For the same age group, The Assassins of Rome by Caroline Lawrence (Orion, £6.99) is the latest in the exciting ‘Roman Mysteries’ series, which provide an extremely palatable and accurate introduction to ancient Rome. The three earlier stories are set in Ostia and Pompeii, and it would be best to start at the beginning with The Thieves of Ostia. This series is ideal for anyone planning to take children on holiday to Rome or Pompeii.

A reference book suitable for all ages is 1,000 Years of Famous People (Kingfisher, £19.99). It actually covers much more than 1,000 years, starting with Cheops and ending with Osama bin Laden, by way of almost every personality, good or bad, one has ever heard of, and consists of clear thumbnail sketches and well chosen illustrations.

Lastly, if you want to give old favourites, Edward Ardizzone’s Little Tim books have been reissued in a good soft-cover format by Scholastic at £5.99, and Jane Nissen Books has an excellent list of neglected classics in paperback from M. M. Kaye’s The Ordinary Princess to Herbert and Eleanor Farjeon’s Kings and Queens, from which I derive most of my knowledge of English history. Here is part of Edward VII, for instance:

King Edward wore a Homburg And went to Homburg Spa,And when he was the Prince of WalesWas scared of his Mama.