0-5 years
Goldilocks
Allan and Jessica Ahlberg
9781406330052
£12.99
Allan Ahlberg's track record is long and distinguished. Since the 1980s he's penned a string of picture-book classics including Peepo, Each Peach Pear Plum, Burglar Bill, The Jolly Postman and Funnybones. They were all illustrated by his (now late) wife Janet, but it's turning into a dynasty, as he's now collaborating with his artist daughter, Jessica. (Eagle eyed readers may even have spotted baby Jessica pictured on the back cover of Peepo).
Happily Ahlberg Snr's sense of fun and invention is undimmed: this new book, also known as The Goldilocks Variations, is a series of short riffs on the classic tale, bringing in various unexpected new elements including living furniture, the three little pigs, thirty-three bears in one go, and the year 2076. It's brilliantly sparky, rib-tickling, and really beautifullly presented, just the sort of item likely to light up the imagination of little readers. Long-in-the-tooth admirers of those established Ahlberg classics will find much to admire, and Jessica's colourful, finely-detailed style dovetails perfectly with that of her parents.
5-9 years
It's Not Fairy
Ros Asquith
9781847802361
£11.99
We all know which magical figures dispense Christmas presents, Easter chocolates and monetary compensation for tooth loss. This shines the spotlight on a far less familiar figure, the titular It's Not Fairy, who flies about settling domestic squabbles. As you can imagine, it's stressful, thankless work, and the poor old fairy is approaching the end of her tether. When she encounters a family of four who just cannot stop bickering, she's so exasperated that she threatens to eat the whole lot of them. So, will they learn their lesson or will she fill her boots?
A witty, spiky tale of manners and co-operation, this is a more sophisticated (and mildly sinister) picture book aimed at primary-age readers, from much-published, award-winning writer / illustrator Asquith. It even comes complete with a recipe for fairy cakes in the end papers. Incidentally, if Asquith's style looks familiar to you, it might be because she's also worked as a Guardian cartoonist for the past twenty years.
9-12 years
The Grunts in Trouble
Philip Ardagh
9780857630698
£7.99
What's in a name? In the case of the Grunt family, quite a lot. They are – in the grand tradition of Mr Gum, Mr Stink and Roald Dahl's The Twits – ghastly, unhygenic horrors. Their breakfast of choice, for instance, is badger stew. Their caravan home was constructed out of an ice-cream van and a shed. And their son, Sonny, was actually pinched from off a washing line.
This is the opening salvo in a new four-book series, and the 'trouble' in question involves the Grunts getting mixed up with the inhabitants of a local stately home, and a large swarm of unruly bees. Highly eventful and effortlessly funny, It's very ably illustrated by Gruffalo superstar Axel Scheffler, while Ardagh's nimble-footed, rapid-fire prose demonstrates a real intelligence – at the service, thankfully, of the delightfully disgusting and silly.
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