Ask Me
by Antje Damm
(Frances Lincoln, 9.99)
This thought-provoking production has a Tardis-like quality about it - it's an apparently small book which, when its pages are opened, reveals a panoply of different images and inspirations.
Much of the content was created by a German architect who intersperses her artworks and text with colour and black and white photographs. The textual and visual prompts are emotionally evocative in places, for example the photo of a Victorian graveyard accompanied by the question, 'Who do you miss?' The bright, contemporary artwork of a nude young girl and boy has the question, 'What are you finding out about?' A painted picture of a ballerina on a tightrope strung between the cockerel on a church spire and an office block is paired with the text, 'What do you wish you could do really well?'
Other pages featuring the words 'Have you ever fallen into a stream?' and 'How did your parents choose your name?' sound out of context, but they did initiate interesting discussions when I tried the book out with a child.
Pre-reading children might like to choose a picture, while you read the text out, and see what ideas emerge through your conversation.
The Teddy Robber
by Ian Beck
(Picture Corgi, 5.99)
Paralleling elements of the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk, this story begins with a large hand descending on Tom's bed to steal his teddy. When Tom finds out the identity of the robber (a Giant who lives in a lofty castle) and the reason why (he has lost his own teddy), the boy feels sympathy. The best picture shows the inside of a locked room where all the lost teddies in the world are being kept (well, all the teddies that look like the Giant's lost teddy, shaded classic brown).
A cup of cocoa and a search for the biscuits to go with it reveal the location of the Giant's teddy (busy carers who have left the sugar bowl in the fridge will relate to this incident), and all's well that ends well.
Nutmeg
by David Lucas
(Anderson, 10.99)
This story about a girl called Nutmeg has a striking beginning: 'There was always cardboard for breakfast. There was always string for lunch. There was always sawdust for supper.' Classic narrative elements include a message in a bottle, a genie, and a magic spoon in the style of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. But this spoon goes delightfully further - it stirs up the whole house, resulting in Nutmeg and her family setting sail on the high seas. With the point of the book being that Nutmeg wants some new experiences, the open ending fits, though I found it a little unsatisfying.
On the other hand, it is a good starting point for children's imaginings about what lunch will be like for Nutmeg.
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
(HarperCollins, 10.99)
A boy finds a sad penguin at his door and in the accepting way of most children, he at first invites the penguin in, and then seeks to discover where it has come from. He thinks it must be lost. The theme of searching for happiness - or more specifically, perhaps, home is where the heart is - runs seamlessly through the book. The careful balancing of text and picture, where the text expresses what is needed to push the story on, reaches a poignant stage where the boy delivers the penguin to the South Pole. We are given privileged access to his rationalising: 'It felt strange to be on his own... and the more he thought... the more he realised he was making a big mistake. The penguin wasn't lost. He was just lonely.'
The next image shows the penguin adrift in an upturned umbrella on one side of an iceberg and the boy paddling furiously on the other side of the same iceberg. They are unable to find one another again, and the boy has no option but to set off for home. On the way back, the sight ahead of him - the penguin paddling in his brolly-boat - is a welcome one indeed.
Kevin Stays the Night
by Liesbet Slegers
(Frances Lincoln, 4.99)
A well-used story theme (that of a sleepover) has a refreshing ring in this book. The direct and minimal phrases give the book a strong sense of reality, as do incidents like the way the young boy Kevin initially feels upset when his daddy leaves him with the friend's mother. The illustrations sound an equally authentic note. 'It's time for bed. We go to sleep,' says the text, as we are shown Kevin and his friend Sarah asleep in bed still wearing their dressing-up gear - a funny hat and wig.
