Children's book reviews: big monsters, little ghouls

FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS

AUTUMN CHILLS ARE IN THE AIR and The Best Jumper by Lynne Garner & Sarah Gill (Piccadilly, 5.99) is a cosy traditional tale to cuddle up with. Spindle's grandma knits him the best stripy jumper and the little mouse wears it all day, every day; it even doubles as a comfort blanket. His mum has to wrest it from him for washing, mending and modifying, but eventually even Spindle has to admit that he's outgrown it. Clever grandma knits him another one just as nice, but his old favourite hasn't gone for good.

In Mine is Bigger Than Yours! by Jeanne Willis & Adrian Reynolds (Andersen Press, 10.99) Scary Monster tries to bully Little Green Hairy Monster into handing over her lollipop by pointing out that he's got bigger feet (for kicking), a bigger tail (for tripping), bigger claws (for scratching) etc. But Little Monster refuses to be intimidated and the bully meets his match in a twist that will delight young readers. Willis's deadpan text and Reynolds' vibrant illustrations make this a winner.

How to Be a Baby...By Me the Big Sister by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap (Walker, 10.99) is a funny, insightful, how-to manual detailing in hand-written lists, photos and drawings all the things babies can't do, and all the amazing things that big sisters can: "You sing songs, but you don't know the words. Or the tune. (I know the words and the tune and the dance)." There's a subtle change of emotional gear when Baby cries in the middle of the night. It's Big Sister who tiptoes in to comfort him and she grudgingly admits that there are a few things babies are good at.

First published in 1970, Edward Ardizzone's Johnny's Bad Day has recently been republished by Jane Nissen Books (6.99), specialists in resurrecting out-of-print classics. Without a single printed word, this perfectly formed little book tells of a young boy's day in which every emotion – from anger, through misery, to happiness – is evoked through the most delicate and subtle illustrations. Every home should have a copy!

FOR 4 – 7 YEAR-OLDS

KEEP watching the shelves for the new, planet-shaped version of Colin McNaughton's 1995 hit The Aliens are Coming! (Walker Books, 7.99). The jolly rhyming text announces the imminent destruction of Earth and each page reveals the fearful looks and oddly familiar habits of another warty, squidgy, two-headed, many tentacled being. This book demands to be read aloud – loudly!

Still on the theme of all being the same under the skin, Pink! by Lynne Rickards & Margaret Chamberlain (Chicken House, 5.99) is the story of what happens when Patrick the penguin wakes up to find he's turned knock-your-eye-out pink! He hates being different and sets off to join the pink flamingos in Africa. Not surprisingly, he doesn't fit in there either and, of course, when he returns home, he discovers how much he's been missed. Quirky and heart-warming , this is one pink book you might just persuade boys to pick up.

Debi Gliori has never shied away from tackling the big issues and in The Trouble with Dragons (Bloomsbury, 10.99) it's the future of our planet that's at stake. The trouble with dragons is that they make more dragons, who create mess and pollution and gobble up resources without a thought for the consequences of their actions. The other creatures abandon them in disgust and the dragons are left alone and miserable in a bleak, grey world. The combination of simple rhyming text and fantastical, detailed illustrations delivers a strong ecological message in a form that young children can deal with. Matilda Webb's The Ship's Kitten (Catnip, 4.99) is a delightful, sequential early reader about a cat who seeks a shipshape home. There are plenty of ships and boats but none of them is quite right – until an unlikely possibility sails into the harbour. Inspired when the author was living in Orkney, this is a gentle, satisfying little feline drama, with splendid illustrations by Ian Benfold Haywood.

FOR 7 – 10 YEAR-OLDS

WE ARE All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures by various artists (Frances Lincoln, 12.99) celebrates the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the rights by the United Nations in 1948. Each of the 30 Articles is interpreted by a different internationally renowned illustrator, including such familiar names as Axel Scheffler, Jane Ray and Satoshi Kitamura, but also artists such as Hong Sum Dam from South Korea who, we're told in his mini biography, was imprisoned for his paintings and freed after four years. The large-scale book is a feast for the eyes and the mind, providing plenty to ponder and discuss at home and at school.

Don't Kiss the Frog is an anthology of "princess stories with attitude" chosen by the queen of anthology editors, Fiona Waters (Kingfisher, 12.99). The cover may be pink (and an iridescent, froggy green) and some of the stories – Sleepy Beauty, The Princess and the P. E. – might sound familiar, but the princesses in these six lively stories are smart and sassy. With its funky typography and exuberant illustrations by Miriam Latimer, Sarah Massini and Ella Burfoot, this collection is an all-round delight.

In Tree Soup (Doubleday, 8.99), Joel Stewart's second mystery adventure about Stanley Wells, a sober young man with a slightly melancholy air, trouble descends when Stanley's mum and the twins disappear. Stanley isn't the most dynamic of problem solvers, so it's just as well that the bizarre Dr Moon and his trusty sidekick Morcambe are on hand to help.

Ferrets feature in a number of Joan Lennon's novels but never before in such quantity as in The Ferret Princess (Catnip, 4.99), another fairy tale with a twist. Lennon's hilarious take on the neighbouring-princes-come-to-marry-a-spare-princess fairly tale convention is sparky, witty and an ideal readaloud. Scoular Anderson's witty illustrations add to the fun. There are more animal crackers in Tantrums and Tiaras by Sarah Horne (Stripes Publishing, 4.99). Molly volunteers to feed the neighbours' cat when they go on holiday. The von Volavons live in a castle and Molly is looking forward to having a nose around, but she soon discovers that their cat is as extraordinary as their home. Madam Mimi Mew Mew can talk, she won't touch ordinary Moggy Meat and she has her eye on the other von Volavon pets. It takes all Molly's ingenuity to save the goldfish, parrot and guinea pigs from becoming tasty morsels for Mimi. Anarchic fun.

Scream Street: Fang of the Vampire, with its blood red cover and pages spattered with blots, clots and claw marks, is the first in a series of comedy chillers by Tommy Donbavand (Walker Books, 4.99). Reluctant werewolf Luke Watson and his shocked parents have been forcibly relocated to Scream Street by the Government Housing of Unusual Lifeforms (G.H.O.U.L.), where their neighbours are ghosts, zombies, witches and worse. Luke soon teams up with a would-be vampire and a young mummy and they set out to find the first of six ancient relics that will open the way back to normality. Fast-paced, entertaining and, for most youngsters, just about scary enough.

FOR 10 – 14 YEAR-OLDS

EDINBURGH writer, Robert Dodds, has a keen eye for the bizarre situations that could be lurking just below the surface of normality and in The Murrian (Andersen Press, 5.99) he marries the weird with the everyday to chilling effect. Ben and Claire Swift are staying with their Aunt Gwen in the quiet town of Antmouth, but their rather dull seaside holiday takes a disturbing turn when their aunt's house is invaded by aggressive smuggler ants; they find themselves being stalked by sinister golfers and townsfolk start to go missing. And what exactly is going on in the creepy Bosswood Estate above the town? A tense, pacy and highly entertaining read. The Eleventh Orphan (Catnip, 5.99), Joan Lingard's latest novel in a career spanning nearly four decades, is set in Victorian London. It's New Year's Day and orphan Elfie comes to live with Ma and Pa Bigsby, eccentric landlords of the Pig and Whistle, and foster parents to many. Life in a large family stretches feisty Elfie's patience at times, but gradually she learns to trust some of them. Lingard skilfully uses period detail and backdrops to create an atmospheric and involving mystery thriller. Tales of Terror from the Black Ship (Bloomsbury, 10.99) is Chris Priestly's second collection of macabre tales and once again he demonstrates that he is a master of the form. When Cathy and Ethan fall ill, their father has no choice but to leave them alone at the family inn, while he fetches a doctor. Despite their father's warnings, they answer the door late at night to a sailor soaked to the skin and seeking shelter from the storm. Ethan and Cathy love ghost stories and the stranger, Jonah Thackeray, seems to have a limitless supply of them, each more terrifying than the last. But as their own story builds to its climax, the children's creeping sense of unease gets stronger and stronger. Something is dreadfully wrong … These grisly, gothic tales deserve to be read aloud and are perfect for Halloween. Don't have nightmares!