Ella's Night Lights
By Lucy Fleming
Walker Books
November 2024, pp32, £7.99
9781529524710
Reading age: 1-5 years
This is a delightful and moving story following Ella as she gathers beams of light and shares them with various animals in the forest. Ella, a creature very similar to a moth, lives all alone in the forest gathering light under the cover of darkness (she cannot go out in the sun as her wings are too delicate). She shares this with any animals and humans she sees who look in need of some light. However, she longs to be able to see a sunrise for herself. So some of the creatures she has helped come together to create a magical plan that will allow her to do so.
With themes of kindness, compassion and helping others, this is a lovely narrative and shows early readers the importance of helping and being helped in order to realise your dreams.
The beautiful and detailed illustrations are a real highlight, immersing readers in Ella's world, full of magic, starlight and kindness. Readers will love to pore over the pages to discover more about the magical forest world.
This sturdy board book will survive much use, making it a lovely edition to any setting.
My First Lift-the-Flap Fairy Tales
By Ingela P. Arrhenius
Nosy Crow
October 2024, pp16, £12.99
9781805132059
Reading age: 2-5 years
This is a wonderful board book, perfect to introduce young readers to seven well-known fairy stories. Each double page contains a different story, from ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ to ‘The Three Little Pigs’. Each narrative is told through the style of an interactive comic strip, with the main elements broken down into clear sections.
The exciting, lift-the-flap component enables children to physically engage with each story, to uncover a funny or mystery element of the narrative.
Clear and colourful illustrations complement a simple yet effective text, ensuring the main elements of the narratives are included in accessible ways.
The characters are made relatable through animal illustrations, with the darker elements of the stories shown in gentle and unthreatening ways.
This book is a wonderful resource to support language acquisition, and the lip-the-flap element supports fine motor skills. The structure would also support an understanding of how a story is told.
Happy Holi
By Chitra Soundar
Illustrated by Aya Watanabe
Bloomsbury Children's Books
February 2025, pp32, £6.99
9781526642257
Reading age: 0-5 years
Follow two siblings as they help their family prepare for and celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of spring, love and new life.
Readers discover the wonderful traditions, rituals and treats that make up this celebration. The main elements of the festival are introduced through lyrical rhymes, with clear vocabulary. As such the text helps build vocabulary and knowledge, and can also be used to introduce readers to simple poetry and rhyming language.
The narrative is simple – perfect for younger readers – and the beautiful, colourful illustrations help to immerse readers in this celebration of colour. Additional elements such as the different foods consumed and the family and community nature of the festival are also shown through them.
The final double page includes further information in prose form, as well as a useful glossary explaining some Hindu words associated with the festival.
A lovely book, this will certainly help readers to learn about the world, as well as build vocabulary.
