Manky Monkey. written by Jean Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross. (Anderson, 9.99)
As we might expect from this consistent author-artist duo, the ideas come thick and fast - and generate plenty of giggles. The rhyming text moves along in a sing-song fashion as it explains the evolutionary pro-cess from monkey to human.
Page one features a monkey who is discontent with his lot, and the last page features a little girl eating a banana and holding a monkey's hand.
You will probably find that the story stimulates questions about where humans came from. And here we aren't only going back as far as gestation inside a mother's tummy, but are transported back to our first manky monkey descendant. This interpretation might niggle Creationists, but I find it irresistible.
This is a book that will be asked for again and again.
Pig's Digger. written by Simon Puttock and illustrated by Alison Bartlett. (Egmont, 9.99)
Apologies for starting with my thoughts on the endpapers, but these are different at the front and back of the book, and illustrate the curve of the narrative.
The story begins with the all-action antics of Pig who is given a real industrial digger for his birthday, and it ends at the point where Pig feels it is time to give up the digger. But you need not worry that the exuberant pig has had his trotters clipped when he accepts the gift of a smaller-scale digging implement - a garden spade.
The front endpapers show the bright yellow industrial digger given to Pig on his birthday, which enables him to transform his neighbourhood into a wasteland. The endpapers at the back are bursting with fiery-red flowers on an ochre background, and we understand that these are the kinds of flowers Pig will be growing in his garden, and we feel satisfied that they suit him down to the ground (sorry!).
Albert le Blanc. by Nick Butterworth. (Collins, 9.99)
This story has a false start with a gentle touch of theatricality about it, highly appropriate for a story where a group of toys puts on a show to cheer up a new arrival in the toy shop where they 'live'. The suggestion with this false start is that the story of the sad new bear called Albert le Blanc is so irresistible that it must be begun at once.
But of course formalities like the title page need to be taken care of, and this provides a useful excuse for going back to the very beginning of the story of Albert le Blanc's life.
The beautifully illustrated toys in the toy shop become embroiled in the attempt to cheer up this bear who looks sad on the outside, but is not sad on the inside - as is proved.
GoodnightBaxter. by Nicola Edwards. (David Bennett Books, 9.99)
Here's a bright, bold tale about acceptance, that is just right for sharing with younger children. Daddy brings home a puppy for his son Charlie. But Baxter the puppy finds it difficult to sleep in his new dog basket in his new home.
The repeated motifs throughout the long night, where Baxter jumps out of the basket and barks at the bottom of the stairs for Charlie, should encourage everyone to join in. At first Baxter can't conquer the stairs, but when he finally does, he curls up next to Charlie's bed and falls asleep straight away. It's a simple story that is well executed.
Goodbye Mog. by Judith Kerr. (Collins, 9.99)
It doesn't matter if this is the first time you and your audience have met Mog the cat, even though she dies on page one of the book. This story definitely isn't over-sentimental or dull. Here the artist creates a faint outline of the dead cat Mog to indicate that her presence is sticking around the Thomas family who have loved her for many years.
Mog isn't depressed that she's dead. She acts in the same way as when she was alive - pretty egotistically, but in a nice way.
The two children, Debbie and Nicky, affectionately remember the things Mog used to do around their home - like hang her tail over the television so they couldn't see the screen properly. In these sequences Mog is shown doing exactly the same things as before, wearing a sweet but mischievous grin, but this time it's ethereal.
The illustration of Mog hanging her tail over the TV screen cleverly pinpoints the theme of the story. Here the two children can pretty much see the programme, but Mog's remaining presence is strong enough to obscure some of the image.
When the Thomas family bring a pet kitten home, Mog is at first annoyed by the kitten's timid behaviour, and then pleased that she can be instrumental in helping it build up its confidence - the kitten is the only one who can see Mog.
The story is believable, amusing and moving, and manages to strike exactly the right note.
