Children's books: It's a surprise

ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET!

written by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Christiane Pieper

(Tara Publishing, tarabooks.com, £10.99)

This book has beautiful paper, wonderful design and distinctive images. There's an engaging and rhythmical language, and a surprise ending too.

The story begins with a baby elephant becoming separated from its parent during a storm. After a bad encounter with some aggressive monkeys, the elephant makes friends with a bunch of water buffalo. Playful language conveys the mood: 'The elephant thought/He could stay with them/Maybe even play with them?/With a baby buffalo/He tumbled and wallowed/BELLOW!' When the buffalo are scared away by a marauding tiger, they bring the elephant too, and he comes to help them in turn.

When one day a herd of elephants toot across to the baby elephant from one river shore, the familiar buffalo bellow back from the other shore. The baby elephant is confused about who to go with, but chooses the buffalo herd, after the cleverly equivocal illustration has kept us guessing.

SIZZLES IS COMPLETELY NOT HERE

by Lauren Child

(Puffin, £9.99)

The big board book format has 50 flaps to lift in this hunt-for-a-dog story featuring Charlie and Lola. It isn't clear from the beginning what the lost dog, Sizzles, looks like. This is apparently part of the set-up - to increase the potential possibilities for this hide-and-seek game.

There's a jaunty blend of illustration and photograph in the usual collage style of this writer-illustrator, and the double-page spread featuring a raft of window and door flaps is appealing.

I WANT A CAT

by Tony Ross

(Anderson, £5.99)

This 1989 book's reissue is worth mentioning. The text and illustrations are in a coloured pencil style that matches the irrepressible character of Jessy. She finds hundreds of ways to pester her parents about wanting a cat. Their resistance drives her to making herself a cat suit, which she wears at all times - including a visit to a restaurant and in the bath.

Her night caterwauls on the garden wall prompt a petition from neighbours, who say the parents should show pity on her. By the time Dad gives in and buys a cat, Jessy has decided she prefers dogs. In the final picture we see her dressed in a dog suit.

HENRY AND THE FOX

by Chris Wormell

(Red Fox, £5.99)

Pictures and text are finely-tuned in this book to successfully paint a touching portrait of frail characters who will win out in the end. A small bantam hen called Buffy who is bullied by the other hens, and Henry the cowardly cockerel, hatch a plan together. Their aim is to fool the bullying hens into thinking that Henry is brave.

Unfortunately, the hens hear of the set-up, and decide to make fools of Henry and Buffy. But there's a surprise in store for the hens. The story has a little extra gem squeezed in at the end too, which relates to the book's overarching theme of whether a leopard can change his spots.

THE BABY (BUT I'D HAVE LIKED A HAMSTER)

written by India Knight and illustrated by Jessica Meserve

(Puffin, £9.99)

I was puzzled about where the hamster in the title appeared in this story. I couldn't find it, and decided it must have been an early idea that didn't change as the story developed. This is still a delightful, contemporary tale of Tom's resistance to and then acceptance of his new sister.

It's hard to find fresh takes on the 'new baby' style story, but there are some good examples of supposedly unfair treatment. For example, whenever the jealous older brother burps, his parents are disgusted. When the baby burps, they congratulate her. There's a touching representation of the fight that's raging inside Tom when he cuddles up to his mother, cooing at the baby. He thinks to himself, his emotions torn both ways: 'When I am an astronaut I may perhaps NOT bring her back a piece of the moon.'

Mum is good fun, and she makes Tom feel special. This is shown particularly well in an exuberant tickling game where she 'squashed me with kisses'.