ATINUKE, ILLUS. BY ANGELA BROOKSBANK
WALKER BOOKS (2019)
0+

Baby Goes to Market

My 1-year-old daughter loves this book so much that she literally burst into tears when I tried to sneak it away to flick through for writing this. And I can see why. It's beautifully illustrated, for a start, full of colourful and interesting things to look at on the market stalls. As Baby makes his way through, friendly people give him delicious presents – bananas, oranges, little star-shaped biscuits and more. The dream!

It also has a funny, cheeky twist to the ending. I've found this quite rare in books aimed at really young kids – they're often sweet and colourful and helpful for learning, just like this one (it has some great counting and food words practice), but not so full of fun and character. A real gem, and a joy to re-read (and re-read…)

MORAG HOOD
PAN MACMILLAN (2018)
3+ (also suitable for younger kids)

I Am Bat

I find the story genuinely hilarious – like, stop reading because I'm giggling too much. It's a simple tale of a bat whose only plea is for no-one to steal their cherries, which they like very much. Spoiler: The cherries might get stolen. 

The artwork is just fabulous – pop-bright colours, lovely touches of texture, and bold illustrations that are so expressive. Bat goes through a lot of emotions throughout this cherry saga – at various turns wary, grumpy, joyful and utterly, hopelessly bereft. 

Oh, and by the way, don't think that you're beyond suspicion of cherry theft just because you're reading the book. Bat doesn't care about the fourth wall. Just cherries.

SWAPNA HADDOW, ILL. BY SHEENA DEMPSEY
FABER & FABER (2016)
6+

Dave Pigeon

Do you know a kid who's finding chapter books a bit of a slog? I thoroughly recommend introducing them to Dave Pigeon, ‘the bravest pigeon of all pigeonkind’. He and his bestie Skipper (typist of Dave's great work and perhaaaps secretly the real brains of the operation?) have got plenty of daring adventures to share. Enough for a whole hilarious series!

This first book tells the story of Dave and Skipper's quest to defeat Mean Cat and collect their rightful biscuity treasure. It's funny, exciting, and has lots of great illustrations and chatty bits to break up the text and keep things feeling really friendly. Fabulous fun for all readers.

DAVID EDMONDS & BERTIE FRASER

WALKER BOOKS (2020)
9+

Undercover Robot

What makes us human? Philosophers can spend entire lifetimes thinking about this question without really coming up with an answer, but Dotty hasn't got that sort of time! She needs to know NOW, and to act convincingly enough like a human that the other kids at school don't discover her secret – that she's actually an android.   

This book packs loads of big, interesting questions into a fun, high-stakes story, as Dotty navigates ethical dilemmas that her programming just wasn't prepared for. Dotty's efforts to fit in and ‘act human’ are peppered with tons of hilarious little details, and her odd sweetness had me totally rooting for her.