Little earthlings may be fascinated by space, but spacelings find us to be equally curious creatures. In Mary Murphy\u2019s playful picture book, Let\u2019s Be Earthlings (Otter-Barry, \u00a312.99, 2+), one fearless explorer arrives with a transformer to discover just how curious humans are first-hand. Who knew? On earth food grows from the land, there are countless ways of creating a home, not to mention an incredible phenomenon called gravity! The only thing missing is the space traveller\u2019s friend Batu, so our alien guide sends a message and convinces Batu to make the voyage too. Featuring Murphy\u2019s trademark vivid primary colours, Let\u2019s Be Earthlings is a memorable reminder to appreciate the everyday wonders of our planet.<\/p>\n
In An \u00c1it a nEitl\u00edonn na Mada\u00ed Crainn by Aileen Crossley (eabhloid, \u20ac14, 5+), the natural wonders of the world provide comfort to Mola\u00ed when the noise of meanies on her mobile phone gets too much for her. Her loyal canine companion takes her on a tour through the trees and the seaside reeds, where creatures like Boin De, and Beainin Uasil and Muc Mara restore her calm and confidence. This is a beautifully produced book with a distinctive visual style that originated as lithographic prints. The limited colour palette and surreal nature-creatures call to mind Tove Jansson<\/a>\u2019s Toffel, the minor Moomin mate who went on to inspire stand-alone titles: high praise indeed. <\/p>\n Raymond Briggs<\/a> was best known for his laconic graphic stories, like the perennially popular The Snowman, which featured no words at all. His first standalone titles, however, were two short adventure novels, which have been beautifully reprinted in a single volume by Manderley Press. The Strange House, collected with Midnight Adventure (Manderley, \u00a318.99, 6+), evokes the freedom of postwar childhood in the suburbs of London, where intrepid explorers Tim and Gerry get into various scrapes: enraging golfers as they seek out nature, breaking into a boarded up mansion, and intercepting a gang of burglars mid-crime. The plots have a wholesome thrust that will appeal to fans of Enid Blyton<\/a>\u2019s adventure books, but it is the accompanying ink sketches, emotionally expressive even in their simplicity, which will draw the attention of Briggs\u2019 aficionados to these forgotten classics.<\/p>\n Speaking of classics, Oscar Wilde\u2019s Stories for Children gets another opportunity to bewitch a new generation, in a luxurious new edition illustrated by Lauren O\u2019Hara (Little Island, \u20ac25, 5+). O\u2019Hara\u2019s soft watercolours perfectly set the serene garden scene for The Selfish Giant, and the bucolic riverside setting of The Nightingale and the Rose, as well as the unmoving face of The Happy Prince as he watches over his city charges. Each page of text is lined with a paper-cut-out border that recalls Hans Christian Andersen<\/a>\u2019s scissor-craft, while the text itself is typeset using an old typeface discovered at the National Print Museum. Apart from its own reading pleasure, this would make a gorgeous addition to the library of any fairytale collector.<\/p>\n All the tropes of the classic fantasy genre are present in Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria: A Tail of Adventure from LM Wilkinson (Allen and Unwin, \u00a37.99, 6+) and its sequel, Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire. The novelty is the books\u2019 appeal to early readers. Titch is a tiny mouse with a great appetite for adventure. Her family are understandably protective and encourage her to stay close to home: \u201cThere are lots of ways to be brave,\u201d her mother reassures her. \u201cIt\u2019s not all about swords and battles.\u201d However, when danger arrives in her community, courtesy of a cluster of destructive curseworms, Titch discovers that she is a Bravepaw, one in a long line of murine heroes. <\/p>\n