Children’s books

I SPY Something Wonderful, by David Conway, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Red Fox; €7.10), is a book to share, about the wonders of life for a baby deer as he greets his new world with his parents.

They play ‘I spy’ as they walk to familiarise him with his surroundings. Something white and fluffy? A cloud. Something wonderful? A rainbow. The splendid pictures are offset by the curvy typeset, which bounces throughout the story to the pull-out panorama at the end. An endearing story for toddlers.

The Amazing Mrs Pepperpot, by Alf Proysen, illustrated by Hilda Offen (Red Fox; €7.10), is a charming duo of stories about an extraordinary old lady who never knows when she will shrink to the size of a fairy and have an adventure. When her cat takes her on his back to show her something wonderful, their journey is fraught with dangers that normal people would dismiss — such as escaping the claws of two magpies and dodging snowballs thrown by children. The surprise is worth it. In the second tale, Mrs Pepperpot almost becomes a bazaar prize. With adventure, great storylines and delightful, homely illustrations, this is an imaginative read-aloud book for age four and upwards.

Spies, Dad, Big Lauren and Me, by Joanna Nadin (Piccadilly; €7.10). Billy Grimshaw’s intimate chat draws the reader into his world. To cope with his parents’ split, he convinces himself Dad is a spy for M15 living in a loft apartment in London. Billy can’t cope with his mother’s new partner, Dave, and their forthcoming wedding. He plans to stop this, and Dad will come home. Unable to distinguish fact from fiction, Billy is inspired by magazines and his imaginary mentor, TV superspy, Zac Black. Billy’s innocent narration, as he wades through a minefield of events, remains hopeful. A beautiful, skilfully-written story. Readers aged 10 and up will weep and laugh.