Children’s books

The Big Barn Dance, by Jenny Arthur (Caterpillar; €11.50), is the bees’ knees. The spreads in this sturdy board book each focus on a farm animal. Press the button on the strip panel and the animal will moo, baa, quack, etc. Excellent entertainment for age 18 months and upwards.

Master of illustration, both surreal and magical, Anthony Browne creates an edgy version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Me and You (Doubleday; €13.90HB). With soft, pastel colouring for the bear, and dark sepias showing a little, hoodie Goldilocks walking the lonely streets looking for her lost balloon. The merging of the fairytale/streetscape ending is a masterstroke. Age five plus.

There’s never a dull moment on the little Isle of Struay. Work begins on the new pier, which will mean greater contact with the mainland. Katie Morag’s Grannie is doubtful. “The old ways will be forgotten,” she says. Everyone else happily prepares for the changes, but after storm damage all seems lost. Young Katie and the islanders battle the storm. With author/illustrator Mairi Hedderwick’s affectionate minutiae and lively text, More Katie Morag Stories (Red Fox; €12.60) will delight ages seven to 10.

In The Candleman, by Glenn Dakin (Egmont; €7.55), fearful events to come menace the reader from the first. In the eerie, drizzly setting of an ancient graveyard, teenage Theo is ‘celebrating’ his birthday. Brought up in a dreary mansion, his only human contacts are his guardian, Dr Saint, a butler, Mr Nicely, and a maidservant. He has a medical condition that requires his hands be covered. But when two thieves break into the mansion, Theo touches one of them. The horrific consequences shock the boy and set in motion unforeseen events. Rescued by Chloe, a feisty young woman, Theo’s journey to freedom involves darkly nightmarish adventures. A knuckle-biting pace.