Children’s books

OTTO the Book Bear, by Kate Cleminson (Jonathan Cape; €7.10), lives in a book. At night, when all is quiet, he comes to life and explores the house, reads stories and writes.

But the family moves to a new house and he is left behind. Venturing out into the world is dangerous. With colourful, bold-line illustrations, this is a charming story for age three and up.

Mr Gumpy’s Motor Car, written and illustrated by John Burningham (Red Fox; €8.35), is the tale of a man who sets out for a drive in his ancient open-top motor car. When he meets two children and several animals, they ask if they can come too. Squashed together, they cross a field on an old cart track. Not such a good idea! The short, large-print storyline is ideal for the child who is learning to identify words. The unusual cross-hatch illustrations are quite atmospheric. The attached CD is read by Sylvester McCoy. For age five and up.