Books for children

THE Very Noisy Jungle by Kathryn White and Gill Guile (Little Tiger; €9.50 HB)

is just the squawky, screechy, trumpetty wake-up call to delight mischievous early-morning three year-olds. With buttons to press and delightful illustrations, this will amaze and amuse.

The Slurpy Burpy Bear by Norbert Landa and Jane Chapman (Little Tiger; €13.03 HB) is a messy beast whose solitary existence means he can eat sloppily and burp (from both ends) without disturbing anyone. However, loneliness hits and he longs for company. His parps and burps scare away a family of rabbits. But the smallest rabbit has no fear of the big furry slob and all ends well. For age four and upwards.

Space School, Ice Breaker by Tom and Tony Bradman (A&C Black; €5.92). After escaping from terminally polluted Earth, Luke and his schoolmates and their families have been living in the claustrophobic Buzz Aldrin spaceship. So when a school trip takes them on a reconnaissance trip to find a compatible planet, the youngsters enjoy the first taste of freedom and even find a friendly creature, which Luke takes under his wing. But a low-life called Quint and his armed, bloodthirsty thugs have other plans for the harmless alien and its kin. Easy-to-read nail-biter for age seven and older dyslexic readers.

Double Shadow by Sally Gardner (Orion; €11.90) features an extraordinary story of family trauma set against the backdrop of the impending World War Two. Amaryllis Ruben’s expulsion from school sets in train a series of revelations about her, and her father’s past — which he has tried to improve on by the invention of a memory machine. This proves to be a double-edged sword as Amarylis becomes trapped in an alternate world with no memory of her past and under threat from some rather sinister forces. Suitable for young adult.