Books for children

You’re My Little Star by Julia Hubery and Cee Biscoe (Little Tiger; €8.35 HB) is an easy-to-follow board book for babies.

Cuddly bear and cub go for a walk through the fields, pausing to splash in the pond, tumble on the grass, walk on a fallen tree and gaze at the stars. The unfussy familiar background throughout is easy on a baby’s eyes.

The Cat in the Hat and his two friends feature in A Long Winter’s Nap (Bantam; €4.30 approx), a read-aloud double book with Dr Seuss’s inimitable funny rhyming. Sally and Nick can’t get to sleep. Trust that Cat to take them to the Whispering Wood to meet Boris the Bear who is about to hibernate. Can he lull the youngsters to sleepiness? In the second story, Flight of the Penguin, youngsters and Cat fly to Shiver-Me-Blue to learn how to fly. Maybe! Extra fun is added with stickers to create your own Cat stories.

Stones For My Father by Trilby Kent (Alma Books; €8.35) is set in South Africa just before and during the Boer War. Corlie Roux lives with her widowed mother and two younger brothers on a farm in the Transvaal. She is accustomed to her mother’s strict attitude and lack of any affection, but often wonders why she is targeted for abuse. That explanation comes eventually. Otherwise, life is idyllic. African native Sipho, Corlie’s matie, and his servant mother are also part of the household. When the conquering khakis (British) come, the family flee to the laager where other Boer families have banded together to fight the enemy. The events that transpire when the khakis finally come and the racism with its brutal consequences are chillingly narrated without emotion. The heat and flies of the arid landscape are almost tangible and the characters are truly credible. This atmospheric story is one of those rare books that demand to be read through at one sitting. Suitable for young adults.