November Beautiful Books

Children’s Books

Miss Leoparda

Natalia Shaloshvili

Enchanted Lion

Miss Leoparda drives a yellow bus, her passengers are animals, all going about their animal business. All is well until one day, an animal in a car zips past. The animals on the bus are all taken by this fast mode of transport, and soon they too have their own little cars. The roads become busier and before they know it, their journeys are slow and not fun anymore. Trees are cut down to make way for roads and poor Miss Leoparda is not only out of a job, her favourite tree is gone.

The characters in this story are wonderful, their expressions are priceless and their personalities shine through. You are transported to an animal world that is fast becoming like our own. But luckily these animals realise what is wrong. Miss Leoparda plants some trees and starts to ride a bicycle. Soon others follow suit, the animals stop using their cars so much and the place soon becomes a nicer environment to be in. Miss Leoparda even drives her bus sometimes so the furry friends can get together and have a chat!

A heartwarming story about the importance of caring for our environment and the value of community!

This vibrant and fun picture book, tells the story of a little boy who tells his father that there is a rhinoceros in his bedroom. His father searches for one but cannot see it. The little boys tells his father that they can’t see the moon from the window, but they know it’s there. An endearing and amusing bedtime story on one level and a philosophical concept on another.

The end notes made a great addition to the book, it was fascinating to read about the real life inspiration for this story! We also find out more about the philosopher Wittgenstein and how the illustrations were made from just three colours! The illustrations by Golden Cosmos have a distinct style with lots to look at, the end pages are full of cute suggestions on how to hide a rhinoceros! A very fun and educational read all rolled into one.

Ludwig and the Rhinoceros

Golden Cosmos and Noemi Schneider

NorthSouth Books

Fiery Fox Learns About Fire Safety

By Teresa Davis, Illustrated by Eli Rees-King

Bear-Books

The rhyming text in this story, makes it an exceptionally fun read whilst getting across a very important message of fire safety. Fiery Fox is chasing through the forest with his friend squirrel when he finds a shiny object, he flicks it open, not knowing what it is, accidentally he starts a fire. Through the story, we get lots of good advice about what to do in a fire and, more importantly, what not to do, so we don’t start one in the first place! The learning takes place in the story and doesn’t feel like a lesson, which really helps get the message across.

The illustrations are very beautiful, the fox family are so endearing, their expressive faces are delightful, and the forest scenes with beautiful floral details immerse you in the forest adventure.

The back pages contain advice for children and grown-ups, and some fun fire safety objects to find in the story. A very enjoyable story that is fun and educational in equal measures!

Fiery Fox Books can be found at www.bear-books.net or Etsy bearbooksltd

The Paper Bridge

Joëlle Veyrenc; Illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh

Floris Books

Illustrated with beautiful kirigami scenes, artwork made from cut and folded paper, this modern fairy tale takes you into the magical world of Paperlee. This beautiful paper community lives in peace and harmony until one day the weather changes. Wind starts to come to Paperlee, which, as you can imagine is the last thing paper people want. Anya sets off to the neighbouring village to find why the weather has changed in this way.

The paper illustrations are beautiful and transport you to another world, the house scenes are like looking into a dolls house with the side removed. There’s so much to look at!

The story concludes in a wonderful way and is a valuable message to our own world, one of working together, communicating and helping to protect our planet.

Let’s Get Festive!: Celebrations Around the World

Joanna Konczak, Translated by Kate Webster, Illustrated by Ewa Poklewska-Koziello

NorthSouth Books

Let’s Get Festive takes you on a journey around the world, discovering different communities customs and beliefs. Featuring celebrations of nature, religious festivals, carnivals, important events and occasions, religious holidays, and much more! There will be many we are familiar with, like Christmas, and Harvest Festival, but several, like the New Yam Festival of West Africa or The Hungry Ghost Festival of Japan, you might not be!

The festivals are explained in an interesting way, with lots of fun facts and eye-catching visuals. The illustrations for this book are wonderful, on nearly every page, and sometimes double page spreads, they give this book the feel of reading a beautiful picture book, whilst still having lots of interesting information. A valuable resource to learn more about other cultures and beliefs in an interesting way, and a fun way to learn more about the worlds celebrations and festivals!

At the Drop of a Cat

Elise Fontenaille, Violeta Lopiz

Enchanted Lion

Grandpa Luis has a way with words, he plays with them and makes his Grandson laugh, he also cooks delicious food and grows vegetables, he talks to the birds and plays guitar. His house and garden are a haven for this little boy, who spends time there each week.

Life hasn’t always been so easy for Luis, he escaped fighting in Spain and walked over the mountains to France. He didn’t get a chance to be a child, the little boy is told.

This is a very moving story about a intergenerational relationship and how now, after all those years, Luis can experience the joys of childhood with his grandson, that he missed as a child.

The artwork is dreamlike, the beautiful imagery of nature, foliage and birds overlayed on the characters bodies, immerses you in the story. The illustrations perfectly match the feeling of the story, one of finding a perfect place to escape the world and be happy, being close to nature and those you love.

Outside In : Nature Poems

Written by Daniel Thompson, Illustrated by Julia Murray

Collins

A collection of 50 poems inspired by all things outside! Poems inspired by the weather, poems about trees and animals, and poems about the way nature makes us feel. This would make a nice collection for a child to read alone or to pick one a day for a read aloud.

The poems are interesting to read, some are serious and some are lighthearted, they all have an underlying message of caring for our beautiful world and taking the time to appreciate nature.

Blue Sky Morning

Kim Jihyun

Floris Books

A little girl wakes up and finds a beautiful blue sky. The world is already busy with people starting their day. Eunny eats her breakfast and walks with her mother to the bus stop, they are not in a hurry, so they take time to enjoy small things, a beautiful flower and the blue sky morning.

The story has a bright and positive feel, although this is a school day for Eunny, and a work day for her mother, they take time to enjoy the start of the day and the moments they get to spend together.

Created by the author of The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky, this story has the same quiet, understated feeling of appreciating small moments of happiness and tranquillity.