PICTURE BOOKS

SQUARE by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen (Walker £12.99)

EVERY morning, Square pushes cube-shaped rocks from his secret cave to the top of the hill where he stacks them in abstract formations.

One day, Circle rolls by and praises his work as a sculptor (which comes as something of a surprise to Square), then she asks him to sculpt a perfect image of her.

But works of art — particularly those with curved edges — don’t just happen and Square’s ‘genius’ is sorely tested through a stormy night — with an unpredictably positive response.

This sequel to the awardwinning author/illustrator team’s equally offbeat Triangle is a typically original delight, full of minimalist images, dry humour and an undercurrent of philosophical debate.

SPACE TORTOISE by Ross Montgomery & David Litchfield

(Faber £6.99) NOBOdy plays with light as beautifully as david Litchfield and this touching story about loneliness, bravery and friendship provides the perfect backdrop for his twinkling stars, soft moonbeams and flickering flames. A little tortoise lives alone in a playground wastebin, but yearns for companionship and starts to believe that the twinkling lights in the night sky are candles lit by other animals he could meet if he builds a space rocket.

His ingenuity and determination may not launch him into space, but the uplifting ending will make your spirits soar into the stratosphere.

Montgomery and Litchfield are becoming a perfect picturebook pairing.