PICTURE BOOKS

OLD HAT by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots £11.99)

WHEN he was very little, harbet’s Nana knitted him a hat, which he still wears. But though it is warm and cosy and keeps his ears toasty, he feels embarrassed when his animal friends, with their trendy, eccentric headgear, laugh at it.

So harbet experiments with a bonnet, an exotic fruit concoction, a traffic cone — but whatever he wears he is still taunted as being ‘old hat!’ Then one day the brave young chap decides to do something truly original — with surprising and triumphant consequences.

emily gravett, twice winner of the Kate greenaway Award, has come up trumps again with a funny story about being yourself instead of following the crowd, and her trademark twist is so surprising and original that it will make you laugh out loud.

Nothing old hat about this joyous book.

THE BAD BUNNIES’ MAGIC SHOW by Mini Grey (Simon & Schuster £6.99)

MINI GREY’S anarchic sense of humour is given free rein in this wonderfully creative book, in which the great hypno, a conjuror, has failed to turn up for his stage show. In his place, two bunnies, Mr Abra and Mr cadabra, put on a performance. But are they genuine magicians, or do they have a wicked ulterior motive?

Fortunately, Brenda, the sawn-in-half woman, and her crew of assistants behind the curtain come to hypno’s rescue.

grey packs so much fun and hidden detail into her stories with plenty of interactive lift-the-flaps and hidden clues as to what has really happened to the conjuror.

hey presto — another winner.

SUN by Sam Usher (Templar £11.99)

IN PERFECT time for our longawaited heatwave is this third book in Sam Usher’s weather series — and it’s just as enchanting as his previous two titles: Snow and Rain.

Again we meet Boy and his grandfather, this time preparing a delicious picnic to take out on a sunny day.

It’s so hot (‘hotter than broccoli soup, hotter than the Atacama desert’), and grandad is desperate for some shade or a gentle breeze before they enjoy the snacks.

But after a long journey, someone has beaten them to the perfect spot — a pirate crew! Usher’s sun-drenched landscapes shimmer with detail and the expressive faces in the illustrations evoke such a tender relationship between the old man and the young boy that you’ll be packing up the cucumber sandwiches and ginger beer before you finish the book. Lovely.