18 saturday review Saturday December 4 2021 | the times
veteran James Howard Williams,
undertake a journey to lead 93 elephants
and 200 refugees to safety by trekking
across the mountains to northern India.
Grill’s art — from maps of the terrain
to illustrated elephant commands — is
distinctive and the story is stylishly told.Grimwood 7+ by Nadia Shireen
Simon and Schuster, £12.99
All hail Grimwood from Nadia Shireen,
known for her picture books for little
’uns, including The Bumblebear and
Barbara Throws a Wobbler. Our heroes
are fox siblings Ted and his elder sister,
Nancy, who has taken on the role of
protector since their parents left. So
when an evil cat called Princess Buttons
goes after Ted she knows that she has to
get him out of the Big City. The foxes’
quest to find a true home, deal with their
parents’ absence and sate Ted’s passion
for the stage is told with help from a
witty woodlouse called Eric Dynamite.8-12 years
The Most Important Comic Book on
Earth: Stories to Save the World 8+
years, various Dorling Kindersley, £20
The contributors page reads like a
fantasy dinner party — Judi Dench, Paul
McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Lenny Henry
and Brooklyn Beckham, for starters.
While the quality of cartoons is mixed,
the cause couldn’t be better; proceeds
from this book of environmentally
minded comic strips go to Greenpeace,
the World Land Trust and other charities
involved with rewilding the world.Black and British: An Illustrated
History 8-11 years, by David Olusoga,
illustrated by Jake Alexander and
Melleny Taylor Macmillan, £16.99
Do you want to learn about black British
history and fill the holes that the school
curriculum doesn’t reach? There’s no
better place to start than with this
illustrated book by the historian David
Olusoga. It’s a fantastic, accessible primersanta paws Shifty
McGifty and Slippery
Sam: Santa’s Stolen
Sleigh. Below: Fox
siblings Ted and Nancy
in Grimwoodchilly pal, while Bump in the Night has
them performing festive rituals. Read
this on Christmas Eve.Stuntboy: In the Meantime 7-12 years,
by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raul
the Third Knights Of, £7.99
The American children’s author Jason
Reynolds won the Carnegie medal this
year for Look Both Ways. He returns with
a heavily illustrated book with a comic
feel in collaboration with the Mexican-
American artist Raul the Third. Portico
Reeves is Stuntboy, an anxious child who
transforms into a superhero to protect
his friend Zola, navigate his parents’
break-up and try to understand Herbert
Singletary the Worst, a classmate and
new boy in his block. Reynolds knows
what makes this age group tick and
animates life in a big American
apartment building. Perfect for fans of
the Tom Gates books.A Night at the Frost Fair 7+ by Emma
Carroll, illustrated by Sam Usher
Simon & Schuster, £10.99
Children will have fun with this
Christmas story about a time-travelling
girl who goes back to 1814 and the banks
of the frozen Thames (the river froze for
up to two months at a time between
1600 and 1814). Carroll, whose latest
longer novel The Week at World’s End is
also highly recommended for slightly
older children (8-12 years), has done it
again with this delightful story of the
joys of stepping outside of time.Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue
6-10 years, by William Grill
Flying Eye, £15.99
His glorious Shackleton’s Journey won the
Kate Greenaway medal in 2015, and now
William Grill is back with another true
adventure story set in Myanmar when
the country was still a colony of the
British Empire. When the Second World
War comes to Burma, Bandoola the
tusker elephant and his keeper, the warAdults will
miss out if
they don’t
read Bonnie-
Sue Hitchcock
books of the year
Shifty McGifty,
Merlin and the
Shadow Man
Strange characters
and wild adventures
abound in these tales
for youngsters of
all ages, selected by
Alex O’Connell
When the Sky Falls
9+ by Phil Earle
Andersen, £7.99
It’s 1941 and Joseph
Palmer, an
angry 12-year-
old maths
genius with
dyslexia, has
been shunted
from his home in Yorkshire to live in
the city with Mrs F, a no-nonsense
family friend. Joseph feels abandoned,
his father is fighting in the war. He
expresses himself through belligerence
and violence — until he starts helping
out at the zoo. The fate of Adonis, a
grieving silverback gorilla, hangs in the
balance and becomes a metaphor for
Joseph’s pain. Earle (Demolition Dad,
The Dog That Saved the World Cup) tells
the tale — inspired by true events —
from the heart. It’s a wonderful story of
hurt, kindness and what it means to be
human in an inhumane world.
Picture books
The Little Thing 3-5 years, by Nick Cave
Cave Things, £20
The Australian singer Nick Cave’s first
book for very young children owes more
to Dr Heidegger than Mr Benn. “Once
there was a little thing that didn’t know
what it was,” he writes beside a picture of
a yellow creature that looks part Simpson,
part cupcake. This thing goes to his pals
for clarification, but they pass the buck.
“I don’t know,” said Ghost. “Go ask
Tomato.” As exasperation levels rise,
only Corn has a decent suggestion,
ordering him to a cave where an oracle
lives. One for mini-metaphysicians.
When I See Red 3-5 years, by Britta
Teckentrup Prestel, £10.99
Christmas is a time of high emotions and
what better way to pacify a hot temper
than through this beautiful book by the
Hamburg-born writer and artist? “I am
furious. I am seeing RED. I’m filled with
rage. A storm’s ahead,” she says beside an
image of a little girl framed by a fiery sky.
There’s lovely onomatopoeia to bellow
as you’re reading aloud, and stunning
artwork. Thankfully, it all blows over.
W
9
A
If hi h i Y
Times
choicechildren & YA
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam:
Santa’s Stolen Sleigh 2-5 years, by
Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton
Nosy Crow, £11.99
Shifty and Sam are chefs off to Lapland
to cook a feast for Father Christmas and
the elves, but when they arrive there is
panic — the elves are unwell (have they
done PCR tests?) and can’t finish the
toys. Enter Flo Frost, a mysterious
stranger who wants to help (or does she?).
Fortunately, Shifty and Sam are on call
to save Christmas. Jaunty seasonal fun
with jolly illustrations.Sticky McStickstick: The Friend Who
Helped Me Walk Again 3+ by Michael
Rosen, illustrated by Tony Ross
Walker Books, £12.99
“I was ill. I was so ill I couldn’t get up,”
Michael Rosen writes at the start of his
picture book about the aftermath of his
illness — last year he was in hospital with
Covid in an induced coma for 40 days;
when he awoke he had to learn to walk
again. The former children’s laureate, who
is used to bringing clarity and humour
to difficult subjects (he described his
grief after the death of his son in the
wonderful Sad Book), charts his progress
from his first wobbly steps with a frame.
Few writers and illustrators could make
geriatric, post-Covid rehab a jolly subject
for a kids’ story; this being Rosen and
Ross, they more than manage it.5-7 years
Lo and Behold! Mouse & Mole 5-7
years, by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by
James Mayhew Graffeg, £12.99
You know it’s Christmas when there are
three new Mouse and Mole stories from
this accomplished duo (the characters
were originally played in the TV series
by Richard Briers and Alan Bennett).
These cosy, reassuring tales have just the
right dose of jeopardy for this age group.
Snowmole shows the friends making aNADIA SHIREEN