Book review: A picture perfect summer with Walker Books

Walker is the world’s leading, employee-owned independent publisher of children’s books and its latest colourful selection includes an exciting adventure set during the Liverpool Blitz from much-loved author Shirley Hughes, and a rainbow array of beautiful picture books.

Age 10 plus:

Whistling in the Dark by Shirley Hughes

Award-winning author and illustrator Shirley Hughes draws on her own experiences of growing up in Liverpool during the Second World War in a beautifully observed tale of friendship under fire.

Whistling in the Dark is a revealing account of the hardships of wartime for a new generation increasingly removed from the harsh realities of life – and death – for children as well as adults during six years of hostilities.

In Liverpool in 1940, 13-year-old Joan Armitage’s suburban home is under threat from the Nazis’ terrifying nightly Luftwaffe air-raids. Joan’s father, a Merchant Navy sailor, has been killed at sea, and along with her mother, two sisters and a brother, the family is trying to continue as normal. But it is not an easy time to be a teenager, especially with sweet rationing, strict curfews and blackouts.

Joan and best friend Doreen love going to the cinema but when the bombings intensify even that becomes too dangerous, especially when an Army deserter is found lurking near their homes. Who is he and why does he think Joan can help him? As the Blitz worsens, Joan and her friends uncover a black market scandal that threatens to tear the whole community apart…

In a story packed with mystery, danger, family and friendship, Hughes also pays tribute to the resilience of those left to keep Britain afloat on the home front and the men of the Merchant Navy who risked their lives to bring food and vital supplies across the icy U-boat infested Atlantic and saved the nation from starvation and defeat.

(Walker, hardback, £9.99)

Age 5 plus:

The Mousehole Cat Antonia Barber and Nicola Bayley

Twenty-five years ago Antonia Barber and Nicola Bayley stole the heart of a nation with a beautiful picture book about a Cornish fisherman and his cat.

And to celebrate the anniversary of award-winning The Mousehole Cat, a dramatic and moving story of bravery set amidst stormy seas and adapted into both a puppet show and an animated film, Walker has produced this beautiful celebratory edition.

Star of this award-winning modern classic is the seaside village of Mousehole in Cornwall where Mowzer the cat lives happily with old fisherman Tom, the man who rocks the rocking chair just right and catches fresh fish for dinner every night. Their life is a happy one until one terrible winter, the Great Storm-Cat comes clawing and snarling and leaping at the harbour walls so that no boat can go out to sea to fish.

Soon, with Christmas coming, there is no food left in Mousehole. It is then that Mowzer and Tom set out to brave the fury of the waves together, and discover that it might just need a cat’s perspective to understand – and tame – the ferocious ways of the Great Storm-Cat sea...

Gently yet powerfully told, this lyrical, incredibly moving story of bravery, sacrifice and companionship, brought life by beautiful, dream-like illustrations and inspired by Cornish legend, has a magical quality that age cannot wither.

(Walker, paperback, £6.99)

Age 5 plus:

Bogtrotter Written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Judith Rossell

Changes can arrive in the most unexpected ways… and Bogtrotter, the monster with a one-track mind, is in for a big surprise!

A simple flower, and a forward-thinking frog, will help his limited life blossom into a brave new world.

With her trademark subtlety and elegance, and some gorgeous eye-catching pictures from acclaimed illustrator Judith Rossell, Margaret Wild’s picture book hero Bogtrotter explores what happens when we challenge ourselves, try new things and look beyond our own little territory.

Every morning Bogtrotter runs across the bog, up the bog, down the bog and around the bog until it’s time to go home. Sometimes he wishes things would change, but he doesn’t know how or what or why. Until one afternoon, he picks a flower for the first time in his life...

This is a brilliant story about the things that can happen when we try new things and challenge ourselves, and Bogtrotter is a real picture book star, a joyously exuberant character who reminds us all that life is full of adventure, discovery… and boundless possibilities.

(Walker, hardback, £11.99)

Age 5 plus:

I (Don’t) Like Snakes Written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Luciano Lozano

Maybe it’s the way they slither, or perhaps it’s their slimy, scaly skin... whatever the reason, many of us shiver at the thought of a snake.

But snakes don’t have to be scary! Award-winning writer and zoologist Nicola Davies turns the age-old fear of snakes on its head in a bold, bright and fascinating nature storybook.

The little girl in this amazing, fact-filled book hates snakes but the rest of her family loves them and as they tell her more about snakes (did you know they have no eyelids, smell with their tongues and can swim?) she has a change of heart, and by the end of the book she loves them too.

Packed with fascinating facts about snakes, a witty story and Luciano Lozano’s stylish, colourful illustrations, this brilliant book might just convince your little ones that these scaly, slithery creatures are actually the natural world’s shiniest, most shimmering stars!

(Walker, hardback, £11.99)

Age 4 plus:

Where the Bugaboo Lives Written by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Neal Layton

There are creepy creatures and terrifying monsters at every turn in this exciting interactive, which-way book for adventurous youngsters.

Follow Floyd and his sister into the dark, shadowy valley behind their house, a valley full of all kinds of creepy, freaky, weasel-like creatures and the scariest of them all… the Bugaboo! But the best part of this hilarious, ghoulish story is that children get to choose Floyd and Ruby’s path (and which monster they meet next!) at the end of each page.

Ingeniously interactive and perfect for reading over and over again, children will love being in control of how the plot unfolds and discovering new settings and characters every time they open the book.