Paul Gallico’s classic tale set in the years running up to the evacuation of Dunkirk during the Second World War, tells of Fritha a young girl who finds a wounded snow goose, and Rhayader, the recluse who nurses it back to health.

The muted tones and painterly style Barrett uses to illustrate this classic tale work wonderfully well throughout, and convey a phenomenal sense of place. She beautifully captures the emotions of the story whilst retaining an element of steel so that her illustrations never descend into sentimentality.

CRASTE, MARC (text by Helen Ward) VARMINTS
Templar (Age range: 7+)
ISBN: 9781840113235

“There was once only the sound of bees and the wind in the wiry grass, the low murmuring of moles in the cool dark earth and the song of birds in the high blue sky. It touched and warmed the hearts of those few who paused and cared to listen. Then one day OTHERS came, and the sound of bees was lost”.

A breathtaking and magical piece of work, that is wholly original and allows your imagination space to work. Craste makes outstanding use of light to haunting and often poignant effect.

DOCHERTY, THOMAS LITTLE BOAT
Templar (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781840118261

“The ocean is a big place and I am just a little boat. But I chart my own course and I drop my own anchor”. Little Boat is an independent and determined small vessel who sails bravely on, whatever dangers he may face.

Docherty perfectly captures the emotions of a little traveller, with a great sense of movement and perspective, and a limited but highly effective colour palette. You really get the feel of the huge ocean in all its moods.

GRAHAM, BOB HOW TO HEAL A BROKEN WING
Walker (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781406307160

When a fallen bird lies injured on the crowded city pavement, Will is the only one to notice. He stops and looks – and reaches down to help, and before long he is learning how to heal a broken wing.

A beautifully understated book which makes fantastic use of perspective and of a simple but highly expressive line to convey the emotions of the story. Ideal for sharing with the non-reading child, it has a filmic quality as Graham pans in and out of this delightful tale.

JEFFERS, OLIVER THE WAY BACK HOME
Harper Collins (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9780007182282

One day, a small boy finds himself stuck on the moon. And he is not alone. What is he to do, especially as he suspects there is an alien creature nearby, ready to eat him up? But when the alien turns out to be friendly, things change completely: maybe, just maybe they can help each other get back home?

Jeffers somehow manages to convey a whole host of emotions and moods with his stick figures. His style is so clever with its surreal and amusing details, and there is some great variation in the spreads both in terms of illustration and colour. Lovely metallic endpapers too!

MCKEAN, DAVE (text by David Almond) THE SAVAGE
Walker (Age range: 10+)
ISBN: 9781406308150

“There was a wild kid living in Burgess Woods…”. Blue Baker is writing a story – not all that stuff about wizards and fairies and happily ever after – a real story about blood and guts and adventure, because that’s what life’s really like.

McKean’s illustrations add immensely to David Almond’s prose, reflecting its quality via a subdued colour palette and a variety of styles and framing. The cover image is particularly powerful, and the whole an utterly contemporary but timeless book you can’t ignore.

RAYNER, CATHERINE HARRIS FINDS HIS FEET
Little Tiger Press (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781845065898

Harris, a very small hare with very big feet goes out with his Grandad and finds out not only how to hop high into the sky, climb to the tops of the mountains and run very fast, but also about the importance of finding his own feet.

Harris is a triumph from the way he moves and his expressions to his velvety fur and his hands and feet. His relationship with his Grandad is beautifully evoked as are the times of day and the textures of the exquisite landscapes around him.

WORMELL, CHRIS MOLLY AND THE NIGHT MONSTER
Jonathan Cape (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9780224070737

When Molly wakes up in the middle of the night and hears the sound of a step on the stair, her imagination runs absolutely wild. Is it a bear? Is it a crocodile? Is it a huge hippopotamus? Or some other night monster? Molly must be very brave in order to find out.

A tour de force in monochrome. The blue is perfect to convey the night-time action and Wormell’s use of light is fabulous. The proportions of the animals are absolutely right and not at all anthropomorphical. And Molly is a great role model!