From a silent plan to a disappearing moggie, from the inside story of architecture to the simple pleasure of kicking a football, we round up the best new picture books for children
by Chris Haughton
32pp, Walker, £11.99
Pleasingly spare and simple in design and storyline, and ending with a good joke, this is a perfectly executed picture book. Creeping silently through the woods, four hunters set out to catch a bird. The oldest three have a plan – a plan that depends on silence. But the littlest hunter just wants to make friends ... Chris Haughton pays tribute to Tomi Ungerer’s classic The Three Robbers in using only muted blues and blacks while the hunt is on, before bursting into colour as the joke unfolds. (3+)
© Chris Haughton /Walker Books
by Polly Alakija
28pp, Frances Lincoln, £11.99
Tobi owns the best hen in the village and he is very proud of her – especially when she lays an egg. But one egg doesn’t seem much when all his friend’s animals have their babies. First Ade’s cow has a calf, then Tunde’s sheep has two lambs. Not to be outdone, Tobi’s hen lays a second egg. Bisi’s goat has three kids, and still Tobi’s hen keeps on laying. More kittens, puppies and piglets are born and start to grow. Soon they are climbing, chasing and skipping; Tobi has his wonderful eggs, but when will the chicks arrive? Rooted in a strong village community, with illustrations packed full of detailed action, Counting Chickens is a stunning and dramatic counting book. (4+)
© Frances Lincoln
by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Sébastien Braun
32pp, Penguin, £11.99
The simple pleasure of kicking a ball is exuberantly celebrated by Allan Ahlberg in this poem taken from his collection Heard It in the Playground. Set against the other delights of life, from a child’s love of ice cream and going on bike rides to the adult joys of travel and fatherhood, kicking a ball can still come out top. Sébastien Braun’s humorous and touching illustrations capture the quietly expressed but unshakeable sentiment of the poem. (4+)
© Penguin
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