children's & YA recommendations on the go
A sassy cat from the back alleys of Paris believes she is quite different to the rest of the rabble. She can do anything she sets her mind to – even if others don’t think so. Leaving her cat family behind, she sets off to explore Paris. Cat meets legendary singer Edith Piaf, creates her own stunning designs at a high-fashion atelier and dances with the infamous dancer Josephine Baker and her cheetah. But is this the life she really wants? What about her friends and family?
ACHUKA Book of the Day 6 Jul 2020
This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. It is a book for dreamers. Slight of word, rich of image, its purpose is to ease the soul.
The paintings between these covers were worked in the between times, an unwinding of the soul, when the pressures of work were too much. Dreams and wishes are the inspiration at times like this. Threaded through the curious world of The Unwinding are words, slight and lyrical. Their aim is to set the reader’s mind adrift from the troubles of our times, into peaceful harbours where imagination can stretch, where quiet reflection can bring peace.
The Unwinding is designed to be a companion, a talisman to be turned to again and again and a place of respite from an increasingly frantic and complex world.
ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Jul 2020
“A thoughtful and playful introduction to iconic artworks, with multiple layers of meaning for children and parents alike. ABCs of Art is a book to return to time and again.”
Richard Armstrong, Director of the Guggenheim Museum
“ABCs of Art introduces young minds to masterworks with playful rhymes. Be art smart. It is never too early to build art vocabulary and understanding.”
Paula Crown, Artist and Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Spark your child’s creativity and curiosity with this delightfully curated alphabet book featuring some of the world’s most iconic paintings.
In this collection, your child will discover artwork by Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, and many others. Help them locate the earring in Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring, teach them different colors while examining Monet’s Water Lilies, and count the pieces of fruit in Cezanne’s The Basket of Apples.
ACHUKA Book of the Day 2 July 2020
Mini Rabbit is back in another adventure with “eyewateringly bright landscapes, a comic series of misadventures and a final sting in the tale” GUARDIAN
Mini Rabbit has a VERY important letter to post.
Mini Rabbit is being VERY helpful.
Mini Rabbit will NOT lose the letter, WILL be very careful, and definitely will NOT be late…
The first Mini Rabbit book, Mini Rabbit Not Lost, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children Book Prize 2019.
Follow John Bon on Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamjohnbond
ACHUKA Book of the Day 25 June 2020
By the author of Once Upon a Unicorn Horn, shortlisted for the 2020 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
This second title in a new series about how magical creatures came to have their gifts asks Do you know how dragons got their fire? It all began once upon a magic kingdom, when a fearsome, terrifying dragon stalked the land. He was so mean he ate kittens for breakfast, he was so scary he made children scream, and he was so evil that he blew huge storms out of his jaws, which is why it was always so cold.
Or so the stories said. But when two children called Freya and Sylas meet the dragon, they find something very different indeed…
Once again, it’s a beautifully designed and produced hardback picture book.
Beatrice Blue describes herself as a visual development artist as much as an illustrator. She has a huge following on her Instagram https://instagram.com.beatrice.blue
ACHUKA Book of the Day 17 Jun 2020
Shortlisted for 2020 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
A stunningly presented collection of twenty-five illustrated short stories exploring the relationship between humans and animals, from award-winning visual storyteller Shaun Tan.
“When it comes to originality and genius, Tan is in a league of his own. This collection of stories and poems with an animal-in-the-city theme are intriguing, though-provoking and at times baffling, asking as many questions as they answer, and the illustrations are sublime. One for quirky teens (or adults) who love art.”
The Irish Independent
Shortlisted for Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
Introduces the topic of autism to young readers in an intelligent, relatable manner.
This appealing brother and sister duo spend a lot of their day together, eating meals, going to school and playing. But life with an autistic sibling is not always easy.
Through the eyes of the brother, we find out how they are both very different, but also very similar in other ways, and come what may they have lots of fun together and love each other just the same.
This is a touching book that will strike a chord with every family with siblings, especially where one is differently abled.
ACHUKA Book of the Day 16 Jun 2020
A little fox gives his time-starved dad some sage advice about what ‘time’ really means, and how to make the most of it, from bath time to baking time to ‘dad’ time. Wise, witty and full of honest vignettes of family life, Five More Minutes is a from bestselling author-illustrator, two times CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal nominee and BookTrust Time to Read favourite, Marta Altes.
‘Utterly relatable for anyone with a young family’ – BookTrust
‘A wise, witty story, full of acutely observed vignettes of family life’ – Just Imagine
Shortlisted for Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
Autumnal in palette and artful in construction, Otto Blotter Bird Spotter is a visual feast for all budding ornithologists.
The Blotter family are famous bird spotters, who stay in their hide all day. All except for Otto – he’d rather go out and have big adventures.
When he follows the BIGGEST footprints he’s ever seen, he finds an extraordinary baby bird all on its own.
Waterstones
Amazon