LJ's beautiful books

Beatrix Potter  Published by Puffin  7 years old and upwards  This beautiful cover illustration by the incomparable Beatrix Potter is called 'Louisa Pussycat Sleeps Late'.  The Fairy Caravan by Potter is less well known than her books for younger children and has fewer (but still wonderful) illustrations. However this longer book deserves just as much appreciation for her imagination, humour and charm. After an unfortunate incident with hair potion (!), Tupenny the guinea pig runs away and joins a little travelling circus of animals that are invisible to the 'Big Folk'. The tales that follow in each chapter are both stories of the group's adventures and of stories they hear from other animals. These range from fanciful - cats running a costume shop; to serious - sheep being rescued by shepherds; to magical and mysterious woodland adventures and tree fairies.  Highlights for me include a charming Christmas scene where the chickens think ...

By Rihannan Fielding and Chris Chatterton Published by Ladybird All ages What's better than a sparkly unicorn book? A Christmas sparkly unicorn book!  This picture book is a new festive addition to the cute 'Ten Minutes to Bed' picture book series and a second pre- bedtime adventure for Twinkle the little unicorn. This time, told in the same style of a rhyming countdown, it's Christmas Eve and 10 minutes before Twinkle's bedtime she meets Father Christmas who has one missing poorly reindeer but lots of presents to deliver. Is there enough time for Twinkle to help? The illustrations throughout are all on a purple-blue-pastel background which is gorgeous. The pictures of Twinkle with all the reindeer are guaranteed to make you smile, as are the little touches such as the poorly reindeer's hot water bottle or the excited rabbits that appear throughout the book.  This is a pretty, perfect, picture book gift for little ones and unicorn lover...

By Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell Published by Puffin All ages This is one of my all time favourite picture books that touched my heart immediately. I believe should be considered a 'classic'. It has deservedly won the UNESCO Prize and been shortlisted for the Smarties Prize and the Kate Greenaway Medal.  'Something Else' (pictured on the cover with his adorable mini-me teddy that I love) is called that because that's how everyone else sees him. He is 'different' and made to feel lonely for it. Until he meets another creature considered 'different'... The text is simple and short, but, paired with such vivid and emotional illustrations proves so powerful in few words:  'He didn't see the things they saw'. The first time I read it - and I mean read Riddell's expressive pictures just as much as Cave's text - I nearly cried with the empathy I felt for 'Something Else'.  This story is about fr...

By Amy Krouse Rosenthal Illustrated by Brigette Barrager  Published by Puffin. All ages. This is a magical, gorgeous and touching picture book - especially for lovers of Unicorns! The beautiful cover is so striking but it also captures the heart of this story, which is belief and friendship. This story is told from the perspective of the unicorn, who dreams of a little girl to be friends with when no one else believes in little girls. Super clever twist! She dreams of the things her and her little girl will do together which makes for such pretty and joyful illustrations full of colour and affection. (My favourite is the girl and unicorn using magic to heal a bunny... 😍)  This is a perfect gift book with both simple text for little readers and stunning artwork for all.  Buy on Waterstones.com  

By Kieran Larwood Published by Faber & Faber Ages 9 and upwards Book one captivated us with the story of these bunnies, and book two continues the tale of Podkin and his company with a new mission, some new characters and new special gifts/weapons but much the same imagination, emotion and suspense as the first. The gifts play a crucial part in this book - and the most exciting parts are when Podkin and Paz get to use them. (The ability to grow plants to overcome the evil iron reminds me of Tolkien and Blake's love of nature over industry in their writing, but here with the added benefit of bunnies...) Book two also focuses a little more on the narrating bard himself, which connects past and present stories for the reader through his experiences and hints at a bigger story... Both books one and two have now proven riveting rabbit reads of skilled storytelling with immersive worlds - the wonderful illustrations included. You will love these characters. Buy from Wa...

By Eric Carle Published by Puffin All ages Time for one of my favourites... because I think this is one of the most beautiful picture books there is (but not as well known as a certain caterpillar...)! This story highlights the male seahorses and fish that carry and look after eggs instead of the female - which makes it a unique picture book to begin with, however visually this is Carle at his colourful best. Mister Seahorse himself is a BEAUTIFUL work of art (and wait for the babies!). This seahorse, with the fish and plants make for such vibrant images on each page. In addition, some sea plants are on see-through pages for both a collage AND hide-and-seek effect for the reader. This art, story and format makes for a very special, standout, picture book. Buy on Waterstones.com

By Michael Bond Published by HarperCollins  Ages 5 yrs and upwards  There are many Paddington adaptations and editions now, so I wanted to go back to the first, original story and illustrations, to see what lies at the heart of this classic and loved character. Right at the start, Paddington, with no home or relatives in England, is taken in and accepted by the Brown family as one of their own. This alone is a heartwarming and timeless message. Bond writes with such humour too: 'Mr Brown... stirred his tea and looked out of the window, pretending he had tea with a bear on Paddington station every day of his life'. The stories that follow show Paddington himself as extremely endearing and cute as he innocently and accidentally gets into trouble or an odd situation - often just trying to help and sometimes with hilarious effect: 'Mr Brown... looked as though he had just been struck by lightening...' However, there are some inspired moment...