LJ's beautiful books

By Anna Currey Published by Oxford University Press All ages This book is a delight. Perfect for Christmas bedtime reading! Florian the Unicorn wants to find out more about Christmas and the coloured sparkly lights. Milly is in a different house for Christmas and looking for a friend. When Florian shows up in her yard (nods to The Snowman) friendship and cute Christmas mischief happens. I love Florian helping to decorate the Christmas tree and him eating straw from a nativity scene... A truly lovely read with vintage-style and watercolour illustrations - a new winter classic. 

Ella's Night Lights by Lucy Fleming Published by Walker Books. All ages. This is a stunning picture book, an immediate favourite! The illustrations are magical and expressive depicting the gentle Ella, animals, nature and winter beautifully. I love the fox! This is a sweet story about friendship, caring and creativity as well as appreciating the big and little lights of the world. It will want to be read again and again. 

  All ages By Briony May Smith     In this story, Margaret looks after a lost baby unicorn until the adult unicorns return to the island. Exploring and experiencing things together helps her to settle in to her new rural home. The illustrations are gorgeous, warm, atmospheric, detailed and the baby unicorn is ADORABLE. It is such a gentle, heart-warming tale that reads, looks and feels like a classic already, made with love. 

For 9-12 year olds (and older) By Jane Elson     An uplifting story about the magic of animals, determination, friendship and recognising your gifts.  A mysterious white horse shows up one day and helps Daniel, who's dyslexic, to overcome his reading and movement challenges - and also helps Daniel's friends along the way. The horse becomes a symbol of hope, akin to the great horse Seabiscuit in the 1930s. If you love rescue animals and horses you will love this book. Daniel and his friends, with help from their horse, show school bullies and public alike what they are capable of and I'm sure it will inspire many a reader! I LOVED the ending too.

 Rainbow Grey 5-8 year olds (and older) By Laura Ellen Anderson An entertaining and whimsical read for 5-8 year olds (and older). Rainbow and her friends go to a school where they learn how to use the special weather magic powers. Very important - Rainbow's companion is a CLOUD CAT!

 Pip and Egg All ages By Alex Latimer and David Litchfield Published by Scholastic I have chosen this as one of my featured picture books in the store- I love it! The illustrations are beautiful - especially Egg as a bird - and the story is about nature as much as friendship. How the friendship between Pip and Egg evolves while they grow naturally into very different things, but still connected by nature itself - is original and comes together in a lovely ending.   The Bookshop Cat All ages By Cindy Wume   The story of a cat looking for his vocation and his love for finding books for children. A sweet and relatable story for anyone who loves books (especially booksellers) and cats!

Ages 2-5+ Walker Books Smriti Halls and David Litchfield  Each page in this book is stunning. Truly beautiful illustrations (and look at the detail of the fox's fur!). The text reads like poetry - concise and poignant. It is less a story, more a message about hope It is beautiful on multiple levels and would make a wonderful gift for any age!