Getting a gift for the little ones in your life can be a hard task, especially with all the choice out there! To help you pick the perfect picture book we’ve collected together some of our 2019 titles for you to peruse, whether your young one is looking for their very first book or just another special one to add to their library.
A Mouse Called Julian
Joe Todd Stanton
It’s a lucky child who finds this gorgeous picture book under the tree, this Christmas. Joe Todd-Stanton, winner of the Waterstones Prize for Best Illustrated Book has turned his sights to picture books this year, delivering with this brilliant tale of unlikely friendship, tolerance and altruism.
When introverted mouse Julian finds a fox with its head stuck in his house (“‘I was simply popping in to see if you were ok,’ the fox lied”) he soon discovers that talking with people might not be so bad after all and that friends can come from the most unlikely of places.
The illustrations are to die for and the story has some laugh out loud moments (and one point that’s oh so fun to read aloud), this is going to be the perfect gift for everyone involved.
Professor Astro Cat’s Stargazing
Dr Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman
Professor Astro Cat and his team take readers on a new journey through space helping the biggest ideas seem small enough for young people to understand. They’ll learn how long it takes to walk a light year. Just what is a star? How big is a galaxy? And more and more and more. You might even learn a few things yourself.
Now couple that with the extraordinary vibrant retro artwork and you have a picture book gift that’s worth more than the stars.
Astro Kittens: Into The Unknown & Astro Kittens: Cosmic Machines
Dr Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman
And now the toddlers can get in on the action too! These gorgeous little board books pack the brilliance of the Professor Astro Cat series into an even smaller package. Super simple, super colourful, now the littles can start to learn about rockets and rovers, life on other planets, bio-domes and wormholes. It’s never too early to start dreaming about a life in the big black.
Orchestra
Avalon Nuovo & David Doran
But we’re not just inspiring the future astronauts this season. We’re kick-starting the musicians too!
For music lovers of all ages, Orchestra makes a perfect first comprehensive guide on musical theory. Starting with a simple history of the orchestra, it sweeps through the different sections of an orchestral arrangement from string to woodwind to percussion. Then we visit some of the world’s most famous venues and the composers who have inspired generations from Vivaldi to Duke Ellington. Then it roars into a crescendo, leaving the music halls behind to talk about opera, theatre, cinema, myth and legend.
The art is glorious, the content more so. Just buy it already and thank us later.