KEY POINTS:
Every year brings a new crop of picture books to pore over. These are some of my current favourites.
It took me a while to succumb to the gushy charms of Lauren Child but now I really, truly have. My absolute favourite at the moment is I Will
Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Orchard Books, $19.99), featuring the cute-as-buttons Charlie and Lola.
When a Monster is Born (Orchard Books, $19.99) by Sean Taylor and Nick Sharratt won the Nestle Gold Award last year. It uses a clever device: two alternatives for every decision made.
Another recent award-winner is Penguin (Walker Books, $17.99), by Polly Dunbar. When Ben receives a penguin as a gift he expects the bird to be his friend. But whatever Ben does Penguin remains frustratingly mute. That is, until Lion appears on the scene.
Emily Gravett continues to impress with the inventive Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (McMillan, $29.99), which cleverly uses collage with "torn" pages and flaps. Gravett has thoughtfully provided a blank space on every page for children to express their own fears by drawing or writing whatever they want to.
Diary of a Wombat (Angus and Robertson, $16.99) by Jackie French is an engaging board book about a cute but very naughty wombat obsessed with carrots. He is demanding and destructive. But when carrots are finally offered to him and he doesn't have to fight for them anymore, they lose their allure. It's a great book but beware of the consequences of giving it to a child!
Two books by Mario Ramos, I am so Strong and I am so Handsome (Gecko Press, $17.99), feature an irrepressibly boastful wolf. Everybody will cheer when this bully gets his comeuppance.
Although Christmas is six months away, Ian Falconer's latest title in his Olivia series, Olivia Helps With Christmas (Harper Collins, $26.99), is still sure to become a favourite. Olivia is a lovable piglet who is forever getting into trouble.
Julia Donaldson's latest, Tyrannosaurus Drip (McMillan, $31.99), is marvellously illustrated by the very talented David Roberts. A baby duckbill dinosaur egg finds itself in a tyrannosaurus' nest. How can he get back to his rightful family?
And my award for the best true animal story goes to A Mama for Owen (Simon & Schuster, $28.99) by Marion Dane Bauer with illustrations by John Butler. Owen is a baby hippo living happily in Africa until the 2004 tsunami kills his mother. He is bereft. Who will look after him? Fact is stranger than fiction in this heart-warming tale.
