Are You an Alien? By Sam Banfield-Keller and Rosemary Banfield

 

2025      

Makhosi is curious about aliens.

She looks everywhere for them and she asks everyone she meets if they are aliens. She gets to know many other earthlings.

On her quest Makhosi meets all sorts of animals which may or may not be familiar to the reader.  We learn something interesting about each animal. Here is an opportunity for the adult to discuss what the child sees in the pictures.  

Both Makhosi and her grandfather are curious and optimistic. But in the end Makhosi cannot find the alien she wants to befriend … except just at the last moment she meets a strange little green creature.       

As we would expect there is more story in the pictures.

The text uses a plain font with simple ‘a’s and ‘g’s.

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Coorie Doon by Jackie Kay and Jill Calder

2025      

Like Jackie Kay herself, protagonist Shona is adopted and her skin is a different colour from that of her parents. It is quite uncanny that Kay tells us the father in the book looks just like her father and the garden is similar to the one where she lived as a child in Glasgow.

Shona’s father sings ‘Coorie Doon’ to her as she settles down to sleep.  There are other songs: ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ ‘The Riddle Song’ and ‘Tree Love Song’. As the book progresses we enter Shona’s dreams.

Then in a thought-provoking twist at the end of the book sixty-year old Shona sings ‘Coorie Doon’ to her ageing parents.

Jill Calder’s’ illustrations are quite delicate, particularly in the dream scenes.   As ever more story appears in the illustrations.

At the beginning of the book is a QR code that takes you to an interview with Kay and the songs.

At the end of the book there is a letter from Kay to the young reader and simple biographies of both Calder and Kay.

There are sixteen double spreads in the book. The text uses a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s’. It is meant to be read aloud by an adult. Some Scottish dialect may be a challenge for some English readers.  

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 Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing. 

    

Spalt! by Vanessa Horn and Georgia Przygocki

2025           

There is a problem at Muddlepuddle: the geese keep dropping poo on the village.

Emma and her mum and dad, Mr and Mrs Chatterbustle try to solve the problem.

Using umbrellas isn’t enough.  Giving the geese mirrors doesn’t put them off.  

Then Emma realises they are very good at fertilising the soil. They all set to and create targets for the geese. The goose poo now lands in the right place and the crops grow well on the allotments of the Muddlepuddle residents.

A little fanciful, yes, but full of fun. 

The book is a typical picture book with additional story in the pictures. There are twelve double spreads. The font is without a serif but has difficult ‘a’s. The last spread gives information about the museum of poo on the Ilse of Wight and some general information about animal poo. 

 

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