Little details and small moments help bring these beautiful picture books to life, writes NIAMH SHARKEY

I READ Louise Yates's Dog Loves Books(Jonathan Cape, £10.99) to my children, Oscar and Aoibhe, the three of us curled up cosy on their bottom bunk. The endpapers open with watery blue inky portraits of all sorts of dogs looking quite dazed. We meet Dog on the opening spread. He really loves books. He even runs his own bookshop. I also love books, so I know how he feels. What a wonderful passion to pass on to small readers! This is a simple but heartfelt celebration of the power of imagination and the simple happiness that books can bring us all, young and old. The closing endpapers feature the same dogs reading books about sausages and collecting slippers.

Peter Horacek poses the question, "How would you feel if somebody was trying to swat you?" in The Fly(Walker Books, £10.99). Painted, textured collage mixed with large crayoned speech bubbles makes for fun interactive reading. Simple and sturdy novelty cutouts add to the enjoyment. Horacek's energetic fly even poses a moral dilemma on the endpapers. There is certainly never a dull moment.

Lynne Richards's Jacob O'Reilly Wants A Pet(Hodder £10.99), illustrated by Lee Wildish, is an exploration of the age-old topic of how kids long for a pet. Instead of it being an imaginative jumping off point, it is treated too literally for my liking. Jacob suggests getting an iguana, an emu, a walrus, as his new pet, but his parents turn him down. Mum and Dad suggest pet sitting instead of actually getting a real pet. So Jake makes a pet-sitting sign, and ends up with four dogs, five hamsters, six cats, one mouse, and a python on his bed as well as donkeys, sheep, horses, and even a zebra. For me, Jake wasn't the hero, merely a list maker, his parents made the decisions and this is not very inspirational for a young reader.

Shirley Hughes beautifully captures the little details and small moments of an insecure toddler's life in her new book, Don't Want To Go!(The Bodley Head, £10.99). When Mum is sick one day, Lily has to go to Melanie's house. Dad reassures her that she will have lots of fun, but Lily does not want to go.

Hughes really understands the worries and fears of small children, she knows instinctively how to step back and observe the small details, such as when Melanie’s dog licks Lily’s hand or when Lily plays peek-a-boo with Sam. Small children learn that doing new things needn’t be frightening after all. When Dad comes to collect Lily, guess what? She doesn’t want to go!

Norris: The Bear Who Shared(Orchard Books, £10.99) is a gentle picture book that explores friendship, patience and sharing. Catherine Rayner's loose wandering lines and wide watercolour brushstrokes are endearing. Rayner creates a calmness in the opening lines that sets the tone: "Norris was wise. And being a wise bear, Norris knew that plorringes were the best fruit of all". Tulip the mouse and Violet the racoon love plorringes too and can't wait until this one ripens. This is a perfect book for curling up cosy with your little ones.

Make sure to pick up a copy of Cece Bell's Bee-Wigged(Walker Books, £5.99). Jerry Bee is a child-sized bee and he's really sad because even though he is very friendly, it's hard making friends when you're an enormous bee. But one day Jerry finds a wig on a pavement, puts it on, and suddenly everything changes: he is mistaken for a boy and told to hop on the school bus. Jerry creates quite a stir at school with his kindness, manners and charm, and for the first time in his life he makes friends. When a gust of wind blows the wig away, everyone's prejudices return, and they run away when they see him for what he really is. Amazingly, the wig turns out to be a hairy guinea pig called Wiglet who reminds everyone just how wonderful Jerry really is. "Jerry is helpful, funny, artistic and generous. I am proud to call Jerry my best friend ever!" Cece Bell's ink and acrylic illustrations perfectly capture this kooky tale.

Dog would say he loves books, but most of all he loves to share them. Make sure you do too, with your little ones. These tales are perfect for reading on a blanket on a sunny day, or curled up on a chair if it rains.

Niamh Sharkey is an author and illustrator