AGES SEVEN TO NINE:IN THIS AGE group, where the ability and willingness to read vary so much between different children, even the most advanced readers prefer some kind of visual invitation to pick up a book, and will choose the one with good pictures over the well-told story in a dull or daunting format, writes Giles Newington
One that grabs the eye immediately is the black-velvet-covered Highway Robbery, the latest from four-time Bisto Award winner Kate Thompson (Bodley Head, £7.99), which promises and delivers the ideal package of a clever but simple story and evocative illustrations (by Jonny Duddle). It's a tall tale spun by an apparently guileless 18th-century street urchin, explaining how he has come into possession of what he claims is Dick Turpin's horse, Black Bess. The winning twist for children is that he's less vulnerable than he appears, and a lot sharper than the adults he's trying to convince.
Stanley Wells is a vaguer, dreamier boy who, with the help of rabbit-eared Dr Moon and his dog Morcambe, somehow manages to solve the surreal mysteries posed for him by his creator, the writer and illustrator Joel Stewart. The second in the series, Tree Soup(Doubleday, £8.99), finds Stanley living in a caravan in the garden of his mother's house so as to escape the noise and demands of his younger twin siblings. The story, though perhaps slightly over-extended, is livened up throughout by Stewart's classy black-and-white ink drawings and begins with a satisfyingly baffling situation: why is the family house suddenly overgrown with trees, where have Stanley's mother and the twins gone, and what about his breakfast? Perhaps the piratical next-door neighbour has some information . . .
Also newly available in paperback is Stewart's first Stanley mystery, The Trouble With Wenlocks(Corgi Yearling, £4.99).
Whimsy of a less structured kind is to be found in another nicely produced sequel, Tim the Tiny Horse at Large(Faber, £12.99), written and illustrated in colour by comedian Harry Hill. This is brasher, lighter and more knowing fare, with half an eye on the adults who might be reading it aloud, as earnest Tim ("He's tiny, but he has BIG ambitions") struggles with the crises of his miniature world: the hasty marriage of his best friend, Fly, the difficulties of babysitting Fly's baby, Maggot, and the unsophisticated cultural tastes of his pet greenfly, George. Those who found Hill's humour a little too arch in his previous book, The Further Adventures of the Queen Mum, will be glad he has revisited the far more appealing Tim.
Nestle Gold Award winner Daren King's new book is "for penguins only. If you're not a penguin, stop reading now or I'll slap you with my flippers. Still reading? That means you're a penguin!" Despite this attention-grabbing opening pitch, it is difficult for Peter the Penguin Pioneer(Quercus, £9.99) to make a distinctive impression when children's culture is already so over-populated by our waddling friends, from Pingou to Happy Feet. Peter and his sidekick Punky's ice-rink adventures are plainly written, with long stretches of explanatory dialogue, but enhanced as they are by David Roberts's lively black-and-white animal illustrations, they may still shuffle off the shelves for Christmas.
Two simply produced but enjoyable illustrated paperbacks that deserve a mention are Puddle Goblins, by writer/illustrator David Melling (Hodder, £3.99), and The Witch in the Woods(O'Brien Press, 6.99), illustrated by Francesca Carabelli and written by Marian Broderick, who, we are told in the blurb, is "a nasty lady who has written many unpleasant books" and "claims she isn't a witch".
Also from O'Brien Press (€7.99), though this time unadorned by any pictures at all, is Little Croker, by Joe O'Brien, which focuses on junior Gaelic footballer Danny Wilde and the efforts of his team, Littlestown Crokes, to win their league. One young sports obsessive I know sped through Danny's story, pronouncing the sporting element quite predictable (it all, as usual, comes down to the last kick of the last game) but praising the back-story about Danny's dad (and coach), who has a stroke.
In a different key, the prolific O'Brien is also author of the Alfie Green series, the latest offering of which has a seasonal theme. Alfie Green and the Snowdrop Queen(O'Brien Press, €7.99 ), illustrated by Jean Texier's simple line drawings, is a Christmas Eve tale of Santa and Rudolph that, even for the younger readers in this age group, will seem a little old-fashioned and soft-centred.
At the other end of the spectrum from the illustrated books we began with is the terrific Rip Runner, by Will Gatti (Orchard Books, £5.99), which proves that a good story needs no dressing up if it is strong enough. A sequel to The Geek, the Greek and the Pimpernel, this pacy and exciting novel follows up the same characters, including the narrator, Michael, a talented runner who works in his family's Greek restaurant, and his devious headmaster, Sir Pent, who is again up to no good. It's a stirring page-turner, an inventive antidote to the overheated Christmas Playstation.
• Giles Newington is an Irish Times journalist