For beginners, for beginners: On the Street Where I Live, by Cynthia Millen, illustrated by the pupils of St Vincent's Girls School, North William St, Dublin (Printers 3hree, £3.99), is a worthy enterprise, with proceeds to the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. The girls show a fine sense of design and colour, the text is simple, and I especially liked "Granny", to whom one can "pop round for two cups of tea".
Two from the Panda Series from O'Brien Press: Ribbit Ribbit, words by Anne Marie Herron and pictures by Stephen Hall (£3.99): Freddy thinks he's a frog, drives everyone mad by saying "ribbit, ribbit" and is only cured by Polly's use of the old dictum, "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a Prince." Amy's Wonderful Nest, words by Gordon Snell and pictures by Fergus Lyons (£3.99): Amy is a baby robin who falls out of her nest before she can fly and then has to build her own nest in order to keep herself warm. A delightfully entertaining tale for those just starting to read.
Brainstorm, by Pierce Feir tear (Blackwater Press, £3.99), is a real treasure, a comic book, really, which is guaranteed to send your head into a spin with "loads of gnarly questions, twisty teasers, wacky puzzles and cracking great crosswords". Reminds me of the publications of my youth - ah, me.
In the Irish Legends Series from Blackwater Press: The King's Secret, by Pierce Feirtear, The Goban Saor, by Larry O'Loughlin and Fionn and the Scots Giant, by Larry O'Loughlin - all illustrated by John Leonard (£3.99 each). I cannot recommend these smashing comic books too highly. They are sure to set any child's imagination to dancing - they certainly did mine. Buy and treasure them, whether you're five or fifty.
Charlie Harte and His Two-Wheeled Tiger, by Frank Murphy, illustrated by Celine Kiernan (O'Brien Press, £3.99), is a nice, lively story about Charlie and his magic bicycle, and how it helps him make his fortune.
For pre-teens: Gruesome Irish Tales for Children, by Eddie Lenihan (Mercier Press, £4.99): not all that gruesome, really - more funny-scary. Set in the time of the Fianna, the tales are written in a modern idiom and may well send readers back to the original tales of Fionn MacCumhail and his companions.
Six Haunted Hairdos, by Gregory Maguire (O'Brien Press, £3.99) A fantasy piece, this, about the Tattletale Girls and the Copycat Boys. And ghosts. Not to mention the six weird creatures with the mad hairstyles. Very clever, very fast-moving and very, very funny.
Saoirse the Grey Seal, written and illustrated by Don Conroy (Mentor Press, £4.99), is a story of the sea, and of seals, by one of Ireland's most popular writers. A seal colony, living on a remote island off the west coat of Ireland, is devastated by hunters. Only Saoirse, a lone grey pup, is left alive and has to survive as best he can. Makes for an entertaining and exciting story.
For teenagers: Dream Invader, by Gerard Whelan (O'Brien Press, £3.99), is a fantasy tale about an ancient evil that returns to seek the life of a little boy. Don't read it alone at night. Four Kids - Three Cats - Two Cows - One Witch (Maybe), by Siobhan Parkinson (O'Brien Press, £4.50), is an awkwardly titled story about . . . well, it's all in the title, really. Except for eccentric Dymphna and her tale of a duck . . .
Katie's War, by Aubrey Flegg (O'Brien Press, £4.50), is set in 1922, and is the story of how Katie and her Welsh friend, Dafydd, are caught up in the Irish Civil War. Wellwritten and entertaining, it also gives an authentic historical perspective on the time.
Enchanted Journeys: Fifty Years of Irish Writing for Children, edited by Robert Dunbar, illustrated by Aileen Johnston (O'Brien Press, £8.99) Selections from novels, mostly, rather than short stories. A good cross-section of the old and the new, with pieces from such as Walter Macken, Patricia Lynch and Meta Mayne Reid, and from newer practitioners like John Quinn, Elizabeth O'Hara and Martin Waddell. Pity there's no selections in the native tongue.
Kick the Can, by Peter Gunning (Blackwater Press, £3.99), A tough, modern novel about three unlikely friends who get into trouble when they cross the wrong person. Set in Cork City, it manages to tightrope-walk between being too fanciful and too neo-realistic.