PICTURE BOOKS:JEREMY TANKARD'S Me Hungry! (Candlewick Press, $15.99) is a hilarious Stone Age tale about a cave boy, Edwin, writes Niamh Sharkey.
"Me hungry!" the boy complains to his dad. "Me busy", his Dad gruffly replies. Mum, who has her hands full with four other cave babies, has the same response. What's our cave boy to do?
"Me hunt!" His prey does not cooperate: an elusive rabbit, a prickly porcupine, an extra-mean tiger fend him off, until he runs into a like-minded woolly mammoth who is more than happy to help.
Tankard's uncluttered, inky, digital illustrations are perfectly matched with the blunt cave-speak language. He relies on a heavy use of black line, and it's remarkable how much expression he can endow his characters with.
On the title page Edwin looks down at his tummy and it's clear that his tummy is rumbling from six black lines that radiate from it. The book is set in a typeface called Stone Hinge. It's hard not to be charmed by this prehistoric gem. Me like! You buy!
Sam Lloyd's Chief Rhino to the Rescue (Orchard Books £10.99) is one of a series of books that takes place in Whoops-a-Daisy World. Chief Rhino is the bravest person in Whoops-a-Daisy World, so when he sees the flicker of flames in a window he must race to the rescue.
The ink drawings and bold primary colours are fun, retro in style and reminiscent of the Curious George books of the 1940s that are still hugely popular today. Lloyd has created a fun world that is kid friendly, and fans of Richard Scarry will also enjoy the animal characterisations.
Hectic family life is brilliantly captured in Mick Inkpen's We Are Wearing Out The Naughty Step (Hodder, £10.99). Sitting on the "naughty step" is a familiar punishment for many children. Josh and his sister are always ending up on the naughty step, like when they paint the dog's eyes so he looks like a panda, or when they let loose the school hamster in their house. "Mummy is not happy . . . but the day she makes Kevin a chocolate birthday cake is the day that ALL of us, including Mummy, end up on the Naughty Step!". When Mum sees the children eating Kevin's cake she does an amazing thing. She grabs a handful of cake, and stuffs it into her mouth! Baby Jimbo says his first word: "gak!". They all have to laugh, especially when Mum goes and sits down on the naughty step! This book was a real hit in my house and got a resounding 10 out of 10.
Witty, engaging and funny, I always enjoy reading a new title by Mo Willams. This summer you are in for a treat with not just one new Mo book, but four. Meet Elephant and Piggie, is a new series of "early readers" (Walker Books, £4.99). Mo used to write scripts for Sesame Street, and he creates characters that he says himself "encourage copyright infringement. I make the characters so simple that a five-year-old can copy them".
I gave these books a trial run on my daughter Megan, who is an early reader. The simple phrases and the humour had her reading using different funny voices, and had her laughing immediately. After reading I Am Invited To A Party she shouted "Party! Party! Party!" and danced around the house.
Charlie Is My Darling (Orchard Books, £10.99) is a playful tale to share with your little one. It is a gentle story of Charlie, a cheeky little dog, who loves to race and chase. Malachy Doyle's melodic text is matched to Stephen Lambert's gentle pastel drawings. It's a warm tale of friendship and it leaves a fuzzy glow. Young readers will enjoy the chase through the park. "He was racing, he was chasing, he was 'Bark! Bark! Bark!'."
The Savage, by David Almond (Walker Books, £7.99), is a graphic novel within a novel. It is a raw gritty tale and it tells the story of Blue Baker. Blue has just lost his Dad. A school counselor urges him to write a journal. Instead of pouring out his feelings he starts to write the story of a wild savage boy that lives in the woods near him.
Boundaries become blurred and Blue begins to wonder where he ends and the savage begins. This book is brilliantly illustrated by Dave McKean in a very restricted palette of greens, black and grays. It is journal sized and its pages overflow with illustrations that are gritty and dark.
McKean is a real renaissance man, known for his collaboration with Neil Gaiman. His line work is graphic, lean, tight and wild. You can feel the energy bristle off the page. Highly recommended for teenage readers.
Niamh Sharkey is an author and illustrator, creator of I'm a Happy Hugglewug. You can visit her blog on www.niamhsharkey.com