Astro Girl Ken Wilson-Max

Space and stars enthusiast, Astrid, wants to become an astronaut, so she tells Jake, her best pal, as they lie stargazing.

She goes on to tell the same to her papa over breakfast. He challenges her assertion with comments about orbiting the Earth in a spaceship, dining on food from tubes and packets, becoming used to zero gravity, conducting scientific experiments and sleeping alone among the stars: he seems to know a fair bit about life in space. Astrid assures her Papa that she can manage all those things, even the solo sleeping.

The day comes for the two of them to go and collect Mama in the car. It’s then that we discover the possible reason for Astrid’s enthusiasm about space, and her Papa’s knowledge.

A joyful reunion takes place and thereafter the little girl starts reading avidly to learn as much as she can about how to achieve her ambition, and about some those trailblazing astronauts who went before, several of whom were women.

Simply and beautifully told, Ken keeps readers interested in the theme by showing us space related items such as Astrid’s t-shirt, her breakfast cereal, Papa’s T-shirts, the cookie shapes they bake together, pictures, a toy – all of which help in the build-up to the grand finale.

Tooth Fairy in Training Michelle Robinson and Briony May Smith

If you’ve ever wondered how tooth fairies hone their skills, then this magical tale will perhaps enlighten you.

Let’s meet the trainee Tate and her trainer, sister May who has much to teach her younger sibling.

First task is to perfect the ‘switcheroo’ – a doddle of course …unless that is, you happen to be performing it on a baby hippo.

Visit two is also pretty demanding and perhaps a tad alarming, especially when your being watched by the infant’s mother whose tail you have to avoid with some nimble footwork.

And so, it continues over ground and under sea, on the shore and then having traversed almost the whole planet, the penultimate stop is in the jungle with the possibility of being swallowed by an anaconda – yikes! But snake teeth are a rarity, so it has to be done.

Surely the final stop will be simplicity itself – it’s a mere human girl. How could anything go wrong, and even if on the off-chance, it does, you can always resort to a touch of the old magic …

Does our novice pass the test though? That is after all, the purpose of the whole exercise: I wonder …

Briony’s illustrations are spirited delight, every one of them. Tate is totally adorable, and her expressions and body language say even more than the lively rhyming narrative she provides during the learning journey during which her big sister looks on benevolently and comments encouragingly.

The Big Stink Lucy Freegard

Despite his beguiling appearance, cheese-obsessive Charlie Mouse is a mouse with a mission. He’ll do anything to satisfy his lust for the stinky stuff: even perhaps following his dream of breaking into the Museum of Cheese and procuring for himself one of its famous exhibits, The Stinker.

One night his avarice overwhelms him, and he decides to act.

Once inside he finds that the security is excellent; so too though is his avoiding skill. Perhaps his location expertise is less so, but Charlie is forearmed with the appropriate tools to get his paws on the sculpture.

Suddenly though, disaster strikes in the form of a web of laser beams and the game is up. Alarms sound, security is alerted, and the chase is on, with Officer Rita hot on his trail.

With her hyper-developed olfactory sense, she succeeds in tracking down the thief, but by that time Charlie has seen the error of his ways.

The priceless exhibit is still intact, and Charlie must do his community service; but while so doing a wonderful idea strikes him …

With its twist in the tale, little ones will relish this cat-and-mouse drama; but it has plenty to offer adult readers too, not least the art and film references scattered throughout Lucy’s delicious offering.