Picture This!

13 Words, Lemony Snicket and Maira Kalman (Harper Collins)

A wonderful new book from the delightful Lemony Snicket (author of The Series of Unfortunate Events and Younger Sun favourite The Composer is Dead) with beautiful, somewhat surreal illustrations by Maira Kalman. Mr Snicket plays with weird and wonderful words that sound odd but feel very interesting in your mouth. A bird is feeling despondent, there's cake, a haberdashery run by a baby, a goat who drives a convertible. It's a riot of words and colour from beginning to end.

The Runaway Hug, Nick Bland and Freya Blackwood (Scholastic)

Honestly, what could go wrong? Take the words of Nick Bland - author and illustrator of The Wrong Book, The Very Cranky Bear, When Henry Caught Imaginitis - and the gorgeous pictures of Freya Blackwood - only the illustrator of Amy and Louis, Harry and Hopper and Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House - and smoosh them together for this superb bedtime story. Lucy's mum gives her the very last hug to borrow before bed and Lucy shares it with Dad, the twins, baby Lily (who makes the hug a bit peanut buttery) and also with Annie - who runs off with the hug! Oh dear! Mark our words - this will be one of the best books of 2011. My personal favourite bit is how gorgeous and chaotic Lucy's home is, and how perfectly home-like.

--Kate--