Told slice by slice, this funny day-in-the-life story is a mouth-watering homily to a simple loaf of bread. From the first crust, eaten by the baker, which makes his hair curly, through meals for children and bread for ducks, even on to the doughy dreams of the slices themselves, snippets of family life are engagingly illustrated until, at last, only a crumb is left. Even that’s not wasted, but makes a perfect night-time feast for a mouse. Bruce Ingman’s witty characterisation of each slice of the loaf brings Allan Alhberg’s endearingly upbeat story of our once daily staple dancing off the page. (2+) JE
Photograph: Walker Photograph: PR
The unexpected is coolly handled in Cobb’s pleasingly unpreachy story about fear and eating – or not eating. Out of nowhere, a crocodile, a bear and a wolf turn up to share lunch with a little girl, and her lunchtime gets immeasurably more fun. She isn’t hungry, but luckily they are all starving. She does, of course, wonder whether they would rather eat her than the lunch. The line between the real and the imaginary world is unfussily crossed without explanation – none needed. (3+) JE
Photograph: Macmillan Photograph: PR
A scary Black Rabbit haunts Little Rabbit, lurking near him wherever he plays and bobbing up unexpectedly even when little Rabbit has done his best to get rid of it. Is there any trick he can pull to dislodge this unwelcome friend? The endlessly fascinating magic of a shadow is imaginatively reflected in the illustrations to this touching story, which also answers children’s questions about the nature of shadows. (3+) JE
Photograph: Walker Photograph: PR
A clever joke runs through this story of ownership, responsibility and fairness. A little frog finds an egg and claims it as his own. That’s fine until a snake comes along and wants the egg, too. And so does the eagle and then the lizard. But when the egg skitters away and hits the elephant, who wants to own it then? And will whoever gets it really be able to keep it? With little text but expressive illustrations, this interlocking story unravels before leading readers back to the beginning again. (4+) JE
Photograph: Gecko Press Photograph: PR
Lollipop and her delightfully eccentric Grandpa set off on a dinosaur hunt while on holiday on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Their quarry includes many previously unseen specimens, such as the Pylon-a-Saurus Rex and a Diggero-docus, a giant creature that is part digger and part dinosaur. It’s hard for a dinosaur to hide, so spotting them is as much fun for readers as it is for Lollipop and Grandpa. Cate James’ stylish illustrations make these new-fangled dinosaurs live. (5+) JE
Photograph: Phoenix Yard Photograph: PR
Lemony Snicket has always had a tongue-in-cheek appetite for trouble. Here, the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events turns Dark into a character – not, thankfully, cosily personified, but nonetheless a little more than abstract and living in the cellar. He eloquently reminds us what it is to be afraid of the dark and also, with Jon Klassen’s simple, illuminating drawings, guarantees that readers see the light. (All ages) (4+) Kate Kellaway
Photograph: Orchard Photograph: PR
This well-conceived reminder of how minutely our faces give us away is part portrait gallery, part guided tour. “Interested” is illustrated by little figures asking questions such as: “Where do babies come from?” followed by the urgent enquiry: “Why do we need them?” posed by an indignant toddler. “Silliness” turns out to be a contagion (I adored the leaping granny with the slogan “I feel silly” on her T-shirt). And there is wisdom here too in the Swedish proverb: “A worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” (3+) KK
Photograph: Frances Lincoln Photograph: PR
An eye-catching book of faces painted by a dozen artists. Donald Baechler’s looks the sort a child might paint, with red blobby clown cheeks. Picasso’s is easy to read too, although a child might struggle to make sense of the green nose, mysteriously elongated like a V that does not know when to stop. Zhang Xiaogang’s haunted girl, with faded pigtails and eyes like startlingly black raisins, might alarm a baby (or a parent). But this is an intriguing, arresting, fresh book, rounded off with a silver mirror in which extra-discerning infants may spot themselves. (Babies and above) KK
Photograph: Templar Photograph: PR
There is no question some people’s sneezes are worse than other people’s sneezes. If you have a disruptive one, you will sympathise with Neil Gaiman’s baby panda whose sneeze seems even to have seeped into his name. Chu’s Day is enormous fun to read aloud. Chu’s mother asks him if he is going to sneeze. He replies “aaah … aaah …” (turn the page) “No”. But a killer sneeze is on its way. Bless you Chu and Neil Gaiman – and Adam Rex for jauntily explosive illustration. (3+) KK
Photograph: Bloomsbury Photograph: PR
Part of a terrific educational series, Eye on the Wild, this book features adorable photographs. It is a delight to observe these animals in close-up, not least because otters are so difficult to see in life. Eszterhas introduces their rites of passage with confident charm. Little children will relate to the wet-whiskered baby, especially afloat in the water with paws over its eyes, like a young celebrity hiding from the paparazzi. (3+) KK
Photograph: Frances Lincoln Photograph: PR
This is a wonderful, unbridled book featuring a yellow blob of emmental on every page. You have heard of the rat race; this is about rat law and is a riotous lesson in who is eligible to eat cheese when – a rat’s pecking order. Read aloud, it develops into a fabulous tongue twister, while Schwarz’s rat drawings become ever more manically animated. (All ages) KK
Photograph: Walker Photograph: PR
Helen Hancocks’ debut has assurance, wit and clarity. It is about three hungry cats who go to a film called The Fishy Feast, come out famished and kidnap a penguin in hope of securing a fishy feast of their own. But the penguin escapes (as Hancocks ingeniously proves, a penguin is easily camouflaged). Not one for those who believe cats can do no wrong. The feline trio fetch up behind bars and get “gruel for life”. Gruel to be kind? (3+) KK
Photograph: Templar Photograph: PR
In this Easter alternative to the King Midas story, Grendel is an entrepreneurial young monster who makes a wish that everything he touches will turn to chocolate but the catastrophic consequences include a chocolate mother who melts … a perkily provocative tale. (3+) KK
Photograph: Walker Photograph: PR
