Books we like: August 2012

This month brings a wealth of fantastic new picture books to enjoy from both established names and exciting new talent. Award-winning picture book creator Mini Grey is back with the imaginative and endearing Toys in Space, whilst Booktrust favourite Emily Gravett writes about a little girl and her rather grumpy feline friend in the delightful Matilda's Cat. Meanwhile, new kid on the block Kristyna Litten tells a hilarious story of a chicken on a mission in Chickens Can't See in the Dark, Martha Altes focuses on the special relationship between an elderly grandfather and his beloved grandson in My Grandpa, and Helen Stephens explores a friendship of a more unusual kind in How to Hide a Lion.

Older readers will be charmed by John Boyne's latest novel, The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket - a heart-warming and thought-provoking story about a boy with a very unusual talent. Jacqueline Wilson offers up perfect summer holiday reading in her contemporary retelling of E Nesbit's classic Five Children and It and Morris Gleitzman adds a new installment to the unforgettable series which began in Once with his latest book, After.