Flossie Crums: The Enchanted Cookie Tree By Helen Nathan, illustrated by Catherine Black Pavilion Children’s, £8.99 The second in a series of baking adventures, this is a magical book full of fairies, adventures and delicious cakes and cookies. Flossie Crums and her brother Billie discover the fairies are back in their garden and are asked to join in the Royal Welcoming of Princess Cornflower in the magical kingdom of Romolonia. Flossie gets stuck into baking some gorgeous sweet treats to…

Arthur and The Meanies By Jan Fearnley Egmont, £5.99 Arthur the Elephant wants to play, but his friends, Tiger, Cheetah, Monkey and Peacock, have other ideas. They get him to do an ‘important job’ and promise that they’ll let him play with them afterwards, but when the time comes, they run away and hide. Elephant is understandably hurt and upset so gets his own back. The Meanies part of the title is very apt and it’s a scenario that children…

The Adventures of Scratch, Sniff and Mr Smith: The Search for Stinky Pond By Shibani Mohindra, illustrated by Sue Sansom The Smelly Book Company, £5.99 This novel book brings a new dimension to the reading experience, by introducing areas to smell as well as see. At first glance it looked slightly gimmicky, but the story is well written and the book isn’t overrun with smells; instead, they are spaced out and subtlely included at various points in the story (with…

Too Pickly! By Jean Reidy, illustrated by Genevieve Leloup Bloomsbury, £5.99 It’s time for lunch and this little toddler is hungry, but he’s also rather fussy. Everything that he gets offered is wrong in some way, such as too sticky, too crunchy, too fizzy or too fishy, until finally, they find something he likes. Written with grumpy toddlers in mind, the book has bold colourful images for children to enjoy and playful rhyming text for mums and dads to read…

Lulu’s Loo: A Delightfully Interactive Potty Training Book By Camilla Reid, illustrated by Ailie Busby Bloomsbury, £6.99 If you’ve reached the potty training stage, or are beginning to think about it, this great book is the ideal story to read with your child. Lulu’s mummy gives her a special present – a potty! She practices using it in the home and garden, not always successfully, and then progresses to using the toilet too. The book follows her progress and provides…

Poisonous Plants: A Guide for Parents and Childcare Providers By Elizabeth A Dauncey Kew Publishing, £15 It’s easy to forget that some commonly grown plants can be highly dangerous to children. This new book, which has been produced in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and the Medical Toxicology Information team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, provides a comprehensive guide to over 130 of the most poisonous plants likely to be found in the home,…

Staying Sane: 99 Ways to Stop Yourself Going Mad When You Become a Mother By Kathy Miller Portico, £6.99 This dinky, handbag-sized, wipeable book offers light relief and useful advice for new and experienced mums. Written by a mum of three (including twins) the book provides bite-size tips and nuggets of information to help all mums stay sane. In between practical tips, there are ideas that will keep you entertained and laughing out loud. A great size for dipping into,…

The True Diary of a Mum-to-Be: A Pregnancy Companion By Charlie Plunkett GHP, £9.99 The True Diary of a Mum-to-Be is a heart-warming first person account of one woman’s pregnancy journey. It doesn’t launch straight into life as a pregnant woman, but instead gives valuable insight into how she got there – from several miscarriages to that final big fat positive that thankfully resulted in a long-term pregnancy. Written in a week-by-week format, the book focuses on Charlie’s experiences and…

I Want a Sister! By Tony Ross Anderson Press, £5.99 This Little Princess story is perfect to read to any children who are expecting, or wanting, a new sibling. The King and Queen are excited to tell the Little Princesses that they’re awaiting a new arrival to the family. After getting over the first hurdle of thinking it’s a dog, the Little Princess is adamant that she doesn’t want a brother, she wants a sister. The story look at the…

It’s a Dog’s Life By Michael Morpurgo and Patrick Benson Egmont, £10.99 Ever wondered what a farm dog’s life is really like? Now is the chance to find out! This lovely picture book tells the story from the perspective of Russ, the sheepdog who works hard on the farm in a variety of ways. There’s a lot of detail provided about exactly what he does, which will help children learn about life on a farm, and the accompanying pictures, which…