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2008 Awards

The Frog Bride
by Antonia Barber & Virginia Lee
Published by Frances Lincoln

My Little Star
by Janet Bingham & Rosalind Beardshaw
Published by Scholastic

A Russian tsar tells each of his three sons to shoot an arrow and marry the woman he finds where the arrow lands.   Imagine the feelings of the youngest son when he discovers a large frog holding his arrow in her mouth.   He marries the frog, only to discover that each night she changes into a beautiful princess.   But will he ever have a flesh-and-blood human wife to call his own?

Little Fox is walking in the woods with Daddy, playing with leaves from the trees.   Little Fox thinks the trees reach right up to the top of the sky, but Daddy Fox explains that the sky reaches much higher than the tops of the trees.   As they continue their woodland walk, Little Fox learns that the sky goes higher than bees too, and even higher than the rainbow!   Soon little Fox discovers that just like love, the sky goes on forever.

Have you ever wished upon a star?   This is the story of the adventurous Little Star, who loves nothing more than to perch on a cloud, making wishes come true.   But when he falls out of the sky, down, down, down into the ocean, he doesn't know how to get home. Luckily, he meets lots of new friends on the seabed who help him to make his very own special wish to go home, back to the sky.   Maybe wishes do come true, even for stars!

A Present for Freddie Small
by Nick Butterworth & Michael Evans
Published by Egmont

This is an exciting new title from the acclaimed gardening writer Stefan Buczacki, providing the perfect introduction for children to this rewarding and satisfying pastime. In collaboration with his wife, Beverley, Stefan has put together a series of projects and explanations designed to capture children's imaginations and fill them with enthusiasm for the natural world outside their own back door.

Waaaa!   This is the sound that comes from Freddie Small's bedroom as soon as the word bedtime is mentioned.   His mum and dad are at the wits' end.   They've tried everything to comfort him - mum has tried reading (although she only succeeded in sending herself to sleep) and dad has tried singing a lullaby (Freddie's ears have only just recovered).   And, what's worse, Freddie is going to stay with his gran - how will she cope?   Luckily Freddie's gran is very wise and very clever, and she has a plan.   But will Freddie's mum and dad agree with her idea?

Follow Victoria on her day at nursery in this photographic preschool gem.   Read a book, paint, bake biscuits and play games with Victoria and her friends as they show us exactly what they do at nursery.

Here is the history of the buildings that have shaped the world in which we live, ranging from Stonehenge and the Step Pyramid, to the high-rises that dominate our city skylines today.

A jolly picture book following a crew of not-so-scary pirates across the high seas.

 

Toby Town Mouse loves to live the high life, while his cousin Pipin prefers a quieter country life.   When the two visit each other, will they realise that differences aren’t always a bad thing?

Penguin
by Polly Dunbar
Published by Walker

Everyone knows that tyrannosauruses are big and scary, so when a placid duckbill dinosaur's egg ends up in the wrong nest confusion is sure to ensue!   When the baby dinosaur hatches out, he's so out of place that his grisly big sisters call him Tyrannosaurus Drip.   Poor little Drip: all he wants is a quiet life munching on water weed ..

Ben is delighted when he rips open his present and finds a penguin inside.   "Hello, Penguin!" says Ben.   Penguin says nothing.   Ben tickles Penguin; he pulls his funniest face; he puts on a happy hat, sings a silly song and does a dizzy dance.   "Can't you talk?" says Ben.   Penguin says nothing.   It isn't until a passing lion intervenes that Penguin finally speaks...and when he does, Ben discovers something that was really worth the wait.

Billy Monster can't sleep.   There are chinks of scary light creeping into his bedroom and he has woken up twice after horrible daymares about boys and girls.   Although Daddy Monster has tried howling a lullaby and making a soothing cup of cold slime, Billy is still worried.   Just how will Daddy Monster reassure Billy and help him to sleep soundly through the day?

Al’s Auto Workshop is the place to learn all about cars and get creative!
 

Hippo doesn't want to be a hippo.   She'd rather be an eagle or a buffa-luffa-lo  . That's until she meets a scary crocodile and discovers that hippos are brave and kind too.

It is Grandad's birthday and Eddie is helping Mum make a birthday tea - with Lily's help, of course!   Baked apples from their apple tree, eggs from their chickens - soon the table is filled with yummy birthday treats.   But what did Lily do with all the carrots?
 

Hide spaghetti in your hair, Keep crisps in your underwear.   This outrageous, tongue-in-cheek exploration of mealtime chaos will have children in stitches.   Full of mischief and mess, it revels in the fun you can have with food.   Squish it, slosh it, squirt it, squeeze it...but never use a knife and fork!

Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears
by Emily Gravett
Published by Macmillan

A cheeky little girl and her toy monkey swing irresistibly through the pages of this gorgeous playful book.   Young children will love guessing what animal they are pretending to be, before shouting out the answers as the pages are turned to reveal the real creatures.   Soon, everyone will be waddling like a penguin, jumping like a kangaroo and hanging upside down like a bat!

Young children will identify with the little mouse who documents his fears in the pages of this book - from loud noises and the dark to being sucked down the plughole.

 

In the tick-tock quiet, a shaft of moonlight tickles the nose of something sleeping.   It's a stuffed, stripy horse.   He twitches.   Then an enormous dusty sneeze echoes round the room.   He's awake.   So begins this charming story, all about a forgotten toy who can't remember his name......

Grace has the chance to be a princess in a school parade.   But what does a princess do, apart from wearing beautiful clothes and looking pretty?   Does she have to be pink and floaty, with a crown?   Grace and her friends start finding out about princesses in China, Egypt, the Philippines and Zimbabwe - and on the day of the parade, helped by Ma and Nana, Grace's school has the most interesting float of all.   As for Grace - she's a sensation!

Elsa would love to have a dog for a pet.   But there's one big problem.   Elsa lives on the 24th floor of a block of flats and her dad says that dogs are too much trouble.   Will she ever manage to persuade Dad that not all dogs are noisy, messy and expensive?   Perhaps with a little help from her (imaginary) friend, Rod ...

 

Little Rabbit is very excited at the thought of being a big brother.   However, when Mama has three babies, instead of the expected one, things don't go as smoothly as Little Rabbit had hoped.   Perhaps babies are not as much fun as he first thought!   But Little Rabbit's new siblings adore him and when Little Rabbit is the only one who can get them to sleep, he realizes how special it is to be a big brother.

A delightful story about a young boy and girl whose father has gone on a pilgrimage.

It is a rich and riotous romp of a book, that takes you through a toddler's hectic and action-packed day.   The 99 of the title refers to the 99 activities that the child undertakes, and the overall feel of the book is one of bustling fun, with lots and lots of detail to look out for and pore over.   It's also a warm, family oriented look at daily life, encompassing all the little dramas and events that make each day so interesting.

If you go down to the woods today, you never know what you might find.   A curious little dragon meets a new friend, but he's not sure what to make of him at all.   Apparently, it's called a Benjamin, but the Benjamin doesn't have any wings, scales or even a tail! Luckily, little boys and little dragons like football, and the Benjamin soon teaches them a trick or two.   If only the grown-up Benjamins were as friendly!   Still, the unlikely pair remain the best of friends and the little dragon promises to meet the Benjamin's teacher one day ...or was that eat his teacher?

When the new baby comes home, Tom is NOT impressed.   Baby Florence is a 'podge' and Tom is much more interested in being an astronaut than a big brother.   He does NOT want to help and he does NOT want to pass the bottom wipes - sometimes he even calls her 'poopoohead', though not out loud of course!   But babies have a way of winning you over and, before long, even Tom comes to love that smile.   Maybe, being a big brother isn't so bad after all!

The grumpy king bans his twelve beautiful daughters from dancing, yet every night their shoes are worn through – can anyone solve the mystery of where they go and scoop the royal reward?

 

When a forest traveller knocks at a lonely cottage, hoping to scrounge a bed for the night, a scowling woman appears and says he can sleep on the floor, but declares that she hasn't a morsel of food in the place.   "In that case," says the traveller, "I'll have to share what I've got with you."   And, taking an old, rusty, four-inch nail from his pocket, he starts to make … Nail Soup.

Follow Greek hoplite soldier Argathon on his way home from battle as he hitches a lift on a merchant's boat, listens to campfire stories, gets married and enters the Olympic games.

When their father is wrongly accused of spying, Bobbie, Peter and Phylis move out of London and experience new exciting adventures in the countryside.   But will their father ever return?

Shirley's little sister, Doris, wants to be with Shirley 'Everywhere'!   This is not always a good thing Shirley's bed isn't big enough for two growing elephants.   But then one day Mummy has an idea.   Could bunk beds be the solution?

Pipkin the smallest penguin is always asking questions, but what he wants to know most of all is how big is a million?   So he sets off to find out, and along the way meets a hundred penguins, sees a thousand snowflakes and meets one new friend before being amazed to finally find out how big a million really is.

Please come to...Monkey's birthday party!   There's going to be dressing up, dancing and fun for birds and beasts and everyone! Don't miss the most funky-monkey party of the year!

Discover the world of reptiles with this brilliant picture book.

It's bedtime on the farmyard, but Salsa the little goat can't sleep.   She tries everything until, finally, she asks Mummy to tell her a story.   But tonight, even Mummy's stories don't work, and in the end, it's Salsa's own sweet story which sends her into a peaceful, dreamy sleep...

It is the day of the launch but the professor can't decide who should fly the rocket: should it be Patrick the monkey or Q-bert the robot?   The professor devises clever tests to work out who is smartest and Q-bert wins hands-down.   Patrick isn't even trying.   Q-bert is chosen to go into space and Patrick is put back in his cage.   But Patrick thinks he is the best monkey for the job, so he must use all his wit and cleverness to reach the launch pad before Q-bert BLASTS OFF!

Whoosh around the Mulberry Bush
by Jan Ormerod & Lindsey Gardiner
Published by Oxford University Press

Ikenna is looking forward to lots of sun when he goes to Nigeria - even though he and his mum are going during the rainy season.   In Lagos, he plays with his cousins before driving to Onitsha to see other relatives.   Then the rain starts!   But there is still lots to do including meeting Great-Uncle Hillary, who drove the royal train across Nigeria in 1956, and going with his mum to the Osun Festival at Osogbo, where he is surrounded by the sights and sounds of age-old ceremonies and traditions.

"Whoosh Around the Mulberry Bush" starts with children dancing round the mulberry bush and then sets off around the world to see all sorts of animal capers, including hens pecking around the chicken coop, monkeys swinging around the jungle vines, polar bears and arctic hares sliding around the icicles, and zebras kicking their heels around the waterhole.

There is a party on the train and all the animals are jumping aboard with their instruments. Follow the pace and rhythm of a locomotive as the party starts off slow and gets wilder and wilder then slows back down to a snooze at bedtime.

 

"Let's paint a picture of that cornfield," says Aunt Emily to Patrick, as they sit looking out from the shade of a tree.   As Patrick puts a yellow blob on his palette to paint the corn, a red squirrel runs into the field; when he puts down red, a bluebird appears.   Each page reveals a new colour and a new creature - until Patrick's palette is filled with colours and the field with animals.

Contains wacky characters and funny rhymes Touch and Feel Lights and Sound

When Goat offers to do the grocery shopping, Donkey knows that things might just get a little muddled!   He writes out a list so that Goat will know exactly what to buy.   But the market is such a dazzling place and Goat sees so many lovely things.   Instead of apples, carrots, cabbages and ice cream, Goat buys a sun hat, an inflatable octopus, a trumpet and a pair of sunglasses decorated with strawberries!   What ever will Donkey make of all the surprises that Goat has in his basket when he trots triumphantly back home?

Focusing on both city and country life, this work serves as a celebration of Pakistan.   It introduces young readers to some of the customs, religions and cultures - both ancient and modern - that make up this developing country.

.If his inventions go wrong, Wendel just throws them away and starts again.   So when Clunk, his robot assistant, fills the sock drawer with cups and saucers and makes tea in a Wellington boot, Wendel throws him on the scrap heap and makes himself a new assistant: the Wendelbot.   But he gets more than he bargained for, and soon Wendel finds himself on the scrap heap.   Can he win back his workshop from the mighty Wendelbot?Let the robot battle commence!

Featuring wacky characters and funny rhymes

Sinbad's adventures are the most fantastic of the stories in The Thousand and One Nights.   During his twenty years as a merchant adventurer, Sinbad encounters a Rookh's egg, a valley of diamonds, streams of amber, a terrifying sea-monster, an ogre's feast, the Cave of the Dead, the Old Man of the Sea and much, much more..

Big Brave Brian is the bravest man in the world.   His house is filled with slimy bog monsters, gormless giants and 'things that go bump in the night'.   But there is something that Brian is terrified of… and it's in his bedroom RIGHT NOW!

A very happy bear hears the sounds of the city from his quiet home by the sea and decides to find out what city life is like.   Buying the ticket and travelling on the train is all very exciting.   And so is the city!   But after a while the bear finds the city a little too noisy and a little too busy - and people are beginning to laugh at him.   He feels very sad and alone - until four children find him and show him the way home, with much fun along the way.

This book features the adventures of Cadi, the cat who visits each of her neighbours in turn.
 

Timothy isn't big, and he isn't strong - then his mother mends his favourite pyjamas so well that when he puts them on he becomes a SUPERHERO.   But when disaster strikes, Timothy discovers that friendship is even stronger than pyjamas.

Li Ming looks so proud guarding his one pomegranate tree that people laugh and call him 'King Pom'.   But when Li Ming catches a big red fox stealing a pomegranate and the fox makes a deal with him - "Get me out of here and I'll make you rich!" - the laughing stops.   For the smooth-tongued fox uses his craft and daring to spin tales that will bring Li Ming fine clothes, magnificent horses, a splendid palace… and the hand of a princess in marriage!

I Love My Cloth
by Amber Stewart & Layn Marlow
Published by Oxford University Press

 Follow the life of a car from when it leaves the production line, to being sold, driven, cleaned, crashed, mended, scrapped and recycled.   Featuring an assortment of tow trucks, transporters and lifting machines, this is the perfect book for all car and truck-loving readers.

Oh Boris!
by Carrie Weston & Tim Warnes
Published by Oxford University Press

Getting what you want can be tricky, especially if you don't ask in quite the right way.   Follow one little monkey's journey through many emotions as he tries every trick in the book to get hold of his friend's banana, until he finally hits on the magic word - please!

The day that Miss Cluck says that there is going to be a new animal in the class, everyone is very excited.   Then, when Boris takes his first hairy, scary, grizzly steps in to the classroom, everyone screams!   Of course, Boris doesn’t mean to be scary at all.   He only wants to make friends.   Then something happens that helps Boris do just that.

Imagine you dialled a wrong number - and got through to a sheep, then a duck, then a cow, then a very hungry crocodile.   And all you wanted to do was wish your Grandma "Happy Birthday!"

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Last updated 20/06/2008 14:56
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