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Author: The Dolphin

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Look Fo Ladybird in Plant city
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Ladybird has gone missing! Daisy is so worried, as Ladybird heads for Plant City and may be lost forever!

Basil the detective, and Daisy, search and search through this amazing Technicolor array of places and creatures.

This is a Technicolor 'search and find' book, like no other. The artwork is amazing and very detailed, so finding the ladybird on each page takes some searching. But she is there, just keep looking.

The scenes are full of energy and packed with things to look at, children will have great fun finding all sorts of things as well as the ladybird; like the aphid juice bar or a root pizza in the restaurant.

 

This is the first in a series of books from Katherine Manolessou, published by Frances Lincoln and is definitely one to watch out for and to buy. The format is in hard back and a really good size for opening out on the carpet and sharing together in the search for ladybird.

Katherine is an up and coming illustrator who has worked with Ted Baker, The Guardian and Random House and is also an Associate Lecturer at Camberwell College of Arts. Her previous book with Frances Lincoln is Tveg: The Story of a Carrot Crunching Dinosaur.

Thoroughly recommend  Look For Ladybird in Plant City, we are sure you will have huge amounts of fun.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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Tug of War cover image and web link
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When Elephant and Hippo are nasty to Tortoise, he shows them that while he may not be big, he certainly is brainy!

A funny and heart warming story from a well-known myth from West Africa with beautiful illustrations and meaningful text.

Tortoise is out to find a friend in the jungle but is called names by the two biggest creatures around, the elephant and the hippopotamus. With the help of bird, tortoise decides to let them know that he is worth having as a friend,even if he is not extra-large and grey.

A tug of war follows and elephant and hippo fall over backwards in a very inelegant position, as the rope eventually snaps. They discover that it would be good to have tortoise as a friend.

Tug of War
Great illustrations!

A second book from Naomi Howarth, whose debut novel, The Crow's Tale was shortlisted for the 2015 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. Naomi has huge talent in illustration and a background of working in art in costume and film, leading to a stunning career in children's illustrations and writing.

 

Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, we know that you will love this hard back book at home, in the library and at nursery and school.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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Elliot's Arctic Surprise -cover image and web link
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Elliot was on holiday by the sea. He went for a paddle and built a sand whale. It was fun but what he really wanted was an adventure...

He finds a message in a bottle from Father Christmas, asking for urgent help to save his home. Elliot sails to the Arctic with children from all over the world. to stop the oil drillers and to rescue the Arctic.

A  great picture book with a plenty of meaning. Through the story and  illustrations we follow Elliot in his quest and discover icebergs falling into the sea, oil rigs creating heat and undermining the stability of the Arctic.

Written by Catherine Barr and illustrated by Francesca Chesa and published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

 

The book has been developed in conversation with Greenpeace and the blurb on the back cover from Booktrust states, 'If the people of the world unite to protect the planet, there is hope for a better future.'

A good reason why children's books are so important in creating an understanding of truths and  reasons for making a difference.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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Once upon a Jungle - cover image and web link
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Once upon a time there was a jungle... but that was just the beginning. Delve into the undergrowth to discover the story of a food chain.

A brilliantly, beautiful book  published by Words and Pictures and Quarto Knows, whose concept of delivering visual storytelling is wonderfully portrayed in Once Upon a Jungle.

The black background of the jungle undergrowth gives the brightly coloured images huge impact. I love the preying mantis in bright green, who of course was about to eat the ants, who was then gobbled by the lizard and... well it would spoil it to tell you more.

Laura Knowles has previously written It Starts with a Seed. Her interest in environment and nature has a huge impact on her books. The illustrator James Boast, has a unique style which children will love.

 

The opportunity both for learning and pure enjoyment is huge in this hard backed book. It is a book to keep at home, to have on the shelves at the library and to deliver a project on in the nursery and school.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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Doctor Busy People - cover image and web purchase link
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'Doctor' is part of the Busy People series from QED publishing. An excellent series for understanding the need for people who help us. A great book to have for Early Years Settings and in the home. This edition is available in hardback and paperback.

Children love to read and find out what will happen at the doctors. Doctor Miranda looks at Olivia, who needs an X-Ray and then Jimmy who has spots on his tongue.

Going to see the doctor is something all children do and this book will explain the reasons, next steps,  medicines needed and possible visits to the hospital.

The illustrations from Ando Twin are beautifully clear and text from Lucy M. George easy to read.

Children will also love to explore reading with this book and find letters and words that they recognise.

   At the end of the book there is a description of the other things that Doctor Miranda does, pictures of things she needs and information about other helpful people at the doctors.

Definitely recommend this book and the Busy People series. Other books are Vet, Firefighter,Teacher.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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On 26th June, Shirley Hughes CBE, was guest editor on BBC Woman’s Hour. She talked with enormous warmth about illustrating books for young children; how she started illustrating with a  notebook always in her hand or bag, then to her roughs, her working colleagues Andrea MacDonald, Education Director for Penguin Random House and her love of hats.

A woman of character and depth who would not be drawn in to any signs of weakness in women’s role in society, Shirley Hughes is the winner of many,many awards.

Undoubtedly her most famous book is Dogger. The story of a little, brown, soft toy dog, with one ear up and one ear down, who was lost at the Jumble sale. Dogger was actually her son’s dog and had so much love that although he started off with both ears down, he was cuddled closely for so long with one ear up, it just stayed that way.

Other early books  were Lucy and Tom’s Day and Alfie, which started her in the delightful and highly memorable books about everyday life. These were  stories which all could relate to, stories which children loved to read and to look at over and over again.

Shirley talked about visual literacy and  her thoughts on; how to help children to look at pictures and share a book together, use some physical closeness as you journey through a picture book and explore the world from the safety of a comfy chair. Children will learn to look and search for details and become visually literate.

A keen supporter of galleries, Shirley talked with Gill Hart of the National Gallery about taking children to look at paintings. Her advice was, "to go to the gallery, look at one or two paintings, have a delicious tea, buy a postcard, go home, and stick the postcard on the wall or the fridge. Children will remember them."

On looking at too many paintings, Shirley said, ‘You can get indigestion quite quickly!’

Libraries are a favourite of Shirley’s and she is extremely supportive of the free library systems. In her childhood, growing up in the Second World War libraries had special meaning and gave a wealth of books to read and explore. Shirley talked about the Edinburgh Central Library as a brilliant example of an excellent library

Finally, after talking with her son Ed Vulliamy, a journalist and the proud owner of Dogger, Shirley went on to talk about her passion on wearing hats.

A lady of character and charm, intelligence and warmth, with much more to give in her books for children and adults too.

In the near future there will be a release of a new Alfie book about  a day in the nursery. Alfie, who will always be known for his time spent on one side of the door, with his Mum and Baby Rose, on the other side.

For me,on this damp Friday evening,  I am going to find all the Shirley Hughes books on the shelf, immerse myself in a comfy sofa and a cup of tea.

Sue Martin

Dolphin Books

 

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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Hiccups: Cover image and web purchase link
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Hiccups by Holly Sterling is now out as a paperback from Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

'Hic!' Ruby's puppy Oscar can't stop hiccupping! She tries all sorts of things to cure them, from dancing to jumping.

A really fun story guaranteed to appeal to all children, as hiccups is just one of those things that are unexplainable, uncontrollable and unexpected!

The illustrations are delightful and make this a really good book for reading aloud or for young children to explore on their own, and make up their own words to the pictures.

We are really pleased to see this book out in paperback, making it accessible for more children.. You can buy direct from us through the link above.

 

Recommended for children and good for ages from 18 months to 5 years.

 

 

 

 

Sue Martin

p.s...the hiccups did stop!


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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It Starts with a Seed - cover image
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Many congratulations to the winner of the Inaugural Margaret Mallett Award for Children's Non-Fiction which will be awarded at the English Association's General Meeting on 24th May.

It Starts With a Seed is written by Laura Knowles and illustrated by Jennie Webber, published by Words and Pictures in September 2016. We recommended the book in the autumn of 2016 on Dolphin Books  and are delighted that it has achieved such well deserved success.

It is the story of a seed as it journeys from the branches of a tree into the ground and becomes first a young sapling and then a tree. It introduces children to how the eco-system works, it teaches children about the life cycle of a tree, it has stunning artwork and words that easily engage the reader.

''The prize has been established by the English Association in memory of Margaret Mallett, a Fellow of The English Association and a long-serving member of the editorial board of the journal English 4-11, who died after a short illness in March 2017. Margaret was a passionate advocate for high quality books for children, and in particular non-fiction books. She had a deep and wide-ranging knowledge of children's literature, and her reviews of new titles in Books for Keeps and the School Librarian were hugely admired. She was able to get to the heart of a book and deliver a perceptive judgement that was both just and generous''.

 

Dolphin Books recommend  It Starts with a Seed to all our readers, a great book and we are delighted that The English Association begins the awards in great style, in memory of Margaret Mallett, with such a beautiul book.

 

 

 

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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A Rocketful of Poems cover image and purchase link
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Space Poems which will take you to the moon and back again, stay at the Space Hotel, snack on a Mooncheese Toastie and play intergalactic squibble ball.

25 fantastic poems by the best of space poets in the universe, chosen by John Foster and illustrated by Korky Paul.

Ready for blast off!!!!!

This is a brilliant collection of space poems from John Foster, who is a writer of children's poetry and anthologies. The illustrations are by Korky Paul, a very famous illustrator, and  are full of fun and intricate detail with a real space feel about them. It will make a great present, book in the library or at home, to share and read alone. It will get the imaginations soaring across this universe and into the next.

Poems  include; Spaceman MacTavity by Marian Swinger, the spaceman who floated on the moon, Turn Left at the Moon by Eric Finney with a UFO who was redirected to Mars and loads more.

Fun, adventure, exploration, science, creativity and beyond....

 

So much to explore in this book from Francis Lincoln Children's Books. It fits in well with the recent voyage of Tim Peake in the International Space Station, which was so powerful in speaking out to young children about space and our world.

We recommend for ages 7+.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


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What on earth: Wind - cover image and web purchase link
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An exciting new series of books which explore natural elements about the earth and how that impacts on our lives. They are full of questions and answers, experiments and results and children can form conclusions on aspects of our world which affect them every day.Written and illustrated by Isabel Thomas and  Pau Morgan and published by QED.

I really love the way the books are laid out, with a contents page and glossary, templates and reference points. The illustrations are very appealing and with a pastel range palette of colours and images.

The books are produced in a most attractive way being half way between hard back and paper back. They have a real open the book feel about them!

What on Earth? Wind
   This book is packed with information and the titles and text is laid out in a way which is engaging and interesting. On the page called Ships Ahoy there is a world map with info about the trade winds and how the winds influenced the methods of sailing around the world. On the page, inside a storm, the formation of tornadoes is demonstrated and then an experiment to create a tornado in a bottle,  great stuff!

What on Earth? Water

What on Earth: Water - cover image and web purchase link
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Water cycles, our watery world and water and our planets are some of the sections, which then have a double page for a subject, such as racing to the sea… erosion, make a water wheel and water on other worlds.

Racing to the sea has colourful blocks of text which explain aspects of water from river to sea on a background of mountains, hills and shoreline.

QED have a wealth of expertise in producing fiction titles in a format which is very appealing and stylish and make great books to start a journey into exploration.

Isabel Thomas is a Science writer and children’s author, shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2016, with 130 titles published.

Pau Morgan     is an illustrator based in Chile with an amazing porftolio of work.

   We really recommend these titles for children any age or  especially for 6- 9 years.

Sue Martin

 

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.