Kids Book Club - October

0-4 years
Babbit
Lydia Monks
9781405254236
£5.99
ONE of the great delights of children's books is their sheer unshackled sense of invention. This, for instance, is narrated by the eponymous blue cuddly rabbit. She's a feisty sort, and she doesn't take to being kidnapped from a scrummy picnic by four wicked types she knows only as Witchy, Snappy, Growly and Snorty. Babbit's child owners, 'the Little One' and 'the Big One', do their best to rescue her, but in the end it takes an intervention by Mum to save the day. Monks, sometime illustrator to Julia Donaldson, proves once again that she can write a mean picture book too. It's gentle yet cheeky, with a nifty turn of phrase, perfectly pitched for very little readers.

4-6 years
Unfortunately
Alan Durant / Simon Rickerty
9781408311257
EVEN young children like tales of (mild) adventure. This one never stops to draw breath. On a voyage into the jungle, our small heroes face one hair-raising peril after another. Fortunately they keep escaping; unfortunately there's always something worse waiting round the corner for them, taking in spiders, snakes, bears and crocodiles. Simple as that. This is chock-full of daft, pacy, endearing fun, with visuals which are simple but stunning – quite eye-poppingly vibrant and colourful. And even grown-ups might be caught out by how it all ends up...

6-8 years
How to Steal a Dragon's Sword
Cressida Cowell
9781444900941
£5.99
THE ninth and latest in Cowell's series of books about Hiccup the Viking. The profile of Hiccup and Cowell is riding high after the first installment was turned into a film last year, with both a big screen sequel and a spin-off TV series already in the works. But the source books are unlikely to be bettered. The fact that Cowell hasn't run out of steam this far into the series is pretty impressive. Hiccup's ongoing story is a rattling good saga – fittingly, of course – that keeps the humour, excitement and invention coming thick and fast. This time out, things look bleak for Hiccup and his clan, with flood waters engulfing whole villages, dragons revolting against their masters, and the sorceress Excellinor back on the scene. Hiccup's journey to herohood has never been quite so hazardous. This prides itself on putting fun storytelling before adherence to any historical facts – less school textbook, more 21st century Noggin the Nog. But any young fan of a rattling good yarn will find much to love here.

9-12 years
Stitch Head
Guy Bass / Pete Williamson
£4.99
9781847151834
HOLED up in the sinister Castle Grotteskew, Professor Erasmus is, unsurprisingly, a mad inventor type. Building his own monstrous creatures is his absolute favourite pastime. He's long since lost interest in his first ever creation, the unfortunate, good-natured Stitch Head, who lurks about the castle keeping the peace between his fellow monsters. Lured away from the Professor's clutches by a travelling circus, Stitch Head has the promise of a new life. But of course, it's not all it seems - and the shadow of Castle Grotteskew won't let him go that easily. Heavily illustrated, and veering more towards strange, spooky thrills than outright chills, this is a darkly Gothic treat, with shades of Frankenstein – and perhaps more directly, Edward Scissorhands too. It's a bit like German Expressionist horror, then, but for youngsters. Just right for Hallowe'en, really.

Chorlton Bookshop
506 Wilbraham Road
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Manchester
M21 9AW

Tel: 0161 881 6374

chorltonbookshop@lineone.net