Books that will get your little ones reading this month: What The Crow Saw Below, Turtle Moon, Ghostlines

WHAT THE CROW SAW BELOW by Robert Tregoning Illustrated by Greg Stobbs (OUP £7.99, 32pp) 

Bravery and reassurance are at the heart of this gorgeously illustrated rhyming picture book. 

A young crow sits with her elders on a branch, constantly looking down for danger: does the squirrel want to steal their nest, is a dog after their eggs? 

But she wonders why they never look up to see what’s above so she climbs to the top of the tree and discovers a world of colour and a rich variety of birdlife. 

Perhaps, she thinks, her crows look for danger when there is none? Balancing caution with courage is the uplifting message here as the contrast between the dark, tangled wood and the open blue skies illustrates. 

Age 3+

TURTLE MOON by Hannah Gold (HarperCollins £14.99, 336pp) 

Hannah Gold’s conservation-based books have rightly won awards and this dramatic story, set on the lush, turtle-breeding coast of Costa Rica is her best yet.

Only child Silver is acutely aware of her parents’ grief at being unable to have a second child so when her father takes up an artist post at a turtle rescue centre it seems like a fresh start.

She learns a lot from local boy Rafi and witnesses a rare leatherback turtle laying her eggs but, when they are stolen, she and Rafi must find the thief before they are sold.

Packed with fascinating facts and atmospheric description, this explores themes of loss, renewal and hope with sensitivity and compassion. 

Age 8+

GHOSTLINES By Katya Balen (Bloomsbury £12.99, 288pp) 

Tilda has always lived on the remote Scottish puffin island of Ayrie and loves it – but desperately misses her older brother who’s left for the mainland.

At the end of the summer tourist season, two new residents arrive: Albie and his mum.

She tries to befriend the boy, who bitterly resents being dragged here from the city, so to impress him she secretly takes him to a forbidden, dangerous old island rumoured to be haunted.

There follows a thrilling, emotionally charged adventure, full of authentic characters, peril, humour and warmth in which the children discover the true nature of home and family. And you’ll fall in love with puffins and the sea?. 

Age 9+