As spring starts to sprout, two new titles pay tribute to the ordinary wonders of nature. Tree Thing (Quercus, £14.99, 8+) by Piers Torday is an original fable and an origin story, tracing the growth of Tree Thing from their humble beginnings as a green shoot to their magisterial command over the land. Tree Thing doesn’t dominate, however. They learn to share: their storm-torn branches encourage mushrooms to spawn, bats and woodpeckers to make homes in their hollows. Sadly, what follows next is the “same old story”. Man comes in the shape of The Rider, who razes the land and chops Tree Thing down. Yet Tree Thing’s journey has only just begun. With the help of a young boy, Marlo, they find an alternative way to thrive.
Torday’s eco-narrative raises important questions about the relationship between humans and the natural world, while also retaining a vital seed of hope. Tree Thing embodies nature’s generosity, the beneficence of the land, and their anthropomorphic form encourages empathy with their destruction. Matthew Taylor Wilson’s expressive illustrations, which spread Tree Thing’s roots across the pages, play a key role in this, while the book embodies its own messages as well. It is printed on recycled paper, which doesn’t distract at all from the hardback book’s beauty.
That’s It! Said the Dandelion by Nicola Reddy (O’Brien Press, €14.99, 2+) is a similarly themed picture book about a tiny shoot trying to find its way in the world. “Just what can I be?” the dandelion asks as it changes its shape through the seasons and realises the scope of its possibilities. Roisin Hahessey’s bright, naif images establish a consistent character for the budding flower as it evolves, while a short addendum shares cultural and scientific facts that recast the humble plant people insist on calling a weed as a critical part of nature.
A weed is just a flower no one wants; an idea that Angel, the protagonist of Always Angel (Usborne, £7.99, 10+) can relate to. Kimberly Whittam’s story of transitions stars a young girl in early adolescence, whose struggles with school have gotten so bad she has just stopped going altogether. Living in foster care while her mum is treated for bipolar disorder, the odds are stacked against Angel. Why can’t anyone understand that she just wants to get through the day “without being told that I’m too loud, too disruptive, or too bad to have around”? As Angel tries to reintegrate into school, Whittam sensitively illuminates the various challenges that face her, as well as the areas of life that offer her hope, in particular how creative pursuits like baking and musicals provide a calming balm in her chaotic world, and an opportunity to shine.
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Molly Flynn is a foster child too. In Alex Dunne’s spellbinding Small Magics (O’Brien Press, €9.99, 8+), Molly has just been rehomed again. She discovers, however, that her new guardians have actually been waiting for her. Theirs is a special placement, where special children come to discover their hidden powers. Under the guidance of conjurer Pat and hedge witch Priya, Molly finds her own strengths with her new found family as they are challenged by dark forces: it is an absorbing tale of how kindness is its own kind of ‘small’ magic.
Parents are few and far between in The Last Wolf, the first instalment of Rob Biddulph’s The Moonhaven Chronicles (Macmillan, £12.99, 10+) where the town has been turned into an “urban fortress” to protect its citizens from werewolves. Twins Jax and Jovi’s parents, for example, seem to have disappeared. As scientists researching the lupine gene, a breakthrough would be transformative, but the twins are not sure when, if ever, they will be coming back. Defying curfew on the night of a full moon, the twins - along with friends Fourth and Esau, and Purple, who they aren’t quite sure is an ally - find themselves under surveillance as things begin to get more and more dangerous. Biddulph has created more than 20 picture books, and it is fantastic to see his oeuvre grow up with his readers too. A wealth of complementary illustrations will provide a familiar anchor to fans, while the thrilling adventure of the story is sure to win him many new ones.
The producers at Pawprint Productions are a little concerned about their dwindling fanbase, in the first two titles in a new series of engaging chapter books, by Jenny Moore, illustrated by Berta Maluenda, which tap into the lure of screen time by subverting some popular TV genres. In STOP! Gangster Koala and BARKING Bake Off (New Frontier Publishing, £7.99, 6+), trouble behind the camera finds its way on to the screen. With physical comedy and a mystery to solve driving the plot of both titles, they will have reluctant readers turning off their TVs and turning pages instead.
