The O'Brien Press has two new series out for the autumn: "Toddlers" for 1-4 years and "Pandas" for 5-6 years. Written and illustrated by Carol Thompson, Counting Rhymes and Bedtime Rhymes are beautifully presented, while Freddie Visits the Doctor and Freddie Gets Dressed, written and illustrated by Nicola Smee, complete the set. The four volumes, retailing at £3.99 each, are a great introduction to books for the pre-school generation. The "Panda" series includes offerings from such as Anne Marie Herron - Ribbit Ribbitt, with pictures by Stephen Hall; Gordon Snell - Amy's Wonderful Nest, pictures by Fergus Lyons; and Elizabeth Shaw, words and pictures - The Little Black Sheep. They are also priced at £3.99.
From Wolfhound we have two from the youthful Aislinn O'Loughlin: Shak & the Beanstalk and The Emperor's Birthday Suit, both of them reworkings of the well-known fairy tales. The books are bright, sharp and full of fun and are delightfully illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick; £3.99 each. There is also a nature story by Sean Kenny, Fast-Wing (£3.99), illustrated by Brendan Deacy, about the adventures of a blue-winged teal that is blown off course and has to endure many travails before regaining his flock.
Three also from The Children's Press: Peter Regan's Riverside: The Croke Park Conspiracy (£2.95), in which the members of the local Riverside Boys soccer team, led by narrator Jimmy Quinn, take up arms against their GAA counterparts; Mary Arrigan's Seascape with Barber's Harp (£3.95), wherein her heroine, Maeve Morris, journeys to West Cork at the invitation of her old heart-throb, Jamie, falls for tall, tanned Pedro, and has a summer full of adventures working on treasure maps, trespassing in ancient castles, sailing and shooting white-water rapids - good, lively prose, with many sharp shafts of humour; and Kate McMahon's Timber Twig (£3.95), a story of show-jumping, in which protagonist Clare gets the better of arch-rival Kelly and rides her pony, the eponymous Timber Twig, to victory. The three books are exuberantly illustrated by Terry Myler and are great value for money.
Michael Leahy, an architect who lives in Corrofin, Co Clare, has written and published an anthropomorphic tale entitled Freddie: The Ballynahinch Fox (Hero Press, £4.99), with illustrations by William Gilchrist. It seems Mr Leahy got his idea for the book from the story of the fox which took to paying regular visits to Ballynahinch Castle Hotel a couple of years ago. Following in the wake of such as Richard Adams and Tom McCaughren, he gives his fox human traits, details his adventures and comes up with a tale that should enthral adults as well as children. There is also an anagram competition, with the prize a self-catering holiday in Connemara - and maybe even a visit from Freddie himself.
A long list from Poolbeg, beginning with three delightful dual-language picture books for beginners, at £3.99 each: Molly Is a Good Dog, Good Morning, and Lily and Ted, all written and illustrated by Lucinda Jacob, and translated into Irish by Finian O Drisceoil. Would make wonderful Christmas presents for tiny tots. Then there is an easy reader, Famine, by Arthur McKeown, illustrated by Josip Lizatovic (£3.99), which tells the story of the Famine of the 1840s in simple but lyric language. Don Conroy is an old hand at writing and drawing pictures for children and his The Anacondra from Drumcondra and Elephant at the Door (both £3.99) are gorgeous examples of his gifts - and very funny they are, too.
For the 8-12 bracket, Poolbeg has Rosie's Gift by Ann Carroll (£3.99), in which time-travelling Rosie is now in l870, helping her ancestor, Joseph, defeat the evil machinations of bad old Master Cyril de Courcy, and Gordon Snell's The Phantom Horseman (£3.99), an exciting tale of derring-do by a man who still possesses the "dreaming eyes of wonder" necessary in all good tellers of stories for children.
Vincent Banville is a freelance journalist and writer