The Little Cat and the Greedy Old Woman by Joan Rankin

The story revolves around a little cat who one day is unceremoniously shooed out into the pouring rain after he attempts to gain a taste of a special roast dinner the "greedy old woman" has prepared. The anger which grows inside him causes him to grow into a great jungle tiger tyrant and he reenters the house hell-bent on revenge. The moggy is a lovable villain and the  muted softer watercolours used for the house and the old woman are contrasted with the vibrant oranges and browns used for the terrifying tiger cat. An amusing read.

Dragon by Wayne Anderson

If you love dragons then surely this is a book you will enjoy. One day, a mother dragon accidentally drops an egg from the sky into the ocean. When the newborn emerges, he spends  many months trying to find his place amongst animals such as fish, insects, birds, snakes and even a crocodile.  He is desperate to find his mother and despairing after his many encounters with other creatures...until he finds a special young boy who happily lends a helping hand. This is a warm and reassuring story about a magical creature's search for his identity and his home.Wayne Anderson is a respected English author/artist who has received the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for best children's book, as well as many other accolades. The misty, mysterious illustrations greatly enhance the story and make it something  very special.

Another Custard Pie by Roger McGough & Graham Percy

Another Custard Pie by Roger Mc Gough and published in 1993, is written in rhyming couplets and tells the story about a boy who dreams of running away to join the circus and awakes to find that the circus chaos has come to his house instead. The living room houses the big top, a baby elephant is playing the piano and his little sister is checking out the inside of a tiger's mouth. 

There is a lion in the wardrobe

And it's trying on my clothes.

There is a seal in the bath

With a potty on it's nose.

About ever kind of circus act is given some kind of reference or recognition, including a bear on a pogo stick and a kangaroo and a camel playing "Catch-the -Ball."

In the end the boy has had enough and changed his mind completely.

The Stolen Mealies Lesley Whitwell and Mario Sickle

The Stolen Mealies  is an African folk-tale retold by Lesley Whitwell and illustrated by Mario Sickle. This book was published in 1989 in Cape Town and tells the tale of Squirrel who works hard to grow mealies (corn). Unfortunately his field is discovered by an unscrupulous hare who deviously manipulates others into believing he is the owner of the new harvest. However, justice prevails. This a great book to teach the values of honesty and integrity to students. The double page colourful linocut illustrations by Mario Sickle are both detailed and exquisite. It is one of the most beautifully illustrated book in my children' collection. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for his other books The New Fire, The Hare's Rope, Sangura's Tug of War and Love David.

A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer and P.D.Eastman

A Fish Out of Water was one of my favourite books as a  child and this  edition was published in 1963. How excited was I when I found this today?  A little boy buys a fish he calls Otto from Mr Carp and is promptly given the instruction:"Never feed him a lot. Never more than a spot! Or something may happen. You never know what." Yet straight away after landing home, the lad is being more than generous with the feeds. The rhyme drives the story along as Otto quickly outgrows one watery habitat after another. Pretty soon the local policeman is involved and then the fire brigade, and eventually Mr Carp makes a return appearance to make for a very satisfying ending to the story.

When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs

When the Window Blows  by Raymond Briggs is a very dark book really aimed for children over maybe eleven and it could really be appreciate and more fully unpacked by adults. According to Briggs in an interview, he never intended it to be a political comment. I've also watched the movie which is just as disturbing and sad, a complete turn around from the light-hearted Snowman, and Father Christmas books which won him so much fame. I've  also seen the movie and that doesn't change just how horribly sad the book is with its many moments of black humour. The bleak adult subject matter serves to underline the absurdity of the situation lived through by elderly James and Hilda Bloggs as they somewhat cheerily set about preparing their house for the nuclear strike using the ludicrous "The Householder's Guide to Survival" and continue with their banter and attempt at normality even after the devastation of the "fall out." The last two pages left me feeling sick to the stomach. 

The Teeny Tiny Woman retold and illustrated by Barbara Seuling

The Teeny Tiny Woman retold by Barbara Seuling is about a very small woman who finds a teeny bone in a church yard and takes it home in order to make soup for her supper. After she stores it in her cupboard, the trouble begins. Everything in the book is teeny tiny except for one thing which the reader discovers at the conclusion of the story. Simply written with repetition, this is a great book for readers beginning to find their own feet. The drawings were done in pencil and preseparated. 

Barbara Seuling was born and grew up in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn. She attended Colombia University and studied art and illustration with Don Bolognese, Uri Shulevitz and Robert Quackenbush. Ms Seuling was a children's book editor for many years and has written and illustrated several other children's books incuding Winter Lullaby and Oh No It's Robert.  She wears many hats and is also a teacher. Barbara lives in Manhattan and spends summer in Landgrove, Vermont.