Bad manners in the jungle; a magical inner-city tree; galactic danger; a conservationist call to arms; plus the best new YA novels
Wrong! by Ciara Flood, illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti, Farshore, £7.99
Spoilt, demanding and horribly rude (“Spaghetti arms!” “Wrinkle bum!”), Hog ruins things for the entire jungle – until he runs into a very polite Tiger. A hilarious, mordant, exuberantly illustrated picture book about the pitfalls of bad manners.
Our Tower by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Richard Johnson, Frances Lincoln, £12.99
Three children live in a grey tower block with nothing green nearby, but when they find an old tree and a magical old man inside it, they discover bright love growing in their tall grey home, too. This glowing, poetic picture book from the new children’s laureate celebrates the joys of community in urban spaces while quietly affirming that the natural world belongs to everyone.