There has been a tendency recently towards picture books aimed at an older age group than the more usual pre-school and Year 1 readership.

Lauren Child’s collage pictures, with their inventive mix of childlike drawings, photographs and wobbly typography, have a fresh, exuberant style that instantly appeals to six to eight-year-olds.

She won the Kate Greenaway Medal last year, having had two books on the shortlist, and took a Smarties Bronze Prize for her latest, What Planet Are You From Clarice Bean? (Orchard Books pound;10.99), in which she tackles that familiar project topic - The Environment.

Clarice Bean engages readers from the endpapers, where she introduces her classmates. Her scatty first-person narrative continues to drop in nuggets of information as she drags her family intoan eco-protest aimed at preventing a tree being cut down in their street. And she finishes her project.

Jessica Souhami also uses collage to illustrate an Irish tale, Mrs McCool and the Giant Cuhullin (Frances Lincoln pound;10.99), in which Finn McCool calls on his wife to outwit the giant who is chasing after him. The pictures are big and bold, like the giants, and it comes as no surprise to learn that the artist ran a shadow puppet company. This dramatic retelling will entertain six to nine-year-olds.

Alexis Deacon’s Slow Loris (Hutchinson pound;10.99) features the Loris, who does everything so incredibly slowly that the other creatures in the zoo think that he is boring. Then his secret nightlife is discovered. The illustrations are dark and soulful, perfectly capturing the Loris’s torpor, and they will particularly appeal to boys aged six to eight.

Russell Ayto’s quirky pictures are perfect for The Witch’s Children by Ursula Jones (Orchard Books pound;10.99), about a witch’s brood who are on a visit to a park. The trouble starts when the eldest changes a little girl into a frog - the ensuing chaos will amuse five to sevens.

Frog by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Jane Browne (Bodley Head pound;10.99), has a more traditional picture-book text. Little Joe is embarrassed and sad because he cannot swim.

After he rescues a frightened frog that cannot get out of the swimming pool, he gains the confidence to overcome his fear. The life-like illustrations beautifully interpret the story and will appeal to children aged four to six.