From ants in purple pants to a stage-struck zebra, the 26 Creatures of Oh-Dear-Me-Oh-My range through the alphabet with a variety of comical eccentricities and unpredictable habits. Each has its own poem, and although the rhymes are sometimes forced, there is plenty of amicable amusement for children at key stage 1. They will enjoy using the maps to find the Pigs’ Paradise or the Bees’ Trees, and they will also enjoy the colourful illustrations in which a koala sails through a snowstorm and a tiger cleans his teeth. The Creatures of Oh-Dear-Me-Oh-My by PJ Owen (ISBN 85776 896 5) costs pound;8.95 from The Book Guild.

Tel: 01273 472534 www.bookguild.co.uk