Magical Tales of Ireland (Random House, pound;14.99) is not a collection of myth and folktale retellings, but a set of original stories by contemporary authors, each illustrated by a different artist. The rich variety of tone makes it a versatile volume.
Chapter books often make good read-aloud stories and that is true of Hetty The Yeti, by Dee Shulman (A amp; C Black, pound;8.99), a fast-paced tale of a yeti’s mission to interpret the pronouncement of an oracle and save her brother.
You Choose, by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart (Random House, pound;10.99) is a visual compendium. It is marvellous for developing speaking and listening, either with young children or older children with poor expressive language. Wonderful Me! and Wait For Me! (Dolphin, pound;4.99) are collections of early stories and poems by Margaret Mahy. Both should be in every key stage 1 teacher’s armoury.
