Children’s books are often meant to be timeless, but in fact they reflect and even predict the politics of the era. Both Harry Potter and His Dark Materials were as much a product of the Blair/Brown era as The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland were of theirs. Which new books will best reflect the new Starmer era?
Slug Life by Moesha Kellaway (HarperCollins, £12.99) is a pure delight now that summer has dried up the slimy pests in gardens and in governments. It’s an inspired debut packed with facts, jokes and illustrations of how the seemingly unappealing can prove to be a steadfast friend. A Wild Walk to School by the ever-enchanting Rebecca Cobb (Macmillan, £12.99) turns the school run into an epic adventure. The slog of arriving on time is transformed by imagination, wit and creativity – something that the emphasis on Stem has attempted to crush out of children. Both are ideal for 3-5s.
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