Spring into action with Usborne this Easter by various authors – children’s book reviews -

Age 3 plus:

Wipe-Clean Spring Activities

Kirsteen Robson and Manuela Berti

Join a host of children and animals as they head into the great outdoors for an adventure full of counting, writing and puzzles! Developing young children’s ability to count and observe, and teaching them to control a pen or pencil on a page are all essential early skills on their journey to writing letters and numbers. It takes time and practice so this Usborne Early Years Wipe-Clean book is the ideal first step. This fun, Spring-themed book is full of puzzles and activities and can be used again and again to practise pen-control. The entertaining activities encourage little children to solve mazes, join dots, spot differences and trace over numbers and pictures. They can then wipe the page clean and do it all again. With a special wipe-clean pen included, this is the perfect starter package for your budding puzzlers and wordsmiths!

(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £6.99)

Age 6 plus:

Tiny, the Secret Adventurer: The Mystery Visitor

Aisha Bushby and Kübra Teber

Being teeny weeny doesn’t mean you can’t have big, scary and exciting adventures! Aisha Bushby, author of a string of children’s books, lets her imagination take flight for this beautiful early reader chapter book series which comes complete with the gorgeous illustrations of Turkish artist Kübra Teber and delivers stories brimming with friendship, courage and discovery. Tiny is a small creature with a big heart living in Oakwood Primary School garden with her animal friends. One day a mystery visitor with large paws, sharp fangs and shining eyes arrives in the garden. The animals are scared but Tiny realises this young creature needs help... can she persuade the others that this mystery visitor means them no harm? With its inclusive, heartwarming adventure story, a gallery of adorable illustrations, and the cutest star player this side of the school’s garden wall, little readers are fast falling BIG time for lovable Tiny!

(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £5.99)

Age 3 plus:

Little First Sticker Book: Easter Bunnies

Jessica Greenwell and Edward Miller

Join some adorable, busy bunnies as they prepare to celebrate Easter and springtime with this charming first sticker book just made for little hands. Help the little bunnies with everything from egg hunts in the springtime fields and making bonnets, to baking and decorating cookies for a picnic. There are over 190 colourful and easy-to-use stickers to bring Edward Miler’s beautifully illustrated scenes to life... and fun guaranteed on every page!

(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £5.99)

Age 2 plus:

One Little Chick

Lesley Sims and Anastasiia Bielik

Take a peek inside an egg to see a baby chick start to grow and then hatch out with this simply cracking board book from Lesley Sims and Anastasiia Bielik. Little ones will love exploring the pages of this entertaining tale as a chick develops inside her egg, cracks through the shell and then totters around to explore like a curious ball of fluff! And as the pages turn, she grows into a pullet and then an adult hen, laying and hatching eggs of her own. But where does this little chick come in the pecking order and will she rule the roost? Both inventive and informative, One Little Chick is part of Usborne’s Life Cycles series and has been specially written for little children. And with intriguing holes to peep through on every page, this is a delightful first introduction to the incredible world around us.

(Usborne Publishing, board book, £6.99)

Age six months plus:

Don't Tickle the Cow!

Sam Taplin and Ana Martin Larranaga

You’d better not tickle that cow... because it just might moo if you do! Little ones will be well and truly tickled when they get their hands on this fabulously fun and ‘feely’ sound book. There’s a comical cow, a bleating goat, a clucking hen and a snorting pony just waiting to entertain when toddlers give them a tickle! Tiny tots will love pressing the furry, touchy-feely patches to hear the different animal sounds in this delightful novelty board book. At the end of the story, all the farm animals get noisy at the same time in a musical finale guaranteed to get everyone dancing. With Sam Taplin’s fun narrative and the wonderfully vivid artwork of Ana Martin Larranaga bringing the animals to life, expect loads of laughs and tons of touchy-feely encores! Perfect for babies’ tummy time, sensory play, or simply snuggling up at story time.

(Usborne Publishing, board book, £12.99)

Age 6 months plus:

Find the Duck at Easter

Kate Nolan and Lizzie Walkley

Explore the enchanting spring scenes and have fun finding Easter eggs and a little yellow duck on every page of this appealing board book from author Kate Nolan and illustrator Lizzie Walkley. With Walkley’s bright and colourful illustrations, based on the artwork of Poppy and Sam books author Stephen Cartwright, Nolan’s simple text, and sturdy pages, this is an adorable Easter gift for inquisitive young children.

(Usborne Publishing, board book, £5.99)