CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Peeping between the pages of Usborne’s spring selection

Spring is springing all around and Usborne – Children’s Publisher of the Year 2020 – has a super sunshine selection of new novelty and activity books to keep your little ones out of mischief!

Age 3 plus
Peep Inside a Fairy Tale: Goldilocks and the
Three Bears
Anna Milbourne and
Mar Ferraro

LONG before a child learns to read between the lines, here’s the perfect way to let them peep between the pages. Usborne’s Peep Inside series has become a firm favourite with pre-schoolers and this classic story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is brought to life in an enchanting kaleidoscope of vivid colours and cutaways.  

Children can lift the flaps, peer through tiny cutaways and mysterious holes as they follow Goldilocks to a neat little cottage deep inside the forest. It’s the home of the three bears but Goldilocks doesn’t know that and she cheekily eats the bears’ porridge, sits on their chairs and snuggles up in their beds. But what will happen when the three hungry bears come home?

The delicate cutaways and holes are cleverly layered to create a magical filigree effect which draws youngsters into the story and invites them to peep through the pages and follow Goldilocks’ stolen day in the forest. With lavish illustrations by Mar Ferraro and plenty to talk about and enjoy, this ingenious peep-inside fairy tale guarantees storytelling fun… and all the magic of Goldilocks’ mischievous adventure!
(Usborne, board book, £9.99)

Age six months plus
Don’t tickle the Pig!
Sam Taplin and Ana Martin Larranaga

LITTLE ones will be tickled pink when they get their hands on this super soft and fabulously ‘feely’ sound book. There’s a little pig just waiting to say oink when you give him a tickle… and that’s not all! Tots and toddlers won’t be able to resist pressing the fluffy touchy-feely patches to hear the different farm animals in this delightful novelty book.

And after the pig, cow, sheep and horse have been tickled to a chorus of oinks, moos, baas and neighs, they all join together at the end for a hilarious animal sounds chorus of the Old Macdonald Had a Farm tune. With Sam Taplin’s fun narrative and the wonderfully vivid artwork of Ana Martin Larranaga bringing the animals to life, expect gales of giggles and tons of touchy-feely, singalong encores! 
(Usborne, board book, £12.99)

Age 3 plus
Unicorns Play Pad
Kirsteen Robson and Christine Sheldon

KEEP little hands out of mischief with a high-flying unicorn play pad. With lots of enchanting puzzles to solve, and thirty fantastic pictures to colour, youngsters will have fun completing all the unicorn-themed activities in this practical and sturdy tear-off pad.

Guide a little lost unicorn through a maze to the stables, join the dots to draw a magical palace, and spot the differences between flying dragons. And on the back of each sheet, little ones can use their own imaginations to colour in simple black and white unicorn pictures. With a rainbow-coloured selection of flighty unicorns to enjoy, the Unicorns Play Pad provides hours of counting, spotting and drawing fun!
(Usborne, paperback, £6.99)

Age 4 plus
Poppy and Sam’s Step-by-Step Drawing Book
Kate Nolan and Kate Rimmer

JOIN Poppy and Sam of Apple Tree Farm for a very special drawing lesson. This bright, colourful and inviting drawing book comes packed with helpful tips and easy instructions for your budding young artists.

Enjoy learning to draw all kinds of animals with Poppy and Sam in this engaging book. Even little ones will be able to follow the simple, clear, step-by-step instructions showing exactly which shapes they need to complete their pictures of pigs, lambs, cows, rabbits and lots more. Draw a snowman and give him a hat, create a rabbit with long ears, draw a pig with two ears and a curly tail, and draw patterns on the wings of a butterfly. Ideal for developing pen control and observation skills, this charming book has learning fun on every page!
(Usborne, paperback, £5.99)

Age 3 plus
First Colouring Springtime
Matthew Oldham and Jenny Brown

AND watch your youngest family members spring into action when they open the pages of this bright and beautiful colouring book. From bunnies and chicks to trees and flowers, little children will love digging out their crayons and getting busy colouring in the springtime illustrations in this first colouring book.

Bold, simple outlines and large areas to colour make this charming and child-friendly book ideal for developing pencil control skills and is an exciting introduction to the joys of springtime.
(Usborne, paperback, £4.99)