Humour and pathos: kids' books run the gamut of emotions

Sea cucumbers usually lead a humdrum existence, but Neil, the Amazing Sea Cucumber (Affirm Press. $19.99) shows this is not always the case. Neil narrates his own story, explaining how nothing exciting ever happens to him - although the love of his life, Sandra, did float away in an undertow. When a pickled cucumber floats down from a boat, Neil thinks she's come home - what a dill!

This leads to other unexpected adventures for this marine antihero. Luckily, Sandra does return, getting them both out of a pickle and leaving Neil cool as a cucumber. There is entertainment galore in the combination of Amelia McInerney's droll text and Gifford's giggle-inducing cartoon-style illustrations that often carry the narrative.

Hope is the Thing by Johanna Bell and Erica Wagner (Allen & Unwin. $24.99) is a poetic and life-affirming introduction to the wonders of the bird kingdom. Wagner's collage illustrations - cleverly created using torn, cut, drawn, painted and printed imagery - will no doubt inspire young artists to create collages of their own, just like the girl in the book. And Bell's thought-provoking, lyrical rhyming text is packed with interesting snippets of information. Like the birds it features, both text and images soar above the ordinary in this book.

Found in Sydney: A Counting Adventure (Allen & Unwin. $24.99) by Joanne O'Callaghan and Kori Song is a fun introduction for the very young to the delights of Australia's favourite harbour-side city. It has a jaunty rhyming text and colourful child-centric illustrations, with the added bonus of being a counting book that takes readers from one to one million - the number of tiles on the Sydney Opera House. This is an entertaining introduction to the city sights and an interesting way to practise counting skills.

Even the simplest things can bring young children hours of delight. In Shadow Catchers (Allen & Unwin. $24.99) by Kirsty Murray and Karen Blair, two young children spend the day with their dad chasing shadows. Murray's lyrical text is perfectly matched by Blair's gentle pencil and watercolour images. They perfectly capture the interaction of the siblings and their dad, along with the fun they have trying to catch their shadows in the park, the backyard, the house and the dark.

Like shadow-catching, cloud-spotting is a great way of getting kids outdoors to stretch both their muscles and their imaginations. Cloudspotting (Windy Hollow Books. $27.95) is a young girl's account of early morning boat trips with her dad to catch crabs. While they wait for the crabs to crawl into the nets, they pass the time finding creatures in the clouds.

Then it's home to a tasty family meal of cooked crabs. Samantha Tidy's nostalgic text is full of engaging onomatopoeia and repetition, while a host of creatures are cleverly hidden in the clouds and below the surface in Susannah Crispe's evocative, colour-saturated images full of interesting perspectives and details. This is a charming tale to share.

Treasure-hunting is another great outdoor activity for little ones. Little Treasure (Lothian. $24.99) by Chanelle Gosper and Jennifer Goldsmith reveals the treasures that can be found when exploring beside the sea. Gosper's engaging rhyming text explores the things that a child and her mother discover together, while Goldsmith has created glorious seascapes using watercolour and pencil images collaged together to create a three-dimensional effect that adds visual impact. There are treasure ships, mermaids' jewels, imaginative play and a whole lot of love in this celebration of family time spent together in the natural world.

In Duckling Runs Away (Allen & Unwin. 32 pp. $19.99), a youngster's temper tantrum gets away from him. Duckling is so cranky with his mother that he runs away. Anger drives him past his playful friends, into the darkness of the night, and then safely back home again. With its circular structure, Margaret Wild's beautifully crafted text, with its repetitions, rhythms and refrains, has a reassuringly positive ending.

Vivienne To's illustrations are populated by dreamy landscapes and super-cute baby animals with great child appeal. This is a reassuring book about coping with big emotions and discovering that, whatever you do, you will always be loved.

In Dorrie: The Creator of Blinky Bill (Angus & Robertson. $24.99) Tania McCartney reimagines the inspiration behind Dorothy Wall's iconic children's book Blinky Bill: the Quaint Little Australian. Young Dorrie loves to dance, sing and create with her toy koala by her side. When she moves from New Zealand to Australia, she encounters the real thing - a cheeky koala with a larrikin streak who inspires her to write and illustrate her famous children's book. McCartney's pages brim with texture, patterning and interesting details as the enchanting Dorrie lets her creative juices flow. Visual historical references and a short biography of Dorothy Wall are also included. This a delightful homage from one creative soul to another.

Parcel for Penguin (Puffin Books. $14.99) by Shelley Knoll-Miller is a fun guessing- game book. When Penguin gets a parcel from Gorilla on a freezing cold day, he and his pals take turns to guess what could be inside. Not surprisingly, their guesses revolve around something to keep them warm. Finally, in a flurry of ripped paper, they open the box and discover a rather impractical present.

But, with a bit of ingenuity, they turn it into something that does indeed warm them all up. The humour in this joyful book begins on the opening endpapers, with Penguin trying to warm up by squeezing himself into his beanie. The fun continues inside the book, with brightly coloured illustrations, cheeky cartoon characters and an abundance of child-like enthusiasm.

When I'm Big (Penguin. $19.99) by Karen Blair presents a different perspective on a child coming to terms with a new baby coming into the family. It cleverly taps into children's propensity to take things literally. So, when everyone tells the girl narrating the story that she'll soon be a big girl, at first she imagines herself as a giant who can do amazing things. She soon realises the downsides of being big - like not fitting into her bath, her bed, or even her home.

Reassurance from her mum and the arrival of the much-anticipated baby makes her feel like a big girl in just the right way. Blair's magical text and endearing illustrations provide the reassurance prospective brothers and sisters need to cope with their new role in the family.

Using different anthropomorphised animals doing everything from hiding and fighting to climbing and cartwheeling, You Two, You Two (Lothian. $19.99) by Brooke Hill and Elin Matilda Andersson celebrates the ups and downs of being a sibling. The child-like, decorative illustrations are full of colour and movement, and the rhyming text gallops across the pages with the playful children. Like the previous books, You Two is child-centric, engaging and full of familiar childhood experiences, as well as being a great book to read out loud to your little ones.