I love Seibold’s books (it was his Penguin Dreams that first started my interest in children’s books) and this book is no disappointment. The illustrations are a fantastical merger of Seibold’s signature computer-drawn graphics with a rococo flair, all laid on spray-painted backgrounds in a Technicolor palette. And the cover has glitter! Sound too much? Noooo. Never. Not when paired with an absurd re-jig of old classic rhymes (which, let’s be honest, weren’t so solid anyway — “Hey diddle diddle the cow jumped over the moon”?). The result is gelastic, an hysterical pairing of illustration and verse. The perfect book for giggles and nonsense.

I hesitated when my daughter first chose this book from the bookcase, I just assumed the block illustrations would be too abstract for a three-year-old, and with no obvious story to capture her attention that she would soon be frustrated and turn away. I learnt a little about pre-schoolers that day — they love the abstract, they love to find patterns and familiar shapes, they love to count, and they love you to make up little stories about unseen characters traveling to unseen places. Follow the Line is a beautiful book with stylish illustrations that reveal Ljungkvist’s Swedish heritage. The perfect book for the junior explorer.

Fans of Rosen’s book We’re going on a Bear Hunt will love this. The story is sweet, simple and slapstick—and much less wordy (phew)—but still has the lilting lyrical style that is so much fun to read aloud. Waldron’s illustrations (created by digitally manipulating hand-drawn illustrations) are strong and have a contemporary feel—I have a particular fondness for the Hippo with its pink scarred and scratched hide. The perfect book for the underdog.

I like the cover of this book with its matte hardback and hand-drawn, spot-varnished titles. Opening the pages is no disappointment—the autumnal colours and falling leaves evoke a sense of the harvest, and the illustrations fill the uncoated pages with a matching sense of bounty. All of which mirrors the story nicely, although I don’t want to give away the punch line because there is quite a twist. Davey has a distinctive and original style that is very pleasing, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. The perfect book for a little fox, or owl.

This is the great old story of a little owl who has lost its Mummy and the journey taken to find her, told many times before, but it is such a good one—a children’s thriller? The text is sparse and simple making it an engaging book for under threes. The illustrations and custom typeface are the real stars, and the behind-the-scenes look on author and illustrator Haughton’s blog is a worthwhile read. The perfect book for a pint-sized Sherlock.

There is a page in this book that I love: it is the page filled from corner to corner with the lament of a little boy who is having a very bad day. Sometimes I am tempted to insert my own grievances when reading aloud, but it could be considered bad parenting. Instead I’ll take my comfort in the joy of reading this delightful book again and again. The colour palette is a fashionable mix of pastel hues and the decorative slab typeface is set entirely in uppercase. Illustrations are sized and positioned on the page to reflect the emotions of the scene—something children seem to respond to instinctively. Interesting trivia: the author has won six Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street. The perfect book for your little monster.

Purple, black, lime green and pink all contribute to a lush mix of the gothic and the comic in this delightful book. And the story of Dagmar the vegetarian, candy-loving, vampire child is a great match for to Seibold’s quirky and arresting style. The devils are truly in the details, and small touches like the reflections in Dagmar’s eyes, and a very cleverly placed striped Wally, feel like treats left for eagle-eyed readers. The perfect book for Hallowe’en.