Spring New Release Children's Books For Reading Together (sent by Matador)

I try and promote self-published books when I can. and here are 3 children's books for younger readers which I've been sent to look at by Matador Publishing.

Joey, Wyatt And Kamryn and Fat Cat And The Chocolate Sandwich are all suitable for reading together and for newer independent readers to practise reading with support.

Joey is a plane who lives in a hangar on the island of Guernsey with two other planes, Dash and Dornie. He is an old plane and news comes he's no longer able to fly and is going to be decommissioned. For Joey this means a move to a children's play barn, where he is strung from the roof.

In the barn he meets a new friend, Brick, who is a decommissioned pottery kiln. Together they go in search of the Pouque Fairies, in hopes they will once again help Joey to fly.

Joey is one of the more imaginative vehicle stories, but it's sweet and the illustrations are awesome. Absolutely beautiful and they really carry the story to a different level, bringing it to life and making it almost believable that the Pouque Fairies really do create sea foam by 'flimming' with their swimming wings.

Joey is written by Dana Lynn Coles and illustrated by Tracy La Rue Hohn. Hardback with regular colour illustrations, 72 pages, rrp £9.99 (Kindle £3.99)

Wyatt And Kamryn, Children From Outer Space: Will You Be On The Ship? is about two children who come from the planet of Karuta. They were sent to ask children to help save our Earth, but at the same time they have a space ship which only a select few will be able to escape in should they fail.

The school children are asked to give ideas as to how they would save the Earth, and more importantly humanity, from greed and self-destruction. The best answers will get tickets to escape on the space ship with elders from all kinds of different planets. And then he woke up.

Very off-beat and bizarre, and some of the illustrations are not great. There is a lot of text in this book, which might deter a young reader, and I wasn't sure if we'd end up meeting a cult at the end. Thankfully we didn't, but I don't think I'd be very keen to get on the spaceship myself, just in case.

Wyatt And Kamryn, Children From Outer Space: Will You Be On The Ship? is written and illustrated by Nancy Jane, released on 28th Feb in a square glossy paperback picturebook, 18 pages, rrp £9.99.

Fat Cat And The Chocolate Sandwich is an amusing rhyming tale about a very lazy cat who likes to snooze all day and lie around eating chocolate spread sandwiches. Fat cat refuses to play with any of the animals, but seeing this, mouse decides to make him play by pinching his chocolate sandwich.

Fat cat races around the garden determined to get back his snack, eventually landing 'splat' on the sandwich. Instead of being annoyed, he realises he's had fun and that this might be a much better way to spend a day.

The illustrations are great, big and bold and perfectly suited to the amusing little story. There's a simple message about having more fun with friends and being active than by lying down lazing. It's a really good book.

Fat Cat And The Chocolate Sandwich is written by Nicki Maginn and illustrated by Sarah Rogers. A large format glossy paperback, 38 pages, rrp £6.99. 10% of profits from the sale of this book are donated to Poole NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

We were sent our copies of these books by Matador Press for review.