Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels

The last white rhino, a stolen inheritance, terrifying sea journeys and some ballet dancing bunnies

This month there’s an emphasis on change and transition, loss and hopefulness. In picture books, Nicola Davies’s Last (Tiny Owl) is inspired by the true story of Sudan, the last male northern white rhino. Having lost his mother to poachers, a captive rhino lives in a near-monochrome environment with other “lasts” of their species – a sad contrast to the colourful landscapes he remembers. Once returned to the wild, though, he finds he may not be the last after all. Pulling no punches, but inspiring the reader to fight for nature against all odds, the book is delicately balanced between sorrow and hope.

Hope is also invoked in Rain Before Rainbows (Walker) by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield. First released as a free ebook, this dreamlike vision of a girl and fox travelling from darkness and difficulty to a blaze of morning light offers, with its few well-chosen words and heart-lifting illustrations, a moving message of perseverance and eventual joy.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kL7hSB