![]() ![]() But I won't rock the boat by telling her sad story. My favourite is Norah's ark (did you know Noah had a sister?). His collection of imaginary 'castles' is a surreal treat. Thompson is a one-off, a wit, a virtuoso. And Castles by Colin Thompson (Hutchinson £10.99) is unconstrainedly escapist. It is marvellous when picture books take on big, metaphysical questions but we all need a ladleful of fantasy too. But it is also about regeneration (the little acorn that grows into a tree is, as one of my sons said, 'the only bit of life left behind'). ![]() And it tackles the subject of death through the story of an ancient oak that dies, leaving behind a young friend (the lonely tree of the title). It is a collaboration between the Child Bereavement Trust and the Tree Council. But my children's response has been so intense that I now see it has something very special about it. The illustrations are compelling but not to my taste: strange trees with leaves like sprouting broccoli, Smurf-like faces. I am not sure what I would have thought of The Lonely Tree by Nicholas Halliday (Halliday Books £12.99) if I'd been reading it by myself. ![]()
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