Now here’s a wondrous book to behold. A combination of philosophical conundrums and thoughtful artwork, My Little Book of Big Questions by Britta Teckentrup is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s aimed at wide-eyed and curious little readers, those fizzing with wonder at life and the universe. ‘Why can’t I fly?,’ ‘Do twins want to stay together forever?’, a plethora of thorny questions designed to prompt contemplation, debate, and engrossing parent-child reading time.

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Cinderella Liberator by Rebecca Solnit enticed me not only with its striking title and cover, but also the improbable pairing of author and illustrator. Rebecca Solnit, high-profile writer and spirited activist, and traditionalist Arthur Rackham, classic book illustrator from the Edwardian era. In this modern take on Cinderella, Solnit aspires to release the cast of characters from their seventeenth-century shackles. Does she succeed in bringing Cinders marching into the 21st-century, and is it possible to march in glass slippers anyway?

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‘Remember: Be good, be adventurous…and look after your parents.’

These are among the last words of the Unknown Adventurer, a globe-trotting explorer whose notes and sketches have been discovered in a remote part of the Amazon. Apparently intended for two young relatives, her (or his) work has been faithfully reproduced here, in The Lost Book of Adventure: From the Notebooks of the Unknown Adventurer edited by Teddy Keen. Contemplation of our beautiful planet is combined with practical instruction and field-notes. All that is required is one sensible adult, to assist young readers with the practicalities of becoming a fully-fledged adventurer.

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Does the name Baba Yaga provoke a frisson of unease in your mind? It did for me as I dredged up vague childhood reading memories of a forest-dwelling crone whose hut stands on the spindliest of chicken legs. An enduring character from Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga has been reimagined in The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson.

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As discerning readers and bookshop browsers, no doubt you’re familiar with all the great book emporiums within a 50-mile radius of your home. I am, however, willing to bet that you’ve never once visited a meta bookstore. So, with much fanfare, I’d like to introduce you to one, as presented to us in The I Wonder Bookstore by Shinsuke Yoshitake. This quirky Japanese bestseller reveals a typical day in the life of a bookstore that only sells books about books. Prepare to be charmed.

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‘There used to be an empty chair at the back of the classroom.’ But then one day Ahmet appeared. Scared, sad Ahmet with golden eyes like a lion. The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf tells this young Syrian refugee’s story in her debut novel, the much-applauded recipient of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019. Taking a child’s eye view of the refugee crisis, we follow a bunch of curious and big-hearted school kids as they eagerly pursue a friendship that leads to the hailing of ‘Ahmet: The most famous refugee boy in the world!’

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And so to March, a month that brings us the springing of spring, and World Poetry Day, a global celebration of the joys of poetry. Happy Poems by Roger McGough seems to me to be the ideal collection to share with you. Boldly introducing young readers to the likes of William Blake and Alfred Tennyson, through to Carol Ann Duffy and the ever fabulous Benjamin Zephaniah, the bright, smiley cover promises an array of poems designed to bring sunshine to your kids’ reading.

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