I’d like to start this post with a big congratulations to Amy Sparkes who has not one, but two books published today! Amy has been dubbed by fellow writers as the Story Godmother, because she fills the writing community with cheer. But today, she is the Queen of Imagination, launching two exceptional children’s books alongside the fabulous illustrators, Ben Mantle and Sandra de la Prada. Both books are beautifully illustrated and full of Amy’s trademark sparkle, imagination and creativity that will delight children.
The House at the Edge of Magic, by Amy Sparkes and Ben Mantle, is the first book in an exciting new middle grade series that follows pick-pocket Nine who discovers a magical house. You can read my full review here.
But today, I want to showcase The Secret of Me by Amy Sparkes and Sandra de la Prada, a gorgeous rhyming picture book that celebrates the power of imagination. A young child asks a big question: “when I am BIGGER, what will I be?”
What follows is a series of out-of-this-world adventures that children imagine doing when they grow up. From taming dragons to cartwheels in space and painting goblins with purple hair.
My three-year-old adored this book. She often talks about what she will do when she’s big and she loved the idea of a hot air balloon race.
On each page is a bouncing, rhyming couplet that really packs a punch, whilst also letting the illustrations take over. Sandra has put lots of lovely little details into each illustration. I loved the robot alien doing a spot of gardening on a far off planet. My daughter likes reading this book to me and also thinking up other things that she’d liked to do herself. And that, is surely the aim of this book – to inspire children to use their imagination. The Secret of Me is a triumph!
Published by Studio Press, 7 January 2021. Amy is donating 5% of her royalties to IcklePickles to raise money to buy equipment in neonatal units across the UK.
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. This voluntary review contains my honest opinion.
Picture Book Perfect 