Boobela and Worm (4+) by Joe Friedman and Sam Childs

The Tinderbox (5+) by Hans Christian Andersen

Akimbo and the Snakes (6+) by Alexander McCall Smith

ANIMALS THAT HELP heroes or heroines to discover their true potential are familiar from fairytales, but rare in modern fiction. Perhaps this reflects the way in which parents cut their children off from animals.

In Boobela and Worm, the shy lonely giantess has no friends until a worm tells her that her feet stink. This is an excellent beginning, and the tone of affectionate honesty is kept up, as a series of small adventures unfold.

Apart from in Richard Scarry’s much-loved Lowly cartoons, worms are not much celebrated and, like the spider in E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, tend to evoke revulsion.

Joe Friedman’s Worm is so gentle, funny and wise that it comes as no surprise to find that he unlocks Boobela’s ability to heal others. Sam Childs’s lively drawings accompany these tales about the transformative power of putting yourself into somebody else’s shoes.

Afraid of birds and water, Worm too must overcome pho-bias, as Boobela learns how to attract friends and keep them. The pictures and interesting typography make the book an ideal stepping stone between picture books and novels. There are not enough good books for this age range, and Friedman’s sympathetic approach will make this one to reread. My favourite bit is when Worm has to be rescued from his sandcastle by a flatworm when the tide comes in.

A magical new edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Tinderbox, retold by Stephen Mitchell with sumptuous drawings by Bagram Iba-toulline, is not to be missed for children of 5+. The story of how the soldier gets a magic tinderbox, from which three giant dogs spring out to do his bidding, is a classic. The three dogs are a riot as they kidnap a princess and save their master from an unjust fate.

Alexander McCall Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective Agencyseries is enjoyed by children aged over 11 as much as by adults, and his Akimboseries is worth catching if you love animals. Akimbo lives on the edge of an African game reserve. Like Willard Price’s terrific old-fashioned Adventure series, they combine fantasy with robust realism in describing encounters with wild beasts – and their hunters.

Akimbo is the son of a game park ranger, and each book outlines his discovery of a different species. After elephants, lions and crocodiles, we have our hero’s encounter with snakes. These animals are not anthropomorphised, nor the helpers of fairytale, but they entrance Akimbo – and us – simply by their existence.

What the series lacks in moral development is made up for by McCall’s captivatingly simple style and Peter Ben-son’s vigorous line-drawings. It is perfect for a child of 6+ taking the first steps into real literature – a place as wonderful as the heart of Africa, Boobela and Worm Orion, £5.99; 96pp £5.69 (free p&p) The Tinderbox Walker, £12.99; 48pp £11.69 (free p&p) Akiombo and the Snakes Bloomsbury, £7.99; 96pp £7.59 (free p&p) 0870 1608080 timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst

What's more...

I DON'T LIKE GLORIA! (3+) by Kaye Umansky and Margaret Chamberlain Charmingly comical – sibling jealousy is dramatised by a dog jealous of cat.

A LION AT BEDTIME (4+) by Debi Gliori The best picture-book yet written for night-terrors.

SPY DOG (8+) by Andrew Cope The irresistible canine Bond, Lara.

Click here to buy these books

Times Recommends

• The 100 Best Books of the Decade
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• The conversation: James Ellroy