As the UK's 10 Best New Illustrators have just been announced, it is worth remembering we already have a generation of exceptional illustrators who have been producing beautiful picturebooks for children for years. Emma Chichester Clark, who gave us Blue Kangaroo, now offers a new character in Minty and Tink, taking childhood wishes a step further. Blue Kangaroo was alive in the imagination of the child; Tink, a tiny panda from the toyshop, is alive in reality. Minty and her mother are looking for a present for her baby brother's first birthday, when Minty sees Tink jumping about on the shelf and saying “Get me out of here!” Minty wants to keep the miraculous toy (as small children tend to with gifts purchased for someone else), but the baby has to have a present. All ends well, after a moment of drama, with a creative gesture from Minty. The clarity and domestic observation of the illustrations - with their autumnal palette and love of pattern, and capacity to tell a story beyond the words - about big-eyed Minty's bedtime routine, and the antics of the family dog, for instance, make this a book to pore over and reread, which will become, like Tink, a real friend (Andersen Press £10.99).

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