Book Review: A Trio Of Fun Picture Books by Giles Paley-Phillips

FearsomeCaterpillar & I have recently discovered another great children’s author – Giles Paley-Philips – and I’m sharing three of his books with you this week.

The Fearsome Beastie

I’m a big horror fan, mainly due to my husband getting me into the genre over the course of our 12 years together. So it’s no surprise that I love kids books about creepy monsters and things that go bump in the night too.

Giles’ debut book is a classic tale of scary-monster-eats-unsuspecting-kids (why are so many fairytales based around this premise?) but with a few fabulous twists and turns along the way.

There are definitely a few lessons here amongst the teeth-gnashing fun – the strongest being that not everyone is as they seem, demonstrated when the monster convinces the children he is actually just lonely and looking for some friends (*spoiler alert* only to gobble them up!). This deception reminded me a little of the wolf disguised as Grandma in Little Red Riding Hood. And speaking of Grandmas, the next twist includes a very courageous Nan wielding a trusty axe. So all’s well that ends well.

At nearly 3, I was a little concerned halfway through reading this one that it would be a bit scary for Caterpillar but he loved it and actually found it quite funny!

The illustrations are bright and fun and have a slightly retro feel which reminded me of books from my own childhood (I especially like the surly-looking monster), the unusual font caught my eye too. Plus, Giles uses rhyming prose which always makes me happy.

Princess Stay Awakeprincess

With so many monotonous children’s books, it’s great when you discover one that actually brings forth a snigger from us parents too.

This book centres on a princess who refuses to sleep and drives her parents, and the whole kingdom, wild (who isn’t familiar with this?). It’s really comical throughout, especially the solution the King and Queen finally find, with the help of another resourceful grandmother. I just hope it didn’t clue Caterpillar in on all our tricks!

Caterpillar really enjoyed this and loved the illustrations. Plus, I like to read princess books to him on occasion to have a break from monsters, diggers and space ships, and to do my part for breaking down gender stereotypes.

PrintTamara Small And The Monsters Ball

A female protagonist in a monster book which gets Giles top marks from me. I’m reminded a little of a Cinderella-style going-to-the-ball story but with the big difference of it being a ball for monsters! A really fun take.

The story begins like a creepy ghost story but Tamara soon forgets to be scared and has so much fun partying with a whole host of different monsters. The charming array of creatures range from cackling witches to a breakdancing werewolf and the illustrator – Gabriele Antonini – is really creative in her depiction of them. There is a dreamlike quality to the story which I love.

Giles has a unique, refreshing style which keeps the stories really interesting. All three include unexpected twists and turns which is the key to any good story in my view, children’s or otherwise.

All three books are published by Maverick Arts and you can get buy your copies here.

6 comments on “Book Review: A Trio Of Fun Picture Books by Giles Paley-Phillips

  1. I love discovering new children’s books – my chidren’s bookshelves are heaving – but I don’t think this is a bad thing! The I think The Fearsome Beastie looks to be my favourite amongst these, I think my son would love it too! Thanks for linking up to #kltr

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