Sumptuous...a book combining meticulous wordcraft with exquisite illustrations deftly restores language describing the natural world to the children's lexicon... The Lost Words is a beautiful book and an important one

One of the publishing sensations of recent times is The Lost Words

My top book of the year... It is one of those children's books for ages up to 99 years. The lost words are those my generation and earlier ones used every day and which are fast disappearing, and Macfarlane's aim is to resurrect the everyday glories of our language. May he succeed

Gilded and glorious, Jackie Morris's paintings illustrate Robert Macfarlane's acrostic poems in The Lost Words, one of the years loveliest books for all ages over 10

Rapturously received celebration of nature

Macfarlane is a changemaker... he has made nature-writing populis6t and big-selling. Morris's paintings are beautiful - at once familiar and other. A contender for book of the year

Full of the landscapes one both expects and looks forward to in Russian fairytales, Hortense and the Shadow is both elegant and ominous, poetic and dark, and enchanting.

A beautiful story of identity and self-acceptance... an utterly lovely picture book with an empowering message.

Hortense hates her shadow - crooked, tall and always there - and tries to ditch it in this hauntingly beautifully illustrated fairy tale. But one night, in the dark woods, bandits come a-calling and Hortense realises she needs her shadow after all. Entirely gorgeous.

A delightful picture book... could be read time and time again, becoming a treasured book.

Hortense detests the dark shadow that follows her wherever she goes. Until, on a lone walk one night, she comes upon a group of bandits in the woods and her shadow proves an invaluable ally. Stunning illustrations and sparse text combine to create a fascinating, nuanced tone in this tale that touches on themes of fear, friendship, and self-acceptance.

The lilting text and gorgeous spreads of snowy landscapes in pastel shades, with touches of bolder colours, create a magical atmosphere that is perfect for this carefully crafted fairy tale. The story gently touches on themes of self-perception and facing your fears. This is a stunningly beautiful debut picture book from two sisters who first discovered a love of stories and fables through the tales told to them by their Polish grandmother.

It's a classic in the making, real new talent, original, and set in a perfect fairy tale world. What more could you want from a bedtime story?

Had I owned this book as a little girl, I would have read it over and over, looking for hidden details.