Picture books: A hero who's as handsome as a tractor bonnet

Sometimes, picture-books are so witty and wise, you want to send them to adult friends as an alternative to novels. Joyce Dunbar's The Love-Me Bird (Scholastic ?11.95) is the kind of thing that should be on the shelf of all the Bridget Jones clones. The Love-Me bird just wants to be loved, and to this end repeats her plaintive cry, has a makeover, acts helpless, plays cool and decorates an elaborate nest. Nothing works, until Shut-Eye the owl suggests she should try calling "Love-You!" instead. Sophie Fatus's vivid pictures make this one for those you love. Tadpole's Promise (Andersen Press ?9.99), by the altogether wonderful Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross, has a different take on love. A tadpole and a caterpillar fall for each other, and promise never to change. "She was his beautiful rainbow, and he was her shiny black pearl." Nature takes its course however, and they both alter. Finally, the frog swallows the butterfly his lover has become, then sits sadly waiting for the caterpillar, "wondering where she went". The ruthless honesty and brilliant graphics make children shriek with laughter.

Little Lamb by Piers Harper (Macmillan ?10.99) is absolutely irresistible in that its clean, simple tale has textured animals. Even older children want to touch and turn its pages, and toddlers will find its story about a lamb discovering the world and getting slightly lost thoroughly reassuring. For really stunning inventiveness, the reissue of Gian Berto Vanni's Love (Canongate ?9.99) cannot be missed. This is BS Johnson for tots, for its tale of a little girl abandoned by her parents at the age of nine and taken into an orphanage is pierced, slashed and fretted with sweetness and sorrow.

Another great children's illustrator, Jan Pienkowski, has a new pop-up book, illustrating The Animals Went in Two by Two (Walker ?9.99). Books of this kind never fail to delight small people with small fingers, and on the Ark there are naughty monkeys, swimming pigs, peeping cows and even a stuck stegosaurus to keep them thrilled for several minutes until it all gets shredded. Even naughtier children will shriek with laughter at The Best Bottom by Brigitte Minne (Macmillan ?9.99) about conceited farm-yard animals having a beauty contest to find out who has the best bum.

Emma Chichester Clark's Up in Heaven (Andersen ?9.99) is altogether more serious. It tackles the feelings of a child whose beloved dog has died. Oddly, this was the subject of an episode of The Simpsons that I saw recently, which managed to be funnier (heaven has a dog-flap) and less honest in that their dog returns. Sweet-faced Daisy does not, but she sends Arthur dreams about how happy her life is now, and persuades him to accept a new puppy. As always, the pictures are enchanting. A happier pet-story is Charlotte Voake's Ginger Finds a Home (Walker ?10.99) about a stray who finds a loving little girl to feed and tame him. The gentle elegance and wit of Voake's draughtsmanship make this a joy.

Allan Ahlberg's Gaskitt family are back in splendid form with The Cat Who Got Carried Away (Walker ?9.99). Mr and Mrs Gaskitt are expecting a new baby, but meanwhile their cat is kidnapped by Honest Joe, pushing a sinister caged pram. The pictures zing with liveliness, and the story will have five- to seven-year-olds gripping their seats with excitement and laughter. Don't miss it.

Berlie Doherty's Blue John (Puffin ?5.99) is much weirder, but quite wonderful. Inspired by Smetana's music, it tells of a Queen of Darkness whose son is created out of the purple-blue heart of a glacier and the gold of the sun. She tries to keep him with her forever, but he is drawn to the light and life, even if it will bring him no happiness. The kind of picture-book that will haunt your dreams, it's suitable for children of six and upwards.

Those of seven plus, embarked on Ancient History in the classroom, should snap up Mary Hoffman's tales of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, illustrated by M P Robertson (Frances Lincoln ?10.99). A young apprentice is taken on a guided tour of the Mediterranean by Callimachus, the Royal Librarian of Alexandria. The magnificence of a lost world, its myths and artists are thrillingly evoked.

Eric Maddern's retelling of The King with Horse's Ears (Frances Lincoln ?10.99) is more conventional, but given such rich and quirky illustrations that they seem to have sprung straight from the subconscious. The old Jewish story of The Bachelor & the Bean by Shelley Fowles (Frances Lincoln ?10.99) is funnier, but visually, too much like a poor version of Jane Ray. Given that children love to spend hours poring over tiny details, we enjoyed Ben's Magic Telescope (Puffin ?5.99) far more. Not only is its deceptively simple story told by the poet Brian Patten, but the pictures by Sian and Peter Bailey are pure bliss. A small boy lives in a grim grey tower block. One day, he finds a magic telescope that shows him the richness and vibrancy of the world outside. As a metaphor for the imagination and what observation can do, it couldn't be bettered.

Arthur's Tractor (Bloomsbury ?9.99) yokes a farmer with fairytales in a hilarious romp by Pippa Goodhart. Boys and girls will adore the way Arthur remains preoccupied by his machine while a princess gets chased by a dragon, and absent-mindedly saves the day. "Arthur, you're as handsome as a well-polished tractor bonnet!" says the princess, while the prince flies off on the dragon.

If only love were as simple and sensible as it is in picture-books...