There are a few different ways one can respond to the Budget, and there’s also a children’s book to suit them all.

1. Celebrate the good stuff.

Last year My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson - an early chapter book about a child’s first year of school - was very appealing and popular and this month a sequel has been released - My Heart Is Laughing. What really makes this little series so compelling is the child’s optimism. Enjoy both books with 5s and over.

For older children, there’s Don’t Worry be Happy! or Else!, a busy book filled with snippets of advice and quirky illustrations, just the sort that appeal to 9-12s, or Do Nice, Spread Kind, Be Happy, which would also make a nice early Christmas present for certain members of the cabinet…

Whoops, that just slipped out.

Allow me to redeem myself with the true answer to happiness: pigs. We’ve got Pocket Piggies (A pig in a tea cup! A pig with little gumboots on!) as well as the delightful Pigsticks and Harold and the Incredible Journey. The latter follows the journey of the world’s most optimistic pig together with his sidekick, an anxious hamster.

2. Choose Your Own Adventure.

I’ve seen first-hand the magic of a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ book with my own 7-year-old who used to look at a novel and see ‘hard work’ - perfectly understandable when reading is something you have to really concentrate on to get each word right. With this in mind, the great thing about the CYOA format is that it allows the reluctant reader to consume an entire story in one go, with a bit of interaction that puts them right in the driver’s seat. It combines the speed of a short story with the deeper connection you get with characters and setting in a novel. The result is that after reading one adventure, they’ll often go back to the beginning to see what would happen if they made different choices.

Newly released are George Ivanoff’s You Choose, for easy-to-read action and adventure, as well as Choose Your Own Ever After, with more of a romantic/contemporary flavour. There are two in each series so far, with more on the way.

Meanwhile, for those of us who remember fondly the original series, take a look at The Boy In The Book by Nathan Penlington (due out at the end of the month). It’s a memoir charting the author’s discovery of numerous notes written by a young boy in his vast collection of CYOA books, which Penlington had picked up second-hand. So fascinated by the life that this boy had led, he decided to track him down.

3. Face Reality.

A new non-fiction science-based series caught my eye this month: You Can’t See Your Bones With Binoculars, You Can’t Ride a Bicycle To The Moon, and You Can’t Taste A Pickle With Your Ear. These are fun and accessible books with a view of the world that captures the child’s perspective. (Though, for those with children who like to test out all theories, I’d suggest you put the pickles out of reach - that’s just too tempting.)

Let pre-schoolers wrestle with figures early on with the brand new Oliver Jeffers picture book, featuring his now familiar characters The Hueys. None The Number is as inventive and funny as last year’s, The Day The Crayons Quit. I’m also very taken by LMNO Peas by Keith Baker, a great little board book that makes learning the alphabet really fun.

Some teenagers face a challenging reality in Trouble by Non Pratt. I love the bold cover design and the thoughtful way that teenage pregnancy is explored here. Without glamourising the experience it manages to be funny and hopeful. Our reviewer says: “I hope parents can see past the controversial storyline and still give this to their teens to read– it’s a beautiful, heartwarming story.”

There’s also a new book for parents and educators that’s very approachable - a series of essays about how we can contribute to our children’s schooling and help them to maintain a positive outlook about learning. Better Than OK contains 27 brief essays on all sorts of topics, from the importance of setting personal goals at school, to cybersafety, resilience and motivation. It doesn’t go very deeply into the topics but provides a helpful overview.

4. Escape to An Alternative Reality.

Our young adult book of the month is the first in a new series by Barry Jonsberg, Pandora Jones, Admission. As one of the few survivors of a plague, Pandora wakes in an armed facility with only vague memories of what has occurred in the past. This is an exciting, twisty-turny start to a series about questioning the faceless ‘higher authority’.

And still on alternative realities, the hot-cakes of the moment are the two Minecraft Books that are back in stock - get them while you can! The Official Construction Handbook and The Official Combat Handbook are selling fast.

But what note to end on? I know just the thing - something beautiful.

Emily Gale