I love this gorgeous little picture book. I love that it champions children who get forgotten because they are gentle and quiet. Mary treads lightly on this earth and notices the small miracles of life, but when she wants to share these observations with her family no one hears; they are not listening carefully. So, she withdraws even more into her world until one day her family realises they don’t know where she is – amidst all their racket, how will they find her?

Dear, sweet Mary is a charming character in a lovely book that encourages us to stop, look and listen. Ages 3+.

Alexa Dretzke is the assistant manager and children’s book buyer at Readings Hawthorn.