https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/27/childrens-books-roundup-the-best-new-picture-books-and-novels

How to show love while we can’t hug, 50 poems dedicated to the moon, a memorial to Scottish witches and the best new YA

Warm, consoling, funny and sad, this month’s picture books offer something for every mood. From Anne Booth and Robyn Wilson-Owen, Bloom (Tiny Owl) is a story of hope, persistence and finding love in small things. Every day, a little girl speaks to a beautiful flower on her way to school, telling it how much she loves it, until the possessive gardener sends her away. Unable to understand why the flower then closes, he tries to make it bloom again – but only when he asks the girl’s advice will the flower again share its beauty. Wilson-Owen’s delicate illustrations are the perfect complement to Booth’s poetic text, with echoes of The Selfish Giant.

The tender simplicity of the tiny While We Can’t Hug (Faber), meanwhile, pairs Eoin McLaughlin’s text with Polly Dunbar’s rosy-cheeked images. Hedgehog and Tortoise, who love hugging, are not able to touch for a while – but Owl reminds them that a wave, a funny face, a letter, a shared song or a painting are wonderful ways to show love.