Philippa Logan looks through the latest crop of books for children

Death is something that can terrifyingly worry the young child, or it may seem to have no effect at all. Yet when there is a death or a terminal illness close by, it is often helpful to have child-friendly books on the subject.

Roger McGough's THE KITE AND CAITLIN (Red Fox, 4.99) is a remarkable book that falls into this category.

It is about a young girl who is very ill, and does not get better.

She loves to hold her kite as she lies in bed, and imagine all the places she would like to go with it.

The book ends movingly as the kite does indeed take Caitlin to a place free of pain and suffering. THE WONDERFUL JOURNEY by Paul Geraghty (Red Fox, 4.99) has a similar theme, with a little boy's granny leaving for a faraway place.

She takes him in her stories one last time to Africa, which gives the boy the chance to remember her by remembering that journey, and gives Geraghty the chance for his excellent drawings of the wildlife of Africa.

Down to earth and nearer to home are two Katie Morag books by Mairi Hedderwick: THE BIG KATIE MORAG STORYBOOK and THE SECOND KATIE MORAG STORYBOOK (both Red Fox, 5.99). More endearing tales of the little girl who lives on the Island of Struay. Red Fox seems to be having a blitz on Watership Down, for it has published a series of six adventures aimed at children who are just beginning to read on their own (eg THE HIDDEN WORLD, FRIEND AND FOE, by Judy Allen, 2.99 each). For tinies, there are hardback colour and counting books: PIPKIN'S RAINBOW and COUNT WITH FIVER (2.99 each).

More familiar drawings appear in another counting book, this time by Shirley Hughes: ALFIE'S NUMBERS (Bodley Head, 3.99).

And then there are two books about the most famous dog in Scotland. Both called GREYFRIARS BOBBY, they both tell the story of the faithful dog who kept watch by his master's graveside in Edinburgh for 14 years, more than 100 years ago.

Not much to choose between the two, except the price and size: that by Ruth Brown (Red Fox, 4.99) being twice the size of that by Richard Brassey (Dolphin, 2.99). If it's dictionaries you want, then there is a whole host from OUP: the JUNIOR DICTIONARY and JUNIOR THESAURUS (5.99 each) aimed at seven-year-olds and upwards, and the CHILDREN'S DICTIONARY and CHILDREN'S THESAURUS (7.99 each) packed with far more entries for those aged eight and more.

The OXFORD ILLUSTRATED JUNIOR DICTIONARY (6 .99) is aimed at six and up with a mere 6,000 headwords.

Meanwhile, MY FAVOURITE WORD BOOK by Selina Young (Dolphin, 5.99) is intended for the very young, and has lots of familiar scenes labelled with the relevant words. A fun way to look at words, and there's a ladybird to spot on every page too.

**This article first appeared in The Oxford Times, May 12