May has arrived and with it comes a fine crop of new books – and games – from our brilliant authors and illustrators. From a very special picture book that helps a small child understand feeling sadness for the first time, to a debut that is one of the most inventive and delightful of mysteries that YOU will have to solve to be able to read all the way through, to the perfect timeline book for anyone interested in engineering, mechanics or simply cars, and we have two new sets of brilliant top score games… read on for more below!

Bob's Blue Period

Marion Deuchars’ Bob is one of the most beloved characters in our office. In Bob the Artist, Bob showed the power of art and of being confident enough to be yourself, and now he’s back to show young children that it’s ok to express your sadness – and art can help!

Bob the bird loves to paint pictures with his best friend Bat. But one day Bat goes away and Bob is sad. He tries to paint, but everything he paints is blue! Can his friends help him to find his bright colours again?

Hoakes’ Island

Making their debut on the list this month is father and daughter creative team, Helen and Ian Friel with an exciting new mystery adventure…

Henry Hoakes has gone missing and Hoakes Island Amusement Park is in grave danger. This notebook, a hastily assembled collection of diary entries, notes, puzzles and clues, is the only key to find out what's happened to Henry and stop the dastardly developers who want to knock down the park.

Solve the puzzles and discover keys and clues as you travel around the island on a quest to rescue Rita the anteater, Granville the gorilla and the rest of the talking animals who live there. It's a race against time that only a puzzle master can win!

This ingenious and immersive puzzle adventure comes with a fold-out map of Hoakes Island and a special red lens to discover secret messages and clues. Can you solve the mystery and save Hoakes Island? We're counting on you!

Terrific Timelines: Cars

Find out all there is to know about the evolution of cars with this easy-to-create timeline display. Packed with facts and featuring 20 of the most famous and iconic cars from their invention in the 1880s to today's modern supercars!

Each car has its own fact-file and press-out model to add to your ultimate car display.

Monsters! and Once Upon a Time

We’re excited by our brand new fun top score card games…

Compare mischievous monsters on their levels of stinkiness, scariness and horrible habits in Monsters! … or compare magical characters on their levels of bravery, mischievousness and wickedness in Once Upon a Time… things could get competitive!

With over thirty different monsters or magical characters ready to do battle, these two new games will bring hours of fun (and publication is timed perfectly timed for half term fun!).

Happy reading, from all at Laurence King Children’s!