Shy Ones | Hardback Book

• By Simone Ciraolo
  
• Approximately 29.8cm × 21.0 cm
• Non-rhyming
• Hardback picture book
  
• Main themes: Shyness, friendship, individuality
  
• Inclusions: Boy lead, nature
  

Oh mums of a shy child (this is me!), you are going to love this one. Shy Ones is a very special book about a little flapjack octopus called Maurice who is very shy. Follow him through the book, hiding whenever he can but also being his true and interesting self when all alone.

Halfway through the book, Maurice is invited to a party and isn't happy about having to go, but guess who he meets there? Another shy one, Lucy the Box Fish. They become fast friends. These lines just melt my heart: "How do I know all this? You know us... the shy ones. We always spot one another."

Shy Ones is a stunning hardback book with a textured, matte, linen-feel cover and beautiful thick pages. The illustrations of fish, coral, and other sea creatures are detailed and divine, with many of the double pages featuring full colour on each side.