Busy Babies Go to the Gym ¦ Busy Babies Go Swimming ¦ Tiny Trumpet; Ten Sleepy Bunnies ¦ Rocket to the Rescue ¦ The Piggy Race

A new series of books, published in association with Practical Parenting magazine, in 'four distinct, carefully targeted age-bands'. The aim, 'sharing books from birth to five', is, of course, laudable: the books, as so often in this kind of series, are slightly worthy, with helpful hints on how to share them, and a slightly educational air. They will find an audience primarily among parents new to buying books for their children, I imagine.

For one to two year olds are two Busy Babies titles in which smiling children and their mums enjoy swimming and gym-club - far from universal toddler experiences, though ones which will tend to define the audience for the series. Cut paper/felt collage illustrations with lots of detail, a brief and somewhat disjointed text, and rhymes to join in with add up to an adequate, if not inspiring whole.

For two to three year olds are Ten Sleepy Bunnies and Tiny Trumpet. In the former a rhyming text leads us from a page with one mole, one grasshopper, one sheep to the next which has two sheep, two butterflies, two birds etc. Lots of things to spot and count, depicted in a jolly, if rather crude, style. This one was consistently boycotted by my young tester, who preferred the stories to all that counting! She liked Tiny the little elephant, who learns how to play with his new ball by watching various jungle friends and eventually joining in with them. This is a pleasant, unexceptional story which needed a lot of unpacking for a two year old as there is often rather a lot on the page.

Threes to fives have the opportunity to get to know Little Oak Farm - where farming is somewhat overshadowed by the Play Barn, Tractor Trail and cafe that farmers often have to create to remain solvent these days. The stories are a bit feeble - The Piggy Race is plain silly and, as with the Busy Babies, there is a certain assumption that every young reader will recognise the context - many children from lower income homes will not have these experiences before going to school.