Why not nurture a love of books in children while on the beach? Babù, Bertu, Xmun and Fusetta are the new additions to the Merlin Publishers family of Id-dinja tiegħi picture books. The clown fish, the snail, the raccoon and the caterpillar all come with their own tales of amazing adventure, action and amusement.

Grown-ups can delight in reading the stories with different voices and the children can follow by means of the vibrant, colourful illustrations, until they are of an age where they can read themselves. The plots are rich in imagination, perfect to encourage a budding reading curiosity in children.

In their tales, these picture books always tackle one or more themes that can then be used for parent-child discussions. Fusetta for example, deals with the importance of self-confidence; Bertu - the snail who in Bertu l-bebbuxu supereroj hated being so tiny - is back again with another adventure, this time encouraging children to be ever more curious; Xmun the raccoon has just moved house and his story tackles fear of change and friendship and Babù the clownfish gives us a perfect insight into how important it is to curb jealousy and envy.

All these picture books have been adapted into Maltese by children's award-winning author Clare Azzopardi.

These titles have no fixed target age.  They are ideal both for reading to children when these are still very young, and eventually for reading by children themselves when they are seven years or older. Apart from being fun stories, perfect to nurture a love of reading, the play on words, alliterations, rhymes and rhythms make them fun. They come in sturdy vinyl covers, ensuring that they are long-lasting in the hands of young children.

Other books in the Id-dinja tiegħi series include Kamilla, Bertu l-bebbuxu supereroj, Gakki l-Pirata, Serafin il-Prinċep Denfil, Kukku l-Kukkudr il-Kantant and Rosetta Banana Tinten jew Tfuħ?

All books are available from leading bookshops or online from merlinpublishers.com