During difficult times, storytelling has the power and magic to give all of us - but especially children - some peace and tranquillity, an oasis of quiet where to leave troubles behind for a while. And during this pandemic, where our children are all more or less stressed with the uncertainty and upheaval around us, storytelling has never been so important.

Noel Tanti and Matt Stroud have just published a new picture book that highlights the power of storytelling in troubling times such as ours.

In this book we meet Katrina, Bastjan, Thomas and Giulia. On their way to school, they pass by Stiefnu the village baker, about to go home to get some rest after having spent the night baking. They look forward to the odd biscuit or bread roll, but they especially love to listen to Stiefnu's fascinating stories on the brave bakers of times gone by. Stiefnu's stories take them back to the Second World War, a time of poverty and hunger. He tells them of how the brave Maltese bakers of the time would ensure they distributed some bread to everyone, even in the war shelters, free of charge.

Tal-Forn published by Merlin Publishers in time for the recent Book Festival, is the new picture book by Noel Tanti and illustrator Matt Stroud. The inspiration for the story was in fact Stroud's, who went on to breathe visual life into it with the stunning and emotional illustrations that transport the reader into the days of old while transmitting a feeling of peace. This story of valour, traditions and good values is ideal for children between five and eight years of age.

This is Tanti and Stroud's second collaboration on a picture book, after the award-winning Fil-kamra ta' Jonas.

'Tal-Forn' is available from all bookshops or online directly from merlinpublishers.com