Denver by David McKee (Andersen Children's Books)

David McKee's books are consistently good. He seems to have a knack for producing work that spins together a clear message with a fun and entertaining set of characters laced tightly together with a well-told story. When I was a kid, he entertained me with Mr Benn. When my brother was a whippersnapper he entertained him with King Rollo. Now he's entertaining Charlotte with his books and Denver is one of his most recent, good to know he's still as brilliant as he ever was.

Denver is an extremely rich man who does the exact opposite of what most extremely rich men do. He loves his town, he loves the people in his town, and he will go to great lengths to use his wealth to make their lives just that little bit better.

However, Denver's world changes one day when a mysterious (and rather spiteful) character arrives, spreading dissent amongst the townsfolk. Jealous of Denver's wealth, he soon sets tongues wagging and it's not long before poor Denver is forced to make a difficult life-changing choice.

For children, the book is entertaining, colourful and beautifully drawn in McKee's trademark style. For adults, the 'message' is clear and effective without being preachy and Denver is such an engaging chap that you can't help rooting for him at every turn.

Once again, McKee ends up penning our well deserved 'Book of the Week'.

Charlotte's best bit: Denver's paintings and his cute cat

Daddy's favourite bit: McKee playing with weird perspective and birds-eye views but doing so to great effect

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, Book of the Week