S.W.A.L.K by Colin McNaughton (Andersen Children's Books)

Colin McNaughton's 'Preston Pig' books are firm favourites back at ReadItDaddy Towers, and we hadn't come across 'S.W.A.L.K' so it was a delight to find it in our local library. Preston receives a mysterious letter with S.W.A.L.K written on the back. His mum knows exactly what that means, sealed with a loving kiss, but Preston doesn't realise it's from his sweetheart, the lovely girl he met on holiday. He reads the letter and decides to write back to Max and tell her all about his life.

As ever, the best bits in the Preston Pig books are all the tiny little details and asides that go on in the background (usually involving a rather daft and completely luckless wolf who rather fancies bacon burgers for breakfast, dinner and tea).

It's a sweet little tale that reminds us of the funny stories about Charlotte and her "Prince Charming" at preschool (actually, recently she's switched allegiances from Prince Jacob to Prince George - women eh? Fickle, the lot of 'em). Colin McNaughton's formula works so beautifully once again, we love it.

Charlotte's best bit: Preston painting portraits of Max in art class

Daddy's favourite bit: The wolf bits of course, he's about as successful as Wile E. Coyote (and about as clever).

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars