Fill in the Blank by Muratyan Varham and Elodie Chaillous (Quirk Books)

We're really struggling under the weight of some seriously brilliant books this week and the first to knock our eyes out was kindly sent to use by the superb Mat at PGUK / Quirk Books. We've been rooting for this one for a while so it was great to finally be able to take a look at it.

Being slightly 'arty' (read: absolutely hopeless) and having a daughter whose artistic ability is far outstripping my own, this book is an absolute must.

So why 'Fill in the Blank'? What's so special about another sketchbook? Well this one sets up various pages, designs and scenarios to give you a spark of inspiration for your drawing. Sometimes you'll get to design a billboard for an ad campaign, other times you'll be doing some fantastic tattoos on someone's back or drawing the most wild and whacky pair of shoes you can possibly imagine.

For Charlotte, the only real sticking point was understanding the context of some of the designs but it was actually really great for her, and even when she made up her own versions of what the 'brief' was actually after, she was totally and completely absorbed in this book for hours (to the point where the only way my wife could get her to eat dinner or do something else was to take her pencils away!)

A really brilliant and novel book / sketchpad. Perhaps aimed at older children but even for an inquisitive and artsy 4 year old, it's an excellent and original idea.

Charlotte's best bit: Drawing some fantastic caged birds, and some really wild nail polish designs

Daddy's favourite bit: Trying to remember how to draw high heeled boots for some of the 'feet' designs in this. I barely got a look in though, Charlotte wouldn't let me!

(Fill in the Blank kindly supplied by PGUK / Quirk Books for review)