Never Ever by Jo Empson (Child's Play International PLC)

"MUMMY, DADDY! I'M BORED!"

How often have we heard this plaintive cry echoing around ReadItDaddy Towers. Charlotte sitting in a room full of toys, with a shelf full of books - or walking through some of our brilliant local countryside as we drag ourselves out of the house for a much-needed walk.

In Jo Empson's follow up to the utterly divine ReadItDaddy Book of the Week "Rabbityness" Jo successfully taps into the psyche of a little girl who claims that "Nothing interesting ever happens to me, Never Ever!"

As we follow the little girl's journey through the story, it's fun to see how oblivious she is to all the things going on around her. Seeing Charlotte's delight as she sees the events in the story unfold was magical, and there's an utterly brilliant "snap" towards the end of the book that made her audibly gasp (in fact, that section - which I won't spoil for you - was definitely Charlotte's most favourite bit of the entire story!)

On our first read through, we were a bit "all at sea" with this because Rabbityness is such a very tough act to follow. But as we read and re-read it (and it was asked for several times by Charlotte - always a good sign), I think she recognised a bit of herself in the little girl in the story - and I definitely did. Jo's brilliant  way of getting behind the eyes of a child makes this something rather special, and the constant surprises and reveals throughout the story (including a fantastic fold-out end!) are a real joy.

Charlotte's best bit: I can't tell you, it'd spoil things too much - but near the end things get a bit dark :)

Daddy's favourite bit: An absolutely brilliant observation of child behaviour with a surprising and immersive little tale. Love it!

(Kindly supplied to us for review by Child's Play)