The Great Reef Race by Leyland Perree and Stuart McGhee (Ghostly Publishing)

You join us as we drop in on Eel and Ock as excitement ramps up to frenetic levels under the sea. We have (almost literally) dived headlong into the bubbling briny deep to find out what happens during "The Great Reef Race".

This independently published book by Leyland Perree and Stuart McGhee looks absolutely brilliant, and that's one of the first things that struck us. We see a lot of indie and self-published titles, some great, some needing a serious amount of work to bring them up to publishing standards but in the case of "The Great Reef Race" you get rhymes that flow, illustrations that are clear, eye-catching and awesome, and a general feel of quality.

Eel and Ock look brilliant, we really enjoyed the energy of this book as their preparations for the race allow us a sneaky insight into all the other marine characters who pop up during the story (big plus point, lots of species for Charlotte to spot!)

As the story moves at such a pace (and as Leyland has obviously spent a lot of time making his rhymes fit together so nicely) it's a sing-song tale that's a joy to read out loud. Coupled with Stuart's artwork, this is probably one of the most impressive indie-published titles we've seen in a very long time. Top work guys!

You can pick up the book from the Ghostly Publishing web site. 

Charlotte's best bit: All the little fishes and creatures trying to help Whale (who gets stuck in a wreck!)

Daddy's favourite bit: There's a heck of a lot to love here, from great rhymes that trip off the tongue to some really nice artwork that reminded me of the classic comics like Whizzer and Chips and The Beezer which I used to read as a kid. Fantastic and thoroughly recommended.

(Kindly sent to us in digital form by Leyland Perree / Ghostly Publishing)