Meggie Moon by Elizabeth Baguley and Gregoire Mabire (Little Tiger Press)

We'd heard lots of praise being heaped on this book before we finally spotted it in the library stacks, so we had to check it out.

It's very easy to see why it's such a big hit, what a lovely book! Meggie Moon tells the story of two scruffy little kickabout boys (you know the sort, they're the ones that are always out in the street kicking a ball against your wall till 10pm most summer nights!) who play every day on a local piece of wasteland. Bored and kicking their heels around amongst the trash, the boys are surprised one day when a girl comes into the yard.

Meggie Moon is her name - and though the boys take an instant dislike to her ("A Girl! UGH!") Meggie soon finds a brilliant way to win them over.

Meggie has a fantastic imagination, and knows how to turn trash piles into interesting and cool things. One day she makes a racing car, the next day she makes a fabulous pirate ship, and after that a fantastic den. Meggie is soon firm friends with the boys. But summer friendships don't always last forever and Meggie soon has to leave.

But when she does, she leaves something behind. Something the boys can remember her by and something that means they'll change too. A love of making things, and that vibrant imagination of Meggie's stays behind even though she doesn't.

It's a fantastic, celebratory story that says "Never judge a book by its cover". It's great to see a girl with glasses as the 'hero' here too. We love you, Meggie Moon!

Charlotte's Best Bit: The fabulous den the kids make.

Daddy's favourite bit: A charming story, great for early readers like Charlotte and so very nice to see a girl hero that's a fair break from the norm too.