Ping and Pong Are Best Friends (Mostly) by Tim Hopgood (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

Two loveable penguins, two best friends, two very different characters! That's Ping and Pong and we meet them in this new book from Tim Hopgood.

Ping loves to do lots of things. Cooking, sporting activities, painting. The only problem is that Pong is always slightly better at everything. Though Pong is quite humble about his abilities, Ping gets rather upset and the two decide to put some distance between them.

But Pong misses Ping. Ping misses Pong and together they discover the one thing they're both equally good at. Being best friends, and sometimes a friendship is far more important than being competitive and trying to decide who's best at things.

In this endearing book, Tim Hopgood explores friendships and pitches a story perfectly at children who are undoubtedly going through a whole range of experiences very similar to Ping and Pong at home and at school. We often hear Charlotte talking about how one girl in her class can play the piano better than anyone else, and one is better at ballet - but helping her to explore friendships through this gentle story has been really great.

Bold illustrations ensure that the story's theme sticks in the mind, and who doesn't love a pair of cute penguin characters in a children's book!

Charlotte's best bit: Ping's disastrous baking!

Daddy's favourite bit: Pong's superior paintings.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)