The Getaway by Ed Vere (Puffin Books)

Some books literally fizz with energy, threatening to leap out of your bookcase, dance a merry jig in the middle of the floor before scampering out of the front door giggling insanely.

Ed Vere's "The Getaway" is just such a book, largely due to the central character - Fingers McGraw, the sneakiest speediest cheese thief in town.

Fingers needs your help. You, the reader, must keep a look out as Fingers tries to evade the long arm (or should that be long trunk) of the law, in the shape of Officer Elephant.

Ed's art lends even more of a sense of speed to this book and it provides a great excuse for me to wheel out my 'slightly Bronx-y gangster hoodlum' voice for Fingers, and a whole raft of other voices for the peripheral characters as Fingers gets into all sorts of scrapes as he escapes with his ill-gotten gains, a humungous lump of stinky cheese.

Will Fingers escape? Or will he end up spending some quality time up at "the Big House"? You'll have to read the book to find out, but one thing's for sure, you'll take a lot more care over securing your fromage in future because you never know when Fingers is around!

Charlotte's best bit: Fingers thinking that Officer Elephant has finally caught up with him as he hides in a hole, but it's an anteater's long schnozz instead! Eek!

Daddy's favourite bit: Ed's touch with the dialogue in this is absolutely spot on. Slap on some dramatic music, crack out your best american accents and slide into a book that has a bucketload of energy!