ReaditDaddy's Book of the Week - Week ending 30th September 2013 - "Hey Presto" by Nadia Shireen (Jonathan Cape PB)

Lots and lots and LOTS of books examine friendships, and children seem to love books that feature characters who are firm friends, then go through some turmoil and upset before realising how much they take each other for granted.

In "Hey Presto" we meet the marvellous Presto, a rather magical little cat and his best friend Monty - a showman dog.

When the dynamic duo join a local circus, the rather shy Presto is happy to let his friend hog the limelight while he weaves his spells backstage. Monty is a huge success but fame is addictive, and soon Monty shoves Presto to one side to pursue his career as the world's most famous magical dog.

Presto is rather upset by this and decides that there's only one course of action - leave Monty to it. But of course no magic act can survive purely on showmanship and razzmatazz so once the magic is gone, Monty's dreams of fame and fortune are too.

Can the pair make up in time for the big show?

We'll let you find out. We've loved Nadia Shireen's work for a long time (We loved "Good Little Wolf" and it earned 4 out of 5 stars back when we used to put ratings on our books). We were so impressed by this new spin on a story of friendships going awry, and Nadia's little Presto is just so cute we couldn't resist it.

Charlotte's best bit: She's definitely having a "I love cute things" week - and fell in love head over heels with Presto (well he is cute!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Always great to see a new spin or an original twist on a story that has been told and retold in various different forms. A standout book, we loved it!