Louie and the Monsters by Ella Burfoot (Scholastic Hippo)

Ella Burfoot has a taste for monster tales or tales tinged with darkness - but never fear, the monsters in this book are fairly colourful and happy chaps.

Which is more than can be said for poor Louie, who finds their monstrous behaviour a bit much to bear at times. Monsters eat messily and noisily. Monsters don't really like sleeping when everyone else does, so they're always making a noise or creating havoc. Monsters don't like colouring in colouring books, and much prefer to colour on the walls with Louie's crayons.

As you'd imagine, Louie gets very fed up with this outrageous behaviour and writes a note to the monsters telling them to go away.

Peace at last! Or so Louie thinks. You see life's always fun when you've got three monsters around, and Louie's life suddenly becomes a bit too quiet, a bit too ordered and - well - boring!

Can he win his friends back?

We never ever get tired of monster books, even ones where we're fairly familiar with the storyline as we are with the friendship dynamic of "You're a pain in the neck, but without you things just aren't the same" - it does crop up in so many children's books but here, delivered by three cheeky monsters, it's a fun romp!

Charlotte's best bit: Monsters playing (somewhat cruel) pranks on Louie. How rude!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Loved Ella's monster designs and it's a nice lightweight story, no "Darkness Crept In"-style pre-bedtime scares here, hooray!