Marmaduke the Very Different Dragon by Rachel Valentine and Ed Eaves (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Vive La Difference! Here's a book that contains two characters that make our hearts sing with delight. We're partial to a dragon story, in fact we love dragons more than we love any other monsters. Meet Marmaduke, a decidedly different dragon!

All his friends and family are purple, with huge wings - but poor Marmaduke feels left out. He's orange and daren't show off his wings - they're just too...well...different!

Other dragons get the chance to become royal escorts, sworn protectors of beautiful princesses. But who on earth would want a rather small orange dragon to look after them?

Despite his heart of gold, no one's interested in Marmaduke - until the day a rather different princess arrives on the scene. She's not prim and proper (Yay!), she doesn't particularly want to spend all day gazing lovingly at pretty dresses (double yay!) and she wears converse boots and has scruffy hair (triple yay with a side order of yay!)

Could it be that Marmaduke has at last found someone to protect? Or perhaps something better, a friend?

This is a lovely little story celebrating difference, in a way that won Charlotte over completely. We've often had chats about what 'different' means, and how sometimes it can be dull and boring trying to be the same as everyone else (something that's a pretty tough sell to a five year old trying to fit in at school). This book shows that the unusual can also be exciting and...well, different - and that's no bad thing.

Charlotte's best bit: The amazing wow-moment 'reveal' half way through the book (no spoilers!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Another great character to add to the list of fabulous non-prissy primped princesses. Love her!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)