The Great Googly Moogly by Courtney Dicmas (Child's Play)

We loved Courtney Dicmas' fabulously noisy and colourful book "Harold Finds a Voice" so it's great to see what she got up to next, this time with a fishy tale to warm the cockles of your heart.

Stella is our kind of girl. Like Charlotte she's fun-loving, gutsy and determined - and what Stella wants more than anything else is to catch a fish. Not just any old fish, but the biggest fish in the ocean - The Great Googly Moogly.

This legendary fish is the stuff of a fisherman's dream. As long as a bus, as broad as a jumbo jet, The Great Googly Moogly is astounding - but can one little girl, even a little girl who was born to sail the seven seas achieve such a huge goal?

Courtney Dicmas' book is beautifully multi-layered, as the story unfolds and we learn more about Stella's determination and drive, we also learn about her heart - as big as a whale's. So when things take a rather surprising turn, and Stella finally meets The Great Googly Moogly we'll leave it to you to find out what happens.

We often read disheartening stories in the press about how few spirited female characters there are in children's books. How few role models for girls that don't rely on glamour and glitz to win the day. They are out there, believe us - we've found a lot of them and we're so happy to have found another in young Stella. We love the core message about loving animals, and respecting the planet's gorgeous and diverse wildlife, but then that's sort of what you expect from Courtney and Child's Play - they don't do wishy washy!

Charlotte's best bit: The Great Googly Moogly himself, a multi-coloured happy and huge old fish with a gigantic heart to match. Just like Stella's

Daddy's Favourite bit: An inspiring and colourful book layered beautifully, and full of inspiration for little girls and boys who love larger-than-life characters with hearts of gold.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Child's Play Publishing)