Hug Me by Simona Ciraolo (Flying Eye Books)

As we bask in the last vestiges of sun and look forward to the onset of Autumn (my favourite season by far) it seems odd to be thinking about the hot desert, and the plants that eke out an existence there.

Simona Ciraolo's gorgeous debut for Flying Eye Books, "Hug Me" puts a spiny spiky little cactus fellow front and centre as its core character. Now, making a cactus appear cute and cuddly is no mean feat but Felipe is adorable. But why won't anyone hug him?

His family and friends are even spikier (and even bigger) than he is. There are standards to be maintained, appearances to be kept up - and it's just not the done thing for cactii to go around cuddling everyone.

Hope rises in Felipe's eyes as bold bright and brash new friend appears - But a cactus can never be friends with a balloon, so after a near miss, Felipe feels he has no choice but to head out into the big bright world to see if he can find a new family (and perhaps a big spiky cuddle or two).

Felipe leads a lonely existence at first - but eventually something happens to completely change his world...

You'll have to read the book, of course, to find out what happens to Felipe. "Hug Me" is another adorable and highly polished story to add to Flying Eye Books' utterly brilliant collection. It got us thinking that we'd really love a plushy Felipe to cuddle, or at least a chain mail suit to cuddle our favourite cactii at home just in case they need a hug or two.

Charlotte's best bit: The end-papers at the back of the book are just too cute for words! Utterly adorable!

Daddy's Favourite bit: What a lovely little book, absolutely stunning and heart-meltingly gorgeous!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Flying Eye Books