I Am An Artist! By Marta Altes (Macmillan Children's Books)

We love Marta Altes' books (check out our review of her wonderful doggy tale "No!" for instance!). They're funny, uproariously well observed but most of all they're usually quite messy.

"I am an Artist!" might be the sort of book that will have parents throwing up their hands in horror, after all you really don't want your little darlings emulating the genius would-be artist in this book. You see, the young lad just can't help being creative and sees inspiration everywhere. He can't contain his creativity, so it (quite literally) spills out, mostly all over the family home.

His long-suffering mum doesn't quite share his enthusiasm for art (though, as pointed out in the book, she's rather artistic herself!) but the young boy's passion for painting is too explosive to contain.

All through the book, Charlotte giggled and snorted as the boy daubed on the walls, painted over beloved family portraits, even dabbed a cool Salvador Dali moustache on himself.

As we said, we'll be keeping a close eye on the crayons and paints at home, lest they end up all over our pristine walls!

Awesome book, awesome fun!

Charlotte's best bit: The boy's poor cat, who always manages the perfect 'hang-dog' expression in each page spread.

Daddy's Favourite bit: Wonderfully funny, messy, creative and brilliant - Just how we love our art and our artists!