Wanted: Ralfy Rabbit - Book Burglar by Emily MacKenzie (Bloomsbury Publishing)

We couldn't resist sneaking this one in like a pair of book-reviewing burglars, ahead of this book's official release date on the 18th December. That way you'll have a chance to dash out to the shops with an elated "WHOOP!" of glee to pick up this book and enjoy it as a bit of a pre-festive treat.

And pick it up you must, because tucked within the covers of Emily MacKenzie's stunning debut for Bloomsbury is a love letter to libraries (and anyone who extols the virtues of our beloved libraries is pretty much OK with us!)

Ralfy the Rabbit isn't just your ordinary everyday bunny. While other rabbits dream of lettuces, carrots - or the really weird ones dream of celery (YUCK!) Ralfy the rabbit dreams of something else. He doesn't want to feed his tummy, just his mind - by reading awesome books every single day.

Ralfy becomes a bit of a bunny obsessive about books - and well he might. Merely reading his own books isn't enough for Ralfy, and soon he becomes a book burglar stealing into people's homes to read their well-thumbed classics. Ralfy doesn't just stop at reading them though, oh no - he takes them home with him too!

Naughty Ralfy. Though we applaud his bookish enthusiasm, his methods lead a lot to be desired - and when he steals a young boy's most treasured and favourite book about monsters and mythical beasts, a stakeout begins. The boy can't convince the police that the book-based burglar he caught a glimpse of is real, but when Ralfy takes things a step too far, it's curtains for the bunny book thief - and a day of reckoning!

What happens to Ralfy? Will he ever be able to indulge his obsession ever again or is it the clink for the cunicular miscreant? The boy takes pity on Ralfy and has the perfect solution!!

You'll discover the joys of Ralfy's discovery of how he can indulge his passion just as much as we enjoyed our very first forays into our local library. Charlotte loved this story because A) Ralfy's a bit of a little tearaway really, and children cannot help but adore naughty characters they can live vicariously through and B) Ralfy's rather fetching little T Shirt is exactly the sort of shirt Charlotte would wear. It's a gigglesome and entertaining story and Emily is definitely a lady worth watching - as her first book is beautifully written and illustrated, a complete hoot and feels like the start of something spectacular if the rest of her work is of this superbly high standard!

Charlotte's best bit: Ralfy is rather good at hiding amongst bookshelves! Can you spot him?

Daddy's Favourite bit: A mighty impressive debut from Emily, and a brilliant little character destined to make children giggle (and also destined to make them want to read more books too! No bad thing!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)

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