I Love You Near and Far by Marjorie Blain Parker and Jed Henry (Sterling Publishing)

Sadly, for a lot of children, having a parent who has to travel for work and is often away from home is the norm rather than the exception. This gorgeous little rhyming tale from Marjorie Blain Parker, with lovely illustrations from Jed Henry shows that even though our family, our friends and even sometimes a parent, are far away from home we still love them all the more.

Marjorie shows how the modern world allows us all sorts of ways of communicating with, and remembering our distant relatives - and there's a beautiful little celebratory spread at the end of the book as those long lost relatives (and daddy cat) come back to visit the inquisitive and loving little fellah who is the central character here.

The rhymes are perfect, meaning that this is one of those cuddly little books that will delight younger readers - and perhaps offer some comfort if mummy or daddy, or grandma and grandad, are miles away in distance but still very close to their hearts.

Charlotte's best bit: Little kitten plotting out where daddy is working on the map of the world

Daddy's Favourite bit: A wonderful sing-song read that we definitely want to keep close!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Sterling Publishing)