This Is My Rock by David Lucas (Flying Eye Books)

"This is my rock. This is where I attend my flock!"

I have no idea why I kept humming that Faithless tune while reading this with Charlotte. Thankfully she's well and truly used to my odd behaviour so just gave me that world-weary 7 year old withering look and told me to get on with the story.

And get on we did - with the story I mean, as we're huge fans of David Lucas (His Toy Museum tales are brilliant!)

In this story a rather mean mountain goat stakes out his territory, the tallest narrowest rock in his locale. The goat shouts "This is my rock!" and has absolutely no patience for anyone who tries to usurp him from his pedestal (we actually felt a bit sorry for the wild wolves who are royally seen off in grand mountain goat style with a butt and a kick and a bleat!)

Life atop the rock is fine for a while, but soon gets lonely. Perhaps the mean old goat needs to change his ways, because a view is not a view unless you have someone to share it with.

As with most of David Lucas' stories, there's a rather lovely little twist that comes in at the end of this book when the goat realises that you can defend your lofty habitat with all the will in the world but sometimes it takes someone smaller and cleverer than you to humble you into submission!

Fantastic story!

Charlotte's best bit: Goat turning into a karate-chopping whirlwind defending his lofty home

Daddy's Favourite bit: A neat little moral tale with a twist. Deliciously illustrated in David's trademark angular style (we loved the bit where the goat actually gets so hungry he starts munching the decorative borders of the page!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Flying Eye Books)