Little Bell and the Moon by Giles Paley-Phillips and Iris Deppe (Fat Fox Books)

We've followed the career of Giles Paley-Phillips for quite some time now, and have loved his rhyming stories. From the gruesome but endlessly gleeful and satisfying "Fearsome Beastie" to Giles' latest story. This time Giles weaves a tale with an almost mournful melancholy air, that begins with Little Bell - a tiny tot who is lucky enough to take nightly trips hand in hand with her friend the moon. They journey far and wide, her hand in his, as they soar into the air and cruise above the mountains and deserts, jungles and seas, with always something new to see and experience.

Little Bell's journeys fill her life with richness and imagination, and the moon adores her.

As the story unfolds, Little Bell moves through all the stages of her life, becoming a teen, then an adult (at this point Charlotte excitedly pointed out that in one of Iris' illustrations, Bell looks like she's having a baby as the story shows her at various ages). Finally as Bell becomes old and frail, the moon realises that soon their journeys together will be at an end. As he sings one last lyrical lullaby to her, and rests her gently down for her final long sleep, the moon is grief-stricken but must say goodbye.

But...

Ah, you see, here's the bit where we rather meanly tell you we're not going to give away what happens next. For in darkness and despair, there's always hope and so we'll leave it up to you to discover Giles and Iris' fabulous touching and heartfelt story for yourselves. It's truly something rather special.

This is dreamy stuff, absolutely perfect as a lyrical story lullaby before you tuck your own kids into bed for the night. Giles' rhymes are nicely written, Iris' artwork is utterly delectable and it's a story that will work wonderfully for the very tiniest of tinies, right up to older children who might be too cool to sit on your lap for story time but will still love hearing this one read out loud.

Stay tuned here on the blog for a Q & A session with Giles himself!

"Little Bell and the Moon" by Giles Paley-Phillips and Iris Deppe is now available from Fat Fox Books.

Charlotte's best bit: The "aging" sequence in the story as we learn that Bell and the Moon have been travelling together for years

Daddy's Favourite bit: A delicate multi-layered story that is dreamy, melancholy and joyful. A perfect bed-time read!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Fat Fox Books)