Spy dad by Jukka Laajarinne and Timo Manttari (Pikku Publishing)

We do love an achingly cool book with a real retro 60s spy vibe. So how could we possibly resist the uber-cool "Spy Dad" by Jukka Laajarinne and Timo Manttari...
Pikku Publishing have translated this awesome book, and it's a thrill ride from the word go.

Dad is (unbeknownst to his little daughter) an international man of mystery - a spy in fact.

The problem is that Dad has a habit of being away from home for long periods of time.

He also doesn't seem interested in the little girl's heart's desire - a pet of her own.

Soon even Spy Dad realises that he's missing out on a huge chunk of his daughter's upbringing and decides to take a leave of absence from work -  but is it that easy to drop your job when you're at the top of your game in the heady world of espionage?

There's a fantastic core message here not just for kids but for parents too, in a book that maturely handles a tricky subject with a huge amount of style and originality (as we've come to expect from Pikku, who have a fantastic eye for very cool books like this).

We fell completely in love with it, and though we're not going to give the ending away, imagine how cool it would be to have a spy dad and an even cooler mum?

Charlotte's best bit: Wishing her dad was a spy (er, no thanks, I've got no head for heights for all that parachuting!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Achingly cool from the get-go, a fantastic and original way to talk about parental absence but above all a book that zips along so brilliantly it'll definitely leave you wanting a follow-up!

"Spy Dad" by Jukka Laajarinne and Timo Manttari is out now, published by Pikku Publishing (kindly supplied for review).