"Grab that Rabbit!" by Polly Faber and Briony May Smith (Pavilion Children's Books)

Oh blimey yes! This is what we want! This is what we've been longing for in fact. A 'cute little bunny' tale with a spicily dark edge to it...
"Grab that Rabbit!" by Polly Faber and Briony May Smith is the perfect antidote to the absolute FLOOD of titles you'll probably see at this time of year, featuring sugary-cute little upsy-wupsy bunnies that make you seethe with fury, and fancy a nice slice of rabbit pie (even if, like us, you're vegetarians who wouldn't even dream of stuffing a bunny into a pie).

Unlike Mrs Spratt. Her garden is regularly invaded by the rather handsome patch-coated Hodge, a rabbit who just can't resist the lure of a nice juicy carrot or a row of radishes.

But Hodge's last day might have arrived, as his fat white-puff-topped bun-bum has got stuck in the fence, and Mrs Spratt is on the warpath.

She's not the only one with her eye on this bunny thief. A dark shape hovers in the sky and a buzzard swoops down to nick off with Hodge just as Mrs Spratt is warming to the idea of bunny pie to go with her veggies.

Is Hodge done for after all? Will Mrs Spratt have to make do with some couscous and a few roasted veg instead?

We're obviously not going to tell you but we are going to tell you to go out and get this book NOW for many, many reasons. It's page-turningly tense stuff, with every spread ramping up the excitement until your littlies can barely sit still. It's dark, as we said - and Briony May Smith's artwork is just....incredible.

Oh dear Hodge, you've done it this time!

Polly doesn't much about with artsy fartsy 'wrapping you up in cotton wool' stuff either, this is gripping, and an absolute joy to read aloud as it literally sings off the tongue as you read it.

Unfairly we saw this pitched as "The 21st Century Peter Rabbit" but we were always horribly annoyed by that book, and always secretly wondered what would have happened if that cocksure cardie-wearing lout had a narrower scrape at the hands of Mr MacGregor...

So if there's any comparison to make at all, it's that this fluffy-bunny tail is anything but fluffy (but stick with it to the end and you'll get a rather pleasant surprise or two!)

Beautiful!

"Grab that Rabbit!" by Polly Faber and Briony May Smith is out now, published by Pavilion Childrens Books (kindly supplied for review).