Pirates. If there's one particular bunch of characters who still seem to be top of children's reading lists, it's those salty buccaneers, sailing the seven seas and usually up to no good...

Our book of the week and our 11th Booky Advent Calendar entry is a wonderful and original yuletide tale. Meet "Santa Baby" by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Ada Grey...

Weirdly, we received this book for review the very DAY after we'd been to a local zoo, and mused about just what happens to all that dung. We spotted a poor zoo worker shovelling heaps of antelope plops, and imagined that - though the stuff was stinky - it would be brilliant for the plants.

So in "Poo in the Zoo" we meet a happy little chap whose job it is to clean up after all the animals. Big jobs, small jobs, stinky jobs and slimy jobs, the poor little fellah is quick with his spade but sometimes shovelling shmelly shtuff is a seemingly endless and thankless task.

After a rather mischievous iguana escapes, poo takes on a whole new dimension as the iguana ruthlessly breaks into the canteen and eats his fill, before polishing off his robust lunch with a few fireflies for good measure. The resultant poo, rendered in all its glowing glory by Ada Grey's rather expert way of painting plops, is quite spectacular and something to behold.

The glowing poo is put on display, and is shortly procured by an avid collector of all things scatological, taking pride of place in his collection. With the moolah, the little zookeeper can afford a robot to do all his shovelling for him (we think this book needs a sequel where there's a robot rebellion against being made to do our dirty work!! Get on it, Steve and Ada!)

It's a book that's almost guaranteed to put a huge grin on your little ones' faces and if you can keep a straight face while reading Steve's awesome plop-based rhymes, we'll gladly raise our hats to you!

Charlotte's best bit: A jar of Bluebottle poo (in the rather awesome poo-based end-papers!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: It's pongy, ploppy, slimy and sloppy but we love it all the same! A poo-tastic peer into the behind the scenes cleanup at the zoo!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

Martha Mumford and Ada Grey are back with their third book about Royal Offspring. We've previously enjoyed "Shhh! Don't wake the Royal Baby" and "Happy Birthday Royal Baby" and though the cynical amongst you might smell a cash in rolled out ahead of the birth of Prince George's Brother or Sister, there's actually quite a lovely touching tale about siblings in this book.

The royal household is once again all-a-twitter as the new royal baby arrives home (the book quite neatly gets around naming the baby, or talking about a boy or a girl - very clever!)

Everyone seems to love the new arrival, but Prince George isn't quite convinced. What if the new baby wants to play with his favourite dinosaur, or steal his favourite jam sandwiches? What if everyone loves the new baby more than him?

Daddy (Prince William) knows just how to smooth the troubled waters with a new gift for George from his new Brother/Sister but soon George realises that it's actually tons of fun having a new little friend to play pirates or spaceships with.

A lovely addition to a story range that we were initially going to be quite sniffy about but were completely won over by. Charming and super-cute stuff from Martha and Ada!

We've just come back from a whirlwind visit around Windsor Castle and it was great to see that these books obviously have royal approval, as we spotted them in the gift shop there!

Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte always loves the incidental antics that the royal corgis get up to in these books! Little scamps!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A wry grin about Prince William discussing baby number 3 with a glint in his eye!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)

We love a book that starts off slowly, then builds to a rip-roaring calamitous climax as the story unfolds. Such is the case with "Hippobottymus" by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey. A strange rumbling bubbling sound echoes across a swamp, and is easy on the ears. A small mouse suddenly realises that it almost sounds like a rhythm and adds a subtle squeak or two to the tune. Before long, the rest of the jungle animals are joining in with the bubbling rumbling squeaking squawking sound as the tune builds to a cacophonous explosion of noise and music.

Mouse takes a bow, but wait a minute, Hippo has something to say about how the tune came about. It all started with a can or two of beans....Phrrrrrt!

There's a period in children's lives that usually kicks in around 1 1/2 to 2 years old, and doesn't end...(at all?) where farts, botty burps, tummy squeaks, trouser coughs, window rattlers, cushion creepers and (in this case) swampy rasps are the most amusing and high-brow form of humour known to man & beast. Hippobottymus is a musical and riotous celebration of that fact, and is absolutely sure to have your little ones giggling and gurgling like drains!

Hippobottymus by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey is out in April from Little Tiger Press

Charlotte's best bit: Naturally, the big botty-burping reveal when Hippo lets rip!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic farty flump-fluff fall-about-funny tale! Farp!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

Like this? We think you'll love these too!

Bear's Big Bottom by Steve Smallman and Emma Yarlett

I'll admit it, I inwardly groaned when "Happy Birthday Royal Baby" dropped through our letterbox as I expected it to be one of those awful 'cash-in' books released to mark the occasion of Prince George's 1st birthday.

I should've known better - this is Bloomsbury we're talking about, and they don't pin their colours to any old book, this is actually one of the funniest and most entertaining 'royal' tales we've seen in a very long time.

Preparations are afoot for the Royal Birthday! Auntie is drafted in to organise the party and more importantly the nosh (because she's a bit of a whizz at that, apparently!). Grandma and Grandad oversee the Royal Balloon Blower to make sure he fills the royal palace with balloons, and respected figures from far and wide gather for the celebrations, bringing huge presents with them by the truckload.

But something's wrong, the little prince does not look happy (Martha must've seen the many press pics of George looking like a little grumpy puss!) In fact he starts crying and no one seems to know what to do to cheer him up. No one should cry on their birthday should they?

Thankfully great grandma (the queen) is on hand to dispense royal wisdom. She knows exactly how to cheer up the little prince. With a snazzy jump suit, a sign-writing private jet and a parachute jump, queenie really brings a touch of class to the occasion and brings one very special super secret present with her...

You'll have to read the book to find out what it is - suffice to say that this is the point in the book where all parents will look at each other and exchange a knowing glance of "yep, been there, done that!"

Martha's story is entertaining and not at all what we expected - it's really brilliant. Ada's artwork is stunning too, just the right side of allowing you to identify who we're really talking about here - and also just the right side of cheeky in places (I am pretty sure that behind closed doors, Pippa does gad about on roller skates in a pink fairy tutu!)

"Happy Birthday Royal Baby" by Martha Mumford and Ada Grey is out today (hooray!), from Bloomsbury Publishing

Charlotte's best bit: Wanting an outfit like Auntie's (and a pair of pink skates to match)

Daddy's Favourite bit: There is divine wisdom in this book, imparted with a nod and a wink to all parents who have spent a small fortune on christmas or birthday presents, only for their little ones to fall in love with...(spoilers - read the book, you'll see what we mean!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)