There's always something quite thrilling about getting a 'back cover quote' when you're just a small humble book blog. Our first was this fantastic book which we quite rightly made a "Book of the Week" back in the day, the utterly brilliant "Troll and the Oliver" by Adam Stower.

Troll is a hungry old monster, and he'd like nothing better than to catch Oliver - a rather smug, cheery and far too cheeky little chap who dances through Troll's locale daily while shopping for groceries.

Troll is absolutely determined to catch Oliver, but that slippery little red-haired toddler is far too smart - and too quick for old Troll, forced instead to eat a rather bland diet of twigs, pebbles and snails.

But Troll has a plan - and this is where this book ended up as a book of the week for us, lulling you into a false sense of security in knowing just how the story is going to go, right up till its "Surprise" moment.

No no, this isn't it, what, you think we'd spoil the entire book for you? NO WAY!

We got a quote on the back of the paperback edition when it was originally released and we said "As Monster Books go this is pretty much perfect, the double-pumped payoff is so utterly deliciously satisfying that for a tiny, tiny moment your little one will sit agog!"

...and it's true too! Go read and find out!

Adam followed up with this one...

Reuniting Troll and Oliver in "Grumbug!" and introducing Oliver's equally slippery little sister who decides to go off on an adventure of her own - a dangerous quest to track down the fearsome Grumbug, a monster feared even by monsters themselves.

I think really this was just an excuse for Adam to draw lots of cake. The story is fun and we rather loved the idea of having a sassy little sis on board, but the last few pages will just make your stomach growl even louder than Troll's!

Brilliant books, once again establishing what a keen eye Templar have for enticing some of the best author illustrators in the business to produce such lovely books for them.

Original review links: 

Troll and the Oliver by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)

Our first "Back of the Book" quote and it's a doozy...

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 5th June 2015 - "Grumbug" by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)

It's the welcome return of blog favourite Adam Stower, and his latest greatest creation, the awesome King Coo!

In "King Coo: The Curse of the Mummy's Gold" the tiny but mighty girl with the impressive golden beard is back for another superb adventure.

Ben Pole is languishing back at school. Life is boring, so boring in fact that Ben could almost nod off in class.

But his ennui doesn't last for long as Ben is soon back in a whole heap of trouble! 

Adam Stower is really no stranger to our Book of the Week slot...having staked his claim here with his fantastic picture books on a regular basis...

We did a little dance of glee when we first heard that one of our favourite children's books was getting a sequel. Remember Troll? Remember Oliver? They're back in "Grumbug" and this time they've got a new cohort too.

"Grumbug" - released just yesterday (4th June) is Adam's fantastic follow-up to "Troll and the Oliver", a book that was very well received by us (and also earned us our very first back-of-the-book quote - a very proud moment indeed!)

This time, Oliver's teeny tiny sister Dolly has joined "Trolli and Olli" (or "Oliba!" as Dolly delightedly calls her big bro). Troll and Oliver have set up a cake shop in the middle of the deep dark woods. Not just any cake shop, but a cake shop specially for Trolls. Trolls usually like eating children you see, but children taste disgusting (as we found out in "Troll and the Oliver") so cake is a far better (and far more lucrative) way of keeping trolls happy and well fed.

Dolly is visiting the boys at work but a teeny tiny toddler can swiftly get into huge colossal trouble as Dolly wanders off - in the direction of (dramatic pause, orchestral burst, drum roll) MUNCH MOUNTAIN!

Munch Mountain is every bit as scary as it sounds, mainly because the biggest, meanest, grumpiest and hungriest troll lives there, the terribly terrifying Grumbug! He's so big he can chow down on rocks, drink entire rives, crush forests and he loves nothing better than eating ten dozen kids for brekkie - even tiny ones like Dolly!

There's nothing for it. Oliver embarks on a mission to rescue his sister. Will any of the troll customers of his cafe come and help?

Nope. Just Oliver's bestest cake-obsessed blue troll friend.

If you think the story sounds mind-bendingly exciting so far, we're going to let you discover just what happens when Troll and Oliver dash off in search of Dolly in this utterly brilliant sequel. I have no idea why we didn't make "Troll and the Oliver" book of the week originally (particularly since Templar very kindly gave us our first ever back-of-cover quote for the paperback version - which we're still tickled pink about! I suspect grumpy draws Charlotte opted for something else instead) but we both wholeheartedly voted for "Grumbug" to be our book of the week this week, it's dazzlingly brilliant cakey monstery toddlery fun!

I just loved reading it aloud (I kept the same slightly grumpy troll voice for Troll - though he doesn't actually speak in the book which calls for some creative ad-libbing to underline his fantastic expressions, a squeaky voice for Oliver, and even squeakier voice for Dolly as well as a whole host of new voices for the other trolls in the story).

Love the rhymes which are fun and singsong as with the original, and love the fact that once again Adam expertly throws in a twist or two that'll keep storytellers and their avid audience on their toes!

We're wondering where the recipe for triple treacle delights is though? Too secret to share? Perhaps you'll find it on the fantastic Troll and Oliver Cafe Blog!

Charlotte's best bit: She loved the "old trolls" in the book, they look so CUTE and she loved the way Dolly called Oliver "Oliba!"

Daddy's Favourite bit: Wonderful rhymes, gloriously fun illustrations and two (oops, now THREE) of the funniest characters to ever team up in a children's picture book. Hooray for Troll, Oliver and Dolly!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)

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"Troll and the Oliver" by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)

Adam Stower, the genius behind one of our favourite books of the last few years, the sublime "Troll and the Oliver", preceded his troll tale with this story of a little girl and her...er...her dog.

This is a tough review to write because we don't really want to give away too much, but do want to tell you how hilarious the central theme of this story is. Dealing with children's perceptions of the world around them (and the animals in it) and that mania for owning a pet that all children possess for the early parts of their lives (when mummy and daddy do all the feeding, cleaning up, training and mucky stuff while children breeze in and tickle their beloved dog or cat behind the ears).

Lily (the girl in our story) finds 'Doggy' wandering around and decides to adopt him. But is Doggy quite what he seems? Doggy certainly doesn't seem that keen on all the things doggies usually love. What on earth is wrong with him? And why is he so...big!

As I said, it's so difficult not to give away too much (we notice that even the cover of this book makes you want to dig in and reveal the story's secrets - no bad thing in a children's book!) so we'll leave it at this: Laugh along with Lily's antics, and be extremely pleased that it's very unlikely your little one will bring a 'Doggy' home (unless you're one of our stateside / Canadian / Russian readers, in which case, beware!)

Charlotte's best bit: Lily excels herself when 'Doggy' is reclaimed by his 'owner' and then brings something else home instead (you'll have to find out what by reading the book!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Adam Stower excels at producing children's stories with a twist in them, and this is no exception. It's brilliant!

"Troll and the Oliver" by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)

Monster books - they all seem to have one thing in common. The poor monster never seems to win but with a neat little bit of switching around, here's "Troll and the Oliver" by Adam Stower.

Every single day Troll, a rather menacing looking blue beastie with a sneaky expression, beastly claws and a rumbly tum, tries to eat Oliver - a red haired cheeky and happy little boy.

Oliver is far too smart, far too small, and far too fast for the lumbering Troll though - so every day the Troll systematically fails in his mission to enjoy Oliver Souffle, Oliver Burgers, perhaps even a bit of Oliver Au Gratin.

Troll is downhearted. Every time he thinks he's come up with a winning plan to consume the little tyke, Oliver outwits him.

Stop, pause for a second here - I have a question for parents reading this review. Are you like me? Have you ever wished that just once Wyle E. Coyote came up with something from his Acme catalogue that would see him finishing the cartoon feasting on hot roasted Road Runner? Or perhaps wished secretly that Scratchy would put Itchy through a mangle and turn him into a mouse-sized pancake? Better still, wished that Tom could catch Jerry and make him blimmin' well apologise for all the times he'd stomped, squashed, crushed, blown up, run over or dropped anvils on the poor moggy's head?

Persevere then with Troll and the Oliver because the double-pumped payoff is so utterly deliciously satisfying that for a tiny tiny moment your little one will sit agog (I can't quite tell you why, but when you get to "that bit" you will love it, trust me).

As monster books go this is pretty much perfect. It sets its cards on the table early on, then gathers them in one by one in such a manner that you will reach the end, flip the book back to page one and begin all over again. Troll and Oliver are brilliant characters (you really will not like Oliver at first, but bear with, bear with!) and like all clever ideas for children's stories, it's such a simple premise but beautifully executed. We just could not get enough of it.

Charlotte's best bit: "That Page" - Yep you'll know it when you hit it and you really will love it. Now THAT'S how you do dark.

Daddy's favourite bit: Like Charlotte, I just utterly loved that page and the way it makes both storyteller and avid child listener(s) feel. This is a book that you are going to get a great deal of pleasure reading aloud to little ones, or sniggering secretly about to yourself. Just brilliant, truly brilliant.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)

There comes a time when your darling children become the fount of all knowledge, and suddenly know EVERYTHING overnight. Not only that, they will quickly correct you if you stuff up or get anything wrong.

So perhaps that's my defence in having trouble with "The Wheels on the Bus" by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower.

All kids have "The Wheels on the Bus" pretty much ground into every fibre of their being from a very early age, at nursery and preschool, at song groups at their lovely local library, or on children's TV shows. It's not too bad to change things around a bit and 'cheat' by introducing extra characters making silly noises on the bus journey, but Charlotte took a huge dislike to this version because - agh, there's no polite way of saying it - it just doesn't flow. Very unusual for anything Jeanne Willis has written, but it breaks spectacularly at the end of each verse.

You see, there's a certain bounciness to the original

"The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round,
Round and Round, Round and Round
The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round
All Day Long"

And yet in this version, the bus hits a brick wall at each turn of the page - so you get

"The Elephant on the bus goes trumpet trumpet trumpet
trumpet trumpet trumpet
trumpet trumpet trumpet
The Elephant on the bus goes Trumpet trumpet trumpet.
At The Zoo"

It's the sing-a-long rhyme equivalent of driving over a very bumpy road then ending in a ditch, and of course even with the great introduction of some colourful (and in one case, rather farty) animal characters, the fact that it was 'wrong' meant Charlotte couldn't get on with it at all, didn't engage with it and hasn't touched it since. Oh dearie dearie me.

Sorry guys, in all other respects it's a lovely looking book and you might be able to sneak this version in for very young bookworms (2-3 perhaps?) but not past a smart-alec near-5 year old :)

Charlotte's best bit: Of course it had to be the skunks. Even 5 year old girls find gaseous emissions funnier than anything else in the entire world.

Daddy's favourite bit: Great illustrations with some extremely busy panels but such a shame it just doesn't flow.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Pearson)