I had absolutely no idea how fanatical a fan of "Harry and the Dinosaurs" Charlotte was until we spotted this in the library stacks. We already had a fairly teetering pile of books and Charlotte absolutely would not let us leave without adding this to our stack too.

We've previously loved Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynold's legendary book series so it was great to spot one we hadn't seen before.

In this story, Harry goes for a sleepover at his best friend Jack's house and takes his dinosaur pals along with him. Making sure they've got plenty of comfortable moss to snuggle down in, things are exciting and new and Harry and Jack have lots of fun - until it's time for bed.

A bump in the night and new surroundings make Harry and his prehistoric friends quite nervous when camping out under the stars at night. But thankfully Jack's dad (who looks a little familiar, bald, jolly, loves dinosaurs! Hmm!) is on hand with the perfect solution to the problem!

It's easy to see why the 'Harry' books are so popular with children, they draw them into a world where absolutely anything seems possible and tiny dinosaur friends love all the same things they do. I love the detail in the illustrations and the storytelling is perfect for a before-bedtime read. No jumps or bumps, just gentle stories with massive appeal. Lovely!

Charlotte's best bit: Those very snug looking moss blankets. Cosy!

Daddy's favourite bit: Jack's dad is me! No it is, honestly!

Charlotte's been a fan of "Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs" since preschool, I think she secretly liked the books because two boys she really liked at preschool were completely obsessed with Harry and his adventures.

In "Harry and the Dinosaurs Make a Christmas Wish" we find out what happens just before christmas when Harry gets to play with baby ducklings (awwww) and the dinosaurs are so impressed with how cute they are, they wish as hard as they can that Santa will bring them one of their very own ("do dinosaurs have their own Santa, or do they share ours?" asked Charlotte! Good question!)

As the days slowly tick by towards christmas, the dinosaurs get an egg to look after. But what's inside?

You'll have to read the book and find out, of course. It's so easy to see why Ian Whybrow's "Harry and the Dinosaurs" books are so immensely popular with both boys and girls. Great characters, engaging artwork (and some lovely little cameos / in-jokes while harry is shopping for christmas presents) and every child gets to pick their favourite dinosaur. Perfecto!

Charlotte's best bit: She absolutely loves one particular dinosaur (and it's always the one she draws when she draws dinosaurs, quite frequently) but I can't tell you which one otherwise it might spoil the book :)

Daddy's favourite bit: Bit of 4th wall breaking stuff as Harry is shopping for presents and completely misses the fact that there's "Harry and the Dinosaurs" merchandise on the shelves in the shop :)

There's a stage* that most toddlers / preschoolers reach where the funniest jokes in the world revolve around pooing and weeing. If your children have arrived at this stage, then here's a book that will have them rolling around on the floor giggling like lunatics. 


"Who's in the Loo?" by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds is the tale of a couple of inquisitive children standing in a very long queue for the loo. Who is in there? And why are they taking so long? Cross your legs, wait a while and you'll find out right at the end of the book after first going through a funny rhyming story full of kid-friendly toilet gags. 


*Yes alright I'll admit it, you never really grow out of this stage. 


Charlotte's best bit: "Is it a Wombat who wanted a widdle?"


Daddy's favourite bit: The frozen penguin. Owch. 


Rating: 4 out of 5

If there's one thing that makes me angrier than anything else as a parent, it's bullying. Even at preschool age, you can see the seeds of bullying growing in certain kids, who push the boundaries of what's acceptable behaviour, becoming pretty nasty little characters. 

This book deals with the issues of bullying in a rather light hearted way, but the message is the same. Bullies tend to make a lot of noise and fuss, but the end result is usually the same even though it might not seem like it at the time. 

In Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds' book, little monster is continually harassed by big monster for her lollipop. Big monster chases her all around monster island until she's had enough and hides. But there's a rather nasty surprise waiting for big monster - who gets his just desserts in the end. 

Fair enough, you can't expect all bullies to meet the sticky end that big monster does in this book, but if your child is being bullied, even from an early age, do as much as you can about it and make as much fuss as you can - it just shouldn't be tolerated in any shape or form, even monster-shaped. 

Charlotte's best bit - Little Monster climbing trees to escape

Daddy's favourite bit - the pay-off at the end. 

Rating - 4 out of 5 stars