Subversive, cheeky, fantastic. Just three words to describe the late great Babette Cole - whose "Dr Dog" books were demanded almost nightly by C back in the days when our blog began. We originally borrowed these from our local library before buying our own copies as it was just easier than borrowing and renewing them.

"Dr Dog" introduces the titular medical hound and his irrepressibly terrible family, the Gumboyles. It's quite handy having a doctor on the premises as each of the Gumboyles seems hell bent on a path to destruction, gloriously described by Babette's cheeky storytelling and equally cheeky illustrations.

Kurt Gumboyles likes nothing better than sneaking off for a crafy cigarette behind the bike sheds, while Grandad Gumboyle can't resist a huge plate of baked beans and a couple of pints of beer - before blowing the house down with his mighty farts.

It's enough to stress a dog out, even a doctor so it's rather nice when poor Doc Dog flits off at the end of the book for some much needed R & R - sadly short lived when his family join him on holiday...leading perfectly into...

"A Dose of Dr Dog" - That rare thing, a sequel that's every bit as brilliant as the original book this time with Dr Dog aided by the long lost Professor Dash Hund, who assists the good doctor with a series of useful topical cures for the family's holiday ailments.

From a gigantic (and rather over-zealously depicted) boil on the bum to a serious case of sunburn Doc and Dash keep the family out of trouble once again, up to the point when the nasty nosenips threaten to make a meal of the Gumboyles once and for all.

Babette brilliantly works in some neat facts into a story that bounces along superbly, as the long suffering doctor triumphs. We always wondered if Babette would ever write another one, but sadly she was taken from us, a hugely sad loss of an amazingly talented lady whose books have been beloved by generations of kids.

Original Review Links:

Dr Dog

A Dose of Dr. Dog by Babette Cole (Jonathan Cape Ltd)

Our Chapter Book of the Week makes us both happy and sad at the same time. "Princess Smartypants and the Fairy Geek Mothers" by Babette Cole...

The late, great Babette Cole was definitely a force to be reckoned with in children's literature. A fabulous character, often outspoken and very much a huge influence on other authors and illustrators, her books are beloved by millions.

We love finding books we've never seen before when we visit our awesome local library. Nestling amongst the stacks, Charlotte quickly grabbed this book by Richard Hamilton and Babette Cole - mostly because she is completely in love with Babette Cole's work and couldn't wait to find out more about a book featuring a tutu-wearing dad, and a rather cheeky little girl.

Richard Hamilton's rhyming life-swap story, illustrated in Babette's glorious trademark inky washy style, is really right up our alley. A dad and daughter book with a difference, with a daft dad (like me) and a cheeky daughter (like Charlotte) imagining what it would be like to swap places for the day. The good (like being able to bounce on beds or stay up way past bed time), the bad (like having to do housework or eat what you're told to) and the downright ugly (have you ever seen a 47-year old trying to squeeze into a baby buggy when it's walkies time? While wearing a leotard and tutu? It's not a pretty sight!) are all described in this lilting and lyrical tale that made us very very glad we are who we are and don't ever, never, EVER swap roles.

That said, I can definitely see the appeal of bouncing on beds wearing tutus. Yes indeed!

Charlotte's best bit: Cuddling up for storytime with the three bears (before nipping downstairs to watch late night telly! Bliss!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Taking a cuddly kangaroo to bed then waking Charlotte up in the morning by bouncing up and down on her bed shouting loudly (just like she does!)

Here's a neatly gender-swapped fairy tale courtesy of one of our favourite book heroes, the awesome, the mighty, the sublime Babette Cole.

Respinning a classic children's favourite isn't always easy, but here we meet Prince Cinders, an altogether familiar character - a wee wisp of a lad who is scrawny, skinny and probably a little bit pimply. Compared to his rugged handsome huge and muscly brothers, Prince Cinders has always been a bit pathetic and rubbish, and never gets asked out on any dates.

He spends his evenings cleaning up after his brothers (and tidying up their magazines - with lurid titles like "Moustache Monthly" or "Muscles for All"). It's a pretty poor existence until one day, coughing and spluttering down the chimney comes his Fairy Godmother.

"Time to get your bum down to the disco, Cinders!" says Fairy Godmo. With a flick of her wand, and a few useful accessories Prince Cinders is transformed into a herculean figure that men want to be, and women want to be with.

Off to the dance he hurries, but his clumsy ineptitude doesn't go away, and though he meets a ravishing Princess who thinks he's a bit of alright, Prince Cinders has to dash just as the clock strikes twelve, leaving his tatty old jeans behind...

You're familiar with the rest of the traditional story (swap jeans for a glass slipper) but Babette gives the tale a lovely comic lustre that will sparkle and enchant you enough to have you diving right back to the first page as soon as you've finished. What happens to Prince Cinders? Will the path of true love prevail? Will the muscly brothers muscle in on the act? You'll have to read and find out...

Charlotte's best bit: Prince Cinders rather groovy mode of transport.

Daddy's favourite bit: I love Babette's characters, particularly their expressions. This is one of the funniest retellings of Cinderella we've seen, and we've seen a lot!

Though we said we were taking a back seat with the app reviews and e-book reviews, we could not possibly resist the lure of the mighty Babette Cole and her new series of iBooks, developed and published by Inky Sprat.

"The Trouble With" series is absolutely chock full of all the things we love about Babette's books, and as a bonus you get to see (and hear) the wonderful lady herself narrating her own works. What's not to love? (We can't get enough of Babette's groovy outfits!)

So in "The Trouble With Gran" we find out what happens when a young lad accompanies his Gran and her friends on a day away. Not to a lovely sunny holiday destination but to a fairly grotty seaside town. Ew!

There is definitely something different about Gran though. In truth, she's not the quiet mild mannered old lady she seems. She's actually....AN ALIEN!

Gran's not at all happy with the choice of day-trip destination, so in true Granny style she starts to misbehave (oh how we identify with this. My lovely 92 year old Nan may not come from Planet Koosbain but she knows how to play up!)

Sneakily morphing into her true form, manipulating objects and folk with her magic powers and generally ensuring the day is made a little more 'interesting' throughout, Gran eventually tires of the whole thing and performs one last act of alienesque rebellion!

We'll let you find out what that is. We sometimes struggle with the iBook format - keeping Charlotte's attention on e-books of any kind on the iPad is always tricky - but this was absorbing and engaging, and as fans of Babette's fantastic books we just couldn't get enough.

The lady herself is busy beavering away on the next Doctor Dog picture book - so stay tuned for more from her very soon. In the meantime, check these out, they're ace!

The Trouble with Gran (from Inky Sprat on iTunes for iPad)

(See the rest of Babette's awesome iBook range here!)

Charlotte's best bit: Gran's rather ooh-la-la behaviour at the glamorous granny competition

Daddy's favourite bit: So awesome to see and hear Babette narrating these books. She rocks!

(iBook code kindly provided by Inky Sprat for review)

"A Dose of Doctor Dog" book cover. Never go out without your sunblock!

Babette Cole's Doctor Dog books are amongst Charlotte's all time favourite books. We've often wondered whether we'd get to find out what happened next to the Gumboyles and their very talented medical pooch.

Wonder no more because, as it said on @babettecole's twitter feed this morning:

"just finished new dummy 4 Dr Dog Health&Fitness Unleashed It is very funny meet the Gumboyles hated neighbours The Ulcers.Scumball match 2!"

Good news? Great news!!! Charlotte is probably going to explode when she finds out. But she'll still be wondering about Mrs Doctor Dog... :)

Read our slightly gushing and enthusiastic reviews for Doctor Dog (a book of the week!) and A Dose of Doctor Dog via those lovely links.

We're still on our quest to read every single one of Babette Cole's books and we recently managed to grab "The Hairy Book" from the library. As you'd expect from Babette Cole, it mixes the surreal, the slightly smelly and the saucy together into a tome of rhyming revulsion that entertains and grosses out in equal measure.

Hair, cropping up everywhere. On creatures, under armpits and in less desirable places. Babette Cole chronicles the follicles with her trademark fantastic illustrations and cheeky verses.

Though this wasn't an instant hit like the Dr Dog books, it still managed to make Charlotte giggle and made me cheer right at the end. See if you can guess why when you read it :)

Charlotte's best bit: Hairy baths!

Daddy's favourite bit: Me, at the end! Yes that's me, honestly!

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars