Get ready for a rip-roaring ride in a brilliant and speedy selection of vehicles with "Ready, Steady, Race!" by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Ed Eaves.

Join Race Car Rani, Jonas Jet, Speedboat Sam and friends as they roar across the road, sea and sky. 

Our Booky Advent Calendar Day 6 entry isn't really that festive or Christmassy, but we couldn't resist including a new Albie adventure in our yuletide roundup (and isn't snow a bit more festive than the drizzle we're likely to get around the 25th?)

Here's "How to Ride a Polar Bear" by Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves.

When Albie and his mum go to the museum, Albie has no idea what is in store for him. He know that museums are fusty and dusty and full of smelly things, but what he doesn't expect are igloos, wolves and a real life polar bear!

Pirates still seem to be the bearded ne'er do well of choice for many, many kids - both girls and boys so it's time to splice the mainbrace once more with a yo ho ho...!

Albie is back! The adventuresome little boy's imagination takes flight once again in an all new tale of excitement and action...!

As a kid, I was quite obsessed with matchbox cars. Do you remember collecting the "Matchbox 75" range? Sometimes you'd get the most fantastic vehicles, futuristic automobiles that were built for speed - and were often sent careering down huge lengths of Hot Wheels track (when my sister and I weren't 'lightsabering' each other to death with the stuff).

I also loved the classic Hanna Barbera shows like "Catch That Pigeon" and "Whacky Races" and it's obvious that both Jonathan Emmett and Ed Eaves had a lot of love for those things too.

In "Fast and Furry Racers" (gotta love that title!), the greatest race on earth takes place in the animal kingdom as all creatures great and small line up on land, on the water (and under it) and in the air for The Silver Serpent Cup.

Road, rail, boat and plane, you name it and those audaciously clever creatures have come up with a winning (they hope) machine to make the best of their own abilities, hopefully to steam into the lead. As you'll see from the glorious end-papers in this book, Ed and Jonathan have come up with some truly incredible designs. There's a rocket powered train, a fantastic soaring eagle-shaped plane, glorious multi-driver fox-fuelled dragsters and all manner of other wonderful creations in between.

Not all animals play sportingly though, and as the vehicles jostle for position, a nefarious cheater unleashes his vehicle's secret weapons, homing missiles to take out the opposition. But in this frenetic race, the winner isn't decided until the race is run and a surprising outsider might just snatch victory from the slathering jaws of one mean crocodile!

Boys and girls will love this equally, any mini-fans of games like Mario Kart are going to be in their element in this pacey and fresh feeling race story. Brilliant illustrations and non stop action make this a race you won't want to miss!

Charlotte's best bit: Zooming around under the sea and through pirate wrecks in super-speedy submarines

Daddy's Favourite bit: Wonderful memories of Whacky Races and other fantastic childhood escapades abounded as we read this book. It's a rollicking race to glory!






(Kindly sent to us for review by Jonathan Emmett / OUP)

The Albie stories are utterly fantastic, celebrating the wondrous and colourful imagination of a little boy in a ton of inventive ways. We always love to see a new "Albie" book and it's lovely to see such huge enthusiasm for Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves series on Twitter and Facebook.

We're now at book six! WOW! You think by now Caryl and Ed might be running out of ideas, but nope, here's another dazzling story and we really love this one for tons of reasons. 1) Monsters 2) Funky vehicles and 3) A really fab story of friendship and sportsmanship. So let's dive in.

Albie finds himself at the car wash with mum and as mum feeds the money into the machine, the car wash bumps into life - taking Albie and the car with it! EEEKS! Amongst the suds and soap, the jets and blow dryers Albie embarks on a new adventure as a monstrous pit crew change mum's runabout into a mean lean racing machine ready to enter The Great Monster Race. Albie lines up at the starting gate with the other monsters, but one monster is determined to win at all costs! Can Albie dig deep and not only win the race but win a few new friends along the way?

The moment we opened this book we knew we were going to be reading it several times through in quick succession. Caryl's storytelling is exciting and vibrant and Ed's inventive monsters and their fantastic outrageous rides really make this yet another surefire winner for fans of the Albie series (we particularly loved that there was a girl monster in there too, hooray!)

Washing the car will never seem the same again!

Charlotte's best bit: Trying to pick a favourite car and racer (she loved the girl monster's sleek racing car but booed loudly when she was forced off the road by a meanie in a monster truck!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fabulous furry freaky monster tale that will get your engines revving (and you'll definitely want to do a victory lap and read this one all over again once you've reached the finish line!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

When you're about to embark on a perilous journey around the world and you're only six, it's vitally important to remember a few key things. One - You absolutely cannot outrun a Cheetah. Two - Snakes are hopeless if you sneeze at them and Three - Crocodiles are easily defeated by chewy gooey pie.

Sam, the titular hero of "Sam's Super Stinky Socks" (which is out today, by the way) is given lots of sage advice by dad before he goes off globetrotting, but like most 6 year olds (including our own) he completely ignores Dad's words in his excitement to go exploring. Worst of all, Sam forgets the most important advice imparted - Wash your socks every night, or you're going to end up attracting the most pesky critter in the jungle.

We're going to tease you a bit here. We're not going to tell you what could possibly be more scary than a cheetah, a snake and a croc - but Sam's socks are rotten and stinky so it's not long before the pint-sized hero finds himself in a huge amount of trouble.

Paul Bright's blissful rhymes and Ed Eaves' fabulous colourful illustrations are awesome and wonderful, and the story feels fresh and entertaining. Charlotte, being a little girl who would quite like to emulate Sam herself (I don't think she'd get very far tugging a Trunkie full of loom band gear around the jungle though) actually fell hopelessly in love with the "aww cute" main antagonist in this story. We'll bug you no more, and let you read this hilarious book yourselves!

Charlotte's best bit: Falling in love with the "baddie" - Shocking! Oh and she spotted a rather neat little cameo from Albie (He of "Plunge into the Pirate Pool fame", hooray!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Perfect rhyming, brilliant art, a delicious pay-off at the end and a fantastic entertaining tale. What more could you possibly want!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

Vive La Difference! Here's a book that contains two characters that make our hearts sing with delight. We're partial to a dragon story, in fact we love dragons more than we love any other monsters. Meet Marmaduke, a decidedly different dragon!

All his friends and family are purple, with huge wings - but poor Marmaduke feels left out. He's orange and daren't show off his wings - they're just too...well...different!

Other dragons get the chance to become royal escorts, sworn protectors of beautiful princesses. But who on earth would want a rather small orange dragon to look after them?

Despite his heart of gold, no one's interested in Marmaduke - until the day a rather different princess arrives on the scene. She's not prim and proper (Yay!), she doesn't particularly want to spend all day gazing lovingly at pretty dresses (double yay!) and she wears converse boots and has scruffy hair (triple yay with a side order of yay!)

Could it be that Marmaduke has at last found someone to protect? Or perhaps something better, a friend?

This is a lovely little story celebrating difference, in a way that won Charlotte over completely. We've often had chats about what 'different' means, and how sometimes it can be dull and boring trying to be the same as everyone else (something that's a pretty tough sell to a five year old trying to fit in at school). This book shows that the unusual can also be exciting and...well, different - and that's no bad thing.

Charlotte's best bit: The amazing wow-moment 'reveal' half way through the book (no spoilers!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Another great character to add to the list of fabulous non-prissy primped princesses. Love her!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)

Ahh lovely, we've finally caught up with a book we've been meaning to read for absolutely AGES! We've previously loved Albie's plunge into the pirate pool, so kept "Welcome to Alien School" on our 'to-do' list for a long time. Now we've found it nestling in the library stacks and can have a good scrimmage through!

Imagine what it would be like if, instead of boring old normal school, you ended up at Alien School for the day. Albie's imagination soars as Mum drops him off on a distant planet for the day instead of the usual school run. Like most children going to a new school for the first time, Albie's a little bit nervous and unsure - but imagine what it would be like if your lessons were - well - completely alien!

Spelling an alien language? ABCs are hard enough but how about Gzzz, Frrrzzt and Sqrrrrrm? Alien playtimes? They're completely crazy (and a little bit scary if you don't know what you're doing?) And the less said about lunch, the better!

Soon though, Albie makes friends and realises that even at Alien School, there's always something fun to learn and lots of interesting times to be had.

It's a great book to help children address those 'starting school' fears, and we do love Ed's colourful and creative aliens in this (particularly the cute little ones!)

Charlotte's best bit: Alien Lunchtime!

Daddy's Favourite bit: We are definitely loving Albie's imaginative flights of fancy and still have lots of catching up to do with the rest of the books - but we'll get there in the end. This is fab though, hits the spot nicely!

What happens when an ordinary trip to the swimming pool turns into a pirate-tastic adventure? Young Albie finds out on a tired, rainy day that excitement and adventure await just around the corner - when you use your imagination.

Kids who love pirates (are there actually any kids who DON'T?) will instantly find this book appealing. We loved Ed's "Steampunky" pirates and their fantastic Shark-shaped sub. As the adventure unfolds with the absolutely essential search for hidden treasure, Albie and the pirates (including - HOORAY - a rather fetching girl pirate in the gang. The world needs more girl pirates!) discover a treasure chest protected by a rather fierce looking Octopus.

Can Albie and his new-found friends win the day, snag the treasure and be home in time for marmite on toast?

There's lots of nuances and little details in this book. Dipping into the wonderful imagination of a child will undoubtedly allow your own children to imagine their own cool adventures too!

Charlotte's best bit: The girl pirate and the fabulous treasure.

Daddy's favourite bit: Just how we like our pirates. Steampunky and utterly fearless. Hooray!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)