Our Picture Book of the Week this week is definitely one for fellow daydreamers. Here's "How to be a Lion" by Ed Vere...

There's nothing worse than being called grumpy when you're not...

Ed Vere's awesome kitten hero is back for a new book, and this time he's brought a friend along...

Following on from Ed's fantastic "Max the Brave", Max is back and settling down before a good night's sleep - but wait, something's wrong...

Side-stepping the arguments over cats vs dogs, is there anything cuter in this world than a kitten? Particularly a little black kitten with huge eyes and the sort of expression that can reduce a grown 46-year-old man to coos of "Awww" or "lookit his liddle face!"

Max, the kitten in Ed Vere's superb "Max the Brave" is getting really fed up with all this cooing and cutesy-pie stuff. In fact there's one thing Max hates more than anything else. Being tied up with lovely pink ribbons (aw but he does look cute in them, says Charlotte).

Max decides that there's only one thing for it. To shrug off his cute image once and for all by performing the ultimate kitty feat of derring-do. Catching a mouse.

Max begins his quest by asking for advice from the various creatures he meets on his journey. Bird is not a mouse, but is sure he's seen mouse scurrying by. Fish is not a mouse but he's pretty sure he's seen mouse running into the garden.

But when Max actually meets a mouse, what happens?

Oh my, we couldn't possibly tell you. Suffice to say that we have a sneaking suspicion that the mouse in this story is a distant relative (second cousin once removed perhaps?) to the mouse in "The Gruffalo" - relying on his keen wits and sharpness to outwit Max.

That's as much as we can say without revealing the delicious twist in this book that is a really hilarious romp. Ed's characters are always utterly brilliant, his illustrations are wondrous (Max really is the epitome of a tiny dewy eyed kitten - but we should point out that he's brave, not cute, OK?). An awesome book that's going to raise more than a grin or two.

"Max the Brave" arrives on 5th June 2014 from Puffin Books (Hardback).

Charlotte's best bit: Max wearing a big pink soppy bow and looking SO CUTE!

Daddy's Favourite bit: The twist is a lovely surprise, and we rather like the way it plays out too!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Puffin Books)

Ed Vere's utterly awesome Banana! Made even more awesome with a Rik Mayall Voiceover!

You may have already seen our slightly gushing review of the MeBooks app - and things have certainly taken off for this innovative storytelling app over the last few months. Now the zany characters and deliciously crazy books of Mr Ed Vere himself have hit the MeBooks store.

Narrated in his trademark genius style by none other than Rik Mayall, these are brilliant fun so don't miss out!

Don't reach for your wallet just yet though, because MeBooks are giving you the chance to win 3 of those books as part of their Ed Vere Week.

Find out more on the MeBooks Website:

http://www.mebooks.co/campaign-vere#vere

The MeBooks app is free to download, with in-app book purchases.

For more information, take a gander at how the app works below:

Some books literally fizz with energy, threatening to leap out of your bookcase, dance a merry jig in the middle of the floor before scampering out of the front door giggling insanely.

Ed Vere's "The Getaway" is just such a book, largely due to the central character - Fingers McGraw, the sneakiest speediest cheese thief in town.

Fingers needs your help. You, the reader, must keep a look out as Fingers tries to evade the long arm (or should that be long trunk) of the law, in the shape of Officer Elephant.

Ed's art lends even more of a sense of speed to this book and it provides a great excuse for me to wheel out my 'slightly Bronx-y gangster hoodlum' voice for Fingers, and a whole raft of other voices for the peripheral characters as Fingers gets into all sorts of scrapes as he escapes with his ill-gotten gains, a humungous lump of stinky cheese.

Will Fingers escape? Or will he end up spending some quality time up at "the Big House"? You'll have to read the book to find out, but one thing's for sure, you'll take a lot more care over securing your fromage in future because you never know when Fingers is around!

Charlotte's best bit: Fingers thinking that Officer Elephant has finally caught up with him as he hides in a hole, but it's an anteater's long schnozz instead! Eek!

Daddy's favourite bit: Ed's touch with the dialogue in this is absolutely spot on. Slap on some dramatic music, crack out your best american accents and slide into a book that has a bucketload of energy!

"I'm a Dingle Dangle Scarecrow" by Anne Kubler (Child's Play)

The earliest books we enjoyed with Charlotte were books where song and rhyme were key to enjoying the stories. For a long time, my usual choice of music in the car was replaced by all manner of story and song CDs (Mr Tumble, I think I know your songs better than most 4 year olds) and again at home we'd continue the theme.

It's always more enjoyable when your children start to want to sing along themselves, or join in with rhymes. Children are brought up on a whole range of popular nursery rhymes that have stayed more or less the same (despite various attempts to "politically correct" some like Baa Baa Black Sheep), and Child's Play's brilliant range of sing-a-long books are utterly fantastic. Big bold illustrations, chewable versions (not sure what Child's Play put in the 'recipe' for their card books but babies seem to love the taste of them) and even some that introduce sign language for added fun.

As Child's Play say themselves on their site, singing along with children as well as reading to them helps develop a strong parental bond, and even if you think you have the singing voice of a squashed crow, your child really won't mind (at least till they're 5, then they'll just tell you that you're rubbish but don't take it personally :)

Another book that was regularly demanded, mostly for its sing-a-long qualities was "Pants" by Giles Andreae and Nick Sharratt

New Pants, Blue Pants, One, Two, Three

Even now this book is a firm favourite (along with its sequel More Pants). We never quite got the hang of socks but both 'Pants' books are excellent for a bit of crazy sing-a-long action - particularly if you pick up the version with the musical CD accompaniment, by Lenny Henry. Ever sung about undercrackers in a reggae stylee? No? Well he has!

It's not easy being big. Mr Big, a huge hulking great big Gorilla might look scary and daunting but he's an ape with a heart, and a musical soul. 

In this tale, Mr Big is sad, has no friends and only has his music to fall back on. Finding a piano in a music store, Mr Big plays at night, letting his soft tinkling tunes win over the entire city full of people who previously crossed the street to avoid him. 

A great jazz-fuelled book with big bold illustrations. Cool stuff, crazy cat!

Charlotte's best bit: A fascination with Mr Big's feet (which look like hands)


Daddy's favourite bit: Mr Big's tiny beat-poet-styled best friend