Sometimes a book's popularity with little miss would completely take me by surprise, as was the case with Edward Ardizzone's "Little Tim" series.

These are classic books, no doubt about it, but when lined up against modern picture books they look slightly quaint and out-of-date, and the core themes in each book are also so far removed from what children experience in their own lives, that you'd really struggle to understand why they appeal.

Of course, there's the answer. It's precisely BECAUSE kids can live vicariously through Little Tim's adventures as a would-be sailor, and experience the excitement of what life would have been like on the ocean waves over 80 years ago - when these books were written and set - and when most boys wanted to be one of two things, an Engine Driver or a jolly Jack Tar.

In "Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain" Tim wants nothing more than to go to sea aboard a ship. He's given his wish on a day trip aboard a fine vessel, with a sea captain friend to show him the ropes. But soon there's a massive storm and the ship is in danger - and it takes all the captain's nerve (plus a little help from Tim) to rescue the crew and set foot safely back on shore.

What we liked about these books are their length. Again I am here ranting about the length of children's picture books, and the bleated excuses that the reasons picture books aren't longer is purely because children's attention spans can't cope with wordier books. It has nothing to do with the economics of printing more than 32 pages / 12 spreads, oh nossireee!

These books are indeed long, their language may seem a bit prissy and old-fashioned but Edward Ardizzone's innate talent in both illustrating and describing the scenes within is why he's such a legend, and why he's cited as such a huge inspiration to a lot of authors and illustrators, even those whose work is popular today.

(One word of caution. If you're looking for copies of these, try and find the originals before they were 'messed around with' and recoloured. The colour versions are horrible, completely ruining the effect Ardizzone's original inky drawings had).

For sheer escapism if nothing else, these books are well and truly worthy keepers and the sort of future family heirlooms you'll want your own kids to pass on to theirs eventually.

Original Review Links: 

Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain (80th Anniversary Collector's Edition) by Edward Ardizzone (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

Exciting action and adventure on the high seas with the Little Tim series by Edward Ardizzone (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

Tim in Danger by Edward Ardizzone (Francis Lincoln)

It's nearly 80 years since this salty and nautical children's tale first bobbed up and down on the crest of a wave. Do the Little Tim stories still appeal to children today? Do they ever!

One of the joys of reading with Charlotte is being able to introduce stories to her that I remember from childhood. Some of the books I managed to hold onto, some we have to hunt for in secondhand bookshops (as they're sadly out of print) and some are still as well loved now as they were back in the 70s and have stayed in print for new generations of kids to be thrilled by.

Clive King's 1963 children's novel "Stig of the Dump" is one such book, and though it's been given a multitude of new covers over the years (including editions brought out to cash in on the two TV series that have never really captured the essence of the book) it's still a stunning story, and Edward Ardizzone's scratchy often indistinct inky artwork still lends an amazing atmosphere to the tale.

"Stig of the Dump" starts out with a young boy, Barney, staying at his grandmother's house for the summer holidays along with his annoying big sister. Though Barney has been warned not to play near a chalk pit at the bottom of Grandma's garden, he's a boy - and like most boys ignores good advice in the eternal search for mischief and adventure.

Barney falls into the chalk pit after being a bit too inquisitive one day and as his world spins around him, Barney comes to and realises that he's fallen through the roof of a makeshift shelter. Worse still, a beady dark pair of eyes is watching him from the darkness.

This is how Barney meets Stig, a caveman living in the chalk pit and adapting to life amongst the thrown away rubbish of modern folk.

No explanation is ever offered in the story for how a caveman ends up in modern times. None is really needed though it's a great story for sparking delicious discussions and theories on time travel (can't really say that about many childrens books, can you?)

The story is all about Barney and Stig's friendship, and it's a classic 'fish out of water' tale as Barney slowly introduces Stig to the wonders of the modern age - and likewise, Stig introduces Barney to a simpler more earthy way of life.

The two become friends and share many adventures together, thwarting the local rowdy kids who take it on themselves to invade Stig's pit - and defeating a nasty pair of burglars who raid Barney's Grandma's house for her silverware. They even manage to corner an escaped Leopard!

I loved the effect this book had on Charlotte. The story harks back to an era when 'playing out' was the norm, and way before anyone ever thought of coining the phrase "upcycling" here's Stig making amazing inventions from the rubbish other people throw away.

Back when "Stig of the Dump" was originally written, kids might well have had TV as a distraction, but most kids would have leaped at the chance to go out and play (and probably cause mischief). For Charlotte, Barney's world sounds absolutely amazing and full of opportunities for adventure (and quite a lot of peril, we wondered how on earth he made it to the end of the story without breaking his neck!).

Perhaps because we try to spend every weekend out in the wilds, in the countryside of Oxfordshire, she recognises a bit of herself in Barney as we build shelters in the woods, or (safely) make a makeshift fire though we draw the line at chopping down trees or playing in or around dumps.

"Stig of the Dump" is timeless and brilliant and it's been a real pleasure introducing Charlotte to this simple but atmospheric story that still holds many happy memories for me, and now will hopefully hold a few for her too.

Charlotte's best bit: When Barney and Stig make a window for Stig's cave out of jam jars, a wooden box and clay and when Barney and Stig encounter a Leopard escaped from a local circus.

Daddy's Favourite bit: The closing chapter in the book is still as electrifying, brilliant and bittersweet reading it as an adult as it was when I was a child. A modern classic, deservedly revered and treasured.

I've been a fan of Edward Ardizzone's peerless ink work since I was a tiny tiddler. Edward's illustrations for Clive King's "Stig of the Dump" are among my earliest memories of what made me fall completely in love with books. Clive's descriptions were rich and imaginative, but having Edward's illustrations to fill in the gaps was a real boost. It's still one of my favourite stories today and one I can't wait to pass on to Charlotte now she's old enough to appreciate longer stories.

We're looking at Edward's own story series here though, and the Little Tim books - which have been polished to a high sheen and reprinted by Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

Though I'm not quite old and codgerly enough to remember these first time round (the first Little Tim stories were published way back in 1936!), Frances Lincoln are reprinting the "Little Tim" series as a set of gorgeous hardback books, retaining the original pacing and illustrations - and offering you richly luxurious audio versions read by Stephen Fry (a man whose voice I could happily listen to for hours) as well. What a superb bonus!

Though Edward died in 1979, and some might feel that these stories are a bit dated, they have an electrifying effect on Charlotte. She clamours loudly for them whenever we settle down for a read and a cuddle, perhaps it's the exciting life this little chap leads in his life beside the sea.

We've been enjoying the reprints of "Tim All Alone", "Tim and the Brave Sea Captain", "Tim to the Rescue" and "Tim's Friend Towser" - Each story opens with Tim longing for a life on the ocean wave but finding that a seafaring life is often fraught with danger.

Tim outwits bullies, cares for adorable animals, befriends salty coves and brave sea captains, and even makes a friend for life with a boy named Ginger and a dog named Towser - both of which feature in a couple of the books in the series that were Charlotte's two favourites (She particularly loved "Tim to the Rescue" where Ginger rather naughtily steals a crewman's hair tonic, only to find his own luxurious red locks won't stop growing!)

We also love Edward's gift with expressions and the way that, in one particular adventure where Tim and Ginger are sneaking their food on board ship to a lost puppy, both Tim and Ginger grow increasingly skeletal as they virtually starve themselves to feed Towser! Eek!

We've read these books through several times, often in one glorious gulp as they're quite long but immensely satisfying. We really hope to see more reprints of Edward Ardizzone's stories from Frances Lincoln as they're superbly exciting adventures, with utterly gorgeous ink and wash illustrations that almost leap off the page.

Some folk might take issue with the way some of the paragraphs are broken up when reading aloud, which makes for a bit of trickiness (I can't quite think how to describe it adequately but it won't matter much, you'll be reading these tales again and again so you'll learn them off by heart anyway!)

Ultimately though, you are in for a good solid treat with these stories, harking back to a time when life was so much simpler, and the life of a young boy (or girl for that matter) could be a life packed with excitement, adventure and derring-do!

Charlotte's best bit: Ginger's wonderful long curly hair after stealing someone's hair tonic (that won't stay short no matter how many times it's cut!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic timeless set of stories that have an amazing effect on modern children, who have no concept of the sort of fantastic life Edward Ardizzone describes for young Tim. Utterly amazing stuff despite tiny niggles about the disjointed pacing (that truly won't get in the way of you enjoying these books immensely!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

It's absolutely wonderful to see the Little Tim books back in print from Francis Lincoln. Edward Ardizzone was always a bit of a hero of mine at school, mostly because he was the uber-talented inkscribe who provided the illustrations for that masterpiece of children's literature, Stig of the Dump by Clive King.

The Little Tim books are full of old-school adventure, thrills and of course as you'd expect from Ardizzone, fabulous inked drawings that perfectly capture the most exciting moments in the story.

In "Tim in Danger", Ginger (who is usually at the centre of any chaos or trouble) has run away to sea. It's up to Tim and Charlotte (needless to say, having a character called Charlotte in a book is an instant win for OUR Charlotte!) to try and track him down and rescue him.

Spotting Ginger departing from the docks on a ship, Tim and Charlotte give chase but soon find that they're press-ganged into working on a ship themselves. Adventures on the high seas are only just beginning, but when a terrible fog envelopes their ship and there's a huge accident, can the plucky duo rise to the challenge of a rescue at sea?

I wondered whether these books could be a hit with today's young audience. Are kids still interested in things like The Famous Five, The Secret Seven or are they a bit too old and twee now? Likewise, are the "Tim" books too evocative of an era long since past (I mean can you imagine three little kids leaving home to go and work on a ship today?)

As usual though, I vastly underestimate children's utterly delectable ability to suspend their disbelief. Why on earth SHOULDN'T children do these things in stories? They are stories, children can do anything - and they do here. For that reason, Charlotte consumed this story voraciously and was very excited at the prospect of finding more Tim and Charlotte (and Ginger of course!) adventures to read.

For me, the real draw is Edward Ardizzone's utterly wonderful artwork. I love working in inks, and it's given me the taste for trying again. Such simple strokes and lines, cross hatching and shading to die for, simple, understated, beautiful and a perfect fit for a thrilling adventure like this.

Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte's expertise in all matters domestic and medical - which really would NOT go down at all well today (but hey, at least Tim was also made to scrub the decks on board ship!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Edward Ardizzone's art is timeless, perfect and makes me green with envy, I'd love to be able to draw like that!