It's Halloween, hooray! So we're taking a look at a few spooky books today. How about a ghostly tale from Elizabeth Baguley and Marion Lindsay? It's all about a tiny little ghost called Bertie who just wants somewhere to call home - oh, and haunt (because that's what ghosts do best, after all!)

Unfortunately Bertie's diminutive stature means that it's not easy for him to rattle around in a huge castle, or roam the nether wooing and squealing to put the shivers up the neighbourhood - when there are already far more scarier things out there like wolves and giant snakes, eek! Will tiny Bertie ever find the perfect haunt?

You never know. Sometimes, even in a huge old castle, the answer might be tucked away somewhere!

Bertie's a lovely character, and this book is a nice little bedtime read that helps children overcome and understand their fears, and shows that it doesn't matter how tiny you are, there's always a place that can become yours.

Charlotte's best bit: Bertie finally settles in the one place a tiny little ghost can feel properly at home. So sweet!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Beautifully illustrated and a tender story, spooky but sweet!

A fabulous lineup of authors, some sumptuous illustrations by Alison Edgson, and a wondrous collection of stories that are absolutely perfect as the temperatures plummet and you need something snuggly and warm to cuddle up with before bedtime.

"Moonlight Tales" gathers together talented folk like Penny Dolan, Holly Webb and Michael Broad to tell a collection of short but wonderfully sweet tales featuring children's favourite animals as they all prepare for winter.

The beauty of anthologies is that for early readers, or children who are just moving on from picture books to chapter books, you can read a story or two each night before bed and slowly work through this wonderful book.

If you're looking for something wintry and wonderful to stick in a stocking this christmas, this is definitely worth investigating!


Charlotte's best bit: The Brave little Beaver story!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A superb little collection, perfect for yuletide storytelling!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

We'd heard lots of praise being heaped on this book before we finally spotted it in the library stacks, so we had to check it out.

It's very easy to see why it's such a big hit, what a lovely book! Meggie Moon tells the story of two scruffy little kickabout boys (you know the sort, they're the ones that are always out in the street kicking a ball against your wall till 10pm most summer nights!) who play every day on a local piece of wasteland. Bored and kicking their heels around amongst the trash, the boys are surprised one day when a girl comes into the yard.

Meggie Moon is her name - and though the boys take an instant dislike to her ("A Girl! UGH!") Meggie soon finds a brilliant way to win them over.

Meggie has a fantastic imagination, and knows how to turn trash piles into interesting and cool things. One day she makes a racing car, the next day she makes a fabulous pirate ship, and after that a fantastic den. Meggie is soon firm friends with the boys. But summer friendships don't always last forever and Meggie soon has to leave.

But when she does, she leaves something behind. Something the boys can remember her by and something that means they'll change too. A love of making things, and that vibrant imagination of Meggie's stays behind even though she doesn't.

It's a fantastic, celebratory story that says "Never judge a book by its cover". It's great to see a girl with glasses as the 'hero' here too. We love you, Meggie Moon!

Charlotte's Best Bit: The fabulous den the kids make.

Daddy's favourite bit: A charming story, great for early readers like Charlotte and so very nice to see a girl hero that's a fair break from the norm too.