These two little scamps are utterly adorable, and we've really enjoyed previous books in this fantastic series, so let's dig into the superb "Charlie and Mouse: Even Better" by Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes.

Charlie and Mouse are two brothers who love getting up to all sorts of mischief. Their long-suffering parents love them to bits, and Laurel's brilliant observations of children's behaviour (and their parent's reactions!) are what make these stories great.

Four perfect little tales wrapped up in one book, with stunning art from Emily Hughes. So let's have a closer look.

It's Pancake Day, and if, like us, you spent a very messy couple of hours making pancake batter, covering your pancakes in glorious toppings and devouring them in a matter of seconds you'll love the first tale. Charlie and Mouse's mum gets some pretty odd requests for pancakes from her boys. First they want tiny itty-bitty baby pancakes. Then a pancake turtle, and finally a pancake dragon! But mum figures out the perfect way to put a stop to their pancake gluttony!

Poor Mom! Who on earth knows how to make a pancake dragon!!

The rest of these tiny little tales are equally charming as Charlie and Mouse go shopping with dad, try to come up with the perfect birthday present for Mom, and cope with a cookery disaster with some well-timed diversionary tactics.

Moms are amazing (like we didn't already know this!)

Sum this book up in a sentence: Ticklish tales that are perfect for little ones. We love 'em!

"Charlie and Mouse: Even Better" by Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes is out now, published by Chronicle Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

I think at one point or another, most people have wanted to either live in or build their own Treehouse...

It's the return of a toddler twosome! Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes return with a new chapter (or three) in the lives of Charlie and Mouse...

A gorgeous book that recalls idyllic childhood days of play, and makes us long for the onset of spring...

There seem to be a run on bears at Walker Books at the moment - which is fitting, given their branding. Here's a glorious dad-centric story about an incredibly brave little bruin!

Effortlessly, Emily Hughes steams into our "Book of the Week" slot, making it two for two with her books absolutely wowing us and making us want to hug them with glee.

We loved "Wild", Emily's first picture book for Flying Eye, featuring exactly the sort of character we can't help falling in love with - a joyful little feral girl who absolutely DID NOT want to be tamed.

Emily's glorious illustrations and gentle storytelling made her one to watch back when "Wild" first exploded onto the scene, and proving she's no one-hit wonder her latest book "The Little Gardener" is just as splendid and fantastic.

The titular little gardener is a tiny little boy who loves his garden (and his pet worm, Wormy! More about him later on!) The little boy toils long and hard in the garden, but when you're a tiny teeny little mite, coping with the weeds, the watering, the feeding and the nurturing of the local plant life really is a full time job.

From the crack of dawn, and sometimes right through the night, the little gardener struggles to keep on top of the garden duties. But there is hope, in the form of one perfect flower - blooming amidst the weeds and chaos. This glorious red bloom spurs the little gardener on but one night, it all becomes too much for him and he makes a single wish...

Will his wish come true? We really REALLY don't want to spoil a morsel of this gorgeous tale for you so you really will have to go and pick up a copy to find out whether the little fellah's hard work is rewarded. We mentioned Wormy earlier on, we think that it's very unusual for worms to steal the show in any book but Wormy (behaving a lot like a naughty little puppy - for example ignoring his well-turned-over earthy Wormy basket in favour of sleeping right in the middle of the little gardener's bed) will strike a chord with any dog owners who pick up a copy of this book.

Emily's stories are gentle, their messages conveyed with such delicate beauty that they truly wow us but her illustrations - oh my, her illustrations are utterly and completely glorious in every way.


You're in for a real treat with this one. If you want to find out more about one of the most talented and brilliant storytellers working in children's literature today, you definitely need to find out more about Emily Hughes and her glorious books - starting with "Wild" and moving quickly onto this!

Charlotte's best bit: Naughty Wormy making himself very comfortable in the little gardener's lovely comfy bed

Daddy's Favourite bit: Effortless and brilliant gentle storytelling, artwork to die for, children's picture books don't get any better than this!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Flying Eye Books)

Like this? We think you'll love this too!

"Wild" by Emily Hughes (Flying Eye Books)

It's certainly no April Fool! One of our favourite books of 2013 is finally released in Paperback. The sublime "Wild" became one of our prestigious "Book of the Week" winners, and we're happy to share the news that the paperback version from Flying Eye is every bit as delicious and delectable as the original.

It tells the story of a young girl who is brought up in the wild by animals, but finds herself brought back to civilisation by a group of hunters.

Her re-integration does not go well - after all, how can you tame something that is so happily wild?

We utterly adored this book - one heck of an amazing debut for Emily and arriving just ahead of her second children's picture book, the equally stunning "The Little Gardener", coming very soon from Flying Eye Books.

Soak up one of the most perfect children's books you're ever likely to come across - and unleash your inner wild child!

"Wild" by Emily Hughes, out today in Paperback from Flying Eye

We kept spotting glimpses of this book on the back of other Flying Eye titles, we kept hearing people whispering about how great it was on Twitter. Now it's in our grasp and we're definitely, positively not letting it go.

Emily Hughes "Wild" is beautiful, and the cover knocks your eyes out the minute you see it, but that's nothing compared to what's inside. The story of a feral child, lost in the forest but cared for by the animals - almost like she's supposed to be there, in fact.

Taught to talk by birds, taught to play by foxes, taught to fish by bears, the Wild Child leads an idyllic lifestyle until one day she's caught in a trap. A human trap. Soon people turn up to find out what they've caught and really don't expect to see a little girl wrapped up in the bear trap (caught by her beautiful green hair, owch!)

Perhaps well meaning but ultimately interfering, the hunters carry the child back to civilisation with them and she's adopted by a psychologist and his wife, who find life with a wild child is anything but easy. It's not her fault. To her, these 'animals' can't talk properly, they can't eat properly and most of all they really do not know how to have fun.

What happens next? You know what I'm going to say - I urge you, nay BEG you to discover this book for yourself because you really need to. It had an electrifying effect on Charlotte. I think she liked the fact that the wild girl looked a little bit like a pint sized version of Merida, from Brave - and lived a fairly carefree life before human intervention. What child could possibly resist a tale where a girl does exactly what she wants, has fantastic animal friends to play with, and can curl up snugly to snooze with furry creatures? Certainly not Charlotte, she loved this book to bits from the moment she laid eyes on it.

Comparisons are made in the press release to the works of Sendak and Scarry (which I thought was a trifle odd as this really is nothing like a Richard Scarry book and really only shares heritage with Maurice Sendak through the word 'Wild' in the title).

If the intent was to compare this to the classic children's books that have become hugely well known and well loved, cited as hugely influential, and universally revered then that's fine - and if the intent was also to announce Emily Hughes to the world as a colossal talent fit to rub shoulders (figuratively) with the likes of Sendak, Scarry, Carle, Seuss, Bloy Graham, Keats (as in Ezra Jack) or any other legendary children's book creator then that's also mighty fine too. But this lady stands on her own two feet and if this is her first published book, you can only imagine how great she's going to be by the time she reaches her 5th. A star to eclipse the rest, mark our words.

Find out more about Emily on the Flying Eye Books website

Charlotte's best bit: Wild girl's eating habits once introduced to civilisation. Grarrr!

Daddy's favourite bit: This book is quite short (so perfect to squeeze in before bedtime), but it has a huge impact. Shades of Tarzan and The Jungle Book infused with one of the best female characters I've seen in a children's book in a long time. Beautiful art, massively impressive presentation, don't just stand there wide-eyed, go and get it now!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bounce / Flying Eye Books)