Certain books in our #Booky100Keepers list have entered our collective family vocabulary, containing words or phrases that have wormed their way into our everyday lives.

Stephanie Blake's brilliant "A Deal's a Deal" is one such book, and arrived just at the right time - as C and her schoolmates began the ritual of swapping - usually with C coming off worse in any playground swapping deal, much to our annoyance (we eventually had to ban her from taking stuff into school as she came back with utter junk which she'd swapped for the expensive Tinc stuff we'd bought her).

In the story Simon the Rabbit rather fancies his best friend Ferdinand's toy car and agrees to a swap, only to realise that the car he's ended up with is plastic, is broken and is utterly worthless.

Simon hatches a plan of dire revenge, claiming that his friend left something inside the car he'd obviously forgotten about, but a deal's a deal, to take back is to steal - so the only way Ferdinand is getting his prized possession back is to swap things back.

We soon find out what the 'hidden thing' inside the car was, once again Stephanie dipping into the grosser side of representing what kids are actually like in real life (we won't keep you in suspense, the 'valuable object' is actually a bogey!)

Stephanie's books are always funny, anarchic, and of course achieve that magical balance of allowing kids to vicariously live through the somewhat unsavoury behaviour of the book's characters, hopefully learning from the moral that each story gently weaves in.

Check out our review links of this and Stephanie's other books:

I Don't Want To Go To School by Stephanie Blake (Random House Children's Books)

A Deal's a Deal by Stephanie Blake (Gecko Press)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 31st August 2018: "I'm the Biggest" by Stephanie Blake (Gecko Press)

"Nits!" by Stephanie Blake, translated by Linda Burgess (Gecko Press)

This week's Picture Book of the Week is a fantastically dark little tale, not too scary for little ones but definitely one that evokes memories of classic Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson tales...

"The Stone Giant" by Anna Hoglund is the story of a plucky little girl who lives on a castle on an island with her father.

He's a brave knight - and one day a quest comes along that means he must travel to a dark mysterious and faraway land to do battle with a terrible giant - a giant who turns people to stone.

She busies herself around the castle while her father is away, waiting patiently each day for him to return. But soon it becomes apparent that the nasty giant has claimed another victim, so the girl must go and fight the giant herself - armed only with an umbrella and a mirror, and a ton of bravery!

Those woods don't look too inviting!

Soon the girl encounters the giant and knows exactly what to do. Hiding under the umbrella, she comes up with a plan to turn the Giant's stone-turning power on the giant herself! Will the girl triumph and free her dad?

It's a dark little tale this, the sort of book that we wish the UK publishing industry wouldn't keep shying away from but are secretly thankful that publishers like Gecko are around to make sure awesome dark tales like this see the light of day. It's also a real looker, with illustrations packed with detail and a timeless charm.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A dark and delicious little tale of a plucky young girl turning the tables on a nasty giant, filled with originality and thrills.

"The Stone Giant" by Anna Hoglund is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied as a digital ARC for review). 

Sometimes the simplest children's stories can whip up creatives into a frenzy of inventiveness and characterful storytelling, and in "Lisette's Green Sock" by Catharina Valckx you'll meet titular Lisette.

While out walking, this happy little duck finds a single green sock on the ground. She decides it looks fantastic and puts it on straight away but those mean bullies Tomcat and Timcat tease Lisette, making her realise that a sock isn't really much good if you've only got the one.

Lisette spends the rest of the day searching in vain for the lost sock. Even a little fish tries to help but all he's found is a strange rake and a very odd coffee pot (actually a comb and a watering can).

Lisette trudges home rather dejectedly and her mum kindly offers to wash the sock.

He best friend Bert thinks the sock would actually make a fine hat, but once again those rotten cat brothers Timcat and Tomcat tease Lisette, having found the missing sock - but they're determined she's not going to get her hands on it - and throw it in the river.

Poor Lisette! Thankfully Mum is on hand with a plan to cheer up her daughter.

This is a charming little book, beautifully translated and as we said at the top of the review, a simple story that has loads of lovely little touches.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A cute and characterful tale of a simple duck and her lucky find, that even a pair of rotten bullycats can't ruin.

"Lisette's Green Sock" by Catharina Valckx is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied as a digital ARC)

This one's a bit of an early reveal, as its not actually out until April - but we do love a superb and original picture book, particularly one that elicits such cackles and belly laughs as this.

"Two for Me, One for You" by Jorg Muhle is the sort of picture book perfection that starts with a very simple premise. Bear, while out walking, discovers some lovely mushrooms and brings them home to her best pal Weasel so they can enjoy a slap-up fungi feast.

But when it comes to sharing, Bear isn't too bright - but begins to justify why she should have the lion's (sorry, bears!) share of the goodies.

While Bear and Weasel argue, there's a neat twist that effectively sews up their argument for them - but you know us, we're not into spoilers, so we won't ruin that delicious moment for you.

As ever, this is the sort of brilliance that Gecko Press are thankfully so great at bringing to our shores, a book that has a simple - yet universal message that kids will (sometimes rather guiltily) identify with - particularly if you've ever put one kid in charge of the jellybean jar, telling them to 'share fairly'

Sum this book up in a sentence: A deliciously observed slice of comic genius from Jorg Muhle on the subject of sharing, friendships and a tiny bit of social justice mixed in for good measure in a fab little picture book.

"Two for Me, One for You" by Jorg Muhle is out on April 1st 2020, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review). 

Gecko Press get off to a flying start with this gorgeously presented reprint of a classic book designed to help children overcome grief, and deal with the loss of a loved one - even if that loved one is furry, scaly, fluffy or nuzzly.

"All The Dear Little Animals" by Ulf Nilsson and Eva Eriksson takes a funny non-sentimental look at death from a child's perspective.

The story begins with young Esther's observation that despite the happy world we live in, death is all around us (every adult probably knows at least one death-obsessed child who makes this rather sombre statement from time to time).

This book beautifully caters for kids who mildly obsess about death and what it means. Esther's idea is to begin a funeral business called Funerals Ltd - along with her siblings they set out to ensure that all the dear (dead) little animals in bushes and hedgerows get a proper honourable send-off.

I don't think we've ever seen anything like this - a book that deftly treads between that oh-so-serious gallows-humour that kids possess sometimes, and what it feels like when something you've loved so much is lost for good and passes over.

Yet it's beautiful - not just to look at but to read aloud, as the story gently unfolds and Esther's 'wise beyond her years' approach to death begins to make sense.

Utterly fabulous and so glad to see it coming back for a whole new generation of readers.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A funny, whimsical and often quite sombre but sweet look at death from a child's perspective in a book like no other.

"All The Dear Little Animals" by Ulf Nilsson and Eva Eriksson is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review). 

You've already seen our fabulous Halloween Book Roundup, but we felt this super-spooky book deserved a review slot all of its own.

From the author of the fantastic "Inside the Monsters" comes "The House of Madame M" by Clotilde Perrin, translated by Daniel Hann.

Take a mysterious journey through the doors of a scary house, and gaze in wonder at the many spooky little secrets hidden inside.

As the story unfolds, under the mysterious gaze of an unseen hostess, your guide takes you on a tour of the house, inviting you to open up all the little nooks, crannies, 'lift the flap' bits and other hidden surprises to reveal something scary within those walls (don't worry, it's not too disturbing or frightening for little ones, in fact they'll get a huge giggle out of this book!)

It's brilliant - we've seen many attempts to devise a book filled with secret scares, but this is so beautifully designed we've fallen completely in love with it. Let's take a look at one of the multi-layered 'reveals' inside (hopefully without spoiling it too much!)

What's inside the cupboard?

Cue scary music

Er no thanks I've already eaten!

Help!!!!

Thanks to some truly brilliant and inspired book mechanics and gorgeously dark illustrations, this one's a real win for a bit of spooky storytime fun.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Lots of tricks, lots of treats, definitely our favourite halloween picture book of the year.

"The House of Madame M" by Clotilde Perrin and Daniel Hann is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review). 

There's a certain book format that we're completely head over heels in love with, but don't really see enough of in the UK book market.

It's a format that seems very much prevalent on the continent and in other international regions - and though a few publishers have embraced the 'picture-heavy-early-chapter-reader' style (I think I need to think of a snappier way to describe it) it really hasn't caught on. Why is that?

By the by, "Zanzibar" by Catharina Valckx is very much a book in this beloved format - the simple story of a simple crow who longs, nay YEARNS to be special.

Sure, it's a familiar theme - but when Achille LeBlab, special correspondent for a local newspaper knocks at Zanzibar's door, he's looking for someone exceptional. Could that be Zanzibar?

All evidence seems to suggest that Zanzibar is just an ordinary black-feathered crow with no special superpowers or abilities. But Zanzibar does have something - a plan, and enough self-belief to give him the get-up-and-go to prove that lizard reporter wrong.

So that night Zanzibar hatches a plan - and that plan involves a Camel! But how can a humble crow - and a newly found Camel friend do anything exceptional?

The story unfolds beautifully, accompanied by illustrations with every page turn - and despite the chapter format, the word count is still kept pretty low making this a great little story for kids who can breeze through picture books but haven't quite got to the point where they're confident enough to tackle early chapter books (with minimal illustrations).

Zanzibar's tale is full of hope and a great moral - that we are all exceptional in different ways, and sometimes the act of proving how exceptional we are is the very thing that makes people sit up and take notice.

Brilliant stuff, and we'll say again, we love this particular book format and we'd love a lot more UK debut authors to have their "longer than 500 word" stories considered for books like this (hint hint massive hint).

Sum this book up a sentence: A fantastic moral tale about our perception of what makes us amazing and exceptional versus the popular view of what it really takes.

"Zanzibar" by Catharina Valckx is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review).

Wow, we haven't reviewed anything by Leo Timmers in a long time. In fact Leo's books were amongst the first that C truly fell in love with, back when we first started our blogging journey.

There's just something deliciously charming about "Monkey on the Run" and it begins with the sort of Richard-Scarry-Esque obsession that Leo has with all sorts of totally cool retro vehicles, inventive and amazing and almost as important as the central characters in this story themselves.

So the story begins with Papa and Little Monkey stuck in traffic. We've all been there, right? But Little Monkey is impatient, and decides it's time to swing off and get home the quick way.

Abandoning their rather fantastic Banana-shaped motorbike and sidecar, Papa Monkey and Little Monkey swing along using different vehicles as jumping-off points to finally reach Mama Monkey at home.

It's a wordless story, and that gives Leo ample opportunity to showboat his amazing artistic skills. Everything on every spread feels like it's about to leap into life, start moving of its own accord. He has a peerless eye for detail, light and design and gives everything that glorious super-shiny 1950s USA kind of glimmer about it, from the clothes that the hilarious animal characters wear, to their rides.

The sheer joy of wordless books is letting kids take over, to describe the narrative themselves as they follow Little Monkey's journey home.

A real treat this! You'd be bananas to miss it!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A gloriously artistic and stylish romp for a pair of engaging monkeys as they swing and sway their way through the traffic back home in time for tea.

"Monkey on the Run" by Leo Timmers is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review) 

Do you ever want to live in a book? Do you ever take a look at the page spreads in a gorgeous picture book and think "That, that's the life I want. How do I get a life like that?"

Well that's how we both felt about "Song of the River" by Joy Cowley and Kimberly Andrews.

I mean it's just breathtakingly gorgeous and as each page spread unfolds, we find ourselves slowly wanting to spend more time in places like Cam's world.

Cam is the little boy at the heart of this book, who lives in a log cabin in the wilderness.

Each day he asks his Grandfather about the sea. His Grandfather nods, listens, and says that one day they may visit it. But kids are kids, kids are impatient and Cam won't be so easily dissuaded. So one morning he gets up early, and listens to the river.

"I can take you to the sea" it bubbles. Cam dutifully follows the river's course, and along the way on his journey he meets many other helpful folk who know the way to the sea. So what happens when you finally reach a destination you've longed for, and dreamed about for so long?

We'll let you discover the answer to that question in this gorgeous book that feels as much about the discovery of the importance of our rivers as it does about the story of Cam and his quest to see the sea.

So many deft little touches in this, and if you think the cover is gorgeous you wait till you see inside.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A young boy's daydreamy quest to finally see the ocean, described beautifully in a poetic and truly gorgeously illustrated story.

"Song of the River" by Joy Cowley and Kimberly Andrews is out now, published by Gecko Press (kindly supplied for review). 

No matter what we call them, whether they're "Grandma" or "Nanny", "Nanna", "Grand-Mo" or simply that strange old lady who smells faintly of cauliflower, we do love our gorgeous grannies!

In the brilliantly funny "Encyclopedia of Grannies" by Eric Veille, newly translated by Gecko Press, here's everything you could possibly need to know about your grandmothers, Nannas, Grannies or Gransches.

Exactly how old are they?

What do they do all day?

Why do grannies always tell us to speak up? Why do they have creases on their faces? Are grannies flexible? How do you cheer up a sad granny?

...and one of our favourite questions (which really does need a proper answer) - Where are those busloads of grannies we always see actually heading to?

Eric explains all in such a charming, funny and completely chaotic way that we were chortling all the way through this one (particularly at the aforementioned 'things you'll find in a Granny's bed' section, which for some reason includes a cauliflower pong).

It's almost impossible to hear the word "Nits!" without feeling your scalp itch. Even if, like me, you have a totally barren scalp, you still feel like the little critters are making their way through your lovely, lovely thatch.

But ah, here's a book that isn't just about nits, it's about that first crush.

"Nits!" by Stephanie Blake once again begins with Simon - but this time he's not quite the brash and effervescent character he normally is. Simon is quiet, thoughtful - and deeply and hopelessly in love.

The object of his affection is Lou, a girl in his class. She's beautiful, she has lovely yellow bows on her ears - but alas Lou is in love with Mamadou rather than Simon.

The thing is there's something else about Lou. She's absolutely lousy with nits!! Will this change the course of Simon's affections? Or perhaps provide him with a chance to prove that love conquers all, even nasty little insect infestations.

We enjoyed this, even though it's so short you can literally polish it off in 5 minutes flat before bedtime. Not as brilliant as Stephanie's other titles, but still awesome (itchy) fun.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A tender love story that will make you scratch your head furiously while reading it (or while typing up a review of it, in fact!)

"Nits!" by Stephanie Blake, with translation by Linda Burgess, is out now, published by Gecko Press (Kindly supplied for review). 

Our first Book of the Week this week definitely shows what you can do if you break that horrid, horrid rule about '500 or so words' in a children's picture book.

The fabulous "The Runaways" by Ulf Stark and Kitty Crowther might be a lot wordier and longer than your average 'before bed' book, but it's worth investing the extra time and effort in, just because it's such a brilliant and beautiful story.

The story examines the cross-generational relationship between Gottfried Junior and his cantakerous but beloved old Grandfather. As rough as the sea, but becoming more and more frail in his old age, Grandfather suffers a fall one day and ends up in hospital.

Grandfather hates being in hospital, and pleads with his grandson to do one more thing for him before he passes away. One last visit to Grandfather's old house to attend to one or two last things.

How could any grandson resist a plea like that? So the two hatch a grand plan of escape, intricately plotted but superbly clever.

As Grandfather's important tasks unfold, the story takes on a touching turn that will tug at your heartstrings in the emotional finale.

We've long campaigned for picture book and chapter book creators to 'ditch the moralising' but this story shows how you can create something truly magical that has layer upon layer of strong messages we can all identify with, at any age. Thoughts of our own youth and vitality, versus thoughts of our autumn years and our mortality, and the desperate need to 'put our house in order' before we go.

It's just so beautifully written, and of course you don't need us to tell you just how amazing Kitty Crowther's illustrations for Ulf's text are, she's colossally talented and the pencil-like illustrations here are just so deliciously rendered with exquisite detail and feeling.

Can you tell we're totally won over by this?

Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly wonderful and thought-provoking story that shows what you can do when you're given room to stretch your word count, describing every delicious little detail of a grand cross-generational adventure.

Our second Picture Book of the week pulls off the neat trick of instantly feeling like a well-loved children's classic, even though it hasn't been around that long...

It's Book of the Week time! Time for another romp with Simon and his hapless little brother...

What is it about kids and peas? If ever there was a veggie villain prevalent through kid's books it's the humble pea...

Here's a slightly humbling and thought-provoking philosophical journey into what really makes us happy and fulfils us...

As a kid, I was always fascinated by tales of explorers - who put to sea in sailing ships to explore our planet...

We've long been champions of wordless picture books on the blog, and their power in turning around reluctant readers can't be denied...

Our second Picture Book of the Week to kick off January's fantastic book roundup is another brilliant and engaging book from Messrs Mizielinski and Mizielinska, Daniel and Aleksandra, the authors of the fabulous "Maps" books...

Snuggle up with us for a lovely bedtime book that features 11 and a half soothing tales with fox and rabbit...