These books stretch back, far back, way back to the very origins of this blog and in fact by the time we got round to reviewing these (just after we'd started up) we'd already been reading them to C almost on a nightly basis for two years.

Yes, they're that good. In fact these books are rare in that they're picture books that both my wife and I would read to C independently of each other.

You see even from when she was a tiny, tiny baby, barely able to make out the pictures and words in the books we'd read to her, we would take it in turns on alternative nights to pick a book out of our shelves and read it to her before bedtime. Nowadays it's just me, still clinging on on there with the bedtime book, even though we both suspect C loves them now more as a method of spending some time with us, and dragging bedtime out a bit longer than for a real desire to hear the books again and again.

Back to "Pants" though by Giles Andreae and Nick Sharratt. If ever there was a book that felt more like a song (in fact in the version we own, Lenny Henry does a VERY good job of "singing" the book) it's this.

It's a daft, cheeky and surreal look at our underwear. It's also one of those rhyming books that if we think hard enough, we can actually trot out by heart. I guess that's purely because we read it so many times.

"Pants to pick a daisy, pants for being lazy, PANTS ON YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU'VE GONE CRAZY!" (typed without cheating so possibly wrong).

The follow-up is equally brilliant and also appears on our keepers list...

Pretty much the same deal as the first but with a few new cheeky bits and new laughs, "More Pants" followed swiftly in the original book's wake.

We later picked up "Socks" (which wasn't written by Giles, instead penned by Elizabeth Lindsay) from the library but by then the magic had died. That fleeting moment of perfection in two books was lost, and in fact I was moderately surprised to find that "Socks" wasn't where the story ended, and there are now even more pants books than ever before. It's such a successful formula though, a brilliant combination of bold and colourful illustrations underpinned by the most pitch-perfect bouncy rhymes, the perfect way in fact to draw a tiny little girl into a love of books.

Original Review Links: 

Pants

More Pants

Socks by Elizabeth Lindsay and Nick Sharratt (David Fickling Books)

The "I Love My" books were definitely a staple of C's early years, with the brilliant bright illustrations and bouncy text making them a jolly good read for tinies.

"I Love My Teacher" by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd is the latest book in the series, perfectly timed for those last few days of school, whether you're a junior or a senior, a pre-schooler or a nursery kid, there's lots of lovely sentiment in this one that shows just how brilliant and amazing our teachers and TAs are.

We'd certainly endorse this over a certain other book doing the rounds at the moment, as a nice little end-of-term gift for the teacher you love!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant addition to the well-loved series, celebrating our amazing teachers, and all they do for our kids.

"I Love My Teacher" by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd is out now, published by Orchard Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Here's a fun picture book that lets you get away with being naughty - at least for a few pages....

Do you love birthdays? Do you love books? Then you're going to love this awesome board book version of Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd's "I Love My Birthday"...

I really don't know how to tell you about this book without it having the same effect on you as it does on us...

A fabulous little cuddle-up title or two, just to show Grandad and Grandma how special they are? Yes indeed, that's a FABULOUS idea!

We still love a tickly tiddly picture book that's great for tiny toddlers and we've been taking a look at a couple of beauties coming soon from Hachette / Hodder Children's Books.

First up is another book in the hugely popular "I Love My" series by hugely talented duo Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd.

"I Love my Birthday" is a glorious celebration of glorious celebrations, and tells the story of a very special birthday indeed!

There are presents to open, lots of good things to eat and party games to play. Can you picture your perfect birthday? I bet it looks a lot like this...

Blueberry pancakes and kisses from mum? Pretty much perfect!

"I Love my Birthday" by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd is out now, published by Orchard Books.

If there's one thing kids love as much as their birthdays, it's their cuddly toys and our second book comes from "Kipper" superstar Mick Inkpen, introducing us to a new lovable character.

"Threadbear" may be a bit old and worn at the seams, but he's still a beloved toy. One thing that's never been right with him is his tummy squeaker. It's never, ever worked but perhaps a bit of magic from a certain red-clad white-bearded gentleman renowned for working magic and giving presents might help?

"Threadbear" by Mick Inkpen is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books. 

With a roar, a squeal, a screech and a squidge, here's an engaging new book for your little ones. "Mad about Mega-Beasts" celebrates a selection of big, mean and sometimes quite bizarre animals in a fun and engaging way. Giles Andreae's rhyming skills are put to the test, with pitch-perfect rhythm and vivid descriptions backing up this fact-based tome. Coupled with David Wojtowycz's fabulous colourful illustrations, it's a bounce-on-your-knee toddler classic!

We love books that pique a child's curiosity, and this is a sure-fire way to start them early as they learn all about giant squids, awesome tigers, slithery snakes and big hungry bears with seemingly endless appetites.

Marvellous!

Charlotte's best bit: Thankfully Giles saw fit to include Charlotte's favourite animal, the tiger! She loves them!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A great little animal book for your really little ones, full of brilliant colourful artwork, awesome rhymes and plenty of fun!

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

Goodness me, poo really doesn't ever go out of fashion in children's books does it! Here's the brilliant sequel to "Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants" which was released back in 2012. Back again are the dream team of Giles (can rhyme his way out of a concrete overcoat) Andreae and Korky (Has scratch pen, will travel!) Paul with another adventure for the brave but slightly scatterbrained knight, Sir Scallywag.

King Colin and his Queen are rich beyond their wildest dreams, and spend all their lovely loot on sweeties (amazingly, they have lovely teeth considering how much sugary stuff they cram in). But trouble is on the horizon. As the King, Queen and all their royal subject get fatter and lazier, The dreaded Baron Greedyguts hatches a plan to steal the King and Queen's amazing sweetie-making machine. A plan so dastardly and foul that we can barely bring ourselves to type it. The Baron will use deadly stinky dragon poo to lay siege to the King and Queen's castle, forcing them to give up the goodies!

Sir Scallywag, brave knight and the only one who hasn't stuffed his face full of sweetie goodness, must come to the rescue once again - Braving torrents of dragon doo-doo to turn things around just in time for a slap-up feast around the banqueting table. But can Sir Scallywag brave such a dirty rotten campaign and defeat the Baron before it's too late?

We'll leave you to discover the answer. Normally we are pretty fussy about poo-based books (yes, OK, we'll admit it, we do snigger at the odd one or two though). This is brilliant though and if your kids are going through a phase of loving tales of knights of old, brave and bold, they are absolutely going to love this to bits.

Giles' rhymes are pitch perfect, flow beautifully - even when he's dealing with the fairly stomach-churning subject of dragon droppings. Korky Paul's illustrations are as brilliant and detailed as ever - and we really loved the cameos from his other books (we will leave you to find them all but Charlotte's absolute HERO is here in all his whiskery black-furred green-eyed glory, can you guess who we mean?)

"Sir Scallywag and the Deadly Dragon Poo" is out on the 5th June 2014. Reserve your copy now from Picture Puffin.

Charlotte's best bit: The sweetie machine looks so yummy, but a certain cameo by a bewhiskered hero really made her day!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Children's picture books truly don't get much better than this, it's fun, hilarious, beautifully illustrated, has the tightest and most accomplished rhymes - and even if you're not a huge fan of poo, you will love this!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Picture Puffin)

Phew! Is it really 15 years since Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees' brilliant book "Giraffes Can't Dance" first strutted its funky stuff across our bookshelves? I guess it must be because here's the anniversary edition of this timeless book. One that has somehow evaded our beady eye up till now but we're very happy to 'meet' it!

Gerald the Giraffe is tall, slender and we'd love to finish this sentence off by saying "graceful" but when grace was being handed out, poor Gerald was at the back of the queue. Despite his stature, Gerald really cannot dance. He stumbles, trips and lollops around in a quite ungainly fashion.

The annual animal dance championships are in full swing, and poor Gerald can only look on as all the other animals take to the stage to bust their best moves, dancing with style and energy.

Will poor Gerald ever be able to join in? Perhaps it's not a case of skill but a lack of a friendly helping hand that has held our Gerald back. So when an unlikely friend whispers some sage advice to Gerald, maybe things will change.

We've often described the sheer pleasure that some books can give when you read them aloud. Giles Andreae always has a way of producing the most pitch-perfect flowing stories as we learn Gerald's plight and follow him through his dance debut.

Guy Parker-Rees' gift for illustrating animal stories comes to the fore and he can really go to town, producing charming and engaging characters (not least of all Gerald himself!) and a multitude of brilliant expressions as the story unfolds.

We're extremely glad we've caught up with this book in its 15th year. Don't leave it too long before you check it out too!

Charlotte's best bit: There's one really lovely spread in this as Gerald slowly begins to find his groove. Such a beaut!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A charming story that's truly lovely to read aloud, and a great core message delivered expertly by two of the best in the business!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

We're going to do it, we're going to break our "Christmas Book Reviews" duck early this year with a cuddly corker of a book in the much-loved "I Love You" series by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd.

"I Love You Father Christmas" is a fun look at the man in the white beard from a child's perspective. He's jolly, he has the world's most infectious laugh, a sleigh packed with presents and of course he has some awesome reindeer friends too.

We love these books for the 'family friendly' feeling they exude, and it's the perfect time to start thinking about books as stocking fillers (you do get all your christmas shopping done early don't you? Of course you do!)

A good sturdy board book and a great place to start if you're looking for a neat little festive treat for your young ones.

"I Love You, Father Christmas" will be out well in time for the festive season, on October 3rd 2013.

Charlotte's best bit: Santa's big black stompy boots!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Charming and lovely. We're not quite at the stage of planning Christmas yet but we'd love one like the one in this book!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

Giles Andreae, legendary rhyme-meister and Emma Dodd, fabulously talented illustrator, have collaborated on quite a few "I Love" books and there's a special seasonal one on the way very soon too (watch out for an upcoming review when things start getting a bit more festive!)

In "I Love You", we see things from a child's perspective - a tantalising glimpse of their world and the things in it, and why they like them. Mummy, Daddy, beloved pets and of course chocolate (who doesn't like chocolate? Oh that's right, Grandad but he does like cake!)

These books make great little gifts and they're also nice as a snuggle up book just before bedtimes.

We Love Giles and Emma!

Charlotte's best bit: I Love Bunnies!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A great little early reader, perfect gift for a loved one to read to their youngsters!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Hachette)

All set for lunch? Tasty sandwich sitting dutifully next to your keyboard (un-nibbled of course!)

Then you might want to look away because the book we're about to review might just put you off your anchovy and marmite sarnie.

We love monster books. Monsters of all shapes and sizes. Fuzzy ones, fat ones, thin ones, monsters that are fierce, monsters that are friendly. But how about monsters that are, well, manky?

Morris is the mankiest monster we've ever met on the blog. He's a one-monster whirlwind of whiffyness. Dribbling, drooling, pus-encrusted and picking. Morris does his utmost to be the top of the toe-jam crop.

Putting together the fabulous talents of rhyming royalty Giles Andreae with our super-secret crush Sarah McIntyre is a stroke of genius. No one twizzles together brilliant (and stomach-churning) monstery rhymes like Giles, and no one draws pus-popping pimples like Sarah.

We take a trip through a day in the life of Morris as we see where he sleeps (ugh!), we see what he eats (glurk!) and we see what he does when he needs to restore his natural whiffy allure.

We have had this book on our wishlist for ages, and finally spotted it lurking in the library (it's very hard to miss that cover, let's face it!)

Charlotte was instantly drawn to finding out more about Morris, perhaps because her least favourite time of the day is bath time and secretly if we let her get away with it, she'd out-mank Morris in a matter of moments.

If you have a cast-iron constitution, and perhaps a fragrant bouquet to sniff in between pages, then Morris the Mankiest Monster will charm the very (smelly) socks off you. Just be sure not to strain any rotting strawberries through them first. Bleee!

Charlotte's best bit: Morris's bath, which coincidentally is exactly the same colour as Charlotte's once we've chiselled the dirt off her (how DOES a 5 year old girl turn bath water green? HOW?)

Daddy's favourite bit: It's gross, it's grimace-inducing but it's groovy, baby!

It's still a little early for Father's Day yet (in the UK it's on Sunday June 16th Folks, but various territories have it on different days). Nevertheless, it's never too early to celebrate dads (and mums) so here's a charming little book from two giants in children's picture books.

Giles (Pants) Andreae and Emma (Cinderelephant) Dodd are an awesome match, and this book celebrates all the things that are great about dads, and being a dad.

Shoulder carries, water fights, lulling you to sleep with a story (sounds familiar!) or perhaps tuning up the air guitar for a rock-out marathon on a sunday afternoon when mum's out of the house, it's brilliant being a dad and just so mums don't feel completely left out, there's an accompanying "I Love My Mummy" book by this immensely talented duo too!

Brilliant for younger children, but also very much appreciated by Charlotte (and her daddy of course!)

Charlotte's best bit: Daddy's terrible singing and air guitar playing (very much like ReadItDaddy's!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Nice to see 'being silly' being celebrated. This happens a lot at home!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

Produce a kid's book with pirates in it and you're on to a sure fire winner. Produce a kid's book that has pirate DINOSAURS in it and it can't fail, surely?


Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs is the sequel to the original Captain Flinn book. In it, a busy and inquisitive boy named Flinn finds a secret cupboard at the back of a museum after a raid on the collection's famed pirate horde of gold coins. 


On the way Flinn meets Grumbleguts, and leads his friends on a daring mission to recover the stolen booty, and defeat the awesome Gigantosaurus. 


It's a fizzing, busy book full of neat little panels and drawings. The story's pretty standard fare but still worth a look. After all, it's not every day you get to combine two awesome forces like dinos and pirates, is it?


Charlotte's best bit: Grumbleguts the Pirate being covered in Ketchup


Daddy's favourite bit: The superb comic-style panel cutaway of the pirate ship at the end. 


Rating: 3 out of 5

Published by Picture Corgi



After learning the original Pants off by heart from rather too many readings, I thought I'd get Charlotte the sequel. More Pants features another bouncy pants-related rhyme with plenty of big and colourful illustrations and characters courtesy of Nick Sharrat. Though the original is still the best, More Pants is great fun and there are plenty of subversive giggles to be had as you find out exactly what spaghetti pants would look like, or what undergarments you should wear when dancing with the queen (Answer: Expensive ones). 

Charlotte's best bit: "Have you done a farty-pants? No not me!"

Daddy's favourite bit: "Black belt in Karate Pants"

Amazon Link: £3.99









Probably one of the most popular books in Charlotte's library, Pants has been read so many times I can pretty much recite it off by heart. Two versions of the book are available (with and without an accompanying CD with versions of the story "sung" by Lenny Henry) and there's a sequel but the original Pants is excellent. 

The rhymes are bouncy and fun and of course there's something slightly naughty about a book full of pants so kids instantly seem to like it. Nick Sharrat's illustrations can be found in dozens of excellent books but the drawings in this and the animal characters appearing throughout the book are brilliant and every child will find a favourite. 

Charlotte's best bit: Identifying all the pants at the end of the book

Daddy's best bit: "Fairy Pants, Hairy Pants, Run away from Scary Pants!"

Rating: 5 out of 5