There's a mood that Hannah Cumming's books puts us in. It's the sort of mood that also comes from wrapping up in a freshly made bed with a big fat fluffed up duvet, or the mood that stems from knowing that it snowed heavily the night before and the world is muted by a soft white covering, eradicating all the bumps and blemishes. Or perhaps the mood you drift lazily into when you've just made the most awesome cup of hot chocolate and floated a ton of marshmallows in it.

I think what we're trying to get across here is that we love Hannah's books very much, and we're very glad that we spotted "The Red Boat" in the library as we'd somehow previously missed it.

Posy, a fairly ordinary little girl - and her rather superb dog George, have moved to a new house. The house is so big, the garden is huge, the next door neighbours are strangers and there's also the prospect of starting a new school.

Naturally, Posy is a bit anxious - and despite George's "WOOFs" of reassurance, there's a lot to think about for a young mind.

Then Posy discovers something tucked away in the corner of the garden. A red boat - the gateway to daydreamed adventures, to pirate escapades or a voyage through the inky darkness of a perfectly clear night sky.

Posy's anxieties about the change in her world and her life are soon dissolved as her adventures in the fabulous red boat neatly segue with what's going on in the 'real world'. Staking a claim on her own bit of the house, meeting a ton of new friends at school and finding out that the next-door neighbours are actually lovely (and have a few bouncing yappy dogs of their own too) makes Posy feel much much better.

It's a touching little story, particularly pertinent if your children have perhaps moved schools or moved house - or are adapting to change. As ever with Hannah's books, this is utterly perfect to snuggle up at bedtime with - and also a great book to inspire you to build your own little red boat (mummy really won't mind you using the sofa cushions for this, I'm sure!) and sailing off on your own voyage of imagination. Utterly, utterly lovely.

Charlotte's best bit: Being a pirate girl - because if there's one thing Charlotte likes, it's dressing up as a pirate girl!

Daddy's favourite bit: Such a warm, snuggly and cosy book. We're so glad we finally tracked it down!

We're going to take you on a pictorial journey for this week's Book of the Week entry - another utter smasher from Hannah Cumming. In "The Cloud" the children in a schoolroom are as happy as can be, painting, drawing, cutting out and busying themselves in all the fantastic ways children do - all except one sad and forlorn newcomer who sits under a dark fuzzy cloud, ever so quietly and almost unnoticed.

The Cloud, a la Charlotte!

She doesn't go unnoticed for long. A little girl with flaxen hair and a sunny disposition (not unlike a certain other little girl with flaxen hair who is "The Boss" of this very book blog) decides to befriend the newcomer and see if she can get her to come out of her shell a bit.

The cloud persists, and through diligence and the most touching dedication, the girls become firm friends.

See how easy it can be, to turn a cloud into a...TREE!

What we loved about this book is the combination of the message that's core to the story, and also the fact that it inspired us to draw some brilliant pictures that are like Hannah's fantastic illustrations.

There's a great bit in the story that we won't spoil for you but if you feel the same way about this utterly charming and sublime book as we do, you'll soon be creating fantastic creatures like these...

A Zebraffe (or a Girebra perhaps?)

(loved this one) a cute Rabbitodile :)

Tricky one this, a Slothelephant!

We had some great conversations about a new girl who has just joined Charlotte's class at school and thanks to the book it was easy to describe how that girl is feeling being new. No cloud above her head, but right now she might like nothing better than to have a little girl come over and make friends with her and draw, paint and play together.

Charlotte's best bit: The children's drawings, including a rather lovely homage to a certain book by Eric Carle perhaps?

Daddy's favourite bit: As we've come to expect from Hannah and indeed from Child's Play, this is a book that's destined to become a modern classic, with the kind of beautifully told and wonderfully conveyed message that the very best of our children's book writing talent seem to make look so effortlessly easy. "The Cloud" should be in everyone's collection.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Child's Play)

Last night, on a frosty bonfire night, despite the smoke and sulphur from countless fireworks, we could look up at the night sky in our locale and see the beautiful stars. Charlotte's a little space cadet and has inherited a slightly geeky interest in space from her lovely mummy and me (The Strolling Mum was lucky enough to go to Florida and the amazing NASA Space Centre there, I'm so jealous!)

So we loved this book and also loved the message it conveys.

Hannah Cumming has expertly woven a tale that describes how the people of the world are so wrapped up with a love for bright lights, new technology and gadgetry that they stop noticing the dazzling display the stars perform each night. Tired of being unappreciated, the stars decide to disappear, to see if anyone notices - and at first no one does...

So what happens next? We won't spoil it for you but this is a lovely (and non-preachy) tale of how easy it is to take things for granted that are ours for free.

It'll be a cold night tonight again. Stop for a second if you can, even if you're in the brightest busiest city, and see if you can spot those tiny twinkling lights in the sky. Give them a nod and a wink, just to let them know that you still look occasionally.

Charlotte's best bit: The way the stars creep up their ladders every night to 'go to work'

Daddy's favourite bit: A great message conveyed with thought and care. Fantastic illustrations and cityscapes as the people bustle and busy themselves with their day.

(The Lost Stars was kindly sent to us for review by Child's Play International Ltd)