Oddly it looks like this book has been renamed to be slightly more polite. What a shame! Anyway, when we first bought / reviewed this book it was called "I Really Want to Eat a Child" and was one of the reasons we fell hook line and sinker in love with all things kidlit and comic-shaped from across the English Channel.

The French have the sort of children's book industry that we can only look on with enviable eyes. They see children's books as an art form in their own right, not bound by the usual formulaic rules and regs that we over here in the UK have to put up with.

Two of French kidlit's finest talents - Sylviane Donnio and Dorothee De Monfried collaborated on this brilliant book about a baby crocodile called Achilles who is getting a bit fed up with his parents' usual dishings up at the dinner table.

Achilles wants something more substantial to sink his tiny little teeth into. In fact Achilles, adorable as he is, wants to eat a child.

Despite Mum and Dad's gentle cajoling, Achilles goes on a self-inflicted hunger strike until he sees his opportunity to fulfil his hungry ambition. But the best laid plans of mice, men and tiny little crocodiles can often be thwarted by the smart little brains of children - and that's exactly what happens in this story.

It's the perfect example of an irreverent subject slowly building up to a surprise conclusion, and we\re a little bit sad the book got renamed. Why do folk do this? Who on earth could be offended by little Achilles?!

Original Review Link: 

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week, week ending Friday 15th February 2013 - "I Really Want To Eat A Child" by Sylviane Donnio and Dorothee De Monfried (Hodder Children's Books)

A great many of the books you'll read about in our #Booky100Keepers articles were originally library loans from our glorious local library here in Abingdon. We feel very fortunate to have such a good library, and we feel like we owe them a great debt - because without them we would not have got this blog up and running in the first place.

We've paid it forward with masses of book donations to them over the years but hold on there pardner, let's talk about this brilliant set of books because that's what we're here for after all.

"That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown" by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton was one of the books C would pull out of the library stacks on more or less every trip we made there, so in the end it just made sense to buy our own copy. The story of an imaginative little girl and her 'pet' rabbit Stanley is one we've read time and time again, even very recently too - and part of the reason for its popularity is the zaniness of it, and the fact that it's become something of a performance piece as well (a lot of the books you'll find in our #Booky100Keepers fall into the same bracket - as much fun to read aloud and 'perform' for me as they are for C to read / hear).

Vrrm Vrmmm! Gotta love Neal's art, it's just too, too good

Emily and Stanley just want to go on adventures together, but every time they embark on an amazing journey, there's an interruption, a knock at the door, and a pestering series of semi-officious folk who have but one thing on their mind - nabbing Stanley for naughty Queen Gloriana, a spoilt little girl who will stop at nothing to get what she wants (and what she wants is poor Stanley!)

No amount of bargaining works, Emily just won't give up her best pal, not for all the talking dolls and golden teddy bears in the kingdom. So the queen's troops resort to stealthy means, and steal poor Stanley away in the middle of the night.

Emily is no dummy though so when she wakes up to find Stanley missing, she knows exactly where to go. Off to the palace - but what on earth has that nasty queen done to poor Stan!?!

Every time I read this aloud to C I would adopt a series of daft (often posh, military-sounding) voices for the queen's troops. Cressida crafts the story in a fantastic crazy and haphazard series of encounters until the final showdown, where Emily Brown deftly delivers the moral message to that bratty queen but with an undertone of kindness that ends up as the final page in the story. Neal's illustrations - well what can you write about them. They're zany, scribbly but always absolutely and utterly brilliant and fitting in every story he either writes himself or collaborates on with others and his work here is just awesome.

C's other favourite Emily Brown book is "Emily Brown and the Thing" again by Cressida and Neal. This time Emily Brown has to put up with the world's most fidgety and restless monster, a right pain in the neck who keeps pestering Emily Brown and Stanley as they're trying to drift off into dreamland for a night's well earned sleep.

The monster has itchy legs, an annoying cough, can't find his blankie, wants a drink of milk - and so it goes on. Parents in particular will love this book as they will instantly recognise 'the monster' as behaving in exactly the same way their kids do when it comes to bedtime (C is the absolute QUEEN of dragging out a bedtime far longer than she should, I think her record stands at about 3 hours so far!).

"For the vitamins" - a single line that cracks us up every. single. time

As with the rest of the Emily Brown series, the huge roaring success of this (again initially another library loan until we read their copy to death and ended up buying our own) is partially due to the way it's performed / read aloud. The monster has a squeaky high pitched whiny voice despite his grim appearance, and it's glorious the way the tale draws to a brilliant conclusion - the monster is scared of monsters! So once again wise Emily Brown is on hand to dish out level headed wisdom (and hopefully get some sleep!)

We love all the books but these two are just utterly perfect, sublime and well worth your time.

Original Reviews:

That Rabbit Belongs To Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (Hodder Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's SECOND Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th March 2015 - "That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown" by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (Hodder Children's Books)

Emily Brown and the Thing

Emily Brown and the Thing (Re-Review) by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (Hodder Children's Books)

Cheer up your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown (Re-Review) by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (Hodder Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's Christmas Picture Book of the Week / Booky Advent Calendar Day 7: "Emily Brown and Father Christmas" by Neal Layton and Cressida Cowell (Hodder Children's Books)

Wow, now here's a multi-coloured cure for the doldrums, but actually "Rabbit Bright" by Viola Wang gently (but very colourfully) delves into a topic that many parents will nod along to, and many kids suffer from at one point or another in their early years - that fear and uncertainty about the dark.

Rabbit feels like this but in this amazing journey across the stars, underground and under the seas, Rabbit finds many dark places that are teeming with amazing life and colour, spectacular creatures and perhaps even new friends to make.

Settling kids who are afraid of the dark (without relying on the trusty night light - we still keep ours at home for when C's little cousins come to stay) isn't always easy, but a joyful explosion of colour is just the ticket - and rabbit is such a curious and engaging character that he drives this story along until those anxieties about darkness are banished.


Let's have a look inside this vibrant book...!

"Under the sea....under the sea...it's always better...ah you know the rest!"

Also: Could Rabbit's constant pink panda companion be any more adorable? We doubt it!

"Baby you're a firework!"

Viola's illustrations are fizzingly good!

"Going underground, goin' underground..."

Sum this book up in a sentence: A super little book for titchies to help them snuggle up tight and not worry about the dark, with the most vibrant and neon-tinted illustrations you've ever seen in a children's picture book.

"Rabbit Bright" by Viola Wang is out on 5th March 2020, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

You're going to have a bit of a wait on your hands before you get hold of our fantastic Chapter Book of the Week but we were so excited about it, we couldn't hold it in any longer.

We first read "Pests" by Emer Stamp as an ARC over Christmas and for quite some time now we'd been wondering what Emer would come up next. Her fabulous "Secret Diary of Pig" books have long been faves of ours, and C in particular really began to find her reading confidence with those books, and Emer's hilarious but brilliantly touching writing style.

So now Emer turns her attention to those little creatures that perhaps hide behind the wainscotting, or scurry around in the dark while the rest of us sleep. Pests? Perhaps not...

Stix is the hero of this tale, a tiny yet brave mouse who manages to keep out of trouble - most of the time. Stix is actually very kind and caring, but to join the ranks of "The Pests" Stix might have to change his ways.

Stix's wise grandma teaches him that staying away from humans, and out of trouble, will enable him to have a long and happy life - just like hers. But the Peewit Educatorium for Seriously Terrible Scoundrels (Yep, PESTS) demands more than just stealth from its members - and so Stix is about to do something very silly indeed - ignore his Grandma's sage advice and get into all sorts of mischief.

But is it worth changing your behaviour just to fit in with a whole new crew of friends?

Straight away Stix finds his voice as a character, and you're instantly drawn to him in the same way we were both drawn to Pig. Sometimes he's not the brightest mouse in the skirting board but there's something quite sweet, innocent and endearing about any tiny character outscaled by the trials and challenges of the world - and sometimes even the human world at that, scaled up and gigantic and equally full of wonders and dangers. There are laugh out loud moments, and those divine moments of bittersweetness that crop up in the very best middle grade books. It feels unusual to have them in a book that is meant to be light and funny in tone, but they work beautifully, and reinforce our love of Stix and this bookworld.

This is utterly fantastic stuff and Emer is an immensely talented lass!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Emer shifts gears effortlessly to deliver a potential new book series that's every bit as engaging, characterful and downright fun to read as "Pig"

"Pests" by Emer Stamp is out on 2nd April 2020, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Day 4 of our calendar, and another fantastic author who just belongs here in our christmas roundup with her amazing prolific talent for turning her hand to seasonal stories.

Our Chapter Book of the Week is the glorious third book for an intrepid hero who embraces adventure with aplomb, in a middle grade series that's just chock full of giggles, awesome characters and compelling stories.

"Mr Penguin and the Catastrophic Cruise" surprised us at first by the sheer size of the book, giving kids plenty of story to dig into as Mr Penguin heads off on a cruise ship for his latest case.

Oddly, despite being a penguin, he's not exactly a fan of water and can't swim. But the briny deep will be the least of his worries, as in grand style there's a mystery afoot - and if there's one thing Peng definitely does like it's solving a tricky puzzle or two!

With best chum Colin performing in the ladies choir on board, and the lure of 24-hour-a-day fish finger sarnie availability, Mr Penguin feels that it might actually be a lovely rest, and a chance to recuperate after all his previous adventures. But nefarious characters on board ship have other ideas...

Is it me, or is that woman slightly suspicious?

Books that sensitively deal with the subject of loss and grief are very much a source of interest for us. It's a very tough thing to get absolutely right in a children's picture book, and in "Waiting for Wolf" by Sandra Dieckmann, Sandra builds a simple story of a friendship between a fox and a wolf.

When life is good it feels like it could last forever, but Wolf is level-headed - and begins to prepare Fox for a day when he might not be around any more.

Fox doesn't understand at first, but begins to see things from a different perspective, recalling Wolf's wisdom and words of comfort, and imagining what happens to us all when we eventually pass.

Sandra's evocative artwork is surreal and glorious, drawing you into the tale and establishing a strong visual theme that helps to underpin the core message of the book so perfectly.

Ethereal, stunning, and lovely work. Let's take a look at a couple of interior pages...

When life is good, it feels like it could last forever for the two friends, Fox and Wolf

A strong friendship and wise words from Wolf

Sum this book up in a sentence: A quite beautiful and ethereal story of friendship, loss and grief and how we cope when we lose those we love.

"Waiting for Wolf" by Sandra Dieckmann is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

The "Oi!" book behemoth rolls on and on, rolling more effectively than the log that the first book's frog might have sat on way back in the annals of picture book history.

So it's time for the next book, and this time the main characters are a bunch of cheeky, cute and scampish miscreants.

"Oi Puppies!" by Kes Gray and Jim Field follows the hilarious rib-tickling rhyming format of previous "Oi!" books, this time with dog looking after a whole collection of tiny adorable little pups.

But they refuse to sit where they're supposed to. Where do puppies sit? On Guppies of course, but who wants a wet bum and a pair of fish lips pressing against your fur? Certainly not these little pooches.

Well behaved? Not for long, perhaps!

It looks like dog is going to need some help from cat and frog to get those puppies into line!

There are some fantastic name / rhyme pairings in this, enough to keep tinies giggling all the way through.

Can you think where Tickle, Blue, Scamp, Rebel, Smudge and Shep would sit?

Sum this book up a sentence: Yet another sure fire winner from Kes and Jim, ramping up the rhyming hilarity with the most adorable puppy cast (kittens had better be next though, just sayin'!)

"Oi Puppies!" by Kes Gray and Jim Field is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

What a brilliant way to introduce emerging readers to some of the classic works of children's fiction.

Enid Blyton's Famous Five stories are well loved by generations of children. but here for the first time is the first in a series of short stories designed for kids to gain confidence in their reading.

"The Famous Five: The Birthday Adventure" with fantastic full colour illustrations by Becka Moor will take kids on a whirlwind adventure with Julian, Dick, Anne, George and of course Timmy the Dog.

Expect all the usual excitement as the Five head off to birthday party with a very special present. Little do they know, two thieves are on their trail and desperate to get their hands on it!

The story is broken down into short chapters with vibrant, full-colour illustrations on every page - perfect for shared reading or for newly confident readers to enjoy independently if they're moving on from picture books to something more chapter based. 

Our YA / Teen Graphic novel of the week is actually two GNs - Volume 1 and 2 of a rather touching love story - A love story between two teenage boys.

If that's the sort of thing that you don't really want to read about, fine, hit the back button on your browser, unsubscribe, wash your eyeballs with lye, whatever.

But we're going to talk about "HeartStopper" anyway, so buckle up and prepare for something far more captivating than your average bromance.

Charlie is gay, no doubt about it, and as he joins a new school he ends up sitting next to Nick, the epitome of the chisel-jawed rugby hero. What could the two possibly have in common?

Strangely though, the two become friends, but for Charlie that friendship is obviously something else. It's a mind-blowing heart-stopping crush that seems doomed to failure from the start.

His sister tuts, as do his friends. "You fell for the straight boy! You idiot!" they chide, but then something happens that gives Charlie a tiny teeny flame of hope worth fanning, as it begins to become all too apparent that Nick might have developed feelings for him too.

After a pretty nasty confrontation that more or less cements this belief, the story shifts in focus from Charlie to Nick, who then has to deal with a whole load of new feelings of self doubt.

Could Nick actually be bisexual? He likes girls, but he REALLY likes Charlie. Maybe more than just "Likes".

One thing's definitely for sure, Charlie REALLY loves Nick's pooch Nellie (well, who wouldn't!)

In volume 1, the story sets out to introduce the characters and set up the interplay between them, but then in volume 2 things kick up a notch and we really begin to discover the depth of feeling that Charlie and Nick have for each other, and how it's put to the test in literally every aspect of their young lives.

Alice's acute observations of what it's like to go through those tempestuous teen years when you're not sure of anything, and spend a lot of time wondering what life is all about is tempered by a gay love story that's truly beautiful to behold.

Whether you're gay or straight, you'll definitely remember what those first few weeks of falling in love are like, and that's something Alice captures so perfectly here. All the little nuances and details that, to outsiders, mean absolutely nothing but to the two people at the heart of it, it's their lifeblood, their bread and butter, the air they breathe.

I'm pretty aware I'm not the target audience for this, yet it's the sort of thing that gives an old ragged straight white bloke a bit of hope that there are amazing and above all NICE people in the world, and those people sometimes get the sort of mind-blowing spine-tingling love that they deserve.

Alice's story is fab, her clean visuals are stylish, almost like fashion sketches crossed with manga, but utterly perfect in "Heartstopper" and so brilliantly scene-setting with each twist and turn in the story.

There are moments of conflict too, as you'd expect - and whether purposely or not, Alice actually underplays these quite a lot so far in the first two volumes (with volume 3 due next year).

I remember when my brother came out to me as a young teen and it was a bolt out of the blue, but somehow I'd always suspected. He was a LOT like Charlie, and I think Alice maybe missed a trick with describing what it is like to admit to your friends and family who think you're one thing, that you're actually something entirely different - but still the same person inside (if that makes sense).

Such a ridiculously cute moment that it makes your heart sing!

Homophobia is also underplayed here quite a bit, and I wonder if the upcoming Volume III will make more of this, as I think it's something that all teens going through the same things as Charlie and Nick will (sadly) have to put up with and be mentally prepared for, from folk who just can't get their heads around love being universal, regardless of sexual preference.

I must admit that this is the first set of Hodder-published Graphic Novels I've seen, and if this is the sign of the direction they're going to move in with their teen fiction, then I'm all for it, as this is a joy-filled and brilliant read and you just cannot help rooting for Charlie and Nick throughout. Very much looking forward to Volume III.

Sum these books up in a sentence: A brilliantly depicted and thoroughly absorbing love story between two teen boys, tackling the complications, awesomeness, pitfalls and euphoria of what falling for someone head-over-heels is really like.

"Heartstopper (Volume 1 and 2)" is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Claude! Our favourite tardis-bereted superdog is back with his awesome and dapper pal Sir Bobblysock for a new adventure.

"Claude: Anyone for Strawberries?" by Alex T. Smith is the perfect summer adventure for younger fans of Claude, who love his new TV show.

Of course now Claude is a TV star he hasn't let it all go to his head (Sir Bobblysock we're less sure about, we think he's a total diva to be honest!) but here's a new adventure that covers one of our favourite bits about summer - scoffing vanloads of strawberries. YUM!

The only problem is, Claude and Sir Bob can't find a single strawberry anywhere. Not even one of those manky half green / half red ones that always end up in your punnet at the pick-your-own.

Everyone has snapped them up to eat at the Pawhaven Tennis Championship. Claude has to win the championship to make sure Sir Bobblysock doesn't miss out on strawberries-for-breakfast day, but can Claude become a tennis powerhouse literally overnight?

Hmm, not sure I'd fancy any of his wares!

Why indeed! If anyone can solve the tricky riddle, the author of Sir Charlie Stinky Socks can!

Kristina Stephenson is back with a superb tale that asks that all important question...

"Why are there so many books about bears?"

The top bods at Mollusc College, Oxford (I laughed out loud at that bit, much to poor C's befuddlement) are deep in conversation about this particular question.

Is it because "Bear" rhymes with so many things?

Could be!

Is it because bears are just so adorably cuddly, cute and furry?

Perhaps!

But getting to the root of the issue is tougher than it sounds for the quirky characters who are set to study this tricky issue in this bouncy and engaging book for younger readers. Mainly because someone keeps knocking on the door to interrupt their trains of thought. BUT perhaps the mysterious new visitor has the answer they've all been looking for.

Let's take a look inside this hilarious book:

Working for the real-life University, "Mollusc College" did raise a titter!

We've always been huge fans of Kristina's books on the blog, and even now C claims she's too old for them, she still loves Kristina's brilliant storytelling style and her illustrations are top notch as ever!

The best brains in the animal kingdom bring their collective genius to bear (hah) on a tricky question

Sum this book up in a sentence: Fab, fun and original, a must-have for fans of Sir Charlie Stinky Socks who fancy a neat little animal tale.

"Why are there so many books about bears?" by Kristina Stephenson is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).

Get ready for a rip-roaring ride in a brilliant and speedy selection of vehicles with "Ready, Steady, Race!" by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Ed Eaves.

Join Race Car Rani, Jonas Jet, Speedboat Sam and friends as they roar across the road, sea and sky. 

Our second Book of the Week this week is the perfect compilation for parents who really want to introduce some of the most amazing classic pieces of children's fiction into their children's reading pile in a really cool and beautifully presented way.

"Favourite Stories of Courageous Girls" introduces some of the gutsiest, most resourceful and most intelligent young heroines ever to grace the pages of classic fiction. Put together as an anthology featuring short bios for the characters themselves, before providing scintillating excerpts from the books in question, it's an absolute work of genius.

From Jo March who sells her hair to raise money for her family, to George's single-minded commitment to protecting her island in The Famous Five to Bobbie's quick-thinking action that prevents a train crash in The Railway Children, these girls demonstrate courage beyond their years.

Everyone's favourite huggable bear is back, and this time he's brought a new friend or two...

"Hugless Douglas and the Baby Birds" is the latest cuddly story from David Melling.

Hugless Douglas unwittingly ends up with a real handful as he's out for a walk one day, and a bird's nest full of eggs drops onto his head.

Douglas doesn't quite know what to make of his new charges, and things get even trickier when they begin to hatch and think Hugless Douglas is their new mum - until swoopy bird builds them all a new home of course!

David's illustrations are as fab as ever, and this story has quite a neat little moral for kids about taking care of others (and being extremely gentle around babies too!)

Lovely stuff.

"Hugless Douglas and the Baby Birds" by David Melling is out today, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Another ticklish book for very tiny book lovers, this time with a nod to classic fairy tales and fables of yore.

"The Little Green Hen" by Alison Murray is the story of the titular chick who is fortunate enough to live in a beautiful apple tree.

The Little Green Hen tends it lovingly every day - pruning, sowing new seeds and keeping the pests at bay. It's not an easy task, and soon The Little Green Hen decides to ask her friends for help.

Peacock is too busy!

Cat's schedule is packed.

As for fox? Well he's really not going to be any good at all.

But soon there's a catastrophe, and as a storm floods the countryside the aforementioned animals realise that there's only one safe haven - the Little Green Hen's Apple Tree Home!

Will she let the animals shelter in her tree?

It's up to you to find out in this lovely adaptation of a classic tale.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A lovely nod to the original Little Red Hen with some interesting twists and touches to raise it a cut above the rest.

"The Little Green Hen" by Alison Murray is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

More bunny business from Ellie Sandall with the next book in her "Everybunny" series.

"Everybunny Dream" is the perfect book for teeny tinies to snuggle up with as they relax after a long day.

As the night-time sky descends, a mummy and her bunnies settle down for a snuggly bedtime story and a lilting rhyme in Ellie's trademark style.

Cuddle up and snuggle tight.
Close your eyes and say goodnight.
A cosy group,
A peaceful scene...
EVERYBUNNY DREAM!



Do you love hearing soothing stories before you settle down for bed time? Then this one's just for you. 

We love books that sneak up and take us by surprise, and that was very much the case with this week's Chapter Book of the Week, the absolutely fantastic "Boot: Small Robot, Big Adventure" by Shane Hegarty and Ben Mantle.

Accessing a really early review copy (the book itself isn't actually out until 16th May) we wanted to adjust your heads-up display to make sure this one was on your inventory list.

"Boot" the titular robot in question is small, tiny and cute - and definitely a robot.

Boot's life begins when he wakes up at a scrapyard. He assumes that "Boot" is his name as that's the first word he sees.

Boot's memory is vague and glitchy, but he has clear recall of his owner, Beth. With a robotic concept of ownership, perhaps even love, Boot struggles to cross boundaries of feelings and emotions that robots really aren't supposed to have.

Boot decides to set out into the wider world to try and track Beth down. Aided and assisted by two other street-survivor robots, Noke and Red, Boot sets out on his quest - a tiny little robot in a sprawling metropolis. Boot will have to dig deep into his feelings, memories and his abilities just to survive.

Without a doubt, this is one of the freshest middle grade novels we've read in a long time. I handed it to C who practically devoured it in one day, and begged me to do the same. I expected the tale of a cute Wall-E style Robot but what I didn't expect was a middle grade story with a whomping great big robotic heart, and characters that genuinely made you empathic and sympathetic, despite their synthetic appearance.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Absolutely blisteringly original sci fi stuff for middle-graders with a robotic hero with a huge beating heart.

"Boot" by Shane Hegarty and Ben Mantle is out on 16th May 2019, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

We always love a surprise in our picture books, and the surprise in "When I was a Child" by Andy Stanton and David Litchfield stems from our expectation that Andy is great at putting together rib-tickling stuff like "Mr Gum" and who could forget "All aboard the Poo Bus".

But who knew he could also tweak at our heartstrings with a truly fabulous celebration of Grandmother / grand-daughter relationships that reminded us of C's own bond with her own grandmums.

This heartwarming story is told from the grandma's perspective as she tells her granddaughter stories about what life was like when she was little.

With utterly glorious illustrations by that uber-talented fella David Litchfield, this one's perfect for grandparents who love nothing better than curling up on the sofa with their grand-kids or great-grandkids to reminisce about their childhood, or just to tell a few tall stories.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Heartwarming and beautiful storytelling complimented by truly gorgeous illustrations, this one has "Win" written all over it!

"When I was a Child" by Andy Stanton and David Litchfield is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books. 

Cor, can you believe how well travelled our Queen is? She's been around the world - twice - and now she's rocketing off into the inky blackness of space in Steve Antony's fourth book in his hilarious rib-tickling series featuring our jet-setting monarch in "The Queen's Lift Off"

With an extra-special royal rocket, and a whole host of extras, this tale takes us on a fantastic journey around our Solar System with The Queen finding out all about space and the planets we share a galaxy with.

Steve's trademark busy and super-detailed illustrations for this series are once again fantastic, with tons of clever little in-jokes and characters to spot (always keep an eye out for those aliens, who keep popping up in this rambunctuous solar-system-wide chase!

Good lord, where's the queen off to now?

Thankfully Queenie is a resourceful old soul and soon gets the hang of piloting her own rocket. Time for a bit of stellar sightseeing then!

Little known fact. Saturn's theme tune is "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it"

The attention to detail in this fourth book is once again totally excellent, and we can't wait for littlies to get their hands on this one.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A stellar journey for an adventuresome monarch, time to join The Queen as she rules over space!

"The Queen's Lift Off" by Steve Antony is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).