(Check out the Twitter hashtag #iheartbedtime for more brill reviews!)

There have been lots of happy discoveries since we first started blogging about books way back in 2010 but some authors and illustrators somehow manage to escape our notice, purely by accident. I can't quite believe we've never had the pleasure of reading a Clara Vulliamy book before now, but I'm happy to say we have now rectified that situation in the best possible way - taking a look at Clara's new "Martha and the Bunny Brothers" book "I Heart Bedtime".

As a supporter of our #ReadItMD13 Campaign, and one of the very nicest people you could possibly chat to on Twitter, we've been quite interested to see what her books are actually like so when we were lucky enough to be involved (in our own small way) with the launch of this book (launch day is TODAY by the way! Hooray!), the most exciting part was actually getting to finally read something we'd already heard so much about.

For the uninitiated (who, like us, need to become initiated pretty durned quickly!) Martha is the big bunny sister to the two busy little bunny brothers Monty and Pip. When Martha's best babysitter-from-next-door comes to look after the bunnies one evening, Martha is determined that Monty and Pip are going to snuggle down to bed so that she can spend some time with Grace-Next-Door before her own sleepy dreamtime.

What can you do when the bunny brothers are such busy (and mischievous) little scamps though? Perhaps a little song might help...?

Coming to the very latest of Clara's 'Martha and the Bunny Brothers' books without seeing the others, we can really appreciate the amount of work (and love) that has gone into putting together a nicely packed and very satisfying story that's not just perfect for bedtime, but for any time at all.

Of course, we are now on a mission - to catch up with Clara's other MBB books, and to also take a look at The Lucky Wish Mouse books and all the other wonderful characters this extremely talented lady comes up with.

Charlotte thinks she's an absolute superstar, not just because she chose the 'right' Disney Princess in our interview with her that you may have seen earlier in the week, but also because Clara made Charlotte her very own little bedtime 'Martha'.

Charlotte's best bit: Even though I did it utterly truly awful justice, Charlotte actually rather loved Martha's Bedtime Song (see a much much better version of it on Clara's website here!)

Daddy's favourite bit: I love the way the story is laid out and the really busy little details all throughout the book. A great intro for us to Clara's work, and definitely a book that's made us look forward to catching up with "I Heart School"

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

Martha Hearts Bedtime!

It's launch week for Clara Vulliamy's latest (and we think greatest!) "Martha and the Bunny Brothers" book "I Heart Bedtime". We are very fortunate to have Clara guesting on our blog, answering some of our trickiest questions and we really appreciate her taking some time out of a very busy launch schedule to pop in and say hi.  Take it away, Clara!


ReadItDaddy (Daddy):  Hi Clara and congratulations on your new book "I Heart Bedtime" which looks fantastic. Tell us a little bit about it and what inspired the story?


Clara Vulliamy: 

Thank you very much! In I Heart Bedtime, Martha is trying to get her bouncy bunny brothers Monty and Pip into bed EARLY, so she can have some extra special time with best babysitter Grace-next-door. But this is a something of a challenge…

Bedtime is a fabulous theme for a book – it’s a daily family saga of sometimes epic (and exasperating) proportions, and it’s full of detail and different routines. Funny, sweet, and – in the bunny household - utterly chaotic.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): We're massively grateful for all the support you've given our #ReaditMummiesandDaddies2013 campaign (you are a star!) Can you tell us why you think it's important for parents to read to their children?

Clara Vulliamy: 

I’m proud to be on board!
Getting children hooked on reading begins a lifelong love affair with books. Reading aloud to them, when they are babies and small children and when they are older too, does several incredibly important things:
it draws them in to the thrill of the story and develops their powers of imagination and observation,
it tells them that YOU love books too (there’s no better advertisement than that!),
and it’s a love thing - showing them that, for these few moments, there’s nowhere you’d rather be than right here.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): I love your artistic style, describe a typical day when you're busy creating!

Clara Vulliamy: 

I start working early – the family ‘workers’ have left the house by 7.30 – so I’m at my desk with a strong coffee pretty much then.
If I’m writing, there’s lots of end-of-pencil-chewing, staring out of the window, day-dreaming. I might spend all morning writing one sentence and all afternoon rubbing it out.
But if I’m illustrating it’s much more delicious – squeezing out paints, cutting and sticking… think nursery school but not on one of those agonizing tiny chairs.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Finally from me before I hand over to Charlotte (and this is the killer question) name 5 books you'd take to a desert island!

Clara Vulliamy: 

That IS a killer! Only 5??

I would take:

• Babar for his elegant green suit and spats;
• Winnie the Pooh for my great pal Piglet;
• A poetry anthology for some learning-by-heart;
• His Dark Materials for the soul;
• ...and an A to Z of London to remember all the places I love. 

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): Do you have any bunnies at home as you really draw nice bunnies.

Clara Vulliamy: 

Thank you so much, Charlotte!
I love drawing bunnies, especially their soft pink noses and their long ears (that are a great way to show feelings – droopy for sad, perky for happy).
I did have a bunny called Mistletoe, but now I have two guinea pigs called Delilah and Maccabees. They keep me company and love to chat ALL THE TIME!


ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): What's the hardest thing to draw?

Clara Vulliamy: 

I used to think that cars were the hardest. The cars I drew looked like potatoes on wheels. But just recently I’ve been doing a book that has LOTS of cars in it, and I have loved doing them!
But I still can’t draw a tractor or a train…


ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): Who is your favourite Disney Princess (or other Princess)?

Well – I hope this is right, I THINK she’s a princess – my favourite is Snow White. It was one of the first films I ever saw at the cinema, and I thought she was very pretty. And I thought the witch was absolutely terrifying. There are lots of rabbits in that film, too!

(Charlotte says "Snow White is MY favourite too! She's the most beautiful Disney Princess!)

Huge gigantic massive thanks Clara for popping by to say hi to us and for answering our tricky questions. We wish you all the very best with your book launch!

"I Heart Bedtime" by Clara Vulliamy and published by HarperCollins Children's Books is out on the 28th March 2013. We'll be reviewing it very very soon so keep an eye out for our verdict! In the meantime if you'd like to win a copy, pop on by our competition page! Tweet us something Bunny  and Funny with the hashtag #iheartbedtime for a chance to win !

I Heart Bedtime by Clara Vulliamy. We heart it a lot too!

Thanks to the lovely folk over at HarperCollins Children's Books (and also thanks to the lovely Clara herself) we've got a very special prize competition for you to win Clara's latest (and most brilliant) Martha and the Bunny Brothers book "I Heart Bedtime" along with something VERY special, made by the lovely Clara herself. Your very own tiny dinky and gorgeously made Martha Bedtime Bunny!

I Heart Bedtime and Martha

Time to snuggle down!

Awww, fast asleep!

So cute!

Simply tweet us (@readitdaddy) your funniest bunniest tweet on Twitter using the hashtag #iheartbedtime or RT this competition. We'll pop your entries into our Jack Skellington mug (assuming they all fit!) and pick a winner by the end of Wednesday 27th March 2013.

We'll then DM the winner and hopefully you'll have some Bunny magic to look forward to before you settle down to scoff lots of choc over the holidays.

(The competition is now closed and congratulations to our winner Damyanti Patel! Your prize is on its way!)