As with many of the books in our #Booky100Keepers Countdown, James Mayhew's "Katie" books stretch across our bookshelves, with multiple titles still lovingly kept and read, re-read and enjoyed even to this day.

From "Katie and the Starry Night" to "Katie in London" and "Katie's London Chrismas" there are many titles to choose from but it was "Starry Night" that inspired C to enjoy amazing art to such an extent that she still has a copy of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" as a framed print on her wall thanks to James.

The Katie books are brilliantly realised, comfortably 'disposing' with Katie's sleepy Grandma fairly early on in each story so that Katie (and quite often her cousin) can go on adventures through the world of art, or through the amazing landmarks of London and Scotland and many other places, in gorgeously dreamy and exciting tales.

We've always loved books that have 'leaked' into our real-world everyday lives, and I loved the fact that when we took C to Trafalgar Square as a tiny, tiny tot the first thing she looked for was Katie's scarf tucked around one of the stone lions (sadly the Lion seems to have lost it as we couldn't see it!)

When authors / illustrators can inspire kids to this extent, it's no wonder we want to keep their books around. James' storytelling and illustration skills are sought after for good reason, and he's done an excellent job (with a little help / encouragement from us too of course) to turn C into a real fan of amazing art. Thank you James!

Original Review Links:

Katie's London Christmas

Katie and the Starry Night

Katie and the British Artists

Katie's Picture Show

Katie in London

 We do love James Mayhew's books. He creates amazing stories around the idea of introducing children to different aspects of our rich and varied culture, ranging from classic artists to ballet and opera.

Bible tales aren't really our usual sort of thing, but when you're involving Jackie Morris and James Mayhew, expect something a bit special...!

For Day 21 on our Advent Calendar, a magical trip to one of our favourite festive destinations...!

Some books make you feel like you can hear the distant tinkling of sleigh bells even before you've opened up the festive snowy covers to reveal the warming story inside.

James Mayhew's always-brilliant "Katie" series of stories offers up a sumptuous festive feast in the capital in "Katie's London Christmas".

This time Katie is on a whistle stop tour of the City of London, taking in the sights, sounds and landmarks of our most famous city.

Poor Father Christmas needs help - he's a little under the weather and so Katie and Jack decide there's only one thing for it, to accompany Santa on his sledge to deliver presents to all the girls and boys as they dash across the sky, far over the rooftops and passing by a certain lion friend still warmly wrapped up in his scarf on Trafalgar Square.

A glorious christmas outing for one of kid lit's most beloved characters. Truly magical stuff!

Charlotte's best bit: Spotting that the Trafalgar Square lion still has Katie's scarf tucked under his tum to keep him warm!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Enchanting and charming, the "Katie" books are so wonderfully dream-like that they'll have you smiling for the rest of the day if you sneak in an early morning read (like we often do!) Magical stuff!

First of all, a huge huge MASSIVE apology to both James Mayhew and Orchard Books. Somehow we managed to completely miss "Katie and the Starry Night" off our review schedule last year and I still don't quite know how that happened. But we're here to put things right, mainly because of the gigantic impact the "Katie" series has had on Charlotte - in particular this utterly exquisite celebration of the works of Van Gogh.

James is an awesome campaigner for getting children interested in art from an early age. Through Katie, children can enjoy her stories and then go and investigate the original artworks that inspired them. From Van Gogh to Turner, British artists and international artists, traditional and modern, James has covered many movements and styles and it's been a truly awesome part of Charlotte's reading and learning experience for her to have a set of engaging and approachable books that talk about fairly hefty subjects in her own language.

Katie visits a gallery along with her Grandma - and while Grandma sneaks off for a snooze, Katie's adventures in art begin!

This time Katie finds herself drawn into Van Gogh's fabulous "Starry Night" and as the stars swirl around, mischievous stars flit away and decide to lead poor Katie on a merry chase through the gallery! Can she track them all down and return them to their proper places before the gallery attendant notices and Granny wakes up? She's going to need some help!

Katie finds herself quite literally immersed in Van Gogh's world as she enlists the help of two lovely ladies (and a ladder) from "Olive Picking", as well as some rather canny fisher folk too. Stars are not easy to catch and the last one evades her grasp. It's time to borrow something else from a Van Gogh Painting (and this was definitely my favourite bit as Katie nabs that infamous chair from Van Gogh's "Bedroom in Arles".

James pays due homage to the master himself with his own gorgeous artwork throughout the book. Without a doubt though, the star of the show (pun intended) is Van Gogh's Starry Night, a painting that - thanks to James - has captured Charlotte's imagination so much that she asked for a copy of it for her wall for Christmas (an unusual request but one we're absolutely overjoyed to accommodate! Believe me, compared to having a poster of One Direction on her wall, this is definitely the better option!)

One day we'll take her to see the real painting in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and we'll probably bring James' book along too!


Charlotte's best bit: Katie enlisting the help of the lovely olive picking ladies with their big ladder, and absolutely ADORING "Starry Night"

Daddy's Favourite bit: Such a genius set of books that positively engage children's imaginations and curiosity, encouraging them to discover the wonderful world of art and the artists and works therein. Utterly beautiful book, hugely inspirational!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

Happy Launch Day! James Mayhew wins the "First Christmas Book to Review" race this year, and though you may well grumble that Christmas feels like it's only just around the corner even though you've just packed the kids back off to school, you won't want to miss out on this very special book.

James' "Katie" books are so well loved by us, that we've been steadily tracking down Katie's adventures, reading them all and enjoying them all. This year something very special happens one Christmas Eve as Katie and Jack are woken by a loud sneeze.

"ATCHOO!"

When they go to investigate, they find that poor Father Christmas has a rotten cold, and could really do with a couple of helping hands to ensure everyone gets their presents.

Soon they're whisked away on Santa's sleigh, for a trip across the London rooftops, taking in the landmarks as they go and with a little magic, travelling down the chimneys to deliver lovely christmas gifts.

We already know that James has a fine eye for detail. In the wonderful "Gallery" books we love seeing him reproducing the great artworks of the world with ease, and in stories like this where he gets to stretch his own creative style, there's so much to see in each page spread that children will be enthralled and wrapped up in this book for many readings and re-readings. That's the sort of thing we really love to see in a children's book and definitely one that would make a great gift to tuck under your own christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

We won't spoil what happens at the end of the book as it's rather special. We loved the whirlwind tour of some of our favourite landmarks, and Charlotte's favourite bit made her giggle with glee!

Brilliant stuff, highly recommended if you're looking for early christmas pressie ideas for your little ones and what could be better than a fantastic picture book like this?

"Katie's London Christmas" by James Mayhew is released today, 4th September 2014 from Orchard Books.

Charlotte's best bit: Spotting that the Trafalgar Square lion still has Katie's scarf tucked under his tum to keep him warm!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Enchanting and charming, the "Katie" books are so wonderfully dream-like that they'll have you smiling for the rest of the day if you sneak in an early morning read (like we often do!) Magical stuff!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

Another happy publication day today for a book that's actually been around for quite some time. It's testament to how timeless this book is that I had absolutely no idea that it was 25 years old this year! Wowsers!

"Katie's Picture Show" by James Mayhew is the book that started Katie's incredible journeys of discovery as she visits the National Gallery with her grandma one rainy afternoon. Katie's grandma is a little tired, and finds somewhere quiet for a snooze while Katie flits off for a closer look at the fabulous works of art.

"DO NOT TOUCH!" say the signs, but Katie (rather naughtily!) can't resist, and soon discovers that the paintings are alive, and she can climb into them! Drawn into Constable's "The Haywain", Katie embarks on a thrilling adventure (and gets up to all sorts of mischief! Will Madame Moitessier's dress ever recover from those tea stains?)

James has a fabulous way of directly engaging children's curiosity, introducing them to art and artists in a fun and kid-friendly way (though naturally we wouldn't advise grandmas to let their children run off by themselves in a gallery, nor would we advise children to let their sticky jammy fingers get anywhere near any of the paintings! Eek!)

I love art, and James' books have always been a really great way to introduce Charlotte to the works of art and of course the artists I've admired for years and have grown up idolising.

The formula is obviously a huge success as there are quite a few books in the range now (we gave up counting at 11) - each with their own themes as Katie discovers artists as diverse as Rousseau, Constable, Turner and Da Vinci.

If you've never read any of the Katie series, this is an extremely good place to start! Happy birthday to a fab book!

Charlotte's best bit: Playing hoop and stick, and snaffling Madame Moitessier's cakes!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A truly wonderful book series started with this fabulous story. A really brilliant way of introducing your child to the wonders of art and the artists behind some of the world's most famous works.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books)

We truly do love James Mayhew's sublime "Katie" books, particularly when Katie and her Grandma visit galleries, and dive into the world of famous paintings and the artists who painted them.

Here, Katie and her sleepy Grandma are at the National Gallery in London, home to some of the finest and most famous British paintings ever created.

The fact that the book cover features "The Fighting Temerare" was a huge draw for me, and soon we were wrapped up in the story as Katie wriggled her way into famous works by Turner, Constable and Stubbs.

Mayhew's illustrative prowess means that he can fit a wonderful story around each famous painting and adapt the artist's styles, producing stunning illustrations that make us want to dive in and join Katie on her adventures.

Sublime and inspirational in so many ways, a celebratory homage to some of my favourite artists and a book that inspires us to try and visit the National one day soon to view these fabulous works 'in the flesh' for ourselves.

Charlotte's best bit: Noticing the sheep escaping from John Constable's beautiful painting "The Cornfield"

Daddy's Favourite bit: The wondrous fabulous "Fighting Temerare" by Turner

On a recent trip to Buckingham Palace, Charlotte's lovely Grandma picked up a copy of "Katie in London" from the palace shop. James Mayhew's "Katie" books are marvellous. Mixing a spot of tourism with high adventure, and often some really neat historical and educational stories, Katie in London takes us on a whirlwind tour of the capital, perched on the back of one of the Trafalgar Square lions.

He's a lovely chap, who turns from cold stone to sleek gold in order to whisk Katie and her little brother  on a whistle stop tour of the greatest sights and sounds of London. He's also a little mischievous this lion, and with a twinkle in his eye he joins the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (with a nod and a bow to the Queen of course!) and dives onto the London Underground to beat the traffic.

Kids absolutely love the Katie books, and the factual snippets at the end of the book are great. I think we loved the Lion as a tour guide best though, and giggled at the thought of his cold tum - and how Katie manages to help with that in the end (she gets far too much pocket money if you ask me!)

A charming, whimsical and delightful flight of fantasy that successfully mixes history and fun at breakneck pace. You too will feel like Katie and her brother at the end of the book, so it makes a great bedtime read and a very worthy book of the week.

Charlotte's best bit: The lion's cold tummy. Poor lion!

Daddy's favourite bit: Wholly identifying with the lion not being that keen on riding on the London Eye (but in the end, like the lion, I rather enjoyed it too though I was pretty petrified for most of it!)

A ReadItDaddy Book of the Week