"Aww, poor Heidi!" - This was at one time one of my wife's childhood catchphrases, as her mum read to her this well-loved children's classic nestling into our Book of the Week slot this week.

"Heidi" by Johanna Spyri, retold here by Jeanne Willis with gorgeous new illustrations from blog fave Briony May Smith is much, much more than just a lovely edition of a classic book. It's a book that comes to life as you read, a tale that speaks of idyllic childhood days spent in the crisp clear air of the mountains, but also a twinge of tragedy as Heidi is taken away from her loving grandparents to live in the city.

Missing the mountain life, her goats and her best friend Peter, it's not long before Heidi manages to make a new friend. But there's always a dream of returning to the mountains at the back of her mind. Will Heidi get her most heartfelt wish? 

Heidi's new life in the bustling city of Frankfurt is a far cry from her beginnings in the mountains.

"Grumpy" Grandpa isn't so grumpy after all.

We're celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing with a whole week filled with books based on our love of Space Exploration.

Can you imagine how cool it would be to turn up to school knowing that you're off on a field trip to somewhere spectacularly out of this world?

Skip ahead a few years then for "Field Trip to the Moon" by Jeanne Willis and John Hare. A truly amazing day trip to a dusty destination is on the cards for a class full of kids.

One kid in particular finds the grey landscape a little less than inspiring, but up there in the dark inky black sky is a tiny blue and green orb - our own home planet, Earth.

A day trip to the moon? How cool would that be!

As the little girl sketches up a storm with her super-colourful crayons, the very worst thing happens. She's separated from her school group - who rocket off back to earth without her!

Lost and forlorn, the little girl soon realises that she's not alone...

ALIENS! Thankfully these are the nice kind!

Her new pals understand her plight, but thankfully the school realises it could be in serious trouble for leaving a pupil behind (don't teachers take head counts in the future?) and soon she's back on her way home - minus a few glorious colours from her crayon box.

This is whimsical, delightful stuff - again a fab inspiration for kids who look up at the moon and wonder what it would be like up there.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Brilliant rhymes, awesome illustrations and a fun jolly theme with wide appeal.

"Field Trip to the Moon" by Jeanne Willis and John Hare is out now, published by Macmillan Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Now here's an interesting book, and though it may be tiptoeing over ground that has been covered before in children's books, there's a rather nicely done and subtly satisfying story to go along with "Frockodile" by Jeanne Willis and Stephanie Laberis.

Cliff is a crocodile - and Cliff rather likes dressing fabulously in a lovely red dress.

Unfortunately for Cliff, Hyenas seem to think that rather than being charming and stylish, Cliff is utterly ridiculous.

"Boy crocodiles don't wear dresses!" they laugh. But Cliff is out to prove them wrong, along with his fantastic friend Freddy.

Between them the two cook up an idea - to create a fabulous show just for Cliff to strut his funky stuff in the clothes he loves, clothes that help him express his individuality and that help him feel comfortable in his own crocodile skin.

But what will Cliff's dad say when he sees his son parading around in a red dress and high heels, and pink frilly knickers?

Perfect for younger readers, and hopefully the sort of picture book to generate really interesting chats around inclusivity in school or nursery, and perhaps put to bed that irritating "bants" that seems to kick in at an increasingly early age whenever boys or girls want to tread their own paths when it comes to their clothing preferences (or any other preference for that matter).

Nicely done, subtle but not too subtle. I think the only thing we could possibly wish for with a book like this was that the author / illustrator didn't have to resort to playing it safe with animal characters to push home a point that is well worth making for all little girls and boys everywhere, regardless of species or race.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A huge powerful positive message wrapped subtly around a story of one boy living his best life and finding a friend to help him express himself in such a cool way.

"Frockodile" by Jeanne Willis and Stephanie Laberis is out on 7th March 2019, published by Hodder Children's Books. 

Here at ReaditDaddy we definitely champion the cause of any book that addresses the thorny subject of bullying in any form...

This pretty miss is actually quite vile, though she does have a modicum of fashionable style...

It's happy publication day to a book that actually made us feel a little guilty for giggling at it so much. "Chicken Clicking" is a bang-up-to-date children's story that will definitely make you laugh, but has a fairly serious message at its heart.

Little chick has a secret. Late at night, when everyone else is asleep, she steals into the farmhouse, hops up on the desk, purloins the farmer's laptop and gets busy on the internet.

At first, chick is quite happy purchasing lots of goodies from online shops (and we hooted with laughter at the things she buys) but soon Chicken Clicking realises that she might actually be able to find a friend through the magic of internet chat sites.

Here's where the moral message comes in about being extremely careful on the internet, because Chick starts talking to a stranger and arranges to meet them.

They are definitely not what they seem online, and the very last page of the book is such a shocker and packs a real punch (particularly when Charlotte quickly flicked over the page to find out what happens, and met with a lovely yellow end-paper instead).

We've often described Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross as a dream team, and they truly are. Though this book's ending is quite jarring it really does have impact, and that's the intention. As a way of introducing your children to the joys (and perils) of the internet, it's an absolute belter and we truly did have many a giggle (particularly at the Farmer's Wife roaring around on an internet-bought motorbike, with a look of abject glee on her face and chick clinging to her saddle for dear life!)

I asked Charlotte what she would buy from the internet if we let her loose on it. She said "All the Monster High stuff and even more books". (Note to self, change all your passwords and lock things down!)

"Chicken Clicking" by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross is available today from Andersen Press (good luck finding a copy, it's going to sell like hot cakes!)

Charlotte's best bit: Little Chick's bling-tastic diamond watch. Snazzy!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Brill, Brill, Brill, Brill, Brill, Brill, Brill. Deliciously darkly tinged, funny but with a serious message at its heart. Jeanne and Tony truly are living legends in children's literature and this is a prime example of why their books are so well loved.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Andersen Press)

Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross truly are a stellar pairing. Pretty much everything they've ever done in children's books has been utterly and completely devoured by Charlotte in the most favourable terms. I rather liked the lightning-bolted look on her face when she spied "Killer Gorilla" nestling amongst the children's books in our local library.

"We have to have that!" she said in the sort of voice that made me realise we'd be reading this again and again over the space of the next few days. And read it we have.

When a mother mouse loses her tiny little baby mouse, she is distraught - but when a gigantic nasty killer gorilla chases her all around the world, she's beside herself with woe. No matter where she goes, the Gorilla seems to track her down, running after her with a look of sheer malice on his face.

She begins to suspect that her baby's fate is a grisly one, but must run for her life lest she end up a bite-sized gorilla snack.

Only, there is of course a delicious twist in this tale - which we won't ruin for you.

With a terrifying cover, and the most exciting and pacey story, this is definitely a killer book!

Charlotte's best bit: The gorilla, cornering poor mummy mouse near the end of the book ready to....oh, we can't look!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Expertly written, beautifully illustrated, and a top notch exciting and hair-raising chase! Wonderful!

We're back in the review saddle with a force to be reckoned with - the combined comical powers of Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross, excelling at what they do best - coming up with slightly gross but endlessly entertaining books where animals often suffer from all-too-human problems.

The cover illustration for this book says it all. A poor hippo, a rather large bottomed hippo at that - has a rather nasty problem. A sizeable spot on that sizeable bot.

Just like in real life, people are never backwards at coming forwards with lots of helpful advice on how to deal with a boil on your bum and poor Hippo listens to some quite good, some quite bad, and some downright alarming suggestions on how to deal with 'le blemish dans la derriere!'

It takes a rather clever little boy to get right to the root of the problem in a rather amusing (if slightly stomach-churning) twist.

If your children are anything like Charlotte, they never get tired of anything slightly lavatorial and of course it's obvious that Willis and Ross know this only too well! Fast paced, great rhymes (proving that Jeanne Willis can still cut it when it comes to an amusing couplet or three) and hilarious illustrations, we just hope this doesn't feel all too familiar to any of our readers. Ooch!

Charlotte's Best Bit: The crocodile's miracle cure suggestion. Eye watering!


Daddy's favourite bit: I loved the collection of expressions Ross gives the poor hippo. Sublime!
Liked this? See also "Who's in the Loo" and "Misery Moo" too!

There comes a time when your darling children become the fount of all knowledge, and suddenly know EVERYTHING overnight. Not only that, they will quickly correct you if you stuff up or get anything wrong.

So perhaps that's my defence in having trouble with "The Wheels on the Bus" by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower.

All kids have "The Wheels on the Bus" pretty much ground into every fibre of their being from a very early age, at nursery and preschool, at song groups at their lovely local library, or on children's TV shows. It's not too bad to change things around a bit and 'cheat' by introducing extra characters making silly noises on the bus journey, but Charlotte took a huge dislike to this version because - agh, there's no polite way of saying it - it just doesn't flow. Very unusual for anything Jeanne Willis has written, but it breaks spectacularly at the end of each verse.

You see, there's a certain bounciness to the original

"The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round,
Round and Round, Round and Round
The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round
All Day Long"

And yet in this version, the bus hits a brick wall at each turn of the page - so you get

"The Elephant on the bus goes trumpet trumpet trumpet
trumpet trumpet trumpet
trumpet trumpet trumpet
The Elephant on the bus goes Trumpet trumpet trumpet.
At The Zoo"

It's the sing-a-long rhyme equivalent of driving over a very bumpy road then ending in a ditch, and of course even with the great introduction of some colourful (and in one case, rather farty) animal characters, the fact that it was 'wrong' meant Charlotte couldn't get on with it at all, didn't engage with it and hasn't touched it since. Oh dearie dearie me.

Sorry guys, in all other respects it's a lovely looking book and you might be able to sneak this version in for very young bookworms (2-3 perhaps?) but not past a smart-alec near-5 year old :)

Charlotte's best bit: Of course it had to be the skunks. Even 5 year old girls find gaseous emissions funnier than anything else in the entire world.

Daddy's favourite bit: Great illustrations with some extremely busy panels but such a shame it just doesn't flow.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Pearson)

More locally generated genius, this time in the form of Korky Paul's superbly detailed illustrations. Coupled with Jeanne Willis' supreme talent for funny (and quite ghastly) rhymes, "The Rascally Cake" was a bit of a 'find' in our local library (we thought we'd seen just about everything Korky Paul had draw, we were definitely wrong!)

It's the tale of a rather foul gent called Rufus O' Parsley who has rather odd culinary tastes. If it's rancid, rotten, grim, gooey, icky, mouldy, manky, gross, squishy, slithery or downright unpalatable Rufus is in his element.

His diet gets the better of him one day when he decides to cram all the world's most disgusting ingredients into a cake. Made in a dustbin, lovingly garnished with old toenail clippings, bogeys and snot, Rufus doesn't realise that food takes on a life of its own when it gets below a point of griminess.

The cake suddenly springs to life. Worse than that, the cake has rather taken a fancy to Rufus - fancying him for tea!

It's masterfully icky stuff that's a giggle from start to finish. If you've ever wondered what happens to food when it slides oozily past its sell by date, you'll love this book.

Charlotte's best bit: The icky cake slithering under the door! Yikes!

Daddy's favourite bit: I love Korky Paul's inventiveness, and one of these days I'm going to decipher all those cyrillic phrases he keeps hiding in his work!

Apparently, I can be quite grumpy at times. When behind the wheel of the car, yes I'll admit I'm grumpy. When the cistern on one of the loos breaks for the umpteenth time, yep that would most certainly make me grumpy. When the local woodpigeons or bees decide to wake me up at 4.30 in the morning by cooing stupidly or buzzing like a buzzsaw. Yeah that would do it.

But I've got nothing on Misery Moo, the main character in Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross's book. Misery Moo always finds something to moan about. In the winter it's too cold and rainy. In the summer it's too hot and sticky. Despite her constant moaning and groaning, Misery Moo ends up with a rather lovely friend - who can see past her downtrodden exterior through to her heart of gold.

But when Misery Moo's friend, the lovely sheep, disappears one day, what happens next?

Of course you'll have to read the book to find out. We thought we'd done a really good job of hoovering up all the Jeanne Willis / Tony Ross books but just when we think we've read them all, another one pops out of the woodwork. Misery Moo tells a touching tale of friendship, and why it's not always ideal to go around with a face as long as a fiddle. Your mood may rub off on others! So I'm committed to trying to be the less grumpy of the seven dwarves, I'll happily trade for dopey instead :)

Charlotte's best bit: Misery Moo's happy go lucky sheep friend

Daddy's favourite bit: Misery Moo's expressions, no one does 'miserable' like Tony Ross!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Aw poo! A while back, I had a vague concept for a children's book idea mapped out in my head, and did some preliminary sketches / character work for the book. In it, a girl visits her grandmother for the day and bemoans the fact that granny dearest doesn't really do a lot, except make rather annoying noises, produce rather noxious smells and generally can't join in with the girl's favourite games. But when she asks granny what she used to do when she was young, a vast riotous explosion of ideas comes from Granny.

Of course, I'd mapped all this out as being a massive selling children's book not realising that the core theme had already been done about a billion times better than I could possibly have managed in Old Dog, by the unstoppable picture book team of Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross.

Change the sexes, and you've got a young pup moaning about visiting his grandpa (who doesn't do a lot, smells a bit, you get the picture) but when Grandad is asked about new tricks, boy can he perform!

It's a real heartwarming winner this - once again as I've said countless times before on this blog, Willis and Ross really can't seem to put a foot wrong. Old Dog is definitely worth reading to your little ones next time they groan about visiting their grandparents (or great grandparents). Thankfully Charlotte loves all her grandparents to bits and absolutely loves playing with all of them. The moral of this review is "If you think you've had a good idea for a kid's book, tough cheddar, Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross have probably already trumped your best efforts by a country mile!

Charlotte's best bit: Grandad Dog's photos of his younger days

Daddy's favourite bit: Grandad Dog's tireless energy once he realises he is still a star

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

There's a stage* that most toddlers / preschoolers reach where the funniest jokes in the world revolve around pooing and weeing. If your children have arrived at this stage, then here's a book that will have them rolling around on the floor giggling like lunatics. 


"Who's in the Loo?" by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds is the tale of a couple of inquisitive children standing in a very long queue for the loo. Who is in there? And why are they taking so long? Cross your legs, wait a while and you'll find out right at the end of the book after first going through a funny rhyming story full of kid-friendly toilet gags. 


*Yes alright I'll admit it, you never really grow out of this stage. 


Charlotte's best bit: "Is it a Wombat who wanted a widdle?"


Daddy's favourite bit: The frozen penguin. Owch. 


Rating: 4 out of 5

If there's one thing that makes me angrier than anything else as a parent, it's bullying. Even at preschool age, you can see the seeds of bullying growing in certain kids, who push the boundaries of what's acceptable behaviour, becoming pretty nasty little characters. 

This book deals with the issues of bullying in a rather light hearted way, but the message is the same. Bullies tend to make a lot of noise and fuss, but the end result is usually the same even though it might not seem like it at the time. 

In Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds' book, little monster is continually harassed by big monster for her lollipop. Big monster chases her all around monster island until she's had enough and hides. But there's a rather nasty surprise waiting for big monster - who gets his just desserts in the end. 

Fair enough, you can't expect all bullies to meet the sticky end that big monster does in this book, but if your child is being bullied, even from an early age, do as much as you can about it and make as much fuss as you can - it just shouldn't be tolerated in any shape or form, even monster-shaped. 

Charlotte's best bit - Little Monster climbing trees to escape

Daddy's favourite bit - the pay-off at the end. 

Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

---

A topsy-turvy view of the world from the perspective of a bat is the subject of "Daft Bat", an entertaining children's book by Jeanne Wills and Tony "Little Princess" Ross. 
All the other animals can't understand Bat's rather bonkers approach to her surroundings but is she crazy or just seeing things differently? 

Wise owl helps sort out the confusion and mess and soon everyone understands exactly what "Daft Bat" is on about. 

Charlotte's best bit: Elephant almost drowning upside down. 

Daddy's favourite bit: Saying "Daft Bat" in a broad Yorkshire accent.