Time for a truly gorgeous book, and one that's once again meant we've needed to double up on our awesome "Book of the Week" nominees. We've been following the awesome adventures of Plum for ages, via Twitter and directly on the awesome Plumdog Blog. Emma Chichester-Clark, aided and abetted by Plum, writes and paints a fantastic visual blog from a doggy perspective following the adventures of her intrepid Whoosel (That's part whippet, part poodle, part Jack Russell, whew!)

Now, we'll readily admit we're predominantly cat-people here at ReadItDaddy but Plum is truly irresistible, and for a long time we wondered how Emma managed to see things from Plum's point of view so perfectly.

Well the answer is obvious, Emma and Plum share a doggy-human psychic link the like of which we haven't seen for a very long time. In fact here's the thing, Plum's musings and Emma's expert storytelling and illustrative eye reminded me of a book I was given as a child - a book that has sadly disappeared in umpteen house moves and is virtually untraceable aside from this paltry offering via the internet...

Cold Noses by C.B Poultney.

C.B Poultney and Emma Chichester-Clark both have the enviable knack of being able to convey their dog's thoughts in a way that makes them completely irresistible to us mere mortals. C.B wrote about a brilliant Scottie called Sir Roderick Dhu (and Patrick, his rather aloof and sneering moggy friend). Both Roderick and Plum became narrator, storyteller and star of their own wonderfully crafted fables (in fact it's quite eerie comparing the two at times, I'd love to imagine that Rod and Plum would be firm friends).

But Plum is the star of this particular show. Plum delights us by engaging in all manner of dog behaviour (including a lot of rather unsavoury 'rolling in things that pong') but talks to us - through Emma's exquisite gift of expression and scene-setting - in a universal language that young, old and canine will utterly want to devour in one huge sitting.

We've followed Plum through doggy misbehaviour - un-stuffing stuffed toys, or leaping headlong into pongy, smelly or very wet things, through heartache (when Rocket disappears to France - the cheek of it!) and when a nasty dog injured Plum (I distinctly remember almost bursting into tears on Twitter when I heard about this). It's become essential reading and I'm very happy to report that Plum continues to blog almost daily, hooray!

Collecting together the blog posts is an absolute stroke of genius and for ages we'd secretly hoped it was going to happen. Now it has, we're greedily hoping for a volume 2 (and 3 and...oh you get the picture) because it's such a fantastic read (in fact on the day it arrived, I sat down meaning to quickly leaf through before letting Charlotte loose on it (advisable as there's a single tiny sweary s-word moment I recalled from the blog that parents might want to stick a sticky label over in the book before letting their little ones leaf through) and nearly made myself late for work cackling out loud at some of Plum and Emma's antics!)

It's definitely not just for the dog lover in your life, but for anyone who truly loves seeing someone doing what they really enjoy the most - telling stories and painting gorgeous scenes that make us want to leap headfirst into the book and live there alongside Plum, Emma and Daddy. Of course, the real stroke of genius is Emma rather neatly seeing herself (and other humans) through Plum's canine gaze. It's so mesmerisingly well observed.

Take our advice, put it on your 'to-buy' list now. Just do it, you really do not want to miss out on Plum's doggy booky debut.

"Plumdog" by Emma Chichester-Clark, came out yesterday (2nd October) from Jonathan Cape Publishing.

Charlotte's Favourite Plum Adventure: She loves the one where Esther comforts Plum after a nasty incident with a snarly dog threatening to 'bite her stupid face off'. She liked the "crazy native mother nature" snowman (blush!) but most of all she LOVED Plum meeting mouse superstar Maisie and not being fooled for a second :)

Daddy's Favourite Plum Adventure: I am with Plum's daddy on the 'going for long walks' thing. I do that too (gradually slow down until I'm about ten miles behind everyone else!) Also laughed out loud about Plum being told "bad girl, bad dog" but hearing "la la la la" in her head instead (Charlotte does this too!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Jonathan Cape Publishing)

Mini Grey's latest book sneaked up on us, tapped us on the big toe and took us completely by surprise. Rather like the wonderful mouse detective who is the star of this utterly fantastic story.

Hermelin (named for this rather delicious looking Czech cheese)...

Hermelin Cheese - Drool-worthy stuff, not just for mice!

...is a little mouse with a unique gift. Emerging from the cheese box which bore his name, Hermelin quickly found out that he could read - and with the aid of a typewriter hidden away in the loft he lives in, write and converse with the people he shares a street with.

Opening with a fantastic double page spread of the street, Mini Grey is a devil for the detail and you'll already know this if you've loved any of her previous books (The Traction Man series are amongst our favourite children's books). In that spread you'll be able to pick out a series of intricate little events that Hermelin eventually ends up investigating. With keen mouse-powers of observation, and a knack for being in the right place in the right time, Hermelin types up notes and hints for the residents of Offley Street, helping them retrieve lost items - or even save a much-loved pet goldfish before a nasty cat wolfs it for lunch.

Soon, Hermelin's detective prowess and heroism comes to the fore when one of the youngest residents is in mortal danger, and Hermelin must act swiftly to prevent a catastrophe.

The residents of Offley Street want to thank the hidden hero, who has remained in the shadows the whole time. But mice aren't to everyone's taste, and poor Hermelin realises that he is in fact a pest not a pal.

Forlorn, dejected and upset, Hermelin settles down to sleep, determined to leave the street the very next day. But one resident is rather more forgiving - and can't wait to meet the mouse detective herself.

Mini Grey's gift is her ability to mix an enticing story with some dazzling layouts, gorgeous artwork and an absolute ton of detail packed onto every page. It's so delicious watching the events laid out in that first panel unfolding throughout the first part of the story, and then realising that Mini Grey could be onto something here, a whole series of Hermelin books with kid-friendly detective stories wrapped up in such a wonderful way. The book's effect on Charlotte was electric - truly brilliant to see her loving the book so much, and wanting to hear the story again and again. In fact, because of Mini Grey's approach, it's absolutely brilliant to visit and revisit Hermelin's world to pick up on all the bits you'll inevitably miss first time.

Mini truly is a superstar. Do not miss this one!


Charlotte's best bit: The munching crunching dustbin lorry and its unintentional human passenger. Eeks!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A delicious book, that's even tastier than the cheese our heroic little mouse detective is named for!

We wanted this book as soon as we saw the title, and the (slightly scary) cover image. "Go To Sleep or I Let Loose the Leopard" is the sort of book that's destined to become part of a parent's bedtime routine - even if they aren't reading it!

We'll explain why in a moment, but first let's take a look at the story.

An exasperated babysitter is having a troublesome evening. Two children, Joe and Ellie, are determined that they won't be good and go to sleep. They're too full of energy and are too busy trashing their room, inventing new games, and pulling their beds to bits to even contemplate catching some Zs.

Try as she might, the babysitter can't get them to settle, and after umpteen trips up and down stairs, she has only one tactic left.

"Go to sleep, or I let loose the leopard!"

Joe and Ellie have scoffed at all her other threats, so why would a silly old leopard be any different? The kids aren't convinced until they hear the babysitter turn a key in a lock, hear a cage door swing open, and a low roar and the soft foot-padding of paws on stairs.

THE LEOPARD!!

There's an art to reading this book aloud, and it's such a hugely fun tension-building book that's perfect if you love to ramp up the excitement with every turn of the page (This is something that silly dads like me do when really they should be settling their children down, not making them even more crazy and over-excited when reading bedtime stories!)

Of course we're not about to tell you what happens next, oh no! We'll let the book's title lure you in just as it did us, and let the promise of Steve Cole's fabulous tension-building story and Bruce Ingman's fantastic illustrations add extra spice to this highly recommended book.

As to why it's become part of our bedtime routine even when we aren't reading it? Well, every time we hear Charlotte playing with her torch, or complaining that her pillow is funny, or that her sheets are untucked, guess what we now shout up the stairs?

Charlotte's best bit: We won't spoil the ending but the leopard, aieeee!!!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Such a fantastic twist, and the sort of premise and title that you can't help wanting to investigate further. Read it, Daddies (and mummies!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Random House / Jonathan Cape PB Ltd)

Rebecca Patterson's "My Big Shouting Day" is one of our favourite books, and it's also a hugely entertaining book to read aloud to children - getting them to join in with Bella's shouting and bellowing is immense fun!

In Rebecca's sequel to "My Big Shouting Day", called "My Busy Being Bella Day" we find out what happens when Bella spends the day at nursery while her utterly cute and delightful little brother Bob is at home.

Bella imagines that Bob is having a really easy day while she's having such a busy one. While Bella has to colour in a number 2, Bob is licking cappuccino foam with mum in the cafe. While Bella is playing dressing up, Bob is having amazing fun at the indoor play park.

Bella just can't shake the thought that Bob leads quite a charmed life for a toddler - so what happens when Bob and mum come to collect Bella at the end of her busy "Being Bella" day?

Mum, Bob and of course Bella are brilliant characters and Rebecca Patterson once again manages to tap into a child's psyche to produce an utterly fantastic and funny story. I still get a huge guffaw from Mum who can carry the look of sheer toddler exasperation so well (as can Bella's teachers and most of the other adults in the book!)

Though it's a tough thing to capture lightning in a bottle twice, and though we didn't quite go as crazy for this story as we did the first Bella book, it's still brilliant and funny - and we just couldn't resist adding it to our heaving bookshelves.

Charlotte's best bit: Bella singing "I'm a little teapot" louder than anyone else

Daddy's Favourite bit: We love Bob so much, he's utterly and completely adorable (and yes, I guiltily admit that I used to let Charlotte lick the foam off my cappuccino when she was a tiddler too!)

Yetis are definitely a "thing" this year. We've seen quite a few books where the Abominable Snowman turns out to be anything BUT abominable and in Nadia Shireen's new book, we may be mistaken in thinking that Yeti is a fairly grumpy and scary chap. Stalking the frozen wastes, people tend to leave him well alone. Until one day someone (quite literally) drops in on him and changes his world forever.

Bird is not scared of Yeti, in fact Bird isn't really scared of anything - and though Yeti is initially not keen on Bird's chirping and attention, the two become friends - and soon Yeti realises that he can't live without Bird.

The winter digs its icy claws in, which makes life very difficult for a tiny bird who needs to fly away to a warmer climate before it's too late. Yeti must reluctantly bid his new best friend a fond farewell. But will bird ever return?

This is a touching story of an unlikely friendship that has such a beautiful end (which, naturally, we won't spoil) that it gladdens the heart to think that even the grumpiest of the grumps would read this and feel a little tingle of hope that somewhere out there, there truly is a friend for everyone.

Charlotte's best bit: Loved the conversations between Yeti and Bird (which Charlotte and I had great fun recreating)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Another corker from the immensely talented Nadia Shireen!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Jonathan Cape PB Ltd)

Lots and lots and LOTS of books examine friendships, and children seem to love books that feature characters who are firm friends, then go through some turmoil and upset before realising how much they take each other for granted.

In "Hey Presto" we meet the marvellous Presto, a rather magical little cat and his best friend Monty - a showman dog.

When the dynamic duo join a local circus, the rather shy Presto is happy to let his friend hog the limelight while he weaves his spells backstage. Monty is a huge success but fame is addictive, and soon Monty shoves Presto to one side to pursue his career as the world's most famous magical dog.

Presto is rather upset by this and decides that there's only one course of action - leave Monty to it. But of course no magic act can survive purely on showmanship and razzmatazz so once the magic is gone, Monty's dreams of fame and fortune are too.

Can the pair make up in time for the big show?

We'll let you find out. We've loved Nadia Shireen's work for a long time (We loved "Good Little Wolf" and it earned 4 out of 5 stars back when we used to put ratings on our books). We were so impressed by this new spin on a story of friendships going awry, and Nadia's little Presto is just so cute we couldn't resist it.

Charlotte's best bit: She's definitely having a "I love cute things" week - and fell in love head over heels with Presto (well he is cute!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Always great to see a new spin or an original twist on a story that has been told and retold in various different forms. A standout book, we loved it!

We love it when books fizz with energy, and Catalina Echeverri's debut for Jonathan Cape, "Lion and Mouse" does exactly that.

Taking a fairly well known story and adding a few twists and turns here and there, Catalina has produced a rather beautiful book underpinned with the strong message about how valuable a friendship can be, and how sometimes taking someone for granted is part of the ebb and flow.

Mouse is a rather timid little fellow as you might expect. His best friend Lion, however, is loud and confident and very self-assured. Mouse feels like he's constantly living in the shadow of Lion's brash and outspoken behaviour and decides one day to disappear.

Despite own Lion's claims that he is amazing, brave, fearless and strong, Lion has a secret. There is something Lion is scared of - The dark!

So when darkness comes, who does Lion need by his side the most? Mouse of course!

Catalina's illustrative style lends the book its frenetic energy, and Charlotte rather liked the pace of the story. There are great opportunities for characterisation as you can read the book together, being as loud as Lion and then as quiet and timid as mouse. It's a brilliant book for early readers as the flow of text and the story is easy to follow despite the fairly quick pace.

We look forward to seeing more from Catalina, this is a brilliant debut.

Charlotte's best bit: Lion in the darkness, very scary!

Daddy's favourite bit: A neat little moral tale, not preachy or too in your face - and Mouse is a little darling really, despite Lion's rather rubbish behaviour towards him early in the book.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Jonathan Cape PB Ltd)

Ahhh Dog, one of our favourite Children's Book Characters, is back once again to delve into a subject that I personally shy away from. Numbers. But children love numbers as much as dog, so in Louise Yates' latest 'Dog' book, the inquisitive little fellah embarks on a journey of discovery, as a whole host of animal friends help him find out more about numbers and counting.

For Charlotte, the most enjoyable part of any Dog book is the character himself, with his beautifully drawn expressions and his sheer joy as he discovers how easy it is to get completely wrapped up in the world of counting.

"Why is Dog so happy, Daddy?" - Dog is happy because he's discovering something new.

People sometimes ask us why we blog about books, and there's your answer right there. Books help us discover new worlds, keep our brains popping, inspire us to ask questions and stimulate us to break outside the boundaries of the pages (just as Dog does) and go off and find out more about a subject.

At a time where we, as parents, are playing the fine tuned balancing act of bringing what is learned at school home, and vice versa, books like "Dog Loves Counting" gently educate without feeling like a school book, and encourage children through Dog's discoveries, that a little knowledge is a wonderful and solid foundation to build a lifetime of learning on.

Charlotte's best bit: The Dodo! Her favourite character (other than Dog himelf!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Louise Yates' gentle pencils and colours are simple yet beautiful, and her animal characters are wonderfully crafted. Dog's world really comes alive as you make your way through the book. We can't wait to track down and read "Dog Loves Books" as it's the only one we've missed so far!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Jonathan Cape Ltd)

So here's Part 2 of our double 'Book of the Week' nomination for this week, and it's a book that had both Charlotte and I laughing out loud (and shouting out loud) at how utterly well observed the little girl is in this book.

Bella is not happy. Bella is having a big shouting day which kicked off when her absolutely adorable little brother, Bob, came into Bella's room and started licking her jewellery (don't you just HATE it when that happens?)

Bella's day goes from bad to worse. Every little thing sets her off, from a yucky breakfast to a prim and proper play-date going horribly horribly wrong.

Charlotte and I made poor Mummy's ears hurt because it's impossible to read Bella's dialogue without shouting (though we did try not to shout too loudly). Charlotte fell hopelessly in love with Bob ("Because he's SO cute!") and as the story progressed she loved seeing Bella's meltdown turn into a full on dizzy shouty tired ranty temper tantrum (funnily enough, I rather enjoyed Rebecca's absolutely pin-sharp toddler meltdown observations, which are spot on and then some!)

As you can imagine, nothing will cheer up this fiery little minx. A trip to the supermarket just makes matters worse, school ballet turns into a sulk-a-thon and every time poor little Bob (bless 'im) tries to help, Bella just explodes like a landmine in a little red dress.

It's incredibly easy to see why this was the Roald Dahl Funny Prize winner this year. It's brilliant for both children and parents. You will have to read the book yourself right to the end to find out how Bella's Big Shouting Day ends, but we urge you to seek out this and Rebecca's other brilliant books, they're uproariously funny from start to finish.

Charlotte's best bit: What Bella does to Bob later on in the book. The horrors, the horrors!

Daddy's favourite bit: The fact that this book so gleefully captures (and almost celebrates) the stunning spectacle of a toddler meltdown so utterly perfectly. I love the fact that for most of the book, Bella's expression is like a big black hole with a pair of eyes and typically scruffy toddler hair slapped on top of it. Brilliant, brilliant (and let's shout the last one) BRILLIANT!

(Kindly supplied to us for review by Jonathan Cape PB Ltd)

Oh my, now how on earth are we going to review this without breaking our hard-and-fast rule of 'no spoilers?'

Alright let's give it a try. Good Little Wolf is a rather cute, tiny and friendly little fellow who is kind to everyone, always eats his vegetables and always looks after granny. But something deep down inside him tells him that there's more to being a wolf, so when he meets a big bad wolf walking through the forest one day, Little Wolf undergoes something of an identity crisis.

Nadia Shireen's lovely simple illustrations (which reminded me, rather deliciously, of The Moomins for some reason) underpin a neat and clever little story of exact opposites. Little Wolf is undeniably cute, and (struggle, strain, try not to spoil the book) the end of this story made me want to hug Nadia Shireen for bucking the age-old children's book trend of ending books in a particularly predictable way.

Children love the baddies in a story, and they certainly seem to love anything to do with wolves (whether Red Riding Hood is involved or not) so Nadia Shireen's thoughtful clever mashing together of classic fairy tale ideas with something more contemporary and original is a real breath of fresh air. Loved it!

Charlotte's best bit: Little Wolf's knitting ability


Daddy's favourite bit: The way the book ends. Wish more children's authors would do things like that!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars