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). 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, and contemplated his entire existence and worth as an egg-like being.

No it's not quite as snappy as the usual nursery rhyme but in "Think Big" by Kes Gray and Nathan Reed you'll find the rotund nursery rhyme character doing just that.

Along with his friends, Humpty soon finds out that the simple question of what you want to be when you grow up is actually far from simple.

Humpty's aspirations are fairly low-end though - he wants nothing more than to be a boiled egg, but his friends are encouraging him to think bigger!

"You could be an artist!" said Little Boy Blue.

"Look for clues and become a detective!" said Little Bo Peep.

"Buy a pair of football boots and become a footballer," said Wee Willy Winky.

"You really don't want to be a Boiled egg!' cry the three blind mice. So Humpty's thoughts begin to fizz with all the possibilities of things he could become and things he could achieve.

Will Humpty think big and reach for the stars?

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant positive message inside a brightly illustrated story from two mega talents in children's books.

"Think Big" by Kes Gray and Nathan Reed is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

There's a couple of shopping days left before Christmas, so we thought it would be fun to make our Booky Advent Calendar Day 23 choice of books wholly appropriate.

Well it is "The Night Before The Night Before Christmas" after all. So how is Santa doing with his plans for the big day this year?

As the 23rd December arrives, this fun rhyming homage to the classic poem by Clement C. Moore sees a frenzy of activity up at the North Pole in Santa's workshop.

Green elves are sewing, Blue elves are counting, Red elves are carving,
The pressure IS mounting!

It's the day before Christmas Eve and Santa is ever so busy ... he's got presents to wrap, reindeer to wake and a sleigh to start. But has he forgotten something? And, more importantly, will he be ready in time?

Full of gentle christmas humour, fab rhymes that just trip off the tongue and some beautifully seasonal illustrations, this is a fab book to wheel out on Christmas Eve Eve!

"The Night Before The Night Before Christmas" by Kes Gray and Claire Powell is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

When a book series steams past 4 (or is it 5?) iterations without barely breaking sweat, you know it's doing something right...

We've heard all about where frogs love to sit, and dogs too - but it's surely got to be the turn of our feline friends?

We're kicking off our Booky Advent Calendar for 2016 with a book that shows a lot of cheek - and (almost) quite a few other bits too!

As the world holds its breath gearing up for the Summer Olympics in sunny Rio, here's a book that's getting the games off to a flying start!

Frog has just about had enough. It's time for a change, a huge massive change and Frog is starting right here, right now...!

Hodder Children's Books are releasing some really gorgeous books early in 2016 and we've been lucky enough to take a look at two contrasting little corkers, ahead of the spring release schedules.

First up, emerging with a roar, a meow and a big ducky quack is "Quick Quack Quentin" arriving on February 11th, by the dream team of Kes Gray and Jim Field.

Quentin is a duck with a problem. He's lost his "A" - which doesn't sound too serious to you and I, but leaves Quentin only able to utter a sad forlorn "Quck"

Quentin soon meets other animals, who realise how lost they'd be without their vowels too...!

It's only a tiny little letter but it is so important!

It's a fun animal-filled romp through the English language as Quentin's quest emerges in the pages of this hugely funny and original book. Look out for "Quick Quack Quentin" by Kes Gray and Jim Field,  it's on shelves today!

You'll have to wait until March 1st for the next book - but it will be worth the wait...

"Little One" is the touching and beautifully inspirational story of a mother bear and her cub, as this gentle lullaby of a story takes us through the seasons, seen through the eye of these two lovely bears.

Jo's gentle storytelling through amazing illustrations makes this a hugely immersive and engaging little story for your busy tinies as they wind down at the end of the day and are tucked up warm like little bear cubs in bed.

"Little One" explores the relationship between mother and child, and is obviously a shoe-in for a brilliant booky gift ahead of Mother's Day.

Look out for "Little One" by Jo Weaver on March 1st 2016. Both books are published in Hardback by Hodder Children's Books.

An effervescent and energetic hippo whose troubles are all behind him? Meet the big bottomed but awesome "Zippo the Super Hippo" by Kes Gray and Nikki Dyson!

Crazy animal antics and counting fun are the order of the day in this jazzy and hilarious book from a real dream team. "How Many Legs?" is a really fun counting journey from Kes Gray and Jim Field. It's easy enough to count the legs on a flamingo but what do you do when a polar bear crashes in for dinner? You may need more than your fingers and toes to count all the legs on that little lot.

A little boy begins his counting journey with animal friends, and your little ones can join in. Even though Charlotte proudly proclaimed that she can count to more than 100 (and we can definitely testify to this!) she adores any book where animals take centre stage in hilarious ways. There's a crazy party in store, and just in case you completely lose count you'll get lots of help along the way. What a great idea to make counting and adding fun!

"How Many Legs?" is out tomorrow from Hodder Children's Books so you haven't got long to wait until you can join in too!

Charlotte's best bit: Mr Buffalo's stylish gold tooth! Uber-cool!

Daddy's Favourite bit: What a delicious treat from Kes and Jim! Counting made fun, with the craziest animal cast you've ever seen! Brilliant!

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

Like this? We think you'll love these too!

Oi Frog! By Kes Gray and Jim Field

Farmer Clegg's Night Out by Peter Bently and Jim Field

Peals of cackling laughter. On measure, I'd say more funny books hit our "Book of the Week" slot - after all, laughter is the best medicine. We've been laughing long and loud at Kes Gray and Jim Field's new book "Oi, Frog!" - A book that starts off relatively quietly but builds into a frenzied cacophony of laughter and rhyming.

In "Oi, Frog" Cat has a bit of an issue. Frog is sitting in the WRONG PLACE and Cat wants to make sure that the balance of the universe is restored. Frogs, you see, sit on logs. Everyone knows that - just as they know that cats sit in mats.

Frog is puzzled, and soon wants to know what all the other animals in the world sit on. For instance, how on earth would a frog know that fleas sit on peas? Apes comfortably park their bums on grapes and hares get the comfy option of sitting in chairs.

This book is fab for introducing youngsters to the concept of rhyming, but Charlotte couldn't wait to throw some real curveballs my way.

"Alright Daddy, what does a Tiger sit on?" - Charlotte

I must admit, I was stumped (Jim Field helpfully suggested on Twitter a Large Hadron Collider but it wouldn't fit on a page spread!).

Similarly I got into trouble with meerkats. Beermats was the best I could come up with but Jim Field managed admirably!

A Meerkat on a Beermat (image - © Jim Field)

...and caterpillars (aw come on!)

For days, Charlotte has dug this book out and rhymed her socks off (Zebras most definitely sit on Debra. Poor Debra!). Great writing that's had us twisting tongues to come up with even more animals sitting on things - and it was rather nice to see the press release could handily be turned into a jumping frog, thanks to an attached diagram showing us how to make an origami one.

I can guarantee you that I'll pick Charlotte up from school today and she'll have a dozen more animal rhymes she's come up with (I just hope it's not distracting her from school work too much!). Fab and funny, a well deserved book of the week. Watch the hilarious book trailer below!




Charlotte's best bit: So what do dogs sit on? Hilarious!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Fab way to introduce your youngsters to rhyming, but they will drive you quite, quite mad by coming up with new animals who need a place to sit!

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

Here's a book I've heard an awful lot about in the past, but until now, haven't actually had the pleasure of reading. Excited squeals from Charlotte as she picked this out of the library stack made me sit up and take notice. "Look at this poor boy, everything's got cracks in it!"

As we read, Charlotte's understanding of the story grew beyond her initial elation to feeling sorry for the boy. "Mum and Dad Glue" tells the story of a boy who is desperately searching for a solution to what's wrong with mum and dad. They don't love each other any more, they argue and fight instead of cuddle and kiss - and the poor lad heads to the local hardware store for a pot of "Mum and Dad Glue" to try and mend what is broken.

In his world, the huge cracks that Charlotte spotted are dotted all over everything. Wise words come from an unexpected source, showing that although mum and dad don't love each other any more - their love for him is not diminished.

A touching and extremely sensitive way of helping children cope with separation / divorce. It's nice to be able to find out what all the fuss is about, and also join others in thoroughly recommending this beautiful little book.

Charlotte's best bit: At the end, after the boy hears some encouraging advice...his world changes.

Daddy's Favourite bit: A touching and sensitive way of helping children overcome divorce / separation anxiety.

AIIEE! Nuddy Ned is on the loose, and there's no stopping this naughty nuddy little lad from running riot without a stitch on. In Kes Gray and Gary Parson's funny and extremely cheeky book, Ned wakes up one morning and decides that clothes are a drag, naturism rocks, and scampering through the neighbourhood in your birthday suit is a whole lot of fun (you know, we have mornings like this too!)

This 'lift the flap' book is a heck of a lot of fun, simply because cheeky little Charlottes can't wait to lift up the reveals, only to find that (thankfully) Ned retains his dignity at every turn - thanks to some strategically placed scenery.

Brilliant rhymes, fun and frolicsome illustrations, kids can't get enough of Nuddy Ned, but let's hope they don't emulate their book hero too closely!

Charlotte's best bit: Thank goodness for that bee covering Ned's extremities! Eekers!

Daddy's Favourite bit: I love books that make Charlotte giggle and gasp in shock, and this certainly does that. Brilliant idea that expands on the classic comic device of revealing everything and nothing at the same time. Funny and cheeky, we love Nuddy!

Daisy, the intrepid 6 and a half year old superspy, superhero and all round supergirl is back for another adventure, pitting her wits against the most nefarious threat to humanity ever encountered. Peas!

As you've probably read in Daisy's other books, Daisy does NOT like peas, and when Planet Pea threatens to collide with earth, meaning each and every meal (and pudding) ends up laced with the horrid green vegetable, Daisy must do something. Daisy must, in fact, become Super Daisy!

Cheered on by her friends, Daisy sets out to thwart the pea-green menace before it's too late.

We loved this book, not just because it's another excellent 'Daisy' book but because of the inventive layouts, great 'lift the flap' panels and the superb pop-up-book-like paper mechanics on some of the pages. Imbuing the book with an action-packed pace, does Daisy succeed in her quest? You'll have to read it and find out.

Charlotte's best bit: Peas in EVERYTHING even ice-cream (which she said she'd eat anyway)

Daddy's favourite bit: Seeing how long it took before Charlotte proclaimed "Daisy is ME!" (about 3 seconds).

Rating: A Peatastic 4 out of 5 peas