We're off to see the animals in this funky little tale, and one animal in particular is almost beside himself with excitement. In "A Gold Star for George" it's awards time at the zoo and all the animals are on their best behaviour, hoping to win a gold star to display proudly on their enclosure.

George the Giraffe thinks he's a shoe-in for at least SOMETHING but as his other animal friends win most of the accolades, George feels a little left out.

Despite that, he's a fantastic and supportive friend. He might be rubbish at the hula-hoop and feel like he has no tricks to his name, but he's always rooting for his pals and genuinely pleased to see them winning.

Perhaps then, as George settles down to sleep that night, he might wake up to a surprise on his own enclosure the next morning?

A fab little tale of friendship, sportsmanship and generally being nice to others even if you're feeling a bit left out and a bit down. We love George, he's our kind of giraffe!

Charlotte's best bit: Those cheeky and rather messy meerkats!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A lovely little tale of friendship and sportsmanship with a fab giraffe character for us to root for. Hooray for George!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Maverick Publishing)

We're back and kicking off our happy new year of adventures in children's books we're taking a look at an interesting new title from Maverick Publishing. Maverick have put together some brilliant books and are a great place for debut authors to hone their craft.

With Alice Hemming and Kimberley Scott's "Black and White Club" The Heavenly Hippo Wildlife park is a paradise for all kinds of animals big and small, cuddly and cute. George the Giraffe lives in harmony with his fellow animals until one day, a group of penguins set up a new and rather exclusive club. Gathering together for fun and games, George wonders what he's missing out on and decides to try and sneak in. But a beautifully patterned giraffe does stick out like a sore thumb amongst the penguins, the lemurs and the zebras - so poor George is left out.

George and some of the other animals come up with a plan. If they can't join the Black and White Club, they'll do their own thing...!

The book was great for generating lots of discussion and questions. Charlotte wanted to know why the penguins were so mean, and why they wouldn't want George in their club! We discussed why the other animals rallied round and how having fun without excluding anyone was so much better than setting up boundaries and limits.

"Why didn't the penguins want George in their club, Daddy?" - Charlotte

Children are brilliant at seeing the world through eyes without such boundaries. I fear it's usually the influence of the adult world that begins to introduce them.

Charlotte's best bit: George's solution to the exclusive Black and White club.

Daddy's Favourite bit: A great book to kick off the new year, prompting lots of interesting discussion and debate!

(Kindly sent for review by Maverick Publishing)