We love a good mixed-up fairy tale and though we've loaned this from the library before, we never managed to review it. Time to correct that as Liz Pichon's "The Three Horrid Pigs and the Big Friendly Wolf" is riotously funny and excellent fun to read aloud.

A mummy pig gets fed up with her three troublesome piggies, and kicks them out into the harsh cruel world to fend for themselves. As they're fairly nasty little blighters, they don't actually mind this - but need somewhere new to stay.

One pig decides to build an appallingly unsafe looking house from straw that he's stolen from the cow's feeding trough. A friendly handyman wolf happens to pass by and offers his help, but bad piggy number one tells him (rather impolitely) to get lost!

Similar situations happen when the other bad piggies try to build a house of sticks, and one piggy is too lazy to even bother building anything - so barges into the chicken house and takes over.

Enough is enough, the wolf - kindly as he is - draws the line at his chicken friends being ousted, so invites them to stay with him in his lovely brick house instead.

Piggies being piggies don't put up with uncomfortable conditions for long, so when the brothers spy Wolfie and his chicken pals having a lovely time, they formulate a plan to sneak down the chimney and take over the wolf's house...

We'll leave you to discover the hilarious conclusion. This book is brilliantly funny and entertaining, and neatly flips the Three Little Pigs story on its head (it's actually quite nice to have a good wolf in a story for a change rather than a slathering evil one!)

An awesome book! Don't miss it!

Charlotte's best bit: Those naughty piggies have the most disgusting manners, ew!

Daddy's Favourite bit: There's such a neat turn of events about ¾ of the way through the book when you think Wolfie has truly had enough and might've snapped but..ahhh you must read it and find out the rest!

Beasties of a different kind are the subject of Giles Paley-Phillips' new book - this time big stomping beasties that once stalked the earth. Or rather, still do!

(See, I bet you didn't know that did you?)

In fact in "Things you never knew about Dinosaurs" you'll find out that our scaly chums are in fact alive and well and sometimes hiding in plain sight. That fancy looking fountain with the lizardy skin? That low-flying goal-scorer at the world cup? Dinosaurs are still with us and they're having a whole lot of fun.

As we've come to expect from Giles, never trust a beastie to be entirely friendly and lovely though. We really loved the way the book ended - and we're not going to spoil it for you, so nyaahhhhh!

Liz Pichon's fab and colourful dinosaurs are a busy and infinitely varied lot so for any younger bookworms who haven't quite got their tongues around Triceratops or bumped into Brachiosaurs, it's a fantastic and entertaining little book with Giles' trademark bounce-along rhyming text really nicely complimented by Liz's art.

So next time you're standing at a bus stop and the person next to you looks a little green and lumpy, don't worry unduly. They might just be a dino in disguise!

Charlotte's best bit: Even Dinosaurs have to queue for the loo. You just wouldn't want to go in there afterwards.

Daddy's favourite bit: Fine dining, Dino style!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Giles and Meadowside Children's Books)

This week's book of the week hasn't left Charlotte's side since it arrived. There are lots of reasons for this:

1) It's a book she can happily read herself, all the way through, with no problem at all
2) It's silly and funny
3) It's a great book for learning lots of different nursery rhymes, then subverting them all by mixing them up (you got that from the title though, right?)

Hilary Robinson and Liz Pichon have built on the success of Hilary's previous 'mix up' book (with Nick Sharratt), "Mixed Up Fairy Tales" with more chaotic mash-ups featuring children's best loved nursery rhymes (but where oh where is Humpty Dumpty?)

Doctor Foster running up a hill to fetch a...plum? Wee Willie Winkie baking some tarts, stolen away by...a garden? There are hundreds of combinations you could come up with as you mix the start, middle and end of adapted versions of the rhymes (something that my wife didn't particularly like, but helpfully all the nursery rhymes are reproduced in their original forms in the inside covers of the book).

Charlotte has the Mixed Up Fairy Tales book at school and it's a classroom favourite. Having her own copy of this though has made her ridiculously happy and her infectious giggling (and her constantly showing us new combinations she's come up with) makes it a worthy and fun book of the week.

Charlotte's best bit: Old Mother Hubbard going to Gloucester, stepping in a...Pony?

Daddy's favourite bit: Initially I thought this book might be a bit 'young' for Charlotte, but the fact that she gets such a huge giggle out of it AND can read the easy-to-read text on her own is a huge bonus. Love Liz's artwork too.

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

Bill the Dog leads a fairly charmed life really, yet he's totally, utterly, completely, mind-crushingly bored...bored...BORED!

Food bores him. Being brushed by his loving owner bores him. Even exciting walks in the park or karate lessons bore him to pieces. All Bill wants to do is laze around the house all day, bored.

So what on earth could possibly shake Bill from his torpor? A very windy day, a storm and a trip to space might just be enough to convince Bill that life's not all bad after all.

If you've ever experienced the long school holidays and heard the plaintive cry "We're bored, mum / dad!" you'll probably love Liz Pichon's wry observations and who couldn't love Bill as he mopes around at the start of the book.

Great illustrations accompany the text and Bill's effervescent go-getting owner Mrs Pickle is a complete laugh-out-loud hoot.

Fun, adventure and a nice tale about appreciating every moment of life that you can, Bored Bill is anything but boring!

Charlotte's best bit: Yucky alien food, ewwwww!

Daddy's favourite bit: Mrs Pickle, the karate expert - Haiiii-YA!