We had to make our "Book of the Week" slot a double header for Flying Eye / NoBrow - simply because both the books we recieved for review from them recently are just SO GOOD!

This one, in particular, feels like the book we've been waiting on for the last 10 years of our book blogging career.

"Shy Ones" by Simona Ciraolo has a story theme that we've begged people to write a children's picture book about, and though we've seen one or two that don't quite nail the point we've covered so many times in our ReadItTorials - that quiet kids deserve every bit as much attention and as many chances to shine - as noisy outspoken confident kids - this is the best picture book on the subject of shyness that we've ever seen.

C is a shy kid, but just like the gorgeous little octopoid in this story, when no one's looking she shines. Throughout the book Simona captures perfectly what it has felt like for us as parents as a shy kid, knowing our daughter's true worth but seeing her come a cropper again and again in school when teachers always add the tiresome snipe at the end of each school report. "She's too quiet in class" or "She never speaks up for herself despite her work being brilliant" (teachers, if you do this, I really don't know what to say to you, it's one of the worst things you can possibly say to a shy kid, or the parents of a shy kid - particularly if you're using that as a measure of their academic worth let alone their worth as a person).

So here it is, a book that spins the beautiful tale of a shy kid who finally finds an equally shy friend, and comes out of her shell a bit. When you see that happen in the story, just like when you see it happen as a parent who is proud of their kid, it's a moment to treasure.

Thank you for this Simona, this is really something truly special.

Sum this book up in a sentence: At last, a fanfare for the quiet ones, the shy ones, and about blimmin' time they had their chance to shine too!

"Shy Ones" by Simona Ciraolo is out now, published by Flying Eye Books / NoBrow (US)

(Book kindly supplied for review)

We absolutely LOVE Owen Davey's range of natural history books as he takes an expert look at the animal kingdom, in a truly dazzling visual way.

This time it's the turn of our eight-legged ocean-dwelling pals in "Obsessive About Octopuses" - taking a closer look at an animal that is absolutely fascinating on many levels.

Most kids will know that octopuses have eight legs and live in the sea, but did you know that Octopuses are highly intelligent, and in some cases can even use tools to manipulate their environment?

Did you know that they have multiple hearts, just like Doctor Who?

Did you know that they can adapt their skin tones as camouflage to terrify would-be predators, or to hide out of sight amongst the rocks and sand?

Octopuses are truly amazing and Owen takes a closer look at the many species that exist around our planet, from the scary Giant Pacific Octopus to the clever and adaptive common octopus. These amazing creatures really do come in all shapes and sizes, and Owen depicts them fabulously here.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly fascinating book for animal fans, dishing up a ton of amazing facts on Octopuses big and small and showing that this amazingly adaptive creature is more than just a leggy sea-dweller.

"Obsessive about Octopuses" by Owen Davey is out now, published by Flying Eye Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Wow, and once again WOW. This is the sort of graphic novel anthology that fills us with joy. After all, why settle for just one story in a fabulous comic-based anthology when you can have several.

In "The Gamayun Tales Volume 1" Alexander Utkin gathers together his previous releases from Flying Eye / NoBrow into one sumptuous and luxurious volume, a fantastic set of stories to curl up with - and the perfect introduction for kids who haven't yet got into comics or graphic novels but want a really good jumping-in point (warning though kids, it'll become a lifelong obsession, we can most definitely vouch for this).

Russian folk tales are a rich and verdant source for amazing stories filled with magic, excitement and fantasy.

Meet terrifying water spirits, lake-dwelling magical creatures and regal feathered friends (and fiends). Like a modern-day Aesops Fables filled with amazing creatures, Alexander's stories are dark, enticing and exciting - and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous, colourful and super-detailed.
Let's take a look at one of the panels inside:

Kids are naturally drawn to comic storytelling and rich visual narratives, and this is a prime example of the sort of graphic novel we get very excited about. We truly are living through a new golden age of amazing kid comics, and this is one of the finest.

"The Gamayun Tales Volume 1" by Alexander Utkin is out on 1st March 2020, published by NoBrow / Flying Eye Books.

Kids are busy, always busy rushing around and seemingly full of energy. Some kids have difficulty switching that off at night, and all parents will be all-too-familiar with the bedtime ritual of 'dragging it out' - when kids seem to find a zillion and one excuses to avoid settling down for a restful night's sleep.

"The Sleepy Pebble and Other Stories - Calming Tales to Read at Bedtime" by Academic and Sleep Expert Professor Alice Gregory, children's writer Christy Kirkpatrick and illustrator Eleanor Hardiman is the perfect set of stories to soothe kids into dreamland in a restful and calming way.

Purposely designed to be visually soothing, as well as restful to listen to when an adult with a soothing voice (not me!) reads them aloud, these stories cover themes in a way that's designed to calming, hopefully ensuring your little ones nod off in no time at all.

We often used to find that C demanded stories with action and pace, so it might not work for all kids - but it's definitely worth a try, and it's certainly beautifully presented and gorgeous to look at.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A gorgeous set of stories designed to lull your little ones to sleep but be warned, it works on adults too!

"The Sleepy Pebble and Other Stories" by Professor Alice M. Gregory, Christy Kirkpatrick and Eleanor Hardiman is out now, published by Flying Eye Books / NoBrow Press (kindly supplied for review). 

We've seen a fair few amazing adaptations of "The Legend of Monkey: Journey to the West" and other Monkey chronicles, but none as gorgeous as "Kai and the Monkey King" by Joe Todd-Stanton.

In fact it's almost unfair to describe this as another Monkey chronicle, because it's really the tale of a mighty girl and her adventurous mother who end up with a most difficult quest - to defeat a gigantic monster that intimidates a local village every year.

Kai is restless and feels she's ready for battle, but Mum is far more sensible - and instead of heading straight to the armoury, Mum goes to the library.

Kai doesn't realise that sometimes you need to do a bit more than run into battle, a bit of research is required but she soon becomes restless - and when her mum banishes her to the other side of the library so she can concentrate, Kai discovers a mysterious tome that speaks of the captured Monkey King.

This undefeatable warrior is currently imprisoned, so Kai decides to free him and enlist his help in defeating the gigantic fiery beast.

Monkey is arrogant and full of himself, so eventually Kai realises that perhaps this rather aloof simian might not be that much help after all. Will Kai somehow have to defeat the monster alone, or will someone else leap in and save the day at the last minute?

We've not read previous adventures in Joe's amazing "Brownstone Mythical Collection" but we very much want to, now we've devoured this amazing book. Once again it's clear that Flying Eye / NoBrow not only has a knack for finding the most amazing artistic talent on the planet, but they produce some of the most gorgeous picture books - that stretch the medium to the very limit, truly lovingly produced and crafted.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Again, as with Luke Pearson's "Hilda" series, if you're looking for picture books to bat someone around the head with when they assume that PBs are "for babies", this will do nicely.

"Kai and the Monkey King" by Joe Todd-Stanton is out on 1st October 2019, published by Flying Eye Books / NoBrow Press (kindly supplied for review).

All good things come to an end. Sometimes the greatest things, and if you're the sort of person who doesn't like it when our "Book of the Week" reviews go in a bit heavy with the praise, you might just want to bail out now.

Because "Hilda and the Mountain King", the final graphic novel in Luke Pearson's mesmerising and absolutely vital series is drawing to a close in possibly the most perfect way possible.

We're anxious not to spoil anything for new fans who might have just joined in with the Hilda love, off the back of the hugely successful and universally acclaimed Netflix "Hilda" series (which was, to be quite honest, absolutely a zillion times better than we could have possibly hoped for). But in the last book we were left on one heck of a cliffhanger.

Spoilers ahead folks...if you haven't read "Hilda and the Stone Forest" time to look away....NOW!

Right at the end of the last book Hilda woke up dazed, but realising something rather strange had happened. Hilda was no longer human - in fact Hilda had become...a TROLL!

In her new-found body Hilda is at first horrified, but soon realises that being a Troll isn't all that bad after all - in fact it's almost like getting a whole new raft of superpowers. She feels strong, she can leap tall pine trees in a single bound, and her roar fills the forest.

Most importantly Hilda begins to realise that Trolls aren't just the lonely denizens of the mountains and forests. They have a whole community, and that community is under serious threat.

Meanwhile her poor long-suffering mum has to put up with a rather strange house guest, a baby troll who is even grumpier and moodier (and far more destructive) than Hilda herself!

As you've probably come to expect from Luke, this is a deliciously dark tale, and we're soon introduced to a new set of antagonists - there are forces afoot led by the mysterious arch-mansplaining Ahlberg (a fantastic character who feels like the comic embodiment of every Brexit-voting Gammon you've ever had the misfortune to run across on Twitter) who absolutely will not stop until he and his 'safety patrol' have wiped Trolls from the face of the earth once and for all - including any Troll-shaped girls who just happen to get in the way.

It's up to Hilda to save the day!

We've read this. We've read it again. We've read it so many times just savouring every single morsel, clinging on to it, trying to stave off the inevitable - and the end of a story that, without any exagerration, has become the graphic novel series that I shove in the face of anyone (teachers or otherwise) who claim that comics and graphic novels aren't "proper" reading.

We will, of course, have the second series of the Netflix show to look forward to - giving Hilda a whole new world to play in and expand in, and perhaps there may be the promise of new exciting stories kicking off in the accompanying middle grade novels. But with this, the very last and easily the best of the Hilda graphic novels, we really will have a huge Hilda-shaped hole in our lives if there really aren't to be any more.

Then again, there's the prospect that we have whatever Luke cooks up next to look forward to. Seeing his sterling work and involvement with "Adventure Time" fills us with confidence that, whatever he does, it's going to be awesome. For now though, the Hilda series stands as one of the best ways to show kids that comics aren't just about prat-falls and pies in the face. They can be truly inspirational, glorious and just so durned vital too.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Absolutely unmissably essential reading, and if you've never read or encountered a Hilda book before, we almost envy you, get started with book one and work your way through to this and you'll be experiencing some of the best comic book action on the planet - for kids or grown ups!

"Hilda and the Mountain King" by Luke Pearson is out on 1st September 2019, published by Flying Eye Books / NoBrow Press (kindly supplied for review). 

We need joy in our lives right now. Pure unbridled joy, whether in book form or not. "Akissi: More Tales of Mischief (Akissi Volume 2)" by Marguerite Abouet and Mathieu Sapin provides a heck of a lot of joy, with the newly translated volume of Akissi's extended adventures now available for the first time from NoBrow / Flying Eye.

My French isn't that great, I can just about parse a French graphic novel (just about) but poor C lags behind a little bit (mostly because schools here are absolutely rubbish at teaching foreign languages - she gets a single French lesson per week and no French homework, GAH!)

Anyway, joy - yes joy - the joy of observing the comic adventures of a fizzingly energetic young African girl living on the Ivory Coast, and finding something new to get into every day.

Alongside her long-suffering parents and siblings, Akissi and her pet monkey Bubu are once again getting up to all sorts of mischief.

Akissi is no stranger to scrapes and shenanigans, and this time, she has to keep herself from drowning, stands up to a bully, makes peace with her arch nemesis--the prettiest girl in school, and even manages to evade a witch doctor's weird potions.

There's something to be said for a book that manages to perfectly encapsulate the essence of a typical British family holiday.

Jon McNaught's "Kingdom" is quite a strange little beastie, a graphic novel that feels more like a gorgeous piece of art than anything else. Yet it conveys a story in tightly rendered artwork and tiny little panels that so many of us will be utterly and completely familiar with.

A mum and her two kids are embarking on a holiday to a windswept caravan park seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The book begins as their journey begins, complete with all the usual annoyances any journey in the British Isles comes complete with. Rubbish traffic, kids playing up in the car and kicking each other's seats, appallingly soulless motorway service areas - yet Jon gives them an almost ethereal beauty, thanks to some truly stunning art.

We both love how the book captures the child characters so accurately too.

Holiday! Celebrate! A book that perfectly captures a british seaside holiday.

For example the younger sister is a bit of a daydreamer, consumed with all things girly. Her older brother is a typical teen boy, always with an edgy interest in anything remotely subversive.

A british holiday without torrents of rain? Unheard of!

Jon's tight panelling almost makes you dizzy with so many tiny little gorgeous panels crammed into most page spreads, with the book breaking out into full spread illustrations in places as well.

"Let's go to the museum!" (SO familiar, this!)

I was quite taken by this as it felt like it was mirroring my own childhood experiences of family holidays, and 5 (oh my god, FIVE!) people crammed into a Mini Metro along with their luggage, tootling off to some coastal caravan park.

 C was less impressed though I think it's probably because we don't actually have many holidays like this ourselves, almost a shame as there's an undeniable charm and appeal to something so simple and yet so satisfying.

"Kingdom" by Jon McNaught is out now, published by NoBrow Press (kindly supplied for review). 

Our Second Book of the Week this week, well it was inevitable wasn't it, we utterly love "Hilda and the Stone Forest" by Luke Pearson...

How would you feel if one day you found out that the seemingly ordinary world around you was actually anything but, and the simplest actions you carried out day to day had a massive effect on an entire civilisation of unseen folk.

In "Hilda and the Midnight Giant" we once again cozy up with Luke Pearson's utterly sublime golden girl. You may remember we reviewed Hildafolk a little while ago (and yes, that was also 'Book of the Week' with good reason) and swore we'd be back to visit her atmospheric and gorgeous bookworld again soon.

So here we are, and Midnight Giant is every bit as good as we hoped it would be - even better in fact.

As before with Hildafolk, Hilda and the Midnight Giant - and Hilda herself of course - feel like stories that were created to address the gaping hole in the market of comics that both children and adults can enjoy on an equal footing.

Perhaps it's because they work as standalone stories. Perhaps it's because Luke Pearson both illustratively and textually treats his audience as intelligent human beings rather than resorting to dumbing down and explaining scenarios piece by piece (something we do, thankfully, see in a lot of the children's comics we are currently hoovering up with great gusto).

Perhaps it's also because Hilda and the Midnight Giant has a delicious dark tinge, that doesn't use cheap scares or psychological trickery to put children ill at ease but dishes up whacking great big chunks of solid storytelling that keep you hanging on every page turn.

"The Midnight Giant" sees Hilda and her mum living a fairly idyllic existence until several nasty incidents occur. Someone is throwing stones through their window, wrapped in threatening notes. Something is deeply wrong and it takes Hilda to become the conduit between the petty acts of vandalism and an entire society who see Hilda, her mum and their house as a gigantic blot on their landscape.

With a little help from a certain little wooden friend (Charlotte really, REALLY loves the Woodman) and the magical involvement of the hidden folk who eventually (after much paperwork and bureaucracy) reveal themselves, Hilda embarks on a mission to try and achieve detente.

There is a story that segues neatly with this quest, and it's the story that gives this beautiful comic its name. Who is the midnight giant and why does he appear and disappear without saying anything? What is going on? With Hilda's gift for befriending magical beings, there's only one way to find out.

Touching, entertaining, brilliantly told and illustrated, it goes without saying that we have an absolute NEED to polish off the series with "Hilda and the Bird Parade" and I've a sneaking suspicion that Luke Pearson might well make it a 'book of the week' hat trick.

Charlotte's best bit: Aside from her utterly funny reactions every time the little wooden guy crops up, she had a favourite bit but I can't reveal it to you without spoiling the story massively (emphasis on the word 'massively' there). Go read! You'll see what we mean!

Daddy's favourite bit: I loved the digs at red tape, and the mayor's utter hopelessness in this (and of course the mayor's rather funky cat thing!)

Here's Part Two of this week's "Book of the Week" double header. Now you can see why it was so very tough to choose between two utterly superb comics that have rarely strayed from our reading pile this week (when a book is demanded morning, noon and night - and quite often at all the moments in between, you know it's struck a chord!)

I've had my eye on the Hilda books for a long time. Luke Pearson's visual style and storytelling have always intrigued and interested me so we took the plunge and picked up "Hildafolk" as a bit of a taster to getting the rest of the Hilda books. We've seen many recommendations and euphoric tweets about Pearson's meisterworks so we wanted to find out if all the fuss was justified.

It is - and then some.

If you were brought up on cool surreal stuff like "The Moomins" or you've ever had any love for folk tales (particularly Nordic ones) you'll instantly love Hilda to bits. She's a plucky little girl with blue hair and a pointy nose. She's got the coolest pet called Twig. But best of all she seeks out and befriends Trolls!

One night after camping out in a Rainstorm, Hilda wakes to find that a Troll Rock is quite close to home. Tying a bell to its 'nose' (just in case it moves, of course), Hilda sets out with her sketchbook to sketch the Troll Rock and catalogue her discoveries.

As she settles down in her own bed for the night, she's woken by something extremely disturbing. A tiny tinkling of a bell...

Just what is going on, and who is the mysterious Wood Man who keeps coming into the house to lie in front of the fire?

There's just the right balance of brilliant characters. Charlotte absolutely adores the brave and adventure-seeking Hilda but secretly I think she loves Wood Man more (as do I!) Luke Pearson manages to delicately flavour the story with just enough spookiness to keep children enthralled without scaring them, and a whole ton of interest. Experiencing Hildafolk for us was exquisite torture because it is fairly short, but like eating the tiniest morsel of the most delicious strong cheddar, it has you craving more as soon as you reach the last page.

We're in danger of wearing our copy of Hildafolk out - and will be picking up "Hilda and the Bird Parade" and "Hilda and the Midnight Giant" as quickly as we possibly can. Hilda is, without doubt, the sort of comicbook hero that (along with Gum Girl) Charlotte can wholly embrace as being someone who speaks to her in her own language and appeals to her curiosity and sense of excitement for dark and mysterious comic worlds. Utterly, utterly, utterly brilliant and we cannot wait for more. NoBrow seem to be publishing some of the most exciting titles on the market at the moment and we'll be hoovering up as many as we can!

Charlotte's best bit: She cackles with laughter at Wood Man's antics. I really struggled to find the right voice to read his dialogue in (I opted for a slightly reedy and uber plummy accent but also tried him out with a sort of scritchy-scratchy 'raggety' voice too). She loves Hilda very much too.

Daddy's favourite bit: In all honesty I thought that "Hildafolk" would win our book of the week outright, as it's really been in demand but Gum Girl has too. I utterly drank in Luke Pearson's work like the most glorious draft of some fabulous elixir. Addictive, darkly tinged but not scary, with one of the best set of characters I've seen in a comic for a very long time. WE WANT MORE!!!