This is an utterly genius idea to get kids engaged with something that can rapidly become a bit of a chore. Charlotte has just started learning Times Tables in the usual 'parrot fashion' way at school. It's a dreary and boring task so anything that can help alleviate that boredom, and actually provide a better way of learning tables has got to be investigated further.

Charlotte actually brought this Usborne "Lift the Flap Times Tables" book home from her awesome school library (Hi Miss Storey! Yes that really is her school librarian's name, what an awesome name it is too!) Thankfully it was in good enough condition to allow Charlotte to dive in and start exploring.

As a lift-the-flap book, it would've already had her hooked if it didn't tie in tightly with what she's learning at home and in class for multiplication tables. It does though, and it also breaks away from the monotony of concentrating by numbers by teaching kids some of the cool tips and tricks they can use to quickly pick up and learn times tables without all that monotone repetition.

Each lift the flap section breaks out as a little 'game' encouraging children to learn and perhaps even to guess some of the answers. It's a great interactive way of learning (without resorting to the dreaded tablet or smartphone to look for an app-based solution - YAY!)

What a brilliant idea!

Charlotte's best bit: Helping a gallant knight across a perilous drawbridge with crocodiles waiting to snap him up!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fun and fantastic way of helping your child through the initial stages of learning times tables, without the dreadfully boring monotonous parrot fashion learning! Huge thumbs up!

Usborne's peerless art series continues with a book that offers a glimpse into the history of colour as well as the history of art. Children are like hungry sponges when it comes to finding out about the past and also how things work. Something as 'basic' as colour is something that children take for granted from an early age, as soon as they start breaking out the crayons and the poster paints - but where do those wonderful colours come from - in fact where did they come from before paint arrived in handy plastic squeezy bottles?

Usborne's fabulous "The Usborne Art Book About Colour" provides answers with a series of brilliant illustrations, informative text and fascinating facts. There are pages about the history of pigments, of the various things that early artists would use to create paints, and comes bang up to date with essential pages detailing colour theory. All of course punctuated by some scintillating artwork and expertise gained from collaborating with experts at The National Gallery.

As a lowly art student, I was told by my course tutor that I had the worst grasp of colour theory of any of her students (to be fair to her, she was not wrong, I am completely hopeless!) After an hour or two with this book, and with Charlotte propped on my knee reading alongside, we both felt like we'd learned an awful lot and had fun doing so. That's a perfect summary of how Usborne books can make art fun and engaging, and books like this truly are inspiring the next generation of little artists to look deeper into the fascinating world of art.

Charlotte's best bit: Slightly over-obsessed with the fact that some pigments were derived from dung!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic book imparting valuable knowledge about colour theory, art history and the history of pigments with superb presentation and fascinating facts. Brilliant!

Phew! After Usborne's brilliant "My First Sticker Art Gallery" I wasn't sure how they'd produce a child-friendly guide to modern art. With roots in controversy, and the aim of provoking a reaction, "Modern" art is usually something to tiptoe around.

Usborne's "Introduction to Modern Art" once again proves that they know their onions, and know how to make a book engaging and interesting, while at the same time cramming as much detail, information and substance as possible between the covers.

Through various "grown up" books I've shown Charlotte works by some of my favourite modern artists (Liechtenstein, Magritte, Dali, Ernst) but here you've got a masterful collection of works that stretch right back to the very beginning of the era now defined as falling under the umbrella "modern art" term.

In more detail, artists, their work and the movements that influenced them are explored and discussed. Though I'd readily admit the book is probably for an age range slightly above 6, Charlotte still wanted to read and learn about the stories behind great works of art, why artists produced them, the history of what was going on at the time (particularly poignant in passages of the book that discuss art produced during times of conflict).

Exquisitely detailed and illustrated, this is a fantastic book that really fascinates Charlotte, and one I keep sneaking off with to brush up on a bit of art history and to try and get a little inspiration for my own scribblings. A really brilliant introduction to modern art, an often unapproachable and difficult subject but deftly and expertly dissected here in this wonderful book.

Charlotte's best bit: The surrealists, such as Dali and Magritte

Daddy's Favourite bit: Love the pop art, particularly Liechtenstein and Warhol

(Kindly sent to us for review by Usborne Books)