Our second Picture Book of the Week is a hilarious spy romp with a difference.

In "Secret Agent Elephant" by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins, the spy isn't some suave sophisticated lantern-jawed action man. It's an elephant, and one who can barely wriggle into his stylish tuxedo, let alone cope with the rigours of a life as an international elephant of mystery.

There's a nefarious plot by an arch super-criminal to end the world, and the only man...er Elephant for the job is a pizza-obsessed klutz who is going to need some firm but gentle guidance in the ways of becoming a spy.

Eoin and Ross offer up a great little picture book homage to James Bond (check out Elephant's poor crushed sports car, for example) before diving headlong into the giggles with a brilliant showdown with the nefarious Vincent Le Morte.

As always with picture books, I can never quite tell whether they're going to be a hit, miss or maybe with C - but she enjoyed this one. Psst, secret stuff, she was actually rooting for Vincent at the end so I hope there's a sequel planned with some sort of super-villain jailbreak involved!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant spy romp with lots of knowing nods and winks to spy movies, as well as the brilliant physical humour of a colossal klutz of an animal trying to slink their way (largely unsuccessfully) through an awesome spy adventure.

"Secret Agent Elephant" by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins is out now, published by Orchard Books (kindly supplied for review).

Do you dream in colour? Dreamscapes and the realm of the mind are a fascinating subject for a children's book, because you can weave a story world that's limited only by your imagination. Laurence Anholt lets his imagination fly in this story of Jack, who is determined to stay awake all night to capture all the best bits of dreams, and bring them back to the real world.

As the world enjoys its restful slumber, Jack steals into the dreamworld armed with the Dreamsack, which he will use to claim his treasure. What will he find as he explores?

Wholly original, with subtle flavours and reminders of "Alice in Wonderland" and some absolutely fantastic and imaginative artwork by Ross Collins, this is a story that gave us a nice little jog because it wasn't quite what we were expecting. We rather love some of the inventive characters Jack encounters as he works his way right to the very heart of his dreamscape where something magical and glowing exists.

Enter Jack's dreams, you may be surprised at what you'll find!

Charlotte's best bit: The ultimate treasure nestled in the very heart of Jack's dreams. Can it be brought back to the real world?

Daddy's Favourite bit: That rare thing, a children's book that feels original and inspirational, and a perfect combination of story and illustration. Dreamy indeed!

In the deep dark wood, just as the sun starts to rise in the sky, Billy Monster is settling down for a well earned sleep. But Billy Monster is scared. Scared that something's lurking in the bedroom cupboard!

Flipping the world neatly on its head, Alan Durant and Ross Collins conjure up a tale that may feel a little familiar to fans of Monsters Inc - but manages to be charming and funny enough to stand on its own two hairy monster feet.

Poor Billy just cannot snooze while light streams in through the curtains, and every single noise from outside sounds like a horde of the most feared beasts ever to stalk the planet - CHILDREN!

There are so many great little touches in this book that we enjoyed, and that's down to the combination of Alan Durant's amusing flip-switch on a situation parents know only too well, and also down to Ross Collins' brilliant and detailed artwork.

Just don't have daymares, OK?

Charlotte's best bit: The children's faces in the spread-panel towards the end! VERY funny!

Daddy's favourite bit: Poor Daddy Monster trying every trick in the book to get Billy to snuggle down and sleep (been there, done that!)

Here's the second part of our dark and ghoulish Horror Double Feature for Halloween and once again we take a look at another one of Ross Collins' creepy and ghostly creations.

When a young child discovers she's being haunted by a rather rude, rather large and rather mischievous ghostly elephant, the poor girl soon finds out that having an Elephantom kicking around the house isn't as great as it sounds.

Entire jars of peanut butter go missing. Chaos ensues, and the poor girl turns to her grandmother in desperation to see if she has any advice.

Granny is no fool and soon recommends the services of a certain mystical gent working in a fantastic shop called "Spectral and Sons". Will the girl ever be rid of her unwanted elephantine house guest?

"The Elephantom" is beautifully observed, funny and ghoulish and entertains without being too scary for more timid children who don't particularly like their bedtime spooky stuff too dark or too unnerving.

Charlotte's best bit: DOCTOR WHO!!! Look it's Doctor Who, Daddy. What's Doctor Who doing in there? ("Spectral and Sons" has a rather fetching Police Public Call Box on its shelves).

Daddy's favourite bit: Here's something fairly subtle and something that made me smile. The expression on the Elephantom's face. He knows he's a bit naughty, he knows he can get away with it. All the way through the book you see him carrying on without a care until....aha! Spoilers, sweetie, spoilers!

Welcome to the spookiest double feature in children's picture books, the ReadItDaddy Halloween Double Review. In part one we'll be looking at Ross Collins' superb vampish story "Dear Vampa" and in part two we'll also be looking at another Ross Collins book, The Elephantom.

So lets get jugular!

Dear Vampa sees a young boy writing to his dearly beloved Vampa (Granpa) in far off Transylvania. The poor lad is at his wits end after a new family move in next door to the Pire family, and disrupt their ordinary everyday nocturnal and peaceful lifestyle with loud raucous music, parties and terrible terrible drinks.

We readily identify with what it's like to live next door to the neighbours from hell (thankfully we managed to move, and our current neighbours are absolutely lovely!) so this tale touched a raw nerve, but was deliciously funny at the same time.

Charlotte wanted to know why the Pires were 'in black and white, while everyone else is in colour' which made me giggle. She's way too young to sit through Nosferatu (or for that matter, any other Vampire movie) but this book entertained her and appealed to her monster-loving side too.

There's a delicious twist at the end of this book which you might see coming as soon as the annoying family are introduced. But we'll leave it up to you to see if you can spot it and work it out. It is fantastic though. Ross Collins is definitely an author-illustrator we'll be keeping a very close (bloodshot) eye on.

Charlotte's best bit: Really really want to tell you what it is but it would spoil the 'twist' of the book. It involves her saying a particular character was her - but very rapidly changing her mind later on.

Daddy's favourite bit: Ross Collins' eye for all those lovely little horror in-jokes and nods to Bram Stoker's most beloved creation. Love it.

Wolves are often cast as the 'bad guys' in children's stories, but foxes aren't far off the mark either. Sneaky, charming (in their own way) and often with a rumbling tummy, Kimberley's Scary Day shows what happens when a trusting (and rather silly) Guinea Pig named Kimberley falls for the charms and wiles of a fox in disguise. 


It's a very short and sweet book, and there's a nice little cameo at the end that most children will delight at. Great artwork from Ross Collins (who knew that Guinea Pigs had iPods?) and a nice twist on a fairly familiar tale. 


Charlotte's best bit: Foxy shadow on the wall


Daddy's favourite bit: Ross Collins' description of his love of fine Guinea Pig cuisine


Rating: 3 out of 5