There's a rather lovely atmosphere in Jane Hissey's "Jolly Snow". The same atmosphere of anticipation you get when the first cold snap arrives, and the clocks go back - and you know that the first snows are on their way in the seasonal mail. We love snow, and Charlotte's lucky enough to have seen the proper stuff - sledged in it - and seen how the usual humdrum grey urban world is wonderfully transformed by a cold white blanket of perfection.

Jane carries that message across in "Jolly Snow" as we discover the nursery chums Jolly Tall, Old Bear, Little Bear, Rabbit and Duck trying to describe what snow is like. Will a floury kitchen suffice? Or bubbles from a bubble bath?

There's really no substitute for the real thing though, and Jolly can't wait to play out in the garden when finally the snow arrives.

It's wonderful to be able to catch up with Jane Hissey's back catalogue now that Scribblers are reprinting these in paperback. This special collector's edition is lovely, reprinted to a high standard to show off Jane's wonderful artwork.

We're beginning to really enjoy our time with this fab quintet and look forward to re-reading this classic as it's destined to become a bedtime (and certainly a snowy) favourite

Jolly Tall and Old Bear have fun making lanterns and stars!

Charlotte's best bit: Little Bear playing in the paper snow (I hope he didn't make Old Bear tidy up after him!) Daddy's Favourite bit: A wonderful atmospheric story absolutely perfect for the time of year and definitely something that should be high on people's "christmas stocking book" list

(Kindly sent to us for review by Scribblers Books)

I have no idea how it could've happened, but "Old Bear" is one of those books that my book-blogging friends whisper in abject reverence about - but we've never got round to reading and reviewing. Now, thanks to the kind folks at Scribblers - and a timely re-release in Paperback, we can finally find out what all the fuss is about.

It's a fuss worth making. We've previously loved Jane Hissey's utterly sublime "Ruby, Blue and Blanket" and Jane was also kind enough to answer some of our trickiest questions in an interview too.

So catching up with her back catalogue has been a genuine pleasure!

"Old Bear" the titular and rather dapper subject of this book is a big raggedy, baggy and fragile teddy who is a bit too frail to be played with. Poor Old Bear is consigned to the loft, but the other toys begin to miss him - and when the children are slightly older and slightly less rough and tumble, they decide to mount a rescue mission to bring Old Bear back into the nursery, to be played with once again.

A grand mission begins with Duck, Little Bear, Rabbit and friends coming up with various plans on how to rescue the old gent from his attic hideaway. Being a toy isn't easy, and when you're very small and the Attic is a very long way away, a rescue mission seems all but impossible.

Thankfully toys are also clever and resourceful, so it's not long before a successful plan is hatched. Will the toys be able to find Old Bear nestling amongst the junk and cobwebs?

Knowing a little bit about how Jane likes to work, I find her stories and art absolutely enthralling as does Charlotte. Her illustrations practically leap off the page, the stories are warming, enduring and above all great fun, and the cast of characters ensures that each and every child will have a particular favourite (I love Old Bear because he reminds me of my mum's teddy - which I was VERY careful with while playing with him as a kid. Charlotte adores Rabbit!)

So it's brilliant to have finally caught up with Jane's masterwork! More reviews of Jane's books coming soon!



Charlotte's best bit: Little Bear climbing a rubber plant! Eek!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Timeless, peerless, beautiful books. A very happy discovery!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Scribblers Books)

As promised, here's our review of Jane Hissey's brilliant new children's book "Ruby, Blue and Blanket". A celebration of playing together, dressing up and above all having a lot of fun.

Ruby the mouse and her two friends Blue the rabbit and Blanket the pony, decide to play with the dressing up box one day. At first, the three friends wonder what they can dress up as. Ruby wants to be a witch flying high on her broomstick. Blue dresses as a Princess, with long flowing hair, a long dress and bare feet. Blanket decides to be a Zebra, or perhaps a unicorn Zebra. Wow!



The more the three friends play, the more they mix and match all the wonderful things found in the dressing-up box. Why just be a witch when you can be a space witch? Why settle for being a mermaid when you can be a pirate unicorn mermaid! Hooray!



In Jane's words, it's fantastic to let children loose with a box of dressing up clothes rather than just opt for the rather stale and sterile pre-made shop-bought costumes that children seem to favour every time there's a 'dressing up' day at school. We took a lot of trouble and effort to dress Charlotte up as a Pirate Girl for her school's "Book Week" recently - and it was a lot more fun than just grabbing a Princess dress off the peg and letting her wear that instead.

As any parent (or indeed grandparent like Jane) will tell you, nothing keeps a child's attention for longer than an exciting box of dressing up clothes (it's always one of the things that gets an enthusiastic response at Charlotte's school during the morning child-led play sessions). Kids are natural role-players and love to mix the roles and genders up, just like the fantastic characters in Jane's book.

As with the "Old Bear" books and all Jane's other work, the story is charming, the illustrations are absolutely fantastic, and it's a great book to snuggle down with before bed.

Charlotte's best bit: Definitely loved Ruby the best, particularly when she dressed as a mermaid pirate unicorn.

Daddy's favourite bit: A beautifully illustrated and presented book, a lovely celebration of children being children, and doing the things that children do best - letting their imaginations lead their play and activities.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Scribblers)

Jane Hissey, Author and Illustrator of "Old Bear" and "Ruby, Blue and Blanket". Wow, that's a lot of pencil sharpening!

For our first article taking a closer look at Illustration in children's picture books for the #readitmummiesanddaddies2013 campaign we have been very fortunate to be able to interview a true legend.

Jane Hissey, author and extremely talented illustrator behind the much-loved "Old Bear" series of books, and a new title for 2013 - "Ruby, Blue and Blanket" has kindly agreed to an interview. We thought long and hard what we'd love to ask, so here's a fascinating insight into writing and illustration from Jane herself.




ReadItDaddy (Daddy):
'Old Bear' is now deservedly deemed a true classic (and is a book I read to my brother and sister when they were tiddlers). How does it make you feel to know that whole new generations (including my daughter, of course!) still enjoy it today?


Jane Hissey: 
It is a wonderful feeling to see a whole new generation of children discovering Old Bear and all his friends. We have recently redesigned the books to allow more space for the illustrations. This has given them a fresh, modern look so they stand comfortably alongside all the wonderful children's books available today. I love it when I visit schools and introduce the characters only to find that children already regard them as part of the family!



ReadItDaddy (Daddy): 
Out of all the wonderful characters you've created for children's books, who is your particular favourite? (other than old bear himself, of course! Charlotte absolutely loves Rabbit and I've always liked Ruff the Dog)

Jane: 
I have different favourites depending on what I am doing! Little Bear is my favourite to write about because he is adventurous and fun. Duck is my favourite to draw because he is a lovely shape and, with his orange beak and legs, he is bright and colourful. Bramwell Brown has always been a favourite because he was made for my son Owen, when he was born) by a lovely, kind friend, but Old Bear was my teddy bear when I was a baby so he is a very special bear.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): 
Ruby, Blue and Blanket  continues the brilliant theme of toys playing together and having adventures. What was the inspiration for the book? (we love it and truly believe that children are becoming less and less enamoured with technology and more and more into 'lo fi' toys so your timing is spot on!)

Jane:
I have always wanted to do a book about dressing up because I knew it would be great fun to illustrate. I wanted the dressing up costumes to be fun and home-made because I have noticed a tendency for children to just step into a Disney costume or mass produced one and have no imput creatively when asked to dress up for a party or school event. At the last World Book Day event I attended, there must have been at least 20 identical Snow Whites and Supermen!
I made the characters for the book so they would look just how I wanted them and I wrote in verse so I could have a lot of fun with silly rhyming words!


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): 
We're running a campaign to get more parents reading to their children in 2013 and have been amazed by the positive response and support. What do you feel that parents get from reading to their children?

Jane:
I am a grandmother now and have rediscovered the joys of bedtime reading with my little Granddaughter, Isabelle. My son says he loves reading to her as she so obviously sees books as a source of fun and pleasure. Her favourite birthday and Christmas presents were definitely the books she was given! 

I think most parents find it a calming, peaceful time to be close to their children, to see their day to day development as they get involved in the books; first looking at the pictures, then understanding the story and then sharing the reading. I think parents should go on reading to their children until those children are fluent readers themselves. It gives parents a chance to fill in gaps in their own childhood reading, experience new books for themselves and rediscover that wonderful feeling of 'living a story' and not being able to wait to see what happens next!


ReadItDaddy (Charlotte):
What's your favourite cuddly toy that lives at your house?

Jane:
My new little mouse, Ruby, is my favourite cuddly toy at the moment. She has a pink nose and a long curly tail. I made her myself but a friend of mine knitted her little red jumper.


ReaditDaddy (Charlotte): 
What's your favourite colour? (Mine's pink!)

Jane:
I think green is my favourite colour. When I look out of my studio window everything I can see is green; trees, grass, fields and pond. Only the rabbits are not green and there are plenty of those bouncing around eating all my plants!