This week's Chapter Book of the Week sees Swapna and Sheena maintain their iron grip on our funny bones.

Oh the cackles of glee, oh the hoots of laughter. Oh the sheer deliciousness of the return of Dave Pigeon and his hapless sidekick Skipper in a tale that pays a nod to something I was PROPERLY obsessed with as a kid. More about that later though...

So "Dave Pigeon: Royal Coo" by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey dropped onto our doormat with nary a royal fanfare (we do keep asking our postie to bugle his arrival but so far all we get is a disgruntled "Hmmph!")

This time Dave and Skipper are taking in the sights, sounds and..er..smells of London.

Dave comes up with the idea of visiting Buckingham Palace just in case the queen has thrown out a few truffle offcuts or caviar vol-au-vents but while pecking around the gates of the royal residence they meet Prince Raju Pigeon, one of the Queen's personal birds from the Royal Lofts.

Raju isn't quite what Dave and Skipper expected, in fact Raju craves an ordinary life outside Buck House. The sort of life Dave and Skipper lead, in fact - and a plan is born. Dave and Raju swap places in a superb nod to "The Prince and the Pauper". Needless to say, Dave is no shy retiring wallflower about his new royal status, and it soon goes to his head. What will happen when Raju fetches up to resume his post as royal pigeon fave? Clue: It might involve flossing and biscuits!

Speaking of The Prince and the Pauper, does anyone remember the 1970s TV series? Can you remember who played the Prince? Here's a clue from the book adaptation that went with the series. Recognise that handsome plonker?


(Hahhahahaha! Brill!)

Once again Swapna and Sheena have taken Dave and Skipper on a superbly funny adventure that is full of giggles, but also a rather nicely subtle tongue-in-cheek dig or two at 'posh folk' and being fairly happy with your lot in life. We love these books a lot, and really hope that there'll be a few more!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A superb 'pigeon out of water' tale with some ace class jokes and crazy mishaps, possibly our favourite "Dave" book yet!

"Dave Pigeon: Royal Coo" by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey is out now, published by Faber and Faber (kindly supplied for review)

Our Chapter Book of the Week sees the glorious return of our favourite feathered friend and his trusty sidekick. Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey are back with "Dave Pigeon (Racer!)"

Once again it's been a sheer delight to hear C cackling like a drain every 5 seconds while reading a book.

This time, we catch up with Dave and Skipper, who are uprooted from their nice comfy abode with "The Human Lady".

Stuffed into a shoebox (not the best place to be when your best friend is a big fat pigeon with stinky feet who isn't averse to a bit of 'pigeon-spreading') Dave and Skipper are off to the Pawsville Vets for some much needed medical attention for poor Dave's broken wing. At least that's what they thought...

Instead, the two find themselves living in a pet shop instead, with some very odd characters indeed.

There's Jet the Dog - who is a bit too energetic for such a small space.

Cricket Ball Face the Hamster. You'll have to read the book to find out quite why the poor mite has such an unfortunate (yet fitting) nickname.

Worst of all is Mickey Lightning, a worthy adversary indeed - and one who Dave soon finds himself drawn into a crazy challenge with. Dave firmly believes he can somehow turn his slightly podgy over-fed body into that of a prime racing pigeon - speedy enough to take on Mickey Lightning in a race for fortune and glory (or at least a lion's share of the scoff at dinner time!)

There's one slight obstacle in the way of Dave's imagined glory though and despite a lot of help from friends old and new, Dave's situation seems hopeless. It's just not going to be easy for a rotund feathery fellah to transform into a sleek racing machine!

I think we both felt a bit guilty from christmas over-indulgence reading this one, and definitely felt distinctly Dave-like after one too many Quality Street sessions. So this is not only brilliantly timed, it's once again the perfect combination of pant-wettingly funny storytelling, hilarious and characterful artwork and a durned good read to boot! Thoroughly recommended!

"Dave Pigeon (Racer!)" by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey is out now, published by Faber and Faber (kindly supplied for review)

This week's chapter book of the week comes with a huge glee-filled "YESS!" Dave is back!