It's lovely to welcome Simon Bartram back to the Book of the Week slot with his new creation, and there's not a Bob in sight....

We've been quite interested to see what the Bob / Man on the Moon Early Readers Chapter Books are like - we love the Picture Book versions very much. Templar kindly sent us one to take a look at and this time Bob (The Man on the Moon) is coasting on the crest of moon-tube video fame. Movie moguls decide to make a movie all about his life and work, filling Bob with much excitement and anticipation as a movie advisor.

Bob doesn't realise how the big wheels of Hollywood work, and how massive a certain Mr Vegas' ego is (is it just me or does he look a lot like Peter Serafinowicz?)

The film soon takes a turn for the worst and when Bob tries to intervene, he's hurried off-set - which is just the start of the movie madness with far worse yet to come.

As Charlotte moves into early chapter readers, books like this are fantastic because Simon Bartam's characters are good enough to stand on their own two feet in a predominantly text-based book (which still has brilliant black and white illustrations dotted throughout).

We managed to get through the story fairly quickly but it was very well written and now has us thinking about checking out the rest (there are 5 in the "Bob and Barry's Lunar Adventure" series, as well as all the fantastic picture books available too!)

An engaging book, a brilliant baddie, lots of hilarity and who could possibly resist a trip to the moon! Fab stuff, can't wait for more!

Charlotte's best bit: The brilliant end, which we can't reveal of course!

Daddy's favourite bit: Bob's constant denial that aliens exist (which of course means Charlotte absolutely LOVES spotting them all throughout the Bob books!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Books) 

For years now, artists working in children's picture books have been raising the bar so high and wowing the world with their work. Often we encounter books that are full of such utterly amazing illustrations that it's no exaggeration to say that you'd proudly display them on the wall (or in an art gallery, for that matter).

We've previously told you how Templar Publishing seem to have a knack for attracting the very brightest and best artistic talent working in children's books today and Simon Bartram is no exception. With amazing almost glowing illustrations that always remind me of the superb stuff in classic 'Eagle' comics, Bartram's 'Man on the Moon' books are much loved and 'Bob and the Moontree Mystery' is the latest adventure for intrepid spaceman Bob and his cyclopean doggy sidekick Barry.

Bob finds a mysterious glowing seedy pod thing when tidying up the dark side of the moon. The seed bounces away from Bob and ends up in one of the deepest darkest craters. Thinking the seed is lost for good, Bob thinks nothing of it and heads back home just in time for tea (and the big match).

The very next day, something quite extraordinary happens on the return journey to the moon. Bob's rocket ship crashes into the vast canopy of a gigantic tree. A moontree no less!

Join Bob for the rest of the adventure in this sumptuously presented book, marvelling at just how fantastic Bartram's storytelling and illustrative abilities are.

Charlotte's best bit: Finding the various aliens (which Bob denies even exist) on each page spread, and also counting Barry's legs (at least with six legs, you'll never be short of something to scratch with!)

Daddy's favourite bit: I could spend hours looking at Simon Bartram's fantastic illustrations. We've loved 'Dougal's Deep Sea Diary' and his stunning artwork on Pumpkin Moon. Spaceman Bob books are just as brilliant and should be a hit with any space-obsessed kids (and their parents!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Books)

An odd book this, and it's one of those rare cases where I wish I could split the scores for illustration and text into two categories.

Simon Bartram's illustrations are utterly sublime. We've previously reviewed 'Dougal's Deep Sea Diary' here at ReadItDaddy and enthused about it, quite rightly. This though? Hmm it's a book that was later tied in to a made-for-tv Halloween special, and I get the distinct impression that Tim Preston's lazy text makes up for the fact that the TV thing had little or no dialogue.

It's best to just marvel at Bartram's detailed paintings on each page, make up your own story to go with it, and ditch the rubbish story that was haphazardly strapped around this.

Alright, for the record this is the one and only time we'll do this but separate scores time.

Charlotte's best bit: The witches! Real proper witches with green skin and warty noses.

Daddy's favourite bit: Wait a minute, is that a sneaky cameo from the BFG?

Rating: Illustrations - 4 out of 5 stars. Text - 0 out of 5 stars.

Editor's Note - July 2013. Tim recently got in touch via the blog and email to address this review and we're very happy to publish his comment on our "Pumpkin Moon" review...

"Tim is a little sad that he is only credited with having written poor text to accompany the artwork – as he came up with the entire idea for the book in the first place. Once an artist was chosen, Tim provided a lot of detailed notes for each illustration, to assist the artist (who did a great job). As regards Pumpkin Moon, he agrees that the artwork is the thing – the story works best without text. (Tim has no knowledge of the TV thing, which came later.) Actually, Tim says his text was altered by the publisher, without his knowledge; he agrees that the final text is not brilliant – but says the book is still good, thanks to the lovely artwork".