We may be jumping the gun a little with our Picture Book of the Week this week, but though you'll have a bit of a wait on your hands for this little treasure, it'll be well worth it.

"The Littlest Yak" by Lu Fraser and Kate Hindley takes on a story trope that we've seen many, many times in children's books over the years, yet manages to give it a fresh and vibrant spin - and a ton of atmospheric gorgeousness largely thanks to some brilliant characterisations and a unique setting.

Meet Gertie. She is the titular littlest Yak. All her relatives and sibs are HUGE. Great big stompy Yaks, mighty and strong so it's no wonder Gertie can't wait to be grown up, and big and strong herself.

Most kids go through a phase like this - and will love this bouncy rhyming story as it unfolds, and Gertie realises that sometimes being small - or being just the way you are - is better than anything else anyway.

We love Lu's story and we really do love Kate's work, cropping up time and again in our Book of the Week slot with her glorious illustrations.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant way to put a new spin on a core theme we have seen a lot in children's books, given new life and a superb bit of originality thanks to gorgeous Gertie!

"The Littlest Yak" by Lu Fraser and Kate Hindley will be released on 3rd September 2020, published by Simon and Schuster Children's Books. 

Oh yess! This is something we had actually been secretly wishing for, ever since we first encountered the "Mrs Wordsmith" kits back in February last year.

The kits were such a huge hit with our readers, and with my sister (who is a child care professional) that we had emails telling us how brilliant they were, how many kits they'd bought - but also how they wished the whole thing could be gathered together into a book (or several volumes of books).

Mrs Wordsmith's awesome team must have heard us, because now we have "Mrs Wordsmith: My Epic Life Word Book - 1000 words to live by".

Written by the team, once again with truly brilliant anarchic illustrations from Craig "Hotel Transylvania" Kellman, it's a must-have for parents and carers, teachers and educators who want a really fun and engaging way to boost their children's vocabularies right into the stratosphere.

It's not quite other 'learn your words' books you'll have seen. Learning made fun? Well that's something new...

Start off simple...

Each page spread and section groups together words, and enhances the way children think about putting sentences and speech together in a brilliant way.

Anyone feel ravenously hungry after seeing this? Just us then!

There are so many quirky little twists and nose-pulls in this that you just can't help laughing as you make your way through this impressive tome.

Awwww!

It works as a great way of teaching your kid new words, but also works as a fantastic resource for them to dip into, to find words to include in their school or home work.

Superb as ever, and slickly presented.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A rocket-powered boost to your little ones' word power and vocabulary made fun from the get-go.

"Mrs Wordsmith: My Epic Life Word Book - 1000 words to live by" by Mrs Wordsmith and Craig Kellman is out on 3rd September 2019 (kindly supplied for review). 

If I could stop humming Sultans of Ping FC songs long enough to review this one, it'd be good!

"Where's my Jumper" by Nicola Slater is a fun and frolicsome story with a jaunty and cute little character on a quest to find their missing sweater.

Poor Rudy is looking for his jumper. 

Well it's a valid question! What do zoos and safari parks DO with all that poo?

With the rate some animals produce the stuff, you'd be neck deep in it within a few weeks so here's a fascinating book that digs deep into the pongy problem.

In "What do they do with all that poo?" by Jane Kurtz and Allison Black you'll get to peek behind the scenes of a zoo, and learn a lot more about how different animals poot, plop and produce their waste.

(Probably best at this point to put down your sandwiches or snacks, we're in for the long haul here).

Did you know, for example, that Sloths only poo once a week?

Did you know that Panda poo is actually green - and doesn't actually pong much at all?

Did you know that Hippos are the 'muck spreaders' of the animal kingdom, spraying their poo all over the place and flapping it around with their tails to mark their territory.

Panda Poo is Green! Panda Poo is Green!!!!

You'll find all these facts and many many more in this fascinating dig (ew) into this thorny, nutty subject.

It's bound to be a firm favourite with kids, this one, let's face it - they never really need an excuse to giggle and chortle at anything poo related.

Spray it don't say it. Best not to be anywhere near a Hippo when it lets rip!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Fun, and extremely informative stuff for animal and plop fans.

"What do they do with all that poo?" by Jane Kurtz and Allison Black is out now, published by Simon and Schuster / Beach Lane Books (kindly supplied for review)

Now and again we love to cover cracklingly good YA books, mainly to keep an eye on what C will be reading in a few short years.

"The Burning" by Laura Bates scorches its way into our "Chapter Book of the Week" slot, using a fictionalised story derived from real-world stories and anecdotes gathered from Laura's hugely important work in schools through the "Everyday Sexism" project, speaking with authority on issues of feminism, positive self-image and toxic masculinity.

Laura was one of the first authors to strongarm the power of social media in order to begin addressing issues that girls as young as C will regularly encounter in their daily lives, right through their teens and into adult life.

The story opens with a girl called Anna who has moved to a new town, a new school and has even changed her identity.

Completely eradicating her old life with good reason, Anna wants nothing more than to make a fresh start as far away from previous troubles as possible.

The only problem is, like a fire, rumour spreads - and soon Anna's new life begins to clash horribly with her old life and 'the incident' from which she has fled.

As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the historical tale of Maggie, a local girl accused of witchcraft centuries earlier.

Anna begins to unravel a story that has terrifying parallels to Anna’s own.

I read this, but it's going to be one of those books I tuck away for C when she's older - though sometimes the subjects covered here do actually make it into conversations both my wife and I already have with C, showing just how widespread issues of harrassment, bullying and sexism are - and how even young girls aren't immune to having this sort of execrable behaviour crop up in their lives.

As much as Holly Bourne's cover quote says "This is a book teen girls NEED to read", I would add that teen boys - and indeed parents - should also read this, as a piece of fiction that has many uncomfortable parallels with what womenfolk in their own families or social circles have, do currently and sadly will have to put up with in their own lives until mass change gathers more momentum. Books like this can only help that happen more effectively and this is a vitally important story to share from an immensely talented author.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A solidly researched, quite often harrowing but ultimately worthwhile and important read derived from Laura's extensive experience of speaking out about the issues covered in Anna's story.

"The Burning" by Laura Bates is out now, published by Simon and Schuster. 

We're not just covering picture books in our #BookyAdventCalendar this year. Oh no, this year we're pleased to open up the field to cover festive chapter books.

Comedians seem to be natural shoe-ins for producing hilarious and entertaining middle grade fiction (and that's not said as any kind of insult, writing for middle grade is as TOUGH as heck).

So a new contender has arrived. One Ben Miller, yes he of Armstrong and Miller fame.

Turning his comedy props to a new festive chapter book, gorgeously illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, here's "The Night I met Father Christmas".

Jackson has always wanted to meet Father Christmas. He knows all about the reindeer, he knows about the elves and the secret North Pole workshop, he knows about the magic that allows Father Christmas to deliver presents around the world in just one night, but there's one thing he doesn't know

We're on Day 18 of our Booky Advent Calendar and though we've been straying away from festive books we're still dead set on bringing you brilliant books to stuff in a stocking...

Today we're VERY lucky to have an awesome guest post from Candy Harper, author of several brilliant children's stories including a rib-tickling tale for the new "Holiday Ha Ha Ha" story compilation, which was released on 30th June 2016 by Simon and Schuster.

Along with the esteemed company of David Solomons, Joanna Nadin, Jonathan Meres, Steven Butler, Jeremy Strong, Steve Cole and William Sutcliffe, it's the sort of fantastic story compilation I'd have squealed loudly for as a bored kid in the long summer holidays.

Check out our June Chapter Book Roundup where we talk about the book in a bit more detail by the way!

Anyway without further ado, here's Candy relating a tale of youthful mischief and her own holiday memories (Candy, we have to say, we REALLY love the sound of your sister!)

Calling International Rescue! Did you know a whole new Thunderbirds series has arrived and is currently knocking everyone's socks off? Expect Thunderbirds-Mania to explode all over merchandise and toy ranges this Christmas but there are also tons of Thunderbirds books to dig into too!

"Stop Those Monsters!" by Steve Cole, illustrated by Jim Field (Simon and Schuster)

A monstrously good day to you. We're basking in the middle of a heatwave as we type (though by the time you read this, we'll probably be languishing in the middle of our rainy season!) Yes it's the August Chapter Book and Early Readers roundup so what's on our dance card for this month?

We start off with Monsters. Did your eyes pop out at our header image? Well it's time to meet Steve Cole's latest monster meisterwork "Stop Those Monsters!"

Billed as "The Wizard of Oz Meets Monsters Inc." (which is a movie mashup we'd DEARLY love to see, "Stop Those Monsters" relates the tale of Bob. No he's not a monster, he's a human boy, trapped in a strange land populated with slobbering toothy hairy nefarious beasts.

As you can imagine, Bob needs his wits about him just to survive an average day but Bob isn't content to just sit around moping - Bob wants to escape this crazy place and with the help of three monstrous companions, Verity (A weird monster who looks a bit like a gigantic hamster), Alfie (voted "World's least scary monster or supernatural being" three years running) and Zola (who, despite being one of the infamous Gorgons, can't actually turn anyone to stone!) Bob hatches a plan to break out of the crazy place before it drives him ga-ga!

Steve Cole's pacy writing, coupled with Jim Field's monster-tastic illustrations, make this utterly essential reading for rib-tickling monster fans. "Stop Those Monsters!" is out now from Simon and Schuster.

With an intriguing title, and some extremely cool penguins, let's move on to chillier climes...

"Meet at the Ark at Eight" by Ulrich Hub (with illustrations by Jorg Muhle) (Pushkin Children's Books)

"Meet at the Ark at Eight" by Ulrich Hub (with gorgeous illustrations from Jorg Muhle) is the tale of a rainy day, a posse of penguins and a rather neat twist on the well-loved biblical tale of Noah and the Ark. This time though, as the flood waters rise our penguin pals are on a strict deadline - Meet at the ark at eight or risk drowning! A wise dove issues the warning and our caper begins.

The three madcap penguins aren't the brightest sparks in the box, but along with a rather surly (and hilariously funny) dove, a beautiful butterfly and an all-seeing god, will the penguins arrive safe and sound (and be home and dry?) Ulrich Hub's allegorical and hugely funny tale is rib-tickling from start to finish (and adults will certainly spot a lot of wry humour in it that will sail right over their little ones' heads!)

"Meet at the Ark at Eight" is published by Pushkin Press, and will be available on the 24th September 2015.

Next up, what has our favourite Tardis-Beret-Wearing dapper gadabout hound been up to lately...?

Claude: Lights, Camera, Action by Alex T. Smith (Hodder Children's Books)

Claude and Sir Bobblysock are hitting the sunkissed boulevards of Hollywood (or rather, the local high street transformed into a makeshift film set) in their latest greatest adventure, a book that caused considerable whooping and cheering when it arrived on Charlotte's bedside table. "Claude: Lights, Camera, Action" follows our dapper adventurous pooch pal and his woolly but clever companion into the movies, completely by accident. With the aid of a troublesome washing line, a trampoline and a deft disguise or two, Claude and Sir Bobblysock stand in for two injured actors when a film production company shows up on the other side of Claude's garden fence. It's time for high adventure on the silver screen as Claude and Bobbles (as Charlotte likes to call him) make a bid for stardom!

As ever, with Alex T. Smith's razor-sharp comic timing and superb illustrations, we're in for a cheeky cinematic tour-de-force in Claude's biggest outing yet.

Keep a very close eye on Claude news in the future because he might become a REAL LIFE movie star, at least on the small screen as a Claude TV series has been optioned! We cannot wait (we're just sad that Kenneth Williams isn't alive to do Claude's voice!)

"Claude: Lights, Camera, Action" by Alex T. Smith is out now from Hodder Children's Books

How about something from a writing legend next who you may not have heard of, but truly owe it to yourself to get to know...?

"The Letter for the King" and "The Secrets of the Wild Wood" by Tonke Dragt. Sprawling and epic stuff! (Puskin Press)

Pushkin Press have re-released Tonke Dragt's million selling "The Letter for the King" and now the sequel, "The Secrets of the Wild Wood" has also been released clad in a fantastic new cover. For those unfamiliar with Tonke Dragt, she's the Dutch genius author of a huge and important body of work to easily rival Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in scope and scale. "The Letter for the King" introduces us to 16 year old Tiuri, tasked with delivering a vital message on a perilous quest across an unforbidding landscape. Tiuri's world is in turmoil, and though the contents of the letter and Tiuri's identity must remain secret, the entire future of the realm depends on the letter reaching the king's hands.

In "The Secrets of the Wild Wood" Tiuri's quest continues as he becomes a knight, sent out on a rescue mission to a dark place filled with magic and foreboding.

If your children can cope with epic, truly epic books on a grand scale (put it this way, if they could work their way through the last few Harry Potter books they'll have no problem with this mammoth pair of amazing tales) they're going to be completely lost to these. "The Letter from the King" is available now from Pushkin Press with "The Secrets of the Wild Wood" released in September.

Did someone say "Dorks?" How rude, and it's definitely rude to read other people's diaries...

"Dork Diaries: Drama Queen (Dork Diaries 9) by Rachel Renee Russell (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

Fashionably late to the party as ever, darrrrrling, we're catching up with the zillion selling "Dork Diaries" books by Rachel Renee Russell. In "Dork Diaries: Drama Queen (Dork Diaries Book 9), our intrepid dork du jour Nikki updates her diary with unfortunate incidents involving beloved pet fish, and the joys (or terrors) of Spring as the diary catches up with the month of April. What else is in store for Nikki, Brandon, Zoey and Chloe? You'd better tune in to Dorksville and find out.

"Dork Diaries: Drama Queen" is out now, released by Simon and Schuster in the most gorgeous Leopard-print hardcover!

What's left in our gorgeous goodie-bag of chapter books and early readers this month?

"Circles of Stone (The Mirror Chronicles) by Ian Johnstone (HarperCollins Children's Books)

The follow up to the fantastic "The Bell Between Worlds", here's "Circles of Stone" by Ian Johnstone, picking up from where TBBW left off with Sylas and Naeo facing a dark army led by the nefarious Dark Lord Thoth. As they continue to explore the boundaries of the mirror world, both are being hunted by the dark lord's forces, intent on destroying the duo before their true powers can be realised. Ian's amazing fantasy world shows that Oxford really is THE city for amazing fantasy authors. Name any top selling fantasy series of the last couple of centuries and you'll soon be adding "The Mirror Chronicles" to the list along with greats by Pullman, Tolkein and Lewis. Fantastic stuff!

"Circles of Stone" is out now from HarperCollins Children's books.

Tune in for more chapter book gorgeousness next month!

(Many thanks to the various publishers who have provided chapter books for our roundups)

Loom Band It by Kat Roberts and Tessa Sillars-Powell (Apple Press)

If you'd told me a couple of months ago that I'd be eschewing the usual evening's entertainment to slavishly sit, almost exploding with concentration and frustration, twiddling tiny rubber bands around pegs or a couple of forks, I'd have called you a complete lunatic (or should that be Loom-Atic? Oh yes the puns will keep coming, never fear!)

Loom Magic! Creatures by Becky Thomas and Monica Sweeney (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

Rev-o-LOOM-tion - A modern kids guide to rocking rubber bands by Liz Hum (Triumph Books)

“O Nature, and O soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies! Not the smallest atom stirs or lives on matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind” 

The rather cute pre-movie scenes on our blu ray copy of the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" made me want to pick up the original book. As it's extremely cheap on Amazon at the moment (and seems to drift in and out of print) I thought I'd grab it and see what all the fuss was about. 

First up, it's worth stating that the movie was very loosely based on this book - so if you're expecting to see Flintlock Wood, the amazing Steve the Monkey (possibly the best sidekick character in any kid's movie of the last 30 years) or cute weather girls, think again. 

This book is more whimsical, charming and fantastically illustrated. 

Telling the tale of the sleepy town of Chewandswallow, a grandfather's tall story depicts a town at the mercy of food-shaped weather. The inhabitants of Chewandswallow don't go out for groceries, they step out of their houses and open their umbrellas to see what the weather holds. 

I loved Ron Barrett's excellent depictions of the food storms. Delicate little strokes of inkwork to flesh out flying bacon or storms of stale bread. Everything looks good enough to eat. 

So if you're a fan of the film, go grab the book anyway as it's a fine little bedtime story that isn't quite as manic and crazy as the movie, but definitely deserves a place in your bookcase. 

Charlotte's best bit: Flying olives!

Daddy's favourite bit: What would health and safety say about kids being hit in the face with red hot pancakes?

Rating: 5 out of 5