My Welsh Grandma made a mean christmas pud. Every year she'd begin it around...january 1st, and she'd spend an entire day mixing, mashing, coaxing, splashing and topping off an evil mixture with more cooking sherry than is humanly allowable. Then the mixture was allowed to steep (and some might even say 'fester') until it was ready to be steamed in a gigantic white muslin, in the same pot Grandad used to steam his army socks (for rambling in), until it was ready to serve on Christmas Day.

Perhaps puddings like this were the inspiration for Leyland Perree and Stuart McGhee's latest hilarious book "The Unpleasant Tale of the Man-Eating Christmas Pudding" because surely no pudding born into the world in such a way could ever be anything but evil. It could certainly knock you on your back with one spoonful.

The man eating christmas pud is a thoroughly caddish curranty criminal, stopping at nothing to ruin christmas for the poor family who end up playing hapless hosts to it. But as scary and mean as a man eating christmas pud can be, can it possibly stand up to Mr Claus himself?

We loved this, the twist in the middle and then a suitably satisfying end as Mr Christmas Pud meets Mr Saint Nick and...well we won't spoil it for you, you'll have to read the book and find out what happens. Just watch out you don't break your teeth on the sixpence in the middle!

Nab your copy of "The Unpleasant Tale of the Man-Eating Christmas Pud" from Ghostly Publishing.


Charlotte's best bit: Is a man-eating christmas pudding any match for a man in a red coat and a white beard?

Daddy's Favourite bit: Love the sheer mayhem in this at the start! ROARRRR!

(Kindly sent to us for review in digital form by Leyland Perree)

For our semi-regular "Indie Pen-Dance Wednesday" slot we're taking a pre-Halloween look at a spooky little book by Leyland Perree and Stuart McGhee, the dynamic indie duo behind "The Great Reef Race".

We're dabbling in all things supernatural with a gigantic witchy cast, but which witch is which?

There's Mavis, who has the coolest black wig you've ever seen (better than Samuel L. Jackson's afro in "Pulp Fiction!") and Gertrude who has a very skinny cat. Esmeralda lives in a wobbly belltower, and Queenie, who built a beautiful pink castle in a stinky green swamp!

With rhyming text to introduce us to these lovely warty ladies, and fabulous illustrations that are squelchy, spotty and deliciously witchy, the fun begins when children pick a favourite witch - and then try to remember who is who at the end of the book.

We read this in electronic form, and it was great fun flicking through - and a really fun story to read aloud. We also loved all the tiny little details worked into each illustration (also, spotting the Octopus from "The Great Reef Race" making an awesome cameo - hope he didn't end up in the cauldron!)

Fabulous fun, perfect for halloween storytimes!

(You can purchase "Which Witch is Which" via Amazon or via http://ghostlypublishing.co.uk/shop/Which-Witch-is-Which_18.html)

Charlotte's best Witch: Queenie the Swamp Witch!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Edna, who has the same hairstyle as me!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Leyland Perree)

You join us as we drop in on Eel and Ock as excitement ramps up to frenetic levels under the sea. We have (almost literally) dived headlong into the bubbling briny deep to find out what happens during "The Great Reef Race".

This independently published book by Leyland Perree and Stuart McGhee looks absolutely brilliant, and that's one of the first things that struck us. We see a lot of indie and self-published titles, some great, some needing a serious amount of work to bring them up to publishing standards but in the case of "The Great Reef Race" you get rhymes that flow, illustrations that are clear, eye-catching and awesome, and a general feel of quality.

Eel and Ock look brilliant, we really enjoyed the energy of this book as their preparations for the race allow us a sneaky insight into all the other marine characters who pop up during the story (big plus point, lots of species for Charlotte to spot!)

As the story moves at such a pace (and as Leyland has obviously spent a lot of time making his rhymes fit together so nicely) it's a sing-song tale that's a joy to read out loud. Coupled with Stuart's artwork, this is probably one of the most impressive indie-published titles we've seen in a very long time. Top work guys!

You can pick up the book from the Ghostly Publishing web site. 

Charlotte's best bit: All the little fishes and creatures trying to help Whale (who gets stuck in a wreck!)

Daddy's favourite bit: There's a heck of a lot to love here, from great rhymes that trip off the tongue to some really nice artwork that reminded me of the classic comics like Whizzer and Chips and The Beezer which I used to read as a kid. Fantastic and thoroughly recommended.

(Kindly sent to us in digital form by Leyland Perree / Ghostly Publishing)