Our Book of the Week this week definitely covers something that's a bit of a sore subject with both of us (but in a VERY funny way)...

Wow, this is definitely one of the most jaw dropping and 'different' children's books we've seen in a long time...

We truly love the way Tara Books playfully present their fabulous stories in engaging and innovative ways. Their amazing collection of world stories is enviable, and their diverse subjects are dazzlingly original.

So it's no surprise then to find that at first glance "Knock! Knock!" looked like a tiddly pocket sized story book to us.

Oh how wrong could we be! Be prepared for a journey par excellence as a little girl arrives home from school to find her beloved bruin companion is missing!

Any parent will be able to tell you that toddlers will not rest until their favourite toy is found. This resourceful little girl embarks on a journey through the block of flats she lives in to track down her missing bear, meeting some VERY peculiar characters on the way.

So far, it's probably not blowing your socks off but let us describe the format of this book to you. It comes in a handy little hardcover sleeve, and once you take the actual book out, and open to the first page you realise that it's designed to open in a very specific way (thanks to some very clever folding / paper engineering). From right to left, up and down, then left to right, the book opens with a new page and a new part of the story as the girl's search continues. Up she climbs through the tower block, floor to floor and door to door - she must track down her lost bear!

The best surprise comes at the end of the book and it was by far our joint favourite bit, as the girl is finally reunited with her beloved cuddly toy. We won't spoil the end bit but it's fabulous fun, and it's also just as much fun to work backwards through the story as you fold the book back up (clear some floor space for this one, you're going to need it).

What a truly fantastic idea, simple but beautifully executed and gloriously illustrated too. "Knock! Knock!" by Kaori Takahashi is out now from Tara Books.

We love art activity books and we particularly love any book that can introduce us to new art styles or ways of drawing and colouring - and of course books that feature our favourite animals...!

The sights, the sounds, the colours and the spectacle of the Bhil Carnival known as Bhagoria is the subject of this gorgeous and colourful book, with more than a few surprises tucked in between its pages. Neela and Peela are two children who cannot wait to dash to the carnival this year, and we're fortunate enough to be able to join them!

Decked out in traditional Bhil style by artist Subhash Amaliyar, with an entertaining storybook tucked away in the corner telling us of Neela and Peela's adventures at the carnival, this is definitely something special.

There are rides to go on (including a scary ferris wheel), balloons of all colours and shapes to float in the air and all the delicious food that goes with the carnival, including delicious yummy cold ice creams (Neela and Peela's favourite bit!)

We love the way the book unfolds into a huge layout of the carnival, so as you read the story you can have fun spotting all the sights that Neela and Peela see as they spend a fantastic day there.

What a brilliant way to share a traditional indian fair!

Charlotte's best bit: The mouthwatering descriptions of lovely ice creams, and the quite scary description of how the Ferris Wheel works! Eeks!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A colourful and dazzling book that shows off perfectly the amazing spectacle of a traditional indian carnival. We truly wish we could really visit the Bhil Carnival but this is a wonderful way to catch a glimpse of it ourselves!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tara Books)

As you've probably worked out by now, we're huge fans of detective stories on the blog. If there's a mystery to solve, we're there! We love originality too and when "Captain Coconut and the Case of the Missing Banana" popped into our inbox, we couldn't resist its charms.

Tara Books have a distinct knack for producing the most beautiful and original books, so we knew that this was going to be a treat. Imagine a hectic and energetic mix of a truly original protagonist suffused with Bollywood musical numbers (yes, exactly!) and you have "Captain Coconut and the Case of the Missing Banana".

There's a number mystery to solve here, with the aid of the rather eccentric (and paisley-nosed) Captain Coconut - ace detective. His keen elephant-like brain works logically through any problem, so when the captain receives a mysterious teary phone call, he's soon on the case.

Speeding off to the scene on his moped (once he's started it, of course) the captain soon meets Mrs Y, the mysterious phone caller. She informs Captain Coconut that some of the bananas she had purchased the day before have gone missing!

With his keenly observant eyes, and use of unflappable logic, Captain Coconut is drawn deeper into the mystery - after a song of course (and you can BET we had fun singing Captain Coconut's various sing-a-long interludes! What a genius idea to include these in the book!)

Will the Captain solve the missing 'nana mystery? We won't spoil the end for you but you are in for a heck of a treat with this book, it's utterly hilarious and brilliant!

Charlotte's best bit: Captain Coconut's rather dashing song "He's a Rock!"

Daddy's Favourite bit: It's funny, it's quirky, it's wholly original - you'll never have read a detective story as brilliant as this! Hooray for Captain Coconut!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tara Books)

Now the summer is here, our thoughts turn to summer holidays. We'll be glamming it up in Somerset and Wales this year - but we'd truly love to be the little mouse in this story. After Auntie returns home with the most amazing sewn quilt, detailing her adventures in India, a child dreams that they've become a jet-setting mouse. Arriving in a strange country, the local customs seem strange but the cityscape is alive with colour, and the flora and fauna dazzle and delight.

The story playfully allows us to delve into the child's imagination as they travel the landscape, encountering different characters who dilly dally and shilly shally whenever our child-mouse asks where they are. Hence the title of the book!

Anushka Ravishankar's rhymes play with your senses as much as the book's stunning sewn-together visuals (by artist Anita Leutwilet). A beautifully descriptive book that will make you want to travel to one of the globe's most colourful countries in search of adventure. As with all the Tara books we've encountered so far, this is a treat for the eyes as well as the tongue when read aloud!

Charlotte's best bit: Racing around in a Tuk Tuk. Hold on little mouse!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A truly beautiful book full of vibrant colours, fun rhymes and such a brilliant landscape to explore in wonderment.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tara Books)

Tara Books have reissued a real classic, a fantastic animal book that has a fairly simple story with simple artwork - but with so many brilliant little moments both heartwarming and delightful that make us glad it's coming back to bookshelves.

"Elephants Never Forget" is a fish out of water (or is that "Elephant out of Drinking Hole") tale of a baby elephant who ends up separated from his tribe. Left all alone in the hot sun, poor baby elephant doesn't have much of a chance of survival, but he's no dumbo, he manages to find the most unlikely allies. The buffalo love Elephant and his 'joie de vivre'. The young buffalos especially love the fact that elephant loves to play, particularly in the mud and water.

Look at his face! Now that's an elephant who LOVES having fun!

As elephant grows bigger and stronger, he becomes such an important member of the buffalo tribe that they are inseparable. He defends them against attack by the nasty tiger, he showers them every morning to keep the ticks at bay - and he's still the best playmate in the world. But what will happen when elephant once again meets his own kind? Will he choose to stay with the buffalo or will he go back?

Anushka's rhymes are wonderfully sing-song (she is described as India's "Dr Seuss" which is definitely apt). Christine Pieper's illustrations look like fairly simple line work but she has an astonishing knack for imbuing her characters with flowing movement and the most wonderful expressions (we can't get over how funny some of elephant's faces are when he's having fun).

It doesn't get any better than having a good wallow in the mud!

"Elephants Never Forget" is reprinted on 1st June 2014.

Like everything Tara publish, it's nigh-on unmissable!











Charlotte's best bit: Elephant wallowing with lots of baby buffalos using his tummy as a trampoline!

Daddy's Favourite bit: An entertaining story, fabulously told with flowing rhymes and a really heartwarming end. Loved the artwork too, it's brilliant and simple.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tara Books)

Tara Books are renowned for bringing together the most talented authors and illustrators to collaborate on books that introduce us to fabulous folk tales and stories from around the world.

As it's #ReaditMD13 "Awesome Animals" week on ReadItDaddy, we were overjoyed to receive a copy of "Gobble You Up!" by Gita Wolf and Sunita. You'll see a lot of animals in this book but by far the real star is a wily and extremely hungry Jackal. He's pompous, he's proud and he's more than a little bit full of himself. So one day when his best friend Crane tells Jackal off for stealing all the fishes Crane has just caught to share, Jackal responds by - yes you've guessed it - gobbling Crane up!

He doesn't stop there. When Tortoise points out that it's really not the done thing to eat your best friends, can you guess what Jackal does? Oh yes, he gobbles him up!

A cat, a peacock and an elephant all follow suit. Jackal truly believes that his big round tum can fit many more animals in. But is Jackal in for a surprise? You bet he is!

Mr Tortoise. Snack sized!

Sunita's beautiful artwork truly is a wonderful fit for a story that's got just the right amount of repetition, awesome excitement and a good few belly laughs along the way too. We absolutely loved it, and the book is so wonderfully produced with a hand-made 'feel' to it, you really cannot resist diving in for a second reading as soon as you've finished the first. Young children will love shouting "Gobble you up!" at the tops of their voices, and older children will love this as a nice easy and very funny read.

Charlotte's best bit: Uh oh, Jackal's fate! Not pretty but very amusing!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Such a beautifully presented and really funny book, we can't get enough of it! 

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tara Books / Bounce Marketing)