"Darkness Slipped In" by Ella Burfoot. Spooky, Dark, Delicious!

"The Dark" by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen. Hi Dark, Hi!

"Spookyrumpus" by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees. Why didn't the skeleton go to the ball...?

"Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball" by Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini. Monstrously good!

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka and Chad Cameron. Autumnal fun!

We're rounding off a week looking at books that celebrate the four seasons of the year (even though sometimes it feels like they all roll into one, we're due snow next week, eep!) Autumn is our favourite time of the year, as the nights draw in, the temperature drops and the trees turn golden. Is there truly anything more satisfying than kicking your way through a huge drift of fallen leaves? Well we love doing that. 

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger. Utterly sublime!

"In November" by Cynthia Rylant and Jill Kastner. So beautiful!

"Fragoline and the Midnight Dream" by Clemency Pearce and Rebecca Elliot. One of our favourite spooky reads!

"The Easter Chick" by Geraldine Echner and Alexandra Junge. Not your average chick lit!

We're continuing our look at the four seasons for our #ReadItMD13 theme week - this time examining books about spring and summer. It's extremely difficult to find books that specifically mention spring, but there's a whole wealth of goodies celebrating Easter time.

The Easter Story by Usborne

Miffy's Garden by Dick Bruna. A veritable classic!

Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

"Smile - Starring Sunny McCloud" by Leigh Hodgkinson. Perfect summer reading!

"Splash - Anna Hibiscus" by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia. Summer wouldn't be summer without Anna!

"The Snow Bear" by Holly Webb (Stripes) . Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This week on "ReadItDaddy" for our continuing Read It Mummies and Daddies (#ReadItMD13) theme weeks, we're celebrating the four seasons in style with a week of seasonal posts - and we're kicking off with Winter. Well, why not, it certainly feels very wintry today!

Our header image shows the cover of Holly Webb's sublime chapter book "The Snow Bear" which is absolutely perfect for winter snuggles and bedtime stories as you pull out the big fat duvet, put the skinny one away and start filling those hot water bottles.

It's a beautiful story of snow, polar bears and grandparents - suffused with magic and mystery. Illustrations make it a great read for younger children who are just beginning to explore early chapter books. Above all though, like all Holly's books, it's the atmosphere that really makes it special.

Some folk don't like snow or cold weather. Take Winnie the Witch for instance!

"Winnie in Winter" by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul (OUP). Magic, mayhem and mischief!

Winnie the Witch books are always popular, and in "Winnie in Winter" by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul we find Winnie wishing that the sun would shine - and Wilbur getting rather fed up of having to trudge through deep snow. Winnie comes up with an idea though. Using a touch of magic, a deft wave of her wand and some magic words Winnie banishes the snow and the cold, and can sit in her garden sipping a tasty cocktail as the sun comes along.

Of course, like most of Winnie's madcap schemes, things don't quite go according to plan. After all, if there's sunshine to be enjoyed - what's to stop the whole neighbourhood joining in and tramping your garden flat as they enjoy the unseasonal weather? Hilarious and brilliantly illustrated, it's a real must!

Bears and winter seem to go hand in hand - how about bears and racoons and letters?

"Herman's Letter" by Tom Percival. Full of wintry goodness!

We recently reviewed "Herman's Letter" by Tom Percival and it's a smashing little book set in the winter as Henry the racoon and Herman the bear, the best of friends, cope with the winter in different ways. Henry goes off to live in a new house, leaving Herman behind. Henry writes to bear every day, telling him how fabulous his new home is - and how they'll always be best friends but Herman isn't sure - and when the postal service starts to close down for the winter, Herman realises that his last chance to tell Henry just how great a friend he is would be to deliver a very special letter himself.

We loved the wintry landscapes Herman struggles through, as he fights to stay awake during hibernation time to deliver his message of friendship to his best pal. A lovely book exploring friendship in a unique way.

Finally, a touch of frost...Jack Frost!

"Jack Frost" by Kazuno Kohara. Nipping at your nose!

Kazuno Kohara's "Jack Frost" is probably THE perfect winter book as we meet a young boy, desperate for a playmate, who befriends Jack himself - on the understanding that he never mentions any of the other seasons. If he does, Jack will disappear! They play together in the snow and have lots of fun but a slip of the tongue sees Jack making good on his promise, and soon he's gone as the new buds arrive and the first dewdrops of spring melt as the forests and woodlands turn green. Will Jack be back next year? Visually striking and a real wintry treat, it's a fab story. Just don't get frostbitten!

We'll be looking at lovely books celebrating spring next so keep an eye out for our next themed post!

Harriet Ziefert and Amanda Haley's excellent "Uses for a Grandpa / Grandma" books.

This week as part of our ongoing campaign to get more parents reading to their children, we're celebrating groovy grandparents with a look at children's books that pay homage to them.

Rightly so, because let's face it, without grandparents we'd really struggle! Charlotte is lucky enough to have three awesome sets of grandparents (Grandma and Grandad, Nanny and Dodo and Grumpy Grampy and Grandmo) who love nothing better than sitting down with a good book and reading to her or with her.

Starting off with "40 Uses for a Grandpa" and "41 Uses for a Grandma" (41 because we all know that Grandmas are far more useful than Grandpas!) by Harriet Ziefert and Amanda Haley, here's a fun-packed and sometimes slightly irreverent pair of books that list in great detail all the wonderful things that grandparents do. Harriet obviously speaks with authority, being a grandma herself - and Amanda Haley's artwork is beautiful and funny, so don't miss these - they'll make great gifts for grandma or grandad next time birthdays or christmas roll around and you'd rather not buy them naff scented candles or socks.

Next here's a Grandad with a million and one tales to tell...

The Frank Show by David Mackintosh. Let's be Frank!

David Mackintosh's brilliant book "The Frank Show" is fantastic. The star is a Grandad who is at times a bit curmudgeonly (you know the type), talks way too much (again, you know the type) but is well loved. When a young boy decides that Frank (his grandad) will be the subject of his show and tell, he's not quite prepared for what happens next when Frank takes over the class and keeps everyone entertained with his stories. We love David Mackintosh's books and this is a real hoot!

Next, the most flexible Grandma ever seen? You bet...

Grandma Bendy by Izy Penguin. Bad Grandma Turns Good!

"Grandma Bendy" by Izy Penguin is a fun and original book that made us giggle with Grandma Bendy's antics (not all of them on the right side of the law, NAUGHTY Grandma). Her flexible twizzling limbs mean that she becomes an expert burglar, sneaking into people's houses and picking their locks before making off with their goodies. But when Grandma Bendy is burgled herself (they even took the goldfish!), she realises that it's horrible behaviour and gives herself up to the Police.

After a long spell at her majesty's pleasure, Bendy realises the error of her ways and vows never to use her yogic powers ever again. Until one day they're needed in a most unexpected way!

Though she's a bit of a bad lot at the start of the book, we love how Grandma Bendy is a lovely Grandma at the end who obviously loves her two grandchildren and loves playing crazy hide and seek games with them (can you spot her as she hides in different places in one part of the book?)

So who's next? Oh it's Grandad's turn again...

I'd Rather Go To Grandad's by Ian Whybrow and Sarah Massini. Lovely lighthouse living!

How about a Grandad who just happens to live in probably THE most exciting place ever? In a lighthouse on a remote island? How cool would that be for summer holidays?

In Ian Whybrow and Sarah Massini's lovely book "I'd Rather Go To Grandad's" we hear how a young kitten loves holidays there - and who wouldn't! Sleeping in hammocks, catching your supper, it all sounds so idyllic and with Ian's lovely rhymes and Sarah's beautiful illustrations, there's a lot to love about this book. I think we'd rather go to grandad's too.

No list would be complete without our final book, celebrating an awesome (and is it just me or rather fanciable) grandma who just happens to sometimes wear a pointy hat, sometimes weave the odd spell or two, and has a houseful of amazing creatures to keep her company...

Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger. Bubblicious!

"Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble" and "Whizz Pop Granny Stop" by Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger are truly fab and there's a third book on the way from this talented duo too. Granny isn't really like other grandparents, she dabbles with spells, and has all her witchy friends round for tea to cook up even more magical craziness. In "Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble" her young granddaughter wonders what things would be like if Granny was just an ordinary everyday septuagenerian like everyone else's granny. So she comes up with a plan to give Granny a fabulous makeover, and hide her wand for the day. Needless to say anyone can have an ordinary granny but not everyone can have a magical witchy one!

We'd love to hear your Grandma and Grandad book recommendations so please leave a comment below if you have some brilliant books that trumpet how wonderful and vital grandparents are.

Hooray! Our theme this week is "Brilliant Book Bloggers" and as part of our #ReadItMummiesAndDaddies2013 theme weeks I've invited Six (count them SIX!) of the best bloggers in the business to take part.

Being the wonderful folk they are, they've all accepted so you're in for a treat this week - a window into the inner workings of This Day I Love, Storyseekers, The Library Mice , Rhino Reads, and Child-Led Chaos (with Story Snug hopefully following - see edit note at the bottom)

We came up with some pretty tricky questions for them, and they rose to the challenge magnificently. So our first post, by Leyla at This Day I Love is coming up at 10am with the rest to follow during the course of the week.

If you've ever thought about book blogging and you'd like to know how high the bar has been set by these lovely folk, then dip in for the rest of the week, it's going to be fun!

Edit: Unfortunately due to technical difficulties we're sad to hear that Catherine from Story Snug won't be joining us for the theme week. Nasty blog hackers have had their wicked way with her site so hopefully they'll be back up and running very soon. Our sympathetic thoughts and hopes that it's all quickly sorted out.