History teaches us many things, but to truly learn about history it's often more informative to hear it told by the people who make it.

American political history is fascinating to me and in "Kid Presidents" we get to find out that even the mightiest leaders of the western world were once snot-nosed joke-telling parping and pooping kids who usually got up to no good.

A stylised collection of stories told in the words of everyone from George Washington to Barack Obama, relays a sense that truly does make you believe that anyone can become president, and deep down kids are pretty much the same all over (particularly boys) despite a relatively privileged upbringing in some cases.

Quirk have a knack of nailing the presentation of their books, and here "Kid Presidents" is tricked out with awesome cartoon caricatures of the presidents themselves, to help impart their (sometimes fantastically embellished) tales. Do we really believe that George Washington was swept off his feet by a mighty dragon just after felling his father's favourite cherry tree?

It's a brilliant mix of tongue-in-cheek humour, mixed with a dose of fact but for us it was really the presentation and the humour that won us over - and it's a great little book to chip away at as you read all the anecdotes.

"Kid Presidents - True Tales of Childhood from American Presidents" by David Stabler is out now from Quirk Books.

With my usual terrible timing, I bemoaned the fact that there were no really brilliant ghost stories for kids any more. I remember ghost anthologies and quite terrifying ghost collections like these when I was a wee whippersnapper...(I mean just LOOK at the cover of this typical example of awesome 70s spookiness!!)

"Ghosts, Spooks and Spectres" edited by Charles Molin

About a week after I'd typed up a huge rant about a lack of truly scary ghost stories for kids, "Lockwood and Co - The Screaming Staircase" dropped through my letterbox with a loud 'thunk' and from page 1 I was completely and utterly hooked. Here was a modern wordsmith carving out a ghostly alternative reality where ghosts roamed through the land, held back by agencies such as Lockwood's. Most importantly "The Screaming Staircase" was told from the perspective of Lucy, a girl with a heightened set of psychic powers who joins Lockwood and George to take on a truly complex and terrifying case.

By the end of the book (I won't spoil it too much, because I REALLY want you to read it) I was left breathless. Jonathan Stroud had written the sort of story I absolutely ate up as a kid, and still love as an adult, weaving a supernatural tale with tension, excitement and quite a few heart-in-mouth moments.

I couldn't wait for a sequel - and since it has arrived, I've gone through twice and am about to dive in for a third time (yes, it is THAT good). "The Whispering Skull" hails the return of Lockwood, George and Lucy - once again at odds with the flashy and thoroughly unpleasant Fittes Agency who seem to stick a size 10 boot in Lockwood's business at every turn. Despite Lockwood's optimism and verve, Lockwood and Co are once again in the doldrums after a short spell of riding on the successes of their last case.

It's going to take something truly spectacular to restore the company's fortunes, but with Fittes nipping at their heels, will they be able to put to rest the troublesome spirit of a Victorian doctor and rescue a powerful artifact before nefarious forces can bring that power to bear on London? Or will the Skull in the Glass Case (seen in Lockwood 1) have more than a coincidental impact on the agency's future?

Stroud's masterful method of injecting tension and excitement into every chapter, creating a ton of atmosphere and ghostliness, really puts him right at the top of the stack of modern writers able to carve out supernatural stories in a genre that really is making a huge comeback. His characters are brilliant (in fact I often find I love sketching Lockwood, George and Lucy just for fun purely because they are such an awesome team) and it's great to find a book series that truly puts me in mind of the fantastic fantasy and horror writers I loved when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s.

A vital addition to your collection if you love living on the spooky side of life.

"Lockwood and Co - The Whispering Skull" by Jonathan Stroud - Out Today from Doubleday Children's Books.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Doubleday Children's Books)

We've become huge fans of Holly Webb's gorgeous seasonal books, released in good time for stuffing into christmas stockings and coming with all the chilly but welcome atmosphere of a crisp snowy day.

"The Winter Wolf" is the latest book from Holly to get you in the mood for the first flurries of snow and we've been reading it for the last few days, dipping into Holly's newly created bookworld.

It tells the story of a young girl who is a little bit shy and sometimes a bit of an outsider. Uprooted from her comfy home to a dusty old house for family christmas, Amelia discovers an ancient journal kept by a boy who once stayed there.

Weaving an air of mystery and talking of times past when the boy raised a wolf from a cub, Amelia finds herself drawn into the journal's heady world of winter and wonder.

Holly has a real knack for creating brilliant girl characters that little girls (like Charlotte) instantly identify with and love to read about. Within the space of a few paragraphs, Holly draws you in until you find yourself four chapters later wondering if you're ever going to be able to put the book down!

Fans of "The Reindeer Girl" will love this new wolfish adventure, it's another christmassy classic set to melt your heart.

Charlotte's best bit: Amelia's first meeting with the big scary (but rather sweet) family dog.

Daddy's Favourite bit: Full of atmospherer, christmassyness and making us yearn for the first snows, Holly has once again woven a convincing and well-researched bookworld that will completely draw you in.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Stripes / Little Tiger Press)

Growing up with gross books like "Fungus the Bogeyman" and "Revolting Rhymes", this is a book that absolutely sang out to me in my own language. Charlotte also has a rather worrying tendency to find grim grossness hilariously funny so when "Dragon Jelly" came along, and we started to read about the perfect monster birthday party, we were in fits of laughter.

Claire Freedman and Sue Hendra are back with this brilliant rib-tickler, but it might be worth steering clear of anything to eat a couple of hours either side of a good read.

Monster Max is having a birthday party and has invited all his fiendish friends. As with any children's birthday party, the emphasis is on fun but most importantly food - and Max's mum has cooked up a superb stomach-churning feast of monster favourites!

Eyeball cakes, termite tarts, earwig rolls, you name it and max's mum has wheeled it out for the party. But there is a piece de resistance, a finale to top all other tempting treats - DRAGON JELLY!

Super-gross visuals from Sue couple perfectly with Claire's wonderful rhymes for a tasty treat of a book that will have your tiddlers sniggering and snorting!

Pass the grasshopper and goosberry tartlets would you?

Charlotte's best monster party food creation: Rotten eggs on a cheesecake made of shaving foam!

Daddy's favourite monster party food: Octopus ink and Lark beak risotto!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)

As Charlotte begins geography lessons at school, her fabulous curiosity and thirst for knowledge extends towards learning about our world and different cultures, and what children in other countries get up to in their daily lives.

In "My Madagascar" we join the effervescent and energetic Balbini to learn all about her country, Madagascar - a large island off the coast of Africa, with its own unique animal species and hugely diverse climate and terrain.

Balbini takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her beautiful country and introduces us to the sights, sounds, food and customs there.

Lush tropical rainforests and sumptuous sandy beaches made us truly want to dive onto a plane and visit this awesome place. Balbini's enthusiasm comes across in the book's informative and descriptive text, exquisitely detailed and attractively presented with fantastic colour photos and illustrations throughout.

A fantastic way to show children that Madagascar isn't just an animated movie, it's a truly beautiful and astonishing place too!

Join Balbini and find out more about this fascinating country

Charlotte's best bit: Learning all about lovely Madagascar food and yummy vanilla, which grows on the island

Daddy's Favourite bit: A superbly presented book, really made us want to visit!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Austin and Macauley Publishing)

Some children's stories are recycled so many times that they begin to fray around the edges. There are so many different versions of "Cinderella" to choose from, so it takes something truly special with a real 'twist' to it to catch our attention.

Thankfully "Cinderella's (Not So) Ugly Sisters: The True Fairy Tale" by Gillian Shields and Berengere Delaporte not only twists the story a little, it flips it right on its head in such a deliciously neat way that it made both of us sit up and pay attention. Charlotte wanted to review this one herself so here's some of the things she said about it as we read through and talked through this awesome book:

(So what did you think about the book?)

"I like it because the ugly sisters aren't ugly, they're kind and their mum is nice not evil."

(I asked "What do you think of Cinderella?")

"Cinderella is mean and unkind to the sisters, and her fairy godmother is a baddie!"

(Asking what she thought when Ella's father ran off with 'ugly sisters' mum's money!)

"Horrid man but that is why Cinderella is mean!"

(So did you like the ending?)

"I would love the sisters to be MY sister!"

That's more or less a flavour of how things went and we've tried not to spoil too many of the twists here, essentially though you will very quickly find out that Cinderella and her vainglorious father are the REAL culprits in the classic tale, and the poor Ugly Sisters (and their mother) are pretty hard done by.

Brought to life by Gillian Shields' brilliant comic timing and fabulously funny writing, with Berengere Delaporte's perfect illustrations, this is a stunning book if (like us) you feel that some favourite children's stories are all mined out. Here's proof positive that with a neat little nip, a tuck and a twist, they can come bouncing back to life as fresh and as funny as ever!



Charlotte's best bit: The happy / sad / happy ending!

Daddy's Favourite bit: One of the best things we find in writing about children's books is that there are always superb surprises and books that will take your breath away just when you start to feel a little tired and jaded of very similar stories appearing again and again. As it goes, this is a brilliant reinvention of the Cinderella tale by two extremely talented folk! Do not miss it!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Macmillan Children's Books)

Frankie's Magic Football - Frankie Saves Christmas (Frank Lampard / Mick Jackson / L & B Kids)

"The Rescue Princesses - The Ice Diamond" by Paula Harrison (Nosy Crow)

A Treasury of Animal Stories by Holly Webb (Stripes Publishing)

We've seen many a pirate yarn on this 'ere blog but how about a nautical tale from the parrot's perspective? Polly (to be precise) who is getting a little bit fed up of staying around the same old island, in the same old tree, with the same old annoying monkeys to put up with. Surely there's more to the world than this?

Polly hits on the idea of adopting a pirate "pet" so that she can swan off on a ship, sail the seven seas, eat a cracker or two and find lots and lots of treasure!

It's not as easy as she thinks though, you see Polly's pirate pick is a poorly bunch at best. Most are fairly gross, some are just plain clumsy, others spend too much time looking in the mirror to even contemplate looking for treasure so what on earth is Polly to do?

She spots a calamitous sea battle going on between two of the most fearsome pirates. Redbeard and Pegleg Pete are going at it hammer and tongs, each trying to prove who is the best pirate on the briny deep. Polly thinks that the best idea will be to let the two duke it out, and then 'adopt' the winner! Hooray!

Polly gets more than she bargained for though. One of these pirates is not like the others...!

A fantastic twist to an entertaining romp of a tale, that proves that you really can never have too many pirate stories for children. You will have to read the book yourself to find out what happens to Polly - but it will definitely provide plenty of giggles and riotous uproar along the way. Brilliant stuff from Peter and Penny!

Charlotte's best bit: The twist at the end had her giggling but we won't spoil it for you! Eek!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Pacey piratical puns, parrot paraphernalia and pristine piccies! Perfecto!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Macmillan Children's Books)

The rich seam of tales surrounding the legend of King Arthur were always something I'd intended to introduce Charlotte to at some point. I thought that she'd be completely entranced by the stories of the Knights of the Round Table but the books I've got at home (Mallory's "Le Morte D'Arthur etc") are all a bit grown up. However, there are children's books out there that serve as a gentle introduction - including this latest addition to the fantastic Usborne "Sticker Dressing" range.

"Sticker Dressing King Arthur" shows some of the most famous scenes from the Chronicles of King Arthur, from the young boy pulling the sword out of the stone setting his destiny to be king of England - to later life and the formation of the Knights of the Round Table.

Each scene comes with an associated sticker sheet, so little ones can have fun sticking on clothes and accessories to the characters while reading and learning a little bit more about the legends. Naturally Charlotte was instantly drawn to the story of Arthur retrieving Excalibur from The Lady of the Lake (particularly when she found out that her uncle lives not far from Dozemary Pool, apparently the site of this particular legendary scene so I guess we'll be visiting there soon!)

The Sticker Dressing range aren't just about 'dollies' - this is a great book to serve as an introduction to Arthurian legend and we'll be looking at more Arthur stuff very soon on the blog. Stay tuned!

Charlotte's best bit: Arthur and The Lady of the Lake and The battle with The Green Knight

Daddy's Favourite bit: Gorgeously presented and a fab intro to the rich tapestry of legend surrounding King Arthur

(Kindly sent to us for review by Usborne Books)

"A Tiger Tale" by Holly Webb (illustrated by Catherine Rayner) - Out now from Scholastic Children's Books

We're handing over the blog today to an author we've admired (and read an awful lot of books by!) Holly is one of the most prolific children's authors and her latest book "A Tiger Tale" deals expertly and in child-friendly terms with the tricky subjects of grief and loss.

Over to you Holly!

I’m not surprised that you wanted to know why I chose to write A Tiger Tale! I’ve tried to describe to a couple of people recently, and it does sound very sad. 

I didn’t set out to write a sad book at all. I’d noticed over the last few years of picking up my children from school, how many of their school friends were being looked after by their grandparents, as their parents were working. Both my own sets of grandparents lived a long way away, so we didn’t see them very frequently. My own children’s grandparents are the same, although they visit often. So this very close grandparent and child relationship was intriguing – a whole different family dynamic. I’d been thinking about that for a while, and then it struck me that a grandparent who was so close, and so much part of a child’s life, would be a terrible loss.

I wanted to write about the importance of a toy, too. I had (still have) a toy polar bear that I was given aged about four. I traumatically lost my first polar bear, and my poor parents had to find a replacement identical one…I imagined a whole life history for that original bear (I used to get really worried when I saw bears on the front of dustbin lorries, thinking that might have happened to Polar One.) 

We invest so much love in special toys. Secret lives, languages, friendships (and rivalries) with other toys… It didn’t seem a huge leap for a grieving, exhausted child to think that a toy could become real. 

One of my favourite books was The Velveteen Rabbit, where the boy’s much loved rabbit has to be taken away as he’s infected with scarlet fever, but he’s turned into a real rabbit instead. Real (with a definite capital letter) is only for the most loved toys. 

The two themes came together, but I wasn’t quite sure how the story would end until a reader sent me a photo of her beautiful tabby cat. He was huge, with a tigery ruff around his neck…

I loved writing this book, but it was very emotional (I’ve been accused of making several editors at Scholastic cry…). I’m a bit worried it might be sad for readers too, but I’m hoping that it will inspire the sort of conversations I always seem to have with my children (particularly my eight-year-old twins, at the moment) on the way to school. This is such a hard subject to talk about – and to experience, obviously. I wanted to explore it, and give children a way in to thinking about something so very difficult.

Holly Webb (Photo credit © Nigel Bird)

"A Tiger Tale", with illustrations by Catherine Rayner, is out now from Scholastic Children's Books.