How could we possibly resist the lure of a comic that has dark undertones, yet is still child friendly. A comic that addresses our love of gothic fairy tales, love stories and...baking.

Yes, let's not forget cakes because in "Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula" you'll meet a vampire with a difference! He's got a sweet tooth (well, that's not quite right actually, he has hardly any teeth left!) and can bake up a veritable storm when let loose in the kitchen.

Count Spatula comes into the employ of grumpy old King Wulfrun, a crotchety and rather disagreeable monarch who rules over his kingdom from the comfort of his bed. But of course the real power behind the throne is the King's wilful daughter Princess Decomposia who is utterly wonderful in every way, just our cup of tea when it comes to strong female comic characters.

You see, while the king fusses about the consistency of his breakfast kipper, or whether his pillows are plumped up enough, Princess Decomposia is busy dealing with affairs of state, ensuring that the palace's employees are happy, and basically is holding the whole kingdom together because Dad's a bit of a chump to be fair.

After several unsuccessful attempts to employ a new head chef, The Princess meets Count Spatula and instantly takes a shine to the utterly charming fellow. Clad in black though he may be, he really is polite and seems to have a knack for dealing with the king's unreasonable dietary demands (that's what you get for reading silly fitness magazines, you silly old fool!)

Like most harmonious relationships, The Princess and the Count must overcome the usual fatherly disapproval and hope that true love (and the odd cupcake or two) can win the day.

Moving from the bubblegum pink and dazzling world of Andi Watson's sublime Gum Girl to the dark and monochrome world of "Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula" might be too much of an ask for some readers, but this is a truly delectable tale that had us uttering a huge "Awwwwwwwww!" at the end. Fine and fantastic work from one of the UK's most talented comic creators. We truly hope there'll be more from this duo soon!

Charlotte's best bit: Princess Decomposia's unflappable way of coping with difficult staff at the castle.

Daddy's Favourite bit: A wonderful and original vampiric gothic love story that actually works OK for kids as well as adults, a departure from Andi's last body of work but a brilliant comic creation nonetheless! More soon please!

(Kindly sent to us for review by First Second)

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Gum Girl by Andi Watson (Walker Books)

Third headshot of the day, mummy!

This didn't really start out as a book-related editorial thingy but it will end as one. It was more about this story in the Guardian Newspaper relating to head teachers stepping in to act on something that, let's face it, parents should really be doing themselves.

It seems to boil down to the word "No". Have we, as a nation of parents, become petrified of saying this word to our kids? Try it now, say it out loud. "No!"

There, feel better for that? No? Oh well it was worth a try.

Video games are seemingly still something of a mystery to a huge number of parents who perhaps don't understand that things have moved on a little since Pac-man and Space Invaders, and will inevitably continue moving on as gaming starts falling in love with new frontiers like Virtual Reality.

Today's videogames have age ratings on them for a good reason and that reason is to give parents (some of whom seem to have no wish whatsoever to be involved in what their children get up to once their bedroom door is closed) some guidance and legislation to fall back on.

There have been so many calls to ban violent videogames from parents and politicians, who regularly take developers and publishers to task over the 'dangerous crap they're feeding our kids'. Developers & publishers quite rightly point out that little red circle with an 18 in it is therefor a reason (though some developers and publishers do seem to take it upon themselves to find more and more ways to fuel that outrage, after all, controversy is fantastic for sales!)

Retailers on the front line take great pains to point out that they won't sell adult games to underage kids (but parents still buy them for their kids anyway). I was once on that front line myself, directly interfacing with the general games-buying public around the time the very first Grand Theft Auto game appeared (which looks quite twee in comparison to the latest games in the series when you look at it now). It had an '18' rating on it, and parents would still gleefully come in and buy a copy for little Timmy or Johnny waiting outside, giving staff in my store the finger while mum and dad did their thing, then waving the newly purchased game at us before trolling off to their caves to play it. Working in games retail was probably the worst job I've ever had (and I've had some stinkers - worse even than working on a chicken farm in my teens!)

We see the same old excuses appear again and again from parents who throw their hands up in dismay at how powerless they are to stem the tidal wave of awful, dreadful, foul and detestable games these 'evil folk' make.

"If I don't buy it for him (and in most of the cases I've seen, it's nearly always a 'him' - girls in general seem to have slightly more refined tastes when it comes to games and a great many other things!) "He'll just play it round his mates' house!" or "All his mates have that game, why should he be left out?" oh and as we've already mentioned, "If the companies didn't make violent games, they wouldn't be on sale, and we wouldn't have to / be made to buy them!" (which is a statement with so many issues attached to it that I wouldn't know where to start to unpick THAT one. "Made to buy something?" - What planet are you on?)

Ahem, so how does any of this relate to books? Books don't generally have age ratings on them, though from time to time you'll see a cursory and non-enforced "Caution: Explicit content" stuck to the cover of a book if it's strictly adult in content. There are voluntary measures in place - scant ones - but nothing to stop your 11 year old slipping out to pick up the latest Young Adult (YA) blockbuster. So do all forms of media including books need careful labelling to protect people from themselves?

I watched a Twitter debate on this subject the other day. An entirely different debate to ones I've watched and taken part in where parents are defending their choice to buy little Damien or Tyrion a copy of "Call of Duty: Extra Giblets Edition". Bookish parents seem to radically differ from videogame-intolerant parents in a key way - they actively get involved in what their child is doing, and best of all they mostly already KNOW what books are and aren't suitable for their kids. Quite often they'll even read those books themselves so they're fully clued up.

I believe this weird phenomenon is called "parenting". Alas you can't take exams in it.

OK I'm generalising a lot in this article mainly to get the initial point across. Saying "No" won't cause your world to spontaneously combust. When it comes to games, it might even have the positive effect of forcing Dammers and Tyrie to look elsewhere for their kicks. Maybe even encourage them to pick up a book instead. Bonus!

The debate still continues as to whether books should have age ratings like movies and videogames do. From where I'm sitting, parents and kids who read a lot don't seem to need to be led by the nose as much as parents who are quite happy to see Junior get home from school, disappear into their rooms, and be out of sight / out of earshot / out of mind (and that drags up another contentious parenting issue, what do parents DO while their kids are stuck away for hours playing Grand Theft Auto until the wee small hours?)

Sorry, I probably sound unspeakably smug here so I should describe what we do at home. I'm not as passionate about videogames as I once was but I still play them, and there's absolutely no leeway given on Charlotte playing anything that's not appropriate for her age (she's 7 but even she has friends and classmates who are already playing stuff they shouldn't be, sometimes with older siblings or even parents themselves - completely crazy and probably on the other end of the swingometer when it comes to completely ignoring what your kids get up to. Letting them do it while you balefully watch is probably worse than letting them shutter themselves away, I guess!).

Charlotte loves Minecraft in 'create' mode - has never gone online to play the mindless deathmatch stuff (I really REALLY don't get the appeal of that, not at all!) and doesn't even play the normal game mode with attacking mobs etc. Time on any game or app is strictly limited, and there's an understanding before the games console, tablet or computer even gets switched on that it will be switched off at bedtime or mealtime or when we're about to go out - with no room for debate on the subject. Ooh we're so strict!

We say "no", we weather the tantrums (and there are tantrums - I don't want you to think that Charlotte is a little angel who never loses her temper - hah, far from it!) - and that seems to be the bit some parents are genuinely fearful of.

If things ever escalated at all (and they never will), the games, the console, the whole caboodle would probably end up at the local recycling centre and that'd be that. I'd choose to remove them from our environment entirely if I thought that they'd harm Charlotte's development in any way.

Getting back to books and age ratings though, does anyone genuinely think they're required? How on earth would you enforce any kind of legislation to limit exposure to books, and how would you pick through the infinitely fine-grained nuances of YA to determine what sticker a book should carry on its cover?

It gets trickier as kids turn from tweens to teens, for sure. Thing is, I don't ever recall anyone this century going further than mildly berating an author for writing racy or violent stuff. I can't in recent memory recall a publisher being hauled over the coals for publishing content like that, and I have never once seen a call to ban all violent or explicit books (beyond the legislation that's already in place and probably wildly outdated and unenforceable in a modern digital age).

There is a clear argument that videogames are not books, they're interactive, visual, and that this factor makes a huge difference but does it really? Are we saying that the imagined world you enter when you really get into a good book - a world that (with steering from the author, and perhaps illustrators contributing to certain YA or graphic novels) we create for the larger part in our heads, is any less dark than the imagined world a videogame development team construct within the boundaries of a games console's rendering capabilities?

I welcome further discussion on this topic. Hit the comments below to chime in.

Happy Book Birthday to Jules, Nina and George! It's not often review books arrive in a mysterious pizza box (accompanied by a lovely 'menu' describing the book, and also a very lovely pack of squidgy jelly worms and snails that Charlotte made magically disappear in a flash) but "Jules and Nina Dine Out" by Anita Pouroulis and Agata Krawczyk offered us a tasty treat to tempt us into this doggy tale.

Jules lives with her two faithful pooches George and Nina. George is a typical 'boy' dog. Boisterous, loud and prone to misbehaviour while Nina conducts herself with a little more class and decorum. For a birthday treat, Jules is allowed to go to a restaurant with her parents and one of her dogs. She chooses Nina as she's always on her best behaviour but the restaurant manager won't let dogs in! CALAMITY!

Jules is forced to tie Nina up outside, so while she enjoys a wonderful dinner, Nina stares balefully through the window, unable to snaffle a few treats slid under the table.

Will Nina ever forgive Jules? Or has George got his eye on the doggy bag Nina thoughtfully brings home for her pooch.

We love the way this book delves into doggy / human relationships in a funny and often quite touching way and we're hoping that this is just the start of Jules, Nina and George's adventures from Anita and Agata. Enjoy the story, and look out for all the hidden snails popping up on each page (count them all!)

Charlotte's best bit: Nina's sulk once Jules and Nina arrive home! Ooch!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Chaotic and fun, a brilliant doggy tale!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Digital Leaf)

Egg - An Eggsciting Easter Eggscapade!

You know us, we're always telling you how much better a good book is than a rubbishy chocolate easter egg (though Charlotte may beg to differ at this time of year). So why not treat your tiniest little tiddlers to a couple of little beauties from Little Tiger Press.

Eggs! We love eggs, big ones, little ones, round ones and of course chocolate ones but in this sturdy and ultra-colourful little board book, toddlers can explore the gorgeous colours and cut-outs of "Egg - An Eggsciting Easter Eggscapade" (try typing THAT out several times) with each turn of the page. Glorious colourful illustrations and simple text will charm your little ones for sure!

Little Snappers Cheep Cheep Pop Up Fun

...or how about a neat little pop-up book with an easter surprise on every page? Little Tigers' "Little Snappers" range is gorgeously designed with lovely lift-the-flap and pop up sections to delight and amaze this easter. Again, strong colourful illustrations and simple text as with "Egg" will give your tinies a tempting booky treat.

You can see the rest of Little Tiger's humungous easter range for 2015 on their website.

(Egg and Cheep Cheep Pop Up Fun kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

As comic fans, we still get a bit irritated when people assume that "comics" means "Those silly funny things that kids who can't read proper books read instead". Believe it or not, there are still parents out there who are extremely sniffy and snobby about comics.

It's a pity then, that they'll miss out on the new revival of British comics that is consistently delivering fantastic stories, brilliant characters and artwork to die for week in week out.

Comic mega-heroes at The Phoenix know that kids are capable of dealing with stories and strips that aren't dumbed down in any way, tapping into children's imaginations and even inspiring them to create amazing comic stories of their own.

"Tales of Fayt - The Mystery of the Crooked Imp" was (admittedly) a new one on us, we hadn't encountered Conrad Mason and David Wyatt's fantasy tale before but we're properly hooked. Set in the dark underbelly of Port Fayt, "The Mystery of the Crooked Imp" starts off with a terrible crime - a baby is kidnapped in a stagecoach robbery by a crew of faeries. The Demon's Watch are called in to investigate the abduction, a motley but highly organised crew of human and troll guards with an extremely talented 11 year old girl called Tabitha (or Tabs) amongst their number, as well as two supercool rock-hard Troll guards who might look a little green around the gills, but you really wouldn't want to pick a fight with them!

Ooh Fishsticks!! This is good!

As the sprawling tale opens, we're treated to a twisty-turny page-flipper of a plot that had us utterly convinced that we knew who the real bad guys were in this tale, only to be proved completely wrong! That thing we said earlier about comics that don't treat kids like they're dummies? Well this story shows you what we meant, and then some!

Tabitha puzzles out this peculiar mystery (Charlotte says "her hair is the COOLEST!")

For quite some time now, mysterious postcards showing an adorable little girl and a gigantic cuddly bear have been popping through our letterbox. What on earth was going on?

Now we know, because a rather wonderful book (accompanied by even more lovely little postcards) has arrived to brighten up our lives.

We automatically love books that have both friendship and creativity at their core. "Lily and Bear" has a wonderful central character, Lily, who (like both of us) loves nothing better than to draw and paint, scribble and crayon, drawing anything that springs to mind.

(we love the fact that Lisa Stubbs drew on her own children's creativity for the book and also made a feature of their gorgeous artwork in the book and the end-papers too! What a fantastic idea!)

Lily draws Bear, and her life changes forever. Far from being lonely any more, Lily now has a huge furry cuddly friendly companion to play with and go on adventures with (and to draw with).

The message about friendship in the story is reinforced when Bear decides that he'd rather like to do some bear-y things from time to time too, and Lily as a true friend can't wait to go fishing, wandering in the woods and building shelters.

True friends forever.

There's so much to love about this book (from Lily's brilliant dress sense - not a million miles away from Charlotte's - to bear's sheer size yet quite dainty nature). A lovely book that was well worth the wait!

"Lily and Bear" is out today, 2nd April 2015

Charlotte's best bit: Going fishing with Bear!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A gorgeously creative warm cuddly and friendly little book, love it!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Boxer Books)

Ahhh you guessed! Of course, our exclusive reveal of the new versions of "The House at Pooh Corner" with illustrations by Chris Ofili was indeed an April Fool's gag! No harm intended, hope it gave a few of you a giggle (and bonus points to anyone who spotted the 'Stercus' reference!)

It's certainly no April Fool! One of our favourite books of 2013 is finally released in Paperback. The sublime "Wild" became one of our prestigious "Book of the Week" winners, and we're happy to share the news that the paperback version from Flying Eye is every bit as delicious and delectable as the original.

It tells the story of a young girl who is brought up in the wild by animals, but finds herself brought back to civilisation by a group of hunters.

Her re-integration does not go well - after all, how can you tame something that is so happily wild?

We utterly adored this book - one heck of an amazing debut for Emily and arriving just ahead of her second children's picture book, the equally stunning "The Little Gardener", coming very soon from Flying Eye Books.

Soak up one of the most perfect children's books you're ever likely to come across - and unleash your inner wild child!

"Wild" by Emily Hughes, out today in Paperback from Flying Eye

We've got a bit of an exclusive for you on the blog today as well-loved A.A. Milne classic tales are being brought bang up to date with a new set of publications of the original stories from Stercus Publishing.

"The House at Pooh Corner" will be the first title released, retaining the flavour of the original stories but with all new contemporary illustrations by none other than Chris Ofili. His unique renderings of Pooh will no doubt win over a huge new army of fans, young and old.

Each copy of the book will come with a free limited edition Pooh bookmark signed by Chris himself in his favourite medium.

"The House at Pooh Corner" by A.A. Milne and Chris Ofili will be released by Stercus Publishing on 1st April 2016. It's your duty to go and pick up a copy!