Words and Pictures are publishing some of the most gorgeous books on the block at the moment, and this new title (out on 4th June) is no exception. "A Tower of Giraffes" (Animal Bunches) by Anna Wright is truly gorgeous to look at, but also educational too. If you've ever wondered what the collective name for any animal is, treat your peepers and your brain to this utter delight of a book.

From the title you'll learn that a collective of Giraffes is known as a "Tower" (which is quite fitting!) but do you know what a collection of Peacocks is called? Monkeys? Elephants?

Each page in the book reveals a new collective name, gorgeously illustrated in Anna's luxurious collage style. Definitely a wonderful book to add to your little ones' collection, doubly so if they love all things animal!

Charlotte's best bit: An ostentation of Peacocks (how fitting!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A troop of noisy babbling monkeys! (

Kindly sent to us for review by Words and Pictures)

We did a little dance of glee when we first heard that one of our favourite children's books was getting a sequel. Remember Troll? Remember Oliver? They're back in "Grumbug" and this time they've got a new cohort too.

"Grumbug" - released just yesterday (4th June) is Adam's fantastic follow-up to "Troll and the Oliver", a book that was very well received by us (and also earned us our very first back-of-the-book quote - a very proud moment indeed!)

This time, Oliver's teeny tiny sister Dolly has joined "Trolli and Olli" (or "Oliba!" as Dolly delightedly calls her big bro). Troll and Oliver have set up a cake shop in the middle of the deep dark woods. Not just any cake shop, but a cake shop specially for Trolls. Trolls usually like eating children you see, but children taste disgusting (as we found out in "Troll and the Oliver") so cake is a far better (and far more lucrative) way of keeping trolls happy and well fed.

Dolly is visiting the boys at work but a teeny tiny toddler can swiftly get into huge colossal trouble as Dolly wanders off - in the direction of (dramatic pause, orchestral burst, drum roll) MUNCH MOUNTAIN!

Munch Mountain is every bit as scary as it sounds, mainly because the biggest, meanest, grumpiest and hungriest troll lives there, the terribly terrifying Grumbug! He's so big he can chow down on rocks, drink entire rives, crush forests and he loves nothing better than eating ten dozen kids for brekkie - even tiny ones like Dolly!

There's nothing for it. Oliver embarks on a mission to rescue his sister. Will any of the troll customers of his cafe come and help?

Nope. Just Oliver's bestest cake-obsessed blue troll friend.

If you think the story sounds mind-bendingly exciting so far, we're going to let you discover just what happens when Troll and Oliver dash off in search of Dolly in this utterly brilliant sequel. I have no idea why we didn't make "Troll and the Oliver" book of the week originally (particularly since Templar very kindly gave us our first ever back-of-cover quote for the paperback version - which we're still tickled pink about! I suspect grumpy draws Charlotte opted for something else instead) but we both wholeheartedly voted for "Grumbug" to be our book of the week this week, it's dazzlingly brilliant cakey monstery toddlery fun!

I just loved reading it aloud (I kept the same slightly grumpy troll voice for Troll - though he doesn't actually speak in the book which calls for some creative ad-libbing to underline his fantastic expressions, a squeaky voice for Oliver, and even squeakier voice for Dolly as well as a whole host of new voices for the other trolls in the story).

Love the rhymes which are fun and singsong as with the original, and love the fact that once again Adam expertly throws in a twist or two that'll keep storytellers and their avid audience on their toes!

We're wondering where the recipe for triple treacle delights is though? Too secret to share? Perhaps you'll find it on the fantastic Troll and Oliver Cafe Blog!

Charlotte's best bit: She loved the "old trolls" in the book, they look so CUTE and she loved the way Dolly called Oliver "Oliba!"

Daddy's Favourite bit: Wonderful rhymes, gloriously fun illustrations and two (oops, now THREE) of the funniest characters to ever team up in a children's picture book. Hooray for Troll, Oliver and Dolly!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)

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"Troll and the Oliver" by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)

If you've ever been lucky enough to see a Hippopotamus up close, they always seem to be grinning right across their huge gaping mouths. What makes a Hippopotamus smile? Find out in this new story from Sean Taylor and Laurent Cardon.

A young girl is quite shocked and surprised when a Hippo visitor literally crashes through her front door ready for a play date. Luckily this little girl knows exactly how to cheer up a hippopotamus. Lots of messy watery play, lots of healthy salad (in fact tons!), a great frothy bath and a big cuddle to finish.

The problem is, if a hippo finds themselves made TOO welcome, might they be back next time with a few friends?

Fun knockabout humour, glorious illustrations, we realised we don't see enough hippos in books!

Charlotte's best bit: Hippo bath times look like a heck of a lot of fun (well, unless you're trying to squeeze into the bath with one)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Riotous fun, lovely artwork, a fab book putting one of our favourite (and much neglected children's book) animals in the spotlight. Hooray!

We have to admit it, we're mad about monkeys. We make a bee-line for the monkey sanctuaries in our local wildlife parks and never get tired of their crazy antics.

We're also mad about Owen Davey, he's one of our favourite illustrator-dudes and has put together an utterly glorious homage to monkeys, from Macaques to Marmosets, from snozzy-old Proboscis Monkeys to beardy little Capuchins, we love them all and it's clear that Owen does too.

A fun non-fiction book collecting all species together, and detailing amazing facts and figures about monkey species, we loved diving into this. Owen Davey's illustrative spreads are a real wow too...


By the end of our time reading this, we found out...

• Why some monkeys have bright red bottoms!
• How you can tell which monkey is the king of the swingers, the pack leader
• How some amazing species are developing tool making and tool using skills
• How one chilly monkey species found out that the local hot springs were GREAT to take a dip in (and now all the monkeys in the area follow suit!)

This is truly brilliant and fascinating stuff from Owen and Flying Eye books. Give your little monkeys a treat, and pick up this brilliant book!

Charlotte's best bit: Finding out that baby monkeys in one snowy mountainous region love making snowballs!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Utterly fascinating and fantastic monkey business from Owen. Sheer brilliance!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Flying Eye Books)

We don't often dabble in 'baby' books any more, mostly because "Little Miss" is getting very fussy as she gets older, but we both loved this book purely because it's A) utterly beautiful to look at and B) quirkily written and entertaining even when you're a cynical 7 (or 47) year old!

The "Take a Shape" series from Britta Teckentrup, published by Words and Pictures, is a lovely little square hard backed book exploring shapes, colours and characters. We follow animal characters having fun with shapes (in this case, the square) and other titles in the series explore circles, rectangles and triangles too.

Each scene is highly colourful and (as you'd expect) made from squares, so you'll find a cat springing out of a square box, a cute pup driving a square train, all bouncing along with the entertaining wordplay.

This looks like a brilliant little range to collect for your tiny ones as they progress from munchy chewable cloth books, through sturdy teething-aid board books and through to hardback / paper books they can love, look after and treasure.

"Take a Shape: Square" by Britta Teckentrup is out on 4th June 2015, published by Words and Pictures

Charlotte's best bit: Cat in a Box like a Jack in the box!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic early shapes and colours book, absolutely beautifully presented and sure to be a huge hit with your busy little tinies

(Kindly sent to us for review by Words and Pictures)

More than ever before, children are fully aware of - and are quite active in being involved in ecological issues from a very early age. Not just "going green" but exploring the important reasons why we need to protect our planet and make better use of the resources available to us.

Marc Martin's first picture book "A Forest" stresses the importance of preserving our forests and woodlands, and the book opens with a truly gorgeous landscape spread out across the double page spread, filled with tiny and glorious trees.

As forest dwellers start to discover that trees are a fantastic natural resource, the forest is diminished - replaced at first, but later mankind's greed sees the forest disappear entirely - replaced by the smoke-belching skyline of a cityscape filled with colossal buildings.

The stark warning the book delivers, with a huge 'whump' is definitely not lost on us as we read through this gloriously illustrated hardback - with a tiny faint hope delivered by a sole survivor, a single tree...and so the cycle begins anew.

Marc's lush painted spreads in this book may be fairly minimalist, but their impact definitely isn't minimal in any way. The text is purposely kept simple, again to give this book a broad appeal from the tiniest toddlers to my 7 year old, sitting on my lap and taking in the message this book delivers so expertly.

A keeper, oh yes, definitely a keeper.

Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte loved getting to a certain point in the book, then tracing back to find the sole surviving tree in each page spread by its distinctive shape

Daddy's Favourite bit: A beautifully illustrated and perfectly presented first book for your tiniest eco-tots, that delivers a stark warning about the risks of abusing our natural resources.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)

The Albie stories are utterly fantastic, celebrating the wondrous and colourful imagination of a little boy in a ton of inventive ways. We always love to see a new "Albie" book and it's lovely to see such huge enthusiasm for Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves series on Twitter and Facebook.

We're now at book six! WOW! You think by now Caryl and Ed might be running out of ideas, but nope, here's another dazzling story and we really love this one for tons of reasons. 1) Monsters 2) Funky vehicles and 3) A really fab story of friendship and sportsmanship. So let's dive in.

Albie finds himself at the car wash with mum and as mum feeds the money into the machine, the car wash bumps into life - taking Albie and the car with it! EEEKS! Amongst the suds and soap, the jets and blow dryers Albie embarks on a new adventure as a monstrous pit crew change mum's runabout into a mean lean racing machine ready to enter The Great Monster Race. Albie lines up at the starting gate with the other monsters, but one monster is determined to win at all costs! Can Albie dig deep and not only win the race but win a few new friends along the way?

The moment we opened this book we knew we were going to be reading it several times through in quick succession. Caryl's storytelling is exciting and vibrant and Ed's inventive monsters and their fantastic outrageous rides really make this yet another surefire winner for fans of the Albie series (we particularly loved that there was a girl monster in there too, hooray!)

Washing the car will never seem the same again!

Charlotte's best bit: Trying to pick a favourite car and racer (she loved the girl monster's sleek racing car but booed loudly when she was forced off the road by a meanie in a monster truck!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fabulous furry freaky monster tale that will get your engines revving (and you'll definitely want to do a victory lap and read this one all over again once you've reached the finish line!)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

Charlotte rather fancies herself as a bit of an arty fashion diva. It's great to see her sitting down with her pencils and crayons, designing just the right sort of dress or skirt for her latest drawings, and paying huge attention to the little details (like accessories and handbags). It's about the most girly thing she does, but it's sometimes pretty tough to find good quality children's books that allow her to not only explore her creative side when it comes to fashion design, but will also throw some interesting facts and figures into the mix too (as well as great activities and puzzles).

So Pictura's fantastic range of puzzle books, including "Pictura Puzzles: Fashion Designer" is a brilliant combination of all those things and also has over 100 stickers to compliment your designs throughout the book.

You start off in your studio with a blank mannequin and can get to work straight away, adding colour to your studio environment (and drawing yourself in there for good measure) before getting to work on that mannequin. Will you opt for a flowing ball gown? Skirt and blouse combo? Trouser suit? Let your imagination fly and start working on your fashion masterpiece!

The book introduces various challenges throughout, and also dishes up a ton of really fascinating facts about the fashion industry (did you know, for instance, that certain Hermes handbags have a three year waiting list?! Blimey!)

Charlotte getting to work decorating her studio and creating her first dress

Those of you who've already encountered Pictura's fantastic range of colouring sheets and activity books will know that the team pulls out all the stops to make their products engaging and engrossing (and any parent will tell you that seeing their child completely and utterly absorbed by something they're working on is sheer bliss!)

Even if your children aren't particularly interested in fashion, the range branches out into other subjects so there's plenty to choose from including books about myths and legends, London and Dinosaurs in the initial range.

Also a bit of a confession from me. I really REALLY wanted to steal this away and have a go myself when Charlotte was safely tucked up in bed, but resisted the temptation. As with other items in the Pictura range, adults will very swiftly discover that the simple joy of doodling, colouring and designing using these books is absolutely addictive (but I didn't fancy facing the wrath of Coco Charlotte the next morning so I'll have to beg and plead to become her fashion assistant or something!)

"Pictura Puzzles: Fashion Designer" and the other titles in the range are now available from Pictura. Stop by their website for more details: http://www.picturaline.com

Charlotte's best bit: Designing intricate butterflies for a dress design's accessories

Daddy's Favourite bit: Not your average activity / puzzle book this, thoroughly researched, beautifully presented and intentionally full of lots of black and white spaces itching for you to get in there with your crayons, paints, felt tips and colouring pencils. What are you waiting for?

(Kindly sent to us for review by Pictura / Templar)

We should start out with a warning. "The Sleeper and the Spindle" really isn't a children's book per se, but older children will relish the opportunity to read such dark fare so if they're already well versed with the brooding and dark imagination of Messrs Gaiman and Riddell, they'll be OK with this. It's definitely not a cosy bed-time read though, this.

"The Sleeper and the Spindle" weaves together a story that delves into the dreamscapes and darkest corners of a Brothers Grimm tale and fuses their rather morality-led storytelling with something that at once feels quite contemporary and full of exquisite little twists.

The story opens with a land slowly falling under a nefarious spell of sleep, and a queen who herself is newly awoken from a dark magic-tainted sleep herself. The brave queen is soon to be married, and laments the end of the life she knows (and loves) for a life of toil, child-bearing, unhappiness and 'married-ness' (owch!)


The queen is a fascinating character. Hewn from the same granite as Joan of Arc but with a delicate frail side, needing to pluck up all her courage to save her land from the dark spell and trace it to its nefarious roots. She enlists the help of a team of dwarves, the very same folk who were instrumental in freeing her from her dark sleep - and here Gaiman is expertly borrowing from so many other classic story themes to create something new and vibrant.

As the queen's mission begins she knows she's already running out of time. Her people are falling asleep in their droves, and when she finds the impenetrable source of the dark magic - a rose-thorn-encrusted tower - she starts to fall once again under the spell herself...


I can't really reveal too much of the story without revealing the big satisfying twist, delivered with a whump to the chest as the book draws to a close - Suffice to say that I remember seeing quite a lot of criticism levelled at this book (perhaps because of one particular amazing and gorgeous Chris Riddell illustration 3/4 of the way through the book that will leave you completely breathless - Those of you who've already read this will know the pic I mean).

Gaiman's writing is as tight as ever, no words are used lightly, and the themes that are explored here are dissected with precision and deft grace. Chris Riddell is the illustrator I'd most love to be able to draw like. His characters are beautiful, grotesque, expressive and astounding and fit this tale so well that you'd struggle to imagine anyone else illustrating this story.

I opted not to share this one with Charlotte - yet (I'd welcome debate on whether this was the wrong or right thing to do, and it was a decision purely to do with the darkness of the story and the way that I could imagine it sticking in a child's mind - particularly a child brought up loving 'fairy stories' - It certainly had nothing to do with the sapphic illustrative spread that seemed to get a lot of critics hot under the collar btw).

I am beginning to wonder if I'll ever find anything by Neil Gaiman that I don't take to (though some of his stuff does demand close attention and several 'readings' to properly appreciate his approach to storytelling - I could still fall either side of the fence with Neverwhere for instance). As for Chris Riddell, he never puts a foot wrong with me. I just can't get enough of his work.

Daddy's Favourite bit: The rich, sometimes rude descriptive language in this darkly delicious tale is perfectly complimented by exquisite ink drawings. Dark, twisty, fabulous storytelling.

Babies eh? Tiny little Winston-Churchill-Pug-Dog lookalikes or cute bundles of fun, always busy and chaotic (and usually up to things they probably shouldn't be!) We love a book that feels like a joyous celebration of ordinary everyday life, and thanks to Kathy Henderson and Lauren Tobia, babies get to be the stars of this particular show.

In "Babies don't walk, they ride!" we find all sorts of babies, mums, dads, grans and grandads all going about their daily business - but of course the most important part of the daily outing is how you get from A to B. Do you bowl along in a buggy? Trickle down the street on a tagalong? Cuddle up to mum or dad in a wrap, a sling or a baby carrier? Or whoosh along the pavement in your very own red rocket push-along?

Babies are everywhere, all on the move and all giggling gleefully (usually as mum and dad puff and pant with the strain of pushing teenies along at a pace).

Words are kept to a minimum purposely so younger readers can snuggle up on our laps and check out what all those busy little babies get up to around town. We utterly loved going through this book again and again, each time finding some new and gorgeous little detail to chuckle at (and lots of things that made us shout "HOORAY!" too, like the hugely diverse cast in this book (well, this is Lauren Tobia we're talking about, she's a champ for promoting diverse books and characters - see Anna Hibiscus for reference!) We particularly loved the supermarket scene, a crazy chaotic page spread with an awesome wheelchair mum and her baby scooshing through the aisles.

A brilliant bouncing baby-boomer of a book!

Charlotte's best bit: Following the babies in the tow-along trailer throughout the book right to bedtime! Oh and that rocket-shaped pushalong. We want one!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic and joyful little book that's packed with fun and detail, and busy busy babies on the move!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Templar Publishing)