Our family car conversations are sometimes a bit esoteric, or just downright weird but on the way back home from a small break in Cornwall both my wife and I had a lot of examples of what happens when kids pass through that weird transitory period between being kids, to being "Tweenagers" - not quite the mobile-phone-staring-fashion-makeup-sleep-in-till-1PM Teenager, but a strange pseudo-version of that (11 seems to be the sweet spot for this but many parents say their 9 and 10 year olds are going through the same).

Having spent the weekend with our niece and nephew (who are both tinies, and still at the stage where they'll see a ladybird and be utterly transfixed by how amazing it is) going back home in the car there was one small glimmer of hope from C.

I can't quite remember what the conversation was originally about, but it transpired that she would be happy to be me for one reason and one reason only. "You can draw good, Daddy!"

See, I make no bones about this. I am not a brilliant artist, I'm not even a fair-to-middling one and I have a very narrow set of artistic skills and an even narrower set of subjects I like to sketch or paint. But to have that one tiny glimmer for a moment that my kid thought I was cool because I could do something they think no other dads can, that was worth hanging on to.

In other news, it's mobile phone time. We've tried to stave off this moment for as long as possible, and we're still being a bit stubborn and grumpy about internet / wifi access but C now has her first mobile - and with it I'm bracing myself for entertaining two non-communicative ladies in the house in a typical evening (as her mum, despite her protests, spends an inordinate amount of time on her phone in any given evening). I usually retreat to my room to cuddle a games controller or an art tablet when my efforts to try and get us all doing something as a family ultimately fail, but I wish this wasn't a symptom of owning a new communications device - basically everyone not communicating!

C usually doesn't take a telling from me on any given subject. Mum is the authority, we both know she wears the trousers and it's her way or the highway so I'm hoping that'll hold out for a bit longer at least.

Back to the original topic though - the last amusing anecdote is one about "Silly Daddy vs Serious Daddy". For a long while I've been telling C that I should probably be a lot more like the other dads of kids in her school. Most of them are quite sombre chaps. Possibly very career driven. Possibly don't have much in the way of hobbies or interests, perhaps spending their evenings shuffling paperwork for their businesses, or perhaps gluing themselves to whatever sport is on the telly. None of them would dream of turning up for school pickup wearing a Ghibli T Shirt (suit, or at the very least a shirt and tie and 'proper' trousers - not jeans), and you'd certainly never see any of them diving onto the swings at a playpark, or telling the most terrible jokes (and laughing at them loudly themselves).

So I gave her the choice. Should I grow up a bit and become serious daddy? Or continue on my merry brainless way being 'silly' daddy? The vote was unanimously for the latter!

There seem to be quite a few excellent books based on amazing journeys and adventures by world famous explorers around at the moment, and today sees the release of a truly spectacular book on the subject, from Nellie Huang and Jessamy Hawke.

"Explorers: Amazing Tales of the World's Greatest Adventurers" is a really inspirational book packed with some of the most incredible quests undertaken throughout history.

Charting how brave folk took to the seas to explore new lands, or charted and explored forbidding landscapes at either pole, this book goes into intricate detail of the journeys themselves and the people who took them, and made history.

Nellie Huang writes with authority, having undertaken several incredible adventures herself through her own adventure travel blog.

Here she pays homage to some very special men and women who overcame adversity to enter the record books, achieving personal goals beyond your wildest dreams. Let's take a look inside...

Jeanne Baret, the first woman to sail around the world

Children will love reading about these adventures, and perhaps will be inspired enough to one day follow in the footsteps of some of these amazing pioneers.

Matthew Henson braved freezing conditions to explore the North Pole

Some folk will be familiar, but many were new to us, making this the perfect book for kids to use as a jumping off point for more research into these fascinating figures.

Karen Darke, overcoming physical disability to continue her amazing quests

Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly breathtaking and inspirational collection of amazing explorers and pioneers, brought together in a luxurious hardback that will keep you gripped for ages.

"Explorers" by Nellie Huang and Jessamy Hawke is out today, published by DK (kindly supplied for review). 

Here's an interesting book combining some amazing facts about animals, while stimulating children's interest in all things numerical.

In "How Far can a Kangaroo Jump?" by Alison Limentani, you'll find out a whole lot more about many, many animal species that live on our planet - but you'll also learn a lot more about numbers and maths too.

As well as the titular question, you'll also find out how far other animals can jump, leap and bound with a series of gorgeously colourful and detailed illustrations to pique your curiosity.

Perfect for Key Stage One / Foundation based programmes, but also great as a read-at-home title to brush up your animal and maths skills.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A fab way to combine two fascinating subjects in one brilliant exploration of animals and numbers.

"How Far Can a Kangaroo Jump" by Alison Limentani is out now, published by Boxer Books (kindly supplied for review). 

I wonder how many parents will be high-fiving each other at the gate this morning as we take a look at one of our favourite 'back to school' books of yesteryear, which is presented in a shiny new paperback version by Hachette.

Lauren Child's "Charlie and Lola" series is superb, and never better than in "I Am Too Absolutely Small for School".

Lola is a bit nervous. She's starting "Big School" and is also trying to convince everyone - even Soren Lorenson - that she's not quite ready yet. But Charlie, her big brother, is there to tell her all the fun things that she will get to do once she arrives.

Suddenly school doesn't seem so bad at all! In fact with all the busy things Lola gets to do, the day whizzes by so quickly.

This was a book I remember reading to C way back when she was starting juniors. Now she's starting Seniors it was fun looking back and remembering what it was like going into Reception classes for the first time!

Superb stuff from Lauren.

"I Am Too Absolutely Small for School" by Lauren Child is out now, published by Hachette Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Dr Maggie is an effervescent and energetic spokesperson for all things spacey, and the most perfect person to take us on a guided tour across our own backyard in space, the fabulous solar system!

In "Dr Maggie's Grand Tour of the Solar System" by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, we're in for a journey spanning the vastness of space to take a look at our amazing Sun, and some of our planetary neighbours.

With a fantastic mix of space science and fantasy, it's time to climb on board Dr Maggie's special spaceship to take a closer look at the fabulous valleys and mountains of mars, or perhaps the gaseous acidity of Venus. We even go all out for a long, long journey to visit micro-planet Pluto, frozen in the icy wastes of the outer reaches of the solar system itself.

But you'll also learn the science behind the knowledge, and how space scientists have built probes, satellites and even robotic rovers to take amazing photographs and images of the galaxy and our neighbouring planets in super-fine detail.

Let's take a look inside this truly fab book:

What is a solar system? It all begins with a shining star...

We love the use of language in this book, brimming with enthusiasm and energy just like Dr Maggie herself!

To Ganymede and Io, you bet we've seen 'em all...!

Absorbing, fascinating space science served up in a truly fabulous and enthusiastic way.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A nigh-on essential guide for young space fans, particularly if they've been keeping up with Dr Maggie's fab appearances on CBeebies and The Sky at Night.

"Dr Maggie's Grand Tour of the Solar System" by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is out on 5th September 2019, published by Buster Books (kindly supplied for review).

As many kids make their way back to school, and many more head off to 'big school' for the first time, here's a brilliant return for Anna Llenas' charismatic monster in "The Colour Monster Goes to School".

But what exactly is school? The colour monster isn't quite sure. Is it a huge scary building full of horrible things?

Will Colour Monster make friends?

What are the teachers like?

All these questions are probably uppermost in your own kids' minds as they pack their bags for their first day, nicely observed here in a bounce-along story full of fun and of course colour!

From music lessons, to lunchtime, to making new friends, the Colour Monster's first day of school is filled with exciting new adventures.

Here's a trio of fantastic books from a new range of historical and educational stories, published by Scholastic.

The fabulous "Voices" range combines real-life history with the stories of three exceptional children who lived in different eras, but each with an amazing story to tell.

In "Son of the Circus" by E.L. Norry you'll hear the story of a young mixed race boy named Ted who joins the circus at the tender age of 12. Ted's story is tinged with sadness, but also some incredible adventures as he becomes wrapped up in circus life alongside his father, the first black circus owner in Victorian Britain.

There's also "Now or Never" by Bali Rai, a story from the 2nd World War about a young conscript fighting on the hell beach of Dunkirk in one of the most decisive battles of the war. Fazal travels a long way from his homeland in India to fight in Company 32. Fazal looks after the animals that the company uses for transport and utility, but his world is changing, and despite his loyalty to the British Crown Fazal begins to question why, when they're treated so badly by British troops, that the Royal Indian Army Service Corps are fighting at all.

Finally there's the superb "Diver's Daughter" by Patrice Lawrence. Shifting the focus to Tudor times, it's the story of a young West African girl, Eve, living with her mother in the Southwark slums of Elizabethan London.

When they hear from a Mary Rose survivor, George Symon, that one of the African free-divers who salvaged its treasures is alive and well and living in Southampton, mother and daughter agree to try to find him. But will the pair survive when George arrives to claim his 'share' of the riches?

Will Eve overcome her fear of water to rescue her mother from the sea?

Each of these novels offers fascinating insights into history, and does so without the need for endless fart and poo gags (unlike a certain other history series that seems to be popular at the moment). These are authentic, sometimes gritty but absolutely absorbing tales, fabulous for kids who will be covering these historical eras in school but equally brilliant just to read for pleasure at home too.

"Voices" books are out now, published by Scholastic (kindly supplied for review). 

Bugs, love 'em or hate 'em (and during the summer you're probably like us, not a fan of 'em), they play a vitally important part in our ecosystem, as deftly demonstrated by super-talent Britta Teckentrup in her new book "There are Bugs Everywhere"

And yes, they truly are everywhere, in fact did you know that if it wasn't for bugs, we'd probably be wading neck-deep in all sorts of waste matter that bugs are extremely good at breaking down?

This and many other facts are explored in this highly colourful book perfect for early years kids who love all things creepy, crawly, flittery and slithery.

From the humble shield bug to the mighty bee, bugs play their role in ensuring our planet can carry on functioning as it does, and though we seemingly do our best to kill them off, we need them more than ever.

They're our pollinators, our waste disposal experts, and effective predators that keep even more pestilential critters from bugging us. Bugs are indeed everywhere and deserve to be celebrated.

Let's take a look inside, shall we then?

Bugs eat everything. From dung, to leaves, to...er...bits of us. Lovely!

Roam across the world and you'll find billions of different species, including the all important ones we cannot do without...

Never a moment's peace in the middle of a beehive.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A colourful and brilliant celebration of all things bug-like.

"There are Bugs Everywhere" by Britta Teckentrup is out now, published by Big Picture Press (kindly supplied for review). 

Another gorgeous book from a hugely talented young lady!

"The Golden Acorn" by Katy Hudson follows on from her brilliant "Too Many Carrots" and "A Loud Winter's Nap" once again featuring a charming collection of animal characters imparting a life lesson for us all.

This one's all about teamwork, and Squirrel is the bushy-tailed fellow who needs to learn all about it, as the annual Golden Nut Hunt race is coming up on the forest calendar.

Squirrel usually loves to win, but this time the race is announced as a team effort, so Squirrel will have to put up with other animals joining him.

But he doesn't want to be slowed down or held back by others. Will Squirrel learn to wind in his competitive nature and learn to share with his new friends?

It's a beautiful book and as ever, the massive appeal of this one is in the various interplays between the animal characters, all with their own personalities and nuances.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A fab little book for 3-5 year olds teaching them the value of teamwork and working together for a better reward.

Look out for "The Golden Acorn" by Katy Hudson, coming soon from Raintree (kindly supplied for review)

We've always been discovered by buildings, the history of them and the construction of them - but until now most children's books have skirted over most of the nitty gritty of the subject of architecture.

But with "Discovering Architecture" by Eduard Altarriba and Berta Bardi I Mila, you'll learn how the first human settlers began to move out of their caves and treetop habitats, and began constructing their own first free-standing structures.

But who built the first houses?