I have a confession to make. As a child I really, REALLY did not like the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" - I think it was a bit too syrupy for me, as I bopped around to slightly more racy stuff like The Alex Harvey Band or possibly even Pink Floyd.

Nevertheless, it's a song that has endured and I bet you're humming it to yourself right now as you read this review of a book that's based on it.

Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame) and Lenny Lipton have contributed to a book with stunning illustrations by Eric Puybaret - and reading the story through, it's still a bit too syrupy for my tastes but Charlotte loves anything to do with dragons (as you'll see in our next review!) so grabbed this with both hands when we spotted it in the library (minus its CD, we didn't dare listen to the song again, it just gets completely stuck in your head)

Puff, the magic dragon lives by the see, frolicking in the ocean mist in a land called Honalee (yes you do remember the lyrics!)

The story tells the slightly melancholy tale of Puff, and his friend Jackie Piper (renamed Paper for the book, oddly) - as they grow up together and Jackie spends long summer days with his best dragony friend.

Soon though, Jackie gets older, and other distractions steal him away from those golden shores. There's a lovely uplifting end to the book though so don't be too sad.

Eric Puybaret's artwork is the real star of the show here, in our opinion. Glowing illustrations so beautifully painted that fit the song / story wonderfully.

We still don't really like the song but who could resist the lure of a good dragony book!

Charlotte's best bit: The end, and the person who takes over from Jackie as Puff's best (new) friend

Daddy's favourite bit: It's amazing the song is so enduring, and it's great to see it turned into a children's book in this way. Can't help thinking though I'd love to see Alex Harvey's "Man in the Jar" get the same treatment :)

Happy reading books! It's Booktime!

The hush of secrecy has at last been lifted. Earlier this year we talked about a top secret mission we undertook, something booky and really interesting to take part in and be involved in. A huge honour!

We're now able to tell you what it was all about, and it's very exciting news indeed.

The Booktime 2013-2014 titles have been officially announced and they are:

"But Excuse Me, That is My Book" by Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola) - Published by Puffin

"Tom's Mad Mop" by Celia Warren and Bill Ledger (Bug Club Series) - Published by Pearson UK

730,000 children aged 4-5 in England and Wales will each receive a free Booktime book pack in their first year of primary school. With two free books in every pack, along with additional copies for teachers and librarians, 1.5 million books in total will be given through Booktime, which aims to inspire a lifelong love of reading by encouraging families to have fun reading together.

The selection panel included teachers, librarians and us and the selection process was pretty tricky, so many great books were included this year and it was an extremely tough job to choose between them.

You can see our review of "But Excuse Me, That Is My Book" by clicking the link. It's a glorious celebration of libraries and books, and several changes - driven by feedback from the panel - have now been included in the book (a busier library, yay!) Charlie and Lola are a massive hit with Charlotte, and she loves trips to the libraries so the book was a brilliant choice.

"Tom's Mad Mop" is also brilliant, an early reader book that fizzes with energy and excitement and with a little sunshine slowly creeping out from behind the clouds, the perfect book to celebrate watery antics in the garden this summer. We can't wait to get out there and do exactly that!

We really hope you enjoy the books, we really enjoyed being involved in the process and are right behind Bookstart and Booktime all the way.

Here's a pic from the super secret selection process!

The lovely Booktrust 2013 Selection Panel. Many biscuits were consumed, particularly by that fellah in the middle!

Inspired by Loll Kirby's brilliant Loft Treasures post, we thought we'd take a look through our bookcases for books my wife and I owned and passed on to Charlotte.

We both had very different upbringings, but both came from families who loved books and passed that love of books on to us, just as we're doing with our own daughter. I had a tough time as a kid, we had very little money but we always had books - and when we had to leave London to move to Oxford, about the only thing we could transport with us for one reason or another was our book collection (mine and my sister's).

This one was undoubtedly something my Nan would've picked up for me second hand, a book by Racey Helps called "The Tale of Hunky Dory" - And though it doesn't look like much, it's been a very well loved book over the years and one I've owned since I was about 2 years old or thereabouts.

"The Tale of Hunky Dory" by Racey Helps

The 'scrawl' on the cover was there when I was originally given it, and it had long lost its slip cover but the illustrations inside are stunning...!

Aww! Just look at him! So cute!

Look at those Hazelnuts, you can almost taste them!

Moving on a step or two, both my wife and I loved Richard Scarry books when we were kids, and I was so pleased when my mum found one of my old ones in her own loft (there are probably a heck of a lot more books stored at her place but we've not been brave enough to go looking - there's an awful lot of stuff in their loft!).

Teeny Tiny Tales by Richard Scarry

Just as it says on the cover, there are 11 bite-sized stories in the book and it's one of the few Richard Scarry books I can ever remember seeing real kids in (as opposed to animal characters). A girl who plays with a fantastic little doll's house, and a boy who takes a lonely pony for a ride.

I love the guy on the cover, Farmer Pig and of course Farmer Junco and his colour-swapping Tractor!

Moving on again and this was one of my wife's books - an early convert to the fabulous works of one Babette Cole - who my daughter now knows and loves for an entirely different reason (thank you Doctor Dog!)

Pingwings - a Flying Bird by Oliver Postgate and Babette Cole

A brilliant little story and the Pingwings are adorable characters.

More you say? How about this rather fantastic book...

Twinkle and Winkle - Two Dormice by Phyllis Kelway and Len Fullerton

Some books literally fizz with energy, threatening to leap out of your bookcase, dance a merry jig in the middle of the floor before scampering out of the front door giggling insanely.

Ed Vere's "The Getaway" is just such a book, largely due to the central character - Fingers McGraw, the sneakiest speediest cheese thief in town.

Fingers needs your help. You, the reader, must keep a look out as Fingers tries to evade the long arm (or should that be long trunk) of the law, in the shape of Officer Elephant.

Ed's art lends even more of a sense of speed to this book and it provides a great excuse for me to wheel out my 'slightly Bronx-y gangster hoodlum' voice for Fingers, and a whole raft of other voices for the peripheral characters as Fingers gets into all sorts of scrapes as he escapes with his ill-gotten gains, a humungous lump of stinky cheese.

Will Fingers escape? Or will he end up spending some quality time up at "the Big House"? You'll have to read the book to find out, but one thing's for sure, you'll take a lot more care over securing your fromage in future because you never know when Fingers is around!

Charlotte's best bit: Fingers thinking that Officer Elephant has finally caught up with him as he hides in a hole, but it's an anteater's long schnozz instead! Eek!

Daddy's favourite bit: Ed's touch with the dialogue in this is absolutely spot on. Slap on some dramatic music, crack out your best american accents and slide into a book that has a bucketload of energy!

Merely having the word "Monster" anywhere in the title or on the cover of a children's picture book is a guarantee that Charlotte will love it. Monsters (to her at least) represent those slightly subversive, quite often naughty and sometimes quite scary characters that are staple fodder for children's book writers and illustrators.

Browsing the portfolios of most children's illustrators, you're bound to find a few monsters in there - so what can "Monster Be Good!" bring to a genre that's already stuffed to the gills with monstrously good books?

Natalie Marshall's monsters are easily identifiable by most children. Sometimes they're messy, quite often they're crabby and all display quite monstrous behaviour - and we loved her designs for each type. The book may be pitched at a slightly younger audience than Charlotte but nevertheless she loved the huge and bold colour illustrations, interesting page spreads and the inference that there's a little bit of monster in all of us.

We look forward to seeing more from Natalie really soon!

Charlotte's best bit: Scary monster!

Daddy's favourite bit: Great retro-style illustrations and some wry digs at kid behaviour.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Blue Apple Books)

Two loveable penguins, two best friends, two very different characters! That's Ping and Pong and we meet them in this new book from Tim Hopgood.

Ping loves to do lots of things. Cooking, sporting activities, painting. The only problem is that Pong is always slightly better at everything. Though Pong is quite humble about his abilities, Ping gets rather upset and the two decide to put some distance between them.

But Pong misses Ping. Ping misses Pong and together they discover the one thing they're both equally good at. Being best friends, and sometimes a friendship is far more important than being competitive and trying to decide who's best at things.

In this endearing book, Tim Hopgood explores friendships and pitches a story perfectly at children who are undoubtedly going through a whole range of experiences very similar to Ping and Pong at home and at school. We often hear Charlotte talking about how one girl in her class can play the piano better than anyone else, and one is better at ballet - but helping her to explore friendships through this gentle story has been really great.

Bold illustrations ensure that the story's theme sticks in the mind, and who doesn't love a pair of cute penguin characters in a children's book!

Charlotte's best bit: Ping's disastrous baking!

Daddy's favourite bit: Pong's superior paintings.

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

For this week's theme we thought we'd take a look at enduring classic children's books. You've already seen our review of Dick Bruna's "Miffy's Garden" which is a great example of a classic children's book that still has appeal today. But the inspiration for this theme week was someone who has shared her loft treasures with us on many occasions, causing "oohs" and "ahhs" of delight whenever her loft treasure posts go live. Ladies and gentlemen, we're very honoured to kick off the week with a guest post from Loll Kirby at Story Seekers. Take it away Loll!


It’s pretty hard to write a post about classic children’s books as I sit and gaze at bookshelves upon bookshelves filled with all the books I used to read when I was younger. You’d think it would be simple to just pick a few out and give my reasons for believing them to be timeless texts that should be in everyone’s homes.

I can certainly recommend a few books that I think every child should have a chance to read, such as those by Janet and Allan Ahlberg:

"The Baby's Catalogue" and "Burglar Bill" by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Sublime!

and a wonderfully illustrated compendium of nursery rhymes:

"Lavender Blue" by Kathleen Lines and Harold Jones.

as well as books that help us deal with the really tough times:

"Granpa" by John Burningham.

but this post is actually going to go down a slightly different route.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, you can never be entirely sure that any book you recommend is going to be someone else’s cup of tea. Some books are as close to a sure thing as you’ll ever get (see all those pictured above!) but there’ll always be at least one person who disagrees. Secondly, and more importantly, I don’t think this always matters.

When I went up into my dad’s loft last summer and discovered a multitude of boxes filled with bookish treasures from my formative years, the ones I squealed and cartwheeled over weren’t always the ones that had the best plots or the most beautiful pictures (though often they had both of these things as well). They were the ones that meant something to me personally. This might have been because they showed that my mum recognised my future as a bookworm even when I was only a month old:

Dedication inside "Circus" by Dick Bruna

"Circus" by Dick Bruna.

It might have been because they helped me learn to read and are now helping my children learn to read as well (even though I make every effort to encourage them to focus on what *they* like, it’s very cool to see them enjoying the books that I loved so much):

The Magic Porridge Pot (Ladybird Well Loved Tales). Very well loved by us!

However, there are other books that I loved for less obvious but very specific reasons. My dad used to work abroad a lot and we spent a lot of time in airports either waving him off or welcoming him home. I used to long to be a pilot and even had a ‘plane spotter’s guide (I’ve always embraced my geekiness...). Anyway, the following book is a classic for me as Dad bought it for me and it makes me think of him:

"Dilbert in Seattle" by Kate Robertson and Val Biro

The following books, I have to admit, have no especially exciting story attached. However, I just LOVED them and they have the power to instantly transport me back to reading under the covers; to reorganising the bookshelves in my bedroom yet again; to packing them in my bag as I threatened to run away from home in an (entirely successful, I might add) attempt to pressure my dad into stopping smoking. I eschewed the more practical appeal of clothes and food and instead chose to take nothing but books and teddies, with these books taking pride of place in my ‘My Little Pony’ backpack:

"Grandmother Lucy" books by Joyce Wood and Frank Francis

The Grandmother Lucy books are nigh on perfect, in my opinion, and I delight in them just as much now as I did then.

These well-worn books, creased with years of love and attention, are all classics to me because at various times and for various reasons, they all shaped me. I’m aware of how dramatic that sounds, but to me that’s the power of a great book. You find it at the right time and you never forget it. Obviously there are truly outstanding authors and illustrators out there and their work is bound to have an impact on you - rightfully so. Just don’t be afraid to let other ‘classics’ into your life and the lives of the people with whom you share books.

www.storyseekers.co.uk

It's National Gardening Week this week and a good way to get your little ones thinking about the glorious sunshine, the sheer joy of getting completely covered from head to foot in rich brown soil, and growing your own little plants is to dive into a great little book all about a child's first garden.

Miffy is an enduring character, and indeed Charlotte's very first soft toy was a tiny little Miffy - so it's great to revisit the Dick Bruna books, that have entertained little ones for a very long time.

Dealing with topics as diverse as gardening, first days at school and even grief, the books are eye-catching, beautifully designed and bunnytastic!

We took a look at Miffy's Garden to celebrate National Gardening Week and in it, Miffy's dad decides that Miffy is now old enough to learn all about things that grow in the garden.

Raking, digging, sowing and growing, Miffy learns that the garden holds infinite possibilities to grow plants to eat, plants to share and plants of stunning beauty - just like your own garden!

Keep an eye on the Royal Horticulture Society's theme week as it develops, and just as the first sunny days of spring (I know, they're a bit late!) come along, there's never a better time to dive into your own garden and start thinking about seeds to sow! If you fancy kitting out your little ones with lots of Miffy gardening goodies, check out the official miffy store. www.miffyshop.co.uk

For parents with iPads, there's also a great "Miffy's Garden" app available from the iTunes store for £2.99.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/de-tuin-van-nijntje/id495662581?l=nl&ls=1&mt=8



Charlotte's best bit: A huge big basket of lovely juicy carrots for Miffy and family!

Daddy's favourite bit: Dick Bruna books have been loved by children for years and it's easy to see why, they're still as brilliantly told and designed as they always were.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Egmont Books)

This week's "Book of the Week" not only fits beautifully with this week's #ReaditMD13 theme of challenging gender stereotyping in books, it's just such an original and fresh theme that it's a joy to read and behold.

"Zephyr Takes Flight" tells the story of a young girl obsessed with all things aeroplane-shaped. She makes planes out of paper and junk, and she's the world's expert at a triple flip loop-de-loop, performed with much skill (well, a little skill) from the top of her settee at home.

Frustratingly, the adults in Zephyr's house (Grandma, Dad and Mum) don't seem to share her love of aviation and are always too busy to play planes. But after an accident, Zephyr makes an amazing discovery in her room - a tiny door that leads to another world, a world beginning with a dusty old room full of aeroplanes and complicated blueprints, leading to a land filled with flying pigs!

Steve Light's joyful book was an instant hit with Charlotte. She loved Zephyr, a sassy little girl who chews bubblegum and wears a cool pair of flying goggles, she loved the planes - not your cold aluminium tubes with wings but the fabulous cloth and string creations of yore (they reminded her - and me - of the movie "Porco Rosso" which is definitely one of our fave Studio Ghibli flicks).

We ate this up and as soon as we reached the last page we just dived back in for more. A thoroughly well deserved book of the week and we really must see if Steve's ever done any more with Zephyr. If not, why not!

Charlotte's best bit: The door - which reminded her of Coraline (but thankfully without the 'other mother')

Daddy's favourite bit: Mum doing the maintenance, fixing, woodcraft, dad cooking on the stove. Very much liked that, a good gender challenge and Zephyr is also just such a brilliant character with boy and girl appeal.

Living in Oxfordshire, we're never more than a stone's throw away from the mighty influences of fantasy authors who made the county their home, such as C.S Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and of course Phillip Pullman.

Fantasy as a genre owes much to the former pair of inklings, and in Steven Loveridge's book "The Palace Library" it's easy to see why several reviewers have drawn comparisons between Lewis and Tolkien's masterworks, and Loveridge's novel.

Putting children firmly at the heart of the story, Loveridge has carved out a fantasy landscape that at first feels very familiar to anyone who has read any of The Chronicles of Narnia but fast establishes itself as feeling more written for today's children, standing on its own feet to show us a glimpse of a fantasy world altogether different to Lewis' imagined kingdom of Narnia.

Three children discover a dusty library in an old house, and this becomes the portal to an adventure that stretches their abilities and imaginations to the limit. Using books, the children embark on a hazardous journey to restore a lost sword to its rightful place - as clues and interwoven plots become unlocked through the power of words.

I loved the fact that the book celebrates libraries, books and the mystical journeys we can all embark on through their pages and children will love the fact that the three in the story (Grace, Eleanor and Harry) are just ordinary everyday kids, much like themselves - but given the chance to live through an extraordinary adventure, segueing perfectly with things they've previously only ever read about.

The mark of a good fantasy novel is its ability to effortlessly draw in the readers' mind a mental picture of how the fantasy world looks, purely through the power of the written word - and at times you can almost smell the heady mix of excitement and adventure in "The Palace Library". It's a very 'visual' book and one that lends itself well to helping the reader imagine the world within living and breathing and assaulting all your senses at once.

For early chapter readers looking to cut their teeth on their first fantasy books, perhaps looking for something shorter and less 'toothy' than the works of Tolkien and Lewis, this is a book that shines as brightly as its golden cover. We really hope there's a sequel on the way soon!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Steven Loveridge)