Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale by David Duchovny

A cow that's read Homer, a turkey that can fly a plane and a Jewish pig who talks "porcine Yiddish". Sounds like something out of the X-Files!

Well it's all in this book written by X-Files star David Duchovny. "Holy Cow" tells the story of Elsie Bovary, a cow "born on a small farm in upstate New York". She is also the narrator, a very chatty narrator prone to digress, e.g. inserting conversations she has had with her editor about the book and advice to any would-be movie directors out there who wanted to turn the book into a film.

Anyway one day Elsie is attracted to the "snorting of the bulls" who are kept separate from the female cows, and as she goes to visit them she inadvertently ends up outside the farmer's house watching TV where she sees what happens to farm cows - "murdered, one after another".

This leads to an adventure, after a bout of depression of course. Rather than be killed she decides to escape to India where cows are treated as Gods and are not eaten. Along for the ride are Jerry the pig aka Shalom who wants to go to Israel where he will not be eaten, and Tom Turkey who wants to go, you've guessed it, to Turkey.

It might sound like a kids' book, but with the "sex, curses and maybe some potty humour" plus "all the religion stuff" it wouldn't be suitable for young children. The story is surreal with sentences like "I looked up to see a pig tottering upright on its hind legs and a turkey with a cell phone, waiting for me. It was time to go." It has jokes too and the story is certainly unique so if you like that kind of stuff then go for it.

Publication date: 3rd Feb 2015

Available on Amazon UK (priced from £5.99 at time of writing): Holy Cow 

Georgie the Royal Prince Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help out a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about Georgie the Royal Prince Fairy. Jack Frost has stolen her special royal seal because it can make him royal. Georgie needs the seal to make official "all naming ceremonies of royal princes".  It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Georgie sort it out of course.

Also along the way there are a number of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers.

As for my daughter she loved the story, the pictures and also the opening poem. If I was to be critical I would say that if you read a lot of these rainbow fairy books the plots are rather similar with the girls having to recover a lost item for a fairy from Jack Frost and the goblins in each book, but my daughter doesn't mind. 

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Published: 2 Jan 2014

Available at Amazon (£3.85 at time of writing): Georgie the Royal Prince Fairy 

The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

"The Gruffalo's Child" is a sequel to the terribly successful "The Gruffalo". But it is a very clever sequel because it turns things on a head. This time instead of the mouse talking about the terrible features of the Gruffalo it is the Gruffalo who tells the tale of the big bad mouse. The Gruffalo's child then goes off not scared, meeting the characters from the original story all of who are here, before seeing the big bad mouse for himself.

Probably not as good as the original but still great and it has the excellent Axel Scheffler artwork to accompany the story.

Available at Amazon UK: The Gruffalo's Child

First published: 2004

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan

Being called "The ONE Thing" there is still a lot to take in when reading this book.

"The ONE Thing" is about putting your focus into your most important thing, rather than focusing on lots of things, because "if you chase two rabbits... you will not catch either one." Using the ONE Thing approach the authors also help you to aim big - "the moon is reachable if you prioritise everything and put all your energy into accomplishing the most important thing".

The book is split into three sections - the Lies, the Truth, and the Extraordinary Results. "The Lies" section tries to debunk common theories that people hold that are anti-One Thing if you like. For example, the lie that multitasking is good, when in fact "to do two things at once is to do neither".

"The Truth" section goes through the processes you should do to make the ONE Thing work, then "the Extraordinary Results" section gives you the tools to use it to break through the ceiling.

The chapters in the book are arranged with introductions, have key points underlined and end with a Big Ideas section providing a summary of the chapter if you just wanted to skim read through. There are also appropriate quotes from various people dotted through the pages and several diagrams to illustrate some of the concepts explained.

Some of the bits in the book you may have come across before, e.g. how writing and sharing your goals with others makes them more likely to be acted upon, but there is no harm in being reminded of these things. The writing is concept-y so takes some concentration. There is some story-telling in there that makes it more readable, but not enough for me. And the ONE thing idea is stretched a bit, e.g. "...your first ONE Thing is..." (surely there should just be one?). However if you make the effort then reading this book could be worthwhile.

Overall I think the ONE Thing approach could work with the key thing for me being to continually use the "focusing question" - "what's the ONE Thing I could do such that by doing it everything else will be easier on or unnecessary?"

Publication date: 25 April 2014

Available on Amazon UK: The ONE Thing

Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow by Tilly Bagshawe

"Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow" is the sequel to "If Tomorrow Comes". Although it is not necessary to have read the first book before this one, as the bare bones of the back story are filled in along the way, it probably is best as then you have all the detail, and know the characters from before.

This book brings back characters from the original "If Tommorrow Comes", the main two being Jeff Stevens and Tracy Whitney, "the second-most-talented and the most-talented con artists in the world." They marry and go straight, leaving behind their past lives. But that leaves a void in their lives. Jeff fills his by getting a job as curator of antiquities at the British Museum. Tracy meanwhile has the sole obsession of "trying, and failing, to have a baby", but not having the void filled leads to cracks in the marriage and then to a split, helped by an enemy who secretly couldn't stand them being together. The split ends up with Tracy disappearing into thin air.

But by the end of the book their common enemy is revealed and Jeff and Tracy are able to come together once more.

There are plenty of clever cons along the way, expertly written as Bagshawe makes you believe they are doomed to failure before the heroes successfully complete them. The story is good. This is an enjoyable read.

Publication date: 9 Oct 2014

Available on Amazon UK: Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow

Hannah the Happy Ever After Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about Hannah the happy ever after fairy and Jack Frost has stolen her magical Quill Pen which "has the power to write fairy tales for the human world, but not only that - the magic pen can also change them." And Jack Frost is changing them. "He's rewriting all the endings of the fairy tales to make them miserable!" It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Hannah sort it out of course.

Also along the way there are a number of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers.

This was originally a World Book Day book so is a showcase, and as such it is probably a bit better than some of the others in the collection which follow predictable patterns, although a little shorter.

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Publication date: 16 Feb 2006

Purchase at Amazon UK: Hannah the Happy Ever After Fairy

Asterix Omnibus 3 by Goscinny and Uderzo

This book combines the seventh to ninth Asterix adventures into one volume. 

The seventh Asterix adventure is Asterix and the Big Fight, which is possibly one of the best. 

There is one village in Gaul that holds out against Roman rule. The Romans hatch a plan. "There's one custom that might come in very useful... it's called THE BIG FIGHT!" The big fight happens when the chief of one village wants to take over another village. He challenges the chief of that village to a big fight, like a boxing match, and the winner takes charge of the other's village. The Romans line up "collaborator and as colossal as the Colosseum" Cassius Ceramix of the village Linoleum for the job.

But because of the magic potion, brewed by druid Getafix, chief Vitalstatistix is invincible, so Cassius Ceramix refuses. The Romans then take out the druid, inadvertently as he gets knocked out by a menhir and loses his memory. Therefore the big fight goes ahead. Of course it is down to Asterix to get things right again and there is a lot of fun and jokes along the way

Then it is Asterix in Britain. At the book's beginning Caesar invades Britain. "All Britain was occupied... All? No... one village still holds out against the invaders." Sound familiar? Anyway they can't hold out for much longer so Anticlimax, a second cousin, once removed of Asterix, goes in search of the famous magic potion. A barrel is made and Asterix and Obelix escort Anticlimax and the barrel back across Britain with the Romans hot on their trail.

Maybe there is too much stereotyping of certain things in here, tea for example, but all-in-all another great Asterix story.

Then lastly is Asterix and the Normans. 

Justforkix is the nephew of the village chief Vitalstatistix and is sent to the village from his native Lutetia (Paris) because he is soft and needs toughening up. Obelix suggests thumping him but Asterix disagrees. Meanwhile the Norman chief is concerned that his Normans don't know the meaning of fear so goes off to Gaul in search of it. Unfortunately the village they end up at is Asterix's village and they also don't know the meaning of fear. It's just as well Justforkix is there, "an expert on fear".

Along the way there is a lot of fun and jokes, from start ("Why, there's Postaldistrix the postman!") to finish. There is a kidnapping in the book too, which features in a lot of Asterix stories, but still a great Asterix story.

Trouble now is you'll want to read the others. 

Purchase on Amazon: Asterix Omnibus 3

Asterix and the Normans by Goscinny and Uderzo

This is the ninth Asterix adventure and this time Asterix meets the Normans.

Justforkix is the nephew of the village chief Vitalstatistix and is sent to the village from his native Lutetia (Paris) because he is soft and needs toughening up. Obelix suggests thumping him but Asterix disagrees. Meanwhile the Norman chief is concerned that his Normans don't know the meaning of fear so goes off to Gaul in search of it. Unfortunately the village they end up at is Asterix's village and they also don't know the meaning of fear. It's just as well Justforkix is there, "an expert on fear".

Along the way there is a lot of fun and jokes, from start ("Why, there's Postaldistrix the postman!") to finish. There is a kidnapping in the book too, which features in a lot of Asterix stories, but all-in-all another great Asterix story.

Original publication: 1966

Purchase here: Asterix and the Normans

Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat-Dragon by Sarah Courtauld

This book has a sense of fun and a sense of adventure within its pages.

The story follows the adventures of two sisters, Lavender and Eliza, who have two different destinies. Eliza was "going to battle dragons and giants. She was going to vanquish monsters and travel to distant mountains." Her sister Lavender's destiny was "almost certainly going to feature a handsome prince."

It is because of Lavender's wish for a Prince that she gets in trouble being kidnapped for ransom in a castle surrounded by a moat where the Monstrous Moat-Dragon mentioned in the title of the book lives. It is up to Eliza, the more sensible sister as she doesn't have her head in the clouds, to save her.

The humour in the book is the same type of silly, surreal humour as made popular in the Mr Gum books. The drawings that accompany the text are pretty unique being quick pencil drawings and as such they carry a particular type of charm.

My 7-year-old really enjoyed the book. The first day we started reading it she went off and read the rest on her own, which shows her interest.

Publication date: 03 Jul 2014

Award: Sainsbury's Childrens Book Awards, fiction for age 5-9 years

Amazon UK link: Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat-Dragon

The Labrador Theory by Cheever Hardwick

The first thing I had to do upon getting "The Labrador Theory" for the first time was to have a good flick through to look at all the full colour pictures in the book. They are quite beautiful and show Labradors and humans in various situations, often with something amusing to them. And that is probably how to describe the text too - amusing.

The author introduces the book, or his "treatise", by saying that "Labradors act and think like their masters to an astonishing extent" thus by understanding the Labrador we gain a better understanding of how men work. He then demonstrates this through several chapters taking us from "puppies and young boys" through "the glory years" and into later life, through "obsession with ball sports" and "matters of the heart" and much more besides.

The author does seem to put across his theory from an upper class point of view rather than thinking also of how it might fit with the working classes, what with his mentions of shooting of pheasants, boarding schools and having "a large glass of Chateau Pavie".

All-in-all then this book is not to be taken seriously academically as it is tongue-in-cheek, and is more a novelty book that will fit nicely on a coffee table in a gentleman's lounge.

Publication Date: 28 Aug 2014

Available on Amazon UK: The Labrador Theory

The Monster Story-Teller by Jacqueline Wilson

"The Monster Story-Teller" is about story telling and monsters.

The main character of the story is Natalie who is bored so tells stories. Then she meets a tiny monster who has his own flying saucer and they go on an adventure together. This gives Natalie another story to tell, which doesn't seem to impress her teacher, but does impress the visiting story-teller.

A decent story written in easy language and big text for early readers. There are plenty of black and white illustrations (we were reading an older edition, not the colour one) including those showing the story-teller character who just so happens to look like the author, Jacqueline Wilson.

Both my nearly 4-year-old and nearly 8-year-old enjoyed it as I read it with them.

Publication date: 01 Nov 1997

Available at Amazon UK: The Monster Story-Teller

Proud Man Walking by Claudio Ranieri

"Proud Man Walking" by Claudio Ranieri is not a career autobiography. Instead it is narrower being an account of just his final season in charge at Chelsea - 2003/04.

The 2003/04 season was a momentous one for Chelsea. It was the season that Roman Abramovich became the owner. And this is where the book starts, in May 2003, with Chelsea losing Zola simply because the club hasn't got any money to re-sign him. Then days later they have millions of pounds available to them to buy the likes of Makelele, Veron and Crespo.

The rest of the book then goes through the season game by game as Ranieri explains his formation and personnel choices each match whilst giving brief match commentaries. These would be of interest to Chelsea fans, but not so interesting to non-Chelsea fans like me. What was interesting were the bits in between where you got to see little glimpses behind-the-scenes, like Abramovich inviting the players and management onto his yacht, or John Terry spontaneously giving Ranieri a framed shirt of his.

As for the title of the book it is a take on the English phrase, "dead man walking". This is because during the season there were rumours abundant in the press over who was to replace Ranieri come the season end. However it's not until the end of the season, April/May time, that Ranieri seems to feel threatened by them. He even admits that he "had let himself be affected by anger over the meeting between the club and Mourinho's agent" such that it, in his opinion, affected the result of a game. Meanwhile the "proud" part of the title comes from his feelings towards his time at the club.

Overall then the book is okay and would suit Chelsea fans best. There is nothing controversial in here. If there were less commentary on matches and substitutions, and more controversy it could be better for non-Chelsea fans too.

Publication date: 8 Oct 2004

Available on Amazon UK: Proud Man Walking

Asterix in Britain by Goscinny and Uderzo

This is the eighth Asterix adventure and this time Asterix is in Britain.

At the book's beginning Caesar invades Britain. "All Britain was occupied... All? No... one village still holds out against the invaders." Sound familiar? Anyway they can't hold out for much longer so Anticlimax, a second cousin, once removed of Asterix, goes in search of the famous magic potion. A barrel is made and Asterix and Obelix escort Anticlimax and the barrel back across Britain with the Romans hot on their trail. 

Along the way there is a lot of fun and jokes, although maybe too much stereotyping of certain things, tea for example, but all-in-all another great Asterix story.

Original publication: 1965

Available at Amazon UK: Asterix in Britain

Naomi the Netball Fairy by Daisy Meadows

 

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the sporty fairies, Naomi the netball fairy (or Brittany the basketball fairy in some markets), and, just like the other sporty fairies, she can't find her missing magic sporty object. This means that until her object, in this case a magic netball, can be found and re-united with her, netball in the human and fairy world will not be fun and exciting or played fairly anymore.

Naturally it is Jack Frost who stole the netball to use the magic so that his goblins could win in the Fairyland Olympics so he has asked them to hide the netball in the human world. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Naomi get it back.

Also along the way there are a multitude of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers.

As for my daughter she loved the story but also the opening poem. The only criticism I have of it is that if you read a lot of these rainbow fairy books the plots are rather similar with the girls having to recover a lost item for a fairy from Jack Frost and the goblins in each book, but my daughter doesn't mind. 

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Publication date: 3 Apr 2008

Available on Amazon UK: Naomi the Netball Fairy

Winnie the Twit by Laura Owen and Korky Paul

This is a Winnie the Witch short story collection. The four stories are:

* Winnie's Perfect Pet
* Winnie Fixes It
* Winnie's School Dinners
* Winnie the Twit

The first story sees Winnie getting called a scruff so to help heal her misery she seeks the perfect pet using magic to create a cog. The second story sees Winnie getting a new conservatory to her house. The third sees Winnie become a school cook, and the fourth sees Winnie go owl hunting.

There is a real quirky use of language throughout like Winnie exclaiming "oh, soggy babies' bottoms" or "you're as lazy as a hot lizard full of lunch!" Each story generally has a funny punchline to it too.

Along the way there are lots of busy, interesting pictures to accompany the text which are just as quirky.

I wouldn't say this is the best Winnie the Witch book though, for example I think Nitty Winnie is better, and this book is quite short at about 45 minutes in length, but this is probably more to do with the age group this is aimed at (newly confident readers).

Still the whole package is perfect for youngsters who have a sense of humour.

Publication date: 5 March 2009

Available at Amazon UK: Winnie the Twit

Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the dance fairies, Tasha the tap dance fairy, and, just like the other dance fairies, she can't find her missing magic dance ribbon. This means that until her ribbon can be found and re-united with her, tap dancing in the human and fairy world will be ruined. 

Naturally it is Jack Frost who stole the ribbon to use the magic to improve his and his goblins dance moves, but when the King and Queen of Fairyland demanded he return the ribbons he asked his goblins to hide them. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Tasha get her ribbon back.

Also along the way there are a multitude of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers. 

As for my daughter she loved the story but also the opening poem and the hidden ribbon you have to find somewhere in the book.

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Publication date: 6 September 2007

Amazon UK link: Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy

Dallas 'Til I Cry: Learning to Love Major League Soccer by Nathan Nipper

MLS (Major League Soccer) is America's top football (as in soccer) league. It has recently attracted star players such as David Beckham, David Villa and Thierry Henry. However "Major League Soccer is often relegated to second-class status by American soccer fans thanks to the proliferation of European soccer on TV and the internet." Thus an idea was born which is the basis of this book.

Author and American Nathan Nipper confesses that he "developed soccer snob sensibilities towards the MLS." Instead he followed Chelsea and the English Premier League. But how could he call himself an American soccer fan if he paid no heed to the MLS? So he vowed to give MLS a chance and got himself a season ticket for local team, local being 32 miles away, FC Dallas.

The book has a diary format following FC Dallas game by game. First though comes the rather American SuperDraft where FC Dallas pick up a guy with a long term injury thanks to "inflammation at the pubic bone and pelvis" as their first pick, and a guy who could "miss up to six months because of doing missionary work in Haiti" as their second pick. So, coupled with the title of the book "Dalls 'til I cry", a clever rephrasing of the chant Dallas 'til I die, you can tell that the season is not going to be a good one. And so it proves.

Through the season there are good moments, mainly revolving around his family and children as he takes them to their first games, or takes them along to an open training session and watches their interest in soccer grow. You can tell his real passion isn't FC Dallas but his family.

Then there are worse moments in the book where it feels like you are just reading match reports. For FC Dallas fans this may be okay, but for others less so. Also with (spoiler) FC Dallas not making the end of season play-offs it seems strange when he tacks on a section at the end of the book supporting certain other teams as they partake in the play-offs.

Other good parts of the book see an attendance at a press conference and a session for local coaches held by the FC Dallas head coach, a surprisingly open affair providing a little insight into the management of the club at the time.

So overall an interesting read about the MLS and American attitudes towards it. 

Publication date: June 13th 2014

Amazon UK link: Dallas 'Til I Cry: Learning to Love Major League Soccer

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the first of the Beatrix Potter books famous for their beautiful illustrations of the animals in the story. This one tells the tale of the mischievous Peter Rabbit who goes for a trip down to Mr McGregor's farm despite being warned not to by his mum. Once down there he of course gets into trouble.

The tale features a good old chase and has the pictures to accompany it - Peter Rabbit with his famous blue coat on, in human poses yet looking every bit like a real rabbit. The text is ever so slightly of its time with a watering can being called a can, and the word presently being used a bit but is very readable for today's audiences still.

Great for children, and has plenty to admire for adults too.

Original Publication: 16th December 1901

Amazon UK link: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Jessica the Jazz Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the dance fairies, Jessica the jazz fairy, and, just like the other dance fairies, she can't find her missing magic dance ribbon. This means that until the ribbon can be found jazz dancing will be ruined. 

Naturally it is Jack Frost that stole the ribbon to use the magic to improve his and the goblins dance moves, but when the King and Queen of Fairyland demanded he return the ribbons he asked his goblins to hide them. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Jessica get her ribbon back.

Of course there are the multitude of clear and simple pictures along the way to bring the text alive too. 

As for my daughter she loved, in addition to the story, the opening poem and the hidden ribbon you have to find somewhere in the book.

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story.

Release date: 6 September 2007

Amazon UK link: Jessica the Jazz Fairy

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

This is the book that started the "dairy of a ..." phenomenon and is the first in the wimpy kid series. It stars Greg Heffley as the wimpy kid as he writes his diary, or journal, complete with cartoon images throughout, over a whole school year.

I read it with my 7-year-old daughter over a few bedtimes and she really liked it. You could tell because she was picking it up between readings and reading it herself. And at the end she said she wanted more. I would say that the book is probably aimed for someone a little older as it has bits about wanting the girls to like him but most of it was good for her.

The story is really funny in places and I was laughing as I read it to her. It has a theme of friendship. It is written in American English (soccer, Phys Ed, third period etc.) but is fine for an English audience. If it were consistently really funny then I would have rated it 5 stars instead of 4.

Publication date: 3 July 2008

Amazon UK link: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Asterix and the Big Fight by Goscinny and Uderzo

This is the seventh Asterix adventure and possibly one of the best. 

There is one village in Gaul that holds out against Roman rule. The Romans hatch a plan. "There's one custom that might come in very useful... it's called THE BIG FIGHT!" The big fight happens when the chief of one village wants to take over another village. He challenges the chief of that village to a big fight, like a boxing match, and the winner takes charge of the other's village. The Romans line up "collaborator and as colossal as the Colosseum" Cassius Ceramix of the village Linoleum for the job.

But because of the magic potion, brewed by druid Getafix, chief Vitalstatistix is invincible, so Cassius Ceramix refuses. The Romans then take out the druid, inadvertently as he gets knocked out by a menhir and loses his memory. Therefore the big fight goes ahead.

Of course it is down to Asterix to get things right again and there is a lot of fun and jokes along the way, as well as the normal clever puns and wordplay. All-in-all another great Asterix story.

Amazon UK link: Asterix and the Big Fight

Publication date: 1964

The Witches by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake

My wife remembers this book from her childhood as being her favourite book so she bought it for our 7-year-old daughter and we read it over several nights. My daughter also liked it and said it was "really fun".

The story starts with the unnamed boy narrator (at the beginning where the main characters are introduced he is simply called "boy") being told about witches by his grandmama. But "this is not a fairy-tale" she is telling. "This is about REAL WITCHES" and "real witches hate children." They disguise themselves as women and make children disappear. 

The grandmother is funny because she is so un-grandma-like as she puffs away on her black cigar.

After that bout of story-telling the book sees the boy come into contact with real witches. Not just one witch though as he gets stuck in a room with about 200 of them. He has to hide but witches can smell children out, and do just that. This is where the real witching begins and the dastardly things they do comes to the fore.

All-in-all a classic Roald Dahl tale with the scary enemy potentially being anywhere, hence a child's imagination running wild.

Original publication date: October 1st 1983

Amazon UK link: The Witches

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd

"My cat likes to hide in boxes" is one of my 3-year-old’s favourite books. My daughter knows the words too thanks to the rhyming in the book. She can look at the pictures to remind her of the appropriate part of the story and pretend to read it on her own after we finish.

The story sees many cats from lots of different countries doing amazing things and these are juxtaposed each time with the narrator's cat who only likes to hide in boxes. Each cat is illustrated in colour on a full page to accompany the text on the opposite page.

A great book with nice colourful, big pictures ideal for young listeners and pretend readers.

Publication date: 27 April 1978

Amazon UK link: My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes

The Inheritance by Tilly Bagshawe

I read "Do Not Disturb" by Tilly Bagshawe and liked it so thought I'd read this book of hers too.

Anyone who has read Tilly Bagshawe before will know the formula. There will be an arrogant, driven, womanising man as the male lead in the red corner, and a successful and beautiful female lead in the blue corner. There will be friction between them. In this book the friction is over a house - The Furlings, "the most beautiful estate in Sussex, if not the whole of England," in the picturesque village of Fittlescombe.

The Furlings estate was under Flint-Hamilton ownership for three centuries and Tatiana "Tati" Flint-Hamilton, an only child, believes it is her birthright. But her father disinherits her after some scandalous behaviour in her teenage/young adult years. So the house goes to some distant cousins, "a family of rich Australians" - the Cranleys, of which the father, Brett, is the arrogant womaniser character.

Tati makes it her aim to get her house back but the court case goes against her so what can she do now? Meanwhile Brett Cranley has secretly fallen in love with Tati and, with just one card to play to keep her in his life, he makes sure that Furlings stays in his possession.

Overall the story has a lot of interweaving storylines, mainly involving the residents of the village, Fittlescombe, and lots of love triangles as you'd expect. I didn't think it was as good as "Do Not Disturb" because the friction between the two leads was not played out as effectively, and neither was I completely satisfied with the ending, but in its own right "The Inheritance" is a good read nonetheless.

Publication date: 19 June 2014

Amazon UK link: The Inheritance

Macbeth: A Shakespeare Story by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross

My 7-year-old read this to me over four/five evenings. This is a kids' version of the famous Shakespeare play Macbeth. It explains some of the complicated concepts of the original story in simple ways. This works well. For example the way Macduff is explained to not be born of woman is put across in a way that is easy to understand for children. The book does seem to miss some famous phrases from the original play though like "Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble."

The story contains a lot of bloodthirstiness which could be inappropriate for children, and these were my initial thoughts as we read through it. My worries were allayed though by a 2-page section at the back of the book that explains why the evil in Macbeth took place, and what was driving the killing spree of Macbeth.

The other bit at the back of the book is called "Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre". This brings alive the time of Shakespeare and his plays, and talks about Elizabethan society and how the audiences behaved. For example "audiences at the Globe were smelly".

As well as the text there are illustrations. Throughout there are plenty of black and white illustrations which help with the picturing of the text.

Overall this book is a good idea as it brings Shakespeare to a younger audience, but may be a bit bloodthirsty for some so one of the other books in the series may be more to your preference. The books can also be bought as a complete set if you wanted.

Publication date: 30 October 2003

Amazon UK link: Macbeth: A Shakespeare Story

How Do Dinosaurs Learn Colours and Numbers? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

This book is a simple rhyming book covering common colours and the numbers one to ten, with well-drawn full-colour pictures of dinosaurs to accompany the text. Also knowing how to pronounce all the different dinosaur names is not necessary for being able to read the story, although the names can be learnt separately too as they are cleverly incorporated into the background pictures of each picture plus there is an opening page with some of them on.

This book is therefore most suitable for pre-schoolers who like dinosaurs, as long as they don't mind them carrying teddy bears and doing human things.

Amazon UK link: How Do Dinosaurs Learn Colours and Numbers?

Publication Date: 3 Jan 2007

How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

This book is a simple rhyming book covering numbers one to ten, with well-drawn full-colour pictures of dinosaurs to accompany the text. Also knowing how to pronounce all the different dinosaur names is not necessary for being able to read the story, although the names can be learnt separately too as they are cleverly incorporated into the background pictures of each picture plus there is an opening page with some of them on.

This book is therefore most suitable for pre-schoolers who like dinosaurs, as long as they don't mind them carrying teddy bears and doing human things.

Amazon UK link: How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?

Publication date: 5 Feb 2009

How do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colours? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

This book is a simple rhyming book covering common colours, with well-drawn full-colour pictures of dinosaurs to accompany the text. Also knowing how to pronounce all the different dinosaur names is not necessary for being able to read the story, although the names can be learnt separately too as they are cleverly incorporated into the background pictures of each picture plus there is an opening page with some of them on.

This book is therefore most suitable for pre-schoolers who like dinosaurs, as long as they don't mind them carrying backpacks and doing human things.

Amazon UK link: How do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colours?

Publication date: 5 Feb 2009

The Secret Place by Tana French

"The Secret Place" is a murder mystery. It sees the murder of a 16-year-old boy, Chris Harper, who is found in the grounds of "St Kilda's, girl's school, secondary, private, leafy, suburb. Nuns." 

The murder has gone unsolved for a year. Enter Detective Stephen Moran. He works in Cold Cases, "a dingy dead end". He wants his chance at bigger things and gets it when a St Kilda's girl brings him something new to the case. Holly brings him a card similar to that on the book cover, one that says "I know who killed him" together with a new picture of Chris Harper on it. The card was found in the secret place, the name of a pin-board in the school where girls can privately share their secrets in a safe way to get them off of their chest, although the secret place could also be referring to an enclosed place where four of the girls, who are amongst the main suspects, hang out together in the school grounds, the very same site where the murder took place.

The card sparks Detective Moran into action. He teams up with the lead on the original case, Detective Antoinette Conway, a no-nonsense, tough-nosed murder detective without a partner and without a successful solve to her name. She needs this as much as him.

Thus the case is brought back to life again with the book telling the story through alternate chapters following the real-time events at St Kilda's as they happened in the lead up to the murder and beyond, and the current day investigation interspersed between.

The book is gripping and the case gets solved, albeit with a slight supernatural element being conveniently introduced to help it along. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

(I got this book through a Goodreads First Read competition. This review is my honest opinion of the book.)

Publication date: 28th August 2014

Amazon UK link: The Secret Place