…and why you will too A cat and a rat engage in a battle of wits as they try to take possession of a much-coveted hat. When a bat appears, wearing an attractive cravat, who will emerge as the best-dressed of the trio? The Cat and the Rat and the Hat is a fresh and fast-paced, comic caper and a riveting, roller-coaster of a read! Find out why we love this enormously entertaining, playful and inventive take on traditional nursery rhyme, 'The House that Jack Built.' It’s extreme

Bad Cat! by Nicola O'Byrne, Nosy Crow What's it about? This wonderful book introduces Fluffykins, a deceptively cute-looking kitty with an appetite for destruction. Fluffykins ignores his owner's various warnings and requests, wreaking havoc and hilarity wherever he goes. Readers are hooked from the beginning as they are always one step ahead of the narrator, and can guess what Fluffykins is about to do next. Fluffykins actually reminds me of a tabby cat we had when I was g

The Moonlight Zoo by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Karl James Mountford, Little Tiger The Moonlight Zoo is a stunning and soothing bedtime story. Set at night, in a magical realm under starlit skies, this has a calming, dreamlike quality. An atmospheric colour palette, dominated by shades of purple, blue and pink, changes as we move from dusk to dawn. Clever cut-outs, offering glimpses of other pages, add to the appeal, but it's an attractive and intriguing story even without them.

Sammy Claws: The Christmas Cat by Lucy Rowland and Paula Bowles Sammy Claws is Santa's cat who longs to help out with his owner's annual deliveries, but is a little disorganised and clumsy. Sammy loves to nap but tends to oversleep. When he dozes off in an empty box on Christmas Eve, he is mistaken for a present, gift-wrapped and loaded on to Santa's sleigh. Sammy wakes up startled and disoriented, but for once his timing is perfect. He rescues Santa's sleigh from a pair of c

Ollie's Lost Kitten by Nicola Killen A little girl helps a lost kitten find its way home in this adorable story infused with the cosiness and comfort of a crisp autumn day. There are golden leaves on every page, and you can almost hear them rustle. There is a gleam of moonlight and a hint of magic too. Silver cobwebs glisten against a dark background. Orange leaves, stars, and pumpkins glow against a palette of black, white and grey. They're illuminated further by the copper

Here's a selection of picture books, suitable for babies and toddlers, featuring canines and felines.

I Don't Know What to Call My Cat by Simon Philip and Ella Bailey This book was the perfect antidote to the double dose of back-to-school and back-from-holidays blues I experienced this week. The more I read it, the more I love it; the story is incredibly funny and entertaining, and the illustrations are amazing. There is an enormous amount of detail, with more jokes and even a sub-plot (concerning the gorilla’s criminal activities) communicated through the pictures alone. I D

I've chosen Tangram Cat by Maranke Rinck and Martijn van der Linden for my first ever blog post! This is the book that inspired me to create a picture book blog. It has been a beloved bedtime story in our house for a couple of years. We received this as a gift when our youngest was one and our eldest was three. It was an enormous hit. Two years later, they still love it and also play with the tangram that comes free with it. I didn't know what a tangram was before receiving t