The Monster Book of Numbers and The Monster Book of Colours for little monsters

What is it about monsters? Why do they have such a huge appeal for little people? If you ask me, I think the monsters are overrated but both of my boys can't have enough of anything related to monsters. I wonder if it has anything to do with conquering your own fears by laughing at the silly monsters. Eddie would come up to the window before bedtime and declare "There's a monster in the garden", and when I exclaim in pretend-scared voice Oh No, he looks at me and says "No, there's no monster, Mama", as if reassuring himself that we are all safe. As soon as I saw the two books from My Little Big Town named The Monster Book of Colours and The Monster Book of Numbers, I knew they'd be more than welcome in our house.

The Monster books and Where's The Scone? are jam-packed with bright, colourful illustrations. We are entering again the strange weird world created by Calvin Innes. If you regularly read my blog, you might remember my review of Pale Henry (from The Tiny Twisted Tales). The new books follow in the footsteps of quirkiness, and are catering for the slightly younger audience than the Tiny Twisted Tales. The best fit would be pre-schoolers who learn their numbers and colours.

The monsters come with their own amusing names that will make your tot smile and giggle. They are not scary monsters, which is exactly what you want for your little readers. The aim is to amuse and educate, not to scare (and yes, we have one of those scary monsters' books that someone has given to my guys and which I find rather disturbing, so for the time being it's hidden on the top shelf, as I don't want to give any nightmares to my 2-year-old). Only child-friendly, silly and kind monsters would do.

My personal favourite of the three new additions to My Little Big Town range is Where's the Scone? This is a counting book from 1 to 10 (or the other way around) with silly rhymes that make us laugh, like "5 yeti sucking spaghetti" or "6 gnu tasting tofu". Every page comes with a different exotic and familiar animal who scoffs a different kind of food.

These paperbacks will keep your pre-schoolers amused and entertained, and will help them to memorise their numbers and colours.