My children thoroughly enjoyed the latest picture book from one of Oxford's top illustrators, Ted Dewan.
Crispin and the Best Birthday Surprise Ever (Corgi, £5.99) is the latest in the series and features the spoilt pig being taken to the Cheezy Mouse restaurant for a birthday treat with all his friends. I have a sneaking suspicion that Pizza Hut is the model for the fictional venue.
Switching to a more adult animal story, I was captivated by Rabbit at Rest, John Updike's final instalment of his tetralogy about the life of basketball fan Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom. I shall now backtrack and read the first three parts.
As part of its centenary, Oxford University Press has reissued timeless fables in its Oxford Children's series of titles.
The Hare and the Tortoise, The Lion and the Rat and The North Wind and the Sun are spectacularly illustrated by Brian Wildsmith.
The paperbacks, at £5.99 each, are aimed at children aged two to five.
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