A few fab new releases to make bedtime a breeze. First up, for the smallest members of the family is  Animal 123 by Britta Teckentrup (Templar, RRP £8.99), a gorgeously illustrated lift-the-flat counting book featuring all manner of fauna, from wriggly snakes to dancing dragonflies. Guaranteed to delight your little one.
 
I love Bob Kolar’s simple illustrations in Nothing Like a Puffin by Sue Soltis (Walker, RRP £11.99) which explains such conundra as why a ladder and a house are nothing like a puffin, but jeans, spades, newspapers and snakes all, somewhat surprisingly, are, in their own way. Lovely.
 
Alfie loved You’re Not So Scary, Sid!, Sam Lloyd’s cute combination of book and hand puppet, when he was younger and now she’s released a series of smaller siblings called Mini Monsters. I’m loving the cheekiness of Naughty Nancy (Templar, RRP £7.99), but don’t despair, parent,  [spoiler alert] her bad behaviour doesn’t pay in the end.
 
Who doesn’t love the super-bright, in-your-face creations of Nick Sharratt? His latest, Socks (David Fickling, RRP £12.99), is no exception. Toddlers will relish the delicious tongue-twisting rhymes and words – think socktopus, sockolicious and sockywockydoodah. If you liked Pants you’ll love this.
 
For a rip-roaring, swashbuckling adventure, try Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants by Giles Andreae (Puffin, RRP £6.99). With the clever rhymes we’ve come to expect from the Giraffes Can’t Dance and Rumble in the Jungle author, follow the tale of the brave knight on his quest to save King Colin’s power pants. Utterly silly and therefore possessing huge child appeal.
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