This book is bright and the illustrations bold. The party theme and silly fancy dress animals mean you can't help but smile. My two-year-old raced through the pages the first few times, giddy at recognising the animals under the outfits.

When I eventually managed to read the charming text to him he loved it too. I think it's great that on the page where the farmyard animal is revealed there is only one sentence: 'It's a cow/donkey/sheep' etc. Hopefully Stanley will start to match the words and the pictures together in the future.

On the final page when all the animals are joined together, I was surprised at the reaction that I got to Sharratt's question, 'Which costume will you wear?' Stanley really considered his options before choosing to be a pirate.

This is a really charming book which gets young readers engaged. As a parent eager for my child to enjoy books, what more could I want?

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