The bold colourful illustrations are immediately engaging and this story can be put to good discussion use for the way in which it illustrates moods and feelings.

The book is written in rhyme, which always goes down well with the Madhouse Mini-testers, and is great fun to read out loud at bedtime. Each page has a huge, brightly coloured picture that really enhances the text. The characters are all really appealing and the story really caught Pierre's imagination...

I've just noticed on the back of the book that two further stories will be coming soon featuring Billy and Hugo - Billy the Goat's Big Breakfast and Hugo the Hare's Rainy Day - so I'll definitely have to look out for those to complete the collection.

This is NOT a bedtime story follows Sophie, a little girl who wants 'one last story' before bed. Sophie's Dad obliges and starts to read a story about Pink Kitten, a cute pink kitten. Sophie isn't impressed. Taking it upon herself to add a to the story, Pink Kitten soon becomes a light sabre wielding kitten. A car driving, helicopter flying, robot dinosaur fighting kitten! This is more like it.

The short story Sophie's Dad had intended on has become a completely different story. Sophie and Dad are now inside the story with Pink Kitten and a real life Lion!
Following one epic adventure Sophie is finally ready for bed. Fighting robot dinosaurs is tiring work after all.

Taylor was in awe as we animatedly read the book aloud and started to point at the pictures letting out a cute 'oooh' as the story progressed. His love for stories is growing and at 14 months old he has started to sit quietly and engage more whilst we read to him.

We both enjoyed this book and I particularly liked how it wasn't aimed at one gender. It shows that Girls don't always want to hear stories about pink kittens and fluffy clouds, they love action and adventure just as much as boys. Encouraging boys and girls to use their imagination and be spontaneous!

Accompanied by a series of beautiful and funny illustrations, which I loved the unique style of, we'll certainly be looking to read more picture books from Will Mabbitt and Fred Blunt.
This is NOT a Bedtime Story is a fast paced tale of imagination and adventure. Not the sort of book you might want to wind down with before bed but the title did warn you!

a deliciously subversive tale

This contemporary fairytale has the feel of a timeless classic... with a strong female protagonist and an empowering message, this is a book to be read to all of your sons and daughters.

Natalia O'Hara's lyrical prose and Lauren's delicate, muted illustrations, sometimes ornate, sometimes stark and looming, together make for a story to have you tingling with delight. Absolutely beautiful.

Full of the landscapes one both expects and looks forward to in Russian fairytales, Hortense and the Shadow is both elegant and ominous, poetic and dark, and enchanting.

A beautiful story of identity and self-acceptance... an utterly lovely picture book with an empowering message.

Hortense hates her shadow - crooked, tall and always there - and tries to ditch it in this hauntingly beautifully illustrated fairy tale. But one night, in the dark woods, bandits come a-calling and Hortense realises she needs her shadow after all. Entirely gorgeous.

A delightful picture book... could be read time and time again, becoming a treasured book.

Hortense detests the dark shadow that follows her wherever she goes. Until, on a lone walk one night, she comes upon a group of bandits in the woods and her shadow proves an invaluable ally. Stunning illustrations and sparse text combine to create a fascinating, nuanced tone in this tale that touches on themes of fear, friendship, and self-acceptance.

The lilting text and gorgeous spreads of snowy landscapes in pastel shades, with touches of bolder colours, create a magical atmosphere that is perfect for this carefully crafted fairy tale. The story gently touches on themes of self-perception and facing your fears. This is a stunningly beautiful debut picture book from two sisters who first discovered a love of stories and fables through the tales told to them by their Polish grandmother.

It's a classic in the making, real new talent, original, and set in a perfect fairy tale world. What more could you want from a bedtime story?

Had I owned this book as a little girl, I would have read it over and over, looking for hidden details.