We’ve been sent the first book The Beach in the seriously cute series Bud and Roo’s Spectacular Adventures by Jessica Valentine and Suzy Jones Biggar. We’re even more honoured as it’s been signed by both Jessica and Suzy (the genius illustrator) so Dexter has his first ever signed book at just 8 months old.

We sat down to read the book last night probably at the least appropriate time. Dexter had been in a major strop for reasons unknown and we were hoping story-time with Daddy would calm him down. This was one gamble that certainly paid off as the colourful illustrations in this book really sparked his interest. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Bud and Roo and constantly tried to grab the pages.

I think that’s the most striking thing about this book. The pictures are hand drawn and the colours are amazing. The accompanying text is very simplistic and I can imagine this being many children’s first book they ever complete on their own. As Dexter is a baby, Daddy read him the story and largely made up his own words. Craig is a fabulous and engaging story-teller and had me in stitches with his made-up account of Bud and Roo’s beach-time adventure.

Having done some digging around of my own, I’ve discovered that Jessica is actually a published poet. She is also a teacher, psychologist and a mum - impressive credentials for a children’s author. Bud is also Jessica’s real doggie and a huge part of her life - I suspect that means there is no shortage of real-life adventures to inspire her. In fact, Bud appears very much to be the mastermind behind the adventures and Roo is every inch the watchful sidekick - I won’t give anything else away…

I know Jessica and Suzy are very proud of their book and dream of converting it into a TV series. I wish them every success as it would be lovely to see those beautiful illustrations come to life.

You can get your hands on a copy from their blog, Amazon, and most other online book retailers. You can also read more about Bugle Boy Publishing and keep up to date with the latest news by following Jessica on Twitter, and of course you could also like Bud and Roo on Facebook!