This is a counting tale like no other! And don't be fooled, while this is perfect for little ones learning to count and recognise numbers, its underlying streak of dark humour has much broader age appeal - this is one to enjoy for years and years. Clever, funny and with bold, expressive illustrations, this has everything you'd want from a thriller - suspense, a great villain and of course, a twist in the tale! By far and away my favourite of the illustrated books shortlist for this year's Waterstones Children's Book Prize, I absolutely love this and can't wait to see what Kate Read does next.

Well, well, well... This book really was something else. George and I are sitting to read through the picture books in the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and so far we've read some truly amazing, funny and brilliant books. But this is our favourite. A simple idea of a counting book with pictures has cleverly been written as a 'thriller' and it works so well. It's the illustration that makes this work, reminding me of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox as if it were laid out on the page. Clever use of character positioning and body posture in each scene turns this in to a cinematic experience. You can imagine a parallel dimension version of Alfred Hitchcock directing a children's cartoon using this book, such is the thrilling nature of the whole thing. George loved, loved, loved, this. He laughed his socks off at the end (which we won't spoil here!). This is certainly a book that'll appeal to children and grown-ups alike.

One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller, by Kate Read. Isn't that subtitle a hook straight up? It's for kids, yes, but that fox... 1 famished fox, 2 sly eyes, 3 plump hens: looks ominous. But like every good thriller, this one has an excellent twist. Kate Read's illustrations make this a great book for kids, fun and educational, with just a hint of tension.