Rosie's Magic Horse by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake

I picked this book up partly because it's a Quentin Blake and - well you know, he's amazing! And I also picked it up because it had Rosie in the title. When I read it I was struck by the story and how imaginative it is. Since my Rosie has turned three her imagination has leapt ahead and I am consistently surprised and delighted by her crazy, wonderful games which she acts out with all kinds of weird and wonderful props and with a constant stream of consciousness burbling from her mouth!

It's a story that takes a lollipop stick that has been abandoned and turns it into a magic horse which a little girl uses to find treasure and rescue her family's fortunes. It's wonderfully told, the text is poetic and beautiful. The illustrations, as you'd expect, are spectacular and really work so well with the text.

This is a book that we will keep reading for many years and I hope that amongst the reams of toys that Rosie seems to have accumulated it will maybe remind her that you don't need much to find a story. A simple lolly stick will do!