I was very sad to hear today that Babette Cole has passed away after a short illness. She was only 67! If you haven’t had a chance to read her wonderful children’s books, run-don’t-walk to your nearest library or bookshop and rectify this immediately. She first captured my heart with her re-imaginings of fairy tales in Princess Smartypants and Prince Cinders.

There really should be more re-tellings of fairy tales in this vein.

But my absolute favourite is Mummy laid an egg.

I have yet to come across a more joyfully frank explanation of where babies come from (complete with a totally age-appropriate double page spread on some ways that mummies and daddies “fit together”.) I read it to my kids when they were tiny. It’s one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. I love it.

Thank you Ms Cole, your work is wonderful and I so wish you’d been granted more time to do much more.