The Riddle in the Tale by Taffy Thomas MBE, £9.99

WE HAVE been fascinated by riddles for as long as we have had language and in this book our local master storyteller, Taffy Thomas, includes magical riddle tales and challenges whose answers can be be found in the stories themselves or in the delightful illustrations.

How did the brothers solve the mystery of their father's will and work out how to divide his Herdwick flock between them? Did the Cockerham schoolteacher outwit the mischievous devil and save the village? Bakers set their wits against the King to spare their livelihood, a farmer needs help to save his daughter from the King of the Stanhope Fairies and two princes turn to a storyteller to understand their father's dying wish for which one should become king.

In his foreword, Michael Rosen calls this a "special kind of book. It's one that cries out for anyone anywhere to take what's written here and tell what you've read to others."

CAROLINE REECE

WATERSTONES, KENDAL