The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Let's be very clear here - this is the original book, not the novelisation, the Ladybird easy reading version, any of the books of spin-off stories, or the sticker book.

No, this is the original Dodie Smith book, and it is wonderful. In fact, I have to admit a bias - this is the first non-picture book I ever read, and it's my favourite book (child or adult) of all time.

The story is familiar - Cruella DeVille kidnaps 97 puppies in order to make them into fur coats. Brave Pongo and Missis go to rescue them, leaving Perdita at home to look after the "dear, dear Dearlys" and Nannies Cook and Baker.

If you've only ever seen the films, you'll already be noticing differences. What you won't know about is all the wonderful stuff the films left out - the subplot involving Perdita and her husband Prince, the White Cat and most especially the section where Pongo and Missis take shelter with an aging dachshund whose equally aging master thinks they are the ghosts of his childhood dogs.

If your children have only come across the films and the books related to them, you owe it to them to make sure they read the original too.