Steven Russell reviews two children's books, Cedric's Adventure at Sea and The Silver Box, written by local authors.

Cedric's Adventure at Sea, Wyllie Publishing, £4.95. ISBN 978-0-9554658-0-2

CEDRIC'S back! The seahorse created more than half-a-dozen years ago by husband-and-wife team Jim and Miggie Wyllie returns in Cedric's Adventure at Sea.

Polly, Grandpa and friends such as Peter the penguin, Willy the frog and Pedro the puppy sail off to visit Cedric's family home on a sandbank. They meet mum and dad, brother Sam and great auntie Ermintrude before rounding off a lovely day with a picnic and a climb up a tall wooden tower.

The book follows the formula established in 2001's Cedric the Seahorse and Cedric's Day at the Castle (2003), with Jim supplying the rhyming couplets and artist Miggie illustrating the tale.

The book uses all the key words used in reception classes in school, as well as most of the National Literacy Strategy high-frequency words emphasised in years one and two. There's also a web site where children can find pages to colour: www.cedrictheseahorse.co.uk

The Silver Box, by Brian Peters, Pen Press Publishers, £5.99. ISBN 1-905621-56-6 UK. Available from www.amazon.co.uk, www.waterstones.co.uk, www.tesco.com and via bookshops

IF your children are into thrillers, consider Brian Peter's mystery.

Asil Daniels, orphaned at the age of nine, is taken under the wing of scheming Aunt Morag, who is intent on robbing Asil of her inheritance.

Befriended by an old family acquaintance, Dr Bancroft, and his mute manservant Mahari, Asil escapes her aunt's grasp. Guarding a small silver box, uaware that it holds the key to some dark secrets, she finds herself in a hair-raising adventure.

Brian has lived in Suffolk all his life and took an apprenticeship in the motor trade after leaving school. His teenage literary likes were confined to science fiction but he widened his interests with the encouragement of local author Ida Hughes Stanton.

He has editing motoring newsletters for the Institute of Advanced Motoring and edits and produces a national kit car magazine. Brian has also written Learning Curves - an autobiographical account of his early experiences in the motor trade.