By Paul Bignell It sold 1.5 million copies and has been widely credited with introducing a generation of young couch potatoes to the joys of conkers, outdoor games and tree houses, complete with bumped heads and scraped knees.

By Darren Devine CLIMBING trees and larking about on rope swings are the answer to the problem of" high-pressured and competitive 21st-century girlhood", according to a new book.

By LORNE JACKSON GIRLS. What are they, exactly? Soft, squishy beings from the planet Hug. Delicate souls, whose only ambition in life is to buy mascara, watch rom-coms starring Hugh Grant, then finish off the perfect evening by making dinner for their bloke before tackling the washing- up.

By SHARI LOW JO FROST'S CONFIDENT BABY CARE Published by Orion We're taking a trip to kid-diedom this week, starting with the woman who brought the "naughty step" to the nation and made a TV career out of eradicating tantrums, tears and terrible behaviour - and that was just the parents.

By Young, Cathy That's What Little Boys Are Made Of A "dangerous" book for adventurous boysbut not girls A British import called The Dangerous Book for Boys has been soaring on the American bestseller lists.