Children love bedtime stories. The ritual of the bedtime read is one of the most reassuring of routines – it’s one-on-one time to snuggle up to Mum or Dad in a world of warmth, safety and wonder, and a passion for reading may be the greatest gift a parent can give their child.

Sadly, not every child experiences this happy legacy, in fact, each week in the UK over 600 children will be added to the national child protection register and at least one child will die as a result of cruelty – which is why HELLO! has teamed up with the NSPCC’S FULL STOP Campaign and, in this week’s issue, various celebrity mums talk about the joy of bedtime reading.

“Reading gives kids a different insight: it opens their minds and really lets them use their imagination,” says Patsy Palmer, whose recommended children’s book is Pippi Is Visited By Thieves from Pippi Longstocking.

For more on celebrity mothers like Meg Mathews, Samantha Janus, Melinda Messenger and Lisa Butcher, and to see the adorable photographs of them with their kids, check out this week’s issue of HELLO! magazine, on sale now.