Library Mice

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000Z

Dave Shelton
(David Fickling Books)

A boy and a bear go to sea, in a small boat, looking to get to the other side. But as they set on their voyage, the other side suddenly seems much further than the boy first expected and the sea is not quite as tranquil as the boy had first hoped. This is due, according to the bear, to "unforeseeable anomalies" which changes the course of their trip towards a daring adventure for the two unlikely heroes.

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat is an absolute gem of a book. It is a beautifully tender and enchanting story of a developing friendship between two most unlikely characters, in the most improbable of settings.
One of the aspects of the story I loved the most is that it is a boy, coming from nowhere, going on a boat with a bear, to get to the other side of the water, and nothing more is said about it, as it the most perfectly natural thing in the world. Which I guess, in a child's imagination, it is. Team this up with an endless blue sea, a rather limited game of "I Spy", a glow-in-the-dark sandwich, a sea monster and a oh-so-very-British tea break complete with bone china and you have yourself an adventure. A rather unusual, whimsical adventure, I'll grant you that, but nonetheless a heartwarming and funny one. It has all the ingredients of an old-fashioned adventure story, and feels very much like one when you are reading it. There are no gadgets here, no electronic gizmos. It has that certain innocence that is so often lacking in children's literature, particularly for boys, today.
The story broaches many themes including friendship, hope and courage to name a few, but touches on them with lightness and wonderful humour, including some particularly funny moments and splendid repartee.

The book, as an object, is absolutely stunning. The cover itself is marvellous, complete with tea stain and worn edges and one must applaud the publisher for taking a possible risk by choosing style and beauty over a more "commercial" cover. The inside illustrations work in perfect unison with the tone of the text. The bear is particularly glorious; there something so kind and safe about his demeanour. I like Shelton's style, also greatly admired by my son in Good Dog, Bad Dog for the DFC.

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat is wonderful début novel by Dave Shelton and one that you will want to share will little and big people alike. I can do nothing less but highly recommend it, for it is simply wonderful.

All illustrations © Dave Shelton

Thank you to the wonderful people at David Fickling Books for sending me a review copy of "A Boy and a Bear in a Boat".

Come back tomorrow to read all about Dave Shelton's Five Fabulous Funny Picture Books.

GUEST POST: S.C. Ransom

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000Z

As the Small Blue Thing trilogy comes to an end with the publication of Scattering Like Light (see my reviews of Small Blue Thing, Perfectly Reflected and Scattering Like Light), S.C. Ransom reflects on how the story came to life, and eventually became a published trilogy

***

I always feel slightly embarrassed when I’m talking to other new and aspiring authors. Everyone has tales of writing for years, entering competitions and honing their craft before, if they’re lucky, getting that first deal, but I did none of that. I wrote a story for my daughter’s birthday, the first time I had written fiction since school, and it’s now in my local bookshop and hundreds of other bookshops around the world. I still don’t believe that it has happened.

I’ve always been a huge fan of reading, and when I started commuting into London I found it gave me time to read, time which otherwise was missing from my day as a fulltime headhunter and mother of two. When my daughter started reading teen and YA literature I added them to my pile of ‘to be read’ books as I was keen to see what she was interested in. The answer was mostly romantic fantasy with more than a little smattering of vampires. I loved the fact that she was reading, but I was disappointed with the fact that all the books were set in the States, a place where she had never been. I began to wonder if I could write her a story which was set in the world she knew, so I picked up an old notebook and started to jot down some thoughts. At that point I had never spoken with a ‘proper’ author, so I didn’t know how hard it usually is. With blind faith that I could write something my daughter would enjoy, I carried on. I solved the logistical problem of how I was going to write it in the time available by using my BlackBerry – every day on the train I wrote a bit more and then emailed it to myself. At the weekends I stitched it all together on my laptop.

I wrote a story about teenage love and loss, with a supernatural element (as a mother, it helps if the love interest is utterly unobtainable!), and set it around London, Twickenham and Richmond: places which my daughter knows well. I wrote about her school, her friends and her home, and I made the main character, Alex, the sort of girl my daughter may become in a few years. Callum is unbearably gorgeous and love is swift (I knew my daughter would be impatient for that), but hideous problems lurk just ahead. By the time I had finished writing I knew that, if she wanted more, I could continue the story. I got two copies printed and bound and gave them to her for her birthday, and within days they were doing the rounds of her class at school.

I was finally persuaded to seek a professional opinion and a colleague put me in touch with Kate Wilson, who had just left Headline. All I was really after was some small encouragement and – ideally – an introduction to an agent or two who might be interested. I got a lot more. Kate so loved the book that she bought forward her plans to set up her own company, and exactly a year after she and I first met, Small Blue Thing was published in January 2011 as Nosy Crow’s first book.

Small Blue Thing was followed by Perfectly Reflected in June and just last week the final part, Scattering Like Light, was published. The trilogy is now complete, and it’s been brilliant getting the feedback from the readers; either directly from my daughter’s friends and kids on school visits, notes on the website or actual fan mail. Some are obviously not big readers, but I’ve helped to encourage them to pick up a book, and that’s fantastic!

***

Scattering Like Light

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000Z

S.C. Ransom
(Nosy Crow)

Please be aware that Scattering Like Light is the final tome of a trilogy and therefore there might be spoilers in this review!

Scattering Like Light picks up where Perfectly Reflected left off. Alex and her family are on their way to Spain for a family holiday. But on Alex's mind is the fact the she now knows there is a way that Callum and her can be together. Catherine has all the answers but she is unwilling to share, and has disappeared anyway. And of course there is the new power that Alex's amulet holds, and which defeated Lucas. Could this be the key? As if things were not complicated enough, childhood friend Max appears on the scene and has gone from ugly duckling to rather beautiful swan, and seems very interested in Alex. And there's also that lady vicar who keeps pestering her. Alex can't give up on Callum and the Dirges, but how much is she willing to risk to be with the one she loves?

Scattering Like Light is the final volume of the Small Blue Thing trilogy and therefore presents the reader with the denouement of Alex and Callum's story. The story of Callum, the amulet and the Dirges was still, at the end of Perfectly Reflected, shrouded in mystery and therefore this book also needed to offer a satisfying and comprehensive explanation and resolution to the plot. I have to say SC Ransom does not disappoint and tie-ins beautifully all the little storylines, the clues, the half-told stories and even the origin of the amulet and its curse which I thought was particularly well-done.
In this volume, London is very much at the heart of the story and the Thames takes centre stage, but we also get a change of scenery as Alex' family take a holiday to Spain. This offers a nice interlude to the storyline and gives the opportunity to introduce a new potential, and rather persistent, new love interest for Alex, while Callum cannot be there to witness it. But the family are soon back in England and Alex needs to face up to the reality of her situation. It would be unfair to say more in case I spoil the plot for readers! However it is safe to point out that the story is pacy and there is a clear crescendo in the action and the revelations to the ultimate scenes. There are also a few twists and surprises to keep the reader of its toes, which helped make it an exciting read. I felt the romance between Alex and Callum was played down a bit, particularly as Alex struggles with doubt but again this works well, allowing Alex to shine more as an individual, and her kind but determined nature comes through.

I think Scattering Like Light offers a perfectly satisfying conclusion to what has been a hugely enjoyable trilogy. The narrative has been consistently good as has the storyline, with a cliffhanger at the end of the first and second volumes, as well as plot recaps dotted in the second and third volumes. The characterisation has also been very good and consistent, with clearly drawn "goodies" and "baddies", although I have always had a niggling doubt about Callum, I am not sure why!
But to me, the strength of this trilogy lies in its intended audience and the effect that has on the three books overall. Supernatural romance can be a difficult genre to manage for both parents and librarians, as those books can be explicit both in language in action. The Small Blue Thing series however provides an attractive yet safe introduction to the paranormal romance genre for younger readers. It is not as dark as many of the offerings in this genre but still has enough menace within the storyline to make it exciting, as does the many ups and downs of the two protagonists' relationship. Also, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the setting here, because it does contribute hugely to the success of the trilogy; one can feel the author's love for the city of London. It will allow young British readers to relate to the story more, and make it more relevant, which cannot be underestimated when trying to grip the reader.

This is truly a great series that can safely be recommended to lower secondary school readers but which will appeal to a wide readership. And considering this was "only" supposed to be a birthday present for her daughter, what a tour de force from author SC Ransom!

Thank you to the good people at Nosy Crow who sent me a review copy of "Scattering Like Light".

Grace

2012-01-23T13:24:00.001Z

Morris Gleitzman
(Puffin)

Grace is an ordinary little girl, but she does not live an ordinary life. Born within a fundamentalist Christian community, she is sheltered from the rest of Australian society, unable to interact with "sinners", and forced to follow harsh, chauvinistic rules. But Grace still has fun in her life, mainly thanks to her much-loved father who allows her freedom to thrive and think, despite it being frowned upon by the Church elders. But when he goes too far and is expelled from the community, Grace blames herself. As her world gradually closes on her, suffocating her, she is determined to find her father, even if this means crossing the line into the world of sinners.

Grace has got to be one of the most endearing characters I have read about in a long time. Her innocence, teamed with an amazing strength of character drive this short story and make it not only an entertaining but also a captivating read. Grace's community is what I guess could be described as Catholic extremists. They have a strict hierarchy, with women at the very bottom and are not allowed to mix with people outside of their community. They have their own school, provide work for the men by owning a couple of factories and live very much secularly. Grace's family is different though with a father who has a questioning and open mind, which is, eventually, his demise.

Grace's innocence allows for the subject of sects to be seen in a touching, often funny, and always honest way. Gleitzman has a real talent for seeing things and telling a story through the eyes of a child. This talent has really bowled me over when I read Once. and Grace only proves how talented a writer he is. He can mimic children's speech beautifully and manages to communicate their view of the world perfectly.

Grace isn't an anti-Christian story; in fact both Grace and her father, despite questioning their Church, are profoundly devoted to God. But what Grace denounces is sectarianism, intolerance, the denial of women's rights, the dangers of rigidity of beliefs. It is, at times, simply heartbreaking, knowing that children actually do live within similar communities. Grace's love for her father and family is also incredibly touching. But it is also hilarious at times.

Grace is a wonderful book which manages to deal with very serious issues with an often light-hearted tone. It is another great book from Morris Gleitzman whom I urge you to discover if you have not done so yet.

Claude at the Circus

2012-01-19T09:04:00.000Z

Alex T. Smith
(Hodder Children's Books)

Claude and his best friend Sir Bobblysock are back for a third adventure, hurrah, and of course Claude once again manages to put himself into precarious situations. A perfectly innocent stroll in the park is disturbed with a encounter with some joggers, a frowned-upon nap in the bushes, an unfortunate episode on the golf course, a heroic rescue and finally a rather improvised and eventful circus performance. But despite all the fun,Claude must return home before the Shinyshoes come back from their day out. And thankfully (or not) there is a rather speedy mode of transport available nearby.

Claude at the Circus is Alex T Smith's third book in the series after Claude in the City (see my review here) and Claude on Holiday (see my review here). This fast-growing series for newly independent readers has gradually attracted a whole army of admirers and it is easy to see why. The combination of Alex's talent for writing as well as drawing, his quirky artwork,his retro sense of style and his witty sense of humour create a lovable hero and hugely entertaining and pacy stories that work well both as short stories for independent reading or as a fun read-loud.

Young readers will enjoy the two friends' antics and Claude's utter obliviousness at his constant faux-pas and gradual chaos building, while the more grown-up readers will be delighted by some of the quirky details in the illustrations. This time, shock horror, there is even a glimpse of a cheeky tattooed bum! Personally, I love the clothes that Alex draws and I was so pleased to see one of my all-time favourites, i.e. gingham pedal pushers à la Brigitte Bardot, sported by Mrs Shinyshoes.

Young audiences will also have fun looking at the two-coloured illustrations and wacky characters that reside in Claude's world. One my favourites in this story has to be the park keeper who looks like he has walked straight out of a Jacques Tati movie.
The formulae of the story remains similar from the other two books, which will be welcomed by newly independent readers who often thrive with familiarity and love to read series for this reason.

The blend of the well pitched text, the witty tone of the stories and the zany illustrations have enabled Claude to become a real hit, and it is so very well deserved. There is a Claude 4 on the way too, yippee!

All illustrations Ó Alex T. Smith

Many thanks to Hodder Children's Books for sending me a review copy of "Claude at the Circus".

Peely Wally

2012-01-17T12:35:00.001Z

Kali Stileman
(Red Fox)

Peely Wally is a small bird who lives at the top of a very high tree. One day she lays an egg and it is so perfect in every way, that jumps up and down with excitement and glee. But, disaster, the egg rolls off the branch and goes off on its own adventure. Will Peely Wally be able to catch up with it and take it safely home?

This wonderfully bright picture book ticks all the boxes to be a huge success with its intended audience. It is very colourful, full of mischievous and exotic animals and has a great repetitive text.

Young children will enjoy tracing the dotted trail that the egg follows, and will be delighted by the conclusion of its journey, as it hatches and the reader discovers flaps which when lifted uncover the gorgeous multicolour baby bird hiding inside the egg (and this warrants my only criticism of the book: the pages could have been made more robust for this purpose). They will also enjoy spotting the little butterfly which appears on every spread.

There is something utterly comical and wacky about Peely Wally's appearance and she certainly does not live up to her name (which apparently means pasty or pale-looking, see here). The artwork looks simple but is actually quite intricate. I love collage when it is done well, and it certainly is the case here, conveying the right atmosphere for the story; there is something reminiscent of some of Eric Carle's work, but this is very much Kali Stileman's own style here, and it works really well.
Peely Wally is a very convincing début from newcomer Kali Stileman, and I look forward to its sequel, this time focusing on the baby bird, entitled Time for Tea Polly Wally, which is due to be released in June.

All illustrations © Kali Stileman

Torn

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000Z

Cat Clarke
(Quercus)

When Alice is dragged to Scotland with the rest of her classmates for an activity-packed school trip, she is not expecting to have any fun. In fact, she is expecting it to be quite awful, especially when she and best friend Cass finds themselves stuck in a cabin with outcast Polly, quiet emo-girl Rae and queen of mean Tara. But nothing can prepare her for the nightmarish situation she finds herself into when Tara dies. Left with a terrible secret to bear, Alice's world falls apart. Until Jack, Tara's brother, lands into her life. But can Alice put her guilt aside to enjoy her burgeoning relationship?

Cat Clarke is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and talented YA writers we have in Britain at the moment. I do not know what it is about her writing, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it has an edge, a harshness mixed with real emotion that really appeals to teenage readers. I think it is because reminds of them of the emotional conflicts they go through. I had really enjoyed Entangled (see my review here), her début novel, but I think I like Torn even more. There is a lot for the intended audience to like in there: first love, friendships born and broken, intrigue and mystery, as well as a heroine who is likable but not perfect and a swoon-worthy young male character. The story is fast-paced, the writing snappy and in the right tone considering the age of the narrator (although the school librarian in me did wince at the amount of times the F word was mentioned!).

Although it becomes gradually obvious who might be responsible for Tara's death as the story progresses, I thought the final revelations were quite unexpected. The author leaves the reader with quite a bit of food for though: that nothing can ever be black and white, and that sometimes it is not quite as simple as innocent or guilty. It also questions whether not trying to help someone when death is inevitable otherwise is the same as actively trying to kill.

Cat Clarke also shows some real wit, and despite the often sad tone of the story, there are some very funny moments too. I particularly liked when Alice talks about studying English literature and says:
"Still, I can't help imagining some long-dead writer screaming from his grave, 'THERE'S NO BLOODY SYMBOLISM! IT'S JUST A STORY'". That's exactly what I thought, all the way through the three years of my degree in literature!

Entangled was a very promising first novel and with Torn, Cat Clarke does not disappoint and proves she is most definitely here to stay. This is exactly the type of British YA that every school library should have on its shelves.

Thank you to Quercus for providing a review copy of "Torn".

Sky Hawk

2012-01-10T10:45:00.002Z

Gill Lewis
(Oxford University Press)

When Callum discovers village outcast Iona on his remote Scottish farmland, he is not to know that his life is going to be turned upside down. Not only because of the friendship he strikes with the little girl, but more so because of the secret she soon shares with him: there are ospreys on his farm. And so the journey to protect the birds, and specifically the female, Iris, begins. But tragedy strikes and Callum is left to help Iris on her way to Africa on his own. Callum faces heartbreak, loss, hope, despair and elation, and finds a new friendship in the most unexpected way. At the end of Iris' journey, Callum, and his friends, will be also have gone through a journey of their own, and will never be quite the same again.

Sky Hawk transports us to the breathtaking and enchanting Scottish landscape for a story that I think young readers will find inspiring. I knew very little about ospreys before reading the book and learnt quite a lot about them while reading this book. The text is informative but also fill of emotion. It is well-written and clear enough to appeal to the younger end of the intended age-range
But although the survival of ospreys is pivotal in Sky Hawk, the story is not only about protecting birds; it is about the importance of friendship, and the spirit that holds small communities, whether they are in Scotland or Gambia. The author makes a parallel between both communities which are world apart in many ways, but very similar in others. The survival of the osprey, or kulanjango, is what links them, and for both it is a sign of hope and good luck, but the real parallel is their fierce support of Callum and Jeneba.
One thing I loved about Sky Hawk is how Callum follows Iris' progress towards Gambia via Google Earth, and how, once the secret of the ospreys' existence is out, it becomes a class project, and the children get to learn about all the places Iris flies over. What an inspired idea, I would love for my children to do something similar at school.
There is something amazingly positive about this story, a large dose of hope not only for the survival of ospreys but also for us; in a society where we keep being told that people only care about themselves, it is heartwarming to read about a community which protects and looks after its own.

COMPETITION: Design a cover for Puffin Post magazine!

2012-01-08T12:34:00.000Z

(Please note this is not a competition run by Library Mice)

Do you have budding artists at home? If so, this competition is for them!

About the competition

Puffin Post is inviting children across the country to design a sporty cover for the two Puffin Post magazines. A selection of shortlisted designs will be displayed at the Imagine Festival at the Southbank Centre, and everyone who visits the festival can then vote for their favourite designs, which will be printed and posted to book-loving children across the world.

How to enter

Your entry must have a sporty puffins theme and fit onto a piece of paper that measures 211mm high x 168mm wide. You can use paints, pencils, crayons, collage or any materials you like, but try to leave a space at the top so the magazine’s logo doesn’t cover your design.

Get your whole class involved and design some really brilliant sporty covers!

Send your entry to: Design a Cover Competition, , Catteshall Manor, Catteshall Lane, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1UU

Closing date: 31st January 2012

For more information visit www.puffinbookclub.co.uk

Puss & Boots

2012-01-03T09:02:00.000Z

Ayano Imai
(Minedition)

When a gifted shoemaker finds himself out of work, his trusted companion the cat takes upon himself to save his master's business. So the shoemaker does what the cat requests by making him the most beautiful pair of red boots before he takes to the road. Because the cat has a plan, and it involves tackling the local monster, who lives in a nearby castle. Will the cat outwit the monster, and save the shoemaker from poverty?

Puss in Boots or Le Chat Botté is one of the most commonly known fairy-tales in France, and originally dates from 1697. But this new adaptation strays from the original tale by offering an alternative storyline, and author/illustrator Ayano Imai makes it very much her own. Here, rather than a prince, it is a shoemaker that the cat serves, but the feline hero and his magnificent boots still take centre stage. Puss & Boots is very much a tale of wit. Despite his fierceness, size and power, in the end the monster is unable to outwit the cat, whose perspicacity prevails, and gets caught out.

The artwork is particularly atmospheric, using a beautiful soft palette of colours. It is sufficiently contemporary-looking, yet the artwork allows it to retain a traditional and poetic feel. Whether you know the orginal tale or not, the illustration style conveys a fairy-tale setting. It is certainly a very beautiful book to look at. Although very feline looking, the main protagonist manages to remain very human in his expressions. There is also, of course, an impressive gallery of boots to look at!

This is an inspired new take on a traditional tale from a young illustrator who deserves to be discovered and admired.

All artwork © Ayano Imai
Many thanks to Bounce Marketing for providing a review copy of "Puss & Boots"

At Christmas, give the Gift of Reading!

2011-12-21T21:21:00.002Z

I am taking a little break from blogging until the new year while I spend some time with my mouselings, Mr Library Mice and my parents who are coming over from France.

But before I sign off, I just wanted to share with you a very worthwhile campaign run by the National Literacy Trust.

We have not been sending Christmas cards for a few years now, mainly for environmental reasons, but instead give the money we would have spent on cards to charity. This year, we have decided to support the National Literacy Trust's Gift of Reading campaign.

3.8 million children in the UK do not own a book; that is a shocking 1 in 3 children, a huge drop from the figure of seven years ago which was 1 in 10 children. Book ownership being directly linked to literacy levels, this is worrying indeed. TheNational Literacy Trust has therefore launched the Gift of Reading campaign, allowing children from disadvantaged backgrounds to own a book for the very first time. A donation of as little as £7 will allow this to happen.
Please consider giving a donation, which will enable a child to own what we, as devoted book lovers, consider to be very precious indeed.

You will also receive one of three designs of Christmas card, by Ros Asquith, Lauren Child or Axel Scheffler. Here is the one I chose:

For more information about the scheme, and to read the report, please go here.

Merry Christmas to you all
and see you in 2012!

Lost Christmas

2011-12-20T00:11:00.000Z

David Logan
(Quercus)

A year ago, Goose had the perfect life: loving parents, Christmas around the corner, a new puppy. But this was all taken away from him suddenly when his parents were killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve. Now, a year on, he lives with his grandmother who is slowing losing to dementia, and is getting himself into a heap of trouble. The only thing he cares about is his dog Mutt, so when he goes missing, Goose's world finally crumbles entirely. Until the sudden apparition of mysterious man, who thinks he might be called Anthony. Though he is unsure of even his own name, Anthony seems to have many answers and Goose finds himself relying on him to find Mutt. In their quest, they come across Frank, Goose's late father's best friend, who has lost his family, an old lady who has lost a precious bangle, an old man who has lost his wife and a woman who has lost her child. Unbeknown to them, their stories are intertwined, and Anthony finds himself easing their pain. But who is Anthony, really? Why is he here, and how does he know so much?

Lost Christmas was written in the way that is worthy of many of the most successful traditional Christmas tales and its very modern Mancunian setting does not take away in any way the warm sentiments at the heart of its tale. It is a poignant story of love and loss, which alternates funny moments with moving episodes, sometimes verging on the heartbreaking (particularly Helen's story), but most of all it carries a message of hope, and never giving it up.
Yes, the eventual revelation of Anthony's identity might not come as a surprise to adult readers particularly, and one cannot help but spot the similarities with It's A Wonderful Life, but to be quite honest, who cares? Lost Christmas is a modern fairy-tale, set in the back streets of Manchester yet it oozes Christmas atmosphere and anticipation of the magic it might bring. It is Christmas spirit at its best, and even the barely-hidden Christmas scrooge in me could not help but be moved by this wonderfully touching and hopeful tale.

You can still catch the TV adaptation of Lost Christmas, starring Eddie Izzard on BBC iPlayer here.

Many thanks to Quercus for sending me a review copy of "Lost Christmas".

COMPETITION: Win a set of tickets to the Red House Children's Book Award ceremony!

2011-12-16T09:26:00.000Z

Fancy going to the Red House Children's Book Award ceremony?

I have a set of two tickets (for one adult and one child) to give away!

The ceremony will take place on Saturday 18th February in Southbank in London, as part of the Imagine Children's Festival . At the ceremony you’ll celebrate with amazing children’s authors and illustrators and be one of the very first to find out the winner!

If you want to be in with a chance of winning this amazing prize, email me (librarymice at gmail dot com)and tell me who, out of all the RHCBA winners (you can find a list here) you would like to have lunch with, and why.

Please note the event is more suited to children aged 7+.

The closing date for the competition is: 10th January 2012

GOOD LUCK!

Christmas Eve at the Mellops'

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000Z

Tomi Ungerer(Phaidon)

On the day before Christmas Eve, Casimir, Isidor, Felix and Ferdinand Mellop all get the same brilliant idea: to surprise the family with a beautiful Christmas tree. Left with four trees, the brothers must find new homes for them, which turns out not to be so straight-forward. But the brothers are a resourceful bunch and soon they are spreading a little but of Christmas cheer through the town.

Christmas Eve at the Mellops' was first published in 1960 and Phaidon has produced a beautiful reprint here. I am always surprised how little Tomi Ungerer is published in the UK. His book The Three Robbers certainly is hailed as a classic in France and yet is little if barely known here.
Christmas Eve at the Mellops' is not typical in Ungerer's style as we know and appreciate it, nonetheless it has a timeless charm, with little colour used and clean, simple illustrations.

Yes, it might look a little old-fashioned and dated to some, with a character smoking for example, but the spirit that it conveys is very much topical, and maybe even more so to remind us about what Christmas should mean: spending and enjoying time with family, but also not forgetting others who might not be so fortunate. The Mellop boys get one present each, which is very much of the time of course, but yet worls well to remind children that one should be happy with just that. But Christmas Eve at the Mellops' is enjoyable also and firstly because it has plenty of atmosphere and is fun.

All illustrations © Tomi Ungerer

FABULOUS FIVE: a Christmas special by Tamara Macfarlane

2011-12-12T17:33:00.000Z

In my wildest dreams, I own a children's bookshop and it looks a lot like the wonderful Tales on Moon Lane. Not that I have ever entered its magical realms, but I have admired it from afar, via its lovely website . The Tales on Moon Lane was founded by Tamara Macfarlane, and here is she is presenting the bookshop to us in this short film:

Tamara is also the author of the gorgeous Amazing Esme, which I reviewed here.

I asked Tamara if she would be kind enough to take part in Fabulous Five with her bookseller hat on, and choose five books that she would recommend as fabulous Christmas presents in Tales on Moon Lane.
Here is her selection:

Five Fabulous Books to give at Christmas

by Tamara Mcfarlane

I Want My Hat Back
John Klassen
(Walker Books)

I adore this brilliant book. It is a wonderfully simple, beautifully illustrated picture book in the truest sense. Few words are needed to portray any action as the illustrations deliver so much. 'I Want My Hat Back' has a timeless appeal and as with all great picture books, it is utterly charming and delightfully subversive. Perfect for all 2- 5 year olds and most adults…

The Christmas Truce
Carol Ann Duffy /David Roberts
(Picador)

Based on the true story of the truce called in the Trenches of World War I on Christmas Day, this story of human kindness and unity in the midst of the most inhumane of circumstances is one that needs to be retold again and again and passed down from generation to generation. Carol Ann Duffy's elegant text is perfectly matched with David Robert's hauntingly sensitive pictures and I would urge every parent to find a space on their bookshelves for this small book with a hugely important message.

The Bumper Book of Bob
Simon Bartram
(Templar)

We have been huge ‘Man on the Moon’ fans since day one. The original book plays on the subtle contradiction between the text and the pictures in a way that instantly engages children in reading. The Bumper book is an enormous annual style collection of stickers, stories, puzzles, games and fascinating facts all in Simon Bartram’s vibrant style. Best suited to 5-8 year olds - it is a deliciously illustrated bumper book of fun.

Puffin Children’s Classics
Various authors/titles
(Puffin)

I am cheating here slightly with a series but it is worth it for these impeccable cloth bound books are this year's essential Christmas present and the best example of the beauty of the book as a physical object. It is becoming all about the production values as the real book takes on the ebook. The content of each of these titles is available in many versions but you couldn’t find children’s classics delivered in a more desirable form. Perfect for decorating rooms when the children have finished with them, these editions look good enough to eat and will be hard to beat as a collection so collect them while you can.

Hansel and Gretel
Sybille Schenker
(Michael Neugebauer Edition)

Fairy tales always feel wintery to me and this new version of Hansel and Gretel has a particularly wonderful chill about it. Evoking the true darkness of this eerie fairy tale, Sybille Schenker’s stunning combination of textures and silhouette combine to create a rare sophisticated beauty. This has to be the contemporary book lover's definitive edition. Most suitable for 7+ to adult.

****

Thank you so much to Tamara for this truly fantastic selection.

I bought The Christmas Truce as present for my husband when it was released (he is a history teacher and was just returning from a school trip to the Trenches) and the illustrations alone bring a tear to you eye.
Hansel and Gretel has been a great discovery for me. Schenker's artwork is so evocative (see my review here).
As for the Puffin classics, I could not agree more! They are absolutely beautiful objects (I should know, I was stroking them just this morning in my local Waterstone's!) and I am much looking forward to the release of A Little Princess in this format in April.

I am adamant I will be visiting Tales on Moon Lane soon, and I highly recommend that you do too, if you get the chance. They have the most amazing window displays, and for a little extra Christmas spirit, here is their fabulous window display at the moment:

PICTURE BOOK CAROUSEL: The True Meaning of Christmas

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000Z

The two books I am reviewing today stood out amongst the huge offering of new Christmas books for their more unusual, and yet all the more important, Christmas message.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Helen Ward
(Templar)

Helen Ward's retelling of the famous Aesop's Fable is not strictly a Christmas story, but it is 1930s New York at Christmas time that the illustrator has chosen as a setting for the town scenes. Tempted out of his peaceful countryside by tales of a magical place by his City cousin, the Country mouse arrives in the Electric City to be met with unexpected hustle and bustle. The cousin's home turns out to be treacherous and without the peace which the country mouse soon yearns. And so soon he goes back to the contentment of his humble home. The lavish illustrations of the Christmas scenes are absolutely remarkable, as are the stunningly detailed illustrations of the fauna and flora of the countryside. The use of colour is particularly beautiful, with vibrant colours used to emphasise the beauty the country flowers and the luxury of the Christmas decorations, presents and food spread.

Although the traditional moral of the tale is retained here, with the context of the Christmas theme within the house in the city, one can also assume that the message of this tale is that food aplenty, luxurious and comfortable surroundings is not always what can make one happy. This message about material things not necessarily bringing happiness and that simple things in life should be cherished is one that I hope little audiences will take away from this story. This is a splendidly beautiful book, which has enchanted each and every adult and child I have shown it to. If you are looking for a visually stunning, stylish and atmospheric Christmas story, this most definitely is the one for you.

All illustrations © Helen Ward

Many thanks to Templar Books for providing a review copy of "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse".

Just Right
Birdie Black (text) & Rosalind Beardshaw (illustrations)
(Nosy Crow)

When the King finds the perfect roll of cloth, which is "so red and soft and Christmassy", to make a cloak for his daughter, he starts a rather unusual chain of events. Once the cloak is made, the scraps of cloth are left outside the castle's back door and is picked up by the kitchen maid who makes a cardigan for her mum out of it. And so begins the journey of the cloth, each smaller bundle of offcuts being discovered by someone new and made into something then left outside their door, until there is nothing left. From kitchen maid to badger, and squirrel to mouse, each enjoys using the cloth to make a present for a loved one.

There is such a positive, "makes you all warm inside" message in this book. It is all about the joy of giving, but also the joy of receiving a present, even a small one, which has obviously been made with love; there is also a quite a clear endorsement of reusing and recycling. In an age where many children are more concerned about how much is spent or how much they receive rather than just be simply grateful about getting something, there is something rather comforting about the sentiments in Just Right. It might not change little people's attitudes to consumerism (and unfortunately, it does start young these days) but such a simple, caring story might just remind them about what Christmas should really be about.

Repetition within the text and the structure of this story make Just Right a really pleasant read-aloud which young audiences will find very entertaining.
The illustrations are soft, seasonal and very child-friendly. The animals are drawn in a way I found reminiscent of Nick Butterworth's Percy the Park Keeper series. The style is different, but the animals are similarly kind and cuddly-looking.
Just Right is a lovely Christmas story for young readers focusing on what should be important at this time of year. It is my favourite Christmas book published this year for the younger end of the age-range.

All illustrations © Rosalind Beardshaw

Many thanks to Nosy Crow for providing a review copy of "Just Right".

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000Z

Liz Pichon
(Scholastic)

Tom Gates is quite a regular boy, but also a master homework escapologist and excels at tormenting his older sister Delia. He also spends a lot of time thinking about his band Dog Zombies and eating caramel wafers. But Tom still manages to spend a lot of time writing and doodling in his homework book and it is through his diary that he offers us a peek in his rather hilarious and eventful life.

The diary format, especially when aimed at young people, very much lends itself to comedy; think Adrian Mole and Georgia Nicholson to name a few. But of course it would be hard not to draw similarities with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series as far as Tom Gates is concerned. But The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is a little more than that, and although it will undoubtedly attract Wimpy Kid fans, it will also bring new readers to this genre. What I loved about the book is that the illustrations are integral part of the text rather than alongside it, and this brings a very unique dynamic to the page layout. Yet, the pages are clear and uncrowded, despite the huge amount of doodling (it would be interesting to know how long it takes Pichon to do one page). It also breaks up the page well for those young readers who feel daunted by large chunks of text. But I don't want to label the The Brilliant World of Tom Gates as a read for "reluctant readers" because there is a danger that people will only see it as that, which would be both unfair and inaccurate.

Tom is normal schoolboy, with family dynamics that are fairly normal (he loathes his parents most of the time and takes sadistic pleasure in taunting his sister, who is quick at returning the favour) and a school life which is fairly unextraordinary. But this is exactly what makes it such a success. The comical awkward situations Tom finds himself in are just regular every day stuff that happens to all of us, including the doomed camping trip at the beginning of the book (we have all been on one of those). It is the way the story is narrated and presented that makes it all so funny. And you will giggle, because Pichon really has the knack to make her readers laugh. No wonder she won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize this year. There is nonetheless a hint of more serious stuff within the story: not being the most popular kid, the rivalry between Tom's dad and his insufferable brother. But it doesn't dampens the book's overall cheerful atmosphere.

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is a fun, entertaining read. With its dynamic artwork and snappy storyline, it is sure to be a hit with young readers

All illustrations © Liz Pichon

Many thanks to Scholastic for providing a review copy of "The Brilliant World of Tom Gates".

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000Z

Jane Ray
(Orchard Books)

The Twelve Days of Christmas, my all-time favourite Christmas song, is beautifully brought to life in this new picture book by Jane Ray, who manages to convey the joyfulness and slight eccentricity of the classic tune.

The colour scheme used is what I noticed to begin with when I first came across the book. The warm colours, so evocative of the cosy atmosphere of the festive season, with the fluttering snowflakes completing the gorgeous winter ambience. Jane Ray chose to set the tale in what appears to be the 1920s, in the town reminiscent of Amsterdam, which allows for some gorgeous costumes and scenes, particularly the nine ladies dancing the Charleston on the boat - and the pants on the line - which is a fabulously cheery double-spread.

But amidst the madness of the many unusual gifts that the young woman receives, there is an underlying story of love, with the leading character obviously yearning and waiting for her true love to return, which he does at the very end, leading to a beautifully romantic last spread. Again, the colour scheme contributes a lot to express the feelings in the scene.

As Jane Ray does not stray from the original lyrics of the song, this book can be enjoyed alongside the musical version, which makes it extra special.
This really is a charming, colourful and classic-looking book which should take proud place amongst Christmas book collections.

All illustrations © Jane Ray

Many thanks to Orchard Books for providing a review copy of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Again!

2011-12-02T23:35:00.000Z

Emily Gravett
(Macmillan Children's Books)

It is nearly bedtime for Cedric the dragon but there is just enough time for a quick story. Unfortunately for his mum, Cedric has a favourite book which he wants read again, and again, and again. When Mum fails to deliver, Cedric goes all tantrumy on her, with incendiary consequences!

A new Emily Gravett is always cause for celebration, and Again! is no disappointment. Gravett uses the theme of a book within a book, with both stories interacting with one another and blurring the boundaries between Cedric's reality and the fiction of his favourite book. The colour scheme is integral to the storytelling also with the artwork mainly in shades of green and red: little Cedric goes from the former to the latter gradually as he gets less sleepy, more angry and frustrated with his mother, while the dragon in his story becomes sleepier and greener.

Of course, every parent will relate to Again! We have all been there: reading the same story for what feels like the millionth time, falling half asleep while reading a book. Gravett "talks" to the adult audience as much as she does to her targeted audience, which makes her books such successes.

And again, Gravett surprises us with a witty, creative and visually stimulating ending. For her, the book as object is as important to tell the story as the pages. She makes use of all the physical object has to offer. And it works, wonderfully. Her style is entirely her own, and she is simply unsurpassed in the picture book world. A truly inspiring and inspired artist, every child should own at least one book by Emily Gravett, and Again! is certainly is a great one to begin with.

All illustrations © Emily Gravett

Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for providing a review copy of "Again!".

Red House Children's Book Awards 2012

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000Z

I am sure you will all be aware that the Red House Children's Book Award is in full flow now.
Here is the 2012 shortlist:

Younger Children
* Rollo and Ruff and the Little Fluffy Bird by Mick Inkpen
* Don’t Worry Douglas by David Melling
* Peely Wally by Kali Stileman* Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice by Chris Wormell

Younger Readers
* One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson (see my review here)
* Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis
* The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon

Older Readers
* A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (see my review here)
* My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (see my review here)
* Grace by Morris Gleitzman

This is such a special award because it is the ONLY award voted entirely by children. The shortlist is drawn by children's book groups, which are members of the Federation of Children's Book Groups, across the country. Once the shortlist is drawn, the Top Ten voting is open to all and I urge you to get involved. All books are available for sale from Red House, and each category, as a bundle of books, will make a fantastic Christmas present. You know you are getting tried and tested quality books here, books that children have enjoyed!
Once children have read the books, they can vote using the official website. Check out the resources page for some ideas of activities around the books.

This is a fantastic opportunity for children to get involved in voting for a book award and have their vote count. It is easy to get involved at home, even if your children's school is not getting involved (although it is not too late if they want to!).

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries, I would be more than happy to help out!

I will soon be running a very exciting competition linked to the awards so stay tuned!

My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece

2011-11-29T09:38:00.000Z

Annabel Pitcher
(Orion)

Five years ago, Jamie's sister Rose was killed during a series of simultaneous terrorist attacks in London. Overcome by grief, the family has fallen apart: his mum has left the family for a man whom she has met at a victims' support group, his dad does nothing but drink all day and Rose's twin sister Jasmine has had a drastic change of appearance and has stopped eating. Jamie does not feel the grief of losing Rose, whom he barely remembers, but he mourns badly his family. Now his dad has decided to give them a fresh start and has relocated the family to the Lake District. But rather than bringing unity in the household, this seems to break them further apart. Jamie finds it hard to adjust and be accepted, but soon strikes a friendship with Sunya. But she is a Muslim, which brings a lot of new complications in Jamie's already chaotic life

Narrated by 10 year-old Jamie, My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is a poignant and fiercely honest account of a family broken by grief and struggling to survive after the violent and sudden death of one of the children.
The richness, but also the brutality, of the tale lie in the breathtaking honesty of seeing it all through Jamie's eyes. I think the passage that truly convinced me about the true tour de force that the writer delivers with this debut novel is the burial of Roger. As the penny finally drops for Jamie, as he finally realises the reasons behind his father's behaviour, the reader, in turn, finds himself with new-found sympathy for the father,whose behaviour is quite frankly detestable throughout the tale. It is a beautiful story about loss and coping with loss, and about what loss means to us as individuals. But it also carries wider themes of prejudice and resilience, about friendship against all odds, and about hope. Using a child as narrator allows for these themes to be visited in an innocent and unprejudiced way, allowing for certain things (such as Jamie's dad rage against Muslims) to be challenged and questioned honestly, in a way that only a child could.

As an adult reader, and as a mother, I have to admit I found Jamie's mother insufferable. How could a mother abandon her two children when she has already lost one for ever? It is hard to comprehend but I think Pitcher's point here is to show how bereavement affects each and every one of us in different ways. Guilt and grief have consumed the mother so much that she chooses to start all over again, cutting out even her children from her "previous" life. In contrast, the dad is unable to let go of life before Rose died, and the mother's reaction seems to be in response to this. It is so, so sad.

My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is at times funny, at times unbearably sad and is at all times brutally honest. It is one tale that cannot and will not leave you unmoved, and is a truly convincing debut novel.

HANSEL & GRETEL WEEK (5): Hänsel and Gretel

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000Z

Brothers Grimm (text) & Sybille Schenker (illustrations)
translated from German by Martin West
(Minedition)

If the Hansel and Gretel Week has allowed me to indulge in my love for fairy tale retellings, it has also allowed me to discover a brand new and unbelievably talented illustrator and her astonishing book: Sybille Schenker's Hansel and Gretel is first and foremost an utterly beautiful object.
Sybille Schenker works mainly with paper cuts and transparency paper to create an atmospheric and visually stunning picture book. The mainly black cut-outs and clever use of typography come together to create a true Gothic atmosphere. The transparencies give a very misty and threatening feel in the forest scenes, and allow for objects and characters to appear and disappear. This also emphasises the kind of sneaky, sly feeling of something hiding in te forest. This however is both tamed and contrasted by the use of beautifully naïve flower patterns. The overall effect is stunning. I also love the patchwork gingerbread house, again a welcome splash of colours in the overall darkness. The use of transparencies allows to make the most of the amazing cut-outs that the artist originally designed (you can look at the original paper cuts here), and the juxtaposition of pages allow for great visual effect as well as continuity within the illustrations. The quality of its graphic design is truly astonishing.

I urge you to discover this beautiful book. The darkness of its illustrations might not make it suitable for the youngest of audiences, but the unusual artwork bring a new fascinating dimension to the traditional tale.

To get a sneak preview of Hansel and Gretel, check out this French video that takes you through the pages of the book:

Many thanks to Pip from Bounce who introduced me to Sybille Schenker and sent me a review copy of this book.

HANSEL & GRETEL WEEK (4): Hansel and Gretel

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000Z

Anthony Browne
(Walker Books)

If the other versions of Hansel and Gretel I have presented so far very much had a sense of place, this adaptation by previous Children's Laureate Anthony Browne conveys a very strong sense of time. First published in 1981, this book depicts rather bleak elements of society at the time: the unemployment, the poverty, possibly the strikes. While traditional versions of Hansel and Gretel blame a famine for the family's misfortunes, in this version it is highly likely that the lack of food and general misery might be a direct consequence of unemployment and overall social unrest. The artwork is so atmospheric, you can nearly feel the grime on the walls.
Anthony Browne's attention to detail is astonishing and this book is no exception. Throughout the book, he uses his artwork to give his readers extra clues not covered by the text. See for example these two illustrations of the step-mother:

Those two illustrations say a lot about the kind of character the step-mother really is. First, the combination of her shadow and the window give a hint of what her true identity might be while the second picture merges the step-mother within the forest, bringing both dark forces together in one shot. Those are all very powerful images and something that Anthony Browne is very good at. Readers will find symbolism and visual clues throughout the book and there is a lot of time to be spent studying those images. Another detail I find particularly striking was how the trees, and specifically the roots, are drawn in a way to express all the suffering that goes on in the forest:

Out of the picture books I am reviewing for Hansel & Gretel Week, this version is probably the most unlike the traditional tale. Although Browne has taken no liberties with the text, it is the other dimension of the book, a totally different story recalled within these pages, that set it part from the rest. It is dark in a very different way, almost somber. But it does have a happy ending, and again visual clues help young readers notice the change of mood. It is easy to see why Anthony Browne's books are often the basis of projects in primary school. Whether you actually like his artistic style or not, one cannot deny that he is one of the most influential British illustrators of the last thirty years. His version of Hansel and Gretel might not be the most colourful or have the cutest gingerbread house, but it is nonetheless a retelling of the tale that is well worth looking at, albeit with a slightly older audience.

All illustrations © Anthony Browne

HANSEL & GRETEL WEEK (3): Hansel & Gretel: a Pop-Up

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000Z

Louise Rowe
(Tango Books)

This pop-up version of Hansel and Gretel is so visually stunning that you will find yourself studying the pop-up scenes, taking in the intricate paper engineering and astounding attention to detail and totally forgetting about the text at first. The book only has six pop-up scenes and Louise Rowe has carefully chosen which parts of the story to focus on. Those six pop-up scenes express so much of the story, that for those who are already familiar with the tale, no text is actually needed. The text recounts the story in its traditional form, told in a gentle tone, and is still a very good companion to the artwork. However, the darkness of the tale is very much found in the illustrations. The palette of colours is limited, in dark shades of green, brown and red and there is a repeating leaf pattern which you find throughout. This emphasises that the forest is very much centre stage in the traditional tale and in this specific adaptation. Those dark colours are further emphasised by the white base of each pop-up scene. This helps gives the impression that the scene is leaping out of the page.

Louise Rowe's Hansel and Gretel is a feast for the eyes and a prime example of how pop-up books can really bring a story to life. The paper engineering is very delicate and therefore it is probably best to wait for little readers to be at least three years old for them to fully enjoy this beautiful book.
Louise Rowe has also illustrated and designed pop-up versions of Little Red Riding Hood and more recently Sleeping Beauty and all will make lovely gift books which will be both admired and cherished.

Many thanks to Tango Books for sending a review copy of "Hansel and Gretel: a Pop-Up Book".

HANSEL & GRETEL WEEK (2): Hansel and Gretel

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000Z

Michael Morpurgo (text) & Emma Chichester Clark (illustrations)
(Walker Books)

This beautiful version of Hansel and Gretel is retold by former Children's Laureate and award-winning author Michael Morpurgo and he has certainly put his stamp on this traditional tale. Here, he weaves a story based on courage, hope, survival undying love, and battling envy and cruelty. He brings a refreshing twist to the tale, keeping many of its traditional features but also adding a new edge to it. The witch has a hand in the development in the story from the very start, being responsible for the mother's disappearance, then the famine that she consequently uses as an excuse to get rid of Hansel and Gretel. Interestingly also, the father has a much more proactive role in trying to save the children, even though he cannot refuse to help his new wife. This version of Hansel and Gretel is very much about the children making it on their own, without the help of adults: they find their way out of the forest, they find a way to trick the witch, they find a way to get rid of her. It is the triumph of their courage, determination and sticking together, against all odds.

Emma Chichester Clark's illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. What I found most striking throughout the book is the attention to detail in the patterns, as throughout the story Emma Chichester Clark has drawn the most amazing Balkan patterns: on clothes, on tablecloths, on the gingerbread house. I find them beautiful, and they very much give a sense of place to the story. I also love the use of colours in the spreads - alternative bright and dark colour echo the moods of the story, with cheery colours used for happy family scenes and dark colours used when showing the threatening forest for example. It helps young readers capture the mood of the scenes as the artwork works in beautiful unison with the text. Another example is the colour of Belladonna's eyes which are piercing green, which mirrors her envious and jealous streak.

The front cover is bright and glittery which might fool the reader into thinking this is quite a tame version of the traditional tale. But it is anything but, and is indeed very dark at times and does not shy away from showing the ugliness of the witch's character. It is also quite a long text and for these reasons it is best suited for slightly older readers. But it is an extremely successful retelling and beautiful book which deserves its place amongst the best illustrated fairy-tales. In fact, illustrator Lydia Monks chose this version of Hansel and Gretel as one oher favourite illustrated fairy-tales here.

All illustrations © Emma Chichester Clark

Many thanks to Walker Books for sending me a review copy of "Hansel and Gretel".

HANSEL & GRETEL WEEK (1): Sweetly

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000Z

Jackson Pearce
(Hodder Children's Books)

When they were children , Gretchen's identical twin sister was snatched while they and older brother Ansel were walking in the forest. Nobody knows what happened to her, but Gretchen vividly remembers being hunted by something big with yellow eyes and has always assumed it was the witch that, according to legend, lived around those parts. Now many years later, with both parents dead of a broken heart and a step-mother that does not want them, Ansel and Gretchen hit the road, but break down in a small Southern town. Sophia, who owns a sweet shop just outside the town offers them lodging in exchange for their manual labour and so they decide to stay put for a while. For the first time in a long time they feel like they belong somewhere, despite the nasty rumours and accusations that seem to follow Sophia wherever she goes . But the forest is near and Gretchen feels its weight. Soon, Gretchen is forced to face her worst fear and with the help of outcast Samuel, she starts to build the strength and courage to protect herself and all the other girls of Live Oak from a hungry an blood-thirsty monster.

Sweetly is action-packed and a real pleasure to read. There is a healthy dose of paranormal, a good pinch of romance and a good sprinkle of dark and scary bits. I really enjoyed the characterisation in the story; the strong bond between Gretchen and Ansel is well developed, and they are both lovable characters. But Sophia was the real winner for me; I love a character that you can't quite work out, and Jackson Pearce had me guessing about her until the very end.

I love fairy-tale retellings, particularly when the retelling brings some fresh and new to the original story. Many of the familiar ingredients of the original tale are here: the cottage of course, the evil within the forest, the wolves, the stepmother, the children disappearing never to return. But there is also an awful lot of original ideas in there too. This supports the theory of the seven stories (that there are only seven basic plots which are approached in differing ways): Sweetly might be inspired from Hansel and Gretel but Jackson Pearce has made the story her own, and has succeeded in transforming into a contemporary, pacy and exciting young adult novel.

Sweetly is linked to Jackson Pearce's other novel Sisters Red as both feature the Fenris but it remains a stand-alone and can be enjoyed without having read Sisters Red. However I bet, like me, you will be thoroughly tempted to read it afterwards!

It was whilst reading Sweetly that the idea of a Hansel & Gretel Week germinated, and therefore it is the opening review for this special week. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the week.

The Princess and the Pig

2011-11-15T21:34:00.001Z

Jonathan Emmett (text) & Poly Bernatene (illustrations)
(Macmillan Children's Books)

After a terrible incident in the royal nursery, Pigmella the princess finds herself brought up by a poor but loving family while Priscilla the Pig finds herself in royal household learning the ways of princesses, with difficulty. The poor family who were desperate for a child believe that this is the work of a good witch while the grumpy Queen blames a bad witch for her daughter's funny ways. After many years, the farmers realise what has happened but the stubborn Queen does not believe them, and she has high hopes for marrying Priscilla off. Because if kissing a frog turns it into a prince, then the same works for pigs, right?

This inspired and funny new offering from the team who brought us the wonderful The Santa Trap (see my review here) has all the ingredients of the best fairy-tales, without actually being one. No fairies, no spells, but rather, a good pinch of slapstick and some rather unfortunate circumstances form the basis of this story. Yet, traditional fairy-tales are very much at the core of the tale, with each new event being met by adults in the book with the phrase "It's the sort of things that happens all the while in books", showcasing many traditional stories such as Beauty & the Beast, Thumbelina, The Prince and the Pauper and many more. This will create great interaction between adult reader and young audience as they recall the original stories and what they might have in common with The Princess and the Pig as well as a wonderful opportunity to (re)discover some old favourites.

The story's theme of "riches does not buy you happiness" is one that is also present in many traditional tales with Pigmella growing up happily and marrying humbly but for love and without regret. Things are not quite that straight-forward for the princess, who understandably creates chaos in the palace. Many a little reader will find himself in stitches when witnessing what she gets up to.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Poly Bernatene, whom I admire greatly, and his use of vibrant colours is particularly striking (I am no fan of pink usually but the one used for Priscilla really is gorgeous). I also love how a clever use of double-spreads and the illustrations allow to show the parallel between Priscilla and Pigmella's lives:

Bernatene's artwork is subtle, and beautifully detailed too. It conveys a great sense of space, and also of sunlight. His style is genteel and yet really cheeky and fun. I urge you to discover his work if you have not done so already.

His artwork, teamed with Jonathan Emmett's wonderful storytelling skills come together to create another fantastic story, full of mischief, but also a great ode to fairy tales and books in general (whether you like to read them, or eat them!).

All illustrations © Poly Bernatene

Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for providing a review copy of "The Princess and the Pig".

The High Street

2011-11-14T12:55:00.000Z

Alice Melvin
(Tate Publishing)

Sally is off on a series of errands. Her list is impressive: a yellow rose, a garden hose, a bunch of grapes, some roller skates, a cockatoo, a tin kazoo, a Persian rug. a stripy jug, a cherry tart, a candy heart. Will she find them all? Follow her down the High Street as she visits each shop, on a quest for treasures.

There is something so deliciously old-fashioned about The High Street, and there is also a very strong nostalgic feel about our high streets used to be (and ought to be). From sweetshop to hardware shop, from antiques shop to greengrocer's, for many children, looking inside these shops via the medium of this book will be a real discovery, as unfortunately there are not many high streets as depicted in the book left. And though this is tinted with longing, The High Street manages to convey the sense of wonder that a child would feel when entering these shops. The clever use of flaps allows to have first a view of the shop closed and as Sally enters, the young reader can open the flap and find himself stepping inside the shop too, as illustrated below:

These illustrations are wonderfully detailed, which each shop full of quirky details, allowing for a lot of interaction and extra storytelling between adult reader and the young audience . The text accompanying the artwork is written in rhyming verse and adds to the overall whimsical feel of this gorgeous, unusual and poetic story. Alice Melvin is amongst the illustrators honoured with the 2011 Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award and her work is well worth discovering.

All illustrations © Alice Melvin

Many thanks to Tate Publishing for sending me a review copy of "The High Street"

Amazing Esme

2011-11-11T15:41:00.000Z

Tamara Macfarlane (text) & Michael Fowkes (illustrations)
(Hodder Children's Books)

When Esme arrives at Mackinley Castle, ready to spend the summer with her uncle while her parents travel through Russia looking for new circus acts, she is met not only by her boisterous cousins but a whole menagerie of animals too. It is all very exciting, but also a little bit overwhelming and with cousin Cosmo being particularly mean, Esme misses home. But thankfully her pet donkey, Donk, is delivered and all seems a little better. Until Cosmo decides to play a nasty trick on Esme, and the greedy animals get into the food store, leaving it empty. There is no money to buy more until her uncle returns, so what can Esme do to remedy the situation? Organise a circus show, of course!

This is a lovely story which taps into many of the themes that many little girls will enjoy: adventure, dance and gymnastics skills, lots of animals and a little bit of naughtiness too! It has many of the elements of many classic adventure stories for children: the children seem left to their own devices a lot of the time and the story is full of eccentric characters and situations. There is something deliciously wacky and outrageous about this story, which I really enjoyed.
Esme is a great heroine; she is spontaneous, resourceful and independent, but she is not without her insecurities either and this will make her amiable for young readers and their parents (the book is well-suited to being a read-aloud too).
The author, owner of independent children's bookshop Tales on Moon Lane, knows her market well and has managed to write a story that fills quite a gap. Parents of 5 to 8 year-old girls (me included) are often in despair at the quality of writing for this age group . Girls gets drawn into endless series of formula-written books which can be pretty dire. But there are also little readers who do not look for glitter and fairies in their stories and Amazing Esme responds to both these issues with great success.

The design of the book is absolutely superb, and the circus theme is carried through beautifully. Michael Fowkes' illustrations are in tune with the tone of the story, conveying the sense of wackiness and slight wilderness of the children, and yet also conveying the magical side of the story. The colour scheme used for the front and back covers is girly enough to attract the targeted audience without the saccharine sweetness of many of the other books aimed at this age-range. The scrapbook and Esme's Activity Book at the end are a lovely touch and all the activities can also be downloaded from the dedicated website.

Amazing Esme is a very enjoyable and refreshing story, and young readers will love it. It is definitely one to look out for for Christmas presents. The second book in the series will be out in May 2012.

All illustrations © Michael Fowkes

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of "Amazing Esme".

BLOG TOUR: FABULOUS FIVE: Five Fabulous Books I Love

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000Z

Welcome to the third stop of The Haunting of Charity Delafield Blog Tour! You can find my review of this wonderful book here.
For this stop, Ian Beck has agreed to take part in my Fabulous Five feature.

After graduating in illustration and design in 1968, Ian Beck went on to illustrate for magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Radio Times, and then moved on also to album covers, including Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 's cover. in the early 1980s, e was approached by OUP and consequently published his first children's book, Round and Round the Garden. He has since illustrated many children's books and has also written several novels, such as the Tom Trueheart books, Pastworld, and of course The Haunting of Charity Delafield.

Five Fabulous Books I Love
by Ian Beck

Obviously it is a very difficult, nay almost impossible thing to choose only five picture books from the long history of that noble subject. My choices are all entirely personal and are books which I particularly love and that have certainly influenced me in my own work. I doubt all of them are even in print, but those that aren’t can surely be found easily on Abe Books.

Clever Bill
Sir William Nicholson (not to be confused with the other William Nicholson, screenwriter and author of The Wind Singer etc) Originally published by Heinemann in 1926 and republished at various times, most recently by Egmont I believe

I love the speedy lithographic hand drawn quality of the images spilling across the pages, and the pacing and use of otherwise blank pages with single words, an early masterpiece of the genre.

Lavender’s Blue

compiled by Kathleen Lines and illustrated by Harold JonesOriginally published by Oxford University Press, in 1952.

For a long time this book was only available in a poorly reproduced paperback. It is now available in a lovely cased hardback facsimile edition. The illustrations are beautifully reproduced, and essential for every nursery.
This bumper selection of Nursery Rhymes is the defining pinnacle of all Nursery Rhyme collections. Illustrated in black and white and colour by Harold Jones whose work I admire perhaps more than anyone else’s, with the exception of Hergé and who showed me the way in which I might draw figures, with simplicity and through memory and imagination.

Tim All Alone
Written and Illustrated By Edward Ardizzone.

Originally published by Oxford University Press, in 1956. Now re-published by Frances Lincoln.

This one will have to stand in for all of the Little Tim books by Edward Ardizzone. The combination of high adventure undertaken by a small child with no reference to any parental control or judgement, combined with the splendidly casual and swiftly drawn watercolours and line drawings in this whole series make for a perfect set of picture books, happily all available again complete after a brief hiatus.

Each Peach Pear Plum
Written by Allan Ahlberg and Illustrated by Janet Ahlberg,

Originally published by Viking Kestrel / Puffin / very much available.

It was sharing this book with my own children that gave me the first clues as to how much fun was to be had with the modern picture book genre. It has the perfect combination of catchy memorable words and delightful sunny pictures. I can still recite the whole thing by heart and the illustrations by the late Janet Ahlberg are simply perfect and unsurpassed.

The Hidden House
Written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Angela Barrett.
Published by Walker Books.

An old man tends a house and garden and a family of mysterious dolls. The old man dies and the house and garden fall into neglect. The dolls sit sadly in the window as cobwebs form and all seems lost until a new family buy the house and set about restoring life colour and happiness.

I could easily have chosen all the five books as ones illustrated by Angela Barrett. She is simply the finest illustrator working today. There is almost too much I could say about her beautiful work; the dramatic imagination at play, the design of her pictures, the atmosphere and attention to character and detail. I love her version of Beauty and The Beast and of Snow White and was severely torn between them. I chose The Hidden House in the end because I read it so often with my own children and I therefore retain a special personal affection for it.

****

Another great Fabulous Five feature, thank you so much to Ian Beck for his contribution. I love Lavender Blue, it was great to see it reissued a couple of years ago.

The Ministry of Letters: Operation Alphabet

2011-11-08T12:46:00.002Z

Al MacCuish (text), Luciano Lozano (illustrations) & Jim Bletsas (design)
(Thames & Hudson)

Young Charlie Foxtrot is in a bit of a pickle. You see, he has a tendency to daydream at school and so it comes as a bit of a shock when he realises he has to learn his alphabet. "The Alphabet-a-whattie" wonders Charlie? But never fear young Charlie, as somewhere deep in London, the Ministry of Letters works tirelessly (and secretly!) to help people with letter-related problems. Operation Alphabet is just getting started!

There are so many things to be praised about Operation Alphabet, I just really love this book!
The fantastic retro style artwork is the first thing that caught my eye. Beautifully coloured, for some reason many of the London spreads were reminiscent, to me, of some of LS Lowry's work, probably because of the colour scheme as well as the era they both portray.

The story is wacky in a oh-so-British way and it is very quirky and fun, with lots of action, twists (including a rather ferocious-looking cat!) and comical moments. I have a penchant for the motorbike-driving duchess myself!

But behind this quirky tale lies an important positive message about the alphabet of course, but also reading, writing and making words. It is all about interacting with letters and words and making it fun, whether it is about writing or reading. The fact that the letters come to life, sing songs, and do magic tricks convey the message that acquiring literacy skills should first and foremost be fun. Here is a great example, with the text from one of the songs:

Use us at home or take us to school,
letters are a most incredible tool.
Make a new word from us every day,
then use it in every possible way.
Use letters wisely or use them for fun,
one at the time or by the ton.
And every time that you open a book,
just think how many letters it took.

The overall book design of the books is a real success, and it will be pleasing to the eye for many retro-style enthusiasts, whether they have children or not. I really hope this is the first volume in a series because this is a very promising start indeed. For its sheer originality and wonderful design and artwork, The Ministry of Letters: Operation Alphabet is one of my favourite picture books from 2011.

Check out the fantastic website here which includes some fantastic downloads including bookmarks and name plates amongst other goodies. The book jacket itself doubles up as a great Alphabet poster.

All text © Al MacCuish, and illustrations © Luciano Lozano.

Thank you to Thames & Hudson for sending me a review copy of the book.

FABULOUS FIVE: Nicola Killen presents her five chilldhood favourites

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000Z

Today, I am welcoming Nicola Killen to Library Mice for the latest Fabulous Five feature. I came across Nicola's work for the first time at the 2010 FCBG conference (I discover so many wonderful books every year at the publishers' exhibition there), as there were proof copies of Not Me! on the Egmont stand. I loved the gorgeously coloured pictures which oozed childhood mischief and innocence, and I reviewed it here. In October this year, Egmont published Nicola's second picture book, Fluff and Billy Do Everything Together, which I reviewed here.

Nicola Killen had a successful career in design before moving to children's books. She graduated from the celebrated MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art where she won the Best New Talent Award. Her first book, Not Me!, was published by Egmont to great acclaim and praise. Earlier this year, she was part of a handful of authors and illustrators named as Books for Keeps Rising Talent for 2011 (see here).
You can visit Nicola's blog here.

My Fabulous Five childhood favourites
by Nicola Killen

For my Fabulous Five I have selected five books from my childhood in the 1970s. They are all books that I owned and loved. I have tried to describe what it was that made me cherish these particular books: humour and flawed characters seem to be the emerging themes!

William the Dragon
Polly Donnison

This book was my absolute favourite for several years. When Lady Wilmount discovers an enormous egg under a yew bush in the grounds of Wilmount Hall, she decides to hatch it in front of the fire. She was not expecting William, a roast-potato-loving dragon, to emerge! In the last of the five stories in the book, William sneaks his new coat from Harrods, which he feels very silly wearing, into a box of jumble. I shared his disappointment when Lady Wilmount returns from the sale having bought back the coat!

I didn't realise that Polly Donnison had written this book when she was only fourteen until recently. The illustrations have a naive quality, combining felt tip and coloured pencil, but it is the humour within the stories which really won me over all those years ago.

Topsy and Tim Learn to Swim
Jean & Gareth Adamson

I was a big fan of all the Topsy and Tim books. I think I could relate to the way they often made mistakes. This title was extra special as they learn to swim at Parkside Pool in Cambridge - where I used to swim too! Even details like the tickets, changing rooms and foot-bath all matched. I found it so exciting to see somewhere I knew illustrated in a picture book. The 70s outfits still look great!

Lester at the Seaside
Quentin Blake

It was hard to choose which Quentin Blake book to include in my selection (Snuff and Patrick came close), but I eventually plumped for Lester as I loved the quirky array of characters he and his friends encounter as they make their way from their home under the General Hardware tree to the seaside. This book also introduced me to the concept of palindromes - Otto gets very disappointed when he realises that his name written backwards in the sand is the same as when it's written forwards! This scene has always stuck in my memory.

The Supermarket Mystery
Richard Scarry

Again it was hard to make a choice between this, The Early Bird and the Best Storybook Ever. I remember taking The Supermarket Mystery on a family holiday - I can't remember which one but it involved camping in the rain! They all did. Anyway, this book kept me entertained despite the weather. Dudley and Sam, two inept detectives are hired to find out who has been stealing food from Grocer Dog's supermarket. After several mishaps and false accusations they finally ( and accidentally) apprehend the culprit, thus proving to themselves that they are very fine detectives. Not only is it a funny story, there's also comedy in the smallest details of the illustrations.

Rooms to Let
Margaret Mahy

This is the story of Mr. Murgatroyd, a miserly landlord who charges 'too much' rent for the rooms in his house. Gradually his 'Rooms to Let' sign attracts a motley collection of tenants: the wispy woman with a wooden leg; the man pushing his mermaid wife in a wheelbarrow; Mrs. Piper and her twenty children; and the bear who plays the flute. Mr. Murgatroyd longs for his house to be quiet again and is convinced his tenants will soon be fighting, but they get on so well that they decide to leave together and find a cheaper place to live. Only when he's left alone does Murgatroyd realise that he misses everyone and decides to go with them.

I think it is the way that the characters take over the house which really captured my imagination. The mermaid sings in the bath while mice sail paper boats across the flooded bathroom floor; Miss Wispy's room resembles a jungle, crammed full of plants and vines; and Mrs Piper's family paint colourful murals over the whole house. The illustrations start in muted tones of brown and green and become more and more brightly coloured as the residents settle in.

****

Thank you very much, Nicola! What a great selection it is and no doubt a lovely trip down memory lane for many readers. I too was a great fan of Richard Scarry as a child! I bought a huge selection of them for my son when he was younger in the hope he would become a fan too. Thankfully, he loves them!

Fluff and Billy Do Everything Together!

2011-11-06T06:30:00.000Z

Nicola Killen
(Egmont)

Fluff and Billy the penguins do everything together. They are the best of friends, but Fluff is getting a bit annoyed that smaller penguin Billy is copying everything that he is doing. Eventually things turn a little bit sour and Fluff and Billy end up not talking to each other. But not talking makes the two friends sad; can they really stay cross with each other for long?

Fluff and Billy are just gorgeous. I love penguins and these two are very special. The artwork is absolutely stunning, so gentle and yet so vivid. It is a very accurate observation of the ups and downs of friendship, and particularly how young children can fall out and make friends again so very quickly, and carries a lovely message about forgiveness. As always, using animals makes the message all the more efficient for children, as they can relate to the feelings without feeling threatened or "found out". The text is short and simple and therefore can be enjoyed by the youngest of audiences and this is mirrored in the illustrations which are uncluttered. This is also helped greatly by the lovely layout and typography.

Nicola Killen's style is wonderful. Her artwork captures the innocence and emotions of childhood, whilst remaining very engaging for young audiences. The illustrations in Fluff and Billy are very atmospheric, with the use of soft pastel colours catching the coldness of the ice field wonderfully.

Fluff and Billy is beautifully crafted picture book which proves once again that Nicola Killen is one illustrator worth looking out for.

Check out The Story of Fluff and Billy part 1: Where the idea came from and The Story of Fluff and Billy part 2: Developing the idea on Nicola's blog.

All illustrations © Nicola Killen

Many thanks to Egmont for sending a review copy of "Fluff and Billy".
Be sure to come back tomorrow for Nicola's Fabulous Five!

NATIONAL NON-FICTION DAY: Guest Post from Tracey Turner

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000Z

Today I am delighted to welcome Tracey Turner, non-fiction author extraordinaire (including The Comic Strip Big Fat Book of Knowledge which I reviewed here) to Library Mice to talk about non-fiction on this very special day! Happy National Non-Fiction Day to all!

*****

Celebrating Non-Fiction

by Tracey Turner

There’s a lot to celebrate about children’s non-fiction books in 2011: today’s children have wonderful books to choose from to answer their never-ending ‘why?’ questions about the world. In fact I’m a bit jealous of them. When I was growing up, in the 1970s, there weren’t any of Stephen Biesty’s fascinating, intricate cross-sections of castles, pyramids and human bodies to pore over. No beautifully designed Dorling Kindersley books to lure me into an undersea or prehistoric world. No funny, irreverent Horrible books to tell me fascinating facts about the Tudors or digestion.

In my childhood home there weren’t many books, but there was a set of ancient encyclopaedias (from the 1950s) – serious, black-and-white, each volume nearly as heavy as I was – that filled me with dismay and deep, deep boredom. With that sort of introduction to non-fiction, it’s surprising that I’ve ended up writing it myself. To be fair, I wasn’t the encyclopaedias’ target audience because they weren’t aimed at children. But it’s true that children of the 1970s couldn’t have nearly so much fun with factual books as they do today – which of course isn’t to say there weren’t any good ones. I do remember a favourite birthday present, The Love of Horses by Anne Alcock, which was a big hardback with a photograph of white horses galloping through surf on the cover, and from which I learned about Appaloosas and the Tennessee Walking Horse.

I’m sure that some of the many inspirational non-fiction books available today will draw children along paths of discovery about many things, from polar bears to distant galaxies. And I’m glad that, despite the encyclopaedias, I did end up writing non-fiction – in fact perhaps they’re a reminder always to write enthusiastically and entertainingly, whatever the subject.

*****

Thank you very much Tracey!

The Comic Strip Big Fat Book of Knowledge

2011-11-02T16:27:00.001Z

Tracey Turner (text) & Sally Kindberg (illustrations)
(Bloomsbury Children's Books)

This big (and indeed fat!) book combines The Comic Strip History of The World, The Comic History of Space and The Comic Strip Greek Myths in one volume. If you have not come across this series before, The Comic Strip offers a great overview of its specific subject in comic-strip style.

The great thing about this series is that it presents information (some of it being quite challenging, like the big bang theory) in a way that is entertaining, humorous and very accessible. It is quite heavy in text, and quite detailed in parts, but accompanied with the cartoon-style illustrations, it is still much easier to access than a bog-standard non-fiction book. This series strikes a great balance, managing to entertain both the reader who might pick it up for a 10 minute reading session and the reader who is really into the specific subject the book is covering. When my son discovered the series with The Comic Strip History of Space, he wasn't interested in learning about space to begin with, but was hooked by the medium straight away and has loved all the books in the series (including this one, which I had to "steal back" to review).

Unusually for the medium of comic, each individual book includes a contents page, allowing the reader to go straight to a specific section if they so wish, and making it easy to dip in and out of.
This makes it even more accessible for reluctant readers, as it breaks down the book in manageable sections.
The Comic Strip series is a fantastic non-fiction series which will delight fans of factual books as well as fans of comic strip. The Comic Strip Big Fat Book of Knowledge is a great opportunity to discover this series in one handy volume.

All illustrations Ó Sally Kindberg

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children's Books for providing a copy of the book.

SPOOKY READS FOR HALLOWEEN (11) & BLOG TOUR: The Fearsome Beastie

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000Z

Giles Paley-Phillips (text) & Gabriele Antonini (illustrations)
(Maverick Books)

Today I am delighted to be the Halloween pit stop of Giles' blog tour for The Fearsome Beastie! And what better than a story about a scary child-eating monster for your Halloween night read?
The beastie in question, purple and scary looking, has a fondness for going down the village just before dawn, looking for children for a tasty snack. The children are aware of this and are well prepared but the sly monster tricks them into getting closer and soon he gobbles up Suzie, Clyde and Paul. Thankfully little Pete escapes and fetches his granny who is no pushover and has ways to save the children and punish the Fearsome Beastie.

The Fearsome Beastie is certainly scary enough for little audiences at bedtime. Although the beastie does get his comeuppance in the end, there is a certain amount of children-eating going on before the feisty granny takes charge (and I certainly would not mess with her!). But The Fearsome Beastie is reminiscent of many traditional fairy tales, especially Little Red Riding Hood, and children who are familiar with those stories will rejoice in this tale. Like traditional tales, it has a moral ending which young audiences will find quite rewarding I think.

The illustrations are very child-friendly and cartoon-style, and make the beastie very fierce-looking indeed. But when it meets its gruesome end, the artwork manages to convey the right effect without looking too ghastly!
The rhyming text flows naturally and emphasises the dramatic edge of the story. But it also allows for the story to remain light-hearted and fun.

The Fearsome Beastie is a great, fun read. I think some parents will be concerned about the monster's favourite past time as well as its eventual fate but I think that parents are more of the faint-hearted kind than their offspring, who will simply enjoy the drama! There will undoubtedly be fits of laughter too!

Some great Beastie activities are available on the Maverick Books website: Fearsome Beastie Colouring-in and Draw Your Own Beastie.

Also the lovely Tasha over at children's books for grown-ups made some amazing Beastie cupcakes as part of her Bookish Bites feature. Go and check out the recipe here.

Giles's Ultimate Spooky Read

And finally as it is Halloween, I asked Giles what his favourite spooky read was. His reply was The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey because it is creepy, but very funny!

Many thanks to Maverick Books for sending me a review copy of "The Fearsome Beastie".

All "Fearsome Beastie" illustrations Ó Gabriele Antonini

SPOOKY READS FOR HALLOWEEN (10): The Haunting of Charity Delafield

2011-10-29T11:51:00.001+01:00

Ian Beck
(The Bodley Head)

Charity Delafield has been cocooned inside her father's mansion house for as long as she can remember. She has been told her mother died in childbirth, and her father, in the name of some unknown condition she is supposed to suffer from, has prevented her from mixing with anybody else but the domestic staff. When he announces out of the blue that Charity is to be sent to boarding school, it triggers a series of events which allow Charity not to only to start to make sense of the unusual recurring dreams she has been having, but also to learn about her family's past, her mother's fate and also the nature of her so-called condition.

The title of this short novel might misguide the reader into thinking that it is a ghost story, but in fact The Haunting of Charity Delafield is all about magic and faeries. However the gothic setting of the mansion house, filled with statues and dark corridors, is enough to give you a few chills and therefore this enchanting tale strikes a great balance between magical and creepy.

The story is pacy and around each corner so to speak, a new twist awaits the reader. But despite this, the narrative never loses track of the ultimate denouement: finding out what has happened to Ariella, Charity's mother. Despite many clues throughout the story, the eventual unveiling of the truth still allows for a few surprises. The narrative and overall storyline are well crafted, and I think the characterisation is particularly strong. Each character has a role to play in the development of the plot. I was particularly taken by kind Mrs Browne and little black cat Mr Tompkins, who might not say anything at all but is nonetheless very important within the story. We also witness Charity changing from a shy child to a determined assertive young lady, as she embraces her legacy.
At the heart of The Haunting of Charity Delafield, there is also a story of love and devotion, from a father to his daughter, and from husband to wife. Charity's father's particularly is at the core of this, eventually dropping his mask of harshness to reveal a man quite besotted with both his daughter and wife!

I really enjoyed The Haunting of Charity Delafield. The beautiful front cover sets the tone of this clever, entertaining little story which is spooky but not overly scary, allowing young audiences to be introduced to the gothic genre. The book itself is beautifully packaged and it will make a great Christmas present too.

All illustrations © Ian Beck

Many thanks to Random House Children's Books for sending me a review copy of "The Haunting of Charity Delafield".

GIVEAWAY: A Fabulous Book Prize from Tesco's Kids Book Club

2011-10-26T23:10:00.001+01:00

To celebrate the launch of Tesco Magazine's new story-telling videos for their Kids’ Book Club, I am delighted to run this truly fantastic giveaway!

One lucky winner will win a book bag containing all of the following:

Picture-books (2-5 years)

Mine! by Rachel Bright
Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates (which I reviewed here)
Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson (which I reviewed here)

Thank You for Looking After Our Pets by Tim Hopgood
Little One's Bedtime by Suzi Reeve
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore (which I reviewed here)

The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

Chapter books

Daisy and the Trouble with Life by Kes Gray
Monster Madness by Guy Bass
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce

All you need to do to be in a chance to win this amazing prize is to leave a comment on this post.
Closing date is 2 November at 11.59pm, and the giveaway is open to UK residents (over the age of 16) only.

For extra chances to win, why not follow @tescomagazine on Twitter, as they will be giving away book prizes this week!

Live Twitter chat with author Katie Cleminson
28TH OCTOBER @ 1PM

Kids’ Book Club will be hosting their first ever live Q&A Twitter chat with the award-winning author and illustrator Katie Cleminson.

Do you have a burning question for Katie? Whether you are an aspiring children’s book writer or illustrator, an avid book reader or just a big fan of little bears, don’t miss the chance to join in the chat. A Booktrust Best New Illustrator, Katie is a truly inspiring illustrator so this is sure to be a great occasion.
The chat will start at1pm but don’t worry if you can’t make it at that time. You can tweet your questions to @tescomagazine in advance, just remembering to add the hashtag #kidsbookclub.
You can find more info about the live chat here.

And if you needed any more reasons to join the chat. Kids Book Club will be giving away five copies of Otto the Book Bear to participants in the chat. Winners will be chosen at random.

I think Christmas has come early!

SPOOKY READS FOR HALLOWEEN (9): Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble

2011-10-25T23:22:00.003+01:00

Tracey Corduroy (text) & Joe Berger (illustrations)
(Nosy Crow)

What if your granny was a little bit "out there"? What if people stared at her in the street when you are out shopping with her? What if your friends found her really cool, while you just found her just a little bit embarrassing? And what if you were granted the opportunity to change her to what you think a granny should be?
This is exactly the conundrum the little heroine of this story faces. She loves her granny, but her eccentricities are sometimes hard to ignore and she longs for a "regular" granny. But when the little girl makes the decision to change her, she finds out soon enough that the allegedly better version might be a bit of disappointment after all.

Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble is a magical, stylish and funny story which celebrates individuality and advocates accepting other people's differences, and is just perfect for Halloween. The rhyming text is catchy and great to read aloud and the gorgeous illustrations by Joe Berger fit the tone and theme perfectly, especially with the beautiful palette of colours used (including some lovely shades of purple) which amplifies the spooky side of the story. The illustrations are full of quirky details (the name of the movie showing at the theatre, the frog in the cookie jar to name a few) , and gorgeously retro. I think Joe Berger did Tracey Corduroy's creation justice; the witch granny who is anything but scary is a great character and text and artwork come together beautifully for an overall fantastic effect.

Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble is a great read for Halloween, and beyond! It will of course be a perfect read for grannies to read with their grandchildren but it really is fun for the whole family.

All illustrations © Joe Berger

SPOOKY READS FOR HALLOWEEN (8): The Scariest Thing of All

2011-10-23T21:44:00.000+01:00

Debi Gliori

(Bloomsbury Children Books)

Little Pip lives with his large family of rabbits in a burrow deep into a wild wood. this tiny rabbit has a huge list of things he is afraid of, some rather standard, some rather more unusual. But when he finds himself alone deep into the wood after waking late from an afternoon nap, he must go home on his own and along the way must confront his fears. He then realises that nothing is quite as terrifying as he first thought, and that maybe, just maybe, the scariest thing of all might be ... him.

A beautiful gentle tale of conquering your fears and finding a way to empower oneself, The Scariest Thing of All is the perfect tale for tiny people at Halloween, offering just enough peril for the youngest of audiences to enjoy a bit of anticipatory fear while offering a soothing resolution to feelings that will be familiar to many preschoolers. Many children's fears come from an over-active imagination and The Scariest Thing of All broaches the subject in a way that they can understand.

The use of beautiful autumnal colours help make this read a comforting and reassuring one, just the kind of book that makes you want to cuddle with your child under a blanket on a late dark afternoon.

I have always loved Debi Gliori's work. Her books are always aesthetically stunning; her illustrations are always bursting with intricate detail and she has an incredible talent at drawing animal characters. The use of anthropomorphism in her stories help create an effective yet nonthreatening environment for young readers, and it has to be said, she does draw the cutest rabbits.

A new Debi Gliori book is always a special treat for me The Scariest Thing of All certainly delivers, again. It is a beautifully illustrated gentle book with a heart-warming message at its heart.

All illustrations © Debi Gliori

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children's Books for providing a review copy of "The Scariest Thing of All".

PICTURE BOOK CAROUSEL: The Saga of Knuffle Bunny

2011-10-21T11:42:00.002+01:00

Mo Willems
(Walker Books)

I didn't discover Mo Willems via his famous Pigeon books. My first encounter with his work was the first Knuffle Bunny book, Knuffle Bunny: a Cautionary Tale , and was bowled over by the fantastically imaginative use of pastel coloured illustrations superimposed with sepia photographs of Brooklyn. The result is so drastically effective and beautiful that I soon looked out for more of WiIllems' work. But still the Knuffle Bunny books remain my favourites of his.

In Knuffle Bunny; A Cautionary Tale, young toddler Trixie goes to the laundrette with her daddy and inadvertently adds Knuffle Bunny to the washing load. She tries to let her dad, who inexplicably does not understand the very clear "AGGLE FLAGGLE KLABBLE", know, but as soon as they get home, Mum knows what is wrong.

In Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Trixie now goes to school and is very excited to bring her beloved Knuffle Bunny to show. But once they get there, she realises that Knuffle Bunny is not, after all, one of a kind and Sonia has brought her own to. After a hilarious dispute on name pronunciation and much bickering, the bunnies are confiscated until the end of the school day. When they are returned, they do not initially go back to their rightful owners.

In Knuffle Bunny Free: an Unexpected Diversion, Trixie and her parents are off on holiday to Holland to visit Oma and Opa. Trixie is very excited about the trip, so excited that she leaves Knuffle Bunny in the plane. When they realise, the beloved toy is already half way to China. Trixie makes her peace with her loss until an unexpected reunion, and an ever more unexpected decision from Trixie.

Their originality of these books do not only lie in the artwork; the books together can be considered as sequence rather than a series, and in picture books this is rather rare. The three books in the sequence follow little Trixie as she grows from toddler to grown-up at the very end of the last book. Each story follows a very similar narrative pattern: Trixie goes on a journey, may it be to the laundrette, preschool or Europe. Each journey brings with it a challenge, involving the disappearance of Knuffle Bunny, but with each resolution, comes the feeling that Trixie has matured a little. Even the book covers convey the idea of similar pattern; the scene it depicts is exactly the same in all three covers but with a slightly more grown-up Trixie each time.

One of the most hilarious and clever parallels is the way Willems has recreated the same scene in each book, the scene being when it finally dawns on Trixie that Knuffle Bunny is missing:

Of course the stories work on several levels and while young audiences will delight in Trixie's adventures, parents will be able to relate to many of the situations dealt with, from Trixie going "boneless" in the first story to the dreaded feeling of your child's favourite cuddly toy suddenly missing. I dare any parent not to feel chocked at the end of the third volume as the readers witness a grown-up Trixie finally letting go of Knuffle Bunny and in doing so, letting go of the little girl she was once was. The last scene, an epilogue entitled "A Note to Trixie", which ich propulses us several years alter when Trixie is herself a mother, has me welling up every time. It just "talks" to a part of us as parents, about the love for our children, about our hopes for their future.

I would wholeheartedly recommend that every household should have a copy of these three books. They would even make a lovely present for a family welcoming a new baby into the world. It might be a shock to them to see the potential challenges that await them, but I think the overwhelming feeling of Trixie's parents love for her will shine through.

Need I really say that of course, the Knuffle Bunny Books are:

Many thanks to Walker Books for providing a review copy of "Knuffle Bunny Free: an Unexpected Diversion".

All illustrations © Mo Willems

Jack Draws Anything

2011-10-18T10:14:00.002+01:00

Jack Henderson
(Hodder Children's Books)

This is not a children's book in the way that it doesn't tell a story but little Jack 's story is very inspirational indeed and deserves a big mention.
When Jack's little brother Noah became a regular in-patient at The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, Jack (6) decided to that he would draw anything for anyone in return for a small donation to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation. He thought he would raise a little bit of money, but thanks to the popularity of his drawing the target gradually moved from £100 to £500, £1000, £10000, £15000 to £20000. But in fact he is now well on his way to raising £30,000 after drawing over 200 pictures. He has had over 500 requests for pictures.
Jack Draws Anything recalls Jack's story, putting together some of Jack's drawings, some photographs and accounts of what has happened to Jack since the beginning of his venture. There is even a whole chapter offering doddle pages for budding artists.

This little book is a lovely discovery as I knew nothing about Jack's amazing commitment and was awed by this little boy's determination and devotion ot his little brother as well as the support from his lovely family. Whether you have a child who loves to draw, or you are a parent who has had a child staying in hospital, or you find Jack's bid to make a difference inspirational, please pick up this book (and with such a cute grin on that cover, who wouldn't want to?). A share of the profits from the book sales will go to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

Jack is no longer accepting requests for pictures, but you can still donate here.

Many thanks to Hodder Children's Books for sending me a review copy of "Jack Draws Anything".

The Tales of Olga da Polga

2011-10-15T14:22:00.002+01:00

Michael Bond
with illustrations by Catherine Rayner
(Oxford University Press)

Olga da Polga is no ordinary guinea-pig. Opinionated, self-observed and rather greedy, she is , as the narrator describers her at the beginning of the tale, "the sort of guinea-pig who would go places". When she finally leaves the pet shop for her new home and life, she finds herself having to get used to a new hutch and some new neighbours (Noel the cat, Fangio the hedgehog, and Graham the tortoise). But old habits die hard and Olga soon finds herself telling wild tales again and getting herself into all sorts of mischief. Her new friends are not quite sure whether to believe her or not, but soon get tangled in all the fun. Life sure is not dull with Olga da Polga!

I have many memories of the books I read during my childhood, but few are as vivid as my enjoyment of the Olga da Polga books (Charlotte Parlotte in French); I can still see myself looking for and borrowing them from our local library. It was therefore with a certain amount of trepidation that I read this book to my children, hoping that they too would love the charming simplicity of the tale, the cheekiness of its main character and the overall joy of reading a lovely classic story. They loved it, thankfully, and since then we have acquired this beautiful gift edition from OUP, released to celebrate Olga's 40th birthday. This new hardback gift edition is illustrated by award-winning illustrator Catherine Rayner, whose illustrations bring a beautiful new life to this story. A master at drawing fauna, Rayner has captured all the cheekiness of Olga's character as well as the nostalgic, Good Life -esque element of the story. The artwork also manages to convey the innocence of the story, something that surely must be cherished in a society where children seem encouraged to lose theirs so quickly.

This new edition of The Tales of Olga da Polga is a beautifully packaged little book which will undoubtedly introduce new audiences to this fantastic classic children's book.

All illustrations © Catherine Rayner
Many thanks to OUP for sending me a review copy of "The Tales of Olga da Polga"

"Press Here" Blog Tour

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000+01:00

Hervé Tullet
translated by Christopher Franceschelli
(Chronicle Books)

A yellow dot. An invitation to press on it. Then turn the page, see what happens: two yellow dots! Press again, ta-dah: three dots! What happens if you poke, blow on or even tip the book on its side?

Press Here is a masterpiece of simplicity, bringing interactivity in picture books to a whole new dimension, allowing children to interact with the page in a way that is never been done before. Its originality lies in its power to make the reader believe that he is controlling what happens to the dots, and therefore controlling the storyline. Older readers will understand that in fact that is not the case, but it does in no way lessen the enjoyment of the book and how much audiences are drawn into it; they will be just as eager to follow directions given by Tullet. In an age where children are used to all singing, all dancing entertainment from an early age (think "interactive" toys for babies), the simplicity of Press Here is breathtaking. Forget beeping and flashing lights, the special effects here will be shrieks of laughter, excessive clapping and pure joy. A blissfully happy story time is to be had in my house every time we read it, whether it is in French or in English. In fact, the memory of our first encounter with the book, in French, and the four of us sitting huddled together, all blowing at the pages, is one I will cherish for many years to come.

It would be easy to see that Press Here in opposition to the iPad, as an antidote to the app. But to me, that's neither here nor there. Press Here is just an astounding example of the potential of the picture book. Which is why the original title, Un Livre (A Book) conveys so much more about the tour de force that this book really is. Because despite all the cleverness and the interaction, it remains after all, simply that, a book. It celebrates the ability that the book has to draw the best from the reader's imagination. It reminds us that the relationship between book and audience is incredibly powerful.
Press Here also offers a great opportunity to teach colours with the youngest audiences.

As part of the Press Here blog tour, I am delighted to present you with a sneak peek with an exclusive extract:

Hervé Tullet is renown and admired in France for his unusual style, his way of "working" with the book, and his use of colour. He is the winner of the coveted Prix Sorcières for Press Here. The Library Mice household have been great admirers of his work for a while, and my son particularly has always been a great fan of his book Moi, c'est Blop!

Needless to say, whether in French or English, Press Here is a:

Many thanks to Chronicle Books for providing a review copy of "Press Here".
All illustrations Ó Hervé Tullet

CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK 2011: The author's perspective

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today, I am very chuffed to welcome Joe Craig, author of the Jimmy Coates series, to Library Mice. Joe was kind enough to agree to write a piece for me about his experience of school author visits.

I’ve been doing events at schools since my first ‘Jimmy Coates’ book came out in 2005. There was a crazy time when I was doing more than 100 schools a year (and I know some authors do many more even than this). These days I limit myself to about 20 or 30 so that I have some time to actually write and so that each school feels a bit more special, not just part of an endless, exhausted blur.

Over the course of these hundreds of school visits I’ve had some great experiences, some not so great. On the whole, it’s been incredibly positive and enjoyable. I’ve learned a huge amount, met some inspiring people (students and staff alike) and I plan to continue visiting schools as long as they’ll have me.
I thought it would be instructive to paint a picture of two hypothetical school visits. One is perfect, containing everything from the best-organised, most-inspiring events I’ve done. The other will be a cautionary tale. It will feature all the mistakes that people make (including me) in putting together a school visit.
Some of these things (good and bad) happen all the time. Some of them have only happened once. But everything set out here has happened.

At The Heavenly School of Perfection, where their motto is ‘Everything perfect, all the time’, there’s a parking space reserved for me at the front door. The Head Teacher is at reception to welcome me. Perhaps there’s bunting, but let’s not push the fantasy too far. There’s also a group of three or four students in the welcome party and they’ve been put in charge of looking after me for the day.

Now, I know it’s not always possible for the Head to greet me at the door, but at some point during the day I do expect him or her to seek me out and say hello. It’s not that I’m so full of myself I insist on seeing the boss, it’s about sending a message. When the Head cares, the students notice. So is this a school that cares about reading, writing and creativity? Or is this… Hellsville Towers?

At Hellsville Towers, the receptionist ignores me. There’s no sign of the Head and there was no parking space, even though I’d asked for one. Apparently it wasn’t possible because parking is ‘at a premium’. I know parking is at a premium. That’s why I ask for a reserved space.
Eventually the librarian appears. Now, what’s the first thing she does? Does she offer me a cup of tea? Does she show me where the loo is? Does she suggest we have a quick look at the hall to make sure everything is set up OK? No. She forces upon me the most dreaded fate awaiting any visiting author: a tour of the school.
Do you have an aquarium? Is the school dragon kept in the basement? No? Then why on earth would I want a tour of your school? Trust me, however remarkable you think your school is, I’ve seen one just like it, and it didn’t interest me the first time. All I want to do is sit down, preferably with that hot drink you haven’t offered yet.
That’s what I’ve been allowed to do at The Heavenly School of Perfection. There is even a biscuit. And now that the Head has left to get on with the day, the heavenly librarian introduces me to the English department, who are all very excited about my visit because, get this: they’ve been told I’m coming! Amazing! They’ve also prepared themselves, and their students. There’s even a display all about me, me, me.

So now do we all sit around and have a good chat? Well, possibly. But if this really is going to be the perfect school visit, the staff will chat to or at me, but they won’t ask me any questions.
Because back at Hellsville Towers, when (if) I finally sit down, the first thing the librarian does is lean over me and say, “So, what’s your inspiration?” or “So, how did you get into writing?”
Inside, I die a little. By all means tell me all about yourself, but I will be sitting quietly, saving my voice and my energy for my audience. For them, I will answer those questions before they’re even asked. The students will always get the best of me. I’m afraid everybody else gets the energy-saving, voice-conserving me.

The Heavenly School of Perfection has sent me an itinerary for the day beforehand, so I know exactly who I’m talking to and when. Amazingly, the numbers and ages of the students in my audience are exactly as promised! Even better (and this one might surprise you), because of the buzz around the school that the teachers and librarians have generated about my visit, a 6th Form English group has asked whether they can sit in on one of my sessions. Do I mind? Of course I don’t mind! This is brilliant! Squeeze in at the back. Let me entertain you…

Meanwhile, at Hellsville Towers, my session has been chopped and changed a little. Turns out half the year actually have a school trip today. Some of the rest of them haven’t been allowed out of a geography lesson and some of the others have an exam. Oh, and that exam is in the next room, so can I keep my session fairly quiet?

In the end, I have a more ‘intimate’ group of students who cover the full age span of the school. Despite the age-range, they’ve all been lumped together. Within a few minutes I realise why these particular students are in front of me. They’ve been specially selected. Not selected because they particularly need a boost in their reading and writing, not selected because they are particularly interested, and not selected because they are particularly talented… I’ve been given the docile ones. The students who can be relied upon not to ‘embarrass’ the school.
The result is a session where nobody puts up their hand, nobody shouts out an idea and everybody gradually drifts into a light coma.

At the Heavenly School of Perfection, all are welcome. Usually, the students whose behaviour has been a problem are the ones who end up most engaged. Mix everyone together. It makes for a day that’s more fun, far more educational and, if I do my bit right, unforgettable.
Ah, now, allow me to talk for a second about my incredibly demanding requirements for a school visit. It’s a huge list of technical kit and you might need a specialist team because you’ll need to provide:
Water and a microphone.
That’s it. These are the only two things I ask for. Seriously. Plenty of water to drink and, if it’s a group of more than about 100, a microphone. Two things. How hard can that be? And yes, I do always carry with me a spare bottle of water, but you didn’t know that, did you? And when I ask for ‘plenty’ of water, I don’t mean a single plastic cup, half-full, that I’ve usually downed before I even start.
The reason I need a microphone is because I like to get my audience excited. Yes, excited about books, reading and writing. I’ll get them shouting out ideas and, hopefully, laughing their heads off. The best events are interactive and high energy.

But there are some people who are not allowed to speak: the staff.

At Hellsville Towers, there are a couple of teachers at the back who’ve decided to use this time to do some marking. Usually, if I’m doing my job well, they’ll give up after a couple of minutes because they won’t be able to concentrate. So I’ll give them the chance to make that decision for themselves. If they keep marking, I always find a way to make them stop.
And then one or two of them might decide it’s time for a little chat. Hellsville Towers will remember this day. The last time any member of staff tried to chat in one of my sessions I went a little too far and they ended up so embarrassed I think they emigrated. I can’t promise I’ll never do that again.
Meanwhile, at the Heavenly School of Perfection the staff lead by example.

Meanwhile the photographer from the local paper snaps away, of course, and the librarian has also arranged for the students on the media course to take their own photos and even film a little interview with me for the school website. The most surprising thing about all of this is that somebody will actually remember to send me the photos and the interview afterwards.

Finally, I soak up the applause and settle in to sign some books.
Ah, books. Hellsville Towers has not been able to get any books in. Too difficult. The students aren’t allowed to get anything signed either. Too messy. They lumber away, heads bowed, some of them clutching money they’ve been forbidden to spend on a book, or a piece of paper they’ve been forbidden to get signed. What a waste.
At the Heavenly School of Perfection they’ve taken orders for books in advance. They’ve also got a system for kids who decide to buy a book there and then, but don’t have the money on them. No problem. They can handle it. And the friendly people from the local, independent bookshop are on hand to make sure it all runs smoothly.

The events are over, people are smiling, or weeping, or emigrating – depending on how things have gone.
At the Heavenly School of Perfection I’ve been served a lovely, simple lunch in the quiet of the library or staff room. There were a couple of student librarians there too who’ve been helping out and they got to know me a little better. Some sixth-formers were also invited; we chatted about writing, philosophy, creativity and life in general. Then, of course, I was given the privilege of meeting the reading group. We chatted some more, they asked me some amazing questions, I signed some books. What a great day.

Sadly, at Hellsville Towers, they’ve dragged me to the school canteen and left me to it. Once I’ve negotiated the queue, convinced the lunch staff I don’t need to pay for my food and found a seat, I’m surrounded by people shouting questions at me over the clatter of the hall. I think a piece of fish-finger just landed in my hair. I’m not even sure what I’m eating.

Oh well. In the weeks ahead I know I’ll forget all this. Hellsville Towers will sink into nothingness and survive only as a scribbled note in my diary not to return. Some time far into the future, a cheque will arrive from them (if I haven’t had to chase them) to cover my fee. I’ll get that little burst of emotion that mixes the joy of receiving money with the astonishment that anybody still uses cheques.

The Heavenly School of Perfection paid me electronically, on the day of the visit. They even gave me a little gift to remember them by, which they researched beforehand so they knew I’d like it. Perhaps it was a chilli plant. Perhaps it was a bottle of port or a bag of sweets.
It doesn’t matter. I will remember them with happiness for a long time.
This will be easy, because hundreds of their students will contact me on facebook or by email and keep in touch even years later. Eventually my relationship with the school will involve mentoring their creative writing groups, giving away awards, sending special prizes for their charity auction, helping to put together a book of the students’ stories… the only limit is the imagination.

Two quick final thoughts. First, my apologies for assuming earlier that the school librarian would be female, while the Head might be male or female. I found no way of writing it that combined equality and elegance.
Second: over the years, some of my school events have been arranged by my publisher. These have been, without exception, the worst organised, least rewarding, most frustrating days of my life. Now the only involvement my publisher is allowed in my school visits is to pass on enquiries to me.

So, writers: decide how you want a visit to go and help the school to organise it. It’s more time consuming but it’s more rewarding in the long run. Then make the school’s effort count – be outstanding. Be the greatest event in the school life of everybody you meet on the day. Nothing less will do.
Schools: the writer you invite to your school will probably only get to visit you once. Yes, there are several schools I’ve returned to, and some I go back to every year, but because of the demands of everybody’s schedule, they are the exception.

So ask yourself, if you’re only getting one day with this author, how can you really make it count?
What will create the biggest buzz, the most impact, so that this day influences the lives of all your students in a way that they will never forget?

All the effort and imagination you put in will be worth it.

Ó Joe Craig, 2011.

Be sure to check out Joe's website. Joe writes the Jimmy Coates books – action-thrillers for 8-13 year-olds. His new, short thriller, ‘Lifters’, is out now.

Even My Ears Are Smiling

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000+01:00

Michael Rosen (text) & Babette Cole (illustrations)
(Bloomsbury Children's Books)

A little interlude from Children's Book Week as today is also National Poetry Day!

I have to admit I am not usually one for reading a lot of` poetry but when this came through the post I got quite excited! Rosen and Cole? What a team! Michael Rosen's wonderfully funny text works hand in hand with Babette Cole's zany, colourful illustrations. I have always loved Babette Cole's work; she manages to create artwork which is child-friendly and yet will appeal to grown-ups in a comic style sort of way. It is beautifully wacky and fun. The anthology includes some classic favourites as well as some brand new poems.

Here is my favourite (unsurprisingly!):

This is exactly the kind of book needed as an introduction to poetry; Michael Rosen knows how to make poetry accessible, relevant and fun to children. With an anthology like this, there is no way children will think poetry is boring or old-fashioned.

The book comes with an audio CD of the poems read by Michael Rosen himself. What more can you want?

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for providing a review copy of "Even My Ears Are Smiling".

Text Ó Michael Rosen, illustrations Ó Babette Cole

CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK 2011: The school librarian's perspective

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000+01:00

I am a school librarian,of course, but I was intersted in hearing another librarian's prespective on Children's Book Week. I contacted Becky, aka The Bookette, and she mentioned a post she had written back in May 2010. So today's post, courtesy of Becky, is her Bookette's Guide to Planning a Book Week.

The Bookette's Guide to Planning a Book Week

On Saturday Sophie of So Many Books, So Little Time asked me a very perceptive question. Were authors visits to my school fun or really stressful? The short answer was both.
I promised a while back that I would write a post on How To Plan a Book Week and hopefully this will show why it can be a challenging as well as brilliant part of being a school librarian.

Where to start planning (4 - 6 months early):
First of all, you need to get permission from your line manager and head teacher.
I'm very lucky that both are very supportive of the library's role in wider so school life but for some librarians this is the first battle.
Secondly, you need to secure funding for your Book Week. This academic year the Head Master said I could have £500 for events. A full day visit from an author is a minimum of £250. So naturally the money the school sets aside can only go so far. I spent way more that £500 on the two Book Weeks for this year. The good news is that in next year's budget £1500 has been allocated to Book Week Events. One might say (if one wasn't modest) that I made this happen through a lot of hard work....
The next and really important thing is to work out in the academic year when the Book Week should take place. There are hundreds of different things scheduled for the children to take part in through the year so finding the right time is crucial. Often librarians like to tie book weeks in with National Children's Book Week in October or World Book Day in March. Next year because of other strains on the timetable my March Book Week is being moved forward to February. Once the date is set make sure it is recorded by all the departments you will be working with. The worst possible thing that can happen is finiding out that the students have been booked to go on a trip or something.

So you have the OK from above, the money and the dates. What's next?

You need to decide which students you are going to target. Is it a Book Week for the whole school or like me do you divide the school in half? This works for me because my cohort of students is so wide.
The next step is to work out which type of visitors you want the pupils to work with. You may decide that Year 3 would benefit from working with a performance poet, Nursery with an interactive storyteller, Year 5 with a popular author and Year 1 with an illustrator. If you have the money available, you could investigate all the options. But more likely, there will be a limited budget so I normally invite two visitors. This year for the lower school it was a storyteller and an author/ illustrator. It is really important to look into the different types of workshops and talks that authors offer.

Different sessions have included:

Introducing their book, reading from it, discussing how they came to be a writer and then a book signing
Talking about a number of different books, getting the students up the front and completing little challenges
Talking about ways into writing and modelling how to come up with interesting ideas
Demonstrating how an illustrator draws a character and then taking students through that process step by step

The possibilities are vast and so you need to decide what you want the students to get out of the session.
My priority is always a buzz around reading and the encouragement to try a new author, genre.

Once you have your aims. You can start to contact the authors who tick your boxes. There are lots of ways to contact authors in this social networking society. Often they have a website with a special section for school visit information. You can also use www.contactanauthor.co.uk or write to the author's publisher.

As I said before the sessions vary, you need to speak to the individual author to find out the following things:

How long do they like their workshops to be an hour? half an hour? Is this flexible?
How many sessions do they like to fit in during one visit?
How big do they like the audience to be? Some like huge audiences of 200! Some say 30 is more than enough!
Where do they like sessions to take place? I prefer all things to take place in the library but some authors who offer movement and literacy sessions need a big hall-sized space.

Once you've confirm what they offer, you can of course think about it and get back to them. Let's say you are happy with everything they offer. Now you must make sure that they are available for a suitable day in your week. This is where you should check the pupils' timetables to make sure you won't have to interrupt double lessons like PE or technology. (You do not want to upset other members of staff).

Then you confirm the booking. The author will send you a formal letter with the details of the booking. They may need you to collect them from the station on the visit morning. This should all be detailed in the letter. You want them to arrive with time to spare before the first session. Traffic and unexpected delays should all be anticipated.

So let's say now that you have your two authors chosen and booked.

For Book Weeks I always have a Book Fair which is provided by Scholastic. I open this after school three nights of the week so parents can bring their children and buy books. You must book this very far in advance because around those key bookish dates suppliers can be very busy.

1 - 3 months before Book Week:
You need to organise a supply of the author's books to be sold on the day to harness all that enthusiasm they have generated. Make sure you discuss this with your finance department. They do not like surprises in my experience. I order books on sale or return from my usual supplier. You can get books heavily discounted from the author's publisher for these types of events or better still involve your local independent book shop and they can sell the books on your behalf. Make sure you order more than enough books. I have never run out of copies to sell but can you imagine the disappointment if all but one child were able to buy a copy....

Now all the major things are organised.

3 - 4 weeks before Book Week:
You should contact the author's publisher a few weeks before and requests posters and book marks for display. Get these up around school, in classrooms and do a huge display in the library, you want to generate hype.

Plan out the timetable for the week and distribute to all class teachers, senior management and display it in the staffroom. Give people chance to say this isn't going to work so you can rejig things if necessary.

Plan any additional in house activities. Quizzes, puzzles, competitions etc and all the prep that goes with these.

2 weeks before Book Week:
Write home to parents and tell them about the lovely things you are planning for their children. Send the letter with a book order form so you can collect money in early and make sure you have lots of book sales.

The week before:

Email the authors and let them know how much the children are looking forward to seeing them.
Double check to see if they need any specific resources - flipchart, pens, pencils etc
Get all the resources together and store them in one place
Remind staff about the plan of events - you are relying on teachers to bring their classes on time
Remind pupils to bring in money to buy books

On the day:

Have books beautifully displayed on tables
Have water ready for author
Collect the author if necessary (leaving plenty of time)
Welcome them and give them a chance to use the facilities
Offer a drink - tea or coffee (water should already be out for them where they will be working)
Talk them through the day
Thank them for coming
Have lunch with them (school should provide this)
Enjoy all the sessions - you should introduce the author at the beginning and then (with their permission take lots of photos)
Take money from pupils for books and making sure the signings are orderly (trampled authors are not happy ones)
Make sure you have the author's invoive - they need to be paid
Take author back to station if necessary
Tell them they were brilliant

After the event:

Bring in cakes or biscuits for staff to thank them for helping
Get students to provide feedback - this can be verbal or a more formal questionnaire
Email the author with student feedback
Enjoy seeing the author's books borrowed again and again
Use the photos you took in a newsletter or for a display
Give yourself a pat on the back
Start thinking about the next Book Week

So I think I just about covered everything. As you can see, there are lots of things to think about and during the actual week your feet won't touch the ground. But the sessions will be great if you did your homework and you will get to see the result of all your planning for months to come.

Text © The Bookette. See the original post here .

Many, many thanks to Becky for allowing me to reproduce her post.

CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK 2011: The parent helper's perspective

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000+01:00

In many schools, especially primary schools, running events such as Children's Book Week can only be done with the support of volunteers, often parents, willing to give up their time to help in schools. I doubt there will be a school more lucky this week than the school where Zoe's daughters go to. Because Zoe is quite simply marvellous and utterly dedicated to developing a love of reading in the school community. She has worked amazingly hard to organise a whole week of activities for her daughters' school. I wish Zoe all the success in the world for this week, and really wish we could just clone her, because there are so many schools around the country who need someone just like her.

There is a whole array of activities which Zoe has been describing in her blog (see all entries under the tag Children's Book Week) but I wanted to share with you her particularly amazing book week menu, which will be served to all children in the school cantine TODAY!. What an achievement!

Celebrating Children's Book Week
The Themed School Dinner!

We’ve got a great cook at M and J’s school and in collaboration with her we have worked out a school dinner menu which meets all the dietary requirements laid down by the school and local authority. Whilst initially we had hoped for a meal with a single author/book theme we found it just impossible to match that to all the different food the school is required to offer. Thus we’ve ended up going for a slightly more smörgåsbord literary approach:

Can you tell which books inspired which dish?
Between now and October 4th (the day this dinner will be served) teachers will be reading these books to their classes to try and make sure all kids are familiar with the books being referenced:

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (2 pies will be offered, one lamb, one vegetarian, and both pies will have purple prickles all over the pie crust)

The Lighthouse Keeper's Picnic by David Armitage and Ronda Armitage

Jack and the Giant Beanstalk

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child (this side dish is mashed potato for those of you who don’t know the book)

Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

Little Red Hen – if you can recommend a particularly beautiful version I’d love to hear from you!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Our cook will make a showpiece sponge cake in the shape of the caterpillar.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (we’ll be using the version illustrated and adapted by Emma Chichester Clark and the Little Golden Books version of Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland, as these are more appropriate age wise for M and J’s infant school)

The Gingerbread Man

Handa's Surprise by Eileen Brown

That Pesky Dragon by Julie Sykes (in this story the dragon’s breath turns milk into yoghurt)

Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski. Meg’s potion will actually be a juice mixture ladled out of a cauldron.

Some of these books the school already had, others we’ve ordered through the library, and the last few are from my own collection which I’m loaning for the duration.
During dinner time a variety of activity sheets will be available on the dinner tables acting as place mats which will encourage the children to talk about the books featured on the menu. After dinner they will be able to take the activity sheets away with them.

Activity sheets used for book themed school dinner

Theses activity sheets are available here:
Green Eggs and Ham
The Gruffalo
Peter Rabbit
Charlie and Lola
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Handa’s Surprise
Meg and Mog
Jack and the Beanstalk

The hall will be decorated with streamers, and I’m hoping to make bunting not unlike this from Childhood 101, with the front covers of books featured in the school dinner menu. We’ll also have hard copies of all these books on a mobile shelving unit by the serving hatch and will be encouraging the kids to pick up and read the books over lunch if they would like to.
Extra puddings are being made so they can be offered to parents a little before the normal school day ends; parents and carers are being invited to visit the school in the afternoon, see what’s been going on for the day, socialise and sample the cook’s bookish bites.
Whilst we’re holding this special school dinner for the UK’s Children’s Book Week you could adapt it for the Children’s Book Week where you are (find out more here about in Australia, here about in the USA and here in Canada), to celebrate World Book Day, or a given author’s birthday at any time of the year.
Book themed meals don’t have to be just for kids – I stumbled on this link with suggestions for book themed dinner parties. I’d love to host one – let me know if you want an invite!
What else could we do with our school dinner to add a bit more magic? What have you done at similar events which has worked well?

My thanks to Twitterers AliB68, Tasha Goddard, Library Mice, fairyglass, ljbarton, thatkat, seawooddesigns, melissamarch, creany73, smilinglikesuns, vwallop, plus2poin4, crumbsfood, samatlounge, GoGoKabongo, PennamitePLR, kwac71, lesleyanneweir, jessthereader, haomamablog, maverickbooks, nurturestore, candyliongirl, damyantipatel and flossieteacake and the JISC mailing list for Children’s Literature who helped me brainstorm some of the ideas presented here.

Text © Playing by the book. See original post here.

Many thanks to Zoe for letting me reproduce her post and the very best of luck for the rest of the week!

CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK 2011

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today is the beginning of Children's Book Week, which always takes place during the first full week of October. This year, for the first time in many years, Booktrust have been unable to provide all primary schools with their wonderful printed free resources due to lack of funding. This is a great loss for schools, but thankfully many of their resources can be found online here.

Have a look particularly at the wonderful Best Book Guides. The 2011 edition is available here, and will be available as a download later in the year and previous editions are also available.

This week on Library Mice will be dedicated to Children's Book Week, looking at different perspectives of the week. I hope you will enjoy it.

Between

2011-09-28T10:45:00.003+01:00

Jessica Warman
(Egmont)

On the dawn of her eighteenth birthday, Elizabeth Valchar wakes on her father's yacht after a night of partying and walks onto the deck to investigate a noise. She finds herself staring at a dead body in the water. Her own body. Liz is forced to witness her family and friends coming to terms with her sudden passing and helped by Alex, a fellow school boy who has also met an untimely death, she dips in and out of memories, trying to find the key to her death.

Between is great teen thriller, packed full of intrigue, secrets, and lies; it skillfully takes the traditional who-done-it theme and gives it a quirky twist. It might not be totally original and to many will be reminiscent of The Lovely Bones, but the only similarity remains the leading character needing to solve the mystery of her death before going on to the other side. Between is not as dark as The Lovely Bones in many ways, but it is still gripping. Think more of a cross between between The Lovely Bones and the movie Mean Girls. Because Liz is not a pleasant character, at all. And she is unaware of that, at first, because she is the popular, rich golden girl at school and thinks everybody sees her that way. It is always a gamble for authors to make their main character unlikable, but Jessica Warman makes it work, and one of the strengths of the book is that we see Liz "mature" and face up to her actions. In turn, we witness her getting rid of all the layers she has put up to protect herself and show who she really is to Alex, and to the readers. The reader's sympathy towards her does grow as she uncovers her true self. Her other redeeming feature is her devotion for boyfriend Richie, who was by far my favourite character. Their relationship is lovely and pure, in contrast to all that happens alongside it; it is also rather tragic in a way. This brings a romantic edge to an otherwise rather gritty thriller.

As well as being a great compelling read, what I liked about Between is that it doesn't shy away from showing the ugly side of bullying; it is cringey and uncomfortable in parts, but that's the way it should be when one is reading about bullying. It also deals quite bluntly with themes of superficiality and popularity, all themes that teen readers will be well aware of and be able to relate to.

The eventual discovery of the perpetrator of her murder brings no big surprise, yet the ending remains very satisfying, especially as the reader finally understands the reason and purpose of Alex's presence.

Between is a very gratifying thriller, which hooked me right in.

Thank you to Egmont for sending me a review copy of "Between".

Stuck

2011-09-26T21:36:00.002+01:00

Oliver Jeffers
(HarperCollins Children's Books)

What do you do when your kite gets stuck up a tree? When plaid-shirt-clad Floyd finds himself in this situation, he decides to throw his shoe to try to dislodge it. When that doen't work, he throws the other one, then a cat, a ladder and a variety of other items, each more ludicrous than the last (a orang-outan, a cruise ship to name a few!). But despite his rather impressive efforts, Floyd is having no luck. Will he ever get that kite back?

A new book by Oliver Jeffers is always, ALWAYS, a treat. We have loved all of his books, but there is a definite move from his previous offerings with Stuck. Firstly it is the first book that he has entirely created digitally. This is in no way a criticism, because it is just as visually stunning as his other books. The vibrance of the colours is still there, the kooky characters are still there; everything that I love about his style is still there. But there is also a definitely lighter mood; Jeffers' books are often heavily charged emotionally, and Stuck is once and foremost fun. Based on an incredibly simple idea, the preposterous storyline builds up at a crescendo to the most satisfying, surprising and hilarious ending. The very last page will have adults laughing with glee at the film reference and young audiences will be delighted by the trail of chaos Floyd has left behind him.

Only Oliver Jeffers can deliver such simplicity with such flourish; Stuck celebrates children's free spirit and unusual way of tackling problems (eg throwing the saw into the tree rather than using it to chop the tree down!) and it is shamelessly crazy fun. Sometimes, only a satisfyingly silly story will do and Stuck delivers, beautifully.

All illustrations © Oliver Jeffers

Thank you so much to the lovely people at HarperCollins Children's Books who had given me an early proof of Stuck at the FCBG conference. I have since bought a lovely hardback copy too!

Colours & Shapes

2011-09-21T21:37:00.000+01:00

PatrickGeorge
(PatrickGeorge)

I had really enjoyed Opposites (see my review here) which introduced me to PatrickGeorge's beautifully designed books and their utterly original use of acetate paper to create visual tricks and effects. The following titles have just been released and are based on the same principle, making full use of the double page and using acetate paper to transform the illustrations.

Colours
Through the use of specifically coloured shapes on acetate paper, Colours not only introduce colours to young readers but also the notion of colour mixing. For example the use of a green shape on the acetate in the double spread below not only allows to create a bear and a frog but also to alter the colours on the page - orange becomes brown, yellow becomes green:

There is a lot not only to see but to discuss with young readers, as one discovers how colours interact with one another. It is fascinating and will appeal well beyond the targeted age as a straight-forward introduction to colour mixing.

Shapes
Rather than be a series of unconnected double-spreads, Shapes offers a narrative, as we follow a gift (a red square) from the airport all the way to its recipient and the discovery of what is hiding inside. The use of shapes on acetate here facilitates, and is part of, the storytelling. For example in the double spread below, we can see the truck transporting the gift driving past a pyramid, created by a triangle on the acetate, which then turns into a tree as the landscape changes on the next page:

This works beautifully and the story really needs no words. If anything, it encourages further interaction with the artwork by allowing young audiences and adult readers to make up their own stories. Shapes will also be a real treat for little readers who are keen on transport vehicles as there is a whole selection in this book.

Shapes and Colours might be suitable for 3+, but as with Opposites, their appeal goes way beyond that. Both my children are mesmerised by the visual tricks that the acetate paper facilitates. The combination of contemporary graphic design with child-friendly themes make these books particularly successful. They are beautiful enough that older children and adults will be find them attractive but the use of teddy bears, ice-cream and others will allow them to appeal to the targeted audience. Both books very much encourage interaction between adult and child and although many children will enjoy reading the books and experimenting with the acetate on their own, I think they also offer a great sharing experience.

I don't think there is anything else quite like PatrickGeorge's books. This is one independent publisher which will go a long way.

All illustrations © PatrickGeorge

Many thanks to PatrickGeorge for providing review copies of "Shapes" and "Colours".

Have You Ever Ever Ever?

2011-09-13T17:35:00.003+01:00

Colin McNaughton (text) & Emma Chichester Clark (illustrations)
(Walker Books)

A little boy stands alone in a deserted playground, clearly unhappy. As we are witness to his conversation with the narrator it becomes obvious he is not familiar with many classical nursery rhyme characters. But in the distance it seems someone is flying down towards him. It is Mother Goose who soon leads the little boy to a special place where he can meet new friends, all set on bringing joy in his life. That magical place is his local library.

Challenging tongue-twisters await adult readers in this beautiful picture book which brings to life favourite nursery rhyme characters in an ode to nursery rhymes, books and libraries. Colin McNaughton's skillful rhyming text is full of repetition and fun to read, although it takes a bit of time to get used to for a foreigner like me!

Emma Chichester Clark's illustrations bring new life and colour to traditional Mother Goose characters.I am awed once more at the detail in her illustrations, particularly the patterns in the clothing.
The double-spread in the library is simply glorious, not only for its artwork but also because of the message it conveys. Because of course, the underlying message of Have You Ever, Ever, Ever? is very much a poignant one. Seeing this little boy sad and alone, and seeing the change in him once his life becomes full of happiness thanks to stories (a change which is supported by the change in colours in the illustrations) is here to remind us that for many of our children, the library is the only place where they can encounter such joy and wonders. It is particularly relevant in times where so many libraries are closing.
It is also a declaration of love to Mother Goose and traditional nursery rhymes. A couple of years ago, Booktrust conducted a survey about nursery rhymes and it was found that only 36% out of the surveyed parents regularly used nursery rhymes with their children and that most deemed them old-fashioned. Yet nursery rhymes are proven to be extremely important not to only to develop a love of rhymes but as an essential tool towards language development. So Mother Goose needs a whole lot of love and good publicity, and this book certainly gives it that. I do hope adult readers will be encouraged to pick up a Mother Goose anthology after reading Have You Ever, Ever, Ever? and that in fact young audiences will demand one! For those little readers who are already familiar with nursery rhymes characters however, the book offers are great opportunity to engage with the illustrations by spotting and naming them.

Colin McNaughton says of Have You Ever, Ever, Ever?:

"This book is dedicated to libraries and librarians everywhere and to the power of books to enrich and exercise that most important of human faculties - the imagination"

Have You Ever, Ever, Ever? is about everything that be should celebrated about books, reading and libraries. Supported by beautiful vibrant artwork from Emma Chichester Clark, Colin McNaughton certainly delivers proof, a manifesto even, about why libraries should never be harmed.

Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson is another magical read about the power of libraries. See my review here.

Illustrations © Emma Chichester Clark

Thank you to Walker Books for providing a review copy of "Have You Ever, Ever, Ever?".

The Fabulous Flapdoodles

2011-09-12T20:12:00.002+01:00

Chae Strathie (text) & Emily Golden (illustrations)
(Scholastic)

When the stars finally appear at the end of the day and gentle snores begin to be heard from bedroom windows, strange little creatures appear from the sky. Flying down on their magical broomstick, full of beans and ready to play, the Fabulous Flapdoodles look like they might be troublesome. But it soon becomes clear they have a really important role to play: bogeymen, ghouls, trolls and other night-time monsters all scatter when the Flapdoodles are about!

There is something so deliciously Dr Seuss-esque about this book. This is due to its zany storyline and creatures, and its well-structured rhyming text, which brings fun and energy to the story, but most and foremost it is thanks to the way Emily Golden interpreted Chae Strathie's lovely text, creating Flapdoodles that are wacky and fun, and could easily be distant cousins of Sneetches! There are plenty of other creatures though, all fun and non-threatening looking, and there is a lot of detail in the illustrations for little readers to get engrossed in. There is something very joyful about her illustrations, which is partly thanks to the vibrant colours that she uses. It is very modern, but it works well and is extremely child-friendly.

Like many Dr Seuss stories, those creatures are also very mischievous and little readers will enjoy witnessing all their monkey business! But they also serve a purpose: they are here to watch over children while they sleep and to shoo monsters away. Therefore The Fabulous Flapdoodles is a great bedtime story and reassuring tale for little people who might have a few worries about night-time. I had really enjoyed Chae Strathie and Emily Golden's first collaboration, The Loon on the Moon (see my review here) which I had found quite original both for its artwork and its storyline. This second collaboration does not disappoint.

Illustrations © Emily Golden

Many thanks to Scholastic for sending me a review copy of "The Fabulous Flapdoodles".

An interview with Shirley Hughes

2011-09-07T14:53:00.000+01:00

Today's post is really special to me. Unlike many of you, no doubt, I did not grow up with Shirley Hughes' books as they were not translated in French when I was little. I discovered her work at university, while studying children's librarianship. I was won over straight away, enchanted by the utter Englishness of her artwork and the timelessness of her tales. My first encounter was with her work was in fact Alfie, before Dogger. When my own children were born, they were introduced to Shirley Hughes' books and while my daughter was a tiny baby, I would read Annie Rose is My Little Sister to my son, hoping to open his eyes to the ups and downs to having a younger sister. She turned out to be just as willful as Annie Rose!

I am very, very grateful that Shirley agreed to answer a few questions to celebrate 30 years of Alfie, and the release of a new Alfie book, All About Alfie.
Be sure to visit the dedicated website here which includes a wealth of information as well as some activities linked to the Alfie books

Dear Ms Hughes, could I take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. I am a huge fan of your work, and so are my children and I feel very privileged to be given this opportunity.

Alfie is 30 years-old this year. How did he come about?

I had no idea, when I drew a first quick sketch of ‘ALFIE’ running up the street ahead of his mum, trundling behind with his little sister Annie Rose in the buggy, that he would still be around 30 years later. But I knew he was a promising character, possibly for one book, because he was positively pink in the face to get into the action.

I think one of the reasons Alfie has been so popular over the years is the timelessness of the stories; Alfie's adventures are as relevant to children 30 years ago as they are to the children of today. How do you choose what the story is going to focus on?

My drawing style is rooted in reality [I don’t do talking animals or flights to the moon]. The ‘ALFIE’ stories spring from those huge challenges like getting your boots on the right feet or going to a party without your security blanket which very small children grapple with. And I don’t think these have change much over the years.

My favourite Alfie story is "Annie Rose is My Little Sister". Having a son and a younger daughter, I love the book for its emotional, loving and truthful representation of love between siblings. I can't ever read the last page without shedding a tear. What inspired you to write this particular story?

Annie Rose, like all little sisters, can be trying at times. But I wanted to celebrate the games she and Alfie invent together, and his protectiveness. I do very much want to encourage children to look out, away from all the very powerful electronic stimulation which is coming at them, to enjoy the sky, the moon, leaves, stones, because wherever you live it’s fabulously beautiful out there.

One my daughter's all-time favourite books is her copy of "My Naughty Little Sister: A Treasury Collection". Having also written so many of the books you illustrated, how do you approach illustrating those you have not written? How does it differ from illustrating your own words?

I worked as an illustrator of other author’s books long before I started to write my own, and Dorothy Edwards ‘MY NAUGHTY LITTLE SISTER’ stories were a wonderful breakthrough for me. Illustrating is rather like being an actor, stage director, set designer all rolled into one. You have to try to inhabit the audience’s imagination and give it a visual form. It’s a huge challenge and enormously exciting, if you can pull it off.

Where do you work mostly, and have you got a favourite time of day to work?

I wake in the mornings, using natural light especially for colour, and I don’t use a computer.

In 2007,"Dogger" was voted the favourite Kate Greenaway Medal winner of all time and is considered by many, including myself, to be part of a handful of books that every child should own. What is about "Dogger" particularly that makes it so special and appealing to people?

Although all the children in my stories are imaginary [I use a sketchbook all the time as a resource and memory training, but I still use real models] I do use real toys. I came across Dogger in the back of a cupboard one day and he reminded me of that devastating moment when a much loved object is lost at bedtime and its owner can’t possibly get to sleep without it. Dogger is very old now and doesn’t get about much. But this story is really about Dave’s loss and the act of loving kindness with which his older sister Bella manages to rescue the problem.

Which book do you think every child should own?

The Flower Fairy Books, written and illustrated many years ago by Cicely Mary Barker, because I think it’s a great loss if children don’t learn to recognise and know the names of common wild flowers (and not to pick them!)

Do you follow new illustrators and trends in picture book publishing? If so, which books have caught your eye in the last few years?

There are some wonderfully inspiring illustrators currently at work; Chris Riddell, Charlotte Voake, Anthony Browne, Emily Gravett, Jane Rae, Ted Dewan and, of course, my daughter Clara Vulliamy, to name a few.

Finally, if you could choose any book to illustrate, which one would it be?

A collection of English and American songs and nursery rhymes.

Thank you so much again to Ms Hughes for so kindly answering my questions. A special thank you to the lovely Rosi at Random House Children's Books for making this happen!

All illustrations © Shirley Hughes
Photograph of Shirley Hughes © Kate Peters

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School

2011-09-06T12:33:00.000+01:00

David Mackintosh
(HarperCollins Children's Books)

When Marshall Armstrong joins the school of our young narrator, it becomes clear fairly quickly that he is different. In fact, everything about him is slightly odd; Marshall is obviously rich, a little bit eccentric and prone to all sorts of medical issues. He is rather unique, but he just does not fit in. But, not to be defeated, he decides to invite the whole class to his birthday party. Our little narrator is more than a little reluctant to go at first, but once he is there, he realises that he might have been a little bit mistaken about Marshall.

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School takes the familiar and fairly common children's book theme of being different and trying to fit in and takes it to a new level thanks to the unusual storyline and the very distinctive artistic style of the illustrator.The artwork is incredibly stylish but fun and child-friendly, with beautiful retro colours and overall vintage feel (particularly I felt in the double spread showing all the things the children get up to at Marshall's house). The illustrator's quirky style, which is a mix of cartoon-like pencil drawing, collage and more elaborated drawings, allows to create a particularly unique central character: Marshall is as kooky as it gets, with his typical English private school outfit (going into what very much looks like a state school!) and his penny farthing. There is a slight naivety to the drawings which mirrors well the naivety of the young narrator. Very busy double-spreads follow very sparse ones, which again mirrors the little narrator's mood.
The humour and wit in the text will be much enjoyed by young readers but won't be lost on adult readers either, for example the joke regarding his glasses, which, according to the narrator, Marshall has obviously stolen from another boy .. they are Ray Ban sunglasses!

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School offers an interesting take on being accepting of others' differences. The viewpoint of the story is from the reluctant pupil who has to suffer the newbie sitting next to him in class, and little readers will witness the narrator slowly learning to accept Marshall as he is, quirkiness and all. It is a great book for children who might be worried about not fitting into a new class (especially if coming half-way through the year as Marshall obviously does). But one cannot help but wonder why the narrator finally accepts Marshall as a friend. Is it because he has seen Marshall in a new light or is it because (my cynical self whispers to me) he has seen how cool Marshall's house and stuff are and that has hindered his judgement somehow? One hopes young audiences will focus on the very positive message of not judging a book by its cover.

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School is the sort of unusual picture book which will delight grown-up admirers of illustration and design, but with great artwork and a funny yet touching story it will enchant younger audiences just as much.

All illustrations © David Mackintosh

Thank you to the lovely people who were manning the Harper Collins stand at the FCBG conference who gave me a hardback copy of "Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School".

FABULOUS FIVE: Sarah McIntyre presents five comics crossover picture books

2011-09-01T08:22:00.009+01:00

When I first thought of starting the Fabulous Five feature, I had a few illustrators in mind already, and Sarah McIntyre was one of them. We have read and loved all of Sarah's books. We first discovered her with Morris the Mankiest Monster, then realised that we already knew her through Vern & Lettuce in the DFC! We have followed her ever since, with the first Princess Spaghetti book, You Can't Eat a Princess (see my review here) , the DFC Library edition of Vern & Lettuce (see my review here), When Titus Took the Train (see my review here) and of course the latest Princess Spaghetti book, You Can't Scare a Princess! (see my review here) which is out today!
We were really chuffed to meet Sarah last year at the Bath Kids Lit Fest (see Sarah's post about it here and mine here) and she was as lovely and bubbly as her illustrations!

Sarah McIntyre goes doo-lally if she doesn't draw pictures constantly and her favourite thing in the world is wandering with her sketchbook around London, where she's lived since 1999. Born in Seattle, she's the illustrator of several picture books, including two about a feisty princess - You Can't Eat a Princess! and You Can't Scare a Princess! - one full of goo and nearly unmentionable things in Morris the Mankiest Monster, and wild railway adventure called When Titus Took the Train. She both wrote and drew the comics in Vern and Lettuce, which is set in her neighbourhood but filled with animals instead of people. Keep an eye on her blog, where she posts a drawing or event write-up almost every day.

Top Five Comics Crossover Picture books

by Sarah McIntyre

I adore both picture books and comics, and more and more I'm getting excited about how the two worlds keep meeting. Little by little, I'm seeing more picture books for children than use comic book elements and picture books for adults (such as "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan, Griffin & "Sabine" by Nick Bantock and "The Three Incestuous Sisters" by Audrey Niffenegger).

Here are my top five crossovers between comics and picture books. (But ask me tomorrow and I might suggest a different five!)

In the Night Kitchen
Maurice Sendak
I've loved this book since I was small, something about the chunky linework and colours that are flat and textured at the same time. I thought Mickey's airplane made of dough was the coolest thing ever, and recreated his night flight around the kitchen many times in my own dreams. Sendak's work is a direct tribute to Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland comics from the early twentieth century, and how I found out about McCay, who became another one of my heroes. I owe a lot of the look of my comic, Vern and Lettuce, to studying Sendak's work.

Shark & Lobster
Viviane Schwarz
I suppose I'm a bit partial to Viviane's work because she's a good friend and we've shared a studio, but this book stands by itself as a real groundbreaker in the field. Walker Books took it up when they were just starting to think comics might be a way forward. I love the large, loose, playful panels, with their lively hand lettering with the occasional passage banged out on an old-school typewriter, and its muted - but very yummy - textured colour fields. Shark and Lobster are such great mates and make the funniest faces at each other as they get themselves into real danger trying to escape from the imagined threat of underwater tigers.

Lavender
Posy Simmonds
I think this book gets overlooked by comics people because of its girlie, pastel cover but, like all of Posy Simmonds' work, is incredibly witty and well-observed. Posy Simmonds is one of the comics artists who got me back into comics after I'd wandered away from them, thinking they were all humour strips or had to feature Lycra-clad, pumped-up superheroes. In this book, she uses traditional picture book narration, but then makes it incredibly funny and atmospheric by adding conversational speech bubbles (often not even surrounded by classic comics bubble). She also brings in comics panels, but they're softly divided, often with no outline. I love the pizza-eating urban foxes who are overjoyed to meet 'real rabbits' for the first time. But it all goes horribly wrong when they take their little friends to visit their country relations... Such marvellous observations about city and country society, made much funnier because its enacted by animal characters.

The Lost Thing
Shaun Tan
I got to chat with Shaun Tan this year at the Edinburgh Book Festival and we talked about how we hadn't come from comics backgrounds but often found comics an incredibly useful way to tell a story and fit more action on a page. The Lost Thing is loosely a comic in its use of panels to break up the pages, but the panels are generally roomier than most comics, and it doesn't have a standard comics look to it. I love all Tan's books in the way that they're not easy to categorise, and he brings in whatever design elements best suit the story he's trying to tell. This book's lush in its use of collage and textures, and its painterliness gives the book a warmth that most comics artists whose work I've seen wouldn't be able to pull off. I love how he keeps a real handmade, rough feel to the pictures and doesn't get tempted to fall into the perfect and soulless slickness achievable in Photoshop.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!
Mo Willems
I love that this book is basically a mini comic, just blown up a little larger than one you'd buy at a comics festival. Its layouts and drawing are incredibly simple - basic pencil doodles of a pigeon with a speech bubble on each page - but its subject matter and tone very sophisticated, making it work on two levels for children and adults. And unlike comics, it's made its creator squillions of dollars! (You are so clever, Mr Willems!) Basically, it's just a little pigeon giving you, the reader, loads of reasons why it shouldn't have to go to bed: 'Go on! What's five minutes in the grand scheme of things!?' 'You know what, we never talk any more. Tell me about your day...' So funny.

****

What a fantastic selection, thank you so much to Sarah for taking part and sharing her favourites with us. I have already reserved Lavender from our local library and we dug out Shark & Lobster and The Lost Thing out from our shelves. Comics still struggle in this country to be considered as "worthy" as other media of literature and the earlier children can be introduced to this fantastic medium, the better! For a wonderfully child-friendly comic, please check out Sarah's Vern & Lettuce which is soooooo good!.

You Can't Scare a Princess!

2011-08-31T08:30:00.002+01:00

Gillian Rogerson (text) & Sarah McIntyre (illustrations)
(Scholastic)

When King Cupcake is captured by a crew of the baddest, meanest pirates in the whole wide word, there is only one person fit to go and rescue him: his daughter, feisty and fearless Princess Spaghetti! Captain Waffle may think he is the boldest pirate to sail the seas, but he might just have met his match and the princess soon has his whole crew turned into babbling wrecks! But Princess Spaghetti might be brave, but she is also kind and won't leave those scurvy pirates without teaching them how to have a bit of fun first!

Princess Spaghetti is back, hip hip hip hurrah! Ever since we first met this lovely heroine in You Can't Eat a Princess! (see my review here) we have been waiting with baited breath for a second adventure, and here it is at last! And how could you not love these books? There is something so utterly happy about the two stories, in the most exuberant and silly sense of the word. Gillian Rogerson has managed to keep the fun, quirky tone of the first story for this second adventure and it is a delight to read. Sarah McIntyre's illustrations mirror the jovial tone of the story perfectly. Her artwork oozes zealous fun: the colours used are bright and vibrant, and her style is, as ever, fun, child-friendly and so utterly conducive to a big grin on its readers' faces! I really love the variety of characters she created for the crew of pirates too; my favourite is the lady pirate, she is just so cool!

What is great about the Princess Spaghetti books is how they play with readers' assumptions. Princess Spaghetti might be all blond curls, pink and frills but she is no shrinking violet! Resourceful, brave and loyal, but with a kind heart too and a big sense of forgiveness, this is one princess who can look after herself, and as I had said in my review of the first title, it is refreshing to see that liking pink is not synonym to being an airhead! The same goes for the pirates who project a very hard exterior (as pirates do!) and yet are very sensitive inside (bless them!). I think this play on false appearances is a great delight for young children.
Another strength of You Can't Scare a Princess! is how it manages to bring together two themes which are usually so gender-specific: pink princesses and nasty pirates! This results in the book being appealing to both boys and girls and it certainly is a great success in the Library Mice household.

This is a great second offering from the Gillian Rogerson/Sarah McIntyre partnership. If you have not come across Princess Spaghetti yet, what are you waiting for? I promise you won't be disappointed!

Please stop by Sarah's website and her special page for You Can't Scare a Princess! Sarah creates amazing activity sheets for each of her books and they are available to download on the site. You will also get the chance to watch Sarah talk about the book. You can visit her site here.

All illustrations © Sarah McIntyre

Thank you to Scholastic for sending me a review copy of "You Can't Eat a Princess!"

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Sarah's Fabulous Five, it is going to be a good one!

FOCUS ON: books on dogs and puppies

2011-08-28T22:16:00.000+01:00

Trying to prepare a household for a new (hairy) arrival is, I found, not that easy when it comes to children. I don't think young children can start to comprehend the reality of looking after a dog. So I decided that getting them to do a little bit of background reading would not go amiss. We were sent some lovely books for review by QED Publishing, which included these three books:

They are You and Your Pet: Puppy by Jean Coppendale, Know Your Pet: Dogs and Puppies, by Michaela Miller, and Life Cycles: Puppy to Dog by Camilla de la Bédoyère.

And the subject of our study:

Bear, our chocolate Labrador puppy!

You and Your Pet: Puppy
Jean Coppendale
This title was read my daughter (6) and is very obviously for younger readers (the recommended age is stated as 7+ by the publisher). Each double-spread is not overwhelmingly crowded, allowing new readers like my daughter to access the text without making it daunting. There is still a lot of information included in the book, and it took my daughter a long time to read it all, but she did read it all eventually (a long car journey to Italy helped free some time to focus on reading -lucky for them my two children can read in the car, while I find it impossible!).
I think the tone of the text is particularly fitting to its audience. The book aims at helping young children through the experience of getting a puppy by giving practical advice on how to look after the puppy, as well as some tips. There is quite a lot covered in the book, but it is never overwhelming. My daughter enjoyed passing on the information to us, and the book also includes some "parents points" which I found to be a great feature. It is not as easy to "share" a non-fiction book with a child as it is with a story book and those parent points encourage parental involvement in the child's reading of the book and sharing ideas and information on the subject. This is particularly important when dealing with the information on losing a pet. I also thought the "puppy checklist" at the end of the book was a great feature, emphasising the focal points on concise way for young readers. There is an index at the end of the book, but rather than a glossary, there are "puppy words", keywords used within text to convey their meaning.
This is a great series which will be really useful to little readers who own or are about to own a pet. Other titles in the series include: Kitten, Mouse, Hamster and Gerbil, Rabbit, Guinea Pig, and Rat.

Know Your Pet: Dogs and Puppies
Michaela Miller
This title was read by my son (nearly 9) and this series is very obviously for older readers (the recommended age is stated as 9+ by the publisher), with denser text, and my son naturally picked it up. The book goes into much more detail than the previous title for this reason and includes information about grooming and handling. The text offers a much more "hands on" approach to one's dog, giving instructions on aspects of training for example and is overall a much more comprehensive guide on owning a dog. There is a very interesting double-spread on dogs in the wild also, which my son really enjoyed.
Again there are notes for parents and teachers, ensuring that best use is made of the information and that there are points for discussion. To be quite honest both myself and my other half have read chunks of this book and learnt a few things about how to deal with our puppy too!
The layout of each double-page has been well thought through using an array of features to convey the information in an attractive way, and this works very well. The pages are quite busy, which might be a bit daunting for more struggling readers and those at the lower end of Key Stage 2, but they will be able to access some of the text if not all, as it the layout allows for some amount of "dipping in and out".
This book is definitely for an older audience but ticks all the boxes: it is informative, attractive and vibrant.
Other titles in the series include: Cats and Kittens, Rabbits, and Horses and Ponies.

Life Cycles: Puppy to Dog
Camilla de la Bédoyère
This book was always going to be a hit because of its cover! Isn't that puppy just gorgeous? Actually this was the most interesting title of the three for me, because of the more complex subject it covers and the younger audience it is aimed at (the recommended age is stated as 4+ by the publisher). Again, in this title, the text is pitched perfectly at the intended audience. The layout enhances the information rather than overshadowing it, using labels, diagrams (I loved the puppy-to-dog picture diagrams!), differing fonts, bold typeset, and a good use of colour. There is a glossary and an index and also information for parents and teachers. My only criticism with this book is that despite dealing with life cycles, it does not approach the subject of death, which I think would have been appropriate. But this is otherwise a gorgeous book which will work at home as well as in the classroom or school library. Other titles in the series include: Acorn to Oak Tree, Egg to Bee, Egg to Penguin, Fry to Seahorse, and Snakelet to Snake.

I found those three books to be incredibly well laid-out and well pitched to their audiences. The spreads are attractive, colourful and well illustrated. My two children really enjoyed reading these books. When I asked them what they had liked about the books, the consensus was that although they had enjoyed reading all the information, what they had most enjoyed was all the photographs of different breeds of dogs. And it is true, they spent hours looking at and talking about the pictures inside the books. This is by no means a criticism; the books are informative and well-pitched but one of their main strengths is the impeccable design of each of them. This is very important in children's non-fiction as it helps children to access text. You can see that great care has been put into working out the best page design within each book.
I had never really heard of QED before and was very impressed by the high quality non-fiction they produce for children, especially at the younger end. A very good discovery indeed!

Thank you to the lovely Tasha at QED for sending me review copies of the above titles.

Blood Red Road

2011-08-26T11:15:00.001+01:00

Moira Young
(Marion Lloyd Books, an imprint of Scholastic Children's Books)

Saba has been brought in the harsh, unforgiving and isolated landscape of Silverlake, with her twin brother Lugh, and their younger sister Emmi. Her whole world revolves around Lugh, and her pet crow Nero. She knows nothing of the violent world outside of Silverlake. When Lugh is taken away by mysterious darkly-clad men, Saba's world collapses. But she knows she must rescue him and so starts off on a journey to find him. The path to where Lugh is held captive is paved with violence, corruption, betrayal and deception; but amongst all the anguish, Saba will also discover trust, friendship and even love.

I dare you not to be hooked by this fabulous story as soon as you read the first few pages. Blood Red Road is entertaining and gripping, everything a good teenage novel should be.
Set in post-apocalyptic period in an unnamed part of the world (although the mention of ruined skyscraper cities surrounded in mountains and dense forest did make me think this might be set in South America), no mention is made of what happened in the distant past but Wreckers (us) abused and eventually destroyed the planet, which leaves the survivors living in the most bleak conditions. Saba, Lugh and their family have lived in an isolated spot all their life, and stayed even when the lake, then most of their food supply dried off. Lugh and Saba blame this on the emotional instability of their father, driven to the edge by the loss of his wife, but it becomes clear throughout the story that in fact he did so to protect them from an undesired fate.
The distorted form of language is unsettling at first, and has resonance of Todd's voice in Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy. But it helps set a fast, almost breathless pace to the story; helped by first person narration, one can really feel the fire that fuels Saba, through her blunt speech and direct access to her thoughts. And some of is rather witty too; for instance, I could not suppress a smile at the "One Missus Ippi, two Missus Ippi" that Saba uses when counting to work out the closeness of the thunder lightning.
The story is brutal at times, not shying away from the reality of survival within that world. It is as raw and merciless as the society it depicts and interestingly, that society is uncannily similar to the Roman Empire in some aspects. The cage-fighting of course is resonant of gladiator fights (especially as its venue is called The Colosseum) but also the use of slaves, and the megalomaniac leader, who deludes himself into thinking he is a great king! It is as if, having destroyed the world, people are going full-circle again.

Saba is a great central character. Unafraid, committed and feisty (and not dissimilar to The Hunger Games' Katniss), she learns along the way what her weaknesses are and works hard at fixing them. Having lived in the shadow of her twin all her life, we are witness to her transformation, blossoming into a strong and independent young woman with a natural ability for leadership. This is thanks to the many encounters she makes throughout her journey. And of course, it includes Jack. Ah, Jack! I know one should get bored of brooding, mysterious and utterly charming love interests, but one just does not when the story is well written. And he is a fine specimen of his kind too:

"Yer in my blood, Saba, he says. Yer in my head. Yer in my breath, yer in my bones ...

gawd help me, yer everywhere. You have bin since the first moment I set eyes on you."

But Saba is not the only inspiring young female character in Blood Red Road. Younger sister Emmi is just as feisty and clever. Seeing their relationship develop and change throughout the book was very poignant. I also loved the idea of the fearless, Amazon-like army of Free Hawks.
In fact, Blood Red Road is quite character-led, with many particularly memorable characters. The most enigmatic remains DeMallo; although I do not think a sequel is necessary, if it does gets written, I do hope we see more of him. There is closure at the end of the story, which is why I don't think that a sequel is necessary, but I would most definitely want to hear more about Saba and Jack so would actually welcome one.
Moira Young delivers a great novel which will take proud place alongside the most accomplished of dystopias, such as Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy. This is one book that I will be wholeheartedly recommend to my students!

Many thanks to the good people at Scholastic for sending me a review copy of "Blood Red Road".

FABULOUS FIVE: Lydia Monks presents her Top Five illustrated Fairy Tales

2011-08-23T07:25:00.001+01:00

Today I am really chuffed to be welcoming Lydia Monks to Library Mice for the latest Fabulous Five feature. We have many books illustrated by Lydia in the house: Tess Plays Games , which was a favourite of my daughter's as a toddler, all the books that she had illustrated for Julia Donaldson, and a favourite of mine, Falling for Rapunzel (see my review here), amongst others.
Her two most recent books, Babbit (see my review here) and The Rhyming Rabbit (see my review here) both involve rabbits, but today Lydia has chosen to share her favourite illustrated fairy-tales, a favourite topic of mine!

Lydia was born in Surrey but brought up in Northampton. She did a foundation course in Northampton, then an HND in graphics at Lincoln, then went on to complete a degree in illustration at Kingston University. After college, Lydia worked for different newspapers and magazines before going into children's book illustration. She has won many awards, including the Smarties Bronze Award for I Wish I Were a Dog.Recently, she has been involved in ITV Daybreak's "What's the Story" competition.
Lydia lives in Sheffield with her husband, who is also an illustrator, and their two young daughters. You can visit Lydia's website here and her blog here.

My Top Five Illustrated Fairy Tales
by Lydia Monks

I have two little girls who love fairy tales, just as I did when I was little. I think it’s wonderful how the same, traditional stories continue to be retold and loved by so many. I never get tired of seeing what different authors and illustrators bring to the tales.

Cinderella
Vera Southgate & Eric Winter (1964)
This is the book I remember from my childhood. I’m a huge fan of the classic Ladybird books, but this one I think was my extra special favourite! I think the illustrations are a little girl’s dream. The three dresses are so sumptuous. Cinderella is so beautiful, and a fairy tale wedding to end. What more could a girl want?

Hansel and Gretel
Michael Morpurgo & Emma Chichester Clark
This book has been read over and over again, in my house, and thank goodness, I never tire of reading it! Micheal Morpurgo really brings a lovely sentiment to the story. The characters are brought to life in a really touching way, and I really empathise with them - even the witch! He seems to bring meaning to the witch’s evil. That combined with Emma’s illustrations have brought tears to my eyes on occasion! It’s that mix of softness and horror which works so well. When the witch is depicted at her worst, she is wearing slippers! There is something really sinister about that. Genius!

The Pea and the Princess
Mini Grey
Mini Grey has a brilliant knack of writing wonderful stories about inanimate objects. It’s something I’d never think to do! I love her twist on this tale. To hear the story from the pea’s point of view is brilliant! Fantastic illustrations too! The snooty, bossy Queen, who looks a bit familiar is my favourite! However, my girls will not accept that a real princess would get married in dungarees! They just won’t have it!

Snow White
Josephine Poole & Angela Barrett
I’m a huge fan of Angela Barrett. I think something in her work reminds me of where I started this – with the old Ladybird books. They are sumptuous and beautifully crafted. Really atmospheric pictures. All the little hidden details, like creatures lurking and insects scuttling. There is a gentleness, which is hiding something darker. Wonderful stuff!

The Princess and the Pea
Lauren Child & Polly Borland
Another book for the little girl inside! I had a flashback to my childhood when I saw this! I loved dolls houses and the tiny things that lived inside them. I made my own too once, with its own roll-up ladder to get to the top floor! What a great idea to do it as a grown-up, and how fantastic that a publisher gave Lauren their support! The mix of beautifully crafted objects and bits of cardboard is what gets me! I also love her version of the story. Very envious! I wish I’d thought of it!

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Such a great selection, thank you so much to Lydia for sharing it with us. As a non-native of this country, I am not really familiar the old Ladybird books, but I know that particular version of Cinderella will bring back fond memories to many readers. I love the version of Hansel and Gretel that Lydia has chosen too; Emma Chichester Clark included some wonderful Balkan patterns in her illustrations and it is a great adaptation from Michael Morpurgo.

Babbit

2011-08-22T07:43:00.003+01:00

Lydia Monks

(Egmont)

Babbit the blue rabbit lives with the Big One and the Little One, who can be a little scatty at looking after him. When he is kidnapped by the Witchy One during a lovely picnic, the girls don't even notice at first. But when they do, it's already too late! Naughty Witchy, Growly, Snappy and Snorty already have the cauldron ready to go and planning which bits of Babbit they will eat! That lot really don't know how to play nicely! The Big One and the Little One manage to grab Babbit just in time, and it is a race to get back to the safety of the house; will Babbit's day end happily, and will those meanies get their comeuppance for not playing nicely?

Inspired by her own daughters' little rabbit, this new picture book by Lydia Monks is gorgeously illustrated and coloured, and great fun to read. A mix of illustration, using a limited palette but with a great combination of pin kand yellow, and collage (I love the use of leaves, and the lovely gingham material that Lydia favours), the artwork brings the imaginary world of children's play to life very effectively. Lydia Monks' style is vibrant, instantly recognisable and ever so child-friendly.

There are some naughty baddies and a little peril within the story (look at poor Babbit tied to a tree on the cover!) which bring a perfect dose of excitement for young readers and is tamed by the candy-coloured illustrations. I loved the fact that it is the little girls' mother who saves the day by punishing the baddies; she will be seen by little readers both as someone who keeps her children safe but is fierce enough that baddies don't want to mess with her. What a great message! I am sure that it is one that many a parent will welcome, as well as the message about the consequences of not playing nice.

Babbit is a great picture book for preschoolers - it is a great little adventure, with a familiar setting and characters and will be reminiscent of many of their playtimes. Supported by some great artwork, this is sure to be a hit with little readers.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Lydia Monks' Fabulous Five Feature!

All illustrations © Lydia Monks

Many thanks to Egmont for sending me a review copy of "Babbit"