Month December 2016

A Village is a Busy Place!

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

A Village is a Busy Place
Rohima Chitrakar and V. Geetha
Tara Books
When is a book not a book? This one certainly breaks out of the usual mould but then it is from Tara Books who are famous for their innovative and stylish publications. Essentially it takes the form of a Bengal Patua style scroll painting, the illustrator being Patua artist, Rohima Chitrakar. (Patua Painting is a form of Scroll Painting indigenous to West Bengal, a state in India).
Here by unfolding half a dozen cardboard pages longitudinally, readers can focus on different aspects of life in an east Indian Santhal village starting with some busy culinary preparations for a wedding feast, along with bridal chair surrounded with musicians …

%0a

Meanwhile there’s much other work to be done – fishing, chopping wood, looking after a baby, and selling.

%0a

Next we learn about the central ‘Common Space’ a large area where friends meet and perhaps share a snack.
Come evening and it’s time for collecting water and taking the animals for a bath in the pond before nightfall when work stops and the dancing and music begin in earnest…
But that’s not all. Right into the midst of all this comes a colourful train and in summertime particularly people love to go travelling.
Completely unfolded, the entire scene is over 1.5 metres and can be hung for readers to enjoy as the work of art it surely is.
The whole thing is ‘testimony to the collaboration and friendship’ between Santal and Patua artists who over time have ‘come to borrow ideas and art from each other’. It’s vibrant, absolutely bursting with exciting things to pore over be they people, animals or small happenings.
This is the kind of ‘book’ that can be used and enjoyed in both primary and secondary settings and by students of art of all ages, in fact anyone interested in broadening their cultural and artistic horizons. There are pointers for focus and discussion on every fold written by V.Geetha, but there’s plenty of room too, for individual’s flights of fancy and story telling.

WNDB_Buttonlocalbookshops_NameImage-2

Pants, Birthdays and Robo-Snot

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9554

The Prince of Pants
Alan MacDonald and Sarah McIntyre
Scholastic Children’s Books
Prepare to be dazzled by Sarah McIntyre’s illustrations for this crazy pants-centric tale of little Prince Pip and his nearly calamitous birthday. The young lad leaps from bed on the morning of his special day and his first task is to choose which of his many pairs of underpants are best suited for the occasion.

dscn9555

But when he opens the drawer marked ‘Pants’, disaster has struck; it’s completely empty.
Thus begins a search all over the castle …

%0a

and its grounds, a search that yields nothing to the birthday boy, though listeners will enjoy spotting the whereabouts of the various patterned articles; mine certainly did.
But just when it seems as though this is to be a birthday sans pants, Pip opens a door and receives not one, but two, pantalicious surprises.

dscn9557

This is one more to add to the collection of underpants picture books for which many youngsters have a seemingly insatiable appetite.

%0a

If a T.Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party
Jill Esbaum and Dasha Tolstikova
Sterling
Now there’s a thought – a T.Rex at your birthday party; but that’s exactly what happens to the small boy narrator of this book when he opens the door and discovers a Tyrannosaurus standing on the threshold holding a birthday present.
Seems there’s only one thing to do, though perhaps the birthday boy should have thought twice before allowing this particular guest an entry.
Those T-Rex toenails are not good for the bouncy castle; he gets more than a tad angry when he isn’t allowed to blow out the birthday candles or open the presents, and games are a total no go area.

dscn9401

In short the whole party turns into a roaring disaster. What’s more, the interloper refuses to help clear up; he flatly refuses to leave when asked, gives his host a funny look and …

%0a

Hmm.
There’s a surprising final twist to this whole silly scenario to add to the fun, humorously captured in Dasha Tolstikova’s concluding spread.

Another favourite topic with early years listeners is featured in:

%0a

Robo-Snot
Amy Sparkes and Paul Cherrill
Scholastic Children’s Books
Robots and snot: surely not? Perhaps never before, but when Little Robot’s nose starts to feel uncontrollably itchy and a vast amount of gooey green stuff shoots from his nostrils, that’s what he decides to call this strange nasal emanation.
Pretty soon his siblings have designs on the sticky stuff – seemingly it can be put to all manner of uses – but Little Robot isn’t prepared to share; he has his sights set on the big time …

dscn9546

Everything goes swimmingly for a while but then disaster strikes in the form of an unexpected sneeze; Little Robot is left alone and well and truly up to his knees in the now-infamous, green goo of his own making.

%0a

Time for some snot-blotting but what can he use …
Told in jaunty rhyme and through brighter than bright, action-packed illustrations, this is a laugh aloud tale that I suspect will become a ‘read it again’ story time choice.

 

Horrible Bear!

jillrbennett Leave a comment

fullsizerender-10

Horrible Bear!
Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora
Andersen Press
From the team that delighted us with Wolfie the Bunny comes another winner that begins on the title page with a little girl’s snapped kite string and is followed by a straightforward accident when a large sleeping bear rolls over and snaps the kite that has strayed into his cave. Instantly the girl deems him “Horrible Bear”

%0a

and stomps off home repeating the condemnation all the way.

%0a

Said Bear meanwhile, is thoroughly chagrined and plans a spot of retaliation for the intrusion and the insult – a ‘Horrible bear’ idea no less –

dscn9534

and sets off to pay a visit to the insult-hurler.
Meanwhile back in her room, the little girl is giving further vent to her rage when another accident occurs and what happens thereafter is not the anticipated face-off but an apology, after which, ‘…all the horrible went right out of Bear’.
Let the reparations begin …

%0a

No moralising but a wonderful conflict resolution delivered as only this duo could, with wonderful wit and tenderness. A whole gamut of emotions are brilliantly portrayed both through Ame Dyckman’s spare text and OHora’s bold, acrylic illustrations: the dynamic between words and pictures is superb and even the front endpaper in which the girl’s bright red curls fill the space, in itself speaks volumes and sets the scene for the whole tale.
A cracking picture book to share just for the sheer joy of it, although of course, there are emotional literacy lessons aplenty embedded herein.

Mother Fox and Her Cubs

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

Mother Fox and Her Cubs
Amandine Momenceau
Thames & Hudson
Snow has fallen overnight and a mother fox is greeted by bright sunshine: time to check on her quartet of lively cubs, she decides. The cubs are in a playful mood and a game of hide and seek is on the agenda. Mother Fox searches and eventually, one by one, discovers the whereabouts of her mischievous offspring.

dscn9510

Night falls and, game over, it’s time to return to the den. Which one of her cubs will secure the coziest spot? Well, they all look pretty snuggled to me …

%0a

This simple story is transformed into a piece of picture book magic – a theatre almost – by debut artist, Amandine Momenceau. Using a limited colour palette, the artist creates a stark wintry landscape.
Her cut out shapes, die cuts and split pages serve to create and re-create the landscape, and allow readers to manipulate the story at their own pace.

%0a

Particularly engaging is the large mother fox-shaped page used to stage a ‘look, he’s behind you’ episode

dscn9524 %0a

The voice of Mother Fox forms most of the text, with occasional interjections from the cubs drawing the reader into the action right from the outset.
I’m sure this is a book that will be read over and over; the weight of paper used should ensure that it can withstand the many re-readings it deserves.

Striker, Slow Down!

jillrbennett Leave a comment

How often do we ask children to ‘calm down’ or ‘slow down’? Fairly frequently I suggest. Now here’s a little book to help subtitled “A calming book for children who are always on the go‘:

dscn9421

Striker, Slow Down!
Emma Hughes and John Smisson
Singing Dragon
Striker the kitten, like many young children, leads a frenetic life, dashing from one activity to the next, never stopping or slowing down, despite frequent pleas from his mum and dad.

%0a

Seemingly the only times he stays put are mealtimes and when he’s fast asleep. Now if you’re the parent of a whirlwind-type youngster, this will surely resonate.
One day though, the inevitable happens: Striker’s rushing results in a bumped head. Only then is he ready to sit down quietly with his mum, and start to relax.

%0a

Those of us who work with young children know it’s not as simple as that. I do know however, that regular short sessions, be they of yoga, breathing, listening to a meditative story or whatever, do lead to calmer youngsters who can spend short spells being relaxed and peaceful in mind and body.
This little book is written in rhyme (creaking slightly once or twice) and Emma Hughes, the author, is herself a yoga teacher so obviously knows things don’t happen overnight as the book might suggest. However, if it does nothing more than set adults and young children off on the calming path, then it will have served its purpose.
For a start, take time to sit quietly together, share the book and enjoy the bright, bold, appropriately uncluttered illustrations.

Animal Allsorts

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9536

Hello, Mr Dodo
Nicholas John Firth
Alison Green Books
I absolutely loved Nicholas John Firth’s debut Hector and the Hummingbird, so was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of this, his second offering. It also has an avian theme and once again, is a delight through and through.
Martha is an avid bird lover and twitcher spending much of her time in the woods with her binoculars; there isn’t a bird she can’t identify until that is, the day she comes upon an extremely large specimen she doesn’t recognise

%0a

and it bears a very close resemblance to a supposedly extinct creature.
Before long a secret friendship has developed between Martha and her discovery, who shares with her, a particular penchant for doughnuts …

%0a

Then one afternoon Martha accidentally lets slip her secret and the following day she’s besieged by a crowd at her front door. Time for some quick thinking: the dodo has to disappear.

dscn9541

Is that to be the end of a beautiful friendship?
The wonderfully retro look of the book (there’s a slight touch of Roger Duvoisin about it) comes from the artist’s choice of colour palette, yet this is a thoroughly modern and enchanting tale.

%0a

One Very Big Bear
Alice Brière-Haquet, Olivier Philipponneau & Raphaële Enjary
Abrams Appleseed
Mightily impressed by his own stature, a bear make an announcement: “I’m very big! … I’m almost a giant!” This claim is quickly countered by a whole host of other polar creatures that turn up in turn: two walrus, three foxes, four sea lions, five penguins and six sardines, the latter have the cheek to call him ‘foolish’

%0a dscn9553

But who gets the last word …
Minimalist artwork, an easy to read text, mathematical opportunities aplenty and a giggle-inducing finale make for a fun book to share and discuss.

dscn9542

I Need a Hug
Aaron Blabey
Scholastic Childrens’s Books
We all need a hug from time to time but when you’re covered in spikes it makes things just a little tricky and so it is with the prickly creature in this tale.
When a porcupine declares he needs a hug, unsurprisingly he doesn’t get any offers.

dscn9543

Then something happens to change his luck but it’s not quite what he was expecting …

dscn9544

With themes of looking for friendship and embracing difference, this brief rhyming tale offers food for thought and discussion with early years groups or individuals.

dscn9548

Superchimp
Giles Paley-Phillips and Karl Newson
QED
Sporting his red underwear and feasting on fleas, a young chimp spends his days whizzing around in the jungle coming to the aid of troubled animals,

dscn9549

zooming through the trees in his super-cool chimpmobile or occasionally, relaxing in his secret cave. Known as Superchimp, he’s loved by all the rainforest inhabitants; in fact he’s nothing short of their hero …

dscn9550

Come nightfall though, from afar there comes another booming voice; but it’s not a voice asking for assistance this time. Now Superchimp doesn’t look quite such a hero and it’s not just his underpants that are a dazzling shade of red.
Rhyming text from Paley-Phillips and vibrant rainforest scenes from Newson combine to make a fun read for young would-be superheroes.

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9511

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea
Andy Stanton and Neal Layton
Hodder Children’s Books
Authors often talk about getting inside a character’s head but I’ve never heard of one getting inside a character’s stomach before. Andy Stanton did just that though: he wrote, so he’d have us believe, this entire book from within one, Danny McGee; and it certainly didn’t have an adverse effect on his wicked sense of humour.
How did he get therein, you might well be wondering so let’s start at the beginning and meet young Danny and his sister Frannie McGee as they head towards the beach in their little red car.

fullsizerender-10

Once there, Danny, for some reason known only to himself, announces that he can drink the sea – all of it – and within ten minutes, he has. This however is not enough for the lad who turns his attention to a tree …

%0a

followed by pretty much everything you can think of and some you can’t.
Before long, young Danny has gleefully consumed virtually the whole of humankind (hence the author),

dscn9515

not to mention the whole Roman alphabet and goodness knows how much of our number system.
And he just keeps going until there’s nothing left but himself, or so he thinks …
The denouement to Stanton’s wonderfully anarchic rhyming tale is something of a jaw dropper and one young listeners will relish.
The combination of Stanton’s supreme verbal silliness and Neal Layton’s brilliantly bizarre visuals,

dscn9517

combining comic cartoon and photo-collage, is an unforgettable nonsense tale that will be requested over and over.

As Nice As Pie

jillrbennett Leave a comment
%0a

Dolci and Ellena relishing the story …

As Nice as Pie
Gary Sheppard and Tim Budgen
Maverick Arts Publishing
When Mavis Manewaring decides to share her freshly baked loaf with a bird one day, little does she expect that within a week she’ll be catering for twenty, all enthusiastically stuffing themselves with her delicious pasties and pastries …

%0a

A couple of weeks later, her hungry throng has reached hundreds: birds of all shapes and sizes– great greedy gannets, a plump parakeet, chubby-cheeked crows, potbellied pigeons and the like have heard the news of the tasty fare Mavis has been dishing up to the avian throng. What’s more it’s not merely bread, but biscuits, buns and bacon baps she’s feeding  her winged visitors. Mavis’s shopping bill must have gone through the roof and now it seems she’s no time for anything else but satisfying the ever-increasing throng.

dscn9485-2

Enough is enough decides the long-suffering cook and having baked a giant flan case, she issues an ultimatum to the hungry hoards: either join her in a co-operative venture or become the filling for that “Birdie Surprise” flan.

dscn9486-2

For her guests, blind-folded at her request and already knee-deep in gravy, it’s a no brainer and before long there’s a new co-operative enterprise operating in the village …
Rhyming stories seem to be all the rage at the moment but unless they’re well written, the rhyme works against them. This one of Gary Sheppard’s, with its sprinklings of alliteration and jaunty rhythm works a treat. Add to that Tim Budgen’s chirpy, chucklesome illustrations and the outcome is an altogether tasty read aloud. And then there are those counting opportunities and potential for discussions on teamwork and sharing.

WNDB_Buttonlocalbookshops_NameImage-2

An Animal ABC

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9448

An Animal ABC
Alice Pattullo
Pavilion Books
Print-maker and illustrator Alice Pattullo’s animal screen prints are used as the basis of an awesome ABC book. This is so much more than a mere alphabet book though. We’re introduced to a veritable treasure trove of creatures large and small but these are not for the most part the normal go-to animals one finds in a child’s alphabet.

dscn9453

Each creature is given a double spread with a multi-layered screen print picture of the animal on the right hand side named above in capitals, with (as a rule) a lower case Latin name beneath the illustration.
For her menagerie, rather than the strictly naturalistic colours one would expect for each animal, Pattullo has used hues of the earth, sea and sky to build up her images.
The left hand page has the initial letter as a capital with two lines below which form part of a rhyming couplet: ‘S/ is for sloth/ who smiles while asleep 

dscn9450

followed by: T/ is for turtle/ who swims waters deep.’ …

dscn9452

Below the rhyme in smaller print are two or three lines of information about the featured animal. Clearly this will be more of interest to adults or older siblings sharing the book with a young child.
There’s a final treat at the end in the form of twenty six vignettes – one per animal – and each is a small detail taken from the whole image, to be matched with the full sized picture earlier in the book: excellent for developing visual literacy.
Altogether a classy book to look at, discuss and linger over.

Sleeping Beauty

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9454

Sleeping Beauty: A mid-century fairy tale
David Roberts and Lynn Roberts-Maloney
Pavilion Books
The super-talented brother and sister team, David Roberts (illustrator) and Lynn Roberts-Maloney have created another in their classy series of classic fairy tales, setting it in the 1950s initially, and then one thousand years in the future.
Now I’m hugely enthusiastic about re-workings/reinventions of fairy tales and traditional tales and had high expectations of this one – expectations that were more than met.
We first see Annabel in the 1950s as a science fiction loving young girl with a fascination about the future, living with her two aunts Flora and Rosalind, completely oblivious to the curse that had been placed upon her during her first birthday celebrations by a jealous and malicious witch, Morwenna.

%0a

The curse – that she will be pricked by a needle and die before her sixteenth birthday – is kept at bay by her aunts with the death sentence commuted to a thousand year sleep.
We then return to the time leading up to the all-important birthday when a mysterious visitor leaves a present for Annabel on the doorstep: a present that results in a pricked finger as foretold by Morwenna,

%0a

who indeed has delivered the gift, whereupon the young girl falls into a deep sleep.
Both Rosalind and Flora take transformative action; the former becoming an ever-growing rose bush …

%0a

which forms a protective shield around the house; the latter (having written down her ward’s story and calling it Sleeping Beauty) becomes an ever-shining light that guards Annabel while she sleeps.
Fast forward one thousand years to another young girl, Zoe, with an interest in all things past and in particular the history of the giant rose tree. Researching in the library (hooray they still exist!) she comes upon a copy of Sleeping Beauty …

dscn9458

and discovers its publication date – exactly 1000 years ago to the very day.
Can she finally break that dark spell and release the Sleeping Beauty?
Elegant design and superbly detailed illustrations grace every page of this wonderful book and the story itself is a brilliantly clever fusion of old and new.
A splendid gift to give on a birthday, at Christmas or indeed any time of the year: it’s a book to return to again and again.

A Letter for Bear

jillrbennett 1 Comment

dscn9477

A Letter for Bear
David Lucas
Flying Eye Books
I make no apologies for reviewing this book again having first done so (as part of a seasonal roundup) when it was first published three years ago. That however didn’t really do justice to such a terrific book: I love it even more now, coming to it afresh.
Meet postman, Bear, meticulous in his delivery of other people’s mail but never himself the receiver of any letters. After each day’s work he’d retreat to his cave home, drink soup and ponder on the possibility of getting some mail of his own.

%0a

One windy day while out on his round, his mailbag is whisked skywards and its contents are scattered all over the snowy ground.

%0a

Bear collects every single letter but the addresses are smudged so he has to knock on all the doors to ensure correct delivery and thus gets to know the names of all the other animals. As expected every recipient appreciates his efforts but seeing all those families together only makes Bear feel more lonely than ever.

%0a

Back in his cave that night, Bear decides he must take the initiative and gets busy writing Christmas party invitations and next morning he delivers ‘a whole snowstorm of letters’ to his new acquaintances. The same evening he decorates his cave and waits … and waits …
The disconsolate creature is on the point of giving up when he hears voices outside asking to come in. Then, after all, it’s a case of ‘let’s party’; but even better, the following morning all the letters in his sack are for a certain ursine postman. Hurray!

%0a

An altogether uplifting seasonal story but for me, the book’s real strength lies in David Lucas’s intricately patterned illustrations. All but one of the double spreads has a geometric border of patterned triangles, rectangles, diamonds or scallops; and set into some of the scenes, we view Bear’s lonely world through circular peephole vignettes. His limited colour palette – – shades of blue, orange, purple, russet, pink and orange – and his use of geometric shapes for, or to pattern, trees, buildings, flowers and more, add to the impact. Add to all this angled viewpoints, interrupted borders, beautiful snowscapes and delectable endpapers, and what do you have? A small gem of a book, and a pattern-tastic treasure that is a masterpiece of design. The perfect present to tuck into the branches of a Christmas tree or to pop in the post.
If you work in a school and want to inspire some letter writing, sharing this story is a perfect starting point, and then you can set up a special “Bear Mail’ post box or perhaps let the writers peg their letters onto a Christmas tree.

The Land of Nod

jillrbennett 1 Comment

%0a

The Land of Nod
Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Hunter
Flying Eye Books
An altogether contemporary feel has been given to a classic Robert Louis Stevenson children’s poem through the fantastical artistry of illustrator Robert Hunter.
Herein we meet an injured boy who spends his days indoors at home with nothing but his toys for companions.

%0a

Come night though, he’s transported beyond the confines of his room to a dream world, illuminated in eerie hues, predominantly of pinks and blues, where the familiar objects of the day – his toys, books and other ephemera from his bedroom- are transmogrified into the surreal.

%0a

Every illustration provokes curiosity and speculation, and could lead to much additional storying

%0a

from a new generation of young listeners whose parents will know the poem only by its words, or perhaps through Brian Wildsmith’s interpretation in A Child’s Garden of Verses.

WNDB_Buttonlocalbookshops_NameImage-2

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Walking in a Winter Wonderland
illustrated by Tim Hopgood
Oxford University Press
‘Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?’ It’s almost impossible not to break into song on seeing those opening words to the seasonal favourite written down, and now illustrator Tim Hopgood has taken that ever-popular Christmas song (with some slight alterations) and turned it into an enchanting and truly joyful, snow-filled picture book experience for children and adults to share together.
As musical notes drift across every spread, we join a family of five walking …

fullsizerender-10

and playing …

in a woodland landscape populated by wild animals (foxes, deer, a squirrel and rabbits) and birds …

fullsizerender-10

Hopgood’s pastel and crayon scenes capture the magic of idyllic winter countryside with newly fallen snow, sledging, snowman building, and then the family snuggling up together in the warmth from a fire. I particularly love that musical note tree …

fullsizerender-10

and the endpapers too are lovely – so simple and SO effective.
To add to the delights, the book comes with a three track CD. The first track is the wonderfully jazzy rendition of the song performed by Peggy Lee, the second is a reading of the book with tinkling sounds to let you know when to turn the page, and the third a (somewhat superfluous) listening game.
A Christmas cracker.

Classic Christmas Briefing

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

The Twelve Days of Christmas
William Morris and Liz Catchpole
Penguin Random House V&A
With a gorgeously tactile cover, this is a super-stylish rendition of the ever popular classic seasonal song. It’s illustrated with a mix of patterns chosen from the V&A’s William Morris archive and glorious new artwork by illustrator Liz Catchpole inspired by the work of Morris who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement.
Best-loved designs such as ‘Cray’ furnishing fabric …

dscn9394

and ‘Pimpernel’ wallpaper are included …

dscn9395

but every turn of the page brings fresh delight.
Just the thing to give to a loved one especially a book-lover, or to anyone who likes art and design of the classic kind.

%0a

The Newborn Child
Jackie Morris
Otter-Barry Books
Jackie Morris has created her own text as an accompaniment to her gorgeous illustrations for this new edition of a book previously published a decade ago as Little One We Knew You’d Come. This is very much a feelings-centred telling of the nativity story with much of the focus being on how the mother herself feels before …

%0a

and after the birth. There’s beauty on every page: into Jackie Morris’ richly coloured scenes are woven symbols from the natural world – butterflies and moths, birds and their feathers …

%0a

flowers, fruits and shells, making them truly memorable, especially that final mother and child spread with the thumb-sucking infant.

%0a

Little Grey Rabbit’s Christmas
Alison Uttley and Margaret Tempest
Templar Publishing
A classic Christmas read if ever there was one. I can still recall, as a small child laughing over Hare standing outside in the snow “catching cold, and eating it too,” as my dad read it to me. First published in 1939, but still offering lots to savour and talk about, it’s deliciously nostalgic and full of Christmas kindness. Imagine inviting carol singers in, to pass round a mug of wine and hot mince pies …

%0a

Sproutzilla vs.Christmas / Santa Claude

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9403

Sproutzilla vs. Christmas
Tom Jamieson and Mike Byrne
Macmillan Children’s Books
Young Jack’s abhorrence of Brussels sprouts is about to result in the ruination of Christmas and not just for the lad himself when his parents come back from a shopping expedition with the most enormous one of the green veggies he’s ever set eyes on. He’s called Sproutzilla and he’s the meanest, greenest Christmas ruining vegetable ever. What’s more, he (and his army of Sproutlings) have their sights set on Santa; and Sproutzilla is exceedingly hungry.

dscn9404

Seemingly, if the mums and dads, the angry dinner ladies and the furious chefs can’t save Christmas, there’s only one person who can and there’s only one way he can do it. Jack will have to EAT SPROUTS!

dscn9405

This is a totally ridiculous story over which you cannot help but have a good giggle, as will young children, especially at the final PAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRP-powered delivery, not to mention the tasty final twist.
Sprout lover or not, I suspect you’ll never look at your Christmas veggies in quite the same way again.
More bonkers fun in:

%0a

Santa Claude

Alex T.Smith
Hodder Children’s Books
It’s Christmas Eve night and Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes have left Claude and best pal Sir Bobblysock alone in the house while they go out partying. A super-excited Claude has tucked himself up in bed and is just settling down to read his new Cops and Robbers book when he hears a loud THUD! followed by what sound like a series of heavy footsteps. Convinced whoever has whooshed down the chimney is a burglar, and already anticipating catching same red-handed, off he goes armed with his handcuffs to apprehend the intruder.
Having secured the ‘burglar’ to the arm of a chair in the pitch-dark living room, Claude switches on the light to find himself face to face with none other than Santa. Easy enough to release the handcuffs you might think but oh dear me, no! The key is nowhere to be found.
With Santa out of action there’s only one thing to be done; Claude and Sir Bobblysock will have to make the rest of the deliveries instead. But can they – even with Claude decked out in Santa’s seasonal costume –

%0a

make it round all those hundreds of homes, delivering an absolutely enormous sack of presents and be safely back by midnight when the Shinyshoes return?
Needless to say, things won’t be plain sailing no matter what: let the festivities begin …
With Claude and Sir Bobblysock you’re guaranteed a whole load of gigglesome delight and this fast-paced festive romp is no different. It’s perfect to tuck into a Christmas stocking, or for an excited youngster to hide away with for a pre-Christmas chortle.

The Mouse that Cancelled Christmas

jillrbennett 1 Comment

dscn9363

The Mouse That Cancelled Christmas
Madeleine Cook and Samara Hardy
Oxford University Press
This is certainly a Christmas story with a difference: the story of Mouse for whom Christmas means danger, danger because, as a baby, he’d been biffed on the head by a flying bauble. Now, he seems to have assumed the role of health and safety officer with a vengeance. Donning fluorescent jacket and hard hat Mouse dashes around the clearing in Jingle Bell Forest inspecting the animals’ preparations and finding fault with everything. The pine needles are far too sharp, the lights too dazzling and the star way too pointy.

dscn9364

The Rabbit Chorus seems to be breaking every rule in the book – Mouse’s book that is. In fact nothing passes muster where he is concerned: he wants the entire celebration called off …

dscn9367

But then Mole and Owl quietly mention the ‘p’ word and suddenly events take a turn for the better. Maybe, just maybe, that cancellation of Mouse’s might be reversed after all …
There are so many things to love about this book, not least the delightfully unexpected grand finale. Then there’s that tiny robin who offers his own mini narrative at almost every turn of the page …

%0a

and the thoughtful placing of certain elements of the text; all that’s in addition to the wonderful fanaticism of health-and-safety ‘jobsworth’ Mouse and the growing concern of the other forest animals as they hear him passing judgement on their various activities All are brilliantly portrayed in Samara Hardy’s splendidly funny illustrations for this amusing (for adults, tongue-in-cheek) tale. I bet there’s not one reader aloud out there who hasn’t been on the receiving end of a human version of Mouse on occasion; it’s certainly so in schools and usually the ‘mouse’ person has no idea of the ridiculousness of their pronouncements. Madeleine Cook and Samara Hardy will assuredly make many youngsters and adults laugh this festive season.

Festive Fun and Frolics

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9378

Nuddy Ned’s Christmas
Kes Gray and Garry Parsons
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Nuddy Ned likes nothing better than to dash around in the altogether and yes, he’s super excited it being Christmas Eve; but dashing outside into the snowy evening chill is nothing short of crackers. There’s no stopping the little fellow though; he’s on a mission to meet Santa and he’s perfectly prepared to charge down the street and around the town completely starkers, parents in hot pursuit, in order to do so. Only some strategically placed flaps and other judiciously positioned items including a bird, a glove …

%0a

and a bauble preserve his modesty.
Does this madcap streak finally get Ned what he wants – that Santa encounter, you’ll probably be wondering. Yes he does and Santa’s none too impressed at Ned’s lack of clothing but in the end it seems like a question of beat’em or join’em: what will Santa do? That would be telling wouldn’t it!
Kes Gray’s cracking rhyming text combined with equally giggle-inducing illustrations from Garry Parsons makes for some delightfully silly festive fun.

dscn9351

The Queen’s Present
Steve Antony
Hodder Children’s Books
Imagine being able to call on Father Christmas himself for a spot of last minute emergency present buying, but that is exactly what the Queen does in her desire to find the perfect gift for her great grandchildren. Down he comes and off they go on a whistle stop flight with a whole host of hangers-on in the form of Santa’s little helpers who have much work to do in the way of festooning the various landmarks – the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, Himeji Castle, Sydney Opera House …

dscn9352

and the Statue of Liberty over which they fly before finally landing in the North Pole. Even there though, Her Majesty is unable to find the perfect present. With Christmas Day almost upon them, there seems to be only one thing to do …

%0a

This whole crazy romp is executed using an appropriately seasonal colour palette. It’s not my favourite Steve Antony but it’s full of things to make you smile; and those elves really do earn their keep as well as having a terrific time adorning all those iconic landmarks.

%0a

Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Oxford University Press
The excitement is palpable in Winnie and Wilbur’s house as they bake, write cards and festoon the place with decorations. Then it’s time for writing those all important letters to Santa …

%0a

Christmas Eve comes at last and just as the pair drop off to sleep, they hear a cry for help: something has gone drastically wrong with Santa’s chimney descent. It’s fortunate that Winnie just happens to have her wand right there on the bedside table and with a quick wave and a magical utterance, she soon has their visitor back on his feet and they’re off on an amazing adventure.

%0a

Full of seasonal magic and excitement, this is sure to delight, especially that final pop-out surprise …

dscn9389

For the very youngest:

dscn9333

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang
Nosy Crow
This song on which this chunky board book is based is probably one of the most frequently sung in primary schools and nurseries in the run up to Christmas.
Here we join a host of warmly clad, cute animal friends celebrating the seasonal joys together as they sleigh, skate, ski and deliver presents before gathering together in a warm cosy room to share some gifts.

dscn9334

In addition to the moving parts, you can further add to toddlers’ enjoyment by scanning the QR code inside the front cover and getting an audio version to sing along with.

The Princess and the Christmas Rescue

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9374

The Princess and the Christmas Rescue
Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton
Nosy Crow
‘On top of the world where the icy winds blow,
A beautiful palace grows out of the snow.’
This palace is home to Princess Eliza, a bright child with a passion for making things of a technological nature, though not for making friends, largely because she never sets foot outside the palace walls.
One day as she stands gazing out across the valley after abortive friend-making efforts within, she sees some smoke and decides to follow it and discover its source. Off she goes into the forest and is soon lost. What should loom up out of the snowy mist but a friendly reindeer who offers to take her to a place of safety.

%0a

This turns out to be Santa’s Workshop where she discovers that the elves are in desperate need of some assistance and before long Eliza has set herself to work designing and creating some new machines.

%0a

Can the problem-solving princess and her inventions speed things up sufficiently; and will she succeed in her friend-finding quest?
Just the thing for sharing at the start of the build-up to Christmas: this rhyming tale reads aloud beautifully. Children will doubtless enjoy the fact that Eliza’s kindness and problem-solving skills are both rewarding and rewarded.

%0a

Sarah Warburton’s North Pole scenes are full of humour, wonderful details and seasonal warmth; and those elves with their crazy headgear are terrific fun.

A Visit to City Farm

jillrbennett Leave a comment

dscn9492

A Visit to City Farm
Verna Wilkins and Karin Littlewood
Firetree books
This is the first book from a new publisher whose aim is to produce ‘books with engaging, enjoyable and exciting stories that celebrate our interconnected and culturally-diverse world, putting all children in the picture’ and this story of a school visit certainly does just that.
From the list of children’s names in the front of the book, it seems that the role of Chalkhill Primary School (the book’s co-publishers) is similar to that of the schools I’d always taught in before moving out of London a few years ago. The lack of this rich diversity was one of the huge culture shocks I’ve had to cope with since, and that diversity is something I still miss enormously: this book is, in part a celebration of that richness.
The story tells of a class visit to a city farm. Now I know from experience that children absolutely delight in being featured in their own books – albeit school published ones (it’s an empowering part of seeing themselves as writers) – so I can imagine how thrilled those Chalkhill Primary children must have been to become characters (more accurately almost recognisable versions of themselves) in , and co-writers of, a real book.
We join Rainbow Class as they prepare for the off, with their teacher, Miss Jama checking they know the safety code, watch the group as they walk to the station, travel on the tube and finally, arrive at City Farm.
Of course, the highlight of the visit is seeing  all the different animals …

dscn9493

maybe not all the animals for all the children though …

%0a

Verna Wilkins’ prose (written in collaboration with Y5 pupils) and the children’s rhyming descriptions of the animals are seamlessly woven together into a single narrative that also gives voice to individual children’s thoughts as they move around the farm. And, there’s so much to look at, enjoy and talk about in Karin Littlewood’s lovely pen, crayon and watercolour illustrations.

%0a

All in all this is a wonderful celebration of our interconnectedness and I look forward to seeing more from Firetree books.

WNDB_Buttonlocalbookshops_NameImage-2

 

Cracking Seasonal Reads

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Kerfuffle Christmas Kidnap
John Dougherty and David Tazzyman
Oxford University Press
It’s Christmas Eve and all’s right with the world. Right? Well not quite.
When Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face wake up it’s after midnight (so technically they can call it Christmas Day) with cries of “He’s been! He’s been!”, it takes but a few seconds for them to discover that this is not the case: Father Christmas has definitely not visited their abode, and that’s despite the pair having been extra good that year. All they see where those presents should have been is a great big pile of nothing, absolutely zilch.
Obviously Father Christmas must be in some kind of trouble – think dastardly badgers – and it’s up to Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face to come to the rescue, find Santa and save Christmas for all the inhabitants on the little island of Great Kerfuffle.
As with previous books in the series, this one is full of wonderfully off-the-wall characters, bonkers jokes, evil-sounding laughter, magic and mayhem, crazy dialogue and perfect comic timing to boot. What’s more it’s illustrated by the brilliant David Tazzyman whose seemingly scribble illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to John Dougherty’s clever and deliciously silly writing style.
A seasonal cracker if ever there was one.

Altogether different but equally worth seeking out is:

fullsizerender-9

There May Be a Castle
Piers Torday
Quercus Children’s Books
It’s Christmas Eve: a family – mum, two sisters and a brother – are on the way to visit the grandparents. Violet the eldest is dressed as a pirate, toddler Esme has a passion for chocolate and Mouse, a smaller than average, highly imaginative eleven year old is still in his robot pyjamas; Mum is at the wheel. Snow is falling fast, the visibility is bad, but the journey across the moors should be fairly short.
As it often does on such occasions, bickering begins and Mum loses control of the car and it spins off the road. Mouse is thrown from the car by the crash but everyone else is trapped inside.
When he comes to, Mouse finds himself in a magical landscape with no snow and no car, just a peculiar sheep named Bar, a talking one-eyed horse called Nonky, a garrulous minstrel, a size-changing dinosaur; oh, and there may be a castle. Thus begins Mouse’s quest to find that castle despite not knowing quite why.
Back at the scene of the accident, Violet is on a mission to save her mother who is unconscious and bleeding, and little Esme, who keeps demanding chocolate. To do this she has to use her knowledge of a very fierce pirate woman, which, harnessed with her own imagination, gives her the strength she needs to cope.
Without giving away what happens let’s leave those two wonderful, very brave characters in their spellbinding wintry tale of hope, courage, the power of the imagination and the stories we tell ourselves.
Brilliantly imaginative and totally immersive it’s a beautifully written book; read it and you’ll be hooked, but be warned, you’re on something of an emotional rollercoaster.

Ollie’s Christmas Reindeer / The Christmas Fairy

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

Ollie’s Christmas Reindeer
Nicola Killen
Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
It’s Christmas Eve; Ollie is suddenly awoken by a jingly sound. What could it be? She creeps to the window seeing nothing but a snowy landscape. Determined to discover the source of the sound, she boards her sledge and off she goes down the hill and into the dark wood.

dscn9330

It’s there she comes upon a collar studded with silver bells caught on a tree branch. Then from the darkness emerges a reindeer, a collarless reindeer.

%0a

With its collar safely back on, the reindeer takes Ollie on a magical ride through the starry skies…

%0a

Saying farewell to a new friend is hard for Ollie but she knows that there’s important work awaiting him; and then there’s Christmas morning to look forward to …
Judiciously placed splashes of red and silver are used sparingly to enhance the dramatic effect of the otherwise black and white scenes of all the activity that fills this quiet, snowy night. A gentle, simple and magical story.

%0a

The Christmas Fairy
Anne Booth and Rosalind Beardshaw
Nosy Crow
When Clara hears that ‘Christmas fairy’ lessons are on the curriculum she’s thrilled; being a ‘proper’ Christmas fairy is exactly what she’s been wishing for. The trouble is this involves standing statue-still on tiptoes and staying absolutely silent: in other words no giggling, absolutely no wriggling and positively no singing. As show day draws nearer, it looks as though this whole Christmas fairy thing is just way too demanding for Clara.

dscn9326

The big day arrives and Clara is distraught. Suddenly though events take a turn. Santa’s there in front of her and seemingly he has not just one, but three roles that need filling, and he thinks Clara fits the bill perfectly. Can she step in and save the show?

%0a

And what about that Christmas wish of hers …
Cute, seasonal rhyming fun for tinies. A lovely demonstration of the idea that everyone has something to offer, especially those who are slightly divergent; it’s just a matter of finding what that special something is.

The Winter Fox / Presents Through the Window

jillrbennett Leave a comment

%0a

The Winter Fox
Timothy Knapman and Rebecca Harry
Nosy Crow
As summer gives way to autumn, a little fox is too busy enjoying himself romping in the flowers and chasing butterflies to pay heed to his friends, Rabbit, Owl and Squirrel as they prepare for the long winter that’s to come. He plays through the autumn too …

dscn9323

and come winter when the other animals are all snuggled cosily in their nests, Fox is alone out in the forest.
Cold and hungry, he makes a wish beneath a star. What happens then changes the course of events not only for Fox but for the other forest creatures too.

%0a

Full of wintry warm-heartedness and friendship, and just enough seasonal sparkle, this is a story to share with young listeners in the weeks leading up to Christmas. They’ll need to look carefully at the sky to discover where that surprise parcel came from.

%0a

Presents Through the Window
Taro Gomi
Chronicle Books
It’s Christmas Eve and Santa is out on his present delivery round. He has an unconventional mode of transport and seems in rather a rush. So much so that his quick peep through the (die-cut) window of each house before dropping off a gift will result in some rather inappropriate offerings being received come Christmas morning.

%0a

Part of the fun is that by turning the page, readers will discover the identities of the gifts recipients and relish each mis-match.

%0a

Santa in contrast never does learn the outcome of his hasty choices: another part of the fun is imagining the reactions of the recipients. However the most fun of all is seeing how everything works out just fine come Christmas morning.
The entire text is composed of Santa’s utterances presented in speech bubbles as a running commentary – literally – directed to his audience as he moves from one home to the next. Simple, clever and highly effective.