There are both Tiny Tree Books – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.
Little Kit’s Wish
Cheryl Lawton Malone and Felipe Lancha
It’s fox cub Little Kit’s very first blue moon, a special night when the Lady of Light travels to the Old Woods to grant wishes to those who live there and Little Kit can make his own first wish. The trouble is he doesn’t know what to wish for even when his mother and then all the other creatures try to help. Little Kit follows the suggestions made by Turtle, Bullfrog, Mole, Spider, the fawns: he tries believing, pretending, imagining, listening but is still unable to decide on his wish.
As he’s pondering, down a moonbeam glides the Lady of Light making the garden a shimmering silver. Then in turn each of the animals whisper their wish to the Lady and one by one their wishes come true. Eventually the Lady asks Kit as he stands beside his Mama who whispers some sage advice, “ Listen with your heart.” With closed eyes Kit then follows her suggestion, listening with his heart to his mama’s love, his friends hope and the blue moon’s magic and then at long last he knows just what to wish for. What do you think it might be: assuredly it’s something amazing.
Felipe Lancha’s dreamy watercolour illustrations and Cheryl Lawton Malone’s touching words combine to make a tale of finding your heart’s desire. Yes it’s aimed at young children but it has something to say to adults too.
Mr Jiggletoe
Emily Wensley and Helen Morgan
Meet Mr Jiggletoe a dancer, tall of stature, slender and sporting a red top hat. He’d dance his favourite dance – the jive- spinning and kicking by day but also come the night, he’d waltz under the stars. The townsfolk loved to see him move and would stop and watch him but then one day, down came some sleety rain. This didn’t trouble Mr J. unduly and he was amazed to see a rainbow arcing across the grey sky. Stepping onto its glowing hues the dancer, watched by a little girl, Leah, began a new journey. He vanished by walking up the rainbow, Leah tells the townspeople. The people went away leaving Leah with an abiding feeling she’s unable to ignore.
Autumn comes and with it a change in the townsfolk, all except Leah who is determined to see the dancer return one day. She needs it to rain though and one sunny day Leah hears a loud cracking sound in the sky. “It’s time. Let’s get him back!” she cries, waving to the other people as she opens her umbrella and starts a dance of her own. Her brolly is a special brightly hued one and as she points it skywards, everyone begins to dance as something appears in the sky and down it slides somebody they’ve all been longing to see: at last Mr Jiggletoe is back. That’s when the town returns to happiness: Leah and Mr J. dance daily, making colours everywhere and eventually the town is famed for the dancers, Mr Jiggletoe – now a Sir and Leah who summoned that magical rainbow.
What an uplifting tale, told in rhyme: it almost makes you want to jump up and start dancing as you read it and watch the story unfold through Helen Morgan’s joy, sadness and finally once more, elation.
