Patience, Miyuki

October 19, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Patience, Miyuki
Roxane Marie Galliez and Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Princeton Architectural Press

I’ve not met Miyuki before although this book is a follow up to Time for Bed, Miyuki and it seems slightly strange to receive for review as summer gives way to autumn, a story about the magic of spring. Nonetheless it’s a beauty and so worth drawing attention to.

Miyuki is excited at the arrival of spring and cannot wait to revel in the joys it brings. On her walk with her Grandfather she notices a flower that is yet to open. “Be patient” she’s told, this delicate little flower needs the purest water.

At these words she’s off on a mission to find that water to make the flower burst into bloom.

Her quest leads to an encounter with a toad in a well, a pretty cloud, a beautiful waterfall

and a boy watering his garden who does provide her with what she seeks.

In her haste to return however she trips, hurts her leg and spills the water.

As a result she has to stop and in the silence of the moment she hears the song of the river. “Be patient,” it says promising to take her home.

Lulled by the water, she falls asleep and the river keeps its promise carrying her home, borne by an origami swan to her Grandfather.

Next morning, the second day of spring, Grandfather is able to get her to be still

so that she can observe the wonderful surprise that awaits.

There’s a dream-like quality to this sweet, soft-spoken story that is reflected in Seng Soun Ratanavan’s beautiful jewel-coloured, occasionally playful, illustrations of the natural world, some of which include traditional Japanese objects.

Enjoy the moment is the message of this book, and it’s one we could all do with paying heed to in our increasingly busy times, whatever the season.

One Fox / The Button Book

October 18, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Just right for an early years collection are:

One Fox
Kate Read
Two Hoots

One moonlit night down on the farm, with his two sly eyes, one famished fox is on the prowl. Lots of lovely alliteration describes the happenings:

The three plump hens need to keep their ears and beady eyes open.
However that fox is in for a big surprise when he takes six silent steps towards the hencoop and taps seven times upon the outside …

In a dramatic and satisfying climax (although not for the fox), debut author/illustrator Kate Read takes us right up close to the action in her counting story.

With an economy of words she creates a visual comedy that is both exciting and gently educational; but It’s her superb visuals that carry the power – bright, textured art combining paint and collage – that build up expectations of the outcome

and then turn the tale right over on itself.

The Button Book
Sally Nicholls and Bethan Woollvin
Andersen Press

Take a group of inquisitive animals and an assortment of ‘pressable’ buttons of different shapes and colours; add several generous spoonfuls of imagination and stir. The result is this playful interactive picture book for little ones.

Squirrel starts the whole thing off by prodding at the red button with his stick and wondering what will happen. It beeps, and that sets off the button investigation.

To discover which is the clapping button, which one sings songs;

which blows a raspberry;

what joys the yellow button delivers, and the pink and purple ones, you need the fingers of a child or so, and the willingness to indulge in some pretend play.

This is children’s / YA author Sally Nicholls debut picture book and it appears she’s had as much fun creating it as will its intended preschool audience. The latter will take great delight in all the noisy, occasional mischievous activities offered at the mere touch of a button. Adult sharers on the other hand might well be relieved to learn what the white button does.

Seemingly too Bethan Woollvin had fun creating the illustrations; she’s certainly done a cracking job showing the seven characters having a thoroughly good time as investigators and participants in their own comedic performance.

Under the Great Plum Tree

October 18, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

Under the Great Plum Tree
Sufiya Ahmed and Reza Dalvand
Tiny Owl

This is a new addition to Tiny Owl’s smashing One Story, Many Voices series.

I felt very pleased with myself for realising as I started reading that the names of the two main characters in Sufiya Ahmed’s version of an Indian fable from the Panchatrantra are the Hindi for monkey and crocodile, only to find on finishing the book a note at the back saying just that. Still it didn’t say that hati is Hindi for elephant!

Now let me introduce the two characters who have formed a rather unlikely friendship under a plum tree in their jungle home. There’s the always kind-hearted Miss Bandari and well past his hunting days crocodile, Mr Magarmach.

The latter regales Miss Bandari with his tales of days gone by but one day instead of his regular story, he invites his friend to lunch as repayment for all her kindness.

That’s an offer too good to turn down so Miss Bandari leaps onto Mr Magarmach’s back and off they go down the river.

After a while they encounter Dame Hati who warns of a terrible danger that awaits should they proceed: the always hungry King Crocodile no less.

Now this troubles Miss Bandari but Mr Magarmuch assures her that King Crocodile wants only to see her big golden heart.

Luckily Dame Hati has her wits about her

and assists Miss Bandari in avoiding a terrible fate.

But the result is that the long-standing friendship between Miss Bandari and Mr Magarmach is tested close to its limits.

Fortunately though the latter’s courage prevails when King Crocodile’s true intentions are revealed and all ends happily.

Sufiya Ahmed’s lively rendition is a great read aloud, while reminiscent of Gujarati Pithora art, Reza Dalvand’s stylised, multi-patterned illustrations flow freely over the pages seducing the eye, making the entire reading experience an absolute delight for audiences and those sharing the book.

My Monster and Me

October 17, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

My Monster and Me
Nadiya Hussain and Ella Bailey
Hodder Children’s Books

Nadiya Hussain has recently spoken out about her own anxiety issues and now has written a picture book intended to give little ones and their carers a starting point for talking about anxiety and worries.

The narrator is a small boy who talks of his ever-present monster that nobody is able to banish; a bossy creature that gets in the way of everything the lad wants to do. It prevents him from playing with his own toys and even his friends.

After school one day the monster is waiting – huge and bad tempered – and it follows the boy all the way to his grandma’s house.

Seeing how upset he looks, Gran listens to her grandson’s tale of woe

and as he talks the monster starts to shrink and that’s when the boy gains control.

The monster never completely goes away but now it no longer wields the power.

Told in a straightforward manner that young children can easily relate to, Nadiya’s reassuring tale is made all the more so by rising star, Ella Bailey’s smashing illustrations. She portrays the monster as a mischievous rather rotund creature, rather than a scary one.

With ever more children of all ages having anxiety issues books such as this one can be an absolute boon for parents and teachers to share.

Lights on Cotton Rock

October 17, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

Lights on Cotton Rock
David Litchfield
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Totally out of this world, breathtakingly brilliant is this science fiction picture book by David Litchfield.

It begins with star-grazing Heather whose chosen place to contemplate the universe is Cotton Rock. Here she sits and with torch directed up, sets her sights towards the star spangled sky in the hope that someone in the inky black of space will see her light.

Believing that there are others somewhere in outer space she flashes her torch off on, off on … until lo and behold, it looks as though her wish has been answered for into the forest glade there appears …

Sadly the ensuing awesome encounter is over all too soon

and the spacecraft departs.

Is this to be a once in a lifetime experience?

Heather certainly hopes not for she goes back to Cotton Rock at intervals hoping that her alien friend will return and transport her far away.

As she grows older Heather’s visits to her rock become less and less frequent but she never loses that hope …Could it happen?

Or could it be that what we most yearn for isn’t in fact what will ultimately come to mean most to us; maybe what we are truly looking for is just so close we can’t see it …

With every book David creates, I think to myself, he just can’t better that, but then he goes and proves me wrong. I can think of very few illustrators whose use of dark and light comes anywhere near what is between the covers of this book, at every single turn of the page; it’s utter genius.

I keep on going back to it and gaining new insights but then that’s what happens with the very best picture books.

Caspian Finds a Friend

October 16, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Caspian Finds a Friend
Jacqueline Veissid and Merrilees Brown
Chronicle Books

In a lighthouse lives a boy named Caspian whose loneliness we feel right from the opening spread that reveals the stark beauty of his location.

How does someone find a friend whose every night is spent casting light into the darkness waiting for someone to arrive, but nobody does.

Then one day Caspian decides to write a message and use his flower jug to cast it into the ocean.

Weeks pass, then months as the boy waits and waits. Eventually he discovers something ‘a glistening nestled in the rocks.’ It’s his bottle and inside is a single word response.

He rushes to his little boat and under the night sky with its shimmering constellations he rows on the gentle sea until he falls asleep.

Waking next morning now in icy waters, Caspian finally meets that which he’s longed for …

and together they journey back to the lighthouse.

The combination of Jacqueline Veissid’s lyrical text and debut illustrator, Merrilees Brown’s beautiful art, which is a mixture of oil paints, relief print and charcoal digitally combined, creates an almost dreamlike gentle adventure story to delight and perhaps to encourage little ones to realise that within themselves they have the power to make changes happen.

The Cloud Horse Chronicles: Guardians of Magic

October 15, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Cloud Horse Chronicles: Guardians of Magic
Chris Riddell
Macmillan Children’s Books

I was thrilled to receive a copy of this, Chris Riddell’s first story in a new fantasy series.

The story is set in the kingdom of Thrynne, a place of ancient magic, the source of which is the Forever Tree hidden in the Great Wood.

‘For as long as anyone can remember, children of Thynne have looked at billowing clouds in the sky and wished on a cloud horse, always hoping … But no one has seen a cloud horse.’ That though is about to change …

We meet in turn three ordinary children each from a different town within the kingdom, into whose hands come three magical objects made with wood: to baker Zam Zephyr a runcible spoon;

to cellist Phoebe Limetree a talking cello;

to Bathsheba Greengrass a worpal sword with a carved wooden handle.

And thus it is that these unsuspecting children are destined to be the Guardians of Magic.

But anyone thought to wield the magic of Thrynne is in terrible danger especially from those who have their own reasons to keep that magic at bay: there’s chief rat King Tiberius-Tiberius who terrorises Sam’s home town Troutwine; the ruler of Phoebe’s home, Nightingale is a power-mad Clockmaker with an army of mechanical tin-men; while in Bathsheba’s tree-house town of Beam is Euphemia Goldencurls, a professional Princess who desires to keep alive the lucrative business of giant slaying.

Also cleverly woven into the story are fairy tale characters including a gingerbread man, the Pied Piper and the three bears.

The last section of the book brings together the three children who use their wits against the dastardly characters threatening the magical Forever Tree and the cloud horses that nestle in its branches.

If that’s not enough magic for you, there are also Chris’s awesome, instantly recognisable, detailed illustrations liberally scattered throughout the story, as well as a full colour fold-out guide to the giants of the Great Wood, aerial townscapes and cross-sections of buildings.

The result is an utterly compelling, enchanting and immersive book that you’ll find almost impossible to put down. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Oscar Seeks a Friend

October 15, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Oscar Seeks a Friend
Pawel Pawlak
Lantana Publishing

How is a self-confessed ugly looking skeleton to make friends, especially so since he’s lost a front tooth? At least it doesn’t deter his skeleton dog Tag from playing with him.

One day he comes upon a little girl who is burying a tooth in the ground and asks her if perhaps she might give him the tooth.

Her response is that she needs it to help her dreams come true but then she changes her mind, gives him the tooth and taking his hand leads him away on an adventure.

Together, the two visit a meadow, smell the scent of wet grass, visit her home and see a rainbow.

Then they enjoy a seaside romp …

and share their secrets and dreams.

Oscar in return takes the girl’s hand and leads her to some of the places he likes best: the park, the library

and a leafy tree among whose branches butterflies sleep.

The story ends with the girl expressing hope that the two will meet the following day and the skeleton narrator handing back the girl’s tooth, safe in the knowledge that a friendship has been forged.

In contrast to the bright backgrounds of the girl’s world, those of the skeleton are predominantly black with occasional details in reds, pinks and orange. I’d love to have seen Pawel Pawlek’s original 3D paper collage art for this book; it must have been truly magnificent. Instead I and other readers will have to be satisfied with the richly textured, cleverly composed digital renderings in this unusual picture book with friendship at its heart.

Dracula Spectacular / Moldilocks and the Three Scares

October 14, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Dracula Spectacular
Lucy Rowland and Ben Mantle
Macmillan Children’s Books

Lucy Rowland’s way with rhyme is superb and here she introduces readers to the Draculas, a family of vampires – father, mother and child who live in a dark dusty residence in the park.

Unlike his parents Dracula Boy loves bright clothes – no black outfits for him – and he really doesn’t want to go around scaring the townsfolk. Indeed some of the children allow him to try on their colourful gear and they become his friends; so much so that he offers to accompany scared-of-the-dark Rose, on a night-time exploration.

The two enjoy flying through the night sky, watching fireflies and gazing at the moon but must this wonderful adventure be for one night only?

Happily both his caring parents and his new friends want to see Dracula Boy happy, so perhaps there is a way to bring a touch of rainbow magic into his life.

Ben Mantle’s spirited scenes, by turns mock scary and vibrant, are a perfect match for the jaunty rhyming narrative.

A warm and sparkling alternative to the usual spooky Halloween stories, this one will work at any time.

Moldilocks and the Three Scares
Lynne Marie and David Rodriguez Lorenzo
Sterling

Let me introduce the Scares: there ‘s Papa Scare (bearing a striking resemblance to Frankenstein’s monster), Mama Scare (green skinned mummy/Bride of Frankenstein) and Baby Scare, a diminutive vampire.

As the story opens Papa is brewing up a large container of Alphabat Soup. “The recipe serves four. Just enough for one more,” he announces. Meanwhile Mama mixing potions in the lab, expresses a wish for an assistant and Baby is desirous of a playmate.

When Papa serves up the soup it’s too hot to eat straightaway, so he suggests a walk with their ghost dog Plasma.

Meanwhile, Moldilocks out sleepwalking is drawn to their residence by the smell of soup wafting in the air. In she goes and well, the rest is as you’d expect in this delicious fractured fairytale: Baby’s soup is gobbled up, his chair broken and his bed usurped.

Now here comes the twist: instead of being full on furious when they discover the intruder, the Scares, after Papa’s …

… eat without us”, welcome Moldilocks unreservedly.

Then in best spooky fairytale tradition the now enlarged family ‘lived hauntingly ever after.’

With plenty of puns to giggle over, an adoption/Halloween spin to the tale, and Lorenzo’s acrylic and colour pencil illustrations that are full of appropriately frightful details to ‘claw over’, this book is a fun read aloud for Halloween or as part of a classroom fairy tale theme.

Oi Puppies!

October 14, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Oi Puppies!
Kes Gray and Jim Field
Hodder Chidlren’s Books

YAP! YAP! YAP! YES! YES! YES! The long anticipated Gray and Field new ‘Oi … !’ episode Oi Puppies! is finally here and it was definitely worth the wait – expectations exceeded yet again!

It appears that the dog might have bitten off rather more than he can chew when it comes to the plethora of pups he’s rashly undertaken to puppy-sit. Certainly his pals the cat and the frog are not impressed with their mischief.

We all know from previous experience as the cat points out, that puppies should sit on guppies, but “These puppies are really badly trained” admits the dog.

Thank goodness then for the frog. With a deft manoeuvre he produces his mobile and makes a call to …

Puppies with names require tailor made seating apparently and so the fun begins as one by one each cute little canine creature is paired with a suitable seat as befits its name.

The dog is practically dumbfounded; cat momentarily silent while the frog looks mighty pleased with himself. But it doesn’t do to gloat.

The pups are certainly sitting comfortably now but that’s not quite the end of the story. Perhaps personalised perches can produce problems from time to time …

Nineteen puppies, each with a distinct personality – that’s no mean feat even for Jim Field – and the sight of the whole motley crew sitting there as though butter wouldn’t melt is absolutely superb.
Stupendously silly nonsense that only this partnership can provide: if you’ve not read any of the others I recommend getting the lot and reading them in order although this one works perfectly in its own right.

I’m Actually Really Grown-Up Now

October 13, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

I’m Actually Really Grown-Up Now
Maisie Paradise Shearring
Two Hoots

Meena’s parents are having a party but, so she’s told as she reluctantly goes to bed, it’s for grown-ups only. Party loving Meena however makes her own plan.

The following morning she makes a very important announcement to her family, “I’m actually really grown-up now!”

What’s more she is having her own party – parents welcome.

Raiding mum’s wardrobe to find the perfect outfit is fun;

but grown ups also have to work and of course the party itself needs to be prepared.

Who will be invited? What about the food – that has to be bought. (with Dad’s assistance).

Before too long, Meena realises that this grown-up business isn’t all easy or fun.

And as for the party? Perhaps best not to expect too much

and just go with the flow …

The author’s skill at appreciating and portraying the spirit of adventure young children have in this wryly humorous story of the ups and downs of childhood is superbly presented in both her playful narrative and illustrations. Both exude warmth and understanding while her protagonist is an absolute delight – determined and resourceful, and ready to capitalise on whatever situation she finds herself in.

The Sleepy Pebble and other stories

October 12, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Sleepy Pebble and other stories
Doctor Alice Gregory, Christy Kirkpatrick and Eleanor Hardiman
Flying Eye Books

Alice Gregory, sleep researcher and writer Christy Kirkpatrick have collaborated on this book of stories to share at bedtime.

Adults, parents in particular, know how hard it can be to get little ones off to sleep and this collection of calming tales, together with the activities suggested, is specially designed to help children wind down and relax, allowing them to drift off into the land of nod.

There are five stories, each one soothing and an ideal length for bedtime. They feature in turn the sleepy pebble; a willow tree that wants to stay up late;

a giraffe that enjoys a long bath to relax her at night, a kind and careful snail and finally, a pig that loves to cook.

The same muscle relaxation routine is used during each one except that the child is asked to imagine holding and squeezing in the first, Pebble, in the second some soil, in the third big heavy clouds, in the fourth the listener becomes the snail curling into its shell and soft warm dough is the final item to squeeze.

The guided visualisation intended to engage all the senses uses imagery appropriate to each story and the mindfulness – the focus on body awareness – is repeated for concluding every story session.

Eleanor Hardiman’s exquisitely detailed illustrations executed in calming colours (different hues for each story) add to the book’s dreamy quality.
Also included are an explanatory introduction, tips for ‘relaxing bedtime and better sleep’ plus ten questions and answers.

Wearing my yoga teacher’s hat I fully endorse the techniques included in this beautifully produced storybook. It should prove invaluable to parents who struggle with getting their children to nod off and to sleep through so they wake next morning restored and full of energy.

Star / Beyond Platform 13

October 11, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Star
Holly Webb, illustrated by Jo Anne Davies
Stripes

Here’s a wonderfully wintry tale about a little girl named Anna who finds a small carved wooden tiger figure at her grandmother’s house. She puts the carving under her pillow at bedtime and the following morning when she wakes up she is somewhere completely different, a snowy village in Russia.

What’s more there are reports of a tiger cub in the vicinity.

Then Anna/Annushka realises the reason she’s where she is – that cub needs to be kept safe. She’s even more sure when she comes face to face with the little tiger in the forest and Annushka is convinced it’s a female.

Something has to be done,but her father, who doesn’t know she’s actually seen the cub, thinks they shouldn’t get involved.
Even the idea of going out alone in the snow is enormously scary but she’s a determined, resourceful young miss and so when everyone else is fast asleep out she creeps.

This nail biting story is based on a real event, so says the author’s note at the end wherein she tells of a cub whose parents had been killed by poachers that was rescued, cared for in a rehabilitation centre and eventually released back into the wild at a nature reserve in Russia.

Beyond Platform 13
Sibéal Pounder, Eva Ibbotson, illustrated by Beatriz Castro
Macmillan Children’s Books

Eva Ibbotson’s original magical book The Secret of Platform Thirteen was published about 25 years ago and now Sibéal Pounder has penned a smashing sequel that is also both funny, and full of magic and madness.

It’s now nine years after the events of The Secret of Platform 13; the Island of Mist is besieged and Prince Ben and friend Odge Gribble (the hag) are hiding away. The protective mist surrounding the island is disappearing and in the hope of discovering the reason why, Odge decides to travel to Vienna (via the gump – a bump containing a hidden door to another world) to secure the services of a mistmaker. And so it is, in a case of mistaken identity (Odge’s speciality) young adventurous Lina Lasky who most certainly is no mistmaker, becomes involved in a quest to foil the plan of the power-mad harpies before the gump closes over.

Totally captivating and full of priceless comic moments and strange creatures,

A bagworm shot out and a bridge was created

this story absolutely whizzes along sweeping readers with it; and zany as it is, there lie within messages relating to kindness and finding a place in the world – whatever world.

With smashing black and white illustrations by Beatriz Castro, this is an unputdownable delight through and through.

Who’s Afraid of the Quite Nice Wolf? / A Home for Luna

October 11, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Who’s Afraid of the Quite Nice Wolf?
Kitty Black and Laura Wood
New Frontier Publishing

Not all wolves are big and bad: meet wolf Wilfred; he’s not at all scary despite being a member of a rather unpleasant pack. Their leader despairs of Wilfred’s un-lupine characteristics taunting the poor creature mercilessly

and ordering him to join in the attack on the sheep the following night to learn proper wolf behaviour.

That night however, Wilfred visits Mildred sheep and together they come up with a plan to help the other sheep.

Will their ruse be successful in foiling the wolves’ attack?

Debut picture book author, Kitty Black’s funny tale turns on its head the wolf stereotype (this wolf is a vegetarian) and in best picture book tradition Laura Wood’s hugely expressive illustrations are immediately engaging and extend the narrative.

A Home for Luna
Stef Gemmill and Mel Armstrong
New Frontier Publishing

When Luna is washed up on a strange shore far from her home, hearing nothing but the sound of the waves she feels lonely and afraid.
After spending the night sleeping beneath the container she’d arrived in, she smells a smell not unlike home. Following her nose she comes upon some penguins feasting on sardines and one in particular with yellow eyes catches her attention.

During the course of the day Tiny penguin makes approaches to Luna, offering her a shellfish to eat and the following night Luna joins the colony catching fish, ‘Not exactly like a penguin … but good enough. Then when marauding gulls attempt to steal what she’s caught, Yellow-Eye sees them off ‘Not exactly like a cat … but good enough.’

Little by little Luna gets closer to Yellow-Eye and it isn’t long before she’s become a part of the huddle.

One night a boat nears the shore; the crew are surprised to see a cat among the penguins and want to take her with them. The reaction of the penguins and Luna convey to the well-intentioned fishermen that this is not going to happen; and as the boat sails into the darkness, it’s clear to Luna that she has a new home with the penguin huddle and that’s where she now belongs.

In this tale of displacement and friendship, a spare telling that is in keeping with the stark setting, combined with debut illustrator, Mel Armstrong’s textured illustrations capturing the bleakness of the penguins’ home against the movement of the ocean, and clearly showing in-comer Luna’s changing relationship with the resident penguins, convey something of the isolation felt by refugees in a strange land.

Aesop’s Fables

October 10, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Aesop’s Fables
Retold by Elli Woollard, illustrated by Marta Altés
Macmillan Children’s Books

To attempt a rhyming rendition of one of Aesop’s fables is rather a risky business; to do it well and then go on to write a further seven in unfaltering rhyme that just glides off the tongue is incredible; but that is just what Elli Woollard has done. How she’s pulled off this feat I can’t imagine but only surmise it was with a combination of wit, wisdom and trickery – the characteristics exhibited by the animals she writes about.

Whether you choose to share one of the better known tales such as The Hare and the Tortoise, The Boy Who Cried Wolf; or The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse;

or want to discover what the bear whispered in the small traveller’s ear in the first story; or perhaps learn how the peacock was taken down a peg or two,

each telling is a treat for both reader aloud and listeners

Marta Altés illustrations too are absolutely superb. Every single one, be it a small vignette, a double spread or the single page pattern design sandwiching alternate stories,

is a seductive combination of a rich colour palette and inbuilt humour that fits the vivacious, up-to-the minute tellings of the stories perfectly.

Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter

October 10, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter
Graham Carter
Andersen Press

Young Otto comes from a family of avid birdspotters who spend all their waking moments spotting their feathered friends from within their hide of a home. Not so Otto however; he loves to explore in the great outdoors and while doing so one day he discovers first a huge footprint, then a very large poo

and finally, a highly unusual little bird hidden in the bushes.

Despite the ‘no pets’ rule at home, the lad sneaks the creature into his bedroom and the bird starts growing and growing until it seems he’ll no longer be able to hide it.

The bird however has a power that he’s yet to show his carer: the art of camouflage, and this enables the pair to have amazing adventures together unbeknown to anyone else.

However a visit to the zoo makes Bird unhappy and Otto realises that it’s missing its family.

Time to introduce Bird to his own family thinks Otto and having recovered from the shock revelation they construct the tallest ever bird-spotting tower. Eventually the missing birds are found and all ends happily with Otto now a bird-watching convert and his parents, fans of the great outdoors and its potential for making discoveries.

A zany tale illustrated from a variety of perspectives and in a multitude of hues, this is an unusual picture book with plenty of visual interest, not least the parent birds hiding in plain sight.

The Secret of the Tattered Shoes

October 9, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

The Secret of the Tattered Shoes
Jackie Morris and Ehsan Abdollahi
Tiny Owl

The latest addition to Tiny Owl’s ‘One Story, Many Voices’ is a rather different interpretation of the Brothers Grimm tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
Here the princesses are still locked up each night, and their dancing shoes are still worn down each morning.

However, having met a beautiful woman in the forest

and learned of the princesses, the strong handsome soldier who takes it upon himself to accept the king’s challenge to discover their secret, is weary of life.

Unlike those who have gone before he has a different ending in mind from that offered by the princesses’ father.

Jackie Morris’s text is poetic: ‘The soldier followed, out from the twisting tunnel of steps to an avenue of trees lit by curious starlight. The leaves shone with silver as if painted by moonlight’.
It’s also rather dark: it’s certainly not marriage to one of the king’s daughters – the happily ever after ending of the Grimm version that this soldier seeks. Nevertheless although readers are left to decide for themselves what happens to him, we’re left with a hope that the soldier finds that which he goes in search of after leaving the royal gathering.

Ehsan Abdollahi’s collage illustrations are absolutely right for Jackie Morris’s rendition: from endpaper to endpaper, with puppet-like figures, they’re exquisitely detailed, infused with melancholy and mystery, and reminded me rather of medieval tapestries.

The Misadventures of Frederick

October 9, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Misadventures of Frederick
Ben Manley and Emma Chichester Clark
Two Hoots

Frederick lives in a large mansion surrounded by beautiful countryside and seemingly lacks for nothing, except the one thing he truly wants – freedom.

Emily in contrast is free to roam but lacks a friend and playmate.
One day she notices Frederick and realising he is bored, she sends him a note inviting him to join her outside for ice-cream.

Much of the ensuing story takes place through Emma Chichester Clark’s exquisite illustrations that are alternately dark and gloomy (when the focus is on Frederick), or bright and full of light and colour when showing Emily’s actions in the great outdoors.

The text in contrast is almost exclusively in the form of the written communication between the two characters; Emily’s being short, sharp notes;

Frederick’s are penned in a rather flowery, poetic style characteristic of a child who lives his life in his head.

Gradually Emily’s messages grow briefer until there comes a cry,

a cry that finally lures Frederick into taking a risk and tasting what it’s like to be free.

His freedom however comes at a small price as the final page shows; but readers are left knowing that one small setback isn’t going to deter the boy in future.

I absolutely loved this book: the combination of the clever narrative and the story extending illustrations makes for a highly unusual picture book with a strong message for risk averse adults as well as listeners whether or not they’re unlucky enough to be in situations similar to Frederick’s.

Step Inside Homes Through History / Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery

October 8, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Step Inside Homes Through History
Goldie Hawk and Sarah Gibb
Nosy Crow

Most readers of this book will recognise many of the features of the contemporary house illustrated herein, and those who are as old as this reviewer will recognise some of the rather garish décor shown in the sixties home. How many though, unless they are members of the National Trust or have a special interest in the topic, will know what living in a Late Middle Ages manor house or a Tudor mansion was like?

Three double spreads each, explore seven periods in time from the mid 13th century through to the present day.
Intricately detailed laser-cut pages show us not only the particular residence outside

and in, but also the fashions, family life and furniture of the period.

You can have fun tracing the evolution of the bathroom from the medieval gardrobes – ‘a bench over a big hole which went outside the house’

to the Georgian chamber pot beneath the bed, the new Victorian indoor flushing toilet through to the present day en-suite bathrooms that many of us have. Also fun is the ‘spot the artefact’ feature where readers are asked to find a named item of furniture or small object in each house.

Full of interesting snippets of information, this well-illustrated book is worth buying for a classroom collection, or if you intend visiting a stately home or historic house, whether or not it belongs to the National Trust, Nosy Crow’s collaborators for this title.

Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery
Jake Williams
Pavilion Books

Following his Really Remarkable Reptiles, illustrator/designer Jake Williams has created another fascinating, stylishly illustrated book, this time about the naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin famous for his epic voyages of adventure on HMS Beagle and his theory of evolution ‘On the Origin of Species’.

The amazing creatures both large and small that Darwin saw during his explorations (some of which we see larger than life illustrated herein) furnished a wealth of detailed notes and drawings, observation data and fossil specimens; and readers can follow in the footsteps of the famous biologist as he travels the world for five years as the Beagle ship’s biologist sailing from England to the Cape Verde islands, from Brazil to the Galapagos and from Tahiti to Australia and finally, back home.

There’s a wealth of information about such things as the ‘cracker’ butterflies of Brazil;

how Darwin unearthed the skull of a giant ground sloth in Argentina and the steamer ducks he observed in the Falklands,

as well as maps showing the Beagle’s progress.

Recommended for all those with enquiring minds, this is a beautifully produced book that highlights the importance that careful observation makes in the furtherance of scientific discovery.

It’s MY Sausage! / The Cutest Thing Ever

October 8, 2019October 8, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

It’s MY Sausage!
Alex Willmore
Maverick Publishing

One fat juicy sausage, five cats all with designs on it. The mustard coloured moggy lays claim, having so we hear ‘seen it first’ but has decided to delay gratification.

A dramatic comedy then unfolds as the others endeavour to procure the desired item by means of a rod and line, a ball of wool …

and some acrobatics.

Deceptively simple and hugely expressive illustrations of the rival felines tell much of the story along with a brief discourse provided by mustard moggy and punctuated with descriptive onomatopoeic sound effects and exclamations by the competing cats.

Who actually gets to eat the tempting morsel though? That would be telling wouldn’t it …

A hugely entertaining romp of a picture book.

The Cutest Thing Ever
Amy Ignatow and Hsinping Pan
Abrams Appleseed

A small purple bat narrator poses the question ‘Want to see the cutest thing ever?’

We turn the page to find a cuddly looking monster. Our bat friend then goes on to present an assortment of alternative possibilities adding kittens, hats and a unicorn to ride on. Not satisfied he continues with ‘A parade of koala bears’ – musical making ones, dancing bunnies, and then the whole show goes crazy with …

These astronauts eventually surround the rest of the competing crew before the bat, now appearing absolutely desperate to please, proffers one last suggestion … could that reveal the cutest ever possibility.

Little ones will certainly enjoy the finale. Silly nonsense but I imagine cries of ‘again’!

Into the Deep

October 7, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Into the Deep: An Exploration of Our Oceans
Wolfgang Dreyer and Annika Siems
Prestel

Prepare to be swept away at the sights you’ll see as you plunge into this exploration of the awesome life forms that lie beneath our oceans.

We journey, with marine biologist Wolfgang Dreyer, courtesy of the research vessel Meteor aboard which is a submersible that enables us to meet some of the incredible creatures from plankton, the tiniest microscopic life forms, to the enormous mammalian creatures such as the sperm whale, and its prey, the giant squid, the largest invertebrate on earth.

Did you know the reason the sea looks greener during the warmer months is down to the proliferation of phytoplankton, the minute chlorophyll-containing organisms.

These are a vital food source for many kinds of aquatic animals; indeed phytoplankton are at the base of the ocean food chain.

I was totally fascinated to read about the atolla jellyfish, in particular Atolla wyvillei a species of crown jellyfish, and the way in which it uses bioluminescence, flashing first blue and then red, the latter being invisible in the deep sea and thus acting as a protective mechanism.

Perhaps even more surprising is that there are other unrelated deep-sea creatures that also use red for protection including, the world’s largest crab, the Japanese spider crab.

The author has packed a considerable amount of information into this book but at no time does it overwhelm despite the fact that he never talks down to his audience, rather he uses scientific terminology throughout to discuss such things as morphology and physiology.

The nature of this book is such that readers are unlikely to encounter in the flesh most of the animals featured, but Annika Siems’ oil paintings, some in really large format, bring them to life and allow for close scrutiny of the wonders of the deep.

A terrific book for the curious, for those inspired by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 series and budding marine biologists alike. It ends with a heartfelt plea from author and artist to stop littering our oceans with plastic and other garbage.

Speedy Monkey / An Owl Called Star

October 7, 2019jillrbennett 1 Comment

Speedy Monkey
Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Chantelle & Burgen Thorne
Stripes

Speedy Monkey, like many young humans is bursting with energy and inquisitiveness. Nothing wrong with that except that the other rainforest creatures think that his constant capering is way too lively and noisy; peace and quiet is what they crave.

Speedy’s efforts to be more like them are a dismal failure and none of them has any desire to emulate the little monkey.

Come nightfall, as the animals try to sleep, Bat suggests if Speedy wants to do what he was born to do he should go to the edge of the forest, climb to the top of the Kapok tree and … “Everyone will love you for it.”

Speedy does just that, but being completely alone is no fun at all.
Suddenly a really fierce storm approaches and Speedy knows that he has to warn his fellow animals of the danger.

There’s no time to lose, but will they heed his warning?

Happily yes, but once they’re all safely gathered in Bat’s cave, one creature is notable by his absence …

Jeanne Willis’s telling is as lively and full of fun as her protagonist in this latest addition to the Stripes’ series of full colour fiction for new solo readers. Also exuding liveliness are Chantelle and Burgen Thorne’s funny, spirited illustrations of Speedy and his fellow rainforest dwellers.

For those ready for a longer read is

An Owl Called Star
Helen Peters, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon
Nosy Crow

This is the eighth story about Jasmine and her best friend Tom. Here the two are out walking with Jasmine’s sheepdog when he disappears and in their hunt for him, they come upon an injured barn owl in some brambles and they name it Star.

With the help of Jasmine’s mum, the owl gradually regains its strength; but barn owls are hunters that love to feed on small mammals and Jasmine has also offered to look after Aisha’s hamster for the weekend. Is it wise to keep both cages in the same room? Not only that but she’s also planning a secret Halloween party. It looks as though she might just have taken on rather more than she can cope with, especially when the hamster goes missing after Jasmine forgets to secure the door of his cage, and then Mum declares that Star is ready to be released.

Readers, especially animal lovers, will lap up this story and along the way learn a fair bit about barn owls from the information Helen Piers has skilfully woven into her narrative. Ellie Snowden’s detailed pencil drawings that break up the text are a delight.

Flaps, Frights and Fun for Little Ones

October 6, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Where’s Mrs Bear?
Where’s Mrs Witch?
Ingela P Arrhenius
Nosy Crow

The two new additions to the deservedly popular hide-and-seek series that uses a simple repeat question and answer pattern are terrific fun. Using shaped felt flaps and a final mirror, tinies can enjoy discovering the whereabouts of several woodland animals in the former before being confronted, thanks to the hidden mirror, by their own image beneath the flap on the final spread.
The second title has a distinct Halloween theme with a skeleton, a spider, a vampire and Mrs Witch to find as well as enjoying a spot of self-revelation beneath the ghost.
Engaging, spot on interactive entertainment and unobtrusive learning for the very youngest.
Talking of Halloween …

Monsters Come Out Tonight!
Frederick Glasser and Edward Miller
Abrams Appleseed

There surely are all manner of ghastlies and ghoulies lurking behind the flaps in this jaunty rhyming, mock scary book. There are witches combing their locks, Frankenstein showing off his new sporty trainer boots, Dracula brushing his fangs and ghosties sporting bow ties and top hats. What is the purpose of all this titivating, you might be wondering. The final fold out spread reveals all.

Little human monsters can enjoy some monstrously shivery, door-opening fun herein.

Farmblock
Christopher Franceschelli and Peskimo
Abrams Appleseed

The latest of the popular block series takes us down on the farm where little ones can follow the two children through a day’s work as well as the seasonal activities that take place.
The cock crows, the children do their round, collecting eggs from the hens, carrying compost and then bathing the dog after a stinky roll in the muck, help with the milking and feeding the pigs. It’s harvest time so they stop for a lunchtime picnic in the field before picking baskets of rosy apples for pie-making .
There are pumpkins to carve, and later on a celebratory thanksgiving feast.
Winter brings the frost and snow; Mum chops wood and they make sure the animals and birds have enough to eat before heading home for toasted marshmallows by the fire.
At last it’s spring and with it come baby lambs and seed planting.
When summer arrives there’s grass cutting and baling, berry picking, and jam making ready for the farmers’ market.

As is characteristic of the series, this one has gatefolds, die-cut pages and plenty to enjoy in team Peskimo’s attractive illustrations.

Yum Yummy Yuck
Cree Lane and Amanda Jane Jones
Prestel

Here’s a very simply illustrated board book that offers a fun way to show toddlers what is fine to consume and what definitely isn’t.

Using the titular patterned text followed by a ‘don’t put in your mouth’ item that is explained simply, such as ‘If you try to eat sand … you’ll immediately regret it’;’ or ‘Coins don’t go in your tummy, they go in your piggy bank!’ accompanied by simple stylised images of such items as ice-cream, fruit, vegetables as well as crayons, bogies, soap and toothpaste.

Having shared this, adults might collect items from around the kitchen and play a ‘yum’ ‘yucky’ game with their tinies using a thumbs up/thumbs down action to reinforce the idea.

Meet the Gumboot Kids

October 5, 2019October 5, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Case of the Vanishing Caterpillar
The Case of the Wooden Timekeeper
The Case of the Growing Bird Feeder
The Case of the Story Rock
Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford
Firefly Books

These four nature story books feature a couple of soft-toy mouse characters Daisy and Scout and are a spin-off from a Canadian animated TV series The Gumboot Kids.

In The Case of the Vanishing Caterpillar the pair track down Scout’s caterpillar friend, following clues such as nibbled leaves and an empty chrysalis case on a branch before spotting the missing insect in the form of a butterfly.

Scout sets Daisy the puzzle of searching the forest to find The Missing Timekeeper in the second book. Even when she locates the tree stump, Scout has to point out the rings on the cut surface of the Douglas Fir and they head to the library to discover their significance.

In the Growing Bird Feeder story it’s Daisy’s turn to set the challenge, but her friend is puzzled to hear while they picnic in the woods that she has forgotten to water her feeders. “What kind of bird feeders grow?’ he wants to know.
Returning to Daisy’s garden they eventually see a bird land on one of her tall sunflowers for a seed feast.

In the fourth book the two friends unearth the Story Rock when they dig up an ammonite fossil; then back at the campsite Daisy’s book explains how fossils are formed and that fossils tell us stories about ancient plants and animals.

Each book has a similar structure – a nature puzzle being set by one or other of the mice, with clues provided in their notebooks. Once the mystery is solved further information is sought from a reference or library book.

The characters then share a mindfulness moment when they consider their findings and at the end of the book there are double spreads with field notes and a related craft activity.

I’m always advocating the importance of fostering a love of nature in the very young, so welcome this series which clearly aims to get young children outdoors and eager to discover more about the world around them; these stories are certainly engaging and contain just the right amount of information in the narrative to spark their curiosity.

Heidi

October 4, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Heidi
Retold by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Briony May Smith
Nosy Crow

Jeanne Willis retells the Johanna Spyri classic tale for a slightly younger audience than the original book. I remember totally loving the story of the orphan Heidi as a child and was fascinated to learn of this new version.

It’s a beautiful gift edition in Nosy Crow’s Classics series and both author and illustrator have done a cracking job making the story more accessible while retaining the spirit of the original.

When her Aunt Dete takes her to live with her grandfather, the spirited Heidi quickly makes friends with Peter the goat boy, and soon softens her Grandpa’s heart – Grandpa Alps as he’s known by the villagers.

She spends a happy two years in his mountain home; but then comes the devastating news. Heidi is to go to Frankfurt to act as companion to little Clara, the sickly daughter of a rich man there. So says her aunt Dete who turns up one day and whisks her away insisting it’s “the chance of a lifetime.”

Miss Rottenmeier is a veritable dragon of a woman and Heidi finds it hard living so far from her beloved mountain home, despite getting on well with Clara,

so much so that she starts sleepwalking.

After a while the doctor suggests that the only cure for her is to let her return to her Grandpa. But what will happen to her new friend, Clara; will they ever meet again?

If you’re looking for a book for a developing reader and want to introduce them to the delights of Heidi, Jeanne Willis’ splendid telling really brings the characters to life and Bryony’s finely detailed illustrations are absolutely gorgeous.

You’re Strong With Me

October 4, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

You’re Strong With Me
Chitra Soundar and Poonam Mistry
Lantana Publishing

For her third ‘With Me’ book Chitra Soundar sets her story on the scorched African grasslands and features a pair or giraffes – a mother one and her baby – taking for her repeat refrain ‘You’re strong with me’; and as with her previous titles, Chitra has done her background research.

Gently and reassuringly, the adult giraffe offers encouragement, advice and information as her little one begins to explore the world around.

There is so much to learn: the little one is unaware of the special symbiotic relationship between oxpeckers and giraffes and so attempts to shoo away the oxpecker that has landed on his mother’s back.

Mother giraffe explains its role (eating ‘itchy insects’ and cleaning her fur) and saying that what hurts her baby’s skin now will feel a mere tickle once her skin thickens. “Until then you’re strong with me” she comments.

The dangers of fire and its role in renewal are also explored,

as is the importance of being acutely aware of any sounds around; that way is to be forewarned of other animals be they foe or otherwise.

Further lessons follow as sunset comes and baby giraffe needs help reaching the water to quench her thirst

and then soon it’s time to stop for the night.

As always, intricately patterned composition and colour palette are key in Poonam’s illustrations. For You’re Strong With Me a multitude of brown and golden hues predominate, strongly evoking the arid landscapes of the setting (I have some curtains from India in a pattern and colour very similar to the endpapers.) and when appropriate she adds teal shades for the creek wherein the little giraffe encounters baby fish and is instructed how to quench her thirst, doing so safely under her mother’s watchful eyes.

The Chitra/Poonam partnership goes from strength to strength: whither next? I can’t wait to see.

The Hike / What John Marco Saw

October 3, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Hike
Alison Farrell
Chronicle Books

In this smashing book we share an outdoor adventure with three lively young human protagonists and dog Bean whose favourite thing is hiking.

With Wren seemingly, acting as narrator, we see them setting off together up Buck Mountain running ‘like maniacs’ through the forest until a patch of ripe berries slows them down and having gorged themselves, El teaches the others how to make leaf baskets.

Continuing on up a steep narrow trail, they get lost. But thanks to Hattie’s map- reading skills, they find the way back onto the trail.

Taking delight in the fauna and flora they pass – the tiny snail, the fleetingly-there deer, the birds, the fish, the wild flowers (each one labelled) – eventually the girls reach the summit.
There, under a beautiful yellowish-pink sky they celebrate by waving a flag (Wren), reading a poem (El) and releasing feathers into the wind (Hattie).

Celebration over, they head back home beneath a starry sky.
There’s SO much to love about this uplifting story: the children’s determination and perseverance, their camaraderie and above all, their joie-de-vivre and the pleasure each in her own way, takes in the natural world.

Within the pleasingly designed gouache, ink and pencil spreads the hikers share with readers, comments via speech bubbles, additional details courtesy of Wren’s sketchbook and after the story eight further pages of illustrated, more detailed notes from the sketchbook.

Immersive, exciting, and hopes this reviewer, a book that will motivate youngsters to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature whatever the weather.

What John Marco Saw
Annie Barrows and Nancy Lemon
Chronicle Books

In contrast to his family and neighbours who are preoccupied with their own private worlds, young John Marco notices the world around him.

But nobody’s interested in the big green grasshopper with black bulging eyes chewing grass,

the worms or the fossil in the rock, not even the big old orange cat with her stomach ‘almost dragging on the ground she was so fat’ that went ‘prr-rrup’ when he sat close by.

Surely though when he reports that there’s a tree falling down in the front yard – albeit slowly – somebody will pay attention. But despite Mum’s ‘Trees don’t just fall down” – yes, she does finally come and look – fall it does just like he’d said several times before.

Could this event herald the start of John Marco receiving what he and the things he reports on, deserve – the attention of everyone around. Maybe, just maybe …

An unusual, wryly observed demonstration that it’s wise to listen to what children have to say, and a reminder to us all to slow down and take note of the small things in life.

The Golden Cage

October 3, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Golden Cage
Anna Castagnoli and Carll Cneut
Book Island

Dark, disturbing and enigmatic are the words that immediately sprang to mind after I read this fairy tale from Europe, which is a collaboration between French-Italian author, Anna Castagnolii and the Belgian illustrator of Witchfairy, Carll Cneut.

It tells of the Emperor’s daughter, an incredibly indulged girl who, despite having everything she desires, is not happy.

Her particular penchant is for birds of which she has a vast number but her greed drives her to want still more. Her demands become increasingly hard to meet: ‘a bird with glass wings!’ … ‘a bird that spurts water like a fountain’ …

Many, many servants lose their heads as they try in vain to fulfil her outrageous requests

till finally with her newest cage, a golden one, yet to be filled, Valentina has a dream.

In this dream she meets a talking bird

and knows that this is what she must have to complete her collection.

Off go the servants to search but again their offerings do not fit the bill and CHOP! off come their heads. It’s conversation, not mimicry she desires in her parrot.

Time passes, the palace gradually becomes a ruin and the cage remains empty.

Then one day a young servant boy, new to Valentina with ‘eyes as cunning as arrows’ approaches her eliciting a promise from her in exchange for the bird she yearns for.

Rather than a bird, the boy returns months later with an egg, telling her that from it will hatch a talking bird.

Happy, at last, the princess waits and waits and …

But this isn’t a happily ever after ending and readers must decide for themselves the finale to this multi-layered story, as indeed they must put their own interpretation on the whole.

Caril Cneut’s illustrations – sumptuous paintings and drawings that sometimes cover an entire spread, and the child-like drawing epitomising all that Valentina yearns for, are totally arresting. The former are rich in detail, truly snaring the attention but so does the latter, which in its own way also says so much.

Not a book for young children but it’s brimming over with potential if offered to older audiences including students of literature and art.

Under the Same Sky / Little Puggle’s Song

October 2, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Under the Same Sky
Robert Vescio and Nicky Johnston
New Frontier Publishing

Two young children living on opposite sides of the world yearn for friendship.
The boy resides in a city, the girl in a rural area yet it’s he who uses metaphors of the natural world to express his longing – “We are like the sky and sea … always apart. Never touching.’

As he stares out through the window one night, there’s a pigeon sitting on the ledge and that gives him an idea.

Creativity takes over as, with its help the lad finds a way to bridge that seemingly impossible distance and light up the world of the little girl.

The gentle, softly spoken words of the boy demonstrate how with imagination and determination true friendship can endure against the odds and across the miles. Not only does he touch the heart of the one he reaches out to but also that of the reader. The inherent tenderness of the text is reflected in Nicky Johnston’s gorgeous watercolours, which provide a perfect complement to Robert Vescio’s narrative.

Little Puggle’s Song
Vikki Conley and Hélène Magisson
New Frontier Publishing

Puggle the echidna longs to sing but no matter how he tries there’s only silence. Deep down he knows that echidnas can’t sing, nor even make a sound;

but is there perhaps a way he can become a part of the bush choir that has been asked to sing a welcome song for the emu chicks that are soon to hatch.

As the days pass Puggle can merely look on as the other animals under the leadership of Brown Feather, practise their rendition.

Then on the night before the special performance he hears the news – Brown Feather is sick. Can he possibly save the day?

Lyrically told, Vikki Conley’s heartfelt story of determination and fulfilling your dreams reads aloud well and with Hélène Magisson’s beautifully painted scenes of the fauna and flora of the Australian bush, this picture book will introduce Australian wildlife to youngsters outside the antipodes.

Starbird

October 2, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Starbird
Sharon King-Chai
Two Hoots

When the Moon King has a daughter, he determines to give her the most wonderful gift in the world, the beautiful Starbird whose singing weaves magical dreams.

He captures the creature and puts it in a cage so the girl can hear its enchanting song.

For the princess though, the joy of hearing Starbird’s sweet evening song is short- lived for she soon sees how captivity is affecting the creature. She opens the cage and lets it fly away thus incurring the wrath of her father.

He sets off in search of the bird that is only on the wing by day while the Moon King sleeps.

Starbird’s travels to find home once more take him to the jungle,

the ocean, desert lands and the mountains; but although the creatures of each are kind and caring, none of their homes is home to Starbird. The mountain creatures though tell of a faraway place that just sounds right for him.

But the Moon King grabs Starbird as he takes flight before the stars are hidden, and once more he is put in the cage; this time with terrible consequences.

Happily though it isn’t too late to save the prisoner, for the Moon King’s daughter finally makes her father understand.

Told in rich language, this lyrical fable of love and freedom has a timeless quality that will enthral and delight readers and listeners of all ages. Sharon King-Chai’s illustrations play with light using shadows, silhouette and reflection as well as colour to stunning effect.

Exquisite and powerful as they are though, they never detract from her telling; rather the entire work becomes one seamless magical enriching experience that is woven together rather like the Songbird’s song itself.

Totally FAB-U-LOUS!

Kindness Grows / Get Up, Stand Up

October 1, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Kindness Grows
Britta Teckentrup
Caterpillar Books

Within her signature style collage scenes, Britta Teckentrup cleverly uses the growing die-cut image to represent on the verso spreads an ever widening crack or rift caused by bad feelings towards others or unkindness of some sort, while on the recto the same shape grows to become something positive – a beautiful tree nurtured by acts of loving kindness towards others be they words spoken or actions such as sharing, forging a new friendship, working or playing together.

Little by little though, as the rhyming narrative says, from a small beginning – a simple seed of kindness like a smile or reaching out …

even a seemingly enormous rift can be repaired.
If only …

Get Up, Stand Up
Cedella Marley and John Jay Cabuay
Chronicle Books

The daughter of reggae artist and social activist Bob Marley has taken one of her father’s most popular songs and used it to create a powerful picture book message for young readers and listeners.

That message is clear and unequivocal – don’t let anyone bully you or other people – and we’re witness, thanks to Cabuay’s bold, bright scenes rendered in pencil and digitally, to a school day wherein when such bullying happens, the other children don’t just stand by and watch. Instead, they stand up and rally round be it in the playground,

at the bus stop, on the school bus, in the street or the park.

The final spreads show the youngsters hoisting a huge flag depicting Bob Marley and his anthem One Love above the stage whereon they then dance and sing for all they’re worth.

This is a book to have in primary classrooms to open up discussion on themes such as standing up for yourself and others in the face of injustice, no matter what that may be. Certainly in the UK right now, it’s a message that needs saying over and over. Of course it isn’t always easy to do but it’s never too early to start learning the appropriate ways to respond to discrimination, abuse, inequality, prejudice or any kind of wrong doing.

Poems To Fall In Love with

October 1, 2019jillrbennett 2 Comments

Poems To Fall In Love With
chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell
Macmillan Children’s Books

I’d already fallen in love with a good number of the poems Chris Riddell has included in this superb collection, but finding them here is still as much a joy as discovering the unfamiliar ones he’s chosen.

One of the latter in the first section Love and Friendship is Neil Gaiman’s Locks, inspired by the story of the Three Bears. It begins and ends, ‘We owe it to each other to tell stories.’ Powerful and very moving it was written by Gaiman for his then very young daughter.

Another new one to delight me was A.F.Harrold’s Postcards From The Hedgehog. The prickly writer is Simon and in his second card he writes this: ‘Dear Mum, / Lovely weather today. / I saw a really pretty girl. / Not sure how to approach her. / She makes me really shy / but just all warm inside. / I rolled up into a ball. / Wish you were here. / love Simon.‘

Two cards later we hear how Simon made his approach and what happened. It’s wonderfully droll and really made me laugh.

Another long time favourite of mine, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, is included in the section Let’s Stick Together; I think no collection of poems of love poetry is complete without this one that begins ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediment. Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove:’

This is followed by the less likely The Owl and the Pussy Cat that I’ve adored since my father first started reading to me from a collection of Lear’s nonsense verse even before I started school.

This is a wonderfully eclectic collection of old and new: you’ll find John Donne, Emily Bronte, Blake, Betjeman, Grace Nichols, Roger McGough, Carol Ann Duffy, Sylvia Plath, Derek Walcott, even the compiler himself .

Jan Dean’s Tomorrow when you will not wake left me with a huge lump in my throat; Christina Rossetti’s Remember, also in the final section, always has the same effect.

I could continue talking of the delights herein but instead will conclude by mentioning another of my all time favourites, E.E. Cummings’ i carry your heart with me that’s part of Valentine

(Wendy Cope’s poem of that name opens this section).

There’s passion, joy and heartbreak: you’ll shed tears of joy and tears of sadness and you cannot but be wowed by Riddell’s awesome black and white illustrations that make you see anew every single poem, however familiar.

Offering something for all moods, it’s a treasure of a book: I’ve certainly fallen for it.

Two for Me, One for You / Otto Goes North / Cornelia and the Jungle Machine

September 30, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Here are three recent picture books from Gecko Press each of which has friendship at its heart

Two for Me, One for You
Jörg Mühle
Gecko Press

In this fable-like tale two hungry friends, Bear and Weasel find themselves disagreeing over how to share the three mushrooms the former discovers on her way home through the forest.

Weasel cooks them for dinner

but at the table, Bear lays claim to the extra one on account of her bulk; Weasel counters that with a demand for mushroom number three saying, “I’m small, and I still have to grow”

From that small beginning grows a fully-blown fight: Bear found the mushrooms, Weasel cooked them perfectly; it was Bear’s recipe but Weasel’s favourite food and his tummy is rumbling; Bear’s stomach is bigger and with it her hunger; Weasel mentioned a rumbly tummy first; Bear wanted the extra mushroom first, she says and insults start flying. This prompts Weasel to procure mushroom number three and wave it aloft just as a fox happens to be passing by with its eye on the tasty tidbit.

Shared shock horror on the part of Bear and Weasel after which the two wish one another ‘bon appetit’ and tuck in.
Then comes dessert – uh-oh!

Comic timing combined with droll mixed media scenes of the escalating situation (I love the forest setting with the kitchen set-up) make for a fun way to introduce youngsters to the notion of sharing: how might they solve the ‘afters’ issue?

Otto Goes North
Ulrika Kestere
Gecko Press

Otto is a lemur friend of Lisa the lynx and Nils, a little bear. He has cycled many months, years perhaps, to visit the two northerners and to paint the famous northern lights to hang on his wall back home in the south.

But when he sallies forth with paints and brushes he quickly discovers that it’s so freezing cold that painting anything but zigzags is well nigh impossible. His friends are surprised since he like them is covered with fur, but they take him to the sauna along with a bowl of warming soup, instructing him to spend the night there.

Lisa and Nils consult their books – all two of them – and as luck would have it one is about wool. Even more fortunate is that the book is illustrated, for Lisa has forgotten how to read. The two make use of the pictures, together with initiative and set about combing their own fur, spinning it into wool, using vegetable leftovers to dye it and knitting a wonderful sweater – a true work of art. (Followers of a certain Scandi detective series will know of the Scandinavian predilection for fancy sweaters).

When Otto eventually emerges, somewhat recovered, from the sauna, they present him with the splendid gift.

Then, snugly clad in same, he is able to spend several hours painting outside.

The three then pass many contented days together before their visitor sets off home with happy memories and a wonderful item to add to the arty pieces already hanging on his wall.

A wonderfully heart warming story portraying the spirit of friendship that goes the extra mile, some amusing banter between the main characters and whimsical illustrations of the chilly Nordic setting (love the green roof) make for a satisfying book to share.

Cornelia and the Jungle Machine
Nora Brech
Gecko Press

Cornelia dislikes the large, gloomy home she’s moved into. There’s nobody to play with and since it’s clear she’s not going to help unpack, her parents send her outside to look around.

She sallies forth into the surrounding forest accompanied by her scruffy-looking dog and thus begins an incredible adventure.
Up, up, up a ladder that descends from one of the trees she climbs and encounters a boy named Fredrik who invites her into his treetop abode to view his many inventions, in particular his jungle machine.

Wheels are turned and buttons pressed whereupon tropical plants appear from what look like vintage gramophone horns and morph into a fully-fledged tropical jungle wherein lush fruits abound. A huge bird descends to take the children flying before dropping them beside a winding river where a sailing boat awaits.

After an incredible adventure, Cornelia bids her new friend farewell, knowing that henceforward, she’ll have any number of further rendezvous to look forward to.

This gothic style fantasy unfolds in little over a hundred words of dialogue and intricately detailed sequences of Edward Gorey-like illustrated spreads showing Cornelia’s magical mystery experiences that will draw in readers, helping to ensure that like the girl, they will be eager to immerse themselves in the make believe world of the imagination. The vertical orientation of the pages heightens the aerial nature of the tree top story.

Pick a Pumpkin

September 30, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Pick a Pumpkin
Patricia Toht and Jarvis
Walker Books

Bursting with mellow fruitfulness is this second offering from Patricia Toht and Jarvis.

We join a family as they go to the pumpkin patch to take their pick from the plethora of orange, white and speckled green fruits of the vine.

Then after a pause for some seasonal treats en route they return home with a loaded van ready to start carving.

And so they do, amassing the appropriate tools just in time for the arrival of a whole ‘pumpkin carving crew’ who are ready and willing to join in the fun.

It truly is a hands on, tactile experience as, once the tops are removed, hands are plunged inside to grab the innards as they pull at ‘Lumpy chunks. Sticky strings. Clumpy seeds. Guts and things.’

Then comes the really artful part; carving the faces for a wonderful array of creations with their frowns, grins, smirks and snarls, eerie, or angry or forming a kiss.

After that it’s time for decorations, donning costumes, taking those carved faces outside and with adult help lighting the lights that transform mere pumpkins to grinning, glowing jack-o-lanterns ready to stand guard as you venture forth to join in the fun.

With its easy on the ear, rhyming narrative and Jarvis’ scenes all a-glow with rich autumnal colours, what better way to kick off those Halloween celebrations than with a reading of this magical book with youngsters?

I Am Love / The Golden Rule

September 29, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

I Am Love
Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Showing love and compassion towards others is one of the most powerful things we can do for our fellow human beings.

What’s more it doesn’t cost us anything; we just need open hearts and the willingness to give some of our time.

That is what the child narrator in Susan Verde and Peter Reynold’s latest ‘I Am … ‘ book demonstrates.

When we discover somebody is going through a tough time, perhaps something has happened to make them feel hurt, sad or angry, something unfair maybe; if a person is fearful and it seems as though darkness is all around, a listening ear may be all that is required … or a loving hug and some softly spoken, reassuring words like “Everything will be alright.”

Love is also gratitude: being thankful for what we have; it’s taking care of our minds and bodies.

Understanding is key and on occasion love is expressed creatively and takes effort.

Remembering is another way of showing love – remembering those who have died or are no longer with us for other reasons, perhaps a friend has moved away but they still need our love.

Small gestures can mean so much; they’re a way of demonstrating our connectedness to every living thing in the world, no matter what life brings.

The book concludes with an author’s note, a few heart-opening yoga poses and a final heart meditation.

Add this to your foundation stage PSHE class collection.

The Golden Rule
Ilene Cooper and Gabi Swiatkowska
Abrams Books for Young Readers

In a city street a boy and his grandfather stand together looking at a sign that says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ The boy asks what it says. Grandpa reads and explains that the world over it’s called the Golden Rule.

As they walk further they talk about its meaning and for whom it’s applicable. Grandpa says it’s for “Everyone, everywhere”.

No matter the religion, the same basic tenet – essentially the cross cultural, universal reciprocity principle – is found in the holy book of the six examples he cites – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and the Shawnee tribe.

On a park bench the discussion turns both more realistic and philosophical, as the old man asks the boy to imagine himself in certain situations and asking how he would react. It then moves on to embrace countries as well as individuals – … “maybe there wouldn’t be wars,” comments the lad

before coming right back to the notion that, as Grandpa states in conclusion, you can’t make others practice the Golden Rule, … “It begins with you.”

Somewhat didactic yes, but the message also holds good for those of no religious faith such as this reviewer and Ilene Cooper’s text offers a good starting point for discussion with primary school children.

Incorporating both traditional religious symbolism and floral, avian and animal imagery Gabi Swiatkowska’s richly pattered, painterly illustrations, have an old fashioned look about them that feels just right for the book.

Reading Beauty

September 28, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Reading Beauty
Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt
Chronicle Books

If, like this reviewer, you enjoy fractured fairy tales of the feminist kind, then this latest one from the Interstellar Cinderella team, Deborah Underwood, who supplies the pacey rhyming narrative and Meg Hunt, the illustrator, will surely appeal.

Princess Lex, along with the majority of inhabitants of the planetoid, is a bibliophile. Lex’s room is bursting with books and she reads at every hour of the day and night. She’s even trained Prince her puppy to acquire reading material for her.

On her fifteenth birthday however, she wakes to discover all her books have disappeared.

Her parents explain that when she was born there was a birthday celebration but one fairy was convinced she’d not been invited. Furious: she’d uttered a curse to take effect on Lex’s fifteenth birthday;

the princess would get a paper cut causing her to fall into a death-like sleep.

A life without books? It doesn’t bear thinking about so Lex resolves to find the fairy and make her lift the curse.

With the assistance of Prince and a bot, she acquires and reads appropriate books to help her find the fairy’s lair, and another to be able to land. But that fairy isn’t finished yet: she’s determined to have one more try.

Happily though Lex outsmarts the fairy but the plot takes a surprise twist or two before reaching its satisfying ’happily ever after’ that will especially please book lovers. So too will Meg Hunt’s lively, futuristic, patterned, mixed media illustrations – love those end papers.

A good one to add to any primary class fairy tale collection.

The History of Prehistory

September 27, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The History of Prehistory
Mick Manning and Brita Granström
Otter-Barry Books

Team Manning and Granström present another first-rate non-fiction book for young readers.

We join their two child protagonists as they set off on an incredible adventure that takes them back 4 billion years to the time when Earth was volcanic and still way too hot to support life.

To travel from those fiery beginnings of Earth and Moon right through to the Bronze Age (5.300 to 3,200 year ago) is an awesome journey that encompasses a stop to investigate the explosion of life during the Cambrian period,

followed by a canoe trip to view the giant fungi of the late Silurian Period.

From then animal life proliferates and the time travellers encounter an incredible array of creatures including giant dragonflies, the first completely land-based reptiles; and even more awesome they get to fly on the backs of Pterosaurs above such dinosaurs as Diplodocuses.

Having investigated the Periods when dinosaurs ruled, they pause to spend a while with tree-dwelling mammals before they join the clever apes of the Miocene Epoch as they swing above the forest floor and on to the Pliocene Epoch to meet our earliest two-legged human ancestors.

With a lively narrative that respects young readers by using the correct terminology and splendid, gently humorous scenes of the various creatures, as well as a glossary and timeline game, this exciting book will be avidly read by individuals fascinated with past times as well as being welcomed by teachers using it to support the primary curriculum.

The Pirate Tree

September 27, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Pirate Tree
Brigita Orel and Jennie Poh
Lantana Publishing

Inspired by a weathered tree in which she sits, young captain Sam sails the high seas on her pirate ship.
Suddenly though, she’s approached by another ‘sailor’ who asks to play.

“I don’t know you. You’re not from my street” comes her reply and she carries on sailing her ship solo and talking of plundering ships;

she mentions ‘diamonds from Nigeria’. At this Agu feels bound to correct her, for it’s his home country and he tells her so, talking of sailing on a ship too.

Sam then invites the newcomer aboard, albeit somewhat hesitantly but she discovers that her co-sailor knows a fair bit about how to sail and together they voyage to a deserted island and defeat pirates from a rival boat.

When Sam’s Dad calls ‘dinner time!’

it’s a rather more reluctant buccaneer who leaves her companion, having first asked his name and invited him to become her fellow crew member again.

Agu’s longing for a friend is palpable in this story and I have to say that Sam’s initial treatment of the newcomer shocked me. Happily though, the time spent together has shown Sam that friendship is the way to go, just as Agu had hoped.

Jennie Poh’s mixed media and natural textures were digitally combined and her illustrations seem to have a deliberate static feel until such time as Sam invites Agu aboard her ship, after which there’s a satisfying flow about them.

Brigita Orel’s story shows children how it’s important to be open to new friendships that can be mutually rewarding, enriching our own life and those of others.

The Last Tiger

September 26, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Last Tiger
Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

Animal freedom and conservation are the themes underlying Petr Horáček’s stunningly illustrated, ominously titled new book that begins in the jungle where there dwells a fearless tiger, the strongest, most powerful creature of all.

When a group of hunters come to the jungle, the other animals are alarmed and flee into hiding, urging the tiger to do likewise.

Undaunted the tiger ignores their warning and he’s spotted by the men who are determined to capture the beautiful creature.

Back to the city they go only to return with more men and a plan.
Luring the tiger into a net, they catch him, and he’s taken away and put in a cage for all to see.

In captivity, the unhappy tiger dreams only of running free in the jungle and gradually wastes away. The humans lose interest in him

and one night he’s able to slip between the bars of his cage.

Free once more, the tiger regains his strength and stature while always remembering that what he values most is being free.

Very much a modern fable, this thought provoking book with its vibrant, richly patterned art invites readers of all ages to consider the fragility of freedom itself.

Waiting for Wolf

September 26, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Waiting for Wolf
Sandra Dieckmann
Hodder Children’s

Have a box of tissues at the ready when you read this new Sandra Dieckmann picture book.

Good friends Fox and Wolf pass their time happily by the lake, talking, laughing and sometimes taking a dip.

One day as they sit together, Wolf entreats his friend “promise you’ll always remember this perfect day.”

As night falls, Wolf tenderly embraces Fox telling him quietly, “Tomorrow I will be starlight.” Content, but unsure what he means, Fox lets it be.

The following morning she goes out in the hope of finding her friend sparkling like a star but of Wolf there is no sign.

That evening Fox goes to their favourite lakeside place, still waiting and hoping to see Wolf. Could he be up in the sky, wonders Fox as she gazes at the twinkling stars.

She decides to climb up the mountain towards the brightest star in the firmament and on reaching the top calls out her friend’s name but all around is silence.

Reaching up Fox takes hold of the blanket of stars and enfolds herself within. Once more, in a soft whisper now, she asks, “Wolf are you there?”

Now deep inside knowing that her friend has gone, she lets her tears flow;

but then she sees something amazing in the darkness and she recalls Wolf’s words on their final day together. Back comes a stream of happy memories and as Fox replaces the star blanket, a feeling of peace takes its place, and with it an understanding of her friend’s talk of starlight.

Sandra Diekmann’s deeply affecting story of love and loss is stunningly illustrated. With exquisite details of the flora and fauna, every spread is breath-takingly beautiful. The sight of Fox enveloping herself in the starry blanket left me with a lump in my throat; her sense of loss is truly palpable.

What better book than this to open discussion about bereavement and coming to terms with it?

On Sleepy Hill / I Love You Brighter than the Stars

September 25, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

On Sleepy Hill
Patricia Hegarty and Xuan Le
Caterpillar Books

Layered scenes of the natural world as the day draws to a close and accompanying rhyming couplets give sleepy humans the opportunity to view and bid goodnight to the inhabitants of first a woodland where baby rabbits return to their burrows and a little wolf peers from a hollow. Then, the bank of a mountain stream whereon a black bear watches his cubs while otters take a last look at the evening and a mother duck gathers up her ducklings.

Further up, in a mountain clearing, deer and foxes make for home and the geese fly back to their nest, and even higher while caribou and boars are almost ready for sleep,

the owl swoops, watching and waiting.

The soporific narrative and cutaway pages of the fauna and flora of Sleepy Hill should work their magic on little humans when they too are almost ready for their slumbers.

I Love You Brighter than the Stars
Owen Hart and Sean Julian
Little Tiger

Books that celebrate the forever love between parent and child seem, like the sentiment they express, never ending. Indeed this is the second from Owen Hart and Sean Julian and rather than polar bears this one features a brown bear and its cub.

While they walk together as the evening sun gives way to moonlight and stars, the adult’s gentle heartfelt words to the cub promise lifelong guidance, companionship, support and the kind of love that is there no matter what, no matter where.

As they climb the hill, the two pause to gaze at the wonders of the natural world and at the star-filled sky

before taking a moonlit dip in the mountain stream.

Then it’s time to head home and sleep, the cub safe in the knowledge that as the wind sings a gentle lullaby it is loved ‘more than all the stars that sparkle through the night.’ Who could wish for more than that?

Soft spoken, rhyming reassurance and beautiful land- and sky-scapes make for a book that is ideal bedtime sharing for adults and their little ones.

Mr Gumpy’s Rhino

September 25, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

My Gumpy’s Rhino
John Burningham
Jonathan Cape

John Burningham died at the beginning of this year and the subject of this final book was one that deeply concerned him. There’s the old Burningham humour in the story but underlying it is a serious message about animal conservation, in particular the plight of the rhinos in Africa.

Last seen driving his motor car in the early 1970s Mr Gumpy is on his travels in Africa when he finds something distressing: a baby rhinoceros that has been left parentless on account of poachers taking their horns.

Knowing the young animal needs milk the kindly protagonist gives it what he has

and buys what he can from the Bedouins but it’s not sufficient for the growing rhino that he calls Charlie.

There’s plenty of milk available once they board a boat, as well as greenery

but once on dry land back home, Mr Gumpy struggles to get sufficient food for the rapidly growing Charlie.

Children at the local primary school suggest the animal might work for the council, keeping the grass and wayside verges under control, an idea that Mr Gumpy wholeheartedly endorses.
Consequently Charlie is given a high vis vest and special road sign, both of which please him considerably.

To show his appreciation, when the children’s school trip is threatened Charlie charges over land and even into the sea to enable them to catch the already departed boat. Hurrah!

This, with its mix of wonderful grainy coloured images and line drawings is vintage Burningham brilliance. Only he could make the baby rhino so appealing a character: who wouldn’t be moved by the sight of him shedding tears over the loss of his parents.

Destined to join the other Mr Gumpy stories as a modern classic, this is a wonderful way to introduce the very young to the topics of endangered creatures and animal conservation.

Three Cheers for Kid McGear! / Crane Truck’s Opposites

September 24, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Three Cheers for Kid McGear!
Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford
Chronicle Books

There’s a new addition to the ‘Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site’ crew; she’s small and a lot younger than the other five trucks, clean and shiny in fact and sporting ‘cool attachments’.

The rest of the trucks are concerned about her lack of size but she’s willing to learn and ready and eager to prove her worth as a team member.

First though, at their suggestion, she waits and watches as the big trucks work on clearing the ground. Suddenly however, she receives a call for help as Excavator and Bulldozer find themselves trapped at the bottom of a steep hill.

Now it’s the time for the fast moving little Kid McGear to act

and so she does, masterminding a solution and directing operations so that the rescue becomes a team effort facilitated in no small way by her quick-thinking and agility.

Toot! Toot! Hurrah! A female truck in the team and already she’s shown her worth, demonstrating that, in this rhyming rendition with its golden glowing AG Ford illustrations of the familiar construction yard inhabitants, size doesn’t matter that much.

Crane Truck’s Opposites
Sherri Duskey and Ethan Long
Chronicle Books

Crane Truck is hard at work at the construction site and with Excavator’s help he not only spends a busy day lifting and shifting, but in so doing introduces little humans to a host of opposites. In/out, fast/slow, above/below, near/far, lifts/lowers, heavy/light, dull/bright, big/small, tall/short, clean/dirty, day/night and finally open/closed are all woven into the short narrative that takes us through from sunrise to darkness.

Gently educational rhyming fun made all the more so by Ethan Long’s friendly vehicles from Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.

The Child of Dreams

September 24, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Child of Dreams
Irena Brignull and Richard Jones
Walker Studio

A little girl lives happily with her mother until she realises that unlike the other creatures she observes, she doesn’t have a father.

The answer her mother supplies doesn’t satisfy her and so the girl resolves to find out for herself about her origins.

Her quest takes her into the woods where she encounters first a stork and then squirrels, a salmon

and a fox.

Each one provides a part of her story, which eventually leads her to the source – the place where fox had found her.

There she comes upon a boy sitting alone staring at the road behind which is a tall building. He tells her that he’s waiting for someone to come for him.

As they talk together, the girl realises that what is truly important to her is what she already has.

Unlike the boy who is still waiting to discover where he’s going, that is something which, thanks to her mother’s love; a love ‘stronger than the rocks on the mountain peak, softer than the petals of the meadow flowers, fuller than the harvest moon’, she already knows.

There’s a fairy tale feel to this magical story that is essentially one celebrating the love between a parent and child – that sense of belonging that everyone yearns for.

Richard Jones’s awesome mixed media illustrations add to the power of this story of growing up and finding how you fit into the world.

Atlas of Amazing Birds

September 23, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Atlas of Amazing Birds
Matt Sewell
Pavilion Books

Well-known wildlife author/artist Matt Sewell has selected some incredible birds – more than 120 – from all over the world for his latest book.

In his introduction he talks of ‘my personal selection of the most amazing birds in the world—the most beautiful, strange, scary, speedy, and enchanting.’ He also points out that his illustrations – full colour stylised watercolours labelled with both the bird’s common and scientific names – are not to scale (although dimensions of each are provided).

Using the continents as the organisational device, he begins in Europe with 22 birds, which are listed together with a map that labels the countries and an introductory couple of paragraphs. This same format is provided for each of the other six continents.

The accompanying text certainly doesn’t talk down to readers; its conversational style is engaging, humorous on occasion and he’s chosen his words for maximum impact. For example of the European roller he says, ‘impressive flight displays as it twists and turns in the air’; and of the chicks “they can vomit a foul-smelling liquid over themselves to keep predators at bay.’

Also included is information about whether the bird is migratory.

I particularly liked this description of the Andean cock-of-the-rock, ‘The males are dressed in an effervescent, glowing orange-red with what looks like metallic silver solar panels on their backs.’

And this one really made me smile: “brahiminy starling … has slicked-back hair and a loud and bouncy persona – just like a heartthrob Bollywood movie star.’ That bird is one I recognise from frequent visits to India as are several of the other beauties from the Asia section.

It’s hard to believe but these two African birds come from the same family for as we read ‘one could be going to the ballet, followed by a fancy dinner-party, the other could be a desert sparrow.’

All in all an alluring volume for a wide age range, show-casing some of the avian wonders of the world.

Tiny and Teeny

September 23, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Tiny and Teeny
Chris Judge
Walker Books

On the outskirts of the bustling buzzing Glengadget, in a shiny red apple lives Tiny with her pet Teeny.

Tiny spends the weekdays helping others

and by this particular Friday evening, she’s so tired that before she even gets indoors she falls fast asleep dreaming of flying through space.

As she slumbers disaster strikes her home, squishing it absolutely flat.

Despite being given a room in the Grand Hotel, Tiny misses her old home.

Now though it’s payback time: the following week all Tiny’s friends rally round and come Friday a truly wonderful surprise awaits …

which all goes to show that by working together a small community can make a big difference.

Simply bursting with love, is this itty-bitty story, with its enchanting spreads packed with quirky details and antennaed characters doesn’t bring a huge smile to your face then I’ll eat a whole watermelon (and they’re one of my most unfavourite fruits).

Grown-ups Never Do That / What’s Going On Here?

September 22, 2019September 22, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Grown-ups Never Do That
Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud
Chronicle Books

‘Adults never misbehave.’ So says the opening line of well-known collaborators Cali and Chaud’s latest offering.
But there’s a team of young sleuths at work who might just disprove the veracity of that statement and we then accompany them through the book.

Of course, they’re absolute paragons of virtue these mature people. So much so that following Cali’s tongue-in-cheek ‘Adults are always good’ on the penultimate spread he concludes with the sound advice, ‘So you really should be just like them.’

However those youngsters who have been spying on the yelling, bad temperedness, cheating, sulking, messiness, lateness,

bad manners, time wasting and the other grown-up behaviours they’ve witnessed, may well think otherwise.

The brevity of Cali’s ironic narrative is countered by Chaud’s detailed comical visuals

making for a diverting book that will please readers young and not so young.

What’s Going On Here?
Olivier Tallec
Chronicle Books

This is a mix-and-match book wherein Tallec, in his typical skittish manner, invites readers to engage in storying with a weird and wonderful cast of characters – animal and a couple of human ones – all of which are sporting rather ridiculous headwear.
You can smile at the attire of each, as you read the related plot piece and ponder the question posed before flipping to and fro to try the plethora of possible permutations that the split pages offer.

I’ve used similarly designed books (three-way split pages) with under-confident readers of all ages needing a morale boost, and I’d do the same with this somewhat more sophisticated one.

Draw Here

September 21, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Draw Here
Hervé Tullet
Chronicle Books

Full on fun as only Tullet can offer comes in the form of this brilliantly dotty activity book.

On the inside front cover is a flap of die-cut holes of various sizes folded over onto a set of patterns. This is followed by around 140 pages to adorn as per the author’s instructions; but let me make it clear, there’s plenty of scope for interpretation and creativity.

The two opening spreads are blank and thereafter users are presented with some pages littered with dots, some have relatively few or a single dot, while others have squiggly shapes, circles or a mix of dots and other shapes in Tullet’s signature primary colours.

The user is then invited to add more dots, adorn the dots in various ways,

colour carefully inside lines, add dots to loops, loop around dots, complete circles, connect dots related by colour, find a path across an entire spread without touching a single dot. Then what about creating some fruit, fish, cars, trees, flowers or people using dots as starting points.

Both fine motor skills and imaginations are stretched during the course of the pages and I can see a child getting carried away with this. All that’s needed is a few pens, pencils or crayons and a young mind ready for hours of creative pleasure.

Perfect for screen free entertainment, especially on rainy days or during holidays.

Bedtime for Albie / What Will You Dream of Tonight?

September 20, 2019jillrbennett Leave a comment

Bedtime for Albie
Sophie Ambrose
Walker Books

Little Albie warthog is one of those annoying creatures that are still full of surplus energy when it’s time for bed.
To delay the inevitable he bounds off in search of other animals to join him in some further frolicking before he succumbs to snuggle time. But the cheetahs,

elephants, and meercats have already begun their sleep-time routines and have no immediate interest in the racing, splish-splashing and digging Albie suggests, so play by himself. he must.

Dusk falls bringing with it all sorts of unfamiliar sounds and then as the stars begin to twinkle, Albie accepts Owl’s “Shouldn’t you be in bed?’ and it’s his ‘mummy’ not playmates that he wants.
Happily the hippos are ready to assist him home just in time for the best part of his bedtime ritual; and suddenly all the others want to join in the fun.

Sophie Ambrose’s wide-eyed animals are absolutely adorable: this is a bedtime book that could easily become part of a fair few little humans’ pre-sleep rituals so I suggest you emulate Albie and ‘skippety trot trit trot’ off to get hold of a copy to share.

What Will You Dream of Tonight?
Frances Stickley and Anuska Allepuz
Nosy Crow

A lilting, almost hypnotic rhyming narrative that talks straight to the young child at bedtime offers all kinds of wondrous dream possibilities.

An ocean dream might have you sailing atop a whale’s tail; on the beach there’s a wrecked ship to explore. Or what about a rocket trip to outer space and the chance to catch your very own star.

Maybe the chance to visit the jungle; take a ride on a polar bear’s back under the sparkling Arctic lights or fly your very own plane above the desert plains would be more fun.

You’d need to be brave and very quiet to enter the lair where a sleeping dragon guards his treasure so perhaps the opportunity to float gently down a woodland stream would be more appealing.

No matter what or where, there’s nothing to fear when you’re tucked safely in bed – so says the mother as she kisses goodnight her daughter.

With gorgeous spreads of each scenario by Anuska Allepuz, this is just right for sending little ones off into the land of nod. Sweet dreams!

The Stolen Spear / Buttercup Sunshine and the House on Hangman’s Hill

September 20, 2019jillrbennett 2 Comments

Here are two recent additions to Maverick Publishing’s junior fiction list

The Stolen Spear
Saviour Pirotta, illustrated by Davide Ortu
Maverick Publishing

The first in a new series set in the Late Neolithic period, on an island in the Orkneys, this is exciting historical fiction for primary age readers.

The focus is on the narrator, young Wolf, and his endeavours to discover who is really responsible for the disappearance of the sacred spear that is stolen from a burial mound during the midsummer celebrations.

And after a journey that takes him far from his village and community, from one island to another, discover the thief he does with the help of his trusty dog Shadow and friends he makes along the way.

By the time he reaches home once more, not only has Wolf secured the spear, but he’s also discovered his path in life. Tough and strong he may not be, but he’s destined to become a very special person in his community,

With illustrations by Davide Ortu adding to the atmosphere, there’s trickery, plenty of thrills, friendship, hope and determination aplenty in this twisting, turning Stone-Age tale for which the author draws on real historic links and places about which he talks in a note at the end of the book.

Buttercup Sunshine and the House on Hangman’s Hill
Colin Mulhern
Maverick Publishing

Colin Mulhern tells a tale that blends together comic horror and the classic story of Frankenstein that sees the return of Buttercup Sunshine.

As the story begins there’s been a zombie invasion of Buttercup’s locality (even her gran has been zombified) and she’s on her way to inform the town’s powers that be, when she meets a postman who begs her instead to go first to Hangman’s Hill to deliver a package to a house that has suddenly appeared as if from nowhere.

What follows is a bizarre encounter with the extremely weird and seemingly totally mad scientist calling himself Dr Frankenstein and what’s more he has a monster and a storeroom full of jars containing human brains.

Buttercup is desperate to find a cure for the zombies but as she discovers, the doc. has other plans of the world destroying kind. So when he sends her to fetch one of those brains – a very particular one – from the store, she knows she has to do something or she might even find herself becoming part of his very unearthly experiment.

I’ll say no more other that the words ‘bunny rabbit’ and the hope that she succeeds.

Totally crazy but enormous fun and ‘a bit carroty’ in its final moments.

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