Tag Abrams Books for Young Readers

Cloth Lullaby

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Cloth Lullaby
Amy Novesky and Isabelle Arsenault
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Subtitled ‘The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois’, this poetic book give details of the life of the world famous artist, best known for her sculptures. Louise spent the early part of her life living beside a river in a big family house. Her family were tapestry restorers and when she was just twelve, Louise began to learn the trade.

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Her mother taught her about form, colour and the various styles of textiles. As she learned about the warp and the weft, about the tools of the trade and how to dye, the relationship between mother and daughter became increasingly intense, ‘ … patient, soothing … subtle, indispensible … and as useful as an araignée (spider) while that with her father (not a weaver but a buyer of cloth) was more dramatic. She once threw herself into a river, so angry was she at her father’s frequent departures on buying trips.
When Louise’s mother died, deeply affected she abandoned her mathematical studies at university and turned to art. ‘She drew, she painted, she wove, She missed her mother so much, she sculpted giant spiders made of bronze, steel and marble she named maman.’

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Then later she began focusing on fabrics – the fabric of her life -, sewing, stitching, weaving and sculpting smaller, more delicate spiders …

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and other objects in particular cloth books and a cloth lullaby.
Louise Bourgeois worked in bronze, steel, wood, stone and cast rubber and in textiles. Her life story here is rendered in ink, pastel, pencil, watercolour and photoshop by Isabelle Arsenhault whose wonderful mixed media collages, predominantly in shades of red and blue, feature spiders, web designs, water and textiles, music even. These powerfully evoke the rivers and threads that were a constant running through her life, and are a superb demonstration of how we all weave memories into our own lives in one way or another.
It’s difficult to know who would most enjoy this book, adults interested in the artist and her work, those generally interested in shape and form and creativity, or younger readers coming upon this poetic homage to Louise Bourgeois either as part of a topic or simply being attracted to it by the wonderful cover.

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Where My Feet Go & Lucky Ducky

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Where My Feet Go
Birgitta Sif
Andersen Press
Where do your feet go? Probably nowhere near such exciting places as those belonging to the young panda narrator of this delightfully offbeat book. Panda’s feet, once they’re duly clad in socks – one green, the other purple – and inserted into moon boots, take him to wonderful places – one way

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or another …

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And that’s just in the morning.
Next comes a spot of foot resting and dinosaur feeding …

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After which the tootsies take to the skies, do a vanishing act – temporarily …

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and tramp through the desert.
Come night time and there’s underwater exploration, a couple of space sorties, and probably, more magical destinations are in the offing too …
Fuelled by that rich imagination of his, Panda, like many young children, makes everything an adventure and who better to visually document those adventures than Birgitta Sif.
Every one of her scenes is a gem. I love the overall quirkiness of her illustrations. I love the somewhat subdued colour palette and the glorious mismatch between what is said and what is shown. I love the way Panda’s internal imaginings are, on several occasions, allowed to wander expansively across an entire double spread. If only all young children, like this young panda were allowed such space/time to give free rein to their imaginations, rather than being made to do pointless tasks to ‘further their learning’; if only … there I go like Panda imagining …

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Lucky Ducky
Doreen Mulryan
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Ducky is one of those characters for whom nothing seems to go right …

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so, determined to change things for himself, he sets off to the park in search of a four-leaf clover. But his search is soon interrupted, first by Pup offering a game of Frisbee, then by Piggy who invites him for a swim. No sooner has he restarted his hunt however, than he spies Bunny suggesting a picnic. By the time the sun is starting to go down, Ducky still hasn’t found that lucky 4-leaf clover but he does now appreciate just how lucky he really is. He’s discovered something much more important: the true value of good friends to share experiences with, no matter what …

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Suitably spirited, comic style illustrations document Ducky’s transition from unlucky to lucky Ducky.

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I Am Yoga

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I Am Yoga
Susan Verde and Peter H.Reynolds
Abrams Books for Young Readers
A young girl narrator, feeling overwhelmed by a world that seems to be spinning way too fast for her,

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calms herself through her yoga practice. She quietens her thoughts, focuses on her breath, then closes her eyes and begins first to imagine, and then move into a series of yoga asanas beginning with the grounding Mountain pose and thence into Tree pose and on to what the author calls ‘Airplane’ pose.
“I can sparkle with the stars./ I shimmer and shine.” she says in Star pose and in Moon pose …

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“I can dance with the moon./ I light up the sky.” thus describing each asana according to how it makes her feel.
Yoga means union and here is a wonderful demonstration of how this child can become through her practice of yoga, at one with herself and with the world …

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and nature itself.
The connectedness to nature is beautifully captured in Reynold’s depiction of savasana:,how perfectly he portrays that feeling of ‘shanti’ in his watercolour picture of the narrator by the sea’s edge.

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Indeed every one of his watercolours is both expressive and so aptly coloured, be it in a single hue, or several.
Verde’s lyrical text is full of both joy and tranquility, and perfectly pitched for young children to engage with the asanas, a more detailed verbal description of each of the sixteen covered, together with their Sanskrit names, being given in an author’s note in the final pages.
As an early years/primary teacher and a yoga teacher, I believe yoga should be part and parcel of every child’s daily experience from an early age and have seen the benefits it yields. For anyone wanting to introduce children to this life-enhancing practice, this little gem of a book, with its affirmations on every page …

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is a splendid starting point. Just get it and get going with some yoga.

If you like yoga why not try meditation with some meditational mood music

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The Bear Report & Land Shark

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The Bear Report
Thyra Heder
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Homework – bor-ing!
That’s certainly the feeling of most children when faced with something as seemingly dull as Sophie is in this beautiful book. Hardly surprising then that her response is thus …

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That’s it, she thinks as sits down to watch TV. But then …

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The bear – Olafur by name – invites young Sophie to visit his Arctic home. And ignoring her indifferent “Um, no thinks. I’ve seen the pictures.” response, he whisks her away to a glorious world of ice-floes, snowy landscapes inhabited by whales, seals, Arctic foxes and snow rabbits; a place where she can fish with a stick, scramble across moss-covered rocks, birdwatch lying on her back – BRRR!

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and even slide down glaciers.
Inevitably such adventures make for sleepiness so the two snuggle up for some shut-eye but then suddenly find themselves struggling through the sea as the ice-floe melts. Then it’s Sophie’s turn to take charge as she dives beneath the waves calling – summoning – and help comes in the form of a Humpback Whale …

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And as darkness begins to fall, Olafur has one last surprise for Sophie …

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who now has a whole lot more to add to her homework assignment –thanks to that mind stretching adventure.
Inspired by Thyra Heder’s own Arctic visit, this truly impressive book really does, in comparatively few well-chosen words and stunning watercolour scenes in icy blue, grey and green shades shades, paint a breathtaking world while at the same time one hopes, sparking the imagination and engendering a fascination for wild places with their amazing flora and fauna. A delight through and through.
Perhaps homework can be worthwhile after all …

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Land Shark
Beth Ferry and Ben Mantle
Chronicle Books
Shark-obsessive, Bobby is determined to get his parents to buy him a pet shark for his birthday. What is he to do then, when the big day comes and he’s given a puppy? Certainly not fall immediately in love with her no matter how charming she might appear to be. This shark lover’s not for turning …

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Maybe then, the best solution is to sit by and observe as the pup begins to leave a trail of devastation throughout the house, chewing shoes, chair legs and stuffed toys and that’s before she starts on the neighbours’ property.

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Hold it there: didn’t Bobby’s original raison d’etre for that shark demand something like this: ‘frightful, bite-ful, delightful’? Couldn’t that equally well be applied to the most recent resident in Bobby’s household? But no: ‘Shark lovers can NOT be converted to dog lovers.” Not just yet but … then comes a bite to beat all bites and guess whose gnashers are responsible?

 

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That little canine beauty has chomped her way right into Bobby’s heart. QED
This slightly off-beat story, told with wit and charm, and great fun to read aloud is perfectly complemented by Ben Mantle’s deliciously dynamic visuals. Chock full of detail and delivered with aplomb, every character is beautifully realised, best of all being Bobby with his funky fin hairstyle: and what a range of perspectives Mantle uses.
There’s a wonderful ‘tail end’ too: one that leaves audiences free to unleash their own imaginations along with Bobby, as well as perhaps signaling follow-up possibilities. This reviewer says ‘More please!’

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