Tag Carlie Sorosiak

Shadow Fox

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Shadow Fox
Carlie Sorosiak
Nosy Crow

Set in the harsh environment of secret islands of the Great Lakes in Minnesota, this story is told from the viewpoint of a female fox mysteriously calling herself YAAAARRRRAAAWWWAAAARRR.
Pitifully thin, extremely hungry and cold in the snow, said fox is looking for Nan, only Nan; all other humans she hates but gentle fingered Nan, provider of tasty trout has gone missing. Suddenly a voice calls out, it’s not Nan but a girl wearing one of Nan’s jumpers, who appears to be missing someone too.

Feeling let down by the only human she trusts, the fox teams up with the girl, Beatrice or Bee for short and together they set out to search for Nan and put the world to rights once again. An adventure unfolds, which takes them to a mysterious island and unbeknownst to the fox, she possesses magical powers which the islanders are hoping to tap into. They find themselves battling to preserve the beauty and natural integrity of their surroundings. But can they together work to restore natural harmony; it’s either that or the magic of the place will be forever lost.

Slightly surreal, this is a wondrous fantasy story, at the heart of which is the power of friendship, that will draw you in from the start. It’s beautifully written with quirky details of the intelligent, intuitive fox and a potent sense of place that will ensure that readers pick up the subtle message about the vital need for us all to stop abusing our planet and look after it.

A World of Dogs / Illuminoceans

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A World of Dogs
Carlie Sorosiak and Luis Uribe
Nosy Crow

Since being attacked by an Alsatian as a five year old in the park, I have suffered from cynophobia and so I thought it best to ask a relation, ten year old Leo, who is a dog lover and owner, to read this book, which is packed with fascinating facts, historical information and real-life stories, and tell me what he thought. He absolutely loved it and has read it several times.


“My favourite parts of the book are the section about different breeds of dogs – I never knew there were so many” … “and I really enjoyed the pages telling of dogs in the war. I especially liked finding out that they could win medals for military service.”

Beautifully presented and illustrated, this is an excellent book to include in a school topic on pets, as well as a great book to give to a dog lover.

Illuminoceans
Carnovsky and Barbara Taylor
Wide Eyed

Using art from the same design duo as previous titles such as Illuminature, author Barbara Taylor takes readers deep into the world’s oceans. In order, we visit the Arctic Ocean – the smallest, shallowest and coldest, followed by the Pacific Ocean with its Great Barrier Reef. The saltiest ocean, the Atlantic, the home to the largest number of different fish species, is the next stop, after which comes the Mediterranean Sea with its blue sparkling waters but large amount of pollution.

The Indian Ocean is the third largest and warmest ocean. Sadly its increasing warmth and low oxygen content mean that the growth of plankton – the beginning of most ocean food chains – is limited and of course this has a negative affect on the variety of other species that can thrive in its waters. Nevertheless it’s home to a wealth of rare species and humpback whales use the western part as a breeding area. (All this information is given on each ocean’s first spread via an introductory paragraph and a box containing statistics.) The Southern Ocean, surrounding Antarctica, the youngest and second smallest ocean, is the final ocean we visit.
The concluding sections explore the ocean depths, the shallow seas and takes a look at oceans in prehistoric times.

The other clever feature of the book is the way colour is used together with a three colour lens (found inside the from cover). Using the red lens, on the next (wordless) spread you see fishes native to the ocean, the green lens highlights the habitat, and the blue shows other ocean creatures. Following this, using only black and white, is a double spread for each ocean giving information about the fishes on the verso and on the recto, information about the other ocean creatures.

On the final page is a QR code, which when scanned, allows the reader to use a smart phone as a three-colour lens.
Engagingly written and cleverly crafted, this is yet another immersive look at the natural world,

Always, Clementine

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Always, Clementine
Carlie Sorosiak
Nosy Crow

Clementine is a mouse, an extraordinary one. On account of her altered DNA, from the day of her birth she’s been thinking about prime numbers, sometimes uses Latin and is able to sign to her friend. This amazing book is made up of imaginary letters written from this mega-intelligent mouse to her much-loved chimpanzee friend, Rosie, left behind when she escapes from a research lab. This is thanks to a research assistant who feeling guilty about her treatment, smuggles her and another mouse out of the lab, depositing them in a nearby mailbox. Clementine’s series of reports to Rosie, tell of the wonders of the outside world.

She’s discovered by the kindly Pops and his grandson Gus who on hearing of the large reward being offered for the return of the mice, resolve to keep their whereabouts a secret. This is particularly difficult when they receive a visit from the lab, on account of Clementine’s raspberry aroma. Having considered possible options, Pops decides in an unlikely consultation with Clementine that the best plan is to teach the mouse to play chess and then televise a match, with the intention of creating a public outcry against the lab. A few days later Clementine defeats not one, but five human players simultaneously. Is she now safe?

Clearly interwoven with the main storyline are other issues. The other mouse escapee, Hamlet, also has an amazing talent that is slower to reveal itself than Clementine’s; however it turns out he’s an amazing architect and using wood chips constructs a model of Notre Dame. Thus another issue to ponder is that of alternative kinds of intelligence. So too is why Pops, an erstwhile chess champion, hasn’t played for many years. We discover the reason is a personal one as we do that Clementine too has an image issue.

Friendship and love are key in this poignant, sometimes gently humorous book, as are the importance of social justice and what true goodness really means. Be prepared to lose your heart to Clementine as she bares her soul in her letters. The book ends on an optimistic note and a realisation that each of us must work out our own definition of goodness. Truly awesome writing.

Everywhere With You

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Everywhere With You
Carlie Sorosiak and Devon Holzwarth
Walker Books

This gorgeous book is about a little girl, a lonely dog, two homes separated by a fence, reading together and the power of the imagination.

In one home lives the little girl who doesn’t have a pet, in the other lives the seemingly neglected dog. One evening the little girl creeps up to the fence, savoury biscuit in hand and offers it to the dog. Next day at sunset she returns with another tasty offering and some books; she reads aloud wonderful stories, “I hope you don’t mind,” she says. “I’ve noticed that no one ever plays with you – and I like reading aloud. These are my favourites.”

So begins a series of wonderful meetings full of magical story time adventures that continue through the seasons and a warm, close bond develops between girl and dog.

We cannot help but feel the conflicting emotions: the joy of the time together but then there’s sadness about the dog’s circumstances.

Then one night in the lights of the windows next door, the dog sees the family clearly very happy in their love together: he longs to be a part of all that. Could there be a way …

The ending will bring a tear to your eye; it did mine and I’m not a dog lover.

The relatively spare prose of the telling works really well and allows artist Devon Holzwarth plenty of scope to take readers, as well of the book’s main characters, on fantastic adventures and voyages of discovery. She changes the colour palette of her vibrant illustrations as the narrative switches from the reality of the girl/dog encounters, to their flights of fancy when the child reads aloud to the animal.