Tag Elisa Paganelli

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea
Pari Thomson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

For me this sequel, is every bit as good as Greenwild: The World Behind the Door. Herein Daisy’s adventures alongside her Five O’Clock Club friends – animal whisperer Indigo, The Prof, Acorn and cat Napoleon, as well as new member of the cast, Max, a fugitive with a distinctive birthmark on his face and a past he is keeping hidden or doesn’t remember – continue apace.

Botanists are being found dead in the Amazon region and the adults likely have plans of their own, plans concerning what to do. As you’d expect, Daisy is very worried about the safety of her mother who has been taken captive in the area. Rescuing her from there is not possible as it means taking on the environment-destroying Grim Reapers; but could Daisy follow her mother’s wish and enlist help from the people of the Kingdom of Iffenwild, a place most don’t even believe exists? Maybe, though Iffenwild is somewhere that has cut itself off from the rest of the world for reasons unknown to Daisy et al.

In this book the author creates a backdrop that is powerfully intricate and fascinating; there’s Iffenwild and the Nautilus Theatre Company and its players that come to life as if before your very eyes as Daisy and friends have to evade or face ambushes from the evil Grim Reapers whose effect on the coral and seaweed is devastating. They also need to find out whether the Duchess of Iffenwild is to be trusted or not. All this as well as riding majestic wild water horses and rescuing rare creatures from an animal market, not to mention how to control their individual magical gifts and learning how to trust each other. Their aim is to put paid to the evil scheme of a regent and obtain the much needed assistance for the critical conflict that is to come.

Overflowing with magical happenings, places and otherworldly creatures, some of which are portrayed in Elisa Paganelli’s awesome illustrations,

Pari Thomson’s wondrous tale is totally gripping and not only that, it gently nudges readers into thinking about the vital importance and conservation of the natural world.

Hello Me!

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Hello Me!
Dr Naira Wilson and Elisa Paganelli
Little Tiger

Positivity is key in this gentle book wherein the author, a child psychologist, presents a young boy narrator explaining and showing how he gradually learns self-care and self-acceptance.
He begins thus: ‘Sometimes I think my mind is like a house. Just like a house, I need to treat my mind with love and care.’

Like all of us, this child has flaws and makes mistakes, but just like us all too, he acknowledges those mistakes using them as a powerful learning tool.

When jealousy rears its head, our narrator accepts that nobody is perfect and everyone is different. The important thing is to be flexible in your attitude to routines, make the best of what you have and not to be afraid to ask for help when it’s needed. Friends and their love are key but so too is learning to love yourself for who and what you are.

The final spread breaks down the key points in the narrative, augmenting them with vignettes taken from Elisa Paganelli’s beautiful larger illustrations.

Accessible and easy for young children to relate to, this would be a good book to open up a classroom circle time discussion on looking after and loving oneself.

Greenwild The World Behind the Door

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Greenwild The World Behind the Door
Pari Thomson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

Having spent almost all her life so far travelling to various parts of the world with her fearless eco-political journalist mother, eleven year old Daisy Thistledown is devastated to be told that she can’t accompany her Ma on her next expedition, to the Peruvian rainforest, as it’s far too dangerous. Instead she must spend the last two weeks of term in a boarding school; but her mother promises she’ll be back to collect her in time for Christmas. Before she leaves, her Ma takes her to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew; she also gives Daisy a glass paperweight that had once belonged to Daisy’s father. 

During her time at school Daisy is treated unkindly by both pupils and staff. When she fails to turn up to collect her from the station at the promised time, Daisy learns her mother and those she travelled with, have disappeared without trace. Daisy is taken back to the school but decides to escape, taking with her a little cat that has found its way into her bag. 

Pursued through the streets of London, she heads for Kew Gardens where she manages to hide until she discovers a hidden door that leads her to the enchanted world of Greenwild. There she finds magical flora and the green-magic using Botanists who preserve and study them, shelter from the hostile Greyside, as they call our non-magical world.

Daisy is made welcome by most of the Mallowmarsh community and soon finds herself making friends with a boy named Hal and a group calling themselves the Five O’Clock Club who introduce her to such amazing things as the milk-chocolate tree; they tell her too that they are investigating the disappearance of other Botanists. 

She also endeavours to learn green magic but finds herself struggling to do so. All this while trying to come to terms with the disappearance of her mother. However, Daisy has a dangerous mystery that needs to be solved and it becomes darker, the more involved she gets.

Debut author, Pari Thomson has created a truly gripping tale that entwines you in its tendrils from the outset and like some of the Greenwild plants, twists and turns every which way. Drawing on her love of and knowledge about all things botanical, her world-building is awesome, there are some truly memorable characters, and at the same time she weaves in deep, dark evil and the vital message about saving elements of the environment from total destruction. I was utterly enchanted by this story when I first read it in proof form, but now with Elisa Paganelli’s superb illustrations, it’s even more brilliant. With its cliff hanger of an ending, it’s going to be hard to wait for the next book of Daisy’s adventures.

The Arctic Railway Assassin / Solve Your Own Mystery: The Missing Magic

jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Arctic Railway Assassin
M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

Hal flies off to Sweden where he is to meet Uncle Nat. From Stockholm the following day they will take a Christmas trip aboard the sleeper train bound for the Aurora Sky Station to see the Northern Lights. Uncle Nat announces that his friend Morti, who has just won the Nobel Prize, is to accompany them, but then she suddenly changes her plan. After the announcement of her prize she’s been scared by some inexplicable events with things of hers disappearing and now Hal and Nat are to travel without her.

While waiting to board the train Hal sketches a group of musicians,

then as they leave Stockholm, he and his uncle think they are being followed, and Nat tells the boy that one of the people in his drawing is an assassin from his past, supposedly long dead. Something doesn’t quite add up with this picture of Hal’s. And what about the sudden appearance of Hal’s mum on board too?

Full of suspense, and with some great new characters, this truly is a gripping page turner with some really perilous episodes when readers will find themselves fearing for the lives of some of the characters. Hal’s drawing skills really come to the fore in this adventure, considerably helping to solve the mystery of what the assassins are after and where it is. Elisa Paganelli’s illustrations do a wonderful job bringing his sketches to life and adding to the reader’s involvement in solving the mystery.

My only regret is that this is the final book in the brilliant Adventures on Trains series.

Solve Your Own Mystery: The Missing Magic
Gareth P. Jones, illustrated by Louise Forshaw
Little Tiger

In the third interactive adventure from Gareth P. Jones there’s another puzzling mystery waiting for readers to solve. Like previous titles it’s set in the town of Haventry, a place where with its unusual population almost anything can happen at any time. Now it’s the opening day of Magicon, the world’s biggest magic convention and everyone is gathering for the great event when suddenly disaster strikes: all the magic in the town disappears. Who is responsible for this catastrophe?

It’s up to readers to don their detective hats, find out, and get it back in time for the opening ceremony. Could the thief perhaps be Evil Enid; or maybe Nigel Rigmarole whose business is magical energy? These are just two of the possible suspects that detective you, along with boss Klaus Solstaag (a yeti) need to consider. There are also the likes of meditative unicorn Moondance (too good to be true maybe)

and powerful Magic Circle head, Grandmaster Dimbleby.

There’s not a minute to lose: time to make the sparks fly – unless you want to shoulder the responsibility of allowing an ancient monster to waken from a century-long sleep beneath the town.

With a multitude of possible routes to take, this is terrific fun and with Louise Forshaw’s splendid portrayal of the weird and wonderful characters, this diverting read will delight primary age readers who like fantastical tales.

This Girl Can Do Anything / Sometimes: A Book of Feelings

jillrbennett Leave a comment

This Girl Can Do Anything
Stephanie Stansbie and Hazel Quintanilla
Little Tiger

Meet young Ruby, strong-willed, knowing exactly what she wants and determined to do things her way.: in short, she’s unstoppable. Yet despite her toughness and inner-strength, there are times when she allows just a little bit of softness to seep through.

Of course not everything goes right straightaway, but with encouragement from her mum, Ruby is always prepared to have another go.

Her energy is boundless yet come the end of the day, despite what our protagonist says about not feeling tired, at bedtime, Ruby is ready for something special from her mum and dad.
For sure Ruby is a force to be reckoned with, unafraid to speak out about what she wants to do; however she does have a soft-centre that occasionally, she lets us enjoy a taste of too.
I love the way, illustrator Hazel Quintanilla uses a different colour background for each spread.
From the same author is:

Sometimes: A Book of Feelings
Stephanie Stansbie and Elisa Paganelli
Little Tiger

Stephanie Stansbie adopts a rhyming narrative to explore emotions, as we follow a sister and brother through a single day beside the seaside. It’s a day full of ups and downs: occasionally the dominant feeling is one of darkness and fear, but that can be dispelled by a brave leap; likewise disappointment and boredom can be overcome, perhaps by doing something active – dancing.

After presenting other feelings of the less desirable kind – anger, sadness 

and loneliness too, the mood turns much more upbeat as we see the boy and girl exhibiting kindness and forgiveness which dispel those bad feelings, allowing them to be replaced by a sense of peace, contentment and calm. With equanimity prevailing, brother and sister are ready to return to the family home, safe in the knowledge that once there, somebody will be waiting to show them the most important feeling of all: love.

With Elisa Paganelli’s expressive scenes of the children’s highs and lows to complement Stephanie’s words, this book offers a helpful starting point for exploring emotions with young children either at home or in a foundation stage/KS1 classroom.

Sabotage on the Solar Express

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Sabotage on the Solar Express
M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

In the fifth of the Adventures on Trains series, Hal and his Uncle Nat are on a three week trip to Australia. Billionaire train enthusiast, August Reza, has invited Hal and his uncle on the inaugural journey of the Solar Express – the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. Also on the maiden voyage is Marianne, August’s daughter about whom Hal has rather mixed feelings though with her around he knows the journey won’t be boring. So too is the inventor of the hydrogen powered, Solar Express, a 14-year-old Aboriginal boy, Boaz who is enormously proud of his ‘no pollution, no waste’ engine as Hal discovers when he meets him on the day they arrive.

The following day comes the actual train journey, it’s to last around four and a half hours but as the locomotive departs, Hal is concerned that something isn’t right. His suspicions are confirmed when the journey gets underway for it’s not long before an alarming discovery is made: the Solar Express has been sabotaged. What’s more Hal and his team, notably Marianne and Boaz, only have a small window of time to find out exactly what the saboteur has planned.

Full of twists and turns, this truly nail-biting, unputdownable story unfolds at breakneck speed. With each new book authors M.G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman, and illustrator Elisa Paganelli add to the series, I think it’s the best so far, and then along comes another that’s even better.

Murder on the Safari Star

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Murder on the Safari Star
M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Pagnelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

Tickets ready? Then climb aboard the Safari Star.

Harrison Beck is somewhat underwhelmed when he receives his Christmas present from his Uncle Nat until he discovers that the small tin contains more than just the sticks of charcoal. Inside too is a train ticket: at half term he and his uncle are going to South Africa for the trip of a lifetime all the way from Pretoria to Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia in a luxury train.

So begins another fast-paced, twisting turning, hold on to your seats adventure.

Aboard the train are a host of interesting characters from various parts of the world and even before they’ve departed Hal has made friends with Winston the son of the train’s safari guide; with him is Chipo, Winston’s yellow mongoose. There’s one passenger that almost everyone takes an instant dislike to, that’s Mervyn Crosby, an extremely rude character who boasts about having heads of four of the Big Five animals on his wall and lacking only the rhino. He also says he’s brought his rifle along – which is strictly prohibited.

No sooner is the journey under way than the two boys are off exploring the entire train and finding out what they can about their fellow passengers.

But then one of them meets with a terrible accident – or is it? At any rate there’s a fatality aboard and almost everybody is under suspicion.

Before you can say ‘rhino horns’ Hal, his uncle and Winston are investigating a mystery and it’s one that has to be solved before the train reaches the Zambian border.. It’s as well Hal has brought along his essential equipment – his sketch pad and drawing tools. He’ll certainly need to make full use of his wits, his observation skills and his powers of deduction in this life and death conundrum that involves poisonous snakes, 

hidden compartments, smuggling and more. And, there is time to see some incredible wildlife such as a rhino, zebras, elephants and impalas too. I loved the conservation element of the story.

Once again Elisa Paganelli’s illustrations are superb.

100 Screen Free Ways to beat Boredom! / Let’s Make Comics!

jillrbennett Leave a comment

100 Screen Free Ways to beat Boredom!
Kris Hirschmann, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
QED

What a great collection of creative ideas Hirschmann and Paganelli have put together for keeping your children actively engaged, enjoying themselves and free from tablets, phones, computer games and the like.

There are activities that can be enjoyed at home, outdoors and on the move, the first section offering the most ideas.

Nearly all can be done using things you already have knocking around somewhere, without having to rush out and buy bits and pieces, although this might depend on how craft-minded your youngsters have already become.

A few, but not many of the activities need some adult supervision, while with most you can just leave your littles free to have fun be that indoors or out. Each one is explained via a mix of colour photos, snazzy graphics and brief paragraphs of step-by-step instructions and a list of materials you’ll need.

This book might just save your sanity be you parent or grandparent, or perhaps holiday supervisor, in the remaining part of this weather-crazy holiday and any holidays that are to come; whatever the weather it’s thoroughly recommended and well worth investing in.

Equally worth getting hold of especially for those shorter days or when going outside isn’t possible, is:

Let’s Make Comics!
Jess Smart Smiley
Watson-Guptill

Here’s a great book for budding young comic-makers from cartoonist and comic-making instructor Jess Smart Smiley who, aided and abetted by Peanut the turtle and bear Bramble, provides over 60 splendid hands-on projects.

Each one encompasses a number of important skills such as drawing, character design, writing or storytelling and ends up with a new comic. What’s not to like?

Packed full of learning potential and guaranteed hours of absorbed child activity; not only is this crammed full of comic-making ideas, it also gives an insight into how some picture book artists work.

A thoroughly enjoyable and totally brilliant activity book: I envisage fights ensuing over my copy!