Tag Faber & Faber Children’s Books

The Secret of Golden Island

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The Secret of Golden Island
Natasha Farrant
Faber Children’s Books

Yakov has had to leave his war ravaged home country and now is staying with relations. He struggles to fit in at school and cope with being away from his loved ones. Skylar’s struggles are with how she feels after her grandfather’s stroke (he’s always been her rock) and a bullying incident at school for which she is suspended.

Skylar: ‘I’m not crying.’ Yakov: ‘I know.’ These are the very first words the two children exchange and somehow this brief interaction is the beginning of a friendship, one they both desperately need. Both of them too have a strong desire to change things for the better and not just for themselves but for those they love. It’s this that brings them even closer to one another as they enter a competition, the prize for which is the ownership of the nearby Golden Island. How though can two children compete successfully against adults with schemes and plans of their own?

Certainly, the call of the island is very strong but the quest they embark upon must be kept secret from family members and they only have one another to rely upon for their safety. As the adventure progresses Skylar and Yakov’s friendship deepens, they reveal more about themselves allowing things they’ve kept deep inside to be exposed.

Trying to solve the clues they’ve been given, the pair come up against some competitors who will go to any length to achieve what they want. Can they overcome all the obstacles that arise during their quest, including a desperate race against time with way more at stake than the competition?

Totally gripping, compassionate and exquisitely told, this book swept me away and as I reached the final paragraphs I felt tears welling up, such is its power.

A wonderful read for older KS2 readers and beyond.

Skimbleshanks/Patch’s Grand Dog Show

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Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat
T.S.Eliot and Arthur Robins
Faber & Faber Children’s Books
It’s 11.39, time for the Night Mail train to depart; so it’s all aboard and off we go! Not quite: where is Skimbleshanks?

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The train can’t start without him.
In the nick of time, he appears, the ‘All Clear!’ is given and the train leaves bound for the ‘northern part of the Northern Hemisphere.’ And there’s no doubt about who’s in charge.: ‘From the driver and the guards to the / bagmen playing cards/ He will supervise them all, more or less.’

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Up and down the corridor he paces, patrolling and keeping watch for any bad behaviour on the part of the passengers …

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Those sleeping berths must be kept just spotless with all the amenities in full working order …

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And there are people to meet and greet while all the passengers are fast asleep: that too is Skimble’s job as is summoning the police (that’s at Dumfries)

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or helping passengers to descend (at Gallowgate). All this and more takes place if you join another feline star in Arthur Robins’ third picture book interpretation of verses from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
Once again, Robins’ cartoon style visuals are full of deliciously dotty details. No matter if you’re a cat lover (I’m not), a poetry lover (that’s me) or neither, you’ll still find plenty to amuse herein. Share it, shout it or simply enjoy it alone or with others, young or not so young.

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Patch’s Grand Dog Show
Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne
Pavilion Books
Loner and slightly strange-looking dog, Patch is passing his time as usual sitting in the park when he hears from the other side of same, a whole lot of woofing, yapping and barking. On investigating he discovers …

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His inquiry, “Can anyone enter?” is met with derision from the other dogs so a downcast Patch goes off to hide himself. But then he has an idea: an idea involving his ball and a special trick. Even then though, the sight of all those seemingly perfect pampered pooches adopting all manner of prize-seeking poses and performing all kinds of clever moves to impress the judges – here are a couple of the former …

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his courage fails him. In the face of such finery, poor Patch feels even more inferior and lonely until he hears an announcement: “AND The Dog The Judge Would Most Like to Take Home IS …”
No prizes for guessing which one that is.

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I’m no dog lover, far from it (having been mauled by an Alsatian as a child), but these knitted creatures are delightful. What’s more there are instructions on how to knit a Patch at the back of the book. Do look closely at each illustration and you’ll see how cleverly textured each one is. The artwork itself is likely to be an inspiration for children to create their own woolly scenes.

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Two Crazy Tales

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Kitchen Disco
Clare Foges and Al Murphy
Faber & Faber Children’s Books
Did you know that the contents of your fruit bowl comes to life and parties while you’re fast asleep? No?

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Me neither; but that’s what happens in this totally zany, rhyming disco dancing story.
Off the wall it may be, but this book totally rocks it socks off as lemons tap dance on the tap and break dance on the chopping board (what fun the author had writing this),

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the super cool pineapple high fives to show his approval of other fruit; and grapes – a silly bunch – boogie in a conga and their ‘conga line gets longer!’

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Told in rhyming couplets, the story starts gently as the family begins to slumber and then bursts into life moving and shaking until sunrise when the fruit take to their bowl for some well-earned shut eye. Suitably crazy illustrations by Al Murphy document the whole event and I love the way the artist uses small vignette style pictures in the middle of the page at the start and then latterly, the pages begin to explode as those citrus guys take to the floor. And there’s a further pre-dawn explosion courtesy of some human intrusion and– yes – a glitter ball;: now I wonder where they got that from?

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So, as the chorus says, ‘SHAKE IT LIKE A MANGO/ PARTY LIKE A PEAR? WIGGLE LIKE AN APPLE, / HEY!/ AND DANCE LIKE YOU DON’T CARE.’
Simply FRUITASTIC!

Nearly as bonkers in its own way is:

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What are you going to wear, Pascal?
Magali Le Huche
Twirl Books
Pascal platypus has a problem: he’s got nothing to wear. Does that sound familiar? It’s certainly something I feel at times. Pascal seeks help from his friends and each is ready with a suggestion or two.

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But each item of clothing is problematic to Pascal: it’s too tight,

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too itchy, or too special , until he asks Ringo that is. Could he be lucky this time? Ringo has made something especially for Pascal but oops!

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You need to put it on the right way round, Pascal. Never mind, that outlet might have just the thing …
It does, but on opening his wardrobe, we see that his perfect pants seem to bear more than a little resemblance to everything the endearing platypus already has.

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Nothing to read? Perhaps like Pascal, you might try borrowing in the first instance unless of course, you know somebody just like him: then, this extended joke would make the perfect present.

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The Ride-by-Nights / Tickle Monster

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The Ride-by-Nights
Walter de la Mare and Carolina Rabei
Faber & Faber Children’s Books
‘Up on their brooms the Witches stream,/ Crooked and black in the crescent’s gleam:/ One foot high, and one foot low, / Bearded, cloaked and cowled, they go.’

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Thus begins this poem I remember learning by heart as a child and later it became an oft’ requested favourite from my copy of the author’s collection, Peacock Pie with some of the first infant classes I taught many years ago.
Now Carolina Rabei has worked her own illustrative magic on it, re-interpreting the verses and it’s great to have this picture book version of the timeless poem to share with new audiences of listeners and readers especially around Hallowe’en.
‘With a whoop and a flutter/ they swing and sway, / And surge pell-mell/ down the Milky Way.’ 

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How splendidly Rabei weaves a modern tale of a family ‘s encounter with those ‘Ride-by-Nights’ as they head out on their trick or treat evening of playfulness and are drawn into some tricks, thrills and near spills …

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courtesy of those ancient enchantresses.
The limited colour palette is well chosen for creating maximum atmosphere and I particularly like the way some spreads cleverly draws the reader’s eyes towards the starry skies while at the same time allowing them to watch the action unfolding below.

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From the just slightly sparkling cover to the star map endpapers,

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thrills are to be found at every turn of the page and I hope this spellbinding book will serve to send listeners to seek out other poems by Walter de la Mare, starting perhaps with the illustrator’s pictorial rendering of Snow.

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Tickle Monster
Édouard Manceau
Abrams Appleseed
Take a simple idea – tickle the monster part by part …

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thus deconstructing him and use his parts to create a more friendly scene – and you’ve got a real winner.

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Certainly that is so, if you are the artist who used bold bright, simple shapes to design the character in this amusing story.
I shared it with a group of four to six year olds who absolutely loved the whole idea; three immediately re-read it themselves, two taking on reading the text and one doing the tickling. They then worked together to create their own version of the Tickle Monster from recycled card and colored paper They too played around, re-arranging the disparate parts to create a new picture (not saved as they decided the monster should come knocking again). Here he is in monster form.

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With its patterned, repetitive text this book is perfect for beginning readers as well as for sharing with a group or class.
I’ve often read Ed Emberley’s somewhat similar Go Away Big Green Monster with young children and I can see myself doing the same with this one.

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The Hog, the Shrew and the Hullabaloo

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The Hog, the Shrew and the Hullabaloo
Julia Copus and Eunyoung Seo
Faber & Faber Children’s Books
Harry the Hog is fast asleep until he hears an alarming sound outside. So terrified is he that he – a champion sleeper – has to call best friend Lil. In the blink of an eye, there she is to keep him company and attempt to determine the cause of the mysterious noise.

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During the course of the night the friends hear all manner of weird, wild sounds but do they ever discover the perpetrator of that fearful, dream-shattering hullabaloo and, equally important, get some shut-eye?
As in the first Harry and Lil story, both plot and visuals are superbly rendered. Poet, Julia Copus’ lilting rhyme flows beautifully and her choice of language is sheer delight:  ‘In the glow of the moon,
                                                                 In its silvery sheen … ‘
And ‘… through the not-quite-light,
             Through the in-between of day and night.’
are just two of the memorable verbal images we are treated to.
Eunyoung Seo’s exquisite illustrations are also a treat. Slightly whimsical, soft focus and wondrously detailed, they complement the text splendidly.

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It’s such a fine balance between words and pictures; Copus and Seo manage it to perfection. Their partnership is as felicitous as that between Harry and Lil.
If you missed their first story, Hog in the Fog, get your hands on that one too: you won’t regret it.

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