Tag fat Fox Books

This Book is Out of Control / Happy Hooves Yuk!

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These two picture books welcome back some old friends:

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This Book is Out of Control
Richard Byrne
Oxford University Press
The perils of the remote control are explored in this third comic romp starring Ben and Bella, not forgetting Bella’s dog of course. It all starts when Ben turns up clutching his new favourite toy – a remote controlled fire engine. Eager to show off his control skills he begins by demonstrating the UP button but a press yields no response or rather the ladder stays fixed: Bella’s dog doesn’t as we readers can see. Ben and Bella however are oblivious to the action taking place inside the house behind the door, which nestles in the gutter of the book and Bella has firmly closed.
With their eyes fixed firmly on the ladder Ben tries another button, which results in this …

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I’ll leave you to imagine the results of pressing the siren button. Ben tries VOICE, which yields an utterance from the dog who opens the door revealing his predicament to the children. Things go from bad to worse despite Ben’s frantic button pushing and it’s then a case of over to you “Dear reader” especially as the expert remote controller has started to turn a delicate shade of green. Things are getting pretty desperate up top when readers are addressed once again …

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Does this work, you might be wondering – it certainly appears that one of the characters is in control …

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but we’re still left with one button none of them has tried …
With some rather crazy interactive opportunities, this is somewhat more sophisticated than the previous stories in the series. For me, the dog is undoubtedly the star of the show here.

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Happy Hooves Yuk!
A.Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
Fat Fox
The third Happy Hooves story sees Pig deciding to treat his pals to a culinary feast. But even after his careful preparations things don’t go quite as he’s planned. Cow turns her nose up at the first dish; Foal frowns at the second;

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Donkey is decidedly disturbed at the third and Sheep shudders at the thought of what she’s offered. Poor Pig: it seems none of his favourite dishes tempt his friends. He has one final course though: could this be the one? It certainly looks pretty scrumptious … let the party begin!

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I envisage a whole lot of ‘eughs’ and ‘yucks’ when you share this engaging rhyming tale; and as a veggie, I found myself in total sympathy with Pig’s friends about his offerings – definitely disgusting! Let’s celebrate friendship and chocolate cake instead. Let’s also celebrate Rebecca Elliott’s patterned scenes: I love the retro style and the occasional bordered spreads.

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Focus on those frogs …

To Share or Not to Share

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Dave’s Cave
Frann Preston-Gannon
Nosy Crow
Here stand Dave. Dave have cave. Cave perfect. Animal friends like cave. Dave not happy. Want new cave. Dave go search. Three caves not good – too small, too big, too much noise …

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Two caves nice but Dave no share. Jon no share …

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Dave no happy.
Nice cave?

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It’s definitely a case of east, west, home’s best in this deliciously droll story told in clipped caveman speak and wonderful visuals that say so much more than the spare text Every turn of the page is guaranteed to bring laughs of delight if my audiences are anything to go by, not to mention a whole lot of staccato style speech by way of appreciation.
In addition to being a delight to read aloud, this book is a great one to offer those in the early stages of learning to read. Put this alongside those dull reading schemes – there’s just no competition …

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I Have an Orange Juicy Drink
Andrew Sanders
Fat Fox
A small boy has a delicious juicy drink – a yummy, orangey, tasty one – orange squash one suspects. But when an alien, an elephant and a dinosaur …

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attempt to seize said drink its owner decides to teach the would-be takers a lesson of the squishing kind. Now it may seem that this is somewhat extreme particularly as he uses a garden shed …

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an ocean liner and – wait for it – the moon as squashers or rather, squishers. It does mean however, that our young narrator still has hold of his drink when along comes his brother (plus constant companion of the feathered kind) eager for a share of the juice. And moreover, the fellow knows how to ask properly.

 

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So, three things happen: one – he gets a some of the drink, two – he gets a hug and three – a lesson is learned …

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Squishing, it appears, is rather less damaging than squashing.
Simplicity and sheer ridiculousness are what make this book such fun. With a limited colour palette and minimal text, Andrew Sanders delivers a deliciously neat lesson in manners that will appeal to young and not so young alike. I’m still pondering on how the lesson-giver managed not to choke himself in some of the positions he adopted to partake of that juicy drink.

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Quests of Wonder

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DSCN4633 (800x600) (2) Little Bell and the Moon
Giles Paley-Phillips and Iris Deppe
Fat Fox Books
Every night at bedtime,Little Bell watches the Moon and hears its tales of whales, boats and treasure: DSCN4632 (800x600) (2) each loves the other and all is well. One night Bell asks her friend to show her that magical-sounding world and together they fly far across mountains, seas and forests. DSCN4631 (800x600) Each night thereafter, they journey and at dawn Bell is safely back home. For sixty years they explore the galaxy until Bell begins to fade, growing more and more frail DSCN4630 (800x600) (2) till it is time for one final farewell tale from a mournful moon before Bell’s soul takes flight on its last journey. A journey that takes it far, far out into space wherein it comes to a special resting place – a ball of light among the stars. ‘ The darkness soon began to clear,/Then the moon did reappear./Upon the light its eyes did dwell,/Within it, it saw Little Bell. /And as the Moon shone back at Bell/They both felt all was well.’ A deeply affecting and tender story of life’s journey, ageing and death. The latter can be a tricky topic for young children. Here though, with poetic text and powerful atmospheric scenes, author and artist have created a safe place from which to explore the inherent themes. Definitely one for the spirituality bookshelf at home or school: a book that resonates long after its reading.   DSCN4655 (800x600) The Most Wonderful Thing in the World
Vivian French and Angela Barrett
Walker Books
A king and queen ponder the future of their kingdom and decide a husband must be found for their daughter, Princess Lucia. Having consulted Wise Old Angelo, they promise their daughter’s hand in marriage to the young man who can show them the most wonderful thing in the world. Lucia meanwhile has made the acquaintance of one, Salvatore, DSCN4653 (800x600) and at the princess’s request, the two explore the city together. At the palace however, her parents are inundated with suitors, each one showing something wonderful. No matter how amazing the items proffered by the endless stream of prospective bridegrooms, DSCN4651 (800x600) nothing seems quite right to the by now, completely overwhelmed, king and queen who then decide to call off the search. First though they must locate their daughter to tell her of their decision and it is only when they locate her and find themselves face to face with a young man claiming to have found what they are seeking,   DSCN4654 (800x600) that things feel right. For what he tells them is absolutely so. It’s then that the eyes of the king and queen are finally opened and all ends, in true fairytale fashion, with a happily married couple adored by all in their kingdom. Angela Barrett’s exquisitely detailed, mannered illustrations grace the pages of Vivian French’s enchanting and admirably crafted telling of this wondrous fairy tale, seemingly given an Italian setting here. For romantics and lovers of fairy tales especially, no matter what their age.
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Lili

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Lili
Wen Dee Tan
Fat Fox Books
Less than 4% of the population has red hair. In children’s books however, the ratio appears to be somewhat higher. A few memorable characters that immediately spring to mind are Katie Morag, Pippi Longstocking, The Weasleys, Anne Shirley, Amelia Bedelia and Madeline. Now we have a newcomer to join them, young Lili. the main character in Wen Dee Tan’s thought provoking debut picture book.
Lili is endowed with a mop of fiery red hair. To her family this can be useful but her neighbours think otherwise; her red-hot hair causes damage to all manner of things including washing, animals, even articles of clothing being worn. Lili finds it difficult to make friends and is eventually ostracized by the village children in whose games her hair proves hazardous. But one day she comes upon a group of
children lost in the woods, rescues them from impending danger and then – a blazing beacon of light in the gathering darkness- leads them to safety.
Throughout the story Lili utters not a single word but she exhibits a whole gamut of emotions from anger to terror, and wistfulness to delight– and we, the readers are observers of some of her experiences.
In her brief text and powerful pictures the author/artist opens up a variety of possible interpretations, and ideas relating to inclusion and exclusion or prejudice for instance, yet equally leaves a lot of space for her readers – young and not so young – to exercise their own imagination. Certainly, this is a book that can be read on different levels depending on your age and experience.

What follows is a brief account of one occasion when I shared the book with a small group of four to seven year olds (S. M. L. Le. F)
Before reading we looked at the front cover.
L. (reads title) Lili – Hey, she’s got wild hair. Can we read it?
We read until the 3rd spread…

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F. She’s got really angry there – it’s enormous!
S. Fiery hair WOW! – awesome!

4th spread
Le. Look! her mum’s cooking the supper.
L. And, and she’s keeping them warm there.

5th 
S. Oh no, she’s burning the sheep … and that man’s hat … and all the washing. That person will be furious.

6th

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S. She’s buring the rope. See, it’s on fire.
M. Maybe she shouldn’t jump so high.
S. And his bum. Laughter
Le. She’s really angry again now. It’s so enormous.
F.  No she’s not, she’s sad. See her face.

7th
S. That’s cool – she’s getting that (pear) down with her hair ‘cos she couldn’t reach it.

8th

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Le. Oooh! look what’s that? (me: what do you think?)
L.  A big black dog?
Le: A scary monster?
F.  No I think it’s a wolf, a really scary one.

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S.& M. Yeah, she’s burning that wolf now.
S:  He’s running away.
M: What, two tails has he got?

We read to the final spread…
S. Oh, now they’re friends; they’re toasting stuff.
F. They must be friends ‘cos she’s giving Lili one; I think they’re marshmallows.
Le and L. Read it again.

We do … and afterwards, I say,
I wonder what Lili might do about her fiery hair.
M. Well, she could go underwater.
S. No, it’d be really dark.
M. Well then, she could have a hose.
L.  A hose?
M. Or she could cut her hair maybe.
S.  No, then she’d be erm, bald.
F. And her mum would tell her off.
S. But at least she’d not be accidentally hurting people.

What about those children, there? (We’ve turned to the stone throwing spread)
S. They’re so cruel.
F. They’re bullying her. That’s not nice at all. They might hurt her…. She’s feeling really sad because she can’t play properly. … they’ve hurt her feelings probably.
S. And, it’s not her fault.
F. She needs a hug but someone might think they’d get hurt. I’m going to draw her.

The others decide to do likewise.

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An Animal Kind of Christmas

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Happy Hooves Oh! Oh! Oh!
A.Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
Fat Fox Books
Christmas Eve brings excitement for the Happy Hooves brigade. Galvanised by Cow’s urging to get their homes spick and span in readiness for Santa’s visit, they stir from their afternoon slumbers and set off to clean up their respective abodes. But a terrible realization soon dawns for first home, Pig: he has no chimney for Santa to come down. Sheep offers to put him up but then he too remembers he has no chimney.

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Both flee to Donkey’s abode but the same applies here. Off they go to Foal’s but once again it’s a case of a chimneyless residence. What use are sparkling clean homes if Santa can’t get in? It’s not Ho! Ho! Ho! but Oh! Oh! Oh! The despairing friends seek out Cow.
“Oh Cow, this news will make you glum,
We’ve got no chimneys for Santa to come!”
Fortunately Cow knows that Santa will deliver his gifts anywhere just so long as a mince pie is left to welcome him. However, she makes the others an offer they can’t refuse and so, panic over, gathered together in Cow’s warm barn, they hear that, now welcome, ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!‘ of Santa in the distance.

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Snow Bunny’s Christmas Gift
Rebecca Harry
Nosy Crow
As Snow Bunny snuggly wrapped in her red cape, joins her friends Mouse, Fox and Bear in the snow just before Christmas, she’s full of anticipation at the fun they’ll have. Sledging is first but the chill wind sends Mouse scampering for the warmth of her home.

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Ice-skating makes Fox shiver so he too departs, then when the snow starts falling in the forest, Bear heads off home leaving a sad Snow Bunny all alone. On her way home she discovers a coin shining in the moonlight and off she goes to Badger’s shop. There she buys something that, after a lot of hard work with her knitting needles, means that her friends need never feel cold again. Fox, Mouse and Bear all have their warm Christmas gifts but their creator has the very best present of all – their friendship.

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A warm-hearted, tenderly told tale full of the true spirit of the season and with added sparkly touches at every turn of the page.
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The Sheep that Saved Christmas
Jason Page and Adrian Reynolds
Red Fox pbk
Unfortunately for her flock-mates, Cynthia, is a sheep obsessed with Christmas, starting her anticipation of the festival in January. Fortunately for them however, maths is not her strong point so they come up with a cunning plan to pack her off on an extended holiday far away. And where do they dispatch her? – To the North Pole where Cynthia begs Santa to give her a job as one of his helpers. Seemingly though, she isn’t cut out to be a present wrapper, nor a cook’s assistant or even a sleigh puller. A disappointed Cynthia is on the point of heading home when she learns that disaster has befallen Santa himself. Christmas is cancelled, he announces but Cynthia thinks otherwise. Finally, the determined ewe gets her chance to save the day …

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Crazy, seasonal fun illustrated with Reynolds’ characteristic verve and humour. Cynthia’s changing fortunes are captured beautifully in her facial expressions and body language.
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Yikes, Santa-Claws!
Pamela Buchart and Sam Lloyd
Bloomsbury Children’s Books pbk.
Frivolous Christmas frolics dinosaur style delivered by the creators of Yikes Stinkysaurus …
Who is that green scaly creature sporting a red hat and beard and coming down the chimney as the dino-tots snuggle up in bed eagerly awaiting Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve? It’s one Santa-Claws and it seems he’s hell bent on wreaking havoc and wrecking Christmas at their and every other home too. It’s just as well then, that a sparkling tree stops him dead in his tracks

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just as the real Santa arrives to put a stop to all the mischief and mayhem caused by this imposter and making Santa-Claws to see the error of his ways.
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Adventures Anyone?

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Atlas of Adventures
illustrated by Lucy Letherland
Wide Eyed Editions
‘The world is full of adventures’ declares the opening line of this very large, high quality book, and what better way to invite young readers to explore our world than that; and without having to move from the comfort of their own home or classroom. There’s a world map on the opening spread followed by a contents page showing the seven sections: Europe, North America, Central & South America, Asia & the Middle East, Africa, Australasia & Oceania and Antarctica that comprise almost all the rest of the book. Each of these sections has its own introductory map followed by spreads showing exciting places and experiences to be had by visiting say, the Northern Lights in Finland where you can sleep under the stars;

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or you might try covering yourself in mosquito repellent and becoming an explorer in the Amazon rainforest.
All manner of exciting opportunities and experiences, representative of the location, await both the reader and the nameless boy and girl travellers who appear in ‘Where’s Wally’ fashion at every location. Surprisingly, they haven’t hidden themselves more in the Holi Festival scene –

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that coloured powder is an absolute nightmare to get off your skin and forget trying with your clothes! Much more gentle is the showering of cherry blossoms you might receive by visiting the spring festival in South Korea. If sport is your thing, there’s snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, canoeing down the Zambezi or maybe a game of baseball in Central Park.
Each spread is packed with interesting facts and the illustrations themselves are full of detail, so both those who prefer to learn visually and those who prefer words are catered for. The latter will particularly enjoy the two main paragraphs on each spread and the shorter factual snippets scattered throughout the highly colourful, slightly retro scenes of the well-known and less well-known locations.
For sure this fascinating book is just the thing to inspire youngsters from, I’d say around six or seven, to find out more by travelling for real and it’s likely also to encourage empathy, excitement and endless curiosity about, and respect for, our world.
I’d definitely put a copy in every primary classroom from Y2 up.

All the characters in this story wanted was a trip to the seaside, but that in itself was packed with adventure:

 

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Happy Hooves Ta Dah!
A.Bogie and Rebecca Elliott
Fat Fox Books
Donkey and four other ungulate farmyard animals set off on a trip to the seaside. All goes well (they are on foot) until they reach a large cattle grid. No trouble for lively Donkey – he sails across but the others are less sure of themselves. However, despite their lack of confidence they do not lack resourcefulness, resolve or self-belief, so one by one over go Sheep,

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Foal and Pig leaving poor cow stranded on the wrong side of the grate. Is she to be left alone while the others continue to the beach? Of course not: friendship and co-operation save the day and eventually HIP! HIP! Hooray! all reach their destination …

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Wonderfully bright, mixed media illustrations by Rebecca Elliott (she of Just Because and Zoo Girl fame) and a jaunty, rhyming text with a repeat refrain – just the thing to engage young listeners and readers at home and in early years settings.

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