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Old Hat

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Old Hat
Emily Gravett
Two Hoots
There’s certainly nothing old hat about Emily Gravett: her latest offering simply brims over with that droll sense of humour she has.
Are you a slavish follower of fashion, no matter whether or not the latest styles are right for you? Do you use clothes to express your personality or are they a means of hiding that true self? This is the question explored herein.
Harbet has a practical hat, a warm cosy, much loved one, knitted by his Nana; but teased by his so-called friends, he discards what they tell him is ‘OLD HAT’ and sets about becoming a follower of fashion.
The problem so splendidly examined has him sporting ever more outrageous styles of titfer. There are some absolutely amazing styles to feast your eyes on: the vitamin-loaded, high fibre fruity kinds are most tasteful …

and the intricately drawn, elaborate nautical styles are truly mind blowing.

The trouble is once he’s left the hat shop, his particular model is already so OLD HAT!

What is a chap to do? There’s only one thing for it: Harbet must eschew all forms of headwear and set his own trend.
Hats off to Harbet for learning a crucial lesson about celebrating one’s own uniqueness rather than trying to be like others, a dedicated follower of fashion.
This is one that will be appreciated by adults as much as young readers, and might well spark off some millinery manipulation in the nursery or classroom.

I’ve signed the charter  

A Child of Books

jillrbennett 1 Comment

A Child of Books
Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
Walker Books
I always thought I was the original ‘Child of Books’: certainly – thanks to my Dad – mine was a book-filled childhood. But it’s not so, and here’s the reason why: it’s a totally innovative and absolutely unique exploration of the power of story and storytelling that begins thus: ‘I am a child of Books. I come from a WORLD of stories.’ And thereafter, we are taken on an amazing journey of discovery that is also a celebration of classic tales from children’s literature.
Making up the waves of imagination upon which the girl and her raft float, are words from The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Count of Monte Cristo, Kidnapped, Gulliver’s Travels, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Pinocchio …

Assuredly the girl has already sailed across a sea of words but she has an invitation to join her in further journeying, an invitation taken up by a boy who goes with her into a host of magical story worlds; worlds fashioned through the
combination of Jeffers’ powerful images and signature handwriting, and Winston’s masterful typographic word wizardry.
Together the two children scale mountains …

and explore dark places, treasure seeking; they get lost in a forest whose trees (leaves aside) are all fairytales …

and then have to escape from a monstrous word beast, resident of a haunted castle.
As the journey progresses through imaginary lands, the scenes become brighter until the children’s shouts from outer space herald a riot of story-comprised colour.

Everything about this wonderful volume is so carefully considered by this inspired pairing; for instance there’s the stark contrast between Jeffers’ hand-written, lyrical narrative and Winston’s digitally manipulated lines from the classics. Talking of classics, this ground-breaking book is surely destined to become a modern classic. One wonders whether its creators might have read Tom Phillips’ A Humument.
I could go on waxing lyrical about this intertextual wonder but let me merely urge you to get hold of a copy of your own (and some to give). Free your mind, be enchanted and also see how many of the 42 classics you can discover for yourself between its awesome pages. It’s truly a work of art and a celebration of the imagination.

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