Tag Jo Lindley

Pirates of Darksea / Interdimensional Explorers: Alien Apocalypse

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Pirates of Darksea
Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

One night Christopher writes a letter to Captain O’Malley, legendary pirate and ruler of Darksea, a secret kingdom deep in the Atlantic Ocean, begging for adventure for himself and his younger brother Max, but he receives no response. Two years later a parrot appears at Max’s bedroom window with a letter for Christopher – a letter from Captain O’Malley who is to embark on a perilous quest. But Christopher is now ill in hospital fighting for his life. What would you do if there was a possibility of a job with a reward that could help cure your brother? Max joins the parrot in a rowing boat heading for a rendezvous on the Stolen Sunrise.

Imagine the boy’s surprise when he discovers that the captain is a Pirate Queen. She offers him a deal if he’s willing to take the risk and join the crew right away, destination Darksea before the ‘Rogue Wave’ a powerful enemy comes. Of course, Max agrees. However it turns out that the Captain hasn’t told him the whole truth: the magic has dwindled drastically, this monstrous enemy is gobbling up the Darksea island of Maremaris, and the Captain needs a particular sword – the Curse Cutter. A bargain is struck: if Max helps the Captain acquire the sword, he can take some magic for his brother. A perilous task awaits.

What follows is a gripping adventure with mutiny, wraiths, fleeing mermaids and a monstrous shark man. Max’s bravery and love for his brother is the fuel that keeps him going as he faces at times, seemingly impossible challenges. After all he puts himself through though, is it even possible to save his Christopher? I just couldn’t put this down until I found out and I suspect many child readers will do the same. I love how Catherine Doyle ( a new writer to me) weaves humour and the importance of camaraderie into this thoughtful tale; the characters she’s created – human and otherwise – are truly memorable.

Interdimensional Explorers: Alien Apocalypse
Lorraine Gregory, illustrated by Jo Lindley
Farshore

At the start of this second adventure Danny’s Grandad does two things: he announces that he’s going on a cruise with Maureen, his ‘fancy woman’ as Danny’s Mum calls her. He also hands Danny a small package containing a key that means he’s now an official Apprentice Caretaker of the secret Interdimensional Lost Property Office.

Off goes Grandad leaving Danny, his best friend Modge and cousin Inaaya to cope with Returns Day in his absence. Very soon they discover that a very special star has been stolen from the vaults, it’s up to Danny and his team to expose a conspiracy and hopefully, save the whole universe. To do so they have to contend with Goregotha hordes and weird cult members: are they up to it? And who can be trusted? As this quirky intergalactic adventure twists and turns it will surely keep readers riveted as they are sucked into the fantastic world that Lorraine Gregory has created and Jo Lindley illustrated. What I enjoyed most though, was the strong bond between Danny, Inaaya and Modge who have each others’ backs no matter what.
Highly recommended.

Catch! / Hello Winter

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Catch!
Trish Cooke and Ken Wilson-Max
Alanna Max

This is a delightful story wherein we join Kiona and her Mum playing catch one sunny afternoon. When the little girl finds her ball too big, they try all kinds of other objects such as a berry and an apple

but nothing works for Kiona. Back indoors, Mum offers Kiona an ice cream, but you can guess where it ends up;

even the bubbles at bath time elude the child. Happily though, Mum knows the perfect thing that assuredly her daughter can catch; it’s something that stays with Kiona for ever: what could it be?

A lovely read aloud for preschoolers; it has everything you could ask for: repetition, opportunities to encourage mathematical thinking that can be taken up again when playing outdoors, as well as Ken Wilson-Max’s vibrant illustrations that show Kiona’s changing feelings so clearly.

Yet another example of Alanna Max’s pitch perfect picture books for under fives.

Hello Winter
Jo Lindley
Farshore

The fourth in the Best Friends With Big Feelings series wherein each title is set in the natural world of Season Isle and features four magical friends, the focus being on a different seasonal character.each time. Now it’s time for Autumn to pass the weather crown to Winter but instead he gives it to Spring, saying that the others don’t like playing her frosty, freezing games. Upset, Winter walks off to play snowy games by herself. Solo play isn’t fun though, and the bunnies she tries to involve are not interested.

However, her three pals soon start feeling troubled about what they’ve done and decide to search for their friend. It’s a really chilly journey they make but can they find Winter and put things right between them once more? Maybe, but Spring, Summer and Autumn will need to feel warm if that crown is to be bestowed upon its rightful wearer.

In this, the series concluder, the life lessons the friends share with young children are about the importance of turn taking and empathy

Squishy McFluff’s Camping Adventure / Hello Summer

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Squishy McFluff’s Camping Adventure
Pip Jones and Ella Okstad
Faber

Ava and her Dad, plus of course Squishy McFluff, Ava’s invisible cat, are off on a weekend camping trip. They appear to have packed the car with everything but the kitchen sink, so how have they managed to leave the tent behind? Apparently Ava was aware of the omission but decided to keep quiet so they would end up having to build a den to sleep in.

This she starts to do as soon as they reach the campsite. While collecting leaves and branches, she encounters a boy who introduces himself as Idris; his dog is Farida and they so they say, are ace den builders. Ava challenges Idris to see who can build the best den and off they go, amassing the materials;

it looks as if it’s going to be a fierce competition, though Idris does his best to be friendly. Ava however has a trick up her sleeve.

What will the outcome be? Could the two rivals perhaps join forces and even become friends?

Author Pip Jones’ rhythmic, rhyming text is fun and reads aloud well and Ella Okstad’s scenes of the very visible action, and the mischief on Ava’s part, are the perfect accompaniment to the words.

Hello Summer
Jo Lindley
Farshore

This is the third in the Best Friends With Big Feelings series wherein the seasons of the year have taken on human form and are best friends. When the season changes, the crown is passed from one friend to another and the crown wearer leads their games.

All four Little Seasons are excited as they gather ‘neath the Tick Tock Tree for Spring to pass the weather crown to Summer. With the long days and bright sun, the friends decide to visit the beach so they load up their cart with summery supplies and head off. The journey proves to be rather eventful; the four try to look on the bright side when plans start going haywire, but eventually tempers fray.

Once at their destination, everybody’s mood is upbeat again and Winter suggests they build a sandcastle. What a splendid one they make but once again, disaster strikes and the result is a very angry Summer.

Time once again to use that calming technique, Spring has shown him.

Before long Summer is ready to apologise to his understanding friends and the day ends happily.
Demonstrating the importance of having empathetic, supportive, friends especially when angry feelings arise, this is a fun summery story to share and talk about with young children, either at home or in the classroom.

An Unexpected Thing / Hello Autumn

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An Unexpected Thing
Ashling Lindsay
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Little Fred is a fearful child. Unlike most of us who feel frightened from time to time, Fred is fearful almost always, so he spends his days and nights in fear of such things as unexpected loud noises and shadowy shapes
Surprisingly one day a spot appears and unsurprisingly Fred hides himself away, too afraid to look directly at it. Coco also sees the same spot when standing close by in the garden, but her reaction is quite different for what she sees is totally different.

She decides that she can help Fred by trying to get him to see things from her viewpoint. For instance if Fred sees a moon blasted from its orbit whereas Coco sees it as a wind born bubble bobbing along: Fred sees a catastrophic comet, Coco a balloon bearing a birthday wish. Eventually after some discussion, fearful Fred and fearless Coco agree that the spherical object could have been anything.

As a result Fred now feels ready to face his fear.
When something else unknown comes along Fred is able to do something he’d never have done without Coco’s support: he joins her in a voyage of discovery. A friend can make all the difference when it comes to facing things that make us feel unsure or frightened.

This smashing story about finding the courage to go out and explore the world is touching and empowering. Ashling’s use of different perspectives for her beautiful scenes underscores the different viewpoints of the two characters.

On a similar theme is

Hello Autumn
Jo Lindley
Farshore

This story (the second in a sequence) features four friends – the Little Seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter in human form. As the book opens they realise that Summer must hand the weather crown to Autumn so the new season can begin. Doing so triggers changes such as the appearance of a chill mist and the heavens turning from green to golden yellow; the friends feel the call of adventure.
Some fun games ensue on the way to the Tick Tock Tree for a leaf romp but the sighting of ripe juicy blackberries causes them to pause and three friends start feasting. Not so Autumn: he worries about such possibilities as pricking a finger, or becoming entangled in the brambles.

A similar thing happens each time one of the others suggests trying something new: what his friends see as fun games, Autumn sees as worrying situations. His weather crown weighs heavy.
When the four reach the Tick Tock Tree with its abundance of fallen leaves, Autumn’s fear mounts even higher as a cascade of terrifying ‘what-ifs’ invade his thoughts. Suddenly there’s a cry for help. Summer is stuck on a branch. What happens after that involves teamwork, resulting in a jumbled tumble and a fear-releasing realisation for Autumn. What a relief; now he’s ready to face the world.

Vibrantly coloured scenes accompany an important message about facing your fears with the support of friends. A cute story and also some gentle learning about seasonal change that’s just right for sharing with foundation stage children.