Tag Máire Zepf

The Cloud Kingdom

jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Cloud Kingdom
Máire Zepf, illustrated by Andrew Whitson
Little Island Books

Nancy is a bibliophile and spends almost all her time reading. Then one summer’s day so engrossed was she in her book that she failed to notice a fox enter the garden with a faery on its back. The faery takes a cake from the plate beside Nancy and rides away into the woods. The following day a similar thing happens, but on the third day it’s her beloved cat, Pangur that is seized. Determined to retrieve her pet, Nancy gives chase and eventually comes upon the Faery King. Her initial requests for the return of Pangur are turned down but eventually she strikes a bargain with him and becomes the human storyteller to the Faery Kingdom.

What follows are seven further interconnecting tales featuring such wonders as Beyvinn, a dream-weaving giantess, a hat shop with magical hats crafted by wizards, a ghost dragon

and a mechanical jellyfish.

A charming combination of words and pictures: Máire Zepf’s inventive short tales that are perfectly pitched for reading aloud and Andrew Whitson’s illustrations which have an ethereal, whimsical look, make this an ideal pre-bedtime book or to share with a KS1 class over a couple of days. Great for stimulating children’s own imaginations.

Esme and the Sabre-Toothed Cub / Rita Wants a Dragon

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Esme and the Sabre-Toothed Cub
Simon Philip and Magda Brol
Oxford Children’s Books

Could it be that Esme’s best friend Morris the mammoth has his tusks put slightly out of joint when a little sabre-toothed tiger cub appears in the village and charms all the cave kids by its actions. Despite the adults having shooed it away on several consecutive days, Esme asks the visitor she’s named Seb, “Would you like to be my pet?” However, Seb is far from impressed at receiving one order after another from the little stone age girl who eventually gets the message that the creature has no intention of becoming anyone’s pet.

Morris however, decides that perhaps friendship could be the way to go and of course, Esme is eager to join in their fun and games, albeit from some way off. Then trouble rears its ferocious head.

Can Esme save the day and learn a thing or two as well?

With certain similarities to our 21st century world, Simon Philip’s second story of bossy young Esme and her fellow troglodytes is another humorous read aloud, made even more so by Magda Brol’s highly exuberant scenes of this endearing prehistoric community.

Rita Wants a Dragon
Máire Zepf and Mr Ando
Graffeg

In the fifth of this series starring the small girl with a huge imagination, young Rita is having a bad day. Everything is going wrong and she imagines a large fiery dragon to represent her angry feelings. However, even dragons can’t remain in an angry state all the time – it’s hugely exhausting to roar

and rant, stomp and stamp and breathe fiery flames so it’s as well that they can take flight and find somewhere alone to do some slow breathing to help that rage dissipate and to talk calmly about what has gone wrong. Then anger diffused, it’s time for a snuggly cuddle with a loving grown-up, a mum for example.

With powerful images created by Mr Ando on every spread, Máire Zeph’s tale of Rita’s challenging behaviour offers parents and educators in early years settings an enjoyable starting point for discussions about feelings of anger and how to cope with them.

Rita Wants a Witch

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Rita Wants a Witch
Máire Zepf and Mr Ando
Graffeg

Rita is a small girl with a very big imagination and she uses it to ponder the possibilities of having a witch in the family. The witch she desires is of the wild sort and thus, instead of sending her off to bed she’d allow the child to whizz around all night on a broomstick; no household chores would be required, only her assistance with spell brewing. But said witch would never ever do mean spells, only ones like this –

she’d never give her bad dreams or scare off her pals.

What though if on the other hand, this witch turned out to be inept at tending to a poorly Rita, a meanie who wanted her apprentice to follow her unpleasant example, and whose cooking was decidedly unappetising.

There’s absolutely no knowing what might transpire if such a witch came into Rita’s life.

Better perhaps to have another think, toss out those notions of magic potions and settle for something much safer …

In addition to being a fun book for sharing with foundation stage children around Halloween time, this is a story with a maternal theme that shows just how much mums really do for their little ones. The vividness of Rita’s imagination that emerges in Máire Zepf’s first person narrative is mirrored in Mr Ando, aka Andrew Whitson’s humorous, sometimes mock scary scenes of witchy prospects for which he uses suitably bright garish hues.