Up the Mountain

July 30, 2018jillrbennett Leave a comment

Up the Mountain
Marianne Dubuc
Book Island

Old Mrs Badger is a kindly soul residing at the foot of a small mountain. She loves to walk and does so every Sunday, climbing up to the top of the mountain and sometimes stopping en route collect things such as mushrooms for a friend

or to help one in need.
One Sunday she comes upon a little cat eager to accompany her on her journey though he lacks the confidence. Fortunately Mrs Badger knows just the thing to make the challenge easier for Leo

and so the two continue climbing together.

Her companion is inquisitive and quick to learn; Mrs Badger encouraging, wise. and generous with her wisdom.

Finally they reach their destination.

There follow many Sundays when the two friends climb together and gradually week by week, month by month Mrs Badger starts to grow weary on their walks and now it’s erstwhile mentee Leo’s turn to take on the mentoring role.
Then comes a day when Mrs Badger doesn’t feel strong enough for an uphill hike so Leo heads off alone. And so it continues with the cat bringing back treasures to share with Mrs Badger.
Eventually the mountain has become Leo’s but then one day that too changes: now Leo has a new friend with whom to share all that natural beauty.

Marianne Dubuc’s moving cyclical tale has a quiet beauty that holds readers in its thrall throughout, and demonstrates so touchingly the power of intergenerational friendships. Her scenes, both intimate and expansive, are superbly detailed and beautifully textured, and her colour palette spot on for the rural setting.

Mr Postmouse Goes on Holiday / Travel Activity Book

April 26, 2017jillrbennett Leave a comment

Mr Postmouse Goes on Holiday
Marianne Dubuc
Book Island
Mr Postmouse is back – or rather, he isn’t: he’s off on a holiday trip with his family and like many of us, is taking some work to finish. First stop is the forest where they set up camp, oh! and there just happens to be a parcel to drop off for forest resident, Aunt Maisy.

The mice then head to the seaside for some relaxation before boarding a cruise ship, which stops off at a volcanic island for another parcel delivery and for Pipsqueak, provides an opportunity to toast some marshmallows – yummy!

A camel ride in the desert, a jungle safari, a hasty, town stopover, a mountain sortie, a polar stop-off, an air-balloon flight all follow; and as you might expect, Mr P. has parcels to drop off at all the locations.

Eventually though, the globe trotting is over and the mouse family return home where unsurprisingly there’s a whole pile of letters needing to be delivered by Mr Postmouse.
This sequel is every bit as full of delicious details as Here Comes Mr Postmouse. It’s hard to show these on photos; but for instance, the forest scene has elements of a Hansel and Gretel type story being acted out by various characters. A mouse is picking up the pebbles that a small boy is using to leave a trail and hand-in-hand, two small children are heading towards a gingerbread house, there are boy scout bunnies and a whole host of minibeasts –

one toasting what looks like a sausage, over a bonfire.
If you share this with a group of youngsters – and I hope you will, as it offers so much to discuss, then ensure you build in lots of time to peruse each spread.

No matter where your holiday destination is, this might well be a worthwhile book to take along:

Travel Activity Book
illustrated by Charlie Brandon-King
Button Books
Starting with, on the inside front cover, a host of ideas for games to play on the journey, youngsters are offered a wealth of removable sheets of things to do from ‘Get Packed’ with its empty case, ticket and blank passport waiting to be filled; airport related activities, to a spot the clouds page, followed by a world map page. This just covers the first half dozen pages. There follow: all kinds of puzzles, problems to solve, drawing, writing and other creative activities and more.
No matter if you’re travelling to a jungly location or island far away, or somewhere much closer to home, there should be something to keep children from around 4 to 10 involved.

I’ve signed the charter

The Building Boy / Here Comes Mr Postman

October 23, 2016jillrbennett 1 Comment

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The Building Boy
Ross Montgomery and David Lichfield
Faber Children’s Books
This is a powerfully moving story at the heart of which lies the relationship between a boy and his Grandma who had once been an award-winning architect. Before bedtime in the house they shared, the two would snuggle together and Grandma would show her grandson photographs of buildings she’d designed.

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That was all in the past but now, she had plans for a wonderful new house she’d build with his help – a home the two would share.
Grandma, all the while is growing ever more frail and one day when he returns home, the boy finds she has died. The lad is overcome with grief.
Such is his love for his gran however, the boy is driven to carry on building. He works on a huge robotic-looking structure somewhat akin to The Iron Woman,

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a seeming reincarnation of his Gran; and she has plans … plans for an amazing journey the two will undertake together …

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Where that journey ultimately leads is to a deeply affecting finale – a place wherein the spirit of his beloved Grandma will forever reside …

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David Lichfield, who demonstrated his artistic brilliance in The Bear and the Piano imbues this enigmatic tale of love, loss and finding your calling with a sense of awe and wonder. His use of dark and light transports readers to that dreamlike place where anything is possible and the unbelievable becomes believable …

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What an inspired partnering of author/artist this was and the result is a book that will linger long in the mind.

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Here Comes the Postman
Marianne Dubuc
Book Island
It’s Monday morning and with cart loaded, Mr Postmouse sets off on his rounds. We join him as he delivers letters and parcels to all manner of unlikely animal recipients. The story itself is a straightforward description of the various stopping places but the illustrations are absolutely crammed with quirky details as we look into each home visited. It’s no easy round for Mr P has to scale heights …

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and dive deep …

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to complete his round and every stop provides readers an opportunity to peep inside the huge variety of residences and see for instance Dad Rabbit busy preparing a meal, a Crocodile languishing in the bath and another enjoying a book (and a nibble),and some bats – errr – dangling.
After all the hard work, there’s one package left in Mr Postmouse’s cart and it’s a very special delivery he has to make – to his small son, Pipsqueak whose birthday it is.
This is definitely a book to share and to pore over: I can see a fair bit of time being spent over each and every location Mr P delivers to. Terrific fun.

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