Tag Martin Stanev

The Tree Next Door / A Happy Place

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These are two new picture books from Little Tiger – thank you to the publisher for sending them for review.

The Tree Next Door
Charlie Moyler and Martin Stanev

At the bottom of a long garden a tree stands proud. Both garden and tree are loved, especially by their owner, an old woman. She gets companionship and rewards aplenty from her garden and it keeps her busy.
One day as winter is giving way to spring, a new neighbour arrives and catches sight of the tree next door. From then on she visits the garden whatever the weather, or the season, talks with the owner and asks questions of her.

A year passes and throughout that time the girl has found much joy in the old woman’s garden but as the chilly wintry days come, the garden gradually fades.

The old woman no longer visits her garden; this the girl notices and soon begins to worry. Will she be lonely? Or will she know that her young friend and others around still think of her. She decides to do something for the woman and asks all the other neighbours to participate in her plan. Every one works together until finally …

A sweet story of friendship and community spirit, all watched over by a very special tree.

A Happy Place
Britta Teckentrup

Clever use of peek-through die-cuts and cutaway gorgeously illustrated pages work in tandem with a straightforward poetic text telling of a small child’s moonlit walk, guided by a star, in order to find his happy place. In so doing the intention is that the child then falls fast asleep.

Dream or not, the scenes of the natural world – the moonlit river all a-sparkle and dotted with wading herons,

the forest with dancing squirrels and foxes, stoats and hares, work their magic and finally, watched over by the star shining brightly through the bedroom, we see the child finally slumbering peacefully.

A beautiful bedtime story to share with little ones, especially those who, like the protagonist have trouble dropping off to sleep.

The Planet in a Pickle Jar

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The Planet in a Pickle Jar
Martin Stanev
Flying Eye Books

The brother and sister in this story aren’t keen on visiting their Grandma’s house. They consider it boring and would much prefer to spend all their time using their screens. Immediately we see some of what they are missing by so doing. They don’t enjoy her meals, or listen to the stories she tells: but a boring Grandma she is most assuredly not. Just take a look at her shopping, knitting and pickle making.

Then one evening she starts telling them something she considers important and on this occasion the children do listen and even spend time that night thinking about what has been said. As they do so a star falls from the sky and vanishes; so too has Grandma when they go to tell her about it. 

Their search yields only a wild cat that gives chase, and the children flee to the basement via a door they’d not noticed before. There they discover shelf upon shelf of pickle jars in which are preserved everything Grandma considers precious – ‘history, languages, nature, memories, smells, feelings’ and more. In addition, she has created an amazing underground sanctuary for endangered wildlife.

When eventually the children find Grandma, she explains that in order to prevent the complete destruction of the natural world, she now needs help to continue her life’s work. And so it is that , along with Grandma, the two children become custodians of the planet. 

Let’s hope that other children too are inspired by the story. It’s magnificently illustrated by the author and tells much of the tale without the need for lots of words; indeed what is shown is often at odds with what is said.

A book to share and discuss at home and in the classroom, and most importantly, for children and adults to act upon.