Tag Meg McLaren

The Wizard of Oz

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The Wizard of Oz
L.Frank Baum adapted by Meg McLaren and Sam Hay
Egmont Publishing

This is a version of the Baum classic like you’ve never seen or heard before.

In Meg Mclaren’s 21st century retelling, Dorothy has become Little Dot, a pre-schooler and it’s she who is indoors when the tornado whisks her home with her and Toto inside, up and away, far, far away to a strange land.
It’s there where she meets all manner of unusual characters, one of the first being the Good Witch from the North, identifiable by her starry cloak (as opposed to sparkly silver boots – those are worn by The Bad Witch that Dot’s house has just squashed).

The Good Witch tells Little Dot to go home forthwith but when Dot tells her that she has no idea of the way, instructs her to “Follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and get help from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Donning the Bad Witch’s silver boots, the little girl sets off accompanied by Toto. Thus begins their big adventure.
Before long they meet first, Lion, looking very worried, and shortly after, the talking Scarecrow without a brain.

They both join Dot on her journey, the former hoping the Wizard will make him braver, the latter hoping to be given a brain.

Their next encounter is with Tin Can, a diminutive being in need of a heart; he joins the journeyers and they cross a bridge.

Suddenly “Boo!” Out jumps the Even Worse Witch who’s been lying low, waiting to ambush them. Fearless Dot soon deals with her, courtesy of a host of ginormous jelly snakes that emerge from beneath the surface of the road

and a yogurt that she whips from her backpack and squirts at their assailant just in the nick of time.

Having seen the evil witch off, the friends proceed to the Emerald City wherein waits The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Dot tells him their story and is surprised to hear the wizard’s response: they’ve done the job themselves, they don’t need his help after all. He even awards each of them a ‘good work’ sticker.

Now there’s just one remaining matter; that of getting Dot and Toto home. Apparently Dot herself is wearing the answer to that …

Highlighting the importance of friendship, kindness, bravery and home, this is ideal for early years audiences who will be enchanted from the sparkly front cover right through to the satisfying ending. Along the way they’ll thoroughly enjoy meeting the unusual, mainly endearing, cast of characters as portrayed in Sam Hay’s engaging scenes.

The Station Mouse

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The Station Mouse
Meg McLaren
Andersen Press

Maurice is a Station Mouse bound by the rules in the Station Mouse Handbook. The first rule states ‘A Station Mouse must remain unseen.’ The second is, ‘A Station Mouse must never go out in the daytime.’ Rule number three says, ‘A Station Mouse must never approach passengers.’
Clearly these rules are there for the benefit of humans, particularly that large majority who DO NOT like mice.

Now Maurice being a rule-abiding, recent employee of the railway spends his days (after sleeping late) hiding away and, it’s a pretty solitary life that gives him opportunities to contemplate such things as why nobody ever comes back to enquire about their lost things.

His nights in contrast, when nobody is about, are busy times when the mouse is occupied collecting all the items that have been left behind during the day.

One day Maurice spots a small child dropping a comforter; but what about that third and most important rule? Perhaps, if he values his life it would be safer to remain out of sight like the handbook says.

What about though, if you are absolutely sure that the lost thing IS a wanted thing? Maybe after all, it’s right to break the rule just occasionally whatever the consequences …

Seems there’s a price to pay for so doing which makes Maurice decide to keep to himself henceforward.

But then we are met with rule number four:’ If the bell rings, pull the alarm and return to your duties.’ That’s because a station mouse must not under any circumstances answer the bell – or should this rule too be ignored for it appears that the business about passengers not liking mice might just have some exceptions.

Time for a new rule and perhaps a different modus operandi …

Make sure you peruse both endpapers; they’re an important part of this cracking book. Its story really resonated with me as someone, who as an educator, is frequently accused of being a rule breaker or subverter. Good on Maurice for following his heart rather than sticking to the rule book.
Knowing when so to do is a vital lesson for children and one I believe they need to start thinking about right from their early days in nursery or even before.

Meg McLaren just keeps on getting better and better; this is my favourite of her stories so far. There are quirky little jokes, both visual and verbal wherever you look – even on the back cover. As well as creating superb characters, there’s an impressive sensitivity about everything she draws and she has an amazing eye for detail.

Pigeon P.I.

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Pigeon P.I.
Meg McLaren
Andersen Press
Murray is a private investigator of the pigeon kind. Of late, since the departure of his fellow operative, Stanley, Murray has been taking life rather easy. Then out of the blue – or rather, the rain – who should show up but the Kid, aka Vee, with a mission: to locate her missing friends.

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Intrigued, but not yet ready to take on another case, our narrator Murray asks her to come back the following day. She doesn’t show up and, with the police busy on a ‘big case’, he realises this will have to be a ‘do it yourself’ crime investigation.

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Seemingly there’s a feather thief at large in the town. Who or what is responsible for the dastardly scene that meets his eyes once inside the Red Herring Bar and Grill;

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and why does the voice emanating from the depths of the place sound oddly familiar? Even more importantly, is Investigator Murray ‘s goose well and truly cooked; or will the town’s streets again become safe for his fellow avians of every hue, once and for all?
Meg McLaren’s (Life is Magic) winning piece of detective fiction is bound to make you cackle. Take a look at those end papers for starters, especially if you want to do a spot of detecting yourself. Full of visual and verbal puns, witty details, speech bubbles and delivered in the manner of the best crime writers, this will appeal particularly, to anyone with a passion for setting things to rights. For sure, it’s a case of the more you look, the more you discover …

Life is Magic

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Life is Magic
Meg McClaren
Andersen Press
Meg McClaren and her bunny band weave a very special form of magic in this utterly enchanting book. Right from the start we’re in the hands of not one but two magicians, Meg and Monsieur Lapin. The latter is in need of a new assistant and to this end holds an audition, which in itself is something of a challenge. But then onto the stage steps Houdini and it seems the master magician has found the assistant of his dreams. This particular rabbit is ace at making his fellow bunnies feel part of the team …

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looking after their interests both before and after the show; nothing can possibly go wrong

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or can it? …

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Having taken up the wand so to speak, Houdini gets, shall we say, just a little carried away by his show stealing trick and pretty soon he’s become lord of misrule and mayhem. No matter, the crowds love him and come pouring in; the trickiness of the tricks escalates …

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and it seems Houdini is unstoppable.
But then the magic begins to fade so far as our star bun. is concerned: time to pull out all the stops for a final show-stopping trick to beat all tricks and …

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Let’s leave our brilliant cast of friends here with this wonderful life-affirming announcement …

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This magical show will hold readers spellbound throughout the amazingly accomplished performance. You really do need to get your hands on a copy to discover just how truly terrific this is: even the dust jacket is part and parcel of the magnificent production;

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Portion of the ‘Make your own Thaumatrope’ poster

and throughout the entire book are scattered wonderful posters and other theatrical ephemera. Chock full of captivating creatures of the rabbit kind, the whole thing exudes charm, wit and utter brilliance. For Meg McLaren, this will surely be a hard act to follow.

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