Tag Mikolaj Pa

The Underground Adventure of the Brave Frog Renée

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The Underground Adventure of the Brave Frog Renée
Mikolaj Pa and Gosia Herba
Greystone Kids

As she sits eating her breakfast egg, a question pops into Renée the frog’s mind: “Is the Earth like a soft-boiled egg inside?” she wonders and decides to go on an expedition to find the answer right after breakfast.

With a bag packed full of useful items off she goes listening attentively to the sounds on the ground but she wants to get underground and searches for an entrance. Up pops an earthworm and when Renée talks of her investigation, the worm ridicules it, offering another notion. Earthworm also directs her to Mole’s burrow saying it’s the quickest way for non-earthworms to get underground.

The accommodating worm assists Renée towards a tunnel. Therein she discovers a tangle of oak tree roots, an old coin, dung beetle larvae, dinosaur skeletons and a vast ant city. It’s there in the tunnels that Renée gets lost. The Ant Queen invites the frog to appear before her and Renée offers the Ant Queen a perfect gift: a pine cone. By way of return, the delighted Queen tells another ant, General Beatrice, to take the frog to the Cave of Stars – a sparkling mineral cave. Suddenly a massive millipede, jaws open wide, threatens to eat them but quick-thinking Renée shares her sandwiches with it.

The millipede then directs Renée and Beatrice towards the lava river, warning of its danger and Renée is able to pay their way for a ride on a Magma swan. They don protective suits but before they reach Earth’s too-hot core a guard stops them. I wonder what said guard tells the travellers about the Earth’s core … A selfie is taken and the friends proceed back to the surface via – can you believe it – a lift.

A quirky tale with lots of twists and dramatic, gouache and pencil illustrations showing the journey of one eccentric, resourceful amphibian with an inquisitive mind and a taste for adventure.

No. 5 Bubblegum Street

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No. 5 Bubblegum Street
Mikolaj Pa and Gosia Herba
Greystone Kids

Translated from the original Polish by Scotia Gilroy, this picture book takes readers inside the apartment building at No. 5 Bubblegum Street. It’s five pm we’re told by our tiny, friendly insect narrator, who lives in the top floor apartment, number 11.

One by one, we are introduced to the residents of each floor, the first being Mouse, a famous rapper preparing to go out. Mouse is frantically searching for his hat to complete his outfit. Apartment two is home to some monkeys and we join them in their kitchen as they bake a delicious “speckled orange orangutan cake” Apartment three, owl’s residence is currently empty; all we see is evidence that Owl enjoys games of different kinds.

There’s also Cat, lover of birdsong; Panther who is mad about house plants, a family of spiders, musicians all, a slumbering Hippo,

frogs, a sculptor dog and Bat ready and willing to share a twenty one move dance routine.

Come 6pm all these neighbours meet on the rooftop terrace where they each contribute their particular talent to a party and a great time is had by all.

This will appeal to children who enjoy poring over detailed illustrations, especially of the quirky kind. Full of movement and joyfulness, Gosia Herba’s, executed in bright pencil colours, are certainly that.