Tag Rebecca Green

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers

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Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers
Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery, illustrated by Rebecca Green
Minedition

This is the debut book for authors Uma Mishra-Newbery and Lina AlHathloul, both human rights activists; Lina being the sister of Loujain AlHathloul, the women’s rights activist formerly imprisoned by the Saudi government for advocating women’s right to drive.

Many readers, adults at least, will be familiar with Icarus and his flight but fewer I suspect, will know of LouJain AlHathloul, the inspiration for this story. The Loujain in this story is a young girl who longs to fly like her father who talks of what her baba describes as a ‘carpet of a million sunflowers’. It’s this that fills the girl’s dreams while in the daytime she dons her father’s wings and pretends she can soar high into the sky. The problem is a big one however: girls are not allowed to fly. Nevertheless despite the taunting from her peers, she holds fast to her dream and baba’s assertion, “the only way to see the sunflowers is to fly over to where they are.”

Eventually baba relents and in the garden as he has done with his boys, he teaches her to fly. Now the possibility of reaching those ever beckoning fields of sunflowers is more than just a dream and one day the two – baba and Loujain spread their wings and …

Her baba takes a photo of his daughter in flight and next morning on the way to school Lulu is in the news.

What a wonderfully empowering story for children; they need to know that it’s important to dream big, to believe in yourself and to reach for the stars; that way will they see life’s wonders as they fly for peace of mind, for freedom and for their rights. Rebecca Green’s illustrations, with their warm hues and powerful images are show-stopping – a perfect backdrop for the words.
(Backmatter provides further information about Loujain AlHathloul and her work in the Saudi Women’s Rights movement and an inspiring letter from the authors.)

How To Make Friends With a Ghost

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How to Make Friends with a Ghost
Rebecca Green
Andersen Press

Written in the style of a guide book, this is a fun story to have at Halloween or any other time – perhaps not bedtime though, if you have an impressionable small child.
Herein we learn how to identify a ghost – very important if you want to make friends with one. Those depicted are of the especially endearing, somewhat whimsical kind.

Divided into parts, we look first at ‘Ghost Basics’, starting with, not to flee from a ghost should one choose to greet you – that’s on account of their sensitivity. Instead appear friendly and bestow upon the apparition a beautific smile.
Then, should it decide to follow you home, welcome it in, if needs be helped by a gentle blow (of the breathy variety I hasten to add). And, it’s especially important to keep your hands clear just in case you accidentally put one of them right through and cause the thing a stomach ache.
“Ghost Care’ describes feeding – preferably plenty of its favourite treats – cooking together …

and recommended ghost-tempting fare. Think I’d pass on sharing any of that.

Recommended activities come next. Apparently ghosts have a special liking for collecting items such as worms, leaves and acorns; reading scary stories is another favourite pastime,

and of course, joke telling – particularly of the ‘knock knock sort.

The more obvious Halloween activities are included, naturally. So too are bedtime considerations (eerie hums and wails make great lullabies); places to hide your visitor should someone come calling; hazards – avoid using your ghost as a nose wiper; banning ghost help with the washing and most crucially, ‘Do not let your ghost get eaten! (in mistake for whipped cream or marshmallows perhaps)

Part Three comprises ideas for life together as you both age for, as we hear, a ghost friend is a forever friend. And to end with a quote from Dr Phantoneous Spookel: “If you’ve been lucky enough to be found / by a ghost that calls you its ‘friend’, / Then your friendship will last / for it knows no bounds – / you’ll be friends even after the end.”

Now that’s a spooky, albeit tenderly poignant ending, if ever.

With somewhat sophisticated gouache, ink and pencil illustrations, executed in an appropriately subtle colour palette, even down to the endpapers and some of the printed text, the whole ghostie experience, imbued as it is with a sense of mischief, is enormous fun.

With a debut picture book this good, I look forward to seeing what will follow.