Tag Rilla Alexander

Zeki Hikes With Daddy / Fiona on the Swings & Herbert Climbs to the Top

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Zeki Hikes With Daddy
Anna McQuinn and Ruth Hearson
Alanna Max

This latest Zeki story is so full of joy from the front cover illustration right through to Ruth Hearson’s final scene showing a blissfully slumbering infant being carried home on the back of his smiling father after their wonderful day together.

As they explore the great outdoors Zeki notices small details such as a tiny falling leaf, crisp footprints left by a bird in the squelchy mud beside the water, a delicate feather and a bumpy pine cone: what lovely rich descriptive language Anna uses in her verbal pictures of these natural objects and the others mentioned.

It’s great to see both father and son being excited by the natural world,

as well as spending quality time in each other’s company. Spending time in the company of Zeki and his family is always a delight for small children and their adult sharers; both audiences will surely cherish this shared time too.

Like all the others in the series, this book deserves to be part of the early experiences of every toddler. It’s pitch perfect for encouraging talk and new learning.

Fiona on the Swings
Herbert Climbs to the Top
Rilla Alexander
Hippo Park: Astra Books for Young Readers

Just like little humans, Herbert and Fiona Hippo love using the equipment in the park: Hippo Park is where they meet their friends including a frog, a mouse, and a turtle.

Fiona is eager to learn to swing though needs help to get herself up onto a swing seat but Herbert is on hand to assist and provide an initial push to give her some momentum. Following his instructions, she’s soon kicking and tucking her legs as she swings back and forth till Herbert too starts his swing and then it’s time to let their imaginations take flight …

The top referred to in the second title is that of the arched climbing ladder. Urged on by his pals, Herbert takes tentative steps gradually gaining confidence as he goes step, pull, step, pull right to the very highest part. Overcoming sudden wobbliness and the dropping of Teddy, back down he climbs and off into a flight of fancy with frog et al.

Endearing, cartoonish drawings of the activities at the park combined with simple, chatty storylines of friends at play will please the very youngest.

Swarm of Bees

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Swarm of Bees
Lemony Snicket and Rilla Alexander
Andersen Press

This is the second ‘Swarm of Bees’ to arrive at my house in the last couple of weeks. A real swarm dropped down our chimney the other day and after an initial invasion of our bedroom, the bees are now safely at home nesting in the chimney flue.

In the story, a boy throws a tomato at a nest of bees. Why, one wonders. He certainly looks pretty angry as he walks along pulling that cart. But to take his anger out on the bees is surely not acceptable behaviour. His action causes the nest to swing, and disturbed, the bees come swarming out: do they do so to protect their queen perhaps?

Through the town fly the bees with the narrator wondering about possible targets for their stings. A sailor? No he’s spent nine months at sea and is rushing home to give his mother a hug. Maybe a mother, a bricklayer,

chefs, a cat or residents of a flat: using repetition the narrator considers each potential target and provides reasons why not.

What about the boy? We then see that he in fact is pelting each of the potential targets with tomatoes; they’re all feeling indignant and chase the boy across a tomato-splattered town layout

in a sequence of wonderfully buzzy spreads.

Eventually the beekeeper calms the swarm and catches them in his bee sack.

The boy meanwhile, is pacified by an embrace from a parent who doesn’t chastise,

but the narrator echoes his thoughts with ‘It can feel good to be angry. / it can feel better to stop.’

Clever use of metaphor for the feelings of the characters, combined with the exuberant illustrations provoke ideas about anger management and the other emotions the characters exhibit in Rilla Alexander’s bold, mixed media scenes, providing a nice balance of humour and emotional charge.

The entire book is thoughtfully designed from cover to cover with the story starting and concluding on the endpapers.

An interesting, thought provoking book to share as a prelude to a circle time discussion with young listeners.

Her Idea

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Her Idea
Rilla Alexander
Flying Eye Books
Sozi is quite evidently a creative character; ideas simply burst forth from her head so that she feels overwhelmed much of the time. Time however is her problem – or rather procrastination, if we apply the Edward Young adage, ‘Procrastination is the thief of time.’ Consequently, not acted upon, Sozi’s ideas slip away one by one, leaving her an empty-headed, weeping heap. That is until a kindly passer by – fortuitously fleet of foot – chases an idea, eventually entrapping it securely.

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Spurred on by his example, Sozi joins the chase and the two not only discover and catch ideas everywhere but other useful stuff as well.
Then, with a clear mind and happy heart young Sozi sets off on a project, a book project no less. The beginning and middle are dealt with comparatively easily but what about that elusive ending? Well, that’s left to her ideas book friend.

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And a pretty satisfying one it is too.

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As someone who is always going on about giving children opportunities to unleash their creativity, this really made me smile. And as one who has also tried to write stories, it rings uncomfortably true. It’s such a clever idea and so forcefully conveyed through Rilla’s rhythmic narrative and striking illustrations. Her use of a limited colour palette heightens the drama

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and helps make the book more memorable. I like the die-cut covers too. All in all, this allegorical tale within a tale is another demonstration of the fact that when you have a Flying Eye book in your clutches, you know you’re handling quality. I’d suggest over 6s at least for this one.

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