Tuesday 16 July 2013

Not a Cloud in the Sky by Emma Quay



 When life gets busy sometimes it’s easy to forget to look up and so you can miss on some really marvellous clouds (don’t even get me started on stars!) having kids around can provide you with opportunities to not only look up but also down and at most things that we would normally miss. We’ve been looking at clouds lately due to a school subject on weather for which we made a ‘cloudometer’ and just because clouds are just so darn fascinating. One of the lovely things about clouds is their ability to look like other things. Emma Quay uses this as the premise of her delightful new book called Not a Cloud in the Sky. A little bird meets a cloud who wants to play a guessing game. The bird, tired from travel, is rejuvenated by the simple, fun game as the cloud takes on all manner of shapes like a giraffe and an elephant and a dragon beautifully timed to coincide with sunset.
This is a playful story that celebrates play and imagination and the friendships that spring from unlikey sources. It also has some rather nice little zen sentiments about life like things looking different from another point of view. The text and the illustrations capture the playful nature of the story; there’s a sense of delight and fun that make reading it so enjoyable. And the illustrations are just lovely with the sweet little bird and the wispy, cheeky little cloud and the transition from day to nightime reflected in the colours of the sky.
My son adores this book and happily took it to school so his teacher could read it to the class where it was well received. A great book for children and cloud lovers everywhere.
There are some interesting explanations about the illustrations on Emma’s website http://www.emmaquay.com/illustrating.html#cloud

ISBN : 9780733330919
RRP: $24.99
Publisher: ABC Books  
No. of pages: 32 pages
Rating: 4.5
Themes: Friendship, imagination, play, weather, clouds
Suitable for : 3+

Don't Breathe a word

Mackenzie Carew has a lot on her plate. She has to redo a school assignment (apparently 'A History of Toilets through the Ages' just wasn't going to cut it), she thinks she's getting a crush on a boy from school and her best friend always wants to play with the twitty twins Tegan and Regan. But her biggest problem is that something strange is going on with her Grandpa Pirate (so called because he has a sunken chest - bom bom) and her 'hormonal' sister Tahlia has made her promise that she won't tell anyone about it. Tahlia is worried that if someone finds out that Pirate, their guardian, is behaving erratically then their family will be split up and they don't want that to happen.
The girls decide that Pirate's state of health is temporary and they will keep an eye on him until he gets better, hopefully before school holidays finish. As the holidays draw on and Pirate seems to be getting worse, the responsibility of keeping the situation secret falls on Mackenzie's shoulders and she finds it increasingly difficult to hide Pirate's confused state of mind and his midnight ramblings. With the holidays drawing to a close and no miraculous recovery in sight Mackenzie is getting worried, particularly when her heavily pregnant half sister and a well meaning neighbour become suspicious and threaten to interfere.

Dementia is a difficult issue for adults to understand, let alone kids. Books like this and Layla Queen of Hearts by Glenda Millard, engage with the subject well without getting maudlin and bogged down in boringly good intentions. Don't Breathe a Word is sensitively written, but it also describes the bizarrely funny situations that can occur when loved ones suffer from this bewildering disease. It deals with a serious issue and shows that it is okay to see the funny side of it. I got a big laugh out of Mackenzie's inspired problem solving like when she decides to deal with her grandfather's incontinence by wrapping his mattress in bubble wrap.

' "I head pop pop popping coming from Grandpa's room.
"What the dickens?" he said.
I smiled in the dark. Even at the worst of times, little things could lift your spirits."

Through Mackenzie Marianne describes that difficult 'tween' age somewhere between childhood and adulthood where Mackenzie takes on adult responsibilities but is treated like a child by those outside her family. Added to this the confusion of a 'BFF' who suddenly looks elsewhere for friendship, sibling rivalry, starting high school and a first crush and Marianne has covered a gamut of emotions and experiences that so many kids could relate to.

Sunday 2 August 2009

Beatle Meets destiny

I have a cousin whose middle name is Lennon. When I first found out I had to clarify whether it was Lennon or Lenin because really I wouldn't have been surprised either way. My middle name is Leanne and I got quite a bit of shtick for that, so I can only imagine what sort of a ribbing he got. But to paraphrase the back of this book:
Imagine your name was John Lennon, only everyone called you Beatle.
And then you meet your dream girl and her name is Destiny McCartney.
But what if you were already with the perfect girl?

Beatle's life is complicated and not just because of the new developments in his love life. Everyday his mother reads him two horoscopes because even though Beatle is a twin he was born six weeks before his sister. Confused? There's more. His girlfriend Cilla is his sister's best friend. Bad idea. And his sister has started dating Destiny's brother. It seems like it's only a matter of time before world's collide.
Beatle and Destiny are likable characters with a strong supporting cast. Also scattered through the book are stories about twins and scientific studies on superstitions, a stalker, a theft, a kidnapped moggy and a pair of missing knickers. It's quirky and fun with a bit of teen relationship angst but nary a vampire in sight. What a relief!

Monday 20 July 2009

Old School

I don't remember Where The Wild Things Are being read to me when I was little. I remember other books, one about Frog and Toad and the illustrated version of Little Women but not that one. Other baby boomer mums and dads were wild about it as I learnt once discussing kids books with two boomer aunts. I had just expressed my love for picture books and they sighed "ah.......Max".
My response was," Oh, yes Max," and a similar sigh.
Then they said, "I'll eat you up and I thought, "huh?" because we were of course talking about two different Max's. Mine was the Max from Bob Graham's Max about a budding superhero who is taking a little while to find his wings. It's a really delightful read.
And of course the other Max my aunties were talking about was Max from WTWTA who is truly naughty and scary little monster .
I had purchased WTWTA almost out of obligation due to its status as a modern classic. To my shame I brought it home and placed it on the shelf where it languished for a long time. Occasionally I would take it down and read it but its beauty eluded me. I had tried reading it to Jack when he was quite small and it had not been a big hit. And then earlier this year he got it down off the shelf and we gave it another try. The first go I was a bit clumsy but then as I read it again, and I found the secret is to read it quietly and slowly, Jack and I fell in love and I came to appreciate why this book is such a classic. The language is understated, and yet conveys so much and I love the idea that a little boy is so naughty that he can become the king of all wild things and scare them (when they really are a very scary bunch of monsters). Once you find the right rhythm it's a lovely book to read and to get lost in the Maurice Sendak's detailed illustrations. There's a reason why some books are classics and this is certainly one of them.

Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
Isbn 9780370007724
Published by Random House

Max
by Bob Graham
Isbn 9780744598278
Published by Walker Books

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Things that make you go hmmm......

I have a confession, I am rather childish and I think farts are, well, funny. I am delighted that my two and a half year old son agrees with me. And he is delighted by my rather impressive collection of kid's books on all things scatological. I started acquiring them a while ago because they were very funny indeed. I got in just when they were taking off and was generally regarded in the bookshop I worked in as the expert on this genre. And you would be surprised how often I was called upon to share my knowledge. So taking into account my expertise and puerile sense of humour, I thought I'd share some of my favourites because all poo books are not created equally.























I guess it all started with The Story of the Little Mole who knew it was None of his Business which is very funny, nicely written (with a particularly lovely description of a goat) and the illustrations are very well done. For those unaware of the delights of the book it is about a little mole who pokes his head out of his hole one morning and an animal poos on his head (where it remains throughout the book like a very smelly beret). Unfortunately the mole is shortsighted so he doesn't know who has committed this heinous act so he walks up to animals asking if they did 'this' on his head. The animals all respond with a no, I do it like this (or a variation on that line) and so the reader gets an education on the variety and appearance of animal dung and a laugh at the same time. With the help of two flies the little mole is on his way to solving the mystery and exacting his revenge. It's good fun and gross and maybe even educational (though that may be stretching things). It also comes as a version with a book and a mole soft toy (complete with 'hat') and there is a 'plop-up' version but I found the paper engineering a little unimaginative considering the possibilities the story provides.
Another book that came out at the same time was Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi. The title sums it up but it does get the idea across to children that we all do it, though not in the same way or quantity. It mentions toilets and potties and nappies so is probably a good book for little people beginning to get interested in potty training. Zoo Poo is another book in a similar vein written with toilet training in mind, so not as many laughs but nice illustrations.
Who's in the Loo follows the same theme with people queuing for the toilet at a zoo and two anxious children imagining who could be taking so long. Lovely rhymes such as,

"A wandering wombat who needed a widdle?
A waddling penguin too frozen to piddle?"

are accompanied by colourful illustrations and an ending that is surprising if only for its innocence.
There are lots of picture books now like the above that are aimed at the toilet training market. Some are clever, like the book that is also a paper doll that sits up on the edge of a potty, but others are copying an original concept (like the Little Mole) and giving it their own twist. Peekapoo falls into that category. It has a similar concept to the mole, but this time a little mouse in a nappy asks his fellow animals to look in their nappies to see what their poo looks like. As the book ends the other animals demand to see inside the mouse's nappy and are surprised that it is empty. The mouse explains very proudly that he uses a potty and then all the animals want to try. My son loves this book and he and I have laughed alot when we've read it due to the lift the flap nappies. The text is pretty awful, so we just make the story up as we go and keep flipping those nappy flaps. And laughing.
Not educational at all, but highly amusing is The Fly. It starts with a fly getting ready for a swim packing his bag with sunscreen, a towel and a ball. He arrives at the pool and starts to swim but suddenly the sky grows dark and the fly (with good reason) becomes scared. The shadow is cast by a bottom and soon something "huge, enormous, as big as a football stadium" is coming straight towards the fly. The text is written with a light hand, letting the illustrations do the talking. And the illustrations are great. They are created from a combination of materials that would seem strange; textiles, cardboard, metal screws and clay, but they work together well to produce lots of groans, giggles and snorts. My son loves this book, but so too do lots of older kids (and adults).
And so to the Walter The Farting Dog series of Books. I resisted them for a long time, and I still can't say that I've embraced them all, but we do have a well read copy of Walter The Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise, where the flatulent Walter is banished below decks only to consume a large block of stinky, catastrophically fart inducing cheese that results in his being exiled. However as always in this series, when disaster strikes Walter saves the day. The Walter books are humorously written, with a nice moral about embracing difference and overcoming adversity (ie flatulence) but I've just never liked the computer generated drawings. Our chief book reviewer doesn't seem to mind them though and is always happy to revisit a Walter adventure. In fact we just did.
Which brings me to Smelly Bertie. Bertie first appeared as Dirty Bertie , which had very simple repetitive text. Smelly Bertie is more complex and funnier. Bertie gets in trouble with his parents, grandmother and sister for farting and is told that it is not, polite or nice. Bertie rages against the unfairness of it all, knowing that he is not the only one who farts,
"When Mum lets off a poot, she coughs at the same time to cover it up. When Dad lets off he's so sneaky..you don't know what's coming until it hits you."
And so on. It's hilarious, not at all educational (unless you count learning synonyms for fart) and as the author says in his dedication it is for "everyone who has ever laughed at their own trumps!"
All of the above are picture books, but as we know the appeal of farts, bums and poo don't wear off when we start reading chapter books. The Captain Underpants books always rate a mention because of their high grossness quotient and are also good for reluctant readers who might like their comic book style. And then there is the trilogy by Andy Griffiths starting with the Day my Bum went Psycho. Andy deserves a medal for outstanding services to bum jokes as he really gets the mileage out of as many toilet jokes and puns as possible. Funny, well of course they are funny, but surprisingly they also have good plots and nicely drawn characters. Again they are also good for reluctant readers (though older than the captain underpants audience) or anyone with a sense of humour.

The Story of the Little Mole who knew it was None of his Business
Written by
Wolf Erlbruch and illustrated by Werner Holzwarth
Isbn 9780732256494
Harper Collins

Everyone Poops
by Taro Gomi
Isbn
9781845072582
TL Distribution

Zoo Poo
by Richard Morgan
Isbn
9780099456520
Random House Australia

Who's in the Loo
Written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Adrian Reynolds
Isbn
9781842706985
Random House Australia

Peek-a-poo
by Genechten Guido
Isbn 9781408800195
Allen and Unwin

The Fly
by Gusti
Isbn
9781741750812
Penguin Books Australia

Walter The Farting Dog Goes on A Cruise
Written by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray and Elizabeth Gundy
and illustrated by Audrey Colman
Isbn
9780143501961
Penguin books Australia

Dirty Bertie
by David Roberts
Isbn
9780864614438
Scholastic Books

Smelly Bertie
by David Roberts
Isbn
9780864616241
Scholastic Books

Captain Underpants #1
by Dave Pilkey
Isbn
9780590846288
Scholastic

The Day my Bum Went Psycho
by Andy Griffiths
Isbn
9780330362924
Pan Macmillan Australia

Zombie Bums from Uranus
by Andy Griffiths
Isbn
9780330364256
Pan Macmillan Australia

Bumageddon: the Final Pongflict
by Andy Griffiths
Isbn 9780330421973
Pan Macmillan Australia


Wednesday 8 July 2009

Grrrr.............

A friend asked me recently for ideas on books to read aloud to her eight year old boy. She wanted something exciting that would capture her son's imagination, something they would both enjoy. I immediately thought of Zizou Corder's Lionboy.
As it begins, Charlie Ashanti leads a normal life in current day London or so it seems until his mother writes him a letter in her own blood and then disappears along with his father. Charlie being a bright lad is then suspicious when a local tough Rafi turns up claiming that all is well and that Charlie should go with him. The first reason is that his mother's laboratory door has been left wide open, not locked as it normally is. The second reason is that the cats have told him that his parents have been abducted. Charlie can speak cat and his parents who are scientists are held in very high esteem by the world's cat population.
Lionboy is actually set in an unspecified time in the future. Some things remain the same but others have changed forever. Fuel has almost run out so cars are rarely used with boats the most common mode of transport. Cats are public enemy number one because they have (allegedly) caused the asthma epidemic that is affecting children all over the empire. Charlie's parents have been working on an asthma cure before they are kidnapped.
Charlie escapes and sets off to find his parents. He stows away on a police launch which becomes entangled with an enormous and musical scarlet ship called the Circe. Charlie is taken aboard and finds that he is on a circus ship that is heading to Paris, which is where his parents are being taken. Not just any circus though as his new employer Major Thibaudet points out, it is, " Thibaudet's Royal Floating Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy" or Tib's Gallimaufry. Amongst the bearded lady and funambulists and trick monkeys it's not long before he finds the circus lions and meets their Lion Trainer, the chilling Maccomo and his plan to find his parents now has another part, to help the lions escape.
Lionboy is a cracker read as Charlie, with the help of the cats, races to find his parents before Rafi finds him and to free the lions. It has quirky illustrations with minute details and also some music that was specifically written for the book. The only problem is that as the tempo picks up as Charlie attempts to escape into Paris with six very large lions, you become aware that the number of pages left couldn't possibly be enough to finish the story satisfactorily. Which is why it comes as a relief to learn that the book is part of a trilogy. It's a good idea to have the next book ready to go as soon as you finish the first.

Lionboy
by Zizou Corder
Isbn 9780141317267
Published by Penguin

Lionboy:the Chase
Isbn 9780141317564
Published by Penguin

Lionboy: The Truth
Isbn 9780141317571
Published by Penguin

Wednesday 1 July 2009

Layla Queen of Hearts

When I worked in a bookshop customers would often ask for help finding kids' books to help them deal with something that had happened. Sometimes it was hard to find just the right book that dealt with the subject well, but was also going to be attractive to a child. Some issues books, whilst being very worthy are stultifying boring or very unattractive.
Margaret Wild was usually our 'go to girl' for issue books. A beautiful writer who attracts similarly talented illustrators, she has written books on a plethora of matters including the death of a beloved grandmother (Old Pig), depression (Pat The Cat and Sailor Sam), trust and friendship (Fox), isolation and loneliness (Miss Lily's Fabulous Pink Feather Boa), the death of a family pet
(Harry and Hopper) and nursing homes (the Bilbies of Bliss). The thing that I love about her books is that though they tackle some really tough concepts, they are beautiful books in their own right.
The same goes for Glenda Millard's Layla Queen of Hearts and the other books in the Kingdom of Silk trilogy. Beautifully written and with lovely illustrations, they are truly special books. I actually read the first book (the Naming of Tishkin Silk) because I loved the title, not realising that it is a book about the loss of a newborn and how the Silk family grieve and cope with their loss.
Griffin’s daddy used to say that Layla had been sent to comfort them after Tishkin went away; like an arm about their shoulders, a candle in the dark or like golden syrup dumplings for the soul.

The last book in the trilogy, Perry Angel's Suitcase deals with the arrival of a foster child in the Silk family and is also a lovely read.
Layla Queen of Hearts focuses on Layla, the best friend of Griffin Silk. When Layla finds out that there is to be a Senior Citizen's day at school she is worried about who she can take as her own grandmother has only recently passed away. Griffin offers that she can share his gorgeous, lamington baking grandmother Nell, but Layla wants someone of her own. So together they draw up a list of 'likely candidates'. Unfortunately all of these are unavailable so Nell suggests a lady called Miss Amelie, their 'last resort'. A visit to meet her is arranged and Griffin and Nell accompany Layla in her best 'Queen of Hearts' dress to meet Miss Amelie. It soon becomes obvious that something is not quite right with Miss Amelie and Nell later explains to the children that Miss Amelie is " a bit forgetful and she gets muddled'. In spite of this Layla is convinced that Miss Amelie will accompany her to school and that they will become friends.

This is a beautifully written book that deals sensitively with the subjects of dementia and aging. The combination of Glenda Millard's writing and the whimsical artwork of Stephen Michael King make this a delight to read and while it may cause you to shed a tear or two, it was also make you feel like you've just had a bowl of Nell's golden syrup dumplings.
Suitable for 7-10 year olds.




Old Pig
written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Ron Brooks
ISBN 9781863736794
Published by Penguin Books

Pat The Cat and Sailor Sam
written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by
ISBN 1862915210
Published by Scholastic Australia

Fox
written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Ron Brooks
ISBN 9781864489330
Published by Allen and Unwin

Miss Lily's Fabulous Pink Feather Boa
written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Kerry Argent
ISBN 9780140559026
Published by Penguin Books

Harry and Hopper
written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Freya Blackwood
ISBN 9781862917408
Published by Scholastic Australia

The Naming of Tishkin Silk
written by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Caroline Magerl
ISBN 9780733313141
Published by Harper Collins

Layla Queen of Hearts
written by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Stephen Michael King
ISBN 9780733318429
Published by Harper Collins

Perry Angel's Suitcase
written by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Stephen Michael King
ISBN 9780733322556
Published by Harper Collins