when the palace is destroyed in an Unfortunate Incident. Absurdity is at the heart of Luis Sepulveda’s The Story of the Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly so who better to illustrate it than Satoshi Kitamura? Lou Kuenzler takes Anna Sewell’s classic and re- imagines it from the view point of Jo, a young girl who masquerades as a boy in order to become a groom, in Finding Black Beauty. Attractively produced, attractively written, this is one both for young readers who may know the classic and those who don’t, inspiring them to try it. Beautifully presented with atmospheric illustrations by Levi Penfold, a novel from the imagination of A.F.Harrold, The Song from Somewhere Else, is full of wonder but rooted in reality. Christmas is a time for catching up, so ideal for series. Black Light Express from Philip Reeve takes us back to the world of Railhead and the singing trains that cross the galaxy. Meanwhile in The King’s Revenge, Philip Womack brings his rich, imaginative fantasy series, The Darkening Path, to a gripping conclusion. Repackaged for new fans and old is Cornelia Funke’s trilogy Reckless. All of these will provide hours of satisfying reading, journeying across new worlds.
Poetry
Dark nights, short days: it’s the perfect time to discover the delights of poetry. How better than in A Poem for Every Night of The Year, edited by Allie Asiri – complete poems, extracts and brief illuminating comments – this is one to open ‘magic casements’. In the Poetry for Kids series a selection of Emily Dickinson’s poems are collected in Emily Dickinson and Christine Davenier making a perfect introduction to this appealing, always intriguing poet.
Information for all The stream of gorgeously illustrated and imaginatively designed information books continues. One of the most arresting is Dieter Braun’s Wild Animals of the North while Anna Wright’s paintings for Magnificent Creatures: Animals on the move are very special, as are Petr Horacek’s illustrations for A First Book of Animals which also features a poetic text from Nicola Davies. Encouraging young readers to take part in the story is Story Worlds: Nature created by Thomas Hegbrook. This is a book to revisit, providing opportunity for curiosity and conversation. Midnight Creatures is a bit different and requires darkness and a torch – intriguing. Moving away from the natural world into the kitchen Nadiya Hussain’s Bake Me a Story playfully links cooking with traditional tales. Great fun. Also not to be missed, Vincent’s Starry Night and other stories from Michael Bird is a history of art but presented in an imaginative way introducing the stories around artists, bringing them and their works to life and possibly inspiring a visit to a gallery.
Activity books for Christmas Keen to make a mark? For Where’s Wally? enthusiasts Pierre, The Maze Detective and the Great Colouring Adventure by Hiro Kamigaki is one to keep them busy, while Draw it, Colour it: Beasts introduces young artists to a range of practical ideas from well known illustrators including Axel Scheffler, Chris Riddell and Emily Gravett.
Special gifts As always there are one or two very special gifts. A boxed set of King Rollo stories from David McKee, now in miniature editions would be ideal for small hands. All four of A A Milne’s Pooh stories are available in an attractive slipcase, just the thing to go with The Best Bear in All The World, a collection of four brand new stories by some very well known authors, while The Velveteen Rabbit, the classic by Margery Williams has been sensitively illustrated by Sarah Massimi. Finally, Odd and the Frost Giants from Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell cannot be missed.
Happy Christmas reading to one and all! Click here for details of all featured books.
Ferelith Hordon is active member of CILIP YLG and has served as Chair of both YLG London and of the National Committee. She is editor of Books for Keeps and of IBBYLink, the online journal of IBBY UK.
Books for Keeps No.221 November 2016 5
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