reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


clear of big dogs … ‘the fishmongers down the street are nice. They would probably give you a fish if you asked.’ All the while the snow swirls ever around as the child stops


faster


several times to put up posters. He enters the park and walks towards a bench, stops again and then we see and we understand … “Your bowl is full and your blanket


is warm … you could just come back,” he tells the absent feline as he starts making his way back towards home … Awesomely


beautiful, intensely


moving and oh so brilliantly done, this remarkable book opens you to the raw emotions of the searcher. There is so much to take in, in Smith’s superbly


observed jumbled city scenes;


blurred images viewed through the tram’s misted windows, the street scene


into confusion by


the mirrored windows of an office block, tall linear buildings towering skywards amid a tangle of cables and street lights, while close ups of the snow covered boughs of street trees and the blizzard of falling snow reminded me somewhat of a Hockney landscape. JB


Swarm of Bees HH


Lemony Snicket, Ill. Rilla Alexander, Andersen Press, 40pp, 978 1 78344 912 5, £12.99 hbk


I must confess to being confused about this picture book. It is definitely about


anger and the chaos this


emotion can cause, but is it the bees who figure throughout who are angry, or is it the little boy who is throwing tomatoes at everyone? Certainly the latter is angry, but why do the swarming bees come into it at all? Supposedly, the bees are angry and may or may not sting the people passing by, and there is a connection of sorts between angry people and angry bees, but surely the little boy’s anger


should be paramount and


becomes so in the end. The swarm of bees is contained in a bag, and the little boy learns that while it can feel good to be angry, ‘it can feel better to stop.’ The illustrations,


digitally


produced using rubber stamps, ink and collage, are confusing as well, and this reviewer feels there is too much going on for the book to be enjoyed by children who might well be scratching their heads over the


production. ES


Sam Wu is NOT afraid of Spiders


HHHH


Katie & Kevin Tsang, ill. Nathan Reed, Egmont, 190pp, 978 1 4052 9428 7, £5.99 pbk


This is the fourth book in the very funny Sam Wu series, featuring a boy who so far has NOT been afraid of ghosts, sharks or the dark and who is now absolutely NOT afraid of spiders … maybe! So, when Tulip, a


Goliath bird eater tarantula, escapes from the sixth-grade classroom Sam decides that he must step up and protect his fellow pupils by finding her, if only to prove to his nemesis, Ralph Zinkerman, that he is not “Scaredy- Cat Sam”. Madcap and hilarious escapades ensue as Sam and his group of loyal friends try to come up with a fool-proof plan, aided by his fearless,


spider-loving little sister


and involving a jar of honey and a cat wrapped in tinfoil. What could possibly go wrong! The


authors of this appealing


series have found a winning formula with a theme of overcoming common fears and a cast of likeable, diverse characters all presented


in a


humorous and accessible style and brilliantly enhanced by Nathan Reed’s wonderfully lively, witty cartoon-like illustrations. Facts,


footnotes and speech


jokes, amusing bubbles


abound and combine with the witty text and eye-catching cover to create an excellent addition to a series that is perfect for reluctant readers and fans of madcap adventure. SR


A Boy’s Best Friend HHHH


Nicola Davies, ill. Cathy Fisher, Graffeg, 35pp, 9 781912 654116, £6.99 pbk


This short publisher


story is one of Welsh Graffeg’s Country Tales,


a series of illustrated short stories about young people growing up in the countryside. It describes Clinton’s happy life on his Caribbean island home, living with his Gran, fishing with his uncle and roaming the beach with his beloved dog, Rufus. When Clinton must leave to join his mother and her new family in London his life is turned upside down and he feels lost and unable to settle until a school trip leads him to discover the joys of helping on a farm. Here, he is given a puppy, a new “best friend”. This is a beautiful, gentle and


moving story about the difficulties of starting a new life with all the feelings that


of the atmosphere of this loss and displacement involves; it has a great deal


of resonance in today’s unsettled world. The appealing cover and soft, pastel, black and white illustrations enhance


sensitive story. Although Clinton’s tale is short, there are large blocks of text so this warm, poignant depiction of a young boy finding his place in the countryside would best suit confident young readers, or family sharing, and would give all much to think about and enjoy. SR


Clem and Crab HHHH


Fiona Lumbers (author and illustrator), Andersen Press, 28pp, 978-1-178344-869-2, £12.99 hdbk


The endpapers show a beach strewn with plastic before we meet Clem, who loved the beach,


the sand, the waves, the grass that grows


sideways, and the pools that come and go, and we see her peering into one of those pools. On days she had been watching a crab, as it played hide-and seek among the rocks, but it had disappeared when she was ready to go home. In her bucket were shells, pieces of glass, but also some plastic- and Crab, in a plastic bag. Sadly she returned him to the sea as her big sister had told her to, but on the bus home she found that he had hidden in her rolled-up trouser leg. She made him a home in a plastic bowl, and prepared her collection for Show and Tell. The next day, she went, with Crab, to the aquarium, and they found about the underwater world, conservation, and the problem of plastic in the ocean, and what people can do to help. Crab was the star of Show and Tell, though she had to explain why he wasn’t back in the sea, and she told her class all about the plastic problem, and how we can all help, though the beach was too big for her to clear. At the weekend, Clem and her sister went back to the beach to return Crab to the sea, and they were amazed and pleased to see her classmates busy clearing it of plastic: “I made a difference! We can all make a difference!” When the beach was clean and Crab back in a pool, Clem promised she would always look after it, for Crab and all the sea creatures. Fiona Lumbers’ illustrations show of detail on the beach, a


plenty


wonderful aquarium you can walk through, and sturdy little Clem and her diverse classmates and teacher as full of


character. It’s a good


story, absolutely appropriate for our awareness of responsibility for the planet, and this will go well in the classroom and library. DB


Look Up! HHHH


Nathan Bryon. Illustrated by Dapa Adeola, Puffin. 32pp. 9780241345849. £6.99 pbk


Rocket is determined; she is going to be an astronaut. But first there is the Phoenix Meteor Shower to view. She wants everyone to join her in the park for the occasion. She makes fliers, she stops shoppers in the supermarket, she even makes an announcement over the speaker system. And people do turn up – sadly nature is not always obliging. Is Rocket going to be disappointed? Dapa Adeola’s


lively, bold and


colour saturated illustrations capture the energy and self confidence of this small girl for whom the stars truly are the limit. Not like big brother, Jamal, whose eyes are fixed on his phone. The characters speak directly to the reader through their expressions and body language as much as through the text. Indeed, Rocket speaks to us directly telling us her story, Nathan Byrne capturing that confident tone of the very young who know their subject whether it be dinosaurs or the stars and for whom shyness is not an option.


that should find a place in kinder boxes


This attractive picture book is one everywhere,


a Everyone Can Draw HHH


Written and illustrated by Fifi Kuo, Boxer Books, 32pp, 978-1-910716-88-5, £11.99 hbk


This hardback picturebook is a


pleasure to read and share, as well as being an open invitation to ‘get drawing’. The text is minimal but carefully considered and introduces basic ideas about the choices we all make when creating art. We can draw characters or scenes, which can be black and white or brightly coloured. We can use scissors to cut collages, our fingers to make prints or a needle and thread for embroidery, and we can make our pictures anywhere. What will You draw? asks the final spread.


children


Brightly-coloured from


backgrounds different playing across


artwork shows ethnic each


spread, and wondering who these children are and what they could be saying is part of the fun of exploring the book. Child-style drawings jostle for space alongside other including pencil sketches,


artwork ink


drawings, collage, fingerpainting and embroidery. This diversity helps fuel inspiration and ideas and underlining this, the endpapers feature drawings showcasing different media – felt tips, coloured pencils, Chinese ink, collage and sewing – offering an unspoken invitation for children to match them to the artwork. There’s


a


enjoyable message opportunities


straightforward here,


to develop


and but


it and


engage children in something deeper may have been missed and adult readers may feel


that this book


doesn’t quite deliver on its initial promise. But there is always room for titles that send positive messages and encourage children to express themselves creatively, and Everyone Can Draw will be a welcome addition to libraries,


classrooms and other


settings. Fifi Kuo is a new young author-


illustrator whose picturebook, I Can Fly, has been shortlisted for year’s Klaus Flugge Prize. CFH


this


The Misadventures of Frederick


HHHH


Ben Manley and Emma Chichester Clark, Two Hoots, 40pp, 9781509851539, £12.99 hdbk


Frederick has everything it seems – except freedom. Emily may not have the toys but she does have the freedom of the countryside but she has no one to play with. Will Frederick ever find the courage to ignore the possibility of something dreadful happening if he does leave his safe home. What will happen if he does? Chichester Clark’s colour saturated illustrations take over each double


Books for Keeps No.238 September 2019 23 welcome


addition that will have young readers looking up to the stars. FH


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