reviews Books About Children’s Books continued


children – a beautifully evocative reminder us


of cry) with the analytical,


why Dogger makes the


detailed with the big-picture. And she extrapolates convincing general thoughts from her few examples, so her book has original pleasures of observation and insight for experts but also coherence for those new to the subject. And her appreciation is contagious. We accompany her discovery of Dr Seuss, as a poet and


poetry-reader and poetry-translator in rapt admiration of his brilliance under such constraints. The four pages on Green Eggs and Ham pander to my own familiarity with it, and love for it, but there are revelations, too. There’s an awful lot here. Pollard’s


reading of Burglar Bill includes brief references


to clothing, to his class, to


stock-character children’s


sensitivity to injustice, to perceptions of adulthood, there’s a suggestion about how the first draft differed from the


final version, a long quote from Allan Ahlberg, and a brief but meaningful link to crime and punishment


in


today’s society. For my money, it’s these many detailed individual book- by-book


readings like these that


make Fierce Bad Rabbits a volume I’ll keep coming back to, but because Pollard’s structure is partly thematic, the connections and comparisons are every bit as interesting. Where the Wild Things Are and Not Now, Bernard are both portraits of ‘the monstrous self’; compare the clothes in Beatrix Potter and Babar, or the consequences of overeating in The


Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Tiger Who Came to Tea (while on the subject of eating, see also Death); consider her shift


from comedy (because we


know that ‘most picture books tend towards comedy’) to The Lorax in its terrible minor key. One of my own favourite sequences


sees Pollard linking Christmas, Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowman, silence, snow, and – briefly, poignantly – the death of her own father. It’s a reading of the visual as well as the words and silences; it’s a reading that has wonder, beauty, emotion, depth. As befitting its subject. DH


Under 5s Pre – School/Nursery/Infant Lulu’s First Day


HHHH


Anna McQuinn, ill Rosalind Beardshaw, Alanna Max, 24pp, 978-1-907825-217, £11.99 hbk


This delightful, heart-warming picture book follows book lover Lulu on her first day at pre-school. A wonderful book for parents preparing their child for nursery or school, with a couple of nods to the emotional journey parents are going through too. It’s an early start but Lulu is ready,


Taxi Ride with Victor HHHH


Sara Trofa, illus Elsa Klever, Prestel, 40pp, 978-3791374062, £10.99 hbk


Jump into Victor’s taxi for a fun- filled dash round the galaxy, packed with surprises.


Victor has always


dreamed of being a taxi driver, indeed he wants to be the very best he can be – friendly, alert, wise to every shortcut. He’s certainly friendly, and his rocket-powered cab looks clean and comfortable but there’s one major problem: Victor is hopeless at finding the way. We watch as passenger after passenger is dropped off at completely the wrong destination. The grey-haired lady is left at the fun fair instead of the hairdresser; the young boy who wants to go to the funfair ends up at the library, and the librarian who wants to go to work is delivered to the dentist. Fortunately, no-one seems annoyed at Victor’s mistakes, and indeed, these turn out to be very happy accidents, his passengers’ lives improved by his wrong turns.


For children worrying


about the importance of getting things right, it’s a warm and comforting message, and for the rest of us it demonstrates how going along with the unplanned can bring unexpected happiness.


she has packed Dinah her special cuddly cat and chosen her outfit, ‘pink, jumping leggings and her sunny, yellow top’ – although she did want to wear her party dress, but Mummy says maybe not. She poses for her ‘first day’ photograph and then they are off. Lulu is greeted by her teacher and


shown where to put her things. Mum stays for a little while until Lulu gets acclimatized, when Mummy leaves Dinah gets a quick hug and all is well, especially as it’s snack time! Lulu


spends friends, her sharing books,


day making building


castles, singing songs and dressing up as a super-hero, and, before you know it Mum is there waiting to take Lulu home. It’s been a long and exciting day, but exhausting too, and Lulu is soon fast asleep snuggling up to Mummy on the sofa. Lulu is an engaging and vibrant


character and McQuinn manages to imbue a real sense of Lulu’s feisty lovableness in this simple story. Rosalind Beardshaw’s wonderfully bright and colourful illustrations perfectly capture the upbeat mood of the book. The Lulu books are a great series


following Lulu through all the major experiences of being a small child: getting a pet,


visiting the Elsa Klever’s bold, busy


mixed media illustrations are a delight too. She fills the spreads with details not in the text, including all sorts of flamboyant, multi-limbed aliens (Victor himself has four arms), and the out- of-this-world setting adds energy and excitement to Victor’s errors, and their unanticipated outcomes. AR


library,


going swimming, as well as other early years’ milestones. This gentle story is a perfect addition to Lulu’s adventures, and I can’t wait for the next instalment. AB


Somewhere out There, Right Now


HHHH


Gemma Wells, Ragged Bears, 32pp, 9781857144765 £7.99 pbk


A dreamlike picture book introducing – in the form of a story – the concept of mindfulness and empathy to the very young. This unusual, and engaging book


takes the child on a journey through the


peacefulness of the


world and back again, to the gentle rhythms of their own bodies, inducing a sense of calm and peace, for both read


to and reader: ‘Somewhere


out there, right now… A monkey is sheltering from the pitter-patter of the heavy rain. Somewhere out there right now… a litter of soft kittens is cuddling their mother’. We continue through this world


and are introduced to a flock of birds coming in to roost, a fox slipping through a dark city street, plankton gently floating in the ocean plus a myriad


before returning to the child’s own internal world: ‘In your mind, right now… there are lots of quite thoughts. In your body, right now…from the tips of your toes to the top of your head you feel peaceful’. The language and repetition within story


the reinforce the sense natural


finding a dinosaur, while the fisherfolk worry about her lack of young friends. Her determination and hard work


pay off and eventually she’s able to assemble a dinosaur skeleton (shades of Mary Anning perhaps). This she decides is her best friend, and aptly names it Bony. Back home in bed that


night


Marianne makes a special wish, ‘With all my heart I make a wish, / and dream it will come true, / for stony bones to come to life / and find me when they do.’ Seemingly her wish is granted for


beneath the stars her dinosaur (now fully


formed) awaits to wherein girl and


her on a dreamtime adventure. An adventure


transport bony


of other natural scenes,


friend swim in the sea, flash through the forest accompanied by fairies, past unicorns and giants to a magical moonlit island filled with frolicking children and their dream dinosaurs – a land of infinite possibilities. But children keep secrets, so the magic of the night will remain just that – a wonderful magical nocturnal secret. Told in rhyme that reads well aloud


of


calm and peacefulness, as well as instilling a sense of our connection with the natural world. Wells’ warm illustrations perfectly catch the mood of the book and give a child plenty to engage with and explore. A perfect


bedtime but


book also


for sharing at potentially anxious or fretful


for calming a child.


Although I have categorized this as a book for children under five, it could easily be shared with older children in a variety of settings. AB


The Girl and the Dinosaur HHHH


Hollie Hughes, ill. Sarah Massini, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 32pp, 978 1 408880524, £10.99 hbk


Young seaside


Mariannne, resident town, spends


of her a time digging on the beach in the hope of


and accompanied by atmospheric scenes of the red-haired protagonist and her nocturnal foray, this is a seaside adventure with a difference to delight dreamers and dinosaur enthusiasts especially. JB


Polly and the New Baby HHHH


Rachel Quarry, OUP, 26pp, 978 0 19 276904 6, £6.99, pbk


Polly has an imaginary friend called Bunny. She likes to push him around in her old pushchair and they spend many happy hours together. The only problem is that Mum and Dad will need the pushchair back soon as a new baby is on the way. They try all sorts


of alternatives, but nothing


is quite right; the doll’s pram is too small, the baby sling too tight. As time passes Mum and Dad are getting quite worried. However, when Polly’s new baby sister is born Polly comes up with her own very inventive plan to solve the problem. This is a warm story about imaginative play, coping with change and compromise. The illustrations are


Books for Keeps No.239 November 2019 21


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