reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


Step Inside: Homes through History


HHHH


Goldie Hawk, Illus. Sarah Gibb. Nosy Crow (with the National Trust) 40pp., 9781788004091 £14.99 hdbk


Since this lavishly produced book is published in conjunction with the National Trust, it reaches a certain high standard, and is evidently going to be sold in NT shops as well as bookshops. It invites children to look at the houses and clothes of people in seven eras: Late Middle Ages, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, 1920s, 1960s and present day. Laser- cut windows enable to the reader to look backwards and forwards through the holes, as double -page spreads show all the rooms in the houses, and what they are used for, and there is even a ‘door’ in the cover. There are items to spot which are used in more than one house, and there is information about how people lived and their families. The people in a family are named, with a little snippet about each to help children to relate to them e.g. Jack has just learnt to walk, and Lucy has a lovely little puppy. Mostly, the houses are large and evidently lived in by relatively rich people: generally there is little evidence of the working class except in the Late Middle Ages, where some (very clean) peasants are working in the fields, but the exception is the 60s, where various people are shown living in contemporary flats and


the clothing becomes more


everyday, though hippies are in there, too. Much had been made of the comfort, or otherwise, of the clothes people in previous periods of history had worn, until the Twenties, when clothing became more practical. We return to affluence in the Present Day house, an interestingly designed modern house with a large garden where there is plenty of space for the children bouncing on a trampoline. Sarah Gibb has included a lot of


detail in her illustrations, and it is fun to look out for the items used more than once. This is a large book to pore over and enjoy, with glossy pages and very accessible history. DB


Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention


HHHH


Pip Jones, illus Sara Ogilvie, Simon and Schuster, 32pp, 978-1471145247, £6.99 pbk


It’s a big day in junior inventor Izzy Gizmo’s house: a letter has arrived with an invitation to


an


Invention Convention. At first, Izzy is uncharacteristically unsure, pointing out that her machines don’t always work. Following a wonderfully robust response to that from her Grandpa – “Cobblers!” he shouts – they pack up her tools and set off for Technoff Isle in an extraordinarily wonderful, amphibious vehicle, designed by Izzy. The plot moves forward as energetically


as well as


reflected in the beautiful, atmospheric and expressive illustrations.


sadness and this is This


is an excellent book for discussing bereavement and emotional literacy with children, with a perfect model in Tibble, who never


stops


trying to communicate and engage. Highly recommended. SR


The Mist Monster HHHHH


Written and ill. by Kirsti Beautyman, Alison Green Books, 32pp, 978-1-407188-88-1, £6.99 pbk


Penny isn’t sure about


as Izzy’s contraption, with the young inventors challenged to an invention competition. Izzy seems to be in trouble when one of her competitors selfishly hoards all the materials available for herself, but there’s very little that Izzy can’t tackle with her limitless ingenuity and creativity. Picture book stars don’t come


much more inspirational or resilient than young Izzy, but she’s thoroughly human


too, frustrated or not above bad-tempered


getting and


often in need of encouragement from Grandpa and her friend


for


readers. Pip Jones’ rhyming text and


Sara Fixer the


crow. The story is a joyful celebration of inventions and inventiveness with an excellent message


young Ogilvie’s action-packed


illustrations match each other for wit and energy. This is a story guaranteed to fire the imagination, and let’s face it, the world needs more Izzy Gizmos. This is the second story about Izzy


and Fixer. The series began with Izzy Gizmo AR


Tibble and Grandpa HHHHH


Wendy Meddour, ill. Daniel Egneus, OUP, 9780192771957, £11.99 hbk


This is a completely beautiful picture book, both gentle and powerful in its touching and emotionally resonant depiction


of Tibble loves


loss, grief and love. talking to


but Grandpa has stopped listening, locked in his own world of grief since Granny died.


But Tibble perseveres


and his cheerful games of ‘Top Threes’, ‘what are your top three sandwiches’,‘top three jellyfish’, ‘top three days out’, eventually through.


break It is very moving to see


Tibble and Grandad begin to talk and engage again as Grandad’s grief is unlocked by the strong relationship between grandparent and grandchild. Be prepared to cry at the end when the pair play ‘top three grannies’ and talk honestly about death, loss and memories. This is a reassuring book for


children who have lost a beloved adult, giving them the chance to talk about feelings and memories.


It


deals with death in an open way and shows that people lost in grief can be found and drawn back through love, patience, understanding and kindness. The book is full of humour


Grandpa, without her new


house. Dad suggests investigating the garden, but the dog has stolen Mum’s old


hat and Penny can’t explore it. Penny chases Peanut


outside, only to find herself marooned in a strange, white world. Then she hears a rumbly voice and spots two yellow eyes peering at her through the mist. It’s a ‘sort-of monster’ who doesn’t have a name - so Penny calls him Morris, and the two of them set off in hot pursuit of dog and hat. ‘It was my mum’s… she was a brilliant explorer,’ explains Penny, and Morris gives her the kind of look friends give when they know they’ve heard something significant. But as the day progresses, having fun together becomes more important than finding the hat. “See you tomorrow!” says Penny when it’s time to go. Observant readers will notice Morris’s expression and imagine they can spot a tear or two. But it doesn’t occur to Penny that mist doesn’t last, and when she wakes to find the sun shining and no trace of Morris, she’s devastated. Outside, she allows the tears to fall. ‘Who am I going to explore with now?’ she asks. And in a page-turn that changes everything, Penny finds herself face to face with Archie, who lives next door and is looking for a friend… Gently


constructed themes of around


optimistic story weaves links between imaginative worlds and the


palette and low-key


loss and change, this here-


and-now of daily reality. With their sophisticated charm,


Beautyman’s illustrations


are a delight and will please younger and older audiences alike. Morris the Mist Monster’s expressions add emotional impact as well as humour, allowing the pictures to take the story somewhere


really quite profound,


and Beautyman’s treatment of the shifting insubstantiality of mist and dreams is particularly


effective. will help It


takes time for feelings of sadness and loss to pass, but opening ourselves to new experiences and enabling new connections


blossom when we least


friendships expect.


There’s a hint of The Snowman about this magical, misty book, and like Briggs’ classic, it will find a place in many hearts. CFH


Once upon a Rhythm HHHH


James Carter, illus., Valerio Vidali, Caterpillar Books, 32pp, 978-1-85857-844-9, £11.99 hbk


role


A prolific poet, compiler of poetry books and the author of books on creative writing and its use in schools, James Carter has written a lot of poems for primary children about all kinds of popular topics: space and aliens, beasties, dinosaurs, teachers etc, and he does a lot of school visits, with his guitar. A companion book to this one, Once Upon A Star, illustrated by Mar Hernandez, was well received, and your reviewer also enjoyed and reviewed Once Upon A Raindrop, illustrated by Kasuko Nomoto. It seems that there is now a Once


upon a… series, and this will be a useful addition to the school library for the music curriculum, or just for fun. It starts with the rhythm of your feet as you walk, the rhythm of your heart, and mentions the rhythm of the seasons and the rhythm of Life. Music probably started with drums, and singing, and this is illustrated with energy and colour as some people beat out a rhythm while others dance. We see someone telling stories through song, and children learning them to sing back, then the reader has to turn the book sideways to see a double page


spread of instruments, all


different musical making


different


sounds. We see how notes can be written down, illustrated by birds on parallel wires, and how music can be very different in form, and in other countries, coming up to date with afro beat and festivals. Finally, you can be a musician…Valerio Vivaldi people of all colours and races, and some are silhouettes, so they could be anyone, playing music with enthusiasm. This will be fun to pore over and share, or


to read aloud. DB Under the Great Plum Tree HHHH


Written by Sufiya Ahmad, ill. Reza Dalvand, Tiny Owl, 32pp, 978-1-910328-46-0, £12.99 hbk


Deep in the Indian jungle live Miss Bandari and Mr Magarmach, golden-hearted


monkey and


a a


crocodile. Mr Magarmach is too old and slow to catch his own food any more so kind Miss Bandari throws him some fruit


from her tree. One


plum leads to another and soon the unlikely pair are the best of friends. Mr Magarmach is a great storyteller and Miss Bandari enjoys hearing about the past, when he was strong enough to battle pythons, lions and human hunters. One day Mr Magarmach suggests


repaying Miss Bandari’s kindness with an outing, so she jumps onto his back and off they go. Along the way Dame Hati the elephant warns Miss Bandari about King Crocodile who lives in the swamp. ‘He will eat you!’ she trumpets, but Old Magarmach tells everyone not to be silly. King Crocodile simply wishes to see Miss Bandari’s golden heart! Does


that


Bandari thinks quickly and tells Old Magarmach


that


sound likely? Miss she’s


forgotten


her golden heart and they’ll have to return to her tree to fetch it. But as


Books for Keeps No.239 November 2019 23


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