reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


another ingenious home for them. The book will appeal to a wide readers as the story is


range of


sweet and simple but the illustrations provide pathways in to more towns and more homes older children might like to create in their own miniature world. The print is bold and clear to read with a simple layout; the use of primary colours make it visually bright and cheery too. SG


Molly and the Whale HHHHH


Malachy Doyle, ill. Andrew Whitson, Graffeg, 978 1913 134044, £12.99, hbk


This is an amazing tale about working together


to help make something


wonderful happen. It is a sequel to Molly and the Stormy Sea, and, pleasingly, there are more adventures with Molly in the planning. Molly and Dylan run down to the shore the morning after a storm, hoping to find cowrie shells, or anything little that might have been washed up in the night. But what they find is a whale. An enormous whale. Their father tells them to gather buckets and spades, explaining to the children that they must try to cool the whale. It is low tide, and they must wait hours before the incoming tide might carry her out to sea. Whilst adults dig a trench around the whale to catch the water, a crowd of children fill buckets from the sea and pour them over the whale, in attempts to keep her cool. Molly suggests just pushing her back into the sea, but her father explains she is too heavy, and anyway, they might hurt her. As the morning progresses, great


tarpaulins are erected high


over her head, as sun shades; Molly sings to her to keep her calm, with the whale’s beady eye clearly watching all this activity. But Molly senses the massive creature is becoming more and more uncomfortable, more and more unhappy, as the heat of the day increases. At last the tide turns, and the children dig a channel from the tide line to the whale, to speed the water’s advance. Once her tummy is resting in the cool, clear water, the whale does a big blubbery shake, as if to say thank you. Hours pass by. The people retreat to the sand dunes to watch. No further movement, apart from the rising of the moon. The father entreats everyone to go home, and says he will keep watch. It is to be full moon that night, so the tide should be at its highest. Molly and Dylan stay with their father all night. As dawn breaks, Molly spots movement. The whale is testing the water’s depth with her tail. The three watch joyfully, in awe and wonder, as slowly the whale turns and heads out to deeper, safer water. They are entranced, watching the whale as she slaps her fluke on the surface of the sea, and sends water spouts high into the air. I have had the amazing experience of whale watching, seeing their enormous size


and mastery of the sea, so this story really


Doyle has handled the


touched my heart. Malachy telling so


well, never a word too much, and the illustrator has highlighted the emotions of the people saving the life of such an incredible creature. What a memorable day and night for those on the beach that day. Brilliant, so well created. Highly recommended. GB


Let’s All Creep through Crocodile Creek!


HHHHH


Jenny Lambert, Little Tiger Press, 32pp, 978 1 78881 398 3, £11.99, hbk


Pause (paws?) at the first endpaper, and deliberate. Whose prints are these? Then… as it is starting to get dark, prepare to return home. Best take the shortcut, through the creek. There follows a conversation between Rabbit, Mouse and Tortoise. Mouse claims there are certainly not crocodiles


in the creepy, crooked


creek, whereas Rabbit expresses doubts. Tortoise, unfamiliar with the idea of crocodile, listens as Mouse begins to describe a croc’s features… a knobbly, gnarly back… pokey, pointy claws,... and they enter the creepy, crooked creek. By this time in the tale, readers will be searching the illustrations for more clues…. Those swingy, springy vines, do they look much like a croc’s flippy, whippy tail? Mouse is the intrepid one, bouncing and swinging and hopping along, trying to divert his friends from their fears. Uh oh. Of course, encounters ensue. PANIC! Away they ran from the


sneaky, snappy crocodiles.


Ending? “Easy Peasy,” says Mouse; “Shortcut through the forest.” “The fearsome, frightful forest? Won’t there be tigers?” asks


Rabbit.


Shelly the tortoise has the last word. “What’s a tiger?” Then, wonderful end papers, thick orange and black stripes. The detailed


pictures are


playful and the characters are well created. Each conversation between the friends is littered with alliteration, making reading aloud a delight. The illustrations are full of movement, with the three main characters each having their own traits. And of course there is the protagonist


Croc for


which to search. Children would enjoy play acting in groups of three, with some creepy, knobbly, gnarly backed crocodiles lurking. A great read. GB


The Inner Child HHH


Henry Blackshaw, Cicada Books, 32pp, 978 1 908714 68 8, £6.95 pbk


The author of this unusual picture book


claims that it is both for


kids and for adults, and so it is. Pictures in colour of adults on white backgrounds with smaller,


ghostly


versions of themselves (the inner children) are shown doing all sorts


of things that are ‘child-like’, such as pretending they are okay when they’re not, or being silly when they dance, or being afraid or nasty to others, or talking in baby voices when they’re in love. The integrated text, done in pen and ink, adds to the charm, and there is real awareness of relationships in the whole – humour too. This is an original idea, imagined in an original way, and it will appeal to both children and parents. ES


The Little Island HHHH


Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Robert Starling, Andersen Press, 32pp, 9781783449095, £12.99, hdbk


Once upon a time there was a little farm where all the animals lived and worked together happily. Then one day, the geese who lived on a rather attractive island enjoyed by everyone. felt there too many crossing the bridge and making themselves at home. They decide this is not acceptable. They draw up the bridge. They do not need anyone else. Or do they? Drawing inspiration from Orwell’s


Animal Farm, this modern fable is attractively presented for a much younger audience. The text by Smriti Prasadam-Halls flows easily with a nice sprinkling of humorous asides adding character and life. Robert Starling’s illustrations highlight these characteristics,


neatly matching


and extending the story. Bold colours, strong designs draw the eye bringing solidity and a realism to the whole – just as the maps on the endpapers ensure the farm has a proper location. Though the characters are animals, this makes it easier to identify the issues the author is keen to introduce – fear of others, exclusiveness, the building of barriers, looking back to an imagined past – while also highlighting the importance of sharing, of cooperation, of friendships and hope. This bright, cheerful picture book – an engaging story – will certainly provide a basis for


encouraging even Castle of Books HHH


Written and illustrated by Alessandro Sanna, Tate, 48pp 978-1-84976-668-5, £11.99 hbk


This unusual picturebook poses a question – why do we need books? – then invites us to draw our own conclusions by exploring a series of visual and verbal clues. Two girls are contemplating an array


of books. Are we here to observe…? A chunky volume falls off the shelf and lands with a thunk! on one girl’s head. Why did it fall? And what will the girls discover when they open it? Blah, blah, blah…The answer


is


left to our imagination and the girls start quarrelling. Rrrriiip….! It’s hard to tear a book in half, but the girls have managed it. What emerges from the loose leaves flying round the


very young


children to think about the world we live in today as well as becoming a favourite at story times. Excellent. FH


room? And are we here to invent, to imagine, to travel or to grow…? Maybe we just need to be amazed. Whatever happens, we’re sure to find answers of some kind. After all, as the final spread assures us – mischievously? – “Now I understand!” Set against plain backgrounds and


largely unconfined by boundaries, Sanna’s spare and stylish artwork allows itself the visual and imaginative space it needs to thrive. Spines and covers are suggested by comb-like sweeps of coloured ink with pages drawn in fine black pen, and similar treatment is given to the girls’ clothing and hair. Scribbled text erupts from an open book in the form of a shark that, once loosed, becomes a wordy ocean, and origami-like creatures suggest themselves and are constructed, only to become gigantic birds that carry both girls away. This isn’t a standard picturebook younger


for


appeal to them, particularly when introduced and moderated


premise sophisticated


readers. It may well by a


supportive adult, but its apparently simple a


quickly becomes visual


exploration


and Castle of Books is more likely to find an audience amongst older booklovers and those interested in the art of illustration than in a KS1 classroom. But for those children who do engage with it – and for adults willing to take the time to explore it with them, or use it as a springboard for creative activities and responses - it will offer its own rewards. CFH


Dracula Spectacular HHHH


Lucy Rowland, ill. Ben Mantle, Macmillan, 32pp, 9781509845989 £6.99 pbk


This book is great fun. about


Beneath


the sparkly cover lies a thoughtful message


learning to love


differences and being yourself. A little boy is born to a glum and


gloomy vampire home; the parents are overjoyed to have a little vampire boy but then they realise that their baby is not quite the same as them. They try to teach him how to be scary and to ‘sneak and to creep’, ‘But the Dracula child just giggled with glee, Then asked all his teddies to join him for tea.’ Whatever they try to do he really loves colour and sparkle and doesn’t want to scare people away. The problem comes to a head when the Dracula child is told to scare a little girl and he finds her hiding under her bed. However, it isn’t the boy she is scared of but dark itself so he is able to show her that dark can be wonderful. (I liked the nod to one of my favourite all time books The Owl Who Is Afraid of the Dark here). But he has to leave before he sees the sun rise. When he returns home he is upset


and becomes sadder and sadder but his parents think of a lovely way of cheering him up and everybody changes the way they look at things. The rhyme in the book makes it


great to read aloud the illustrations will encourage reading independently.


Books for Keeps No.239 November 2019 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34