BfK 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued The Chief Cellist 


Wenhua Wang, illus Amann Wang, trans, Yu Yan Chen, Baleister Press, 64pp, 978-0-9932-1544-5, £8.99 pbk


Mr Zibra is chief cellist in the Caramel Pudding Orchestra and its star. He has become used to the adoration          rainy night his limousine fails to turn up after a concert; this proves a life changing moment for the arrogant musician. Too proud to accept lifts with the other members of the       himself sheltering from the rain, stubbornly awaiting the arrival of his limo with only a homeless beggar woman for company. When she offers to share her makeshift shelter with him he feels qualms of guilt that he has offered her nothing in return. This prompts an uncharacteristic act of kindness when he covers her        follows when he offers his cello case as shelter to a family of new born puppies. His redemption is complete after meeting an orchestra of orphan children from whom he learns it can be fun to play in harmony with others,  than strive to out shine them. The Chief Cellist is another


interesting fable from Wenhua Wang, this time in a more modern setting. The translation from Mandarin is on the most part effective. The illustrations convey an air of magic and sense of movement and work well with the story though the colour palette for the night time scenes is less convincing. Closer attention to proof reading would have avoided the occasional missing word and typing error.


SMc


Pocket Pirates: The Great Drain Escape





Chris Mould, Hodder Children’s Books, 144pp, 978-1-4449-2368-1, £5.99, pbk


In this adventure book for children, a tiny


ship-in-a-bottle, on a dusty shelf at the back of a ramshackle        collective of miniature pirates. 


oversized doublets and questionable personal hygiene, but Chris Mould’s ‘pocket pirates’ have very


common with classic swashbuckling favourites such as Captain Hook or Jack Sparrow.


buckle or plunder, they don’t bury treasure and they don’t maraud about the seven seas. In fact, they don’t even sail their ship! Despite this departure from the stereotype,        Lilliputian heroes. When hunger forces Captain Crabsticks and his crew out from the safety and security of their ship, they are suddenly swept into a drain and onto a subterranean adventure. Faced with fearsome insects, sinister rodents and, worst of all, giant           


They don’t swash- little in


anything but plain sailing. It’s impossible not to compare any


literary characters of these pirates’ size to The Borrowers. However, though Captain Crabsticks’ darning needle sword is a charming defence against a ferocious beetle, there are not nearly enough ingenious miniscule details of this nature, which made Mary Norton’s masterpiece so memorable. Pocket Pirates has enough toilet humour to set children giggling and ample adventure to sustain their interest throughout this short novel, though the crew may need to take their ship out of the bottle if they are  future episodes.


SD


Unicorn in New York: Louie Lets Loose





Rachel Hamilton, ill. Oscar Armelles, Oxford, 128pp, 978 0 19 274497 5, £5.99, pbk


This uniquely illustrated short story book is well-suited to children who are  combines genuine photographs with child-like drawings that young readers  The bustling chaos of New York is a serious culture shock for anyone… especially when you live in the land of fairy tales and spend your days chasing cakes and rainbows. Yet Louie the unicorn is not daunted in the slightest. New York is the home of stage and stardom and he is ready for fame! Louie is adorably clueless


Magic, New Fairy Tales by Irish Writers





Siobhan Parkinson (ed.), ill. Olwyn Whelan, Frances Lincoln, 60pp, 978 184780 537 9, £14.99, hbk


I wish I could be more positive about this book. It’s beautifully produced by Frances Lincoln; there are some big name writers and some fresh faces; and Olwyn Whelan’s richly coloured illustrations suggest both the tradition of fairy tale illustration and the knockabout humour of one or two of the stories. It’s intended as a companion book to the successful Spellbound, Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland, from the same publisher,


regarding life in the real world. He is   something as delicious and important as cakes, though, thankfully, his horn             in doughnuts. Though he may be naïve, Louie certainly doesn’t lack     a doubt that the whole world revolves around him and thanks everyone for their generosity when he hears ‘Simply the Best’ being played! Unfortunately for Louie, not everyone


 Arnie is the only unicorn that matters in New York and he is keen for things to stay that way. A sinister mirror image of Louie, Arnie frequently attempts to sabotage Louie’s plans for celebrity. Yet Louie is completely unable to see a glass as anything other than half-full. He views Arnie’s attempts to trip him up as offers  posters as part of a fun game…it’s a wonderful way to see the world. Hamilton’s story is an ingenious


Siobhan Parkinson and illustrated by Olwyn Whelan. However, it seems to me to fall short in a number of ways   it is to write fairy tales for the twenty-      seems to be the case here, you are given only a very few words in which to do it. There are stories which don’t seem to have enough story or end abruptly; and others whose meaning I can’t fathom. One of the characteristics of traditional fairy tales is, of course, that they can be for all ages, but here there seems to be a change of audience from story to story. Although I can recognise a lot of the traditional tale in these stories (kings, princesses, frogs), and some Irishness (little people, giants, turns of phrase), I am not sure in what sense these are modern fairy tales, apart from being written by living authors, unless capable girl heroines, sensitive ogres and ecological themes   (or rainbow) there is a particular confusion (certainly in the mind of this reader) about how many stripes (or colours) it has. Having brought into       green, blue, violet), the story insists that the snake has saved her special sixth stripe, indigo, for last. Surely it should be the seventh (and so much more magical) stripe, or have I missed something somewhere? Sadly, it is a book where I was left feeling that really I had missed a lot.


CB Before I Wake Up … 


Britta Teckentrup, Prestel, 56pp, 978 3 7913 7246 4, £9.99


interpretation of the unicorn’s place in popular culture. For children, unicorns embody blissful happiness and mindless magic, and there are plenty of laughs to be had when this is contrasted with the tension and stress of modern city-life. Though there are few moments of genuine      remains satisfyingly silly throughout and the imaginative illustrations will help to sustain children’s interest in the series.


SD 24 Books for Keeps No.217 March 2016


Delectably dreamy and glowingly gorgeous are the illustrations of Britta Teckentrup’s latest picture book. I’ve loved every one of her books thus far but I think this one tops them all. We are in the company of the little girl narrator as we leave worries far behind and accompany her and her  sleep imaginary world of the moonlit night – a ‘world without end.’ It’s a      storms and rough seas as well as feeling gentle breezes, swimming with whales and other ocean creatures. A  wood where all kinds of wild animals roam, a mysterious place where, with a huge furry friend, a small girl can feel safe and fearless as night gives


also edited by


way to morning light and it’s time to bid farewell to both the dark and her protective nocturnal companion. The gentle lyrical quality of the rhyming


 is not a book to be kept solely for bedtime      these magical scenes with her stunningly beautiful, collage style illustrations in muted shades and rich earthy tones, the layering of which gives real depth to each spread. On some occasions the ebb and  untrammelled by words, allowing readers to immerse themselves into the visual narratives to be discovered within the wordless spreads.


JB


Oscar the Guardian Cat 


Chiara Valentina Segré, ill. Paolo Domeniconi, Ragged Bears, 28pp, 978 1 85714 464 2, £11.99 hbk


Based on the true story of a cat who lives in a care home in Rhode Island, this moving and beautiful picture book, told from Oscar’s viewpoint, confronts death in a practical as well as mystical way. Oscar has many guardian duties. He visits each resident in the mornings and patrols the dining room in the evenings, and when one of the elderly ‘grandpas and grandmas’ is nearing his or her  on the bed purring loudly. Cuddling up to the dying, he provides comfort in  nursing home know to call relatives to come as the end is near. Oscar knows the time is come because he, and only he, can see Mewt, and when Mewt appears, each time in a different persona, Oscar assumes his role. We meet several of the residents,         are privileged to see Oscar with Mr       names his people by their traits.) In this case, Mewt is a beautiful blond girl who comes for Mr Weakhead, a girl who looks like the photo on Mr   together while Oscar stands guard. Beautifully written and gorgeously  and even humour at times, this book deserves a wide readership, and will provide comfort to children whose       with their own particular Mewt – and  too; at least this one did!


ES


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