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reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


Mango & Bambang: The Not a Pig


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Polly Faber, ill. Clara Vulliamy, Walker,144pp, 978-1-4063-6143-8, £8.99 hbk


This is a beautifully designed book with four stories about a girl called Mango Allsorts and her meeting and subsequent friendship with Bambang, a Malaysian tapir (definitely not a pig!) who finds himself alone and frightened in the middle of a big city.


The two main characters are both memorable and very appealing. When we first meet Bambang he is hiding and trembling in a busy street fearful of a possible tiger attack. The four stories describe his experiences as he realises he is safe and discovers the joys of city life, from snorkelling in swimming pools to sliding down bannisters in apartment blocks. Mango is a strong character who lives up to her surname by being good at all sorts of things, from chess to karate to cooking noodles and banana pancakes. She is brave enough to jump gracefully from the highest board at the swimming pool, take control of tricky situations when the adults around her are panicking and rescues Bambang when he is captured by the forbidding Dr Cynthia Prickle Posset, who has a penchant for collecting curiosities (such as Asian tapirs). But most of all Mango is good at being a friend to Bambang, making him feel safe and happy. There is one thing Mango is not good at however and that is playing the clarinet. When she has to perform in a concert it is Bambang’s opportunity to help her in return.


There is a touch of humour here, in particular at the expense of adults such as policemen and swimming pool attendants trying to keep control of the situation as an Asian tapir runs amok. Magical realism features too with a lump in the road revealing an exotic creature hiding under a zebra crossing. With themes of friendship, bravery and


unfamiliar, there is much to discuss and think about here. This would make a great book to read aloud to children and also an engaging independent read for young readers developing confidence.


Mango and Bambang has amusing and appealing illustrations which enhance the


layout, font and use of colour with a limited and very stylish palette of black, white and mauve plus a touch of gold on the cover add to its impact. This is a very attractive book which could make a special gift.Children will enjoy meeting Mango and Bambang in the first book in the series and will eagerly await more adventures.


SMc I Don’t Like Snakes HHHHH


Nicola Davies, ill. Luciano Lozano, Walker Books, 32pp, 978-1-4063-4283-3, £11.99 hbk


The very mention of snakes causes a shudder in many of us and so it is with


story. The varied page design, suspicion of the


the little girl in this fascinating narrative information book. ‘They slither,’ she says, and they have ‘icky slimy skin, flicky tongues and they stare’, she proffers as reasons why she really, really, REALLY doesn’t like these creature. The rest of her family in contrast are all snake lovers and patiently take turns to provide detailed explanations to counter her apprehensions.


Thus, we learn there are different kinds of slithering involving gripping, stretching, pulling, looping like caterpillar, sidewinding and


flying; how and why snakes shed their skins as they grow; that they use their flickering tongues to smell; that their eye pupils are clues to how they hunt – and much more besides.


So interestingly and persuasively is each and every snake-related topic talked about by her family members that by the end of this excellent book, the little girl has had a change of heart about the reptiles she claimed to dislike so strongly. Not only has she turned to a relevant reference book but, her final utterance is this, ’I really, really, REEEEEALLLLY LIKE THEM!’


The accessible narrative is conveyed using a hand-lettered script accompanied by wonderfully droll cartoon style illustrations while more detailed information is spelt out in a smaller, conventional type, captioning and annotating realistically rendered and scientifically accurate drawings. JB


I Wish I Had a Pirate Hat HHHH


Roger Stevens, ill. Lorna Scobie, Frances Lincoln, 80pp, 978-1-8478-0618-5, £6.99


One way of tackling poems for young children is to give them the feel of a nursery rhyme. That means rhyme and rhythm and, perhaps, a touch of mystery or the absurd. Roger Stevens can do that. Another way might be to get your readers and your listeners joining in: whispering, chanting or dancing, or suddenly shouting BOO! Roger Stevens can do that. He can even join his readers in thinking about how clouds which are so grey, can help to make the world so colourful; how thinking about sad things can make you feel sad; and how chasing a dog in the woods can make you feel happy again. The collection is divided into three parts, ‘Fun Time’, ‘School Time’ and ‘Home Time’, but there’s fun and curiousity everywhere, all pitched at exactly the right level for Reception and Year 1 children. CB


Whatever Happened to My Sister?


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Simona Ciraolo, Flying Eye Books, 36pp, 978-1-9092-6352-9, £11.99 hbk


Younger children often find an older sibling’s sudden metamorphosis into a teenager perplexing, and the little girl in this picture book is convinced that her sister has been replaced by someone else who looks just like her. What else could explain the fact that she doesn’t want anything to do


even a with her little


‘no’ has become her favourite word, that her dress sense has become very strange, and that she hides in her room behind a closed door? Besides, there are all those boys … The little girl is sad because the two of them used to be close and have great fun together. One day when big sister finds little sister crying over the way things used to be, she gathers her up into her room and they share once again music and clothes and fun, and big sister realises that her younger sibling can share her more adult interests. As a gentle and understanding growing-up story, this cannot be bettered. Perceptive and beautifully realised, the illustrations are of an exceptional quality, the colours mute with a soft crayon-like effect, but full of expressive faces and detail that the text alone cannot possibly emulate. Ciraolo is a new talent and definitely one to watch. ES


Katie McGinty Wants a Pet! HHHH


Jenna Harrington, ill. Finn Simpson, Little Tiger, 32pp, 978-1- 8486-9140-7, £6.99 pbk


Katie wants a pet, but not a yucky hamster or a cat – Katie wants a zebra. Poor beleaguered Dad tries pointing out the absurdity of such a wish but Katie skilfully quashes all his objections. With a child’s simple logic, she explains that if the zebra’s cold, Granny can knit him a woolly jumper and Mummy can lend him her ski boots. When he’s hungry he can eat pizza, fish fingers and spaghetti at the table with the family and when he’s


bottom bunk bed in Katie’s room. Of course! We get the sense that this conversation has been going on for some time, and that patient Dad is being worn down page by page.


sleepy he can sleep on the sister anymore, that


glamour puss star of stage and screen, and off go the two of them to track down the ten statues in time for the presentation. Without suspects it’s a case of grabbing any clues they can, but before following any leads a spot of lunch is the order of the day. It’s in the canteen that William and Audrey come face to face with past- her-prime top star, Ms Vivienne Baxter, who oddly seems to know something about the Cuckoo case already. But, there’s no time to lose so appetites sated, the two sleuths continue their work in the props department. Therein an exhaustive search yields zilch and William is more than a little dispirited. Audrey


and she suggests waiting for the pre- presentation fancy dress party.


Evening comes and the


crammed with all manner of costume- clad characters, but there’s someone who really stands out from the crowd and there’s something strangely familiar about her attire. From then on the action really hots up: there’s a breathless car chase, a heroic rescue, a final confession and a retrieval of the missing awards just in time for the ceremony. But even that is not quite the end of the story. I won’t spoil Helen Hancock’s delectable finale though. Helen Hancock’s scenes, executed in subdued hues, evoke a gloriously glamorous technicolour Hollywood of a bygone age, and the costumes and props are out of this world. Delectable stuff for adults too.


JB


How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel


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Wendy Medour, ill. Rebecca Ashdown, Frances Lincoln, 24pp, 978-1-8478-0622-8, £7.99 pbk


Wonderfully humorous and exuberant pictures show a very real and loveable zebra, complete with a myriad of expressions – joy, bliss, excitement and sheer


loved the bedroom scene where Katie and the zebra are having an intense discussion surrounded by the animal- based titles that Zebra is reading. Such


allows us right into a child’s real need for a pet of their choosing. The colours are fresh and clear while the bold stripes of the zebra are allowed their full impact, set as they are against pale backgrounds. A winner.


closeness and connection JNH


William Heads to Hollywood HHHHH


Helen Hancocks, Templar Publishing, 32pp,


978-1-7837-9333-3, £6.99 pbk


Life for feline detective, William, aka ‘International Cat of Mystery’ has become


down that ‘Missing Masterpiece’. He’s longing for another big case to solve when he receives a scented letter requesting his urgent assistance. In no time at all he’s flown the Atlantic and become embroiled in the world of glamour as he goes hot on the trail of the missing Golden Cuckoo Awards.


No Hollywood mystery would


complete without its femme fatale so on cue, enter stage right Audrey,


be mundane after tracking pleasure. I particularly


This is a modern take on the Rapunzel story: the tower is an inner city block and Rapunzel is a bored teenager. She has plenty of visitors: a baker, postman, milkman, her aunt and uncle all trying to tempt her out of her lethargy. But Rapunzel is bored. Nothing interests her, not even a prince with a goatee beard, shades and leathers shows up on a scooter. It is only when she finally opens a letter from the library with a job offer that her life changes and she discovers a wealth of opportunity and never-ending stimulation. How the job came about is left for the reader to speculate.


This is a feminist story which challenges the traditional view that princesses are simply waiting to be rescued from their pointless lives. It’s also a celebration of libraries with all they can offer in providing challenge, meaning and fulfilment (books are more important than looks). The text is patterned with a memorable rhythm though at times the rhyme feels a little forced and risks detracting from an otherwise excellent picture book.


The illustrations are wonderful: lively and appealing, reflecting Rapunzel’s changing moods and the feelings of other characters very well. There is a high level of detail providing plenty for children to discover, particularly about the other inhabitants of Rapunzel’s tower block. The ethnic diversity of modern city life is effectively conveyed through the representation of the cast of characters.


SMc Books for Keeps No.214 September 2015 23 party is however, remains upbeat


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