REVIEWERS IN THIS ISSUE BfK


Brian Alderson is founder of the Children’s Books History Society and a former Children’s Books Editor for The Times. Gwynneth Bailey is a freelance education and children’s book consultant. Clive Barnes, formerly Principal Children’s Librarian, Southampton City is a freelance researcher and writer. Diane Barnes, was a librarian for 20 years, mostly as a children’s specialist, working in Kent, Herts, Portsmouth and Hampshire, and Lusaka (Zambia) with the British Council. Jill Bennett is the author of Learning to Read with Picture Books and heads up a nursery unit. Jon Biddle is English Coordinator/Reading Champion at Moorlands Primary Academy in Norfolk, and co-founder of the Patron of Reading scheme. Rebecca Butler writes and lectures on children’s literature. Jane Churchill is a children’s book consultant. Stuart Dyer is an Assistant Head Teacher in a Bristol primary school. Anne Faundez is a freelance education and children’s book consultant. Janet Fisher is a children’s literature consultant. Geoff Fox is former Co-Editor (UK) of Children’s Literature in Education, but continues to work on the board and as an occasional teller of traditional tales. Sarah Gallagher is a headteacher and director of Storyshack.org www.storyshack. org Ferelith Hordon is a former children’s librarian and editor of Books for Keeps Matthew Martin is a primary school teacher. Sue McGonigle is a Lecturer in Primary Education and Co-Creator of www.lovemybooks.co.uk Margaret Pemberton is a school library consultant and blogs at margaretpemberton.edublogs.org. Val Randall is Head of English and Literacy Co-ordinator at a Pupil Referral Unit. Andrea Reece is Managing Editor of Books for Keeps. Sue Roe is a children’s librarian. Elizabeth Schlenther is the compiler of www.healthybooks.org.uk Lucy Staines is a primary school teacher Nicholas Tucker is honorary senior lecturer in Cultural and Community Studies at Sussex University.


Grandma Bird HHHH


Benji Davies, Simon & Schuster, 32pp, 9781471171802, £6.99pbk


Benji Davies is fast becoming one of the most recognisable and most loved illustrators for the very young. Here he returns to the landscape he first created in The Storm Whale with Noi, his little protagonist. As with both the previous books featuring Noi, friendship and the natural world are central themes as Noi both rescues a lost migrant bird and builds a relationship with his grandmother. Davies illustrations make bold use of the double spreads to create the atmosphere of the seaside world inhabited by Noi and Grandma. His palette ranges from the bright clear colours of a sunny day to the dark drama of the storm against


The Drum HHHHH


Ken Wilson Max, ill. Catell Ronca, Tiny Owl, 21pp, 9781910328309, £9.99, hbk


On a tropical beach a series of different drummers are playing and everyone is dancing to the beat. The simple text is memorable, with


rhyme and a rhythm reflecting the drum beats.


Instructions are given


for moving to the beat, shaking hips and stomping feet tempting readers to join in and dance along with the enthusiastic crowd. Links are made to our own bodies and life itself with the heart a drum beating inside us. The illustrations are vibrant, cleverly conveying a sense


drumming and contributing to the key messages of the book.


of rhythmic Life,


rhythm


and diversity is celebrated in the range of creatures emerging in the penultimate spread and in the diversity of individuals enjoying dancing to the beat and playing the drums. The Drum is the first of a new from


series publisher Tiny Owl


entitled Children, Music, Life. This is a wonderful book in small hardback


reviews


Under 5s Pre – School/Nursery/Infant Ed’s Choice


which the red sails of Grandma’s boat shine like a beacon. Not and Grandma, deceptively simple images, nevertheless are full of character and life, completely individual and recognisable. ‘I think he likes you’ says Noi to his Grandma; there will be no doubt the readers of this attractive and effective picture book will like her too. This must be highly recommended for both the classroom and the home. FH


format perfect for small hands which children and adults will enjoy sharing again and again, who will be able to resist dancing to the beat? SMc


I’ll love you… HHHH


Kathryn Cristaldi, ill. Krystyna Litten, Andersen Press, 32pp, 978-1-78344-836-4, £6.99 pbk


It’s one of those


the cows come home’, which, to a farmer, probably means the


sayings ‘… till end


of the day, but it can also mean ‘for a long time’, or even ‘forever’. Here former children’s book editor Kathryn Cristaldi plays with that idea, and also the idea of other animals having various adventures, all playfully illustrated by Krystyna Litten. Both women are experienced producers of children’s books, with Krystyna’s output beginning in 2012 with Chickens can’t see in the dark, and now numbers some 35 titles, including Blue and Bertie and Norton and Alpha, with some showing the influence of her parents’ Eastern European


written 24 books so far, including Baseball


heritage. Kathryn has Ballerina, Samantha the


Snob, Even Steven and Odd Todd, but this looks like a new partnership between an author in New Jersey and an illustrator in Yorkshire. We start with ‘I’ll love you till the


cows come home’, but where have the cows been? ‘From a trip to Mars through skies unknown in a rocket ship made of glass and stone’, and there are the cows in their rocket. On the next two spread it’s ‘I will love you till the yaks come back, from a jaunt to town for a grassy snack, in a fire truck, or a Cadillac…’ The author’s American point of view is clear, but


the rhymes are fun, and the Cadillac is a very distinctive car! It goes on: I will love you till the sheep set sail, then till the wolves return, then till the frogs ride past (these two watery double-spreads are terrific, with sea- creatures on all sorts of wheels) and so on. It’s great use of language, and the illustrations are suitably whacky. The publishers are pushing this as a companion to Guess how much I love you, but that’s not necessary — this is funnier, and will settle a child at bedtime with a smile. DB


Shhh! HHHH


Barroux, words & pictures, 32pp, 978 1 9102 7778 2, £11.99 hbk


If you’re looking for an enchanting bedtime story, then look no further; the highly talented, unfailingly original Barroux has created the ideal snuggle under the duvet book for parents and carers to share with their little ones. Beautifully


restful, we share a


small child’s bedtime routine where, inspired by his toys, his flights of fancy take him to a beautiful sequence of dreamy landscapes as the world slows down, the moon climbs quietly into the sky, and animals prepare for sleep. Shhh! You might even hear the snow falling on the polar bear, the whale sing its soft song, the elephant whispering sweet nothings, the hippo’s yawn or even, the toucan counting sheep. Shhh! Simple, lyrical and captivatingly


illustrated, this bedtime tale from Barroux will likely become a part of the pre-sleep routine and a beautifully calming way to bid goodnight to pre- schoolers, even the more reluctant among them. JB


Only One of Me: a Love Letter from Dad


HHHHH


Lisa Wells, Michelle Robinson, ill. Tim Budgen, Graffeg, 40pp, 978 1 91265 463 5, £12.99 hbk


Talking to young children about the terminal illness of a loved one must be the hardest thing that any parent can undertake. Lisa Wells, a young mum of two with a terminal diagnosis, has produced this book with her friend Michelle Robinson to give consolation to her daughters. The same book has been produced for dads, and this is the one we have here. Using rhyme, Dad explains to his young son that he wants so much to be with him always: ‘There’s only one dad quite like me. I wish that there were two. I’d have more time to spend and I would spend it all with you.’ Because he knows he won’t be around, he has recruited his son’s family and friends to be there for him and to do all the things he would do if he were able. And he also believes that he will be in the background, cheering on the little


Books for Keeps No.234 January 2019 23


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