BfK Under 5s Pre – School/Nursery/Infant continued


boy. He explains that it will be okay for his son to cry and get angry and even to laugh because ‘There’s more than one way to feel sad.’ He also hopes his boy will be a little like him and will remember the wonderful times they have shared. The illustrations for this picture book are outstandingly sensitive and beautiful, reflecting the


love between father and son


– happy times as well as sad. And there is a place for a photo at the back of the book, as well as space to write about memories of the loved parent. People


often write books


about their experiences of cancer, but it is unusual to find one written by a mum for her own children, and very welcome it is. Both books will be important additions to this most difficult subject. ES


Hello, Monster! HHHH


Clementine Beaunais, ill. Maisie Paradise Shearring, Thames & Hudson, 32pp, 978 0 500 65170 4, £10.95 hbk


Remarkably imaginative and funny, this tale of mayhem and murder has been translated from the


French


and is about as wonderfully weird as they come! The little boy has been told by his mum whilst playing happily by himself in the park, to go over and ‘say hello’ to another boy playing on his own: ‘I hate, hate, HATE saying hello to little boys in sandpits.’ Besides, his mum has always told him not to talk to strangers; he will make friends when he wants to, he thinks. Imagination takes over, and he plots a long, involved story – which includes the sandpit boy turning out to be a monster, who drags him down into his sandpit lair along with lots of other children who must be his slaves. Further adventures include an invented code, a mass escape, a black panther who eats only monsters, and repentant parents who vow never to tell their children to ‘say hello’ again! The whole tone of the story is quite sophisticated, as are the illustrations. Full of detail and lots of humour, they evoke a world unknown to anyone but the highly imaginative. Huge fun, and the end papers are a treat! ES


The Hug HHHH


Eoin McLaughlin, ill. Polly Dunbar, Faber & Faber, 56pp, 988 0 6713 4001 9, £6.99 pbk


Here’s a cleverly conceived book that can be read from either end. If you’re feeling a bit sad, there’s


nothing like a hug to lift your spirits and so it is for Hedgehog. Tortoise too, is feeling thoroughly down in the dumps and in desperate need of a hug. They both politely ask for a hug from


each of the animals they encounter but Fox, Squirrel and Magpie have better things to do than hug prickly Hedgehog although Owl does offer some wise words of encouragement.


Similarly, Tortoise is rebuffed by


Badger, Rabbit and Frog; but once again Owl endeavours to help with an explanation and encouragement, “But don’t worry, there’s someone for everyone” he tells them both. And then HURRAH! A timely meeting occurs and both prickly Hedgehog and hard-shelled Tortoise the


discover perfect perfect hugging partner. Two conclusions, slap bang in


the middle of this enchanting picture book, which is a debut for the author. The blank space Polly Dunbar


leaves around each of the animals creates the


perfect thus stage become for the


actors whose expressions and body language, as well as their responses,


verbal all the


more impactful; and what brilliant characterisation. A smashing story time tale, but also


after an initial read aloud, a great book for learner readers. JB


There’s Room for Everyone HHHH


Anahita Teymorian, Tiny Owl, 978-1-010328-36-1 32pp £12.99 hbk


In this quirky book, the protagonist ponders that there was room for him to grow in his mother’s tummy, there was room for all of them in their little house, including all his toys, room for all the stars in the sky, room for all the birds in the garden, all the books in the library, room for all the fish in the sea and the animals in the world- so, as he becomes a whiskery sailor and observes the world around him, he wonders why people fight over small spaces (train seats), and big spaces (countries at war)? He shares a secret with us; if we are kinder, and love one another then, in this beautiful world, there is room for everyone. Anahita Teymorian is from Tehran,


and feels very strongly about this theme.


Her the strange illustrations


include very elongated parents, and a rather odd-looking whale, with some idiosyncratic spelling in some of


books- How keep babys?


Frankensein? But the colours are wonderful and the illustrations are fun. DB


5 – 8 Infant/Junior New Talent


When Sadness Comes to Call


HHHHH


Eva Eland, Andersen Press, 32pp, 978 1 78344 7183, £11.99 hbk


This outstanding picture book


approaches the emotion of sadness in a quite unique way. We do not know why the child is feeling sad; the emotion has arrived quite suddenly, with its little suitcase, and appears to be here to stay. The illustrations are all line drawings in brown with splodges of light grey/green colour, one of which is Sadness itself – the other character in the book. The two, the child and Sadness, almost become one, and that is how the child explains the feeling: ‘…it feels like you’ve become Sadness yourself.’ The idea is that the child should embrace this new friend, make it feel loved and nurtured and to do things with it that might make them both happier – like drawing pictures, or drinking hot chocolate,


Speed Birds HHHH


Alan Snow, Oxford, 9780192758729, 48pp, £14.99 hbk


At the beginning of this large-format, strikingly illustrated picture


book,


a young crow is encouraged by his mother to notice the wonders of the world around him. She tells him that if he has curiosity and self-belief there will be no limit to what he can achieve. When the young crow learns that peregrine falcons can fly at 242 miles an hour, he longs to be able to fly faster. His dreams are realised when he and his fellow young crows, seeking their own home, find a scrapyard full of parts and plans to build a speed record-breaking car. This is a quirky, brilliantly illustrated


mix of story and non-fiction as a tale of crows building a car transforms into a detailed and fascinating explanation of how the combustion engine works, complete with plans, diagrams and lists. The illustrations showcase Alan Snow’s characteristic ability to combine detail and humour to present


technical information in


an accessible way. There is a lot of text and the combination of story and information is unusual, but the crows are appealing characters, the use of fonts to highlight key concepts is effective, and the crows’ teamwork and achievements are very satisfying. This book defies easy categorisation, but it should appeal to all budding mechanical engineers and, indeed, to all young readers fascinated by how things work. SR


or walking outside. They even sleep together, Sadness cuddling the child like a blanket.


There is so much


to the pictures, which are simple but full of meaning at the same time, and the tenderness of both illustration and text is remarkable. Lovely and inspiring and quite different, the story could be helpful for children suffering sadness for no particular reason, or for those with depression or sadness at the loss of someone or something very important. Exceptional! ES


Pencil Dog HHHH


Leigh Hodgkinson, Simon & Schuster, 32pp, 978 1 4711 6940 3, £6.99, pbk


This author has created a book which needs re-reading to realise fully the main idea behind the story-line. Pencil Dog is an imaginary friend for a little girl who loves drawing, and careful examination of the dog reveals his nose is actually a coloured pencil point. Days are never boring with Pencil Dog; he and the little girl create adventures around every corner. Each background to every spread is full of PD’s white drawings, with the girl and her props in bright, bold colours. Until there comes a day when Pencil Dog is lost, nowhere to be found, and we notice the girl’s long hair has become shorter and shorter as the story develops. When the girl finally finds PD, he is fast asleep and snoring, and his body has shortened considerably. Her dear little PD is all worn out, and one day he gets so very small he actually disappears. The girl has obviously grown, when we see her sitting, sadly alone. But she realizes she actually has much of PD inside her still as she continues to paint and draw adventures galore. The conclusion tells us that PD will never leave her, the skills they perfected together are there forever. And there is the girl, as an adult, reading the book, “Pencil Dog,” to her daughter! Lots of collage work enhances the detailed and colourful pictures, and the patchwork endpapers cheer as we leaf through the book again. Well worth seeking, for any child who has or has had an imaginary friend. GB


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