BfK 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


bibliography in the book, and no doubt many readers will want


to


spend more time reading about these amazing, beautiful birds. AR


King Otter HHHHH


Jane Porter, Simon and Schuster, 32pp, 978 1 4711 7338 7, £6.99, pbk


What happens, on finding a box full of splendid clothes, boots and a crown? Well, Otter feels just kingly. As he tries them on he feels taller, more exciting and extra


specially handsome. He


decides he must be KING Otter, and he starts commanding the animals to bow down to him, to make him a throne, and they do. He felt he must be seen as king by all the inhabitants of the countryside, and commands a Grand Parade, and a golden coach to be pulled by unicorns. Despite the squirrels trying to tell him that unicorns


don’t really… the birds,


squirrels and hedgehogs all do as commanded. The ‘unicorns’ bravely pull the coach up the hill, as King Otter demands more speed. Look at the picture, the hedgehogs wearing their tied-on


unicorn horns! Pride


comes before….. CRASH! The silken ropes snap and the golden coach rolls back down the hill, tumbling the otter into the mud. His squeals for help are ignored. Nobody comes. ‘Treason! Treachery!’ Otter shrieks. Left alone, he ponders on his behaviour. The end of the story sees Otter asking to join in the other animals’ games, and they readily agree. A great little fable about the importance of friendship, delightfully illustrated.


told and beautifully Children will love to


examine the expressions on the faces of all the different creatures, executed with just a few deft strokes, and maybe draw their own versions of these characters. GB


The Adventures of Harry Stevenson


HHHH


Ali Pye, Simon and Schuster, 192pp, 978-1471170232, £5.99 pbk


There have been quite a few notable guinea pigs in children’s literature, chief among them Olga Da Polga of course, but Harry Stevenson is very much an original creation, and a thoroughly appealing character. favourite


His occupations are eating,


sleeping and eating some more, though he does enjoy snuggling up to his owner Billy and indeed, the real affection between the two of them is one of the many pleasures of this book. Despite his love of a quiet life, Harry has two daring adventures in this book fortunately emerging unscathed


and perhaps slightly


wiser from each: when his family move house, Harry finds himself left behind, and has to hitch lifts via various modes of transport to follow the van; settled into their new home, a mistake with the strings of a bunch


of balloons sees him flying over the town before he lands slap bang in the middle of local team Sparky FC’s cup tie. There’s a perfect mix of peril and humour in both stories, and running in the background are gentle storylines about Billy and how he’s coping with the move and a new home – readers will appreciate how important it is to him too that Harry makes it back safely. Ali Pye’s


illustrations – in


black and a wonderful fluorescent orange - serve to break up the text and add to the reading enjoyment. She also sneaks in lots of facts about looking after guinea pigs and their lifestyles and fills the pictures of Harry ‘popcorning’ with happiness with real joy. A very good book for confident young readers. AR


The Happy Lion HH


By Louise Fatio, ill by Roger Duvoisin, Scallywag Press, 32pp, 978-1-912650-06-4, £12.99 hbk


In a little French zoo lives a happy lion. He has his own enclosure, and lots of people visit him to say bonjour. The lion loves his friends – especially Francois, the keeper’s son - so when he notices an open gate, he decides to go a-visiting. The townspeople don’t seem very pleased to see him, though. They do strange, confusing things like fainting and running away, and Lion can see firemen advancing on him with a hose. What are they doing? Luckily for all concerned, Francois arrives and Lion decides to go back quietly to the zoo where he can be safe and happy once again. First published in 1954 and


illustrated by Caldecott-medal-winning Duvoisin with alternating black-and- white and two-colour


spreads, this


charmingly-illustrated book has genuine mid-century styling and will appeal to art lovers as well as the nostalgia market. The lion is drawn with great sensitivity and Duvoisin’s tawny palette is pleasingly appropriate. Fatio’s


for attentive listeners aged 3+,


but the story itself poses some challenges. For some readers this


22 Books for Keeps No.237 July 2019


will be a heartwarming tale about a cheerful lion who realizes where true


friendship lies. For others, it


may feel less comfortable. Children these days are more aware of animal welfare and the lion’s old-fashioned and rather barren zoo enclosure may strike a discordant note. The lion’s relationship with the townsfolk isn’t straightforward,


either. “I suppose


this must be the way people behave when they are not at the zoo,” thinks the lion, confronted with the terror he inspires. Having believed himself loved for his essential self and certain that those who come to see him are his friends, Lion discovers this to be untrue. Only Francois understands him. To be acceptable in the eyes of others, Lion must ‘un-lion’ himself and return to his enclosure. Fatio assures us on the final


page that he remains a Happy Lion, but


tellingly remarks that “if you


opened his door, he would not want to go out visiting again.” And it’s this exposure of the gap between Lion’s understanding of the situation and its reality that raises questions around


wildness and ‘othering’.


Even though young readers may not be able to articulate their concerns, they – and we – are being propelled into uncomfortable


territory. There


is no possible outcome for Lion that allows him to be happy by expressing his own needs and desires, and this is something that sensitive readers may not enjoy. CFH


Nell & the Circus of Dreams HHHHH


Nell Gifford, ill. Briony May Smith, Oxford University Press, 32pp, 978 0 1927 6594 9, £11.99 hbk


Currently living in the Cotswolds near to the home of the wonderful Gifford’s Circus, I was instantly drawn to this book written by its founder Nell Gifford. She names her main character Nell too and the story begins one summer when Nell’s mother is so poorly she’s unable to get out of bed. Feeling sad, the little girl wanders into the farmyard and comes upon a tiny, lost chick that she names Rosebud. The two are soon great friends and Rosebud becomes the keeper of Nell’s dreams and fears but one night the chick disappears. Next morning on discovering the


text is well-structured


loss, Nell dashes outside and through the meadows until she finds herself surrounded by huge wooden wheels. She smells breakfast cooking and hears hammering sounds: Nell has walked into a circus just in time to watch the big tent going up. The circus folk are friendly and invite her into one of the wheeled homes to share a meal with them. Nell tries to explain that she’s looking for her lost chick but is interrupted by the sound of music that causes the entire family to get up and rush out into the big tent. She’s totally entranced by the magical performance but suddenly she discovers something that fills her with even greater joy: a small chicken standing on a rostrum in a circle of light … Although the circus soon has to


depart, Nell carries those wonderful memories


with her always


and


finds her own ways to relive them. A mesmerising tale that truly captures the wonders of the author’s particular circus community; it’s made all the more magical by Briony May Smith’s richly detailed scenes, every one of which is an absolute delight. I’d love to have any of them framed and displayed in my home. JB


Where Is Your Sister? HHHH


Puck Koper, Two Hoots, 32pp, 978 1 5098 6722 6, £11.99 hbk


Saturday is shopping day for Mum, Harriet and her twin sister who narrates this story set in a busy department store. What makes this a tolerable experience is the store’s café with cake. On this occasion though,


Mum announces that


they’ve no time to stop at the café and as they rush hither and thither, the discussion about the possibility of cake of various kinds continues between mother and narrator. Harriet however, is distracted by a dog and becomes separated from the other two.


through the entire store as mother and


There follows a madcap search girl dash


the narrator blues, frantically through


every department never quite getting close enough to Harriet to catch up with her but in so doing thoroughly embarrassing


until


following a flying leap on Mum’s part the three are reunited. Guess what they do to celebrate … Using only reds, white


black and the has created a series


author/illustrator of


superbly


funny scenes that with a plethora of spotted and striped patterns serve to heighten the frenzy of the searchers and shoppers. I love Harriet’s final throwaway comment, “On Monday it’s your turn to distract Mum.” Readers can add to their enjoyment as they search the busy scenes wherein the missing girl is hiding in plain sight in this engaging romp. JB


The Suitcase HHHHH


Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, Nosy Crow, 32pp, 978 1 78800 447 3, £11.99 hbk


When a strange, exhausted, and frightened animal appears one day, the other three animals are intrigued. What is in his suitcase? When he replies that there is a tea cup, a table and chair, and a little house with a beautiful view, they find this hard to believe. It is my home, he simply says. Then, being tired, he falls asleep. The fox, the bird and the dog are convinced they really need to know what is in the suitcase, so they break it open – not without caveats from the dog. What they find is heartbreaking: a broken teacup, and a picture of a little house with a table and a teacup and their new acquaintance sitting drinking tea. The fox thinks he has lied to them, the bird remembers he told them about the tea cup, and the


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