BfK 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


Why are there so many books about bears?


HHH


Kristina Stephenson, Hodder Children’s Books, 32pp, 9781444946017, £12.99 hbk


This characterful hardback book raises a very good question - why ARE there so many books about bears? It’s a funny premise and although the pictures appeal from a young age, the language and ideas within the book reach right up into 9+. The question raised is about fiction and why there are


so many books about these


fluffy creatures so the more reading experience you have, the funnier you will find the book. (It would also be handy to have a certain amount of knowledge about famous intellectual figures to appreciate William Snakespeare and Albert Swinestein etc.)


The illustrations are great with a


mixture of different fonts to make the whole text really interactive and fun. Different creatures have


gathered


together to answer the question about bears and each has a turn to explain their theory. When they do there is a good opportunity for some black and white drawings again adding to the dynamics of the read. The theories range from bear being a good rhyming word to bears are very similar to humans and as it’s humans who write books, of course they’ll choose to put bears in them! All the way through the book there


is a continuing theme with a ‘knockety knock’ - someone is trying to offer the debaters tea and cake but they keep refusing. This is an enjoyable repeat throughout until you find out who is behind the door with a special pull out page. The book would start a lovely debate and indeed at the end there is a new question to answer maybe a sequel OR children could write their own answer which would be a fantastic class activity. SG


The Runaway Pea HHHH


Kjartan Poskkitt, ill. Alex Willmore, Simon and Schuster, 978 1 4711 7525 1, £6.99, pbk


This pea is ready for an adventure! It is time for tea, but one pesky pea has decided to ping himself off the plate in search of fun! A rhyming tale begins as the pea bounds from one disaster to another…SPLAT! PLOP! SPLASH, bouncing from a puddle of sauce to a dog bowl to a fish tank. BANG! TWANG! Mousetrap and spider’s web and almost a red hot toaster waylay him as he next flies straight into the tumble drier. He is buffered and battered and bounced all about. All these near disasters are illustrated with a masterly hand, with lots of humour and characterisation of the creatures and the inanimate objects that pea encounters. UNTIL… finally deposited


near a compost heap, pea starts to feel funny… sprouting out roots and shooting up shoots!! And of course, his offspring all have his adventurous gene, so the story ends with a warning; if one should hear POP, PING or SPLAT, or a SPLOSH in the sink… it’s only those runaway peas! A quirky book which will be loved by all. GB


The Way to Treasure Island HHHH


Lizzy Stewart, Lincoln, 978 1786 030245 £11-99, hbk


From the author/illustrator of the award-winning There’s a Tiger in the Garden, Lizzy Stewart has created a new adventure for all to enjoy. The book is A4 sized, and the covers feel like textured linen cloth. Turn inside and the endpaper is awash with a shoal of hundreds of colourful fish. The tale features Matilda and her Dad, who enjoy each other’s company but are different in many ways. A day at the beach turns into a real adventure as Matilda and her Dad head off across the sea, map in hand, to find treasure, marked on the map with a red cross. Dad gets easily distracted, which was Matilda’s fear as they set off. He becomes fascinated and preoccupied by the wonders of the deep, fish, octopus and


seahorses, whilst Matilda


determines on following her map to reach their destination, trying to steer their boat swiftly to the mapped island. Having discovered said island, they disagree; Dad wants to go one way, while strong minded Matilda heads in another. Will they find treasure? Will they find each other? The ending is a great resolution. A book to enjoy within the family as well as to inspire talk, imaginative writing and art work within the classroom. GB


Stefano the Squid Hero of the Deep


HHHH


Wendy Meddour, ill. Duncan Beedie, Little Tiger, 32pp, 9781788810838 £11.99 hbk


This was a hit in assembly which is really the greatest test of all. The illustrations by Duncan Beedie are humorous, bold and engaging and each page shows delightful under the sea characters. Well, some of them are not quite so delightful as they all think they are rather special and are a little bit arrogant when it comes to seeing their own charms under the sea. Poor old Stefano just feels he cannot compete and says himself that he is only a common squid. The story will be familiar to lots of us as it is really about finding ways to shine our own light and believe in ourselves. The boldness


of the illustrations and


the humour with which the story is presented makes it very appealing. All the sea creatures are vying to be the best so they will be filmed by the


24 Books for Keeps No.237 July 2019


under-water crew and be TV stars as a result. They tease Stefano who doesn’t appear to have any talents - unlike the angler fish, for example, who has a deadly weapon. Some creatures are a little more sympathetic…. ‘Try to look more like a vegetable’ suggests the sea cucumber! In the end Stefano actually saves


the day-of course-and he and his friend, the sea cucumber get to meet Henrietta


Fierce, the presenter of


Deep Sea TV so all ends happily as they mostly should in this under the sea setting. It’s a great, entertaining read for all ages. SG


Brian The Brave HHHHH


Paul Stewart, ill. Jane Porter, Otter- Barry Books, 978 1 91095 940 4, £11.99 hbk


This is a great book to read aloud, and the pictures and subject quickly hold


will the attention of an


audience. On the inside cover we are introduced to eight different sheep, each with distinctive features. Tracey is spotty, with yellow curly horns; Stanley is black with no horns at all…. The illustrator uses collage to create an absorbing atmosphere; sheep, dry stone walls, trees, flowers and insects fill every spread. Brian, the hero of the book, has a black head, grey horns and white wool. Along comes Rose, with a grey head, black horns and black wool. They decide to be friends, and they chase each other round and round the field and over the little hill. Until along comes Stanley. Brian extends a welcome, BUT Stanley says he only likes black wool, and he will only play with Rose, and not with Brian. So Stanley and Rose chase each other round and round the field and over the little hill. Brian, left out, feels very sad. When Tracey and Frank amble along, Brian suggests they should ALL be friends, but Tracey and Frank say they only


want sheep with HORNS in their gang. So Brian is included, but not Stanley, so HE is very sad. When three more sheep come along, and announce they don’t like sheep with white wool OR black wool, Brian has had enough. A threatening collage of Brian, head down, horns at the ready, with steely, blue eyes glowering, says, “We are all sheep. We should all play together.” And they do. Until Rose notices Brian’s blue eyes. So all the brown- eyed gang go off


together, leaving


Brian feeling very, very, very sad. Alone and lonely, Brian encounters hungry Mr Wolf. Hurtling back to try to warn the others, absolute mayhem ensues, terrified sheep dashing in all directions. Brian the Brave addresses them, saying they could beat the wolf IF THEY ALL WORKED TOGETHER. And so they do, ……and they did. Paul Stewart is a renowned writer


of great repute, and this picture book will be warmly welcomed in town and country alike. Try reading it aloud, discussing bullying and issues of race, and use it for a wonderful book for drama in the classroom. Partnered with a talented, winning illustrator, Stewart’s book should become a warm woolly favourite!


Especially when the


sheep going ‘baaa-carumbaaa!’ joins in the fun! GB


8 – 10 Junior/Middle The Dragon in the Library HHH


Louie Stowell, illus. David Ortu, Nosy Crow, 217pp, 9781788000260, £6.99, pbk


that


This is an exciting adventure story places


the that celebrates that is wonderful


introduces about


a library at centre


stage of the action. Playing on the fact that some children find libraries boring, Stowell series


new


everything libraries


and reminds us why they are such important places for communities. Kit does not enjoy reading and she


does not like hanging out in the library. But her two know-it-all mates love it there, so she’s forced to spend a few weekends snoozing her way around the aisles as her friends devour entire series


of books. Then she meets


Faith. Faith is not a typical librarian (in fact, Stowell has worked hard to


entirely avoid type-casting throughout the book). She’s cool, confident and fierce and, excitingly, she is a wizard! And, even more excitingly, she says that Kit is a wizard, too! For a girl whose life is usually so this really does represent a


dull,


significant step up in fortunes. It is no surprise, therefore, that Kit finds it rather difficult to obey the safety constraints placed upon her by Faith in regard to magical spell safety. She finds herself in trouble and lost in an imaginary world that owes its existence to the books around her. Soon the perils of the magical world coincide with genuine problems in the real world: the library is under threat of closure. Kit and her friends show passion


and determination in their efforts to cease the evil villain’s efforts to turn the library into a shopping centre


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