reviews


of detail show clearly the growing, tender relationship between Alfie and Ruby. A really lovely production.


ES


Talent Apple Pie ABC


New HHHH


Alison Murray, Orchard, 32pp, 978 1 40830 801 1, £10.99 hbk


Baby Ruby Bawled HHHH


Malaika Rose Stanley, ill. Ken Wilson-Max, Tamarind, 24pp, 978 1 848 53017 1, £5.99 pbk


Families suffering with a baby who refuses to sleep may find this book a little too realistic. Ruby won’t sleep in her cot, not at bedtime, not at naptime. Big brother Theo loves her, but is per turbed by her constant crying. Dad gives her a bath; that’s okay. Mum feeds her; that’s okay too. But whenever she is put into the cot, she bawls. Nana, Grandad and Uncle Clyde all get into the act, but nothing works. The family take her to the doctor in desperation, but she is pronounced ‘fit as a fiddle’. What to do? It is Theo who sings her a lullaby, which puts him and the rest of the family into an exhausted sleep, but little Ruby just lies there, wide awake but quiet at last. This is a nicely-tuned unexpected ending to the story, and the strong, painterly illustrations are quite superb. Published on the Tamarind list of ‘books for a multi- cultural world’ this story features a mixed race family.


ES


According to the Opies, the nurser y rhyme ‘A was an apple-pie’ was ‘well known in the reign of Charles II’ and by the nineteenth century ‘was a favourite for ABC instruction’. Kate Green- away’s A Apple Pie, for example, which was published in 1886, introduces the letters A to Z while following the fortunes of an apple pie. Now we have Alison Murray’s version, Apple Pie ABC.


The (A) apple pie has been made and, while (B) baking in the oven and then (C) cooling, it attracts the attention of a small dog. While his owner sternly keeps him away from the pie, the dog devises a clever way to sneak in and tip it off the kitchen table so that he can gobble it up. Murray approaches her narrative with a lively wit so that the reader


her backpack. Ruby expresses her fears about the fox as they catch sight of him chasing rabbits. Dad does a brilliant job reassuring Ruby and in turn she reassures Rabby that he is safe with her. Meanwhile the illustrations tell us quite a different story. We see Rabby fall out of the backpack, later to encounter Foxy. Whilst Ruby learns many facts about foxes, about their acute hearing and eyesight, their need to hunt to feed their young, she is quite unaware that Rabby has gone. When Ruby and Dad arrive home together in the twilight, who should they find on the doorstep but Rabby! Now, how did that happen? The well-paced illustrations, often glowing with the warmth of the countryside, tell us the sequence of events between Foxy and Rabby, finishing with this surprising ending. A comfor ting stor y about how important it is to help small children confront their fears.


GB The Night Iceberg HHHH


Helen Stephens, Alison Green Books, 32pp, 978 1 407107 91 2, £6.99 pbk


A Walk in the Wild Woods HHH


Lis Jones, ill. Jim Coplestone, Frances Lincoln, 32pp, 978 1 84507 956 7, £11.99 hbk


To go for a walk in the woods where foxes hunt rabbits is a scary thought for little Ruby, whose favourite toy is a rabbit. But she agrees to go there with Dad, taking precious Rabby tucked in


This book is about two issues: having a new baby brother to contend with and learning to share. They are very much interconnected in the story, which is all about Tofta, who must learn to share her toys and even her room with the new baby. She is not pleased, and when an iceberg comes floating by her window one night, she decides to make it her very own iceberg and not share it with anyone. Carr ying her little suitcase, she boards the iceberg and revels in having it all to herself. Only she


identifies, via action sequences and lively juxtapositions, with the dog and its stratagems.


Murray’s background in textile design ser ves her well as an illustrator. There is clear typography (each letter of the alphabet given in upper case against a plain background) with elegantly pared down illustrations distinguished by tones made with patterns and textures. The book is printed on satisfyingly thick stock with a matt finish. Pleasure is increased with an interesting and challenging choice of words, as in (O) ‘ogle it’ and (P) ‘pine for it’. As befits a book about apple pie: delicious!


RS The Sunflower Sword HHH


Mark Sperring, ill. Miriam Latimer, Andersen, 32pp, 978 1 84939 057 6, £10.99 hbk


In a land of fire and smoke where dragons and knights are endlessly fighting, a little boy asks his mum for a sword to ‘whoosh and swoosh’. She gives him a sunflower instead, with which he successfully slays three imaginar y dragons, but what will happen when a real dragon comes along? A lovely story about how one small action makes a big difference and changes the world for the better. Lively, colourful illustrations with some real elements of humour, especially the little boy’s colander helmet. This picture book will be great for sharing with young children and should encourage lots of participation and dramatic retellings.


DF


The Great Big Book of Families


HHH


Mary Hoffman, ill. Ros Asquith, Frances Lincoln, 40pp, 978 1 84507 999 4, £11.99 hbk


doesn’t. A penguin lives there too, and he would rather have it all to himself as well. Something of a stand-off then. When Tofta gives the penguin one of her sardines, he is suitably grateful and nuzzles her arm, but then to Tofta’s alarm, he swims off and returns with 500 family members! Sharing the iceberg is the only solution, and the penguins and the little girl spend a happy time sliding on the ice and telling stories until Tofta realises she wants to go home. It is the penguins that steer the iceberg back for her, and in the morning she can hardly wait to tell baby brother about her adventures. There is a Scandinavian feel about the illustrations in this charming and quirky picture book. The energetic and original illustrations (chalk, water- colour and vibrant line) which lend light and shade to great effect show us wooden houses and tall pine trees – and wonder ful penguins with expressive, hopeful faces. An unusual approach to the problem of a new sibling and the need to learn to share one’s life as well as one’s possessions. ES


Cartoon like illustrations aim to depict the huge variety of family experience that exists, from who’s in a family to what kind of holidays families have. There are double page spreads on topics such as transpor t, clothes, food, and holidays:


‘Some people go on exotic holidays, and some stay closer to home. Some visit families in other countries. And others go on day trips. Not all families can afford a holiday. But most people get some time off from work. Even a weekend at home can be a little holiday.’


This book is visually very appealing to the age group it’s aimed at, though I am slightly unsure about reactions to some of the textual content, for instance on Clothes:


‘Some children get new clothes. Others have hand-me-downs… Or their clothes come from charity shops.’


Many people may in fact have experience of all three. However, there is plenty of humorous detail in the illustrations, adding to the textual content and inviting comment and discussion on the range and diversity of family experiences.


UC Books for Keeps No.184 September 2010 21


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