reviews


packed gigs, he had a Mohican hair do and rode a motor bike. You have photos to prove it, he really was cool. But now he spends his time folding the washing and doing the cleaning. What could have possibly happened to make him change so much? Parents are likely


more quickly than child readers the major life style changes becoming a father can bring; swapping a guitar for a hoover for example. However, we soon discover the fantastic fun it can be going to an adventure playground with dad. Maybe that’s pretty cool too. The striking and stylish illustrations


to appreciate


5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued (justly) Coralie


anywhere, and claiming that not


the designer of the book’s binding, but


Bickford-Smith as


together with the minimal yet thoughtful text effectively portray a young boy’s observations and experiences. One detailed double page spread opens wide to reveal a panorama evoking the fun of a day out with dad. The Gibson Flying V design on the endpapers will please adult guitar buffs. This is a clever and appealing book


about the father and son relationship, the life style changes that being a parent can bring and what it means to be really cool.


SMc Dotty Detective HHHH


Clara Vulliamy, HarperCollins, 978-0-0081-3249-1 £5.99 pbk


Dot is starting at a new school, having moved flat with her mum, the twins and her beloved dog McClusky. She’s looking forward to it, but, to ensure that she gets off to a good start, she wears her red lucky shoes on her first day. She’s a happy-go-lucky child who loves puzzles – wordsearches, crosswords, mazes, maths – any activity that requires a solution. She soon discovers that classmate Ben, aka Beans, also solving and,


of the television series starring ace detective Freddie Fantastic. Together, they set up their own detective agency, which soon comes in handy when they suspect a fellow pupil of sabotaging the class talent contest. Based on a reality that is familiar to


just like her,


enjoys problem- is a fan


high time for [this beloved children’s classic] to be well-known in the UK’. In fact a new translation of Nils by Peter Graves had been published in 2013 by Norvik Press (noticed here in issue 198). And if they had consulted that work they might have been able to inform potential buyers that Lagerlðf’s story is complete in two volumes and not one. Even then, it is difficult to thank them for what they see as their restorative efforts. Norgrén’s translation is by no means so fluent as Graves’s and – most culpably – his editors have chosen to lop off the last four chapters of the volume, hopelessly


beautifully managed conclusion. BA Monster in the Hood


Steve Antony, Oxford, 978-0-1927-3979-7 £6-99, pbk


A huge poster warns of the Monster in the Hood, but to believe it, Squirrel, Hedgehog and Mouse all want to see it for themselves. They become an intrepid trio, not to be threatened by news of the fearful monster from hundreds of fleeing rats; ‘Come out, come out, wherever won’t


The town sprawls across each right hand page, with a moving ‘BLOB’ approaching, with a huge orange eye. Next a cloud of bats screech past, warning the trio ‘to run before it grabs you with its huge shaggy hands. The monster is grumbly and rumbly, and will eat you up for dinner.’ Readers will love this page, spotting the different headgear of the bats…. one child made a count of over eighty bats, wearing neckscarves, beanies, baseball caps, even medals. Although a clutter of cats are scared stiff of the


many children in this country, this is an essentially sunny story, carried along by Dot’s harmonious personality. She is friendly and highly imaginative. She enjoys school and learning, and her home life is secure and loving. In the form of a diary, the writing


across the page, still the intrepid trio advance. But when the Monster approaches them face to face, they are rooted to the spot. Would he eat them? For he is hungry and needs his dinner. But more than that, he needs friends with whom to play. A careful


is clear and elegant, perfect for newly independent readers, the plot straightforward and the characters believable. The exuberant energy of the storyline spills over


vivacious and always varied black and white drawings that break up the text. A deeply satisfying read, this is the first in a series starring Dot as detective. AF


The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson


HH


Selma Lagerlöf, trans. from the Swedish by Paul Norgrén, ill. Bertil Lybeck, Penguin Books vi, 278pp. 780-2-4120-608-9, £14.99


Penguin’s publicity people claim in their puff for this book that it is by ‘Scandinavia’s Beatrix Potter’, puffing


into the


will at this point realise the packs of creatures wearing headgear are in fact sporting variations of Squirrel’s neckscarf, Hedgehog’s baseball cap and Mouse’s medal! An unusual cautionary tale


with the creatures drawn with few penstrokes


palette. It is imaginative, and follows well


Bananas. from Antony’s Betty The Bear Cub Bakers HHHH


Caroline Baxter, illus Kathi Ember, Big Sunshine Books, 978-1-9108-5400-6, £6-99 pbk


A book to involve even the youngest, this delightful book brings the many featured bake-offs on the TV into every reader’s kitchen. Miss Betsy Bear runs a cool baking school, and six young


GB and a limited about reader of the illustrations Monster, squealing scare us!’ shouts Squirrel. you are! You wrecking Lagerlöf’s HHHH


mentioning its illustrator ‘it’s


bear cubs arrive ready for instruction, with the hope of carrying off the BEST BAKER cup at the end of the week. Helpfully, the cubs wear the same outfits throughout, enabling readers easily to identify and match each cub with the text!


‘The bears fire their ovens; they whisk and they cream.


PUFF goes the flour and SHHhhh goes the steam. The pots and pans clang; the kettle starts to sing.


of Izzambard under the spell of a wicked queen, and hurls them into an adventure of good and evil, magic and wrongs to be put right. The Narnia-like opening moves the


story into a fantasy world peopled by fearful mechanical birds, a talking vacuum-cleaner and coal-shovelling squirrels. The story constantly widens its focus, introducing new characters while maintaining its vigorous pace, but its madcap effervescence times overwhelms


Whoops! There’s the timer….DING-A LING-LING!’


This chorus rings out daily at the end of every bake-off, as Miss Betsy judges the cubs’ efforts. Gloopy chocolate cake, yummy cupcakes and nutty puddings compete with fruit tarts, fig pies, cracked pastry and a salmon sensation. On Wednesday it is time to learn about bread-making. The rhymes pound along as the dough is kneaded and shaped. With the


showing each cub proudly presenting their loaves fresh from the oven, the tantalising smells just waft across the page!! Thursday is cookies day. Miss Betsy demands biscuits with a SNAP and a CRUNCH…… and after the repeated chorus…. ‘Whoops! There’s the timer….’ We gingerbread custard


emerge from the ovens. Who will win the coveted prize? The tables are littered with cooking utensils, recipe books, dripping honey spoons and cracked egg shells, as, on Friday, Miss Betsy announces that a grand picnic is the final challenge. Which bear cub will out-bake the rest? SPLASH, CLATTER, bubble; DRIP, DING-A-LING-LING! The judging begins. ‘Fishy! Squishy! Nutritious! Delicious!’ declares Miss Betsy, and the winner is announced. This splendid book ends with Miss Betsy Bear’s Buns recipe, enough for twelve hungry bear cubs, ingredients listed and a simple method. Whilst the book’s first endpaper shows baked creations to be identified later, the final endpaper shows labelled utensils used throughout. This book is a perfect match between its author’s rhyming text and the illustrator’s empathy and good humour. bear bake-off!


Find it, it’s a perfect GB


The Secret Railway HHH


Wendy Meddour, illus Sam Usher, Oxford University Press, 978-0-1927-4554-5, £5.99 pbk


friendship, colour goes


Ella and Leo Leggit have just moved home with their parents to a former railway house at the edge of a forest. Exhorted to go off outdoors and explore, they discover a dilapidated workshop, covered


and filled with dust and old railway paraphernalia.


the junk is what appears to be a magnifying glass with a silver handle and ornate decoration. The moment Ella picks it up, it starts to fizz with excitement, leading the children to a padlocked door – beyond which lies a parallel universe, dislocated in time, where Bartholomew Buckle and his magic steam locomotive await. The train sets off with them on board, its destination the enchanted Kingdom


There


in cobwebs amongst


creams and pink wafers men, iced biscuits, see macaroons, pictures


bond between brother and sister, in particular Leo’s regard for his younger sister, is heart-warming and helps to anchor the story, providing a realistic backdrop to the surreal events. Large and frenetic illustrations


capture the story’s mood. A sequel to this story will be published shortly. AF


The Riddlemaster HHHH


Kevin Crossley-Holland, illus Stéphanie Jorisch, Tradewind Books, 32pp, 9-781-9268-9011-1, £10.99 hbk


TThree children look out over the waves to the island. Maybe there is treasure there, but there seems to be no way to get


there? There is a boat piloted by the mysterious Riddlemaster and full of an extraordinary mixture of creatures. The children can join them - but they will not be able to reach the island unless they answer seven riddles.


there. Or is perfectly the plot. The at


familiar theme from traditional tales; the riddle contest. Here he weaves it into a story about stories. The children are looking for treasure. Such a quest will always involve a journey and jeopardy. They must cross water in the company of a band of creatures, some friendly, familiar, others strange and threatening whose aim is to devour the children. As they travel nearer and nearer their goal, the riddles become more allusive and difficult. It takes quick wits and imagination to find the answers. The reward - a world of storytelling. Crossley-Holland tells his story with


no fuss and a poet’s economy. Vivid snatches of description and dialogue combine to create a sense of immediacy. The illustrations by Stéphanie Jorisch create an atmosphere of strangeness. Her spiky lines combine with her watercolour palette


luminous accompaniment to the prose. This is a picture book for older children that will challenge them visually as well providing food for thought. Definitely one to share – well-crafted as an object; beautifully crafted as a story. FH


Books for Keeps No.219 July 2016 25 to provide a


Kevin Crossley-Holland


takes


a


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32