BfK Under 5s Pre - School/Nursery/Infant contd.


both everyday experience and the world of the imagination. Things are not static but ever changing and re- shaping. There are sixteen spreads with people and objects seen against different,


backgrounds. often intensely


are calm and give a dramatic contrast with the ‘after’ images which include themes like ‘after the storm’, ‘after lunch’ and ‘after some magic’.


‘after the baby’ spread shows the overwhelming changes in a young child’s quiet world once his little sister is born and all the baby paraphernalia arrives.


‘big brother’ and this is a scenario many young children will recognise. The distinctive pictures with their clear definition are accompanied by brief but often witty annotation.


the ‘after the night’ spread we see on the ‘before’ page a cat eyeing a fish and, on the right hand page, the text says ‘no fish’ and ‘bad cat’ under the images of the empty fish bowl and


and sharing adult will find this book delightfully playful and it is likely to lead to very interesting observations and discussions.MM


Frog and Beaver HHHH


Simon James, Walker Books, 32pp, 978 1 4063 5986 2, £11.99pbk


Frog and his friends the ducks and the voles have a nice life on the river, it’s a beautiful place to live, which is what Frog tells Beaver when he says he’s looking for somewhere to set up his dam. Beaver insists on making the biggest dam he can, but it blocks up the river and the other animals have to move. When the dam bursts their homes are ruined again and it’s all Beaver’s fault but his traumatic accident has put things into perspective, and this time Beaver wants to make sure everyone has a home that they are happy with. Simon James’ illustrations always


the smiling cat . Both child In His status has changed to The The ‘before’ images


illustrations of Africa and the animals done in a modern style that is very appealing make this really special. ES


coloured Today I Feel… HHHHH


Madalena Moniz, Abrams Appleseed, 56pp, 978 1 4197 2324 7, £8.99 hbk


This sophisticated and unusual picture book will, I suspect, appeal as much to parents as to children.


course, about feelings, and it is also about the alphabet so that each letter has a feeling attached, some of them odd, even bizarre. One word on each two page spread reflects the letter, hence, A is for Adored, B for Brilliant, C for Curious, and so it goes. They are certainly feelings, but not, perhaps, the sad, happy, feelings usually portrayed in alphabet books. There are some more common ones like ‘excited’ or ‘nervous’ or ‘jealous’, but for the most part we are in unusual territory here. The illustrations are amazing. A little boy is the star of the show, and it is his feelings we learn about throughout. Each two-page spread has the word on the bottom of the left side with the letter beautifully decorated above, and the opposite page has a picture of the little boy amongst the things that make him feel ‘grumpy’ or ‘strong’ or ‘uncertain’ – and such pictures!! In watercolour and India ink, they glow and move and sometimes take lots of looking at to understand fully. F is for Free, and the little boy is flying through the sky with geese. It is not that other words couldn’t have been used; this author/illustrator is looking for the unusual and finding it in spades. F could have been ‘furious’ for instance and U could have been unwell. The words she has used are ones that give her imagination full reign, and the result is wonderful. This is a book to revel in, to take time with, and to share, and it will repay such attention beautifully. ES


look fresh and young, the colours are pretty pastels and the use of white space looks clean and appealing. This sweet simple story of a friend in need is gentle enough for the youngest readers. KC


I’m in Charge! HHHHH


Jeanne Willis, ill. Jarvis, Nosy Crow, 32pp, 978-0-8576-3644-7, £6.99 pbk


What a naughty little rhino! He doesn’t obey his parents, and he’s horrid to all the other animals, each time shouting ‘I’m in charge!’ As he’s big and strong, everyone is afraid, and he’s really rather a bully. In Willis’s wonderful rhymes we hear: “And when his muddy mummy told him when to go to bed, he shouted, ‘No, I will not go!’ I’m in charge, he said.” He even pushes the elephant into a pond! It is only when he selfishly refuses to share the fruit on the mango tree he has demanded for his own that he learns his lesson. A herd of wildebeest come thundering through and trample all the fruit and his tree. In this highly moral and very funny tale, the little rhino learns his lesson the hard way! Wonderfully evocative


Jamal’s Journey HHHH


Michael Foreman, Andersen Press, 32pp, 978-1783444908, £11.99 pbk


The first page of Michael Foreman’s new picture book shows us Jamal, a beautiful little camel. Alone in a glowing golden landscape of desert sand there’s no clue to tell us whether this is a modern or ancient story. ‘Walk, walk, walk’, says the text, ‘That’s what camels do.’ A turn of the page reveals that Jamal is following his parents. They are carrying brightly coloured bundles and their human owners, including a young boy keeping a careful eye on Jamal. Each of the Bedouin adult riders has a hooded falcon on their wrist. When disaster strikes, and Jamal is separated from the group in a sandstorm, a falcon saves the day, flying back to find the young camel and leading him safely to his parents. When the camels arrive in the city we see that this story has a modern day setting. Behind the bright market stalls with their displays of food and other colourful merchandise are the glittering towers of Dubai. ‘Now Jamal knows the world is more than


22 Books for Keeps No.223 March 2017 It is, of


just sand,’ explains the text, ‘When his legs are long and strong, he wants to see it all.’ The final image is of Jamal and the boy, both grown up and handsome, making their way across the sand towards a glowing horizon, falcon friend following just in case. Michael Foreman was


to write this story by a visit to the Dubai Book Festival and his book reminds us that this ultra-modern city was built in a desert, and that its roots are firmly in Bedouin culture. His fascination with camels is clear and his breathtakingly beautiful ink and watercolour


a wonderful sense of wide open expanses of sand and sky. This story that feels so timeless provides readers with a powerful sense of a unique city and culture. MMa


illustrations give inspired


Nanette’s Baguette


HHHHH


Mo Willems, Walker, 40pp, 978 1 4063 7621 0, £6.99, pbk


It’s a big day. For the first time, Nanette is sent to Juliette the baker to get the baguette. Here she is with her mum in the kitchenette. And is she pleased? You bet! On the way home, the baguette is warm and smells wonderful. There is a lot of it. And then there is less of it. And then there is none of it. ‘Nanette begins to fret. Will mum be upset? Will mum regret she let Nanette get the baguette?’ Mo Willems orchestrates this tale and its excruciatingly inventive mono-rhymes brilliantly. His wacky cardboard and paper collage illustrations conjure up a cartoon French village inhabited by frog- like people with huge eyes. Nanette’s gestures of love for the baguette and regret at its passing are as gloriously over-the-top Gallic as you could wish, and the drama is accompanied by wonderful exclamatory pictorial sound effects: Krack! as the baguette is broken open; And Kaboom! as thunderclouds gather over guilty Nanette, ‘wet with no baguette.’ The scene in which distraught Nanette owns up to mum, and her face goes through a series of expressions from plain rueful to sweaty panic, is both gloriously funny and full of understanding for her situation. It’s a predicament many children will recognise or sympathise with and it’s certainly ‘a day Nanette won’t soon forget!’ CB


5 – 8 Infant/Junior Adelaide’s Secret World HHHH


Elise Hurst, Allen and Unwin, 32pp, 978-1-7433-6942-5, £12.99 hbk


Adelaide lives a solitary life in a busy, bustling city. She spends her days observing the crowds rushing past her, a small, silent figure conspicuous in her red coat. At night, alone in the dark, she recreates the characters she has seen in beautiful little clay figures. All readers, child and adult alike, will understand how it feels to be like Adelaide, alone in a crowd. Luckily for Adelaide a chance set of events leads her to a meeting with another artist, and she discovers not just a friend but a kindred spirit, and finds her voice at last. Elise Hurst is a prize-winning Australian picture book artist and deserves to be better known in this country. Painting in oils her pictures are an exquisite mix of colour and movement, each spread filled with drama and emotion and there is so much for


in Adelaide’s secret world, and so much for them to talk about. LS


Lazy Cat HHH


Julia Woolf, Templar Publishing, 30pp, 978 1 78370643 3, £6.99pbk


It is the pictures that tell this story about a greedy, selfish cat who thinks he is friendly with the


readers to discover dog in his life, but isn’t.


Dog wants to be friendly with Lazy Cat, but the big, fat pussy always insists on doing things his way. When they play on the tricycle, it is Doodle pushing Lazy, and the toys they play with are Doodles but are purloined by the cat. He gets most of the pizza too, and when it is time to pick up the play things, it is Doodles who does it while Lazy look on. But the real crunch comes when Lazy insists that Doodle sits on top of the TV, adjusting the


his favourite programme.


slams the door when he leaves, and Lazy realises he has gone too far. However, his attempts to mollify Doodle don’t work altogether well, and in the end, Lazy gets his come- uppance. Mind you, we aren’t sure whether he has or not, and it may be that Doodle is in for more from the insufferable cat. Friendship is a two-way street, and it may take more than one lesson for Lazy to learn this.


style, have animation and verve and are fun, but one has to say that perhaps it would be a good thing if Doodles gave up completely on this particular friendship. His ‘knowing eye’ gives us the idea that he just may. ES


The pictures, cartoon


aerial, while Lazy watches Doodle


Doodle


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