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What I read | March / April 2021

 

[my image, Marriot's Way, Norwich, March 2021 ]

So, compiling it all here, I actually read quite a lot in April...

Let’s make some great art - COLOURS by Marion Deuchars.  This is more than a colouring book for young children, it’s an introduction to the whole process of exploring colours, while along the way allowing creativity to flow. We are encouraged to experiment with mixing colours, add colours with our fingers or with brushes to some of Deuchars’ pencil drawings, and express our feeling through colours.  Definitely a book to inspire creative young artists, so definitely a book for everyone.Thanks to @laurenceking @lkpchildrens @HachetteKids Publication date | 25th March 2021



What's the plan, Stan? by Stuart Simmonds and Bill Greenhead. Another hilarious story from the author and illustartor of Harry the karate monkey.

"I'll tell you the reason Dad's wearing a frown,
The worst thing had happened, the wifi went down!"

Dad gets stuck in chat with a computer voice "You might feel like throwing your phone at the door, it'll do you no good, so please press option 4"

The children don't know what to do without wifi, and Dad's still stuck in a computer chat "We're ever so sorry you must start again, you ran out of time so please press option 10!"

Anyway, Dad's still trying to sort out the Wifi so Stan and his gang have to make their own amusement, and set off to visit Gran on the other side of town. So adventure ensues, with cowboys, aliens, an elephant, a flying motorbike, and a TV crew. Funny rhyming text and illustartions that capture all the fun. I laughed out loud at the phone chat options. Brilliant.  Thanks to Stuhead Ltd



Parker and Rudi's most amazing adventure! by Stuart Simmonds and Bill Greenhead. Another adventure into the world of Sevenhills, from the creator of Harry the karate monkey. Two of the greediest dogs in the world, and a door left open on a dull autumn day....what could go wrong? So it turns out these greedy pups really like gravy and roast dinner, and escape from the house and the angry owner, only to find the garden gate open...what could go wrong? A catering van, a plane, a rock band, a massive yacht, a wedding, jet skis(!), a posh dinner, and 2 disco dancing dogs all appear in the rest of this hilarious story about Parker and Rudi who discover that being home with a bone and a hug is much better than a wild crazy adventure.  Thanks to Stuhead Ltd



Big red bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds.  More hilarity in this lovely bedtime story about Ben and Bella's bath, which they end up sharing with all the animals, slooshing down the stairs, and flying round the world twice. We spotted England and Finland and the North Pole on the illustration of the earth.  And we laughed at the dog, the hippopotamus and all the other animals splashing and slishing and sploshing in the bath with Ben and Bella, until Mum comes in the bathroom, when they tell her all about tbheir big red bath adventure.


Grandpa's Gift by Fiona Lumbers. A beautiful tale about moving to the city, which at first looks drab, dull, grey and boring. That is, until the little girl has lived in the city for 3 weeks and 4 days, and her Grandpa takes her out to explore. He takes her to a junk shop filled with curiosities and wonders, and shows her a dull, grey stone, whcih he opens to reveal a beautiful amethyst inside. And so, from then on the city is revealed in all its hidden beauty to the little girl. This is a wonderful tale which will resonate with city dwellers especially in this time of lockdown and having to spend more time close to home. The city can seem dull and grey sometimes (I've lived in the city for more than 30 years), but if we remember to look up abve some of the gaudy shop fronts, and down on the ground, we see carvings, gargoyles, emerging crocuses, the skeletons of trees without their leaves, and different views and skylines. Wherever you are, remember to look up, down and into the distance, take a slow breath and take it in. Thanks to Simon & Schuster.



The Dodos did it! by Alice McKinley. A hilarious tale about being very careful what you wish for... And when Jack's obsession with the extinct Dodo goes a bit too far, he gets in all sorts of trouble, giving us plenty of laugh out loud moments , and plenty to look for hidden in the pages. That is, until he wishes the dodo's would disappear, with gigantic consequences....be careful what you wish for! Thanks to Simon & Schuster



Wild by Annette Demetriou and Dawn White, and illustrated by Ryan Sonderegger. I love the black and white ilustrated front cover of this story about two wolves, Wolfie and Wilfie, who are not "ordinary" wolves. They've spent the afternoon cherry picking, and are relaxing the the woods, when they hear a terrifying howling noise.... They really don't like it.... It's the snarling, snapping, dribbling, drooling wolf pack. And they know that Wilfie and Wolfie are not scary and snarly and snappy like them. Wolfie and Wilfie do manage to get the better of them though, in this lovely story of standing up to peer pressure and staying true to yourself. Granny's cherry pie takes a bit of a hit though. A yummy story of cherry-picking friends overcoming their snarly neighbours. This one could be a contender for one of my Best of 2021 books... Thanks to Owlet Press


We're off to meet a mermaid by Eloise White and Cory Reid. Rhyming text, super illustrations and an introduction to an array of amazing sea creatures, in this gorgeous story of a group of friends sailing, diving and swimming the seas to find the magical mermaid. You'll have to read it to find out whether they do actually meet the mermaid, no spoilers here! And maybe try out the sister title "We're off to find a fairy" too. Perfect for little inquisitive, curious explorers. Thanks to Owlet Press


Marion Deuchar’s Let’s look at SHAPES. British author and illustrator Marion Deuchars graduated with a Distinction from the Royal College of Art. Her distinctive style of lettering has been globally recognised, and it is beautifully incorporated into this simple children’s board book. Each shape is brought to life simply yet effectively. Perfect for littlest hands, this is part of a series from Laurence King publishers that includes Numbers, Animals and Colours too.  Thanks to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and www.mariondeuchars.com



Marion Deuchar’s Let’s look at NUMBERS. Another offering from Laurence King and award-winning British author / illustrator Marion Deuchars. This little board book is perfect - each number is illustrated with a little bird, formed from a colourful fingerprint. Her distinctive lettering style is used to describe the birds on each page - 1 bird sitting, 2 birds balancing, through to 10 birds sleeping.  Thanks to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and www.mariondeuchars.com



Don’t look in this book by Samuel Langley-Swain. A brilliantly inventive and original idea from Samuel Langley-Swain, the founder of publisher Owlet Press. This book is a collaboration between the author and eight illustrators with the purpose of inspiring even the most reluctant readers. “Don’t look in this book, I was talking to you, yes, you right there, you’d better not look inside, don’t read on...don’t you dare!” Well now you really want to know what’s inside don’t you? Each spread has some rhyming text and a colourful illustration to inspire children to write, draw and talk about how the characters came to be and what might happen to them, as children build a narrative for themselves from the inspiration in the pages.  Thanks to Owlet Press



The King who banned the dark by Emily Haworth-Booth. The debut picture book from author / illustrator Emily Haworth-Booth, this title came before her “thought-provoking fable” The Last Tree. This story is about a young prince who was afraid of the dark, so afraid that when he becomes King, he bans the dark - installing an artificial sun and enforcing anti-dark laws. But at what cost to the people? They become tired of constant light, begin to protest, begin to realise the lies they were told about the dark, and eventually the King himself realises we need balance in life; the darkness in which to rest, balances the light we then enjoy. A powerful modern fable, The King who banned the dark is sure to become a classic, which, with its political undertones, will be read, shared and loved on many levels.  Thanks to @pavilionbooks



Bartholomew and the morning monsters by Sophie Berger and Ruan van Vliet.  A fresh author / illustrator pairing here from Cicada Books.  Bartholomew is struggling to get ready for school because of all the monsters from last night’s dream...they just won’t leave him alone.  They try to help him with dressing, teeth cleaning, breakfast eating, going for a wee and tying his shoes - all with hilarious consequences, vividly laid out in colourful illustrations.  I was left wondering about he very subtle hints taking us back to Maurice Sendak’s “Where the wild things are”, as the story begins with a “wild rumpus”, one of the monsters looking decidedly like Max in Sendak’s classic.  This is a great story, perfectly concluded by Bartholomew’s Dad calmly helping him to get properly ready for school. Thanks to @cicadabooks



Swim, Shark, Swim by Dom Conlon and illustrated by Anastasia Izlesou. The followup to the award-winning Leap, Hare, Leap, and the same author and illustrator team tackle another endangered animal on its journey to show us the wonders of the natural world, this time, under the sea. This lyrical poem, which flows through the pages and the illustrations like the sea it is conjuring up, was conceived as a result of the announcement last year that the Reef Shark is in danger of extinction. The blacktip reef shark is our protagonist here, as he scours all the world’s oceans and reefs for a home, meeting other marine animals on his way. We discover the tiger shark, cape fur seal, bottlenose dolphin, great white shark among others, with pages at the back of the book devoted to telling us a few facts about each of the creatures we meet, as well as a map of the world’s oceans showing us the shark’s journey. Swim, shark, swim. And little story lovers and their grownups, spread the word about endangered species and the necessity of looking after the ocean.  Thanks to Graffeg



Handa's surprise by Eileen Browne.  A classic story of friendship and fruit.  We love this one.



Dinosaur stories - we read Harry and the dinosaurs go to the museum by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds, How do dinosaurs learn colours and numbers by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, and Usborne first picture Dinosaurs. And we played with the dinosaurs.


The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse by Charlie Mackesy. Beautiful illustrations, perfectly bound in a lovely hardcover, with every page including the inside covers filled with Charlie Mackesy's words and pictures. It's like every page is telling you it's going to be OK. "I've learned how to be in the present." "How?" asked the boy. "I find a quiet spot and shut my eyes and breathe." "That's good, and then?" "Then I focus." "What do you focus on?" "Cake", said the mole. Published by @PenguinRandomHouse


Beans on Toast, the story of baked beans by Paul Dowling. The story of how baked beans get from the field to the factory to the supermarket to your plate with few words and lovely simple illustrations. And we had homemade baked beans for lunch, which looked and tasted exactly like the tinned variety!


Weapons of reason - Weapons of Reason the book, from Human After All (https://humanafterall.studio), written and contributed to by many many great authors and illustrators. They've updated and republished key stories from the eight issues of the magazine in a hardback book, as well as included new essays and articles that explore common themes at the heart of the world’s most pressing problems: short-term thinking in global leadership. Short-termism is prevalent in our lives today, as many hope for serious action to tackle the climate emergency, while government is mainly interested in votes at the next election. Issues covered include war, inequality, technology, sustenance, society, health, population and environment. https://weaponsofreason.com/ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/humanafterall/weapons-of-reason


How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers. A perfect story in every way. And the children loved it too.


Molly and the Lockdown by Malachy Doyle and illustrated by Andrew Whitson. "The island's locked down!" This is how this timely picture book, tackling Covid-19, lockdowns and a vaccine, begins. Molly lives in an island off the coast, and when the lockdown is announced, her Dad is on the mainland selling fish, and can't get home, but he reassures Molly that he will try to keep safe by staying away from people as much as he can, and by wearing a face mask. Molly helps her Mum on the island, looking after the chickens, making face masks, and washing her hands. Molly is thrown into looking after the dog and the house, as Mum helps Nurse Ellen when the virus strikes the island. Molly did her homework, all her jigsaws, read all her books over and over again, and spoke to her Dad on the phone lots. Eventually, the school re-opens, the vaccine arrives, and Dad comes home. A perfect story to encourage talk about the pandemic, mental health, wellbeing, and hopes for the future. Definitely a must for all classrooms and early years settings. Published on 29th March 2021 in Welsh, Irish and English. Thanks to Graffeg


Mammoth by Anna Kemp and Adam Beer. The author of bestselling modern classics such as Dogs don't do ballet and The worst Princess, teams up with debut picture book illustrator Adam Kemp. The mammoth wakes up from a sleep - quite a long sleep in fact, and is convinced that somewhere out there he will find his herd. We are taken on a fantastic romp with the big beast through the big city, and create some big trouble long the way. Eventually though he does find a new herd to belong to, where it doesn't matter how big he is, or how different he is, he can trumpet along with the rest of them nicely. Thanks to @SimonandSchuster. Mammoth is published on 27th May 2021.


Please help Planet Earth from Ladybird Books - the perfect introduction for toddlers to help them understand and engage with the issue of climate change.  It’s written from the perspective of the planet “I need your help”, and shows using clear and simple illustrations the problems we face from the orangutan’s forest disappearing to the polar bear’s ice melting.  It also gives easy ideas for a place to start - walk instead of drive, turn off the tap when you brush your teeth, plant flowers for the bees or turn off the lights when you leave a room.  If we can engage our littlest children in the big issues faced by us and the planet now, maybe we will have inspired them to find out more and act in a bigger way later on.  Thanks to @PenguinRandomHouse. 


Seas - a lift the flap Ladybird eco book - teaching children all about the importance of the planet’s seas and oceans.  We learn about why the sea is so important to the planet - the wildlife that it supports and the weather systems that it affects.  We discover the big oceans and under the flaps find out who lives in them, different kinds of marine life and how the oceans are home to many different animals from corals to polar bears.  We also learn how we have put our planet’s oceans in danger, by throwing away plastic and overfishing, and what we can do to help, including using less plastic, recycling it if we do use it, and choosing sustainable fish to eat (or no fish at all, but that’s just me)



Bees - a lift the flap Ladybird eco book - teaching children all about the importance of bees, and how we can help to save them.  We learn about pollination and how bees keep our planet healthy - “without bees we would eventually run out of many foods…”, a necessary message.  We take a look inside a beehive and learn that a queen bee can lay about 2000 eggs a day!  And we take a serious look at why bees are in danger - from increasing temperatures, mites, habitat destruction and toxic pesticides.  But we can help by planting bee friendly gardens, and making a bee hotel.  



Trees - a lift the flap Ladybird eco book - teaching children about the importance of trees to our planet, this book explains why we need trees (for oxygen, for homes for animals and birds, for wood to make things.  It also shows us the parts of a tree, how they change through the seasons, some of the different types of trees.  And we learn about deforestation and how bad it is for planet earth, and some things we can do to help.



From birth to one, the year of opportunity by Maria Robinson. I was recommended to read this by the Norfolk County Council early years Baby Friendly Project. It's an in depth but highly accessible look at the first year of life, covering everything from comminication to colic and everything in between. Brilliant reading for practitioners and teachers but also very useful for parents.




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