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What I read | September / October 2020

[my image - North York Moors, Cawthorn Roman Camp, September 2020]


Green Nation Revolution by Valentina Giannella, Lucia Esther Maruzzelli and illustrated by Manuela Marazzi. What next in the fight against climate change? This follow up to "We are all Greta" from Laurence King Publishing Ltd takes the reader a step further, taking an indepth look at some of the issues that the Green Nation (that is, all of the people taking an active part in raising awareness and changing the world)will need to address. We look at, among others, the circular economy, architecture, the world of work, soil, oceans, recycling, flying and fashion. Some facts that astonished me - making 1 pair of jeans uses 7500 litres of water (enough for a person to drink for 10 years!), fast fashion is responsible for almost 10% of our total greenhouse gas emissions, and it is still rising, and we need to stop the endless consumption - buy less, choose well, quality not quantity (in the words of Vivienne Westwood).


While you're sleeping by Mick Jackson and illustrated by John Broadley. Beautiful, mesmerising illustrations fill this gorgeous book perfect for sharing at bedtime, or anytime. We go on a journey of discovery, finding all the things that go on while most of us are fast asleep, from cleaners on trains, in shops and offices, to delivery drivers, taxis, firefighters, nurses, and night-time animals. Not forgetting that while we are asleep in our part of the world, children around the world are in school, having breakfast, sledging or swimming. So much to talk about in these pages, which together make a work of art, perfect as a special gift.



This is NOT a bedtime story! by Eoin McLaughlin and Robert Starling. "This book is NOT a bedtime story. It's scary, strange and rather gory. Bedtime stories make you sleepy. This book won't. It's much too CREEPY" The monsters are trying their hardest to be really scary, but even monsters get tired and "yaaaawwwny". Actually this is a PERFECT bedtime story, banishing worries about scary monsters, laugh-out-loud funny and filled with gorgeous, bright illustrations.



Build a skyscraper illustrated by Paul Farrell from Pavilion Children's Books.  A follow-up to the previous Build a Castle, this set of 64 slot together cards are each designed as part of a skyscraper.  OK it's not strictly a book, but this is a lovely idea for a Christmas gift, encouraging imagination, storytelling and creativity, while promoting fine motor development.  The brightly coloured illustrations from illustrator Paul Farrell lend themselves perfectly to high-rise fun.  Thanks to @PavilionChildrensBooks 


A mindfulness guide for the Frazzled, by Ruby Wax. The comedian with a Master's degree in Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy mixes humour with practical advice and guidance in this really accessible book. There's a week-long mindfulness course, and specific advice for parents, babies and young children, older kids and teenagers.

More here - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/1014406/ruby-wax.html…

Penguin Books


Older and Wider by Jenny Eclair. A guide to the menopause. Charming and witty, combined with useful and informative. In the words of the author "Count to ten. Because twenty is never enough"


We are all Born Free. The Universal declaration of Human Rights in pictures, from Amnesty International, who stand up for humanity and human rights, protecting women, men and children wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. It's beautifully illustrated by 30 different illustrators from Juhn Burningham to Marcia Williams, with introductions by John Boyne and David Tennant. The 30 rules in the Declaration apply to everyone in the world, and now is a particularly good time to remind ourselves of this as we daily hear the language of some world leaders taking us in the wrong direction, and as people all over the world suffer from injustices that could begin to be solved if only for the will to start. John Boyne says "Believing in them, acting on them, promising never to break them, that's how we make the world a better place." Here's a couple, "If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe" and "Nobody can take these rights and freedoms from us".



Movie Tarot illustrated by Natalie Foss, and written by Diana McMahon Collis. Not a book - but there is a little book in the box, along with the collection of 78 cards. And not for 0-5s, but sometimes I like to stray into something a bit different, why not...?

Tarot has been a "thing" for a long time, first emerging in the early C15th in Northern Italy, although the modern design is based on the Marseilles card patterns of the C16th. This set feature some of the most iconic characters from the world of film. So what is Tarot? Although the cards have been historically used to play card games, now they are mostly used to seek answers to questions, as a source of inspiration. The answers reveal something hidden but recognisable in a situation or thought process. So, tying this in with cinema works, as movies (or stories) leave us fascinated but also help us cope with, or find answers to, change, as we see characters battle, fail, succeed, triumph over evil. So the cards represent different types of heroes, and some of the processes they must go through or qualities they must show, to defeat the evil. The accompanying booklet describes how to use the cards, and the meanings that can be drawn from each card or combination of cards. Thank goodness, because otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue what I'd received!


David Roberts' Delightfully Different Fairy Tales, written by Lynn Roberts-Maloney and illustrated by David Roberts. This beautiful hardback collection of features Cinderella (in an art deco fairy tale), Rapunzel (in a groovy 1970s fairy tale), and Sleeping Beauty (in a mid-century fairy tale). "Feminist, sparky and utterly original portrayals of heroines we know so well." The illustrations are amazingly detailed and capture the essence of the time in which the story is set, and the characters' expressions. I love the wicked (and dim) stepsisters, fighting over Cinderella's clothes, Rapunzel's 70s clothes and pink hairdryer (like the one my mum had), she's even got one of those crochet waistcoats, and the 50's detail of the Sleeping Beauty story with its old dancette record player, gorgeous dresses, and little tin robot toys. This is a perfect gift for a "delightfully different" little person.

Thanks to Pavilion Children's Books



The very busy spider by Eric Carle. The children loved being able to feel the web on the page as it grew and grew. They joined in with the repeated refrain "she was very busy, spinning her web". And they played their own spider game with the web and the spider afterwards. And they had a little fight over the spider's web, but they are 2 and 3....!!!



Go set a watchman by Harper Lee. The follow up to To kill a mockingbird sees Jean Louise grown up, and Atticus Finch an old man, still practising law, but with a profoundly different outlook. 


 Octopants by Suzy Senior and Claire Powell. The octopus wants pants like all his other under the sea friends. But the under the sea clothing shop doesn't have pants for octopi, because he's got too many legs. I wonder what he will get instead...


The Wolf was not Sleeping by Avril McDonald and illustrated by Tatiana Minina. Commissioned for and dedicated to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, this story features Wolfgang the wolf, as seen in The Wolf and the Baby Dragon, and The Purrfect Pawse. Wolfgang is not sleeping, as he is worried that whenever he hears the howling, his Dad will have to go out to help the other creatures in the forest. He's worried what might happen to his Dad, and he's starting to fall asleep in the daytime... A secret note from Spider lets Dad know how Wolfgang is feeling, so Dad has a talk with Wolfgang, naming and taming his scary feelings, so that they are not so scary any more.

A lovely tale about worries and feelings, which shows young children that worries are smaller when we talk about them, and perfect for young children whose parents or carers are part of the health or emergency services. Beautifully illustrated.

Thanks to Crown House Publishing



Aaaarrgghh, Spider by Lydia Monks.  Wonderful repeated refrains to join in with together.


  
Black and British, a short, essential history by David Olusoga.  Brilliant, essential, accessible introduction to Black British history.  Should be compulsory teaching at school. The author has a wonderful storytelling voice which you can hear coming out of the pages.  If you haven't seen it, catuchp on the accompanying series on BBC iplayer here (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b082w9p9/black-and-british-a-forgotten-history-1-first-encounters).  Published by Macmillan Children's (https://www.panmacmillan.com/mcb) 


Black and British A Forgotten history by David Olusoga.  The grownup version of the book above. A hefty time, but, as the author points out, there is actually a lot to talk about.  The accompanying TV series was compelling watching. And the book is just as interesting and informative.  Published by Pan Macmillan (https://www.panmacmillan.com/genres/adult-non-fiction) @Pan-Macmillan (Facebook) @panmacmillan (Twitter) 


On the Farm, a Campbell big board book.  Lovely real life photos of farm animals, the farmer, tractor, crops and combine harvester. This one was told as a spoken word story, where I related the story of my childhood holidays on my grandparents farm to the children. They were fascinated, and especially loved the scarecrow that went "BANG!" and scared them.



Numbers by Eric Carle. A little board book, part of a set. With 10 lovely pine cones I found on a bike ride in the summer.


Mouse and Mole, A New Start by Joyce Dunbar and James Mayhew. If you look at a bibliography of Joyce Dunbar's books, you will recognise them all. As an author she has worked with many illustrators from Russell Ayto to Susan Varley. And the Mouse and Mole books are beautifully illustrated by James Mayhew. Mouse and Mole are bacl after a break (which even included being made into a TV series voiced by Alan Bennett, Imelda Staunton and Richard Briers!!

Anyway, this is a new selection of 3 short stories about Mouse and Mole who live together and spend lots of time together, helping each other through thick and thin. Joyce Dunbar (who happens to live right here in Norwich!) says "the stories are about kindness and friendship... and about encouraging empathy and understanding, of heart and mind, to be enjoyed for their humour and deliciousness of words". Quite right. I loved these stories, I found them gentle and calm, as well as thoughtful and insightful, making for perfect bedtime sharing.


Honey and Coco meet a squirrel by E.L.Reading. Simple rhyming text and graphically designed pages, bring the author's two dachshunds Honey and Coco to life. In this story they meet a squirrel, and Coco chases him into the woods which are a little bit dark and scary, until Honey rescues her. Delightful.



Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie. Izzy's getting frustrated with her inventing, so goes off with her toolbag. She comes across a crow with a broken wing and is determined to invent some new wings. After several attempts, and some perseverance, the crow is fixed, unlike the hairdryers and the motorbike! Brilliant, and rhyming too.



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