tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40648634509855459972024-03-16T01:10:24.005+00:00What Fred Read: reviews and celebration of books for young childrenWelcome to WhatFredRead, a blog for people looking for recommendations, reviews and celebration of books for young children.
I am the mum of four young children and I have a passion for children's literature. This blog is my new year's resolution, to share our daily reads.
WhatFredRead is brought to you by 30-something me and my trusted panel of critics aged 7,5,3 &1.Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-32592870721882707882017-10-15T00:06:00.002+01:002017-10-15T00:15:49.018+01:00Baby Brains<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Simon James</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Walker Books, 2004 ( featured edition 2007)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a picture book that belongs on all good preschooler bookshelves. <i>Baby Brains</i> is a simple and warming story about 'the smartest baby in the whole world', only despite being super human clever Baby Brains, when the chips are down, is just the same as any other baby, crying</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> out for and wanting, above everything, his mummy. The book, humorously and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">quintessentially comments on the human condition, what unites us and what sets us apart as human beings. It raises a smirk with me every time I read that author illustrator Simon James took the humourous initiative to take a very deep and dark topic that has puzzled philosophers for millennia,and whittle it down to this one delightful and simplistic story about a clever baby- brilliant! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrations reminiscent of Quentin Blake, with sketchy ink and watercolour people, see Baby Brains in some familiar and less familiar scenarios given his juvenile status. So for example, starting with activities babies are frequently associated with, such as going to sleep in a cot, Baby Brains is soon embroiled in farcical scenarios, such as Baby Brains fixing cars, teaching medicine at the university and eventually being scouted for a NASA space mission. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> What I love about this book is the very stark message to parents, warning against pushy parenting and being hung up on fretting about the intelligence of one's child. The moral can also be flipped, an intelligent child [ easily substitute this for any child that defies 'the norm' ] feels and needs love and support like all others. This is a great book then, for opening discussion with children about similarity and difference, useful then for illicting discussion on dis/ability, appearance, culture, creed, family circumstance etc. I've used this book many times to illicit discussion with my children regarding adoption for example, as you can ask how each character feels, and why that is, and what each character needs and why. So Mrs Brains (the mum) for example, imagines her child might be similar to herself, but when Baby Brains surprises her she shows she loves baby Brains for whoever he is, praising him for being brave. The book can also be used to talk about 'what babies need' such as love, tenderness, comfort, an important narrative to impart on all children, but especially those for have experienced early trauma. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most importantly, this book is really funny, throwing 'clever baby' at hyperbole. Clever baby doesn't mean having the ability to recite some numbers, as is the conventional scenario, this baby reads newspapers days after being born. The affinity that young children often have with babies, puts them in on the joke here too: my children find the story hilarious, a baby in space, a baby teaching, a baby dependent from its parents! The book is also very nicely paced, short sentences, a very consistent structure, and easy to read aloud. It's a real gem to share, and highly recommended. </span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-51083352129025197952017-08-22T00:09:00.002+01:002017-08-22T00:15:01.182+01:00Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Alex T Smith</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Scholastic Children's Books, 2009</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I discovered this book in a weekly library haul; shove as many books in a calico bag in between swimming lessons and getting the kids home for tea, library trip enroute, don't ask questions just try the book stash out, one by one, at home. The best books are read more than once, the very best books go on a re-loan, and exceptional books are returned, and a forever copy bought online within a week. I think I had ordered a forever copy of this book within an hour; as my now eight year old says, 'it's epic.'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Home is a book about friendship, and what it means to feel 'at home'. Four unlikely friends, live contently together, until their aspirations and interests in life lead them to yearn for different things; wanting to be a pirate, wanting to yodel in the mountains, a desire to live in a dark cave and aspirations of life in the big city, going to parties. The cartoon critters, a badger, bear, deer and rabbit, discuss, argue and then fight, eventually deciding to go their separate ways but all taking a physical piece of the share house with them; the floor, door, windows and door. Each animal is seen going off in a huff, determined to take their part of the house with them. Double page split images work to great effect here, with the landscape backdrop differing to exaggerate the different destinations of the characters. Eventually the creatures realise and admit they've made a mistake, find resolution and resolve to return and apologise to each other: fantastic! The perfect model of any friend and / or sibling relationship. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a fast paced and witty book, feeling very original in its togetherness -separation and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'reunification with adjustments' storyline. The tone of the book is very 'matter of fact' rather than urgent and concerned, which makes the story very funny, presenting the obscure events, such as the pompous and bossy badger wanting to 'boogie woogie' all night long, as everyday. I especially like the jibe, 'it was as if they had never seen a badger boogie-woogie before!' emphasising how alien a new beginning is for the friends, away from each other, as they conclude that the new starts all have drawbacks, with the badger for example, finding that people in the city 'weren't friendly.' As with most of his work Alex T Smith makes great use of societal references and stereotypes here; he's a great author-comedian in my mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Home' is full of the unexpected, and yet the message is one of familiarity and belonging. It's a great book for young children in that it promotes feeling secure and concludes that 'home' doesn't need to be a static 'thing', physically a house can change its shape and form but it's the relationships that drive the home that count. A great book to use for children moving house, and also for talking about attachments and belonging. Aside from all this, just a fantastic book to read aloud. Assign each character an accent and have fun performing this one- it's pure comedy, laugh out loud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-34620963236046042892017-08-05T23:34:00.001+01:002017-08-05T23:41:10.927+01:00The Pig's Knickers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlM7D9mtSHaS0eB8d4dC6XBd_Sw3guAs1Z9RXarB_Aiibq51-72G3daf2fSiLxyh6sHLbtBM-4rULJt-I4alxpmHewVv8QiRuOOkOHirfs_x54URuljahfluB6fOYz-wojOmYscPm5qE/s1600/IMG_0604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlM7D9mtSHaS0eB8d4dC6XBd_Sw3guAs1Z9RXarB_Aiibq51-72G3daf2fSiLxyh6sHLbtBM-4rULJt-I4alxpmHewVv8QiRuOOkOHirfs_x54URuljahfluB6fOYz-wojOmYscPm5qE/s320/IMG_0604.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Jonathan Emmett</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Vanessa Cabban</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Walker Books Ltd, London, 2010</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a fantastic, cheeky, witty children's book, written as much for the kids as their reading adult. The protagonist, pig, is possibly my favourite preschool book character of all time; theatrical, flamboyant, camp, outlandish. The book starts with a fairly forlorn pig 'feeling sorry for himself' bored with the way he looks, sat in the troth by his pig style on Hilltop Farm. (Appearance angst in a children's book, how modern!) A pair of knickers then blows from the farm washing line on to the head of pig. After working out how to wear the knickers a delighted pig begins his excited escapade around the farmyard, dancing, cartwheeling, and strutting around in his knickers and new found self confidence. Along the way pig meets several farmyard friends, inviting each to comment on his knickers. Each animal makes a dry comment about what they see, and pig eventually beds down for the night with the knickers airing on the fence. An unexpected twist in the morning sees the knickers gone, and a distraught pig is then comforted and reassured by his friends that with or without knickers it is he who is 'special' not the red polka dot knickers alone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This fabulous 'clothes don't maketh the man', 'beauty is not skin deep' moral for young children is superbly placed in this self conscious age, as is having a trans dressing pig lead. The story is fresh and welcome at a time when dialogues on identity, sexuality, gender are thankfully opening up. While the humour in the story is technically about the lead character, outlandish pig, he's a lovable character, emotional, and rallied round by his friends. The book is thus as much about friendship, liking people for who they are not how they look, as my more adult interpretation of identity. Acceptance and friendship are of course very useful not to mention computable </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">messages for children of preschool age. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The neat, water colour and pen illustrations in the book match the 'beauty is not skin deep' message in the story well, with pig characterised as bulbous. The soft colours and whispy farm yard animals give the book an aesthetic of ordinariness (as a children's book) but the story is anything but. There's a fantastic eyebrow raising final joke in the story, that in my experience of reading this aloud, children rarely get; I like the book all the more for this moment. This is a joy of a book to read aloud, but pig deserves a really theatrical performance, so please do him good justice. </span><br />
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-81986011381040764002017-07-27T00:53:00.001+01:002017-07-27T00:57:15.596+01:00The Tickle Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Tickle Book with pop up surprises</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Ian Whybrow </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Axel Scheffler</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book, together with <i>The Bedtime Bear</i> by the same author and illustrating duo, are by far the most loved and well read books in my house. So well loved in fact, I've bought them three times over (each!) and since the summer days have now befallen, the kids being at home ( sheltering from the summer rain) so much more, I find myself putting in my order for a fourth copy of <i>The Tickle Book</i> tonight...and really, they're pretty robust for 'pop up' books! Nonetheless, the absolute excitement and joy a good old fashioned lift-the-flaps, pull -the- tab, pop-up book seems to bring (any age child, in fact the older they get, the more excited by the pop-up aspect they seem to be), dumbfounds me. The pure suspense of the pull, for my seven year old, has him in squeals of delight every time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't recommend these two books more highly, they're such a pleasure. Bright, loads of fun, very quirky ( why is a lizard in a blizzard? Why is there a rabbit on a motorbike?) , ah the countless questions I have for the author...situational madness ' a mouse motel' and a ' lynx carrying drinks' to a picnic, brings humour with every read. And yet as each book follows a jouney to tickling bedtimes, the menagerie of characters and places all seem to make bizarre sense, fuelling the excitement further. The rhymes are very catchy, with a staccato beat and optimal use of rhetoric. There's also a play on phonics that's a preamble to the now very popular Kes Gray 'Oi' books ( e.g. Oi Frog!) , so an 'owl in a towel' and a 'snake' with a 'cake'. The word choice of the author speaks to toddlers beautifully, plenty of 'hello' and farmyard / animal noises. These are the type of silly rhyme books kids really remember, with invitations and instructions to tickle, close eyes, say goodnight. As such, fantastic books for helping build attachments, for bonding, perfect for adopters. My older children currently love reading these to the younger ones, squeals and giggles of laughter amount, hence the wear and tear on the tabs. I also like that there's lots of different lift flap, pull tabs and card wheel arrangements in the book, it really does make for a 'pop up book full of surprises.' Big thumbs up from me, but buy three copies at least as you'll get through them, and sadly these books are no longer on constant sale in the big supermarkets, like a few years ago. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-27506100524115593982017-07-18T22:23:00.004+01:002017-07-18T22:37:50.947+01:00The Diabolical Mr Tiddles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Tom McLaughlin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book made my eyebrow ache, as it was arched to one side throughout, trying to guess where the goof-ball story was going next. <i>The Diabolical Mr Tiddles </i>is a delightful story of loyalty, friendship and...the benevolence of Her Royal Majesty the Queen?! Birthday boy Harry gets his dream gift, a cat, whom he comically names Mr Tiddles. Harry lavishes Mr Tiddles with affection, and Mr Tiddles wants to repay the friendship. Initially, as cats do, Mr Tiddles brings Harry and mouse, but after this receives a reaction he wasn't expecting, increasingly exciting and expensive gifts start arriving in Harry's room, but where are they from? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a fun twist to the story, it turns out that the rotund, ginger, stripey cat Mr Tiddles, has been on some jaunty night escapades stealing items to fulfil all boyhood dreams; a horse from a cowboy, a pogo stick, rockstar guitars; there's a great picture about half way through the book showing this extensive and growing collection, great fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tom McLaughin then spins the story upside down again, when Harry follows the perpetrator in this nightly wanderings, ending up face-to-face with the Queen, in her bedroom, of all places! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When reading this to Bert (5) and Edie (3) in the week, Bert immediately spotted that the queen slept with her crown on her head. Little details in the book, like this, are plentiful- comedy treats abound for eager eyes. I really liked the way the queen was presented, as this austere bossy mother character. The message in the book, you can't by love, nor friendship, and that true friends look out for each other, is sweet, a tiny bit lost on the nearly four year old, but well understood by the five year old I felt. The endnote illustration of the queen is amusing, and the cheekiness and neediness of Tiddles throughout, raises a calamitous beat. A great read for settling trading card fractions in the playground, or more generally to read to preschool and reception children navigating new friendships. </span><br />
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If you like this, you'll also undoubtedly like 'Love Monster':
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<a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/love-monster.html">https://whatfred</a>read.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/love-monster.html
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-77326231741409891042017-07-16T00:57:00.002+01:002017-07-16T23:17:28.259+01:00The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: C.S.Lewis
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: First published 1950 by Geoffrey Bles, First published by Lions, Collins Publishing Group, 1980, edition featured 1988</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I read this to my 5 year old and 7 year old boys a couple of months ago, to mixed success. I set <i>The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe</i> up as a nostalgia trip for myself, I thought I </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">remembered soldier queens and exhilarating battles, but some of this memory was </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">implanted from watching the Children's BBC series adaptation from the 1980s. I wasn't disappointed by re-reading the book, just resolute by how 'of its time' the book was, and how adaptations since had skewed the book's ideological stance so much, I had no recollection of how stiff the writing comes across. Enid Blyton eat your heart out, and I'm really not a fan of Blyton and don't buy in to any of this, new wave Blyton fandom popular with the mums at school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As my children proved though, ideology is clearly an aside to adventure when you're young. The boys followed the chase chapters excitedly, particularly when the beavers were helping hide the children, and loved the deception of Edmund, his lust for the Turkish Delight ( though I had to refer to these as 'sweets', as the kids had no idea what Turkish Delight might mean). While as an adult I was aghast at the sexism In the book, particularly the moment Peter saves his sister Susan from baying wolves as she climbs a tree; she does a great job at defending herself and younger sister but when Peter is then preparing for battle, he tells Susan the battle is no place for a girl. ( I edited this slightly as I read aloud, but there was no need as the boys were too busy anticipating some sword fighting and didn't really care who'd be involved!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I also found as an adult, was how obvious the 'Aslan as Jesus' parallel is, while I remember this being pointed out to me as a child, and feeling it was clever and subtle. The whole moment of sacrifice on the stone table, the witch's long laboured torture scene, then the breaking of the table in half like Jesus's tomb, was long winded while the battle scene itself, was anticlimactic, short, lacked description of 'one-one' combat. There were also these strange intervals in the book where CS Lewis indulges in encyclopaedic paragraphs about the flora and fauna of the forest, which made my two quite restless and bored. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Positives though, finishing reading and watching the 2002 film the following day, what a treat that film is! Well paced, well told and beautiful cinematography, particularly the long shots; vast, eerie, magical. I hate to say it, but in this exceptional circumstance, the film is better than the book ( eek! did I say that?)Maybe I'm feeling brave like Susan! </span><br />
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On that note, here's a link to the superb 2005 Chronicles of Narnia film:
<a href="https://youtu.be/pYcGFLgJ8Uo">https://youtu.be/pYcG</a>FLgJ8Uo
Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-18753941394328081532017-07-04T00:12:00.003+01:002017-07-05T23:01:45.677+01:00Edwina the Emu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Sheena Knowles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Rod Clement</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Angus Robertson, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was passed this book on a bookstall at a school fayre; 'here'said the bookstall mum, 'you'll like this one, it's about a feminist emu, and it's pretty funny'. And she was right, it's really funny, Australian dry humour funny, and a 'feminist emu', why of course!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With loud, brash and garish illustrations, we meet Edwina and Edward, emus in love and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">expecting a brood of ten. On realising the news Edward shouts, 'YEEK!' and so starts the catchphrase of the book: 'he seemed to be choking, 'Ten litttle emus? you've got to be joking.' being the more collected of the pair, Edwina offers to leave the nest and go and seek work, in order to afford the brood. Edwina tries several jobs, as a ballerina, a chimney sweep and as a waitress. As each ends in an emu related drama, Edwina realises her calling is to sit on the nest (part time only, in a job share with Edward!) I love this portrayal of a strong, independent thinking, progressive female, and the turn the story takes without compromising the central protagonist's empowerment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The bawdy carictures of other job seekers fit well with the laugh-out-loud storyline, an emu being equal to man in a queue at the bus stop, for example. The text is fun also, with simple rhyming couplets ( Some times the rhyme itself is a little over worked and tenuous, but again, this adds to the amusement!) The book looks and feels very Australian, with this loud swaggering humour and moments of irony, such as Edwina gettting a job as a chimney sweep and using her body to sweep the the whole chimney. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My daughter dislikes Rod Clements' use of starring, googly and bloodshot eyes, which do, I think, put young people off the book. The faces of shock in the book, just aren't the more </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">refined British interpretation of 'shocked face', they're too confrontational. The messages in the book are, however, hugely welcome, insighting a positive sense of womanhood, and promoting shared roles and duties as parents. I like that when Edwina returns to the nest, partner Edward is exhausted; a commment on the stresses of running a home for either gender. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, an uplifting read, embracing working women and equality in relationships.</span><br />
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-7147327059206031012017-06-30T22:54:00.002+01:002017-06-30T23:34:52.646+01:00Flotsam <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: David Wiesner</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Andersen Press, 2012, first published by Clarion Books, 2006</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't put this book down, and I keep putting off it's inevitable return to the library. It's made it to my 'books to buy' list, and thus to this blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A wordless book that tells a gripping story, this masterpiece of modern children's fiction, nay, art, is captivating. When an inquisitive boy finds a barnacle encrusted and battered old camera washed up on the beach, he runs to a 24 hour reprographics shop to develop the film inside the camera case. To his surprise the photographic film shows a whole underwater world, portrayed by Wiesner in these delightfully surreal watercolours that raised curious </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eyebrows with my children. The story then takes another inexplicable turn, as the developed photos reveal that the camera has been found many times before, bearing a photo in a photo in a photo. Now determined to add himself for posterity, the boy sets up his old fashioned selfie on the sand, with the waves crashing behind him, ready to reclaim the camera. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the story is beautiful, taking many exciting and unexpected twists and turns, the pictures that tell of this enchantment are simply enthralling. Deep, detailed, shadow rich, colour rich, sumptuous. My daughter literally tried to reach into the page to inspect the turtles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the sort of book that I normally pick up sceptically thinking 'all style and no substance' but with <i>Flotsam</i>, far from it, I was truly taken. The book says a huge amount, wordlessly. Much respect to David Weisner, I'll look out for more books by him. </span><br />
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-957797443170839422017-06-29T23:50:00.002+01:002017-06-29T23:56:23.654+01:00Love Monster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Rachel Bright</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can't help but smile as you read <i>Love Monster</i>; it has wit and charm in equal measure, and dips in and out of first, second and third person, addressing and positioning the audience in a way that feels quiet original and fun for this age children's lit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My daughter (3) certainly likes the directed sympathy for poor 'funny-looking' monster, with </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a monster' (hello, monster)</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> leading her to wave frantically at the page as the book opens. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book has a sardonic narrative, a monster (incidentally very cute looking itself in illustration, with teddy under his arm), finding it hard to fit in within a '<i>world of cute, fluffy things</i>.' Monster has had enough of being shunned so decides to<i> 'set out and find someone who'll love him, just the way he was.' </i>Unravelling then, as a classic British underdog story for preschoolers, monster endures a tough and fruitless journey on the search for this true love. Just as he gives up, as the well known narrative goes, when life has beaten him down so low, monster finds his love, '<i>just when he was least expecting.</i> ' </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book is funny on many levels, from the serendipitous twist in the storyline, to the inconsequential moments in the illustrations, pencil behind monster's ear, all very clever. The hyperbolic cartoon-like incidents, such as the rain cloud exacting over monster's head, monster's downcast eyes and list of crossed off preposition orientated places to search for love, 'high, low, middleish' etc, make this a real chuckling treat to read as a parent. Children seem to cope with the more abstract or knowledge dependent humour in the book quite well, so for example, my daughter understands that the monster mistakes a new person for a costume in shop, his shadow and his reflection in the water, quite readily. She's less au fair with the tongue-in-cheek names for places, such as 'Cutesville', and so some aspects of the book are going over her head (but there's no harm in this, they're just adult jokes, parent pleasers). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stylistically, funky typefont used, simple illustrations, big brassy backgrounds, even some filmic conventions, such as the close up of monster searching the letterbox in a classic body fragmentation shot...very funny for us film buffs. Simple storytelling voice and plenty of colloquial, so for example, '<i>having lost all his umpf', </i>which makes the book very endearing and pleasurable, amusing to read. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, a lovely, fun, uplifting book for bedtime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-68674481147050583212017-06-23T00:20:00.003+01:002017-06-23T00:27:00.932+01:00Badger's Parting Gifts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Susan Varley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Collins Picture Lions, HarperCollins, 1984,edition featured 1992</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This children's picturebook is a gentle, honest book about death, and coming to terms with grief. There's a sensible narrative about an old badger, quietly preparing himself for parting by readying a letter to his friends. Badger is presented as happy, ready and willing to pass away, watching his friends Frog and Mole run spiritly down a hill, while he feels old and tired. Full of appropriate simple adjectives about aging, the book steers away from gloominess, though at the same time is open about the grief that those left behind then feel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The death 'scene' itself describes badger 'falling out his body' and running down a long tunnel, which, while somewhat cliched, is a useful, comprehendable anology for young children. One of Badger's friends, Mole, takes the news of Badger's death, harder than the others. Winter then sets in, passing into spring, which is a nice way of indicating to children that an amount of time suspended in this sadness has passed. The creatures then individually have memories of Badger teaching them to do things, so Mole remembers Badger teaching him how to make a paper chain, Frog remembers Badger teaching him to ice skate for example. These memories and teachings are of course, 'Badger's parting gifts', and the book ends with Mole on a warm spring day, on the hillside, looking up at the sky and thanking Badger for these gifts ( and we're reassured that Badger can hear him).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sensitive and warm then, the narrative is reassuring rather than worrying and dwelling. Yes, there are slightly sugary moments of cliche, tunnels, clouds, seasonal change and t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he illustrations are soft and floaty, ink and water colour, not necessarily memorable. B</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ut all in all quite a helpful book for illiciting thoughts on death, discussion about death with preschoolers and young children. </span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-43192425744672432372017-06-20T22:29:00.003+01:002017-06-20T22:48:40.554+01:00Hiro - Thomas and Friends<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Based on The Railway Series by the Rev.W.Awdry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrations: Robin Davies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Egmont, 2010</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm afraid I don't have the will power to write much; I've included this title on my 'celebration' of Children's Literature blog under duress! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I thought my days of having to read titles from this cheap and dull modernisation of The Thomas the Tank Engine series were over, but then tonight, George, my toddler, came bounding in with 'Thomas!' (the generic name for all engine related literature). What I can say in the series' favour though, each book is a guaranteed adult sleep inducer! These are the only books in British Literature that I am physically able to read, while mentally switching off. This state of 'reading auto pilot' has its benefits- its like having a nanny attend the children while you ( Internet ) shop- lovely! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another positive, from a scant supply here- this particular title , 'Hiro', is the very best of a very bad bunch. Hiro is a less precocious snotty engine than all the others, and brings a bit of the vulnerable and mystique to Thomasland (oh sorry, that's just the up-selling theme park, I mean The Isle of Sodor.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other notable points, for when your toddler inevitably navigates to these depressingly formulaic Egmont books, the written text is big and clear (so hard to conveniently 'loose your place' and skip once the child can read themselves). The illustrations are notable for the ridiculously sinister expressions, the picture of alarm on the faces of Annie and Clarabel get my toddler going every time, other than that, dull - cheapo computer graphics I think. I think the extensive 50 book series could always double up as a 'baby names' book box set if all else fails, as traditional PC mid 1990s names will surely make a come back again soon, surely?! My particular favourite crowd pleasers are Jack, Spencer and Harvey - surprise surprise, I don't recall the stories! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And as for Thomas himself, I'm so fed up with him gloating, and being all saccharine<span style="background-color: white;">. I wish he'd gone off on the wrong track, discovered Hiro and then got himself lost for all eternity in a siding. But turning back to Hiro, 'The Master of the Railway' as he's described over and over in this edition, how can such cultural stereotypes not be condoned? I doubt the Rev W Awdry would approve; I had the misfournate of reading the vintage editions of these...not enough stuffy pomp for his eyes I feel! Yawn, yawn. </span></span><br />
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-9339325645910657992017-06-11T23:27:00.001+01:002017-06-12T00:54:28.856+01:00The Queen's Nose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Dick King-Smith</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Jill Bennett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Puffin Books, 1983</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the most enjoyable chapter book I've read to my 5 and 7 year olds at bedtime so far. I read this to myself aged about ten, and recall moments of the BBC serialisation, but r</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eading <i>The Queen's Nose</i> back to my children confirmed to me that this book has a real charm. It's well-paced, with chapters roughly ten pages long and some gripping cliff -hangers. Most notable is when protagonist, Harmony Parker, is cycling at speed toward a junction and doesn't see the sign. Gripping! My children kept asking all day, what might happen next. We looked forward to reading every chapter, a great accolade with children so young. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story starts by introducing school girl Harmony, whom we quickly learn is creative, thoughtful, and at odds with her family. Harmony imagines all the people around her as </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">having animals personas, so her sister Melody, for example, is a self obsessed showy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Siamese cat, she sees her mother as a fussy pecking Pouter Pigeon and her father as a busy performing Sea Lion. This proved a great plot device, with the children both trying to fathom which animals their teachers might be. Dick King-Smith packs his work full of rich description, particularly with regard to personalities, so inadvertently much improving my children's' vocabulary and desire to observe the world, and people around them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the story, Harmony feels lonely, and yearns for a pet. She spends a lot of time alone, thinking, talking to her stuffed toys and the chickens in their coop in her garden. One day, bringing great excitement, her Uncle Ginger comes to stay ( she views him as a vivacious Grizzly Bear). Having built a mutual relationship, Ginger then has to return home, and on living Harmony, wraps her up a parting gift, a 50p piece that grants wishes once rubbed. So far, a sort of Alladin story, without the lantern. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The build up to receiving the magic coin is suspense filled, with Harmony having to complete a treasure hunt, and then work out how to use the coin, followed by more complex problem solving, that really carries the reader, such as how and when should Harmony spend her wishes. Harmony has seven wishes in total; although her wishes are continuously fulfilled, she learns many important lessons through making her decisions. She learns not to be rash, to prioritise those she loves, to be grateful for what she has, to see the good in people ( rather than all their negative qualities) and most importantly, she learns to keep dreaming, and believe and trust in others; fantastically humanistic messages in this hostile ideological age. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When reading this book my children were really able to empathethise with how main character, Harmony, felt, as her dreams and wishes were well pitched and resembled 'real' </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">children fairly universally. Harmony requests a pet rabbit, a bike, a watch and time off school. The adage 'be careful what you wish for' hungs in the air each time, as the wishes </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">backfire to different extents due to Harmony's misguided management of the situation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harmony tries hard though, and diverts disaster by thinking of others, leading to a happy ending and the interesting question as to whether these events would have transpired anyway. With new confidence now, Harmony decides to give the coin away, tossing up on Wimbledon Common for the next person to find. My sons, Alf and Bert, loved this ending, wanting to immediately go searching for the coin. The only problem I found with the book, related to this, was that the coin described has been out of general circulation for some years, so unless we go hunting around in antique fairs, I don't expect we'll stumble on the 'real' coin any time soon. Though this might be a good thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An inspiring, exciting read, ideal for reading to siblings as there were many talking points about the sibling relationship in the book discussed. I think we'll return to reading this again fondly in a few years, it was a big success. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As with The Demon Headmaster
<a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-demon-headmaster.html">The Demon Headmaster by Gillian Cross</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/what-fred-read-book-recommendations-for.html">The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy</a> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">this leaves me to call the BBC to #BringBackTheQueensNose!
</span><a href="https://youtu.be/5Chicdij_dU" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">https://youtu.be/5Chicdij_dU</a>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-79243341228205932382017-06-07T21:31:00.001+01:002017-06-07T22:35:56.467+01:00Whatever Wanda Wanted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Jude Wisdom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Gullane Children's Books, 2002</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What an exciting library find. Bold, brassy illustrations and a story that defied our expectations, a fantastic picturebook. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Edie (nearly 4) was drawn to this book on the library shelf based on the bright pink cover (sigh!). Yet another princess book I thought; it looked a bit like <i>The Little Princess: I Want my Potty </i>by Tony Ross, 1986, which is no bad thing, but seen it all before (the bratty princess narrative, doting parents, does something wrong, reforms, but is still a bit bratty at the end, because we wouldn't completely want them to reform...or would we?). Whatever Wanda Wanted looks to fit this model initially, and then a shift in the story happens when spoilt, obnoxious, precocious and rude Wanda demands a kite from an magically appearing shop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ignoring the warning of the salesman (who's sporting a 70s style tunic and gottee) Wanda takes the kite and is blown away to a desert island. This was quite an exciting extreme twist from the usual half-mistakes made by other bratty princess types (The Little Princess, Peppa Pig, Little Miss stories etc).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The abstract magical realism style illustrations should have really alerted me to the bizarre turn the book might take from the start, with the mix of crayon, pastel and collage producing this super garish and bold page set.The visuals in this book certainly look and feel very original, again, refreshing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">And so for the twist: Wanda lands on a desert island wailing and complaining about her lack of possessions, especially the lack of access to television. (we liked the dry humour here). So she has a cry, then stands up declaring 'I WILL SURVIVE.' Wanda's own ingenuity and self-drive mean she finds food, shelter and clothing, and she grows 'to love her new life.' (what a turn around: an anti materialism, pro-feminist message!) After making friends</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> with a convenient- plot- device- whale, she catching a ride on the whale's back to return home. On her arrival home her parents are delighted to see Wanda, but have had to sell all their belongings in order to pay for her search party. Wanda assures her parents that she'll be able to knock them up some new furniture, decreeing 'there's more to life than things!' And then to raise the strong independent woman rhetoric a little higher still, the closing page of the book sees Wanda giving lectures on survival skills and the 'the Beginning' positively reinforced</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As with <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/princess-smartypants.html">Princess Smartypants</a> and <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/the-worst-princess.html">The Worst Princess </a> I personally like this brand of post-feminist children's literature to counterbalance 'The Disney princess' (though having recently seen <i>Moana...</i> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S0gfg1Nm9GU" width="560"></iframe></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...I'm pleased that there seems to be a wider shift in the sand toward rolling out this representation of strong, independent women with more consistency, sincerity and scope anyway). </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Whatever Wanda Wanted</i> is a great, empowering pre-schooler read, also enjoyed by my KS1 aged son. Recommended target age then 3-6 years. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And just as an add on, another library find from last week, <i>The Princess and the Dragon</i> by Audrey Wood is also worth a look, again inverting the conventional gender stereotypes. A disruptive, misbehaving princess swaps place with a passive, effeminate dragon, and with the princess and the dragon maintaining the swap at the end, thumbs up for finding true happiness. </span></div>
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-73906920986488638252017-06-03T22:53:00.000+01:002017-06-05T12:47:10.861+01:00Me...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Emma Dodd</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Templar Publishing, 2010 as a free edition Bookstart book</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Templar Publishing books by Emma Dodd (in hardback) are the perfect books to give to new parents (titles include <i>You...</i>, <i>Sometimes...</i> and <i>When...</i>, and as above, Me...), and more importantly I think, as there's a real dearth in books for this market, they're perfect books for 'newly placed' adoptees (and as presents for new adoptive parents). Why? because these books espouse a rhetoric of unconditional love, a wholly important message for all young children, but adoptees especially, as feeling safe, secure and loved is a huge part of attachment building. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is particularly interesting about the messages in these books, are that the protagonists (generally a young animal, so for example, in <i>Me...</i>, it's a penguin chick) are not 'straightforward' . In <i>Me...</i> the baby penguin is feels very small and insignificant compared to his colony counterparts and the world around him; he says, '<i>the world is big, but I am small</i>, and several incantations of this beat out throughout the book. At the end of the story he feels reassured, '<i>I may be small, but I can see, the biggest thing to you is me</i>': </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In S<i>ometimes...</i>a baby elephant is exploring the world, and occasionally he finds himself pitching his behaviour incorrectly, so squirting water and scaring flamingos away for example. While his behaviour is 'sometimes' a challenge, the parent elephant is always there, and loves him in the face of everything and for all of his behaviours. There's an acceptance here that the young are learning, and learning means making mistakes, and that consequently, it's okay to make mistakes. These messages of commitment, acceptance, love and security are important offerings to all children, but again, to vulnerable children foremost, no matter what their age. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just as the latest Bookstart free book for children is launched (<i>Every Bunny Dance</i>) and entered our house via the library this week, I wanted to thank Bookstart especially for this previous title. <i>Me...</i>came out in 2010 and has been treasured in our house. <i>Me... </i>is a lovely, soothing bedtime read, very calming, quiet and sincere. These Emma Dodd books are prefect of young babies and toddlers, with the latter titles including texture on the pages, such as shiny silvery paper representing 'water' for the elephant to wallow in and spray. The illustrations are simple, with small colour palettes used and various artistry techniques (eg. What looks like sponging, crayon and collage to me (but I might be wrong), and these techniques give the illustrations depth and visual texture (particularly in setting the scene of this vast and frozen Antarctica in <i>Me...</i>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To conclude, perfectly themed, attractive looking books to buy for friends and family on the birth or adoption of children. Highly recommended. </span></div>
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I<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">f you like this book, you may also like: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/no-matter-what.html">No Matter What by Debi Gilori</a></span></div>
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-81473665781181250722017-05-29T22:57:00.005+01:002017-05-30T00:22:05.071+01:00Puddle Lane: The Magic Box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Written By: Shelia McCullagh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrated by Gavin Rowe</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Ladybird Books, 1985</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Weird books stay in children's imaginations, or so I'm concluding. Associations around feeling slightly afraid seem to impinge harder, more deliberately in the memory. I don't proclaim to know anything about the psychology behind this, 'fight or flight' related I'm tentatively guessing, but from my own experience, when I saw this book in the charity shop last year, I smiled, picked it up, flicked through the pages with trepidation, put it back - should I buy this? It freaked me out as a child...the Griffle, a vanishing green monster, the mice, they come to life, a magic box... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Puddle Lane</i> was a popular British pre-school reading scheme in second half of the 1980's, that accompanied a part- animated children's television series made by Yorkshire Television in Leeds for ITV. In the television programme the main character, the magician, who lived in the big house at the end of Puddle Lane (see picture above), was played by Monty Python actor and musician, Neil Innes. In the reading scheme, published by Ladybird (but incidentally not adopting the classic 52 page Ladybird standard), the magician comes and goes as a plot device, and is sometimes absent from the stories altogether. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now <i>Puddle Lane</i> seemed quite dated, and stiff in style, even back when I was using the scheme to learn to read in the 1980s. The dress sense, toys and townscape were all very Victorian, and certainly the children's expansive right to roam (and walk purposefully into an old man's garden when they know he's away) and talk to strangers and busy-bodies in the street, indeed sat very uneasily with me as a four year old, but I did remember this all, vividly, well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now thirty years later I'm sharing the same small, hardback books with my daughter, and she equally delights in them, holding her breath, worrying where the strange little stories might be going. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this particular title, <i>The Magic Box</i>, which was on stage 1 of the scheme (each stage had a different cover colour), the children fend off the unwanted advice of Mrs Pitter-Patter, neighbourhood nosey-parker, and head to the magician's garden to pick up a birthday present left by the magician for Sarah. When Sarah and Davy arrive they find a big box in the hollow of a tree with a message attached saying, 'Don't open the box. Push the red button.' Bizarre indeed! The children press the button, music plays from the box, and the children uncontrollably dance. The music box is of course magical, and casts a spell on anyone who hears the music to dance along. The children then try out the box on sleepy Mr Gotobed, and then who should return, but interfering Mrs Pitter-Patter. The box plays a further trick on Mrs Pitter Patter, singing a silly rhyme about her, and forcing her to dance despite as she tries to protest. The outcome is as implausible and fantastical as the rest of the story, but funny and unexpected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the past year I've managed to acquire a good collection of the Puddle Lane series from charity shops, exclusively of the titles I remember, such as <i>The Vanishing Monster</i>, and <i>The Wideawake Mice</i>, and my all time favourite,<i> Puddle Lane at Christmas. </i>My daughter, surprisingly I think, given that this is a generation being taught to read through phonics,loves to try to read (or more appropriately try to remember) the emboldened key words on the right hand page of the double page spread. The reading notes page in each <i>Puddle Lane </i>book seems archaic in some respects, instructing parents to read aloud first following with a finger, but the satisfaction my daughter gets from committing these short sentences to rote, surprises me more. She loves the pictures in the books, especially all the British mammals and birds, such as mice and owls, with their human characteristics. Edie also likes the characters, slightly wayward children, but always doing something kind, helping out animals in crisis, thinking about others. She's captivated by the eeriness, the weirdness of the stories, the fear, just as I was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all then, <i>Puddle Lane</i> is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, and well worth a revisit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if you like this, you might also like <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-tale-of-tooth-fairy.html">The Tale of the Tooth Fairy</a>, based on a shared eeriness and fear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might also remember the television series (I have only a vague recollection of this myself, though watched a lot of ITV children's programmes as a child!):</span></div>
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-53783812695892961952017-05-28T00:30:00.000+01:002017-05-28T00:38:57.101+01:00King Jack and the Dragon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Peter Bently</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Puffin Books, 2011</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a fun, spirit rousing book depicting the power of children's imaginations. My daughter (nearly 4) asked for this book in the week as 'the book about fighting dragons all day long and then thinking you'd like to fight them some more', which I thought was a pretty accurate description of the whole narrative. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here we have 'King Jack', his friends, and what seems to be his baby brother, playing out in a makeshift fort in the garden, made from 'a big cardboard box, an old sheet and somesticks, a couple of bin bags, a few broken bricks.' We love this, it's very playful, very </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">everyday, and to a child, very real, tangible. Helen Oxenbury does a lovely job with the illustrations, pen and ink in simple black and white, and then pen and watercolour, roughly one drawing per line. My children have enjoyed this book from about 2 years old onwards, and I think this is because of the high ration of picture to line, it's punchy, easy to read aloud, and leads in to the excitement straight away. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The little boy in the book, Jack, is leading his troops into battle, defending his castle from 'dragon attack'. The depiction of the dragons and beasts is very fantastical, echoing this theme of the story being a lift from Jack's </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">imagination. The 'creature' pictures certainly have lots of detail ( smoking nostrils, scales, dangly tongues), but might be slightly scary for very young children; they're reminiscent of those in Where The Wild Things are, and of course Oxenbury's own earlier, dream-like creatures in Edward Lear's <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/the-quangle-wangles-hat.html">The Quangle Wangle's Hat</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With his wooden sword and fists punching the air, the gung-ho adventure culminates in the beasts being chased away by the band of boys, but then there's a really nice, endearing twist in the story where the adults start intervening in the days activities, bringing the playtime to a close. Jack can't except that his lovely day outside is over, so sees that brave knight 'Sir Zak' has been taken away by a giant (his friend Zak appears to be collected by his dad), then Baby Caspar (his brother) is taken off to bed. Determined to stick it out, despite his growing fears as the garden gets dark, Jack holds fast in his box-fort, until he gets a fright of his own from a 'thing with four feet.' As the shadow lifts and his parents are revealed, reader and character share the same sense of relief. The story ends beautifully with Jack very much a 'boy' being carried in his dads shoulders, and the finale illustration of Jack happily asleep in bed with knight's sword still in hand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book paints this really comforting story of safe imaginative play, content days, childhood fun, friendship, brotherhood and days out in the garden. The soft greens in the book almost smell like summer, and Oxenbury's characteristic close knit hatching make the pictures feel intimate, deep in perspective, and warm and rich on the eyes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lovely enchanting story that sums up happy childhood and adventure play, all cleverly recalled by Bentley through a child's perspective. </span></div>
<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-72798285786198154842017-05-21T22:07:00.001+01:002017-05-21T23:31:15.273+01:00Share!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Anthea Simmons</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Georgie Birkett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd, 2010</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is my favourite picture book for preparing children for gaining a sibling. It's sweet, heartwarming and leaves me with a wry smile- everyone's happy, content siblings sharing all- what a dream!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the story is a real repetitive mantra; little girl (preschool looking) has a number of possessions she loves, including a teddy, book of animals, number puzzle and snugly blanket, for each item, '<i>baby wants it too</i>', and the reply on each page is, '<i>share</i>' says mummy, cue to turn the page, '<i>so I do</i>.' Following every incident of sharing, the baby messes up the item, have bent it, having chewed it, having '<i>soaked</i>' it '<i>right through</i>'. Expressions on the faces of the child and baby constantly change, with the baby upset, wanting the possession, becoming content or appeased when he has the item in his hands. The girl whereas, looks intent on keeping her possession or sceptical at handing it over, then annoyed with the baby's response to the item. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mantra then adjusts, with the little girl taking mummy's command to share literally, sharing her 'f<i>avourite treat for teatime</i>', jam waffle, with baby, who, oh dear, '<i>has no teeth to chew</i>.' The resulting sharing incident now, backfires each time on mum, with baby getting soggy after pouring milk from 'the cow mug' on himself, and paint chaos ensuing from sharing the easel. the big sister has an impish smile of her face in this section, with baby looking eager. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">The story then takes a final (cute) twist, with the siblings clearly enjoying sharing a bath, and their bedtime routine, and with baby now instigating the agreement to share. In the closing pages of the book the siblings are now 'laughing, laughing, laughing' together, and agree to share</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> their mummy. It's a very happy (sugary yes!) ending; my children love it and I like the sentiment and appreciate the subtle humour here. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've read this book so many times (being a family where a new sibling has arrived consecutively every two years) that the mantra is unbelievably well-ingrained, that the book has reached legendary status in our house and is now simply referred to as '<i>the share book</i>' and gets suggested by the children for a book at bedtime if we've had a day of troubles, '<i>oh, mum, Alf is being mean- I think we need to get the share book out!</i>' (like its a key reminder, a cure for all ills). '<i>Share says mummy!</i>' has become my stern warning, constant reply, sarcastic response to all manner of sibling squabbles, nearly always receiving the same humorous reply, the children echoing (rather begrudgingly, despairingly) the other side of the mantra, 'so I do!' I've bought this book for countless friends who have had second or third babies. It feels like a rite of passage; pregnant for a second time?...you need this book! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leading on from that, and being an adopter myself, there's nothing in here that wouldn't work for introducing adopted siblings to each other too. The 'baby' in the book is conveniently toddler-like rather than a babe in arms (echoing a likely scenario of modern day adoption regarding age of placement). The mum doesn't look suitably frazzled though, and seems to waltz in happily for a cuddle with her perfectly clean and sleepy children at the end- again this raises a dry smile with me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In all then, illustrations bright, bold, simple, clear and tell a full story in themselves; lovely lyrical text, with plenty of exclamatory vex- so very tongue in cheek. A really great book for helping to prepare a child for an impending sibling arrival, or thereafter for simply encouraging sharing, and seeing the positive outcomes of a sharing sibling union. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you like this book, you're also likely to enjoy: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/when-i-first-met-you-blue-kangaroo.html">When I First Met You Blue Kangaroo</a></span></div>
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-56094809434475023022017-05-15T20:54:00.001+01:002017-05-15T23:46:49.388+01:00George and The Dragon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">George and The Dragon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Chris Wormell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Red Fox, Random House Children's Books, 2003</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a picture book that stylistically throws testimony to the adage 'less is more'. Generous double page spreads throughout, very little written text, illustrations cast in a simple reddish, brown, purple hue; it feels unusual, it's preserve, endearing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's high time I took this book back to the library, but the children are stuck between the binary of frightened and enchanted by this one, so it's remained a stalwart of the bedtime read this week. Fans of fantasy will love this for their children; the rich red illustrations of the immense elongated hulk of the 'mighty' fire breathing dragon remind me of David Day's illustrations of Tolkien's bestiary. With two thirds of the spread devoted on each page to the picture (always in landscape profile), the story takes a comfortable slow, pace feeling nicely controlled. What's also nice about the illustrations is the room dedicated to 'scenery', so the epic mountainous skyline on one spread, the craggy rocks and backdrop of the cave in another. This sets the scene so nicely, and also supports the message of the narrative, in that everything is relative in size- 'small can be big'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">In terms of the plot, we meet a terrifying dragon who can 'fly higher than clouds and faster than birds'. He's shown battling an army of knights, burning down a </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">village and carrying off a princess. The depiction of the dragon's thin, worm-like body, smoking nostrils and huge claws really contrast the contemporary (tame) rotund bodies of modern children's dragon illustrations (such as </span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Zog</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">The Trouble with Dragons </i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by Debi Gilori). There's something truly original and in so, frightening about this dragon. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story is initially set up as dark and scary, with the dragon appearing unbeatable and huge against the mini-scale hopeless figures of the knights (whom he could 'brush away' 'with 'a sweep of his monstrous wing'), and the protesting captured princess. the text then alludes to the dragon harbouring a secret fear, his Achilles heel, which humorously turns out to be a fear of mice. The way this plot turn is introduced, in terms of children's literature, is interesting, very dry in humour here, with the cave entrance littered in a macabre way with skulls and bones and then a mouse, turned away, reading a property sign reading ' sold' at the mouth of the neighbouring cave. At this point the written text doesn't quite flow as well, introducing the idea that George the mouse seeks sugar for his cup of tea (how British. or should that be 'English' given the context- George and the Dragon'). </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At this bizarre turn the narrative unfolds and ends speedily; the dragon, petrified, now flees, and the mouse, a hero, is treated to a feast by the princess. The story then closes with the mouse in residence in a 'cosy little hole in the castle wall' underneath a 'beware of the mouse' warning sign; the dragon, alarmed, cowers behind a mountain. In few words and vast illustrations then, Wormell easily conveys the message not to judge or anticipate on appearance alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a really delightful, moral, and learned children's picture book then. It's a masterclass in captivating a very young audience; this book being well received by ages 1, 3, 5 and 7 in my house. </span></div>
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-26665365884405340682017-05-10T23:25:00.000+01:002017-05-13T00:14:40.579+01:00First Greek Myths - Jason and The Golden Fleece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: Saviour Pirotta</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Jan Lewis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Orchard Books, Hachette Children's Books, 2009</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been excited about reviewing this book for a while, or more so, Pirotta's First Greek Myth series from Orchard Books. These books were the first books Alf (3 years old at the time, but 7 now) requested we borrow again from the library (music to my ears). These were also the first books I found Alf trying to read himself, unprovoked (again, a really special moment for a mum bookblogger). As part of the <i>Orchard Colour Crunchies</i> series these books are intended as 'early readers' but personally I think they need a shout-out as possibly <i>the</i> best books for emerging g independent readers, they're exciting, the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">perfect </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">length, great illustrations (fascinating, maybe a tad scary, but that's part of the appeal), and full of the essence of adventure: fights, swords, monsters to defeat, voyages, magic, wishes made, promises broken. I'm a fan, and testimony to the longevity of this series, when I left the featured title on the sofa last night, ready to review, Alf picked it up and said, 'ah great! I love these books! Can you read this to me now?' (Recommended reading from 3 years to 7, and upwards and counting then!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Interestingly, and as a nod to promoting more female leads in children's literature I like to think, in <i>Jason and The Golden Fleece</i>, Pirotta frames the main character not as Jason but Princess Medea, who is introduced first, and whom gets the final exposition on the closing page of the book. This is refreshing, especially as a rewrite of the male-hero binary that normally dominates adaptations of the Greek Myths. Medea is even portrayed as superhero-like with the text declaring, 'At last the powerful princess was free' supported by a picture of Medea looking majestic, with hands held aloft. My three year old daughter approves, and like her brothers, requests this title specifically. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's worth saying that each book in the <i>First Myths</i> series starts with a 'cast list' displaying two of the key characters in the book, and how to pronounce their names phonetically. Again this is useful for emergent readers, and for reading adults alike as some of the Greek names are impossible sounding in appearance to say on first reading. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the story of <i>Jason and The Golden Fleece</i> is so well known I won't linger on the narrative, only to say that in this version, unlike other children's versions of this myth I've read, Medea is instrumental in every aspect of Jason winning the Golden Fleece (how postfeminist!)Though this empowered portrayal of women doesn't always transcend in this series: in <i>Theseus and The Man-Eating Monster, for example, </i>poor Ariadne is tricked and left on a desert island by Theseus (in other versions she returns on the boat with Theseus (and reminds him to put the white sail up, which prevents Theseus's father from killing himself). Personally, while it's great to see a positive, strong female characterisation in Medea, I also like the darker interpretation of the Myths. The Greek Myths themselves should be essential reading for any child, they're captivating, and the cornerstone of modern narrative conventions (or so I've read before). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Beyond being perfectly concise and full of well chosen 'early reader' appropriate vocabulary, I also like these books for the illustrations, particularly the many head shots with expressions told in the eyes. My eldest son really dislikes drawing, but the cartoon-like nature of the humans in this book inspired his attempt at a potrait based on one of the head shots. The illustrations are simplistic, bright and effective, with the layout of each page uncluttered, and so consecutive reading passages are easily signpost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In all then, these are exhilarating short reads. I'm so grateful to my local library for stocking these and in so doing, introducing me and my children to this fantastic series. I think they'd be perfect for supplementing reading in school libraries for KS1. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you like the representation of strong female leads in children's literature mentioned here, you might also like: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/princess-smartypants.html">Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Here are all the titles in the series (I bought them all as I had to stop borrowing them again and again from the library):
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And thanks to starting out on these really simple condensed versions of the Greek Myths, Alf (7) now loves the 1963 Ray HarryHausen Columbia Pictures production of 'Jason and The Argonauts'. This film is a great way to support the reading, and vice versa.
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Watch exerts from the film here: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057197/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt">Jason and the Argonauts (1963)</a>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-89412637929061621832017-05-08T00:10:00.000+01:002017-05-21T23:54:57.845+01:00No Matter What<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Debi Gliori</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: First published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 1999, featured board book edition, 2005</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>No Matter What </i>is the perfect reassuring read after a big blow out tantrum. It's a simple story; Small, an angry fox cub, is upset (bucket over the head, sat in a room in which the furniture is lopsided, in which Small took part in '<i>break and snap and bash and batter</i>'. Small's parent / carer, Large, intervenes saying '<i>good grief, what is the matter?</i>' Note that both Small and Large are non gender specified, so this isn't a 'mother and son' as sometimes billed in reviews, but might equally apply to dad and daughter, grandson and grandparent, foster carer and child, so applicable and useful to many contexts here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the story unfolds, Small worries that nobody loves him/ her as she's/ he's '<i>grim and grumpy</i>' and Large reassures him/ her persistently '<i>grumpy or not, I'll always love you no matter what</i>.' Small then suggests a series of scenarios in which he / she might not be loved anymore, so for example, '<i>turning into a bug</i>' and Large's reaction is always unfathomably a declaration of unconditional love and an act of physical love, so for example, she / he says '<i>I'll hug you close and tight, and tuck you up in bed each night</i>.' As this dialogue of worry and doubt met by love and reassure goes on, the illustrations show Large calmly readying Small for bed, and fixing all the fall-out from the earlier tantrum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is then, an truly ideal book for building attachment and trust with a child. It is a very useful, appropriate book to give adopters, and in turn for adopters and foster careers to read anxious children in early placement. As an adopter and birth parent myself, I use the book with all my children at times when they're showing signs of needing some reassurance, at times when they've had tantrums, broken something, upset the status quo in some way, to hammer home the message that these things happen, and unconditional love stands. For traumatised children, vulnerable children, of which adoptees often are, this book has such an important message, and says it clearly, repeatively, and frankly. At one point Small questions whether love can be broken and bent, and '<i>can you fix it, stick it, does it mend?</i>' Large replies with honesty, '<i>oh help, I'm not that clever, I just know I'll love you forever</i>.' Again, such sincerity, admitting to not knowing as the 'responsible adult' makes much sense in terms of approaching the past experiences of looked-after-children. A board book this may be, and I'm obviously approaching this book from a certain perspective, but <i>No Matter What </i>packs a huge punch; it fills a big void in preschool literature that speaks to and speaks out for looked after children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In terms of age range, there's a nice rhyme, a little clumsy in parts maybe, but being short, bright picture filled, it increasingly holds my toddler's attention. In terms of the message, I'm still reading this after a wobble and need of a hug with my seven year old, so <i>No Matter What </i>has a big span. This is a really delightful book that opens emotional dialogue like none other. Highly recommended! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you like books that promote discussion, you might also like: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/harry-and-snow-king.html">Harry and The Snow King</a></span></div>
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-31534407355425936942017-05-07T23:26:00.001+01:002017-05-08T00:38:13.517+01:00Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Long Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk about an exercise in 'how to bond with your boys': I'd just finished reading <i>The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe </i>as a bedtime read with Alf (7) and Bert (5) and was looking for a 'filler' before starting another heavy novel. Alf suggested <i>The Long Haul; </i>he's read </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">most of </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Wimpy</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Kid</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> series, is obsessed with watching </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Wimpy</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Kid</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> films and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">emulates the older brother in the series, Rodderick<i> (</i>not the greatest literary role model, but I see the appeal in wanting to be the cool older brother). The boys' eyes lit up when I agreed, and in hindsight, I think it's been really beneficial to model fluent reading of these books, as while Alf is a good reader for his age, these books, in my opinion move fast, have a lot of contemporary references and words, so require very competent level of indendent reading </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to read well, to follow well. Moreover, letting my son lead this, letting him share one of his favourite authors with me, made for great role reversal, and was illuminating- so this is what he finds funny, best of all, I found it hilarious, so funny, laugh -out- loud funny, that the boys grew quite fed up of me repeating extracts to my husband the following day or pausing for breath in between giggles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To be precise, the first part of <i>The Long Haul</i> is laugh-out-loud, it flags a bit once the family, who are taking a road trip as a part of mum's aspiration for family, and are repeatedly interacting with another family (I lost the gist a bit here, it turns quite slapstick). As a writer, Jeff Kinney reminds me of Matt Groening of Simpson's fame, offering the right mix of joke aimed at young boys (plenty of toilet humour, jokes about hairy bodies, junk food, mishaps) and jokes aimed at parent introspection (the mum sees life in 'learning opportunities' for her boys, playing them a Spainish language CD in the car, the dad, seeking to reclaim personal joy beyond 'the family' buys himself a boat and pays the humourous consequences). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Written through the eyes of 'Wimpy Kid' Greg Heffley,this character's self reflections are drole, astute and full of contemporary social references (the books are undoubtedly written in American English, so occasionally takes a bit of explaining, e.g. 'Car lot' as 'car park) . There's a self deprecating storyline, in that Jeff is weedy and actively avoids trouble, while his older brother Rodderick is cock-sure and arrogant, and his younger brother, a toddler, Manny, is mollycoddled and intent. The road trip is chaotic and full of funny despairing moments when things go wrong, such as winning a pig at the farm show, the motel not having adequate sleeping arrangements, the 'hot tub' being taken by one whole family, and all the the while Greg is the one most effected by the mishap. For my boys, there seemed to be a real identification with Greg, 'the put upon' child despairing of the well intentioned efforts of his parents. As a parent, I certainly identified with the mum character, reading </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Family Frolic' magazine to better inform herself on good parenting practice. <i>The Long Haul</i> then, insightful hyperbole on modern family life (albeit American, and a quick, comic like, fun read to share between generations.</span><br />
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-35422232212894722032017-05-02T23:54:00.005+01:002017-05-21T23:48:11.126+01:00Snow-White and Rose-Red<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ladybird Well-Loved Tales: Snow-White and Rose-Red</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Retold by Vera Southgate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With illustrations by Eric Winter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Ladybird Books Ltd, 1969</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I loved this book as a child. The illustrations stayed in my memory; fond memories, though I think the pictures have lodged there due to the combination of bizarre, haunting, and quite frightening images. I was given a copy of this 1969 Ladybird classic by a fellow vintage Ladybird fan, and debated whether to share it with the children. On reading it to the boys a year ago ( then 4 and 6), they disliked the story, finding it too long ( the book has that damp, musty hue of 'vintage old' which didn't help the bedtime reading experience). On reading it to my daughter last week, nearly 4, she was captivated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story opens setting the scene on these angelic, well behaved sisters, Snow White and Rose Red, who live with their mother in a cottage in the wood. A rose bush in white and red grow outside. The children spend their days helping their mother ( by arranging flowers in her room) and romping about in the forest. Although the forest is dangerous, the creatures of the forest never hurt the children ( </span>seemingly because they're so good and have a guardian angel protecting them). The children even wake one day to find they've been sleeping by the edge of a cliff, but it's okay, as they're angel looked over them. Bizarre? Truly. And so far removed from any story she's ever heard or been exposed to both, my daughter was fascinated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book continues on the classic 50 page Ladybird easy reading format; roughly three short paragraphs per page, and this Ladybird decidedly less pompous and 'wordy' than others in the series. About a fifth of the way into the story, the girls are visited at home by a great brown bear. The mother of the girls instructs her children not to be afraid (biblical angel like), and they rub snow from his fur. The bear and the children become friends, and the bear visits the children every night until spring. Strange so far, but endearing- and then the book takes an even stranger turn. The girls meet an angry dwarf in the forest, with his long white beard trapped in a log. The illustration of this grotesque, angered dwarf is quite scary, it's not like the sanitised Disney of today, more like the surreal age Disney, but a notch up from that. The light pastel pallet of 1960s Ladybird is quite insipid. The dwarf, with no way to escape, is eventually set free by one of the girls snipping his beard off with her convenient pair of scissors, which happen to be on her person. The dwarf is horrified rather than grateful, grabs a nearby bag of gold and scampers away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The girls then meet the dwarf twice more, once with his beard tangled in a fishing line, so again they release him by cutting his beard (he's angry and runs off witch a bag of pearls), and finally, they see the dwarf being carried away by a giant bird (a roc?) . The girls pull on the feet of the dwarf to help release him, but again, after he's free he's angered to have been 'manhandled) .No words of thanks. On seeing the dwarf for a final time, the girls stop to admire his spread-out jewels. Just as the dwarf is about to have an almighty tantrum, in bounds the bear, who kills the dwarf. The bear sheds his fur coat and is of course, a prince, trapped under the dwarf's evil spell. With the spell now broken as the dwarf lies dead, the prince brings his friends, Snow-White and Rose-Red home, surprisingly their delighted mother. And to add to all that enchantment, the prince has a brother for the Rose Red to marry! How very convenient! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes this book is a bit menacing, if read that way, and yes it's dated, smelly, makes no sense, pushes at the boundaries of 'fairy tale' and farce ( unintentionally), but it's so memorable, so enthralling, so bizarre. Edie has requested this every day this week,
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you like this book, you might also like another Vintage Ladybird: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-sly-fox-and-little-red-hen.html">The Sly Fox and The Little Red Hen</a></span></div>
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-38687183642329303622017-05-01T22:23:00.000+01:002017-05-09T19:05:20.822+01:00Mog and The Baby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mog and The Baby</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author and Illustrator: Judith Kerr</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: First published by William Collins Sons & Co in 1980, edition featured published by HarperCollins Children's Books, 2005</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By far my favourite Judith Kerr book, and a twist on the 'Mog's mishaps' narrative, in that this time, it's not Mog but a human baby causing all the misadventure. The book starts quietly, with Nicky (the Thomas family's youngest) off school with a cold playing contently with family pet, the tabby cat, Mog. The day is then interrupted with the arrival of Mrs Clutterbuck and her red, screaming baby whom mum of the household, Mrs Thomas, has agreed to look after while Mrs Clutterbuck goes shopping. The excuse as to why the baby is left with the Thomas family certainly didn't wash with Bert (5), who suggested that the baby might fall asleep in the trolley; neighbourly common practice in the 1980s when the book was first written, clearly not such an occurrence in our house today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now for the real humour, and certainly a more upbeat, cheeky contribution to the, at times, very dark, Mog series: Mrs Clutterbuck's baby takes a real shine to Mog, Mog is much less keen on the baby. There's some fantastic illustrations in the book of the toddling, grabby-handed baby pounding their way toward Mog; Mog's reactions are comedic, big eyes, narrow eyes, disdain- very funny. The whole book in fact, tells the story exceptionally well, in just the illustrations, so an ideal story for very young children (2+ years). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As is convention in the Mog series, Judith Kerr uses repetition, short stanza and echo-back here, stressing a piece of dialogue or more commonly one of Mog's (usually quite misguided) ideas (for example, the famous line, 'Mog had a dream. It was a lovely dream. It was a dream about babies.' In this book, echo back is used to stress sections of dialogue, with Mrs Clutterback asking, 'Will my baby be alright with your cat?' and Mrs Thomas constantly reassuring everyone 'oh yes, Mog loves babies.' The joke, of course, is that the reader sees the illustration of Mog looking grumpy and certainly not like she 'loves babies.' This is clearly unrequited love on the part of the baby. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The humour continues as the baby insists on interaction with Mog. From having a big chubby arm round Mog, we then see the baby and Mog out and about, in prams - Mog in a bonnet, the baby looking-on eagerly, lovingly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> As per the other Mog Collection books, things go from bad to worse for Mog, with the baby eating Mog's food (and we know from previous books, food gets Mog where it hurts!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then chaos really ensues when the baby starts to cry. Cue another repetitious phrase in the book, with the baby saying 'Psss, Psss, Psss' in order to demand the attention of Mog, and this is followed by the usual dream-kittens sequence, so iconic of the series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What happens next can be initially quite frightening for children; Mog has had enough and escapes away from the baby out of a window, the baby follows. Taken as a warning that appropriates road safety, this is a highly dramatic, suspense filled moment in the book, that my children love. The Thomas' car hurtling toward baby and Mog (who, like in <i>Mog the Forgetful Cat</i>, gets frightened of a neighbouring dog and so runs, but just as with that book, ends up being the real hero, having this time pushed the baby away). What a fantastically satisfying hero-and-reward ending (just like the original). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With all the similarities and repetitious lines of the first books in the series, this edition still really holds its own, with these lovely meaningful expressions on Mog's face, an 'in' joke with the audience and a treat for fans and those new to the books alike. This book is so simple, and yet such a delight to read-aloud. Mrs Clutterbuck, to me, is read in a loud, bossy Miranda Hart style way, becoming hysterical. Mrs Thomas is an exasperated voice, but putting on a brave face. Nicky, as in all the Mog stories, is siding with Mog, and grumbling on her behalf: '<i>Look what it's done</i>.' There's less retell of Mog's thoughts in this one, but instead the expressions say much more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In all then, a really funny contribution to the classic Mog series, and with really hard-hitting newer contributions to the series, such as '<i>Goodnight Mog</i>' (spoiler alert* Mog dies!), this book makes a welcome balance to the collection, offering such light, amusing relief. Mog at her best!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you like this book, you might also like: <a href="https://whatfredread.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/this-is-bear.html">This Is The Bear by by Sarah Hayes and Helen Craig</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, my children absolutely loved this video at Christmas, a familiar and lovable feline hero getting into lots of extreme festive mishaps: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU">Sainsbury’s OFFICIAL Christmas Advert 2015 – Mog’s Christmas Calamity</a> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kuRn2S7iPNU" width="560"></iframe> Enjoy!</span></div>
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Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-64377155111864448132017-04-13T23:50:00.000+01:002017-04-13T23:56:30.349+01:00Gangsta Grandma- Guest Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Gangsta Grandma</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author: David Walliams</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Tony Ross</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2011</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Guest Post tonight! Here's a review from my eldest son Alf ( age 7) who finished reading this book today...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064863450985545997.post-20968811686982173322017-04-11T23:21:00.004+01:002017-04-12T01:09:49.407+01:00Rose Blanche<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Rose Blanche</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Text by Ian McEwan (based on a story by Christophe Gallaz)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Illustrator:Roberto Innocenti</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Publisher: First published by Jonathan Cape, 1985, edition featured Red Fox Books (Random House) 2004</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodness me, this packs a mighty punch. I read this for the first time tonight, borrowed from our local library. I normally find books that I can read aloud to a few of my children at once, but I read this tonight with just Alf (age 7). It was a tender read. He asked lots of questions about this book, a book which depicts a German child's experience of World War II. It really was hard not to well up when he said, 'Rose Blanche looks the same age as me is she?' In bringing the horrors of the Holocaust to such a young audience, the author and illustrator have been very brave here, and have as such, offered a remarkable and valuable piece of Holocaust education. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">The sepia grain of Roberto Innocenti's illustrations are haunting, and h</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is work in this book resonates that of political mural artists,
such as Diego Rivera, with emotions etched on the faces of the victors and the
victims alike. With shallow eyes and the shadow on faces of those exhausted,
desperate and afraid, my son really studied the page as we read. Alf responded to the realism
in the illustrations particularly, associating Rose Blanche with a girl in his class at
school. Both age and appearance of the protagonist allowed my seven year old to
relate to the story, making this book very significant in terms of its
contribution to the wider body of Holocaust literature, again being aimed at and indeed about, such
young children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The heart wrenching subject matter of the Holocaust is introduced
sensitively, through the eyes of the bystander child Rose Blanche. The book is written from an observational perspective, in third person narration, but more so, in that the central character, Rose, is managing to carry on with her life relatively untouched by what is happening around her, until she witnesses children in her town being mysteriously taken away against their will. 'Innocence' and especially the innocence of children, is a prevalent theme here, and contrasts nicely against the fat, vulgar, cowardly mayor character. As the story unfolds, Rose's curiosity, sympathy and compassion, lead her to follow the lorry that 'pale faces in the gloom' are packed in to.The child victims in the concentration camp are at first, poignantly portrayed in long shot, as 'motionless' as their description. Their faces are obscured by the wire, which led Alf to ask questions about why these children were inside, and Rose was on the outside, then why the children were not fed, and why Rose brought them food. Alf was also able to pick up on a lot of the danger and fear faced by the children in the camp and Rose herself, as Ian McEwan uses a subtle, age appropriate signifies, such as 'winter', 'chilly', 'silent', 'sad', 'hungry' keeping the language of the book comprehensible to young children (6 and upwards I would suggest). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The conclusion of the book is incredibly sad, with Rose Blanche being shot as she makes her way to feed the children in the camp, her friends. Symbolism of hope rather than death is offered at the end of the book, with spring emerging from the battlefield wastelands; 'spring has triumphed' closes the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book makes such a compelling and important contribution to foundation years children's literature. It's a hard hitting read, raising lots of questions, on a subject that, as Alf and I agreed tonight, must always be remembered. </span></div>
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<br />Fred Readhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05051468295590045111noreply@blogger.com0