Frankie's Magic Football Series

Author: Frank Lampard / Lamps On Productions
Illustrations: Lamps On Productions
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014-

Whether these books are all completely penned by British footballer Frank Lampard himself, or underwritten by the copyrighted 'Lamps on Production' team is absolutely of no interest on concern to me. Whether Frank Lampard has one of the highest ever IQ scores recorded by Mensa (see his wiki- it's also somewhat of an urban legend when these books are mentioned in the playground), no concern to me. Whether we, as parents, have read the tabloid tattle on Frank Lampard or not, take all this out the equation; this series of books brought reading alive to my boys, and I'll be forever grateful.

At around 5 years old, both Alf ( now 7) and Bert (currently 5) hit a plateau with their interest in reading. The books coming home from school tried their best to engage ( and follow a reading scheme) but they were all so generic and about baking muffins or finding a grasshopper in the garden. Frankie's Magic Football series fills the void perfectly. They're fantasy / adventure stories about friendship, teamwork and football. Frankie, is a school boy who accidentally comes to own a magic ball in the first book of the series, a ball that transports him and his friends back in time or to a different country or place in each book. Consequently my boys would be asking me about Romans one day, space exploration another, and Australia another according to which of the now 18 books in the two series they would be reading. While the context of the action changes, the main four characters in the series are a constant feature of all the books ( Frankie, Charlie, Max the dog, and notably, a key female character, Louise (who is skilled at football, brave and clever- thumbs up on the positive female representation)). 

Physically the books have some, but not many, cartoon black and white images; big, clear 
font and double-line spaced pages; collectable game cards ( perforated) at the back of each book; short chapters and roughly 100-150 pages- all attractive prospects for early readers. In terms of the vocabulary, again this is very well pitched, short descriptions, occasional metaphors, nothing too academic but at the same time there's a good range of words, plenty of adjectives. 

My boys have both found these books are very addictive, and have really risen to the idea of reading through a series. When they started reading these books ( roughly aged 5 and a half) they haven't been able to read these word for word, but the books are composed well enough that if a child can follow the gist of the story, that's enough: the narrative is cleverly summarised every so often and characters remember things and have flashbacks, so children can regain the gist quite easily. Alf and Bert got a real sense of satisfaction from the intertextuality in the series, and delighted in also cross referencing moments in the books with each other.  

To five year olds, the fact a footballer is a writer, talking to them, writing for them, is something very special. It gives these books credence; they are cool and credible even before they've started reading. Getting children to feel positive about reading, and that reading is not just something they have to do at school, but something they can do for pleasure, is hard if the 'appeal' is not there. Frankie's Magic Football series 1 and 2 appeals hugely, so thank you so much Frank Lampard, you helped us overcome the reading glitch and taught my children how to love literature. 

The Quangle Wangle's Hat

Words by Edward Lear
Illustrations: Helen Oxenbury
Publisher: First Published by William Heinemann 1969. Featured edition Puffin Books, Picture Puffins Series, 1982.

Here's a treat from one children's literature fan to another, The Quangle Wangle's Hat by Edward Lear. 
Now I can't say my children share my passion for this book, though my daughter will choose this occasionally as she knows I like it, but on the whole, its bizarre and by that I mean more 'avant-garde' bizarre rather than bizarre funny: its delicious, a lovely read-aloud rhyme.

Written by Edward Lear, better known for composing The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, The Quangle Wangle has a similar dreamy lilting musicality. In this story the creature, a Quangle Wangle Quee (how lovely does that sound read aloud) lives alone in a tree. He wears a strange hat covered in ribbons, bells and buttons, and no one can see his face. One day some canaries stumble on the Quangle's tree, high on a hillside. The Quangle Wangle Quee welcomes them, and the canaries are soon followed by a whole band of creatures who keep the Quangle company forever more; a stork, duck, owl, snail, bumble-bee, frog, and then the excitement begins as the collection of creatures grow more elaborate, non-nonsensical and imaginary: the Fimble Fowl with corkscrew leg, Golden Grouse, the Pobble (with no toes), the small Olympian Bear, the Dong (with a luminous nose), and 'the Blue baboon, who played the flute, And the Orient Calf from the Land of Tute.'   

Accompanied by Helen Oxenbury's delicate, detail-rich illustrations this book is a joy on the eyes and ears. Its a very 'busy' story, character full, ending with dance and music as the creatures live in harmony all on the tree together. It's somewhat hallucinogenic feeling, with the now unfamilar dated pastel colour palette (on the 1980s print era), the multi-coloured made-up animals dancing on disc-like leaves, and as such I would avoid reading this book with the first strong coffee of the morning, as you'll need your composure. 

This version of The Quangle Wangle's Hat reminds me very much of my 2010 edition of Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak, originally written and illustrated in 1963), particularly the scene where the loud trumpeting creatures prance around merrymaking. I wouldn't be surprised if inspiration had been taken cross textually by both writers and illustrators involved in these two works at some point in time.  

In terms of themes, The Quangle Wangle's Hat is probably one of the most innocent and light-hearted of stories I have come across in Children's Literature so far (and thus differs hugely from the very dark, Where the Wild Things Are). The Quangle Wangle is about coming together, embracing individuality (and bizarre-ness), hoping for company and wanting to be accepted, and becoming part of things, or even being at the centre of that coming together. This is interesting, given that the Quangle is the ultimate in reclusive, he's 'different', a sort of tree hermit, covering his face (or having his face covered?). Another thought would be that the Quangle is also welcoming, and appears to have power or possession, or at least be a gate keeper to the big Crumpetty tree where all the creatures seek to live. Politically then, The Quangle might stand as a guardian of nature or some kind of religious or cult guru, a wise man or leader maybe. 

All in all, this book feels psychedelic and pushes hard at the unexpected; it is a convention- defying book (and in my experience children feel very uncomfortable (initially)with this lack of convention at least on the first few reads). While as an adult it feels uplifting and optimistic, the themes here go astray with children, and on reading this Edie complains, 'but where is the Pobble from?' 'what is a Fimble Fowl', searching for some logic. And of course, as not to disappoint, you end up filling in the blanks, 'well the Pobble had a big belly, short legs...', which is I expect, exactly what poet Edward Lear intended.   

The Worst Witch Series

The Worst Witch books ( I have a series of 4, but I believe altogether there are 6 titles)
Author and Illustrator: Jill Murphy (first published 1993, Puffin books)


So I've realised, from my posts so far, that I'm mainly concentrating on what my 1-5 year olds are enjoying. At weekends I'll try to offer recommendations for literature based on what my seven year old boy has been reading on his own, or what we're reading together. 

This week we're trying to get through the last book in The Worst Witch series, as the UK's main children's channel CBBC has an adaption of the series starting this week, and he's really keen to watch it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/the-worst-witch

I read these Jill Murphy books as a child, as did some of my friends, and we have many collective fond memories. Initially then,  it felt risky to want to share these books with 7 year old Alf, as if he didn't like them, I knew I would have felt miffed ( and possibly quite old!) Well for us, they haven't lost their charm, in fact I'm reading The Worst Witch books myself now with renewed applause, as I am amazed how easily they've crossed the 'gender gap'. I absolutely hate to say this, as a huge fan of modern children's literature, but I do find a very stark gendered division in my children's literary interests, but in this instance sport crazy boisterous  Alf is happy to read about witch school uniforms (and there's quite a lot of description about this in the books, from tights to hats, lots of black and grey checks!) 

What Alf seems to like, or maybe empathise with at this age, is the female protagonist, Mildred, feeling that she can't ever get anything perfectly 'right'. I think 7 is quite a volatile age for this, with a sudden awareness that there are inequalities in life an in the classroom. Another one of the themes in the series is friendship, particularly having loyalties, and again, I think this is a real concern or 'awakening' for some children at this age. 

So far, in our current read, The Worst Witch All At Sea, there's a good sense of loyalty as Mildred plots to save her Tabby cat from his new fate as a mouse catcher in the witch Academy kitchen. Meanwhile, we hold her other secret, a trip to the seaside looming- but she can't swim!   
Once again, this series really works in that the concerns of the witches echo the concerns, metaphorically at least, of real children. On a practical level, there are good illustrations every 2-3 pages, big sized print, in the editions I own ( Puffin, 2011 copies for The Book People Ltd), and short chapters, very much suitable for budding independent readers. 
Each story has a slightly different adventure, but there is usually a 'calamity scene' involving broomsticks flights, getting told off by scary teachers (the stern Miss Hardbroom), and Mildred in some way saving the day in haphazard and unwitting fashion. 

Rating: For the true nostalgia of enjoying these books myself as a child, I can't help by highly recommend! 

If you like this you may also like: The BFG written by Roald Dahl

Also, The Book People currently have a 7 book The Worst Witch series in stock for £6.99:
The Worst Witch Series to buy-BookPeople

Usborne Young Readers: Stories of Dragons

Author: Christopher Rawson
Publisher: Usborne 

I remember having a version of this book with these same cartoony illustrations by Stephen Cartwright, as a child.  The series is designed 'for readers who have just started reading alone' but these are really interesting stories to be read out aloud to children too. Chapter 3 is especially engaging as it seems to be based on the story of the Lambton Worm. We 
happened to be in the vicinity of Penshaw Monument in Sunderland today, so reread the children chapter three 'The Wicked Worm' and then completed The National Trust Lambton Worm Walk https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/penshaw-monument/trails/penshaw-monument-easy-walk-4-lambton-worm.
 The well where Tom ( the boy) throws the worm away, it then grows into a huge teeth bearing wicked worm which attacks the villagers, is known locally as 'Ella's Well'. The children enjoyed bringing the story to life following the trail and seeing the real well and spot where 'Tom' went fishing. 
The book also contains short stories about Stan, a man who outwits dragons with brains rather than brawn, and Victor, a man who falls into a dragon's den and persuades them not to eat him. 
The book is the perfect read for 4-6 year olds, at which point it's an easy read from them to be tackling on their own. These are stories that really stay in the memory and spark the imagination and can be supported with an active walk - brilliant!