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Deakin Newsletter March-April 2009Reviews written by Dr. Andrea Deakin
Picture Books
Jo Ellen Bogart and Gillian Newland take an imaginative leap in presenting little children with the concept of big and small. A soaring horse head nebula and swirling galaxies are the big to which the sun is small. An enormous sun dominates a page attended by three planets including earth. Closer to a child's experience comes a big earth with a small mountain, a tall mountain with a small tree, a soaring tree with a small man and a big man with a small child. The comparison continues until a flea is compared with microscopic creatures and a question brings the whole round to the beginning, "What is bigger than the sky?". Here is a creation and its limitless expanse. And here is Earth as a part of it, and all things on Earth have their place in it – not only children, but fleas too! It is a bold imaginative presentation, with the text accompanied by images powerful and loving in their detail – from soaring space to a tiny kitten - a whole new way of presenting the comparison of sizes.
Siobhan's mother died when she was only three. She can remember her mother's jokes, feel her hands lifting her into a tree to pick a chestnut; but she cannot remember her mother's face. Her father was quiet and sad, kind to her, but he never spoke about her mother. One day Siobhan was sitting in the park when a beautiful woman came and talked to her. Siobhan pours out her grief, above all how she cannot remember her mother's face. The woman tells her gently to look in the mirror and then she will see what her mother looked like at that age. Comforted, Siobhan watches herself grow up until she has a little girl of her own and then, one day, looking in the mirror she sees the woman in the park, and she remembers the message she gave her for her father. "Put a feather in your knickers, Dad." Her father had grown pale, and then laughs, and so comes back to life. Roddy Doyle's story of dealing with loss is gently and sensitively told, poetic and yet down-to-earth. His heroine is a real child seeking the consolation of keeping some contact with her dead mother. The father is a sad figure, eventually brought to life by the memory of his wife's chiding humour. As beautifully pitched and considered are Freya Blackwood's illustrations. The child richly alive in her red-striped cardigan trying to comfort a grey-toned listless figure, the dotted kerchief that links mother and daughter, the picture of a little girl helping her mother cook, the mother so much taller that her head disappears, and the link between the child and the woman in the park – a dotted kerchief. All is beautifully observed and depicted.
Birds is not an identification book. It is an introduction to the idea of birds, the reality and the possibilities. A depiction of all the colours of birds is followed by the total blackness of some "so black that you can't see their eyes or their feathers, just their shapes". It expresses their swift movement when you see them, look away for an instant, and they are not there. Imagination enters now that the child is familiar with the bird. What if ... the birds made marks with their tail feathers in the sky, or if clouds were really birds? What is the impact of one little red bird on a barren winter tree? Kevin Henkes offers his young readers the image of birds and carries them into imagination – a fact of birds, poetry of birds. At the same time there are familiar figures of a robin, an owl, and a flamingo for parents to pounce upon. This is an engaging picture book appealing to reality and imagination. Kevin Henkes' text is brightly and sensitively illustrated by Laura Dronzek – a very attractive and thoughtful combination of text and illustration.
Hector is a retired wizard, living in a run-down house on the edge of the forest, accompanied only by his cat, Poison. He has shut himself off from everyone – not even the sun is let in through his shuttered windows. Then, abruptly, he is startled by a dreadful noise. A new neighbour has arrived across the street, and Hector's life will never be the same. This hilarious tale of Evil overcome by Good is energetically supported by witty imaginative illustrations by Marie Lafrance. Here is her wizard, dark and strange, his cat-like ears and stubby hair suggesting something other than human, his pet cat dark and menacing. A double-spread shows both of them marching from their gloomy surroundings on a path that, halfway, turns to the bright, flower-edged house of their new neighbour. Within are light, flowers, a white cat and a lady singing at a piano. With devilish haste Hector returns to a room lit only by the fire under a cauldron, and here he begins to make a poisonous cake to take to her, while his cat chases worms on the table and a tiny rat washes the floor. It is all delightfully over-much and beautifully played by author and illustrator. This is a wizard who feels seriously evil, but instead looks funny, inspiring humour. Of course the wizard is himself enchanted, although a couple of bat-winged cats on the back page suggest a compromise - although they have been wolfing down that evil cake…
Meet Edna, an observant little penguin who knows only the three colours that surround her: white like the snow, black as the night, and as she gazes out at the ocean, "Blue, blue, blue. Forever.” There has to be more than this, Edna thinks, and sets off to find it, missing the orange airplane in the sky behind her. With a lunch and a large fish under her wing, Edna sets off searching until she finds and embraces a large orange object. ORANGE! The page is an orange Edna, thrilling with her discovery. She hurries off to call the others and they return in time to greet the explorers in their neon orange suits. When the explorers leave they give Edna a bright orange glove. Next day, the glove perched on her head, Edna wonders what else there may be. Behind her a green ship edges in on the horizon. There are stories within stories here, the little penguins sliding, swimming and doing acrobatics in the snow. The big penguin, who obviously loves fishing, catches lunch for Edna to take with her and later hangs head down in one of the explorers' boxes, still looking for lunch. The orange glove that is stretched in a tug-of-war becomes a float for Edna or an inedible snack for the big penguin. Miniature stories told in text or lively illustration weave in and out of Edna's tale. The story line is simple and direct, but, enlarged by the subtle illustration, becomes a series of comic encounters. Be alert and aware, there is a great deal going on in this delightful tale.Picture Books for Older Children
This thoroughly engaging book is another way to introduce the instruments of the orchestra. This is a bland statement that gives no indication of the lively wit with which the story is told and illustrated in music and line. The composer is dead (an Eighteenth Century figure slumped over a table), and an Inspector is called in to find the murderer. One by one he questions the various sections of the orchestra, all of whom have answers as to where they were and what they were doing. Each section answers in turn, the Violas complaining that everyone forgets them, the Flutes calling the reed instruments sneaky, the Reeds complimenting the Inspector, the French Horns not understanding the question until, at last the Inspector is faced with accusing the conductor, "You've been murdering composers for years!" "Not so fast!" declares the whole orchestra for they have all butchered a composer here and there, but they have also kept them alive. Included with the book is a CD of the tale, with Nathaniel Hookey's music performed by the San Francisco Symphony in what is a witty, thoroughly enjoyable introduction, and vindication, of the orchestra. Fiction
Stoneheart began this trilogy, followed by Ironhand and now comes the completion with Silvertongue. There is an alternative London, existing beside the city, and inhabited by the many statues that exist there, and who now have life. They are separated into factions, the "spits" and the "taints". The "spits" are statues erected in the form of human beings; the "taints" depict imaginary beings. Damaging an image outside of the Museum of Natural History has drawn George into this world where he meets Edie, who is trapped in it. War has broken out, George has been rescued by the statue of a World War 1 Gunner, and gradually the spits come to their aid. In the third novel London is a snow-bound city, a great evil is gathering and the spits join forces. We have a formidable Queen Boadicea and her daughters, a Richard Coeur de Lion – a little put out by Boadicea, "Dictionary" Dr. Johnson accompanied by his cat Hodge, the Sphinxes with their loyalties split, a stout gentleman with a cigar who is known as Bulldog (Churchill) and a dragon who is surprisingly on the side of the Spits. The excitement is intense, the battle scenes tense and dramatic, and there are moments of sheer magical imagination such as the dragon making a Spitfire. Throughout, whatever the situation, however dark and impossible it seems, there is somehow always hope. Dictionary states"...the natural flight of the human mind is from hope to hope..." and it is this that fires courage. This is a powerful and dramatic end to an outstanding series of books, full of imagination and power and very highly recommended. Fiction - Young Adult
So many tales of faerie have been written and the tradition is so ancient that it takes a skilled author to breathe fresh life into them. Lesley Livingston has a Masters degree in English and she is a founding member of the Tempest Theatre Group. This training and experience give a reality to Wondrous Strange, a first novel, and first in a trilogy. Kelley, seventeen, has moved to New York after school to pursue her dream of being an actress. She lands a part as an understudy to Titania in a third rate theatre group and, when the lead actress breaks her ankle, Kelley is called upon to play Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Rehearsing her part in Central Park she meets Sonny. Unbeknownst to her, he is a warrior assigned by Auberon, the fairy king, to guard the Samhain gate. Every year the gate will open fully at Samhain. In the meantime it is constantly tested by the faerie folk who would enter the human world and raise a little havoc. Kelley encounters other characters from Faerie, and there is also the mysterious horse she rescues from the lake and which now resides, despite all efforts to move him, in the bathtub in her bathroom. As Kelley and Sonny's relationship develops – he trying to protect her, she resentful and ever ready to prove she is not helpless – Kelley is linked closer and closer to the faerie. What anchors the tale so successfully is the continuing strong base of the normal and familiar beneath the exotic faerie, the logic of the story's development. This is an accomplished, highly enjoyable novel. Fiction - Junior
Ben and Rachel are prepared for a long dull summer. The satellite dish has fallen and their uncle is too busy to fix it – so no television. Their Uncle Jerome is deep in his experiments, and it is raining. Soon, however, it stops – time to get out and explore where they had made a den the year before; but part of the tree has fallen and the den needs digging out. The digging led to discovery – a metal object that looked like a wheel or a round door. When they succeed in getting inside the object they release more than they expect. Freddy and Polly, in 1956, never minded helping their father with his experiments, even when it meant being put in cryonic suspension. After all it would only be for an hour or two. They certainly did not expect to be awakened in 2009. Ali Sparkes' story would make an enjoyable tale in itself, but what she handles so very well is the time and culture lapse. Words do not mean the same thing, food is different (remember rationing was only just ending in Britain in 1956), and the children are having trouble adapting. They are certainly not impressed with clothes or manners. They have been raised in a much more formal society. Great uncle and aunt, great nephew and niece, join together in trying to help Freddy and Polly blend into society while they also try to find out what has happened to their father during the Cold War period of the fifties. The mystery is satisfying, the tale well told, and the adjustments all must make to each other keep the tale truly interesting.
It is a said that the vessel, Margaret's Hope, lost in a terrible storm, has become a ghost ship which raids any pirate ship that crosses her path. It raids the ship on which Jem, newly arrived in the area, is being held as the prisoner of pirates. To his amazement Jem discovers that the ghostly crew is really a crew made up of children. The captain, Scarlet McCray, offers sanctuary and adventure to any youngster who wishes to join them. Jem joins, along with his secret, a map made up by his lost uncle that shows the location of a wonderful treasure, sought by all. The tale is about the search for that treasure. This is a well-spun story of child adventurers, evil pirates and swashbuckling adventure which often has its tongue in its cheek. It is a fast-moving story, peopled with vigorous characters, an engaging tale that should appeal to younger readers.
The fairy folk seem to be returning in force in recent fiction, and John Doherty has given us a romp of a folk tale that will capture the imagination of the younger reader. He has introduced some of the basic themes of faerie; enough to allow the reader some atmosphere and knowledge of the tensions of that world without making the telling ponderous. The heroine, Bansi O'Hara, has an Indian mother and an Irish father and she has arrived in Ireland to spend some time with Grandma O'Hara. Others are aware of her arrival, for Bansi is descended, on both sides, from the Morning Stars of Tír na nÓg, from Caer and Avalloc who had to flee from false accusations of having killed their father, leaving their world at danger from the Lord of the Dark Sidhe. Her return is a direct challenge to him, whether Bansi knows it or not. Grandma O'Hara has barely settled Bansi in when a wolf smashes through the window to seize her and we learn of the efficacy of iron against faerie kind. Two others have been watching. Pogo and Tam, beings of the faerie world, have been sent to find Bansi and protect her. The adventure becomes fast and furious, though the drama is lightened by the two determined human protectors, Grandma O'Hara, her friend Mrs. Mullarkey and a green Morris Minor Traveller driven with manic vigour by Mrs. Mullarkey. Deception is at work on the faerie side and the Dark Lord does his fiendish best to destroy the inheritor, the descendent of the Morning Star, but his efforts are complicated, not only by the good faerie influence and Bansi's personal courage, but also by the two devoted and courageous old ladies. Fast moving, exciting, often funny, John Doherty's story of myth, magic and danger, bounces along with wit and energy. It should certainly capture the imagination of young readers. Fiction - Reprints
These four titles, now re-issued in a bright attractive format, are reprints from Oxford's excellent myths and legends series. Barbara Ker Wilson's over thirty tales from Scotland include a group from the episode of the Fians. The Fians were a band of nine thousand warriors, The Host of the Fians, who were attached to both Eirinn and Alba (Ireland and Scotland). Many were their deeds, recorded in both cultures, and seven of their stories, are told in this collection. Amongst the over thirty tales are the better known Thomas the Rhymer, Tam Lin, and Morag and the Water Horse. Gywn Jones' collection of Welsh tales includes a series of stories about the British Arthur, and selections from "other branches of story", including tales of Pwyll, prince of Dyfed. There are over forty in all. Ita Daly explains that the oldest stories in her Tales from Ireland belong to the Mythological Cycle, copied by monks in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries and oral in origin. The stories deal with the Tuatha De Danaan who, when they were defeated, lived underground and became the “Aos Si” – the people of the Sidhe, or fairies. James Reeves' Stories from England contains very familiar folk tales: “Tattercoats”, “Tom Thumb”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Mollie Whupple” and “Dick Whittington”. The nineteen stories range from those of obvious ancient tradition to those, like Dick Whittington, of a recognized historical period. These stories are the basis of English folk and fairy tale tradition. The text is suitable for an intermediate age, a good reader of nine and up. Poetry
Jack Prelutsky's poems are stark; their humour lying in darkly-conceived worlds whose horror goes beyond dread until all that is left is laughter. This is certainly not a collection for young children, rather for those that enjoy the surreal grim situations far too horrible to be possible and therefore comic. The forests of Festor are full of beautiful deadly plants, illustrated with skull-like markings by Jimmy Pickering. There are the demon birds of Lonithor who never sing but soar above their planet with their "all-consuming goal". Sarbro will rapidly set your feet into the ground and turn you into a tree. Sarbro is one of the nine planets whose name is an anagram – Sarbro being arbors. Alas, the Strovilean explorers land on a planet that so horrifies them that they rapidly fly home. Yes, it is Earth. Prelutsky's collection of cautionary verses makes us smile at their “over-the-top" humour, but they also make us think – hard. Jimmy Pickering creates a series of manic colour and form, dominated by the portrait of the Beholder in the Silence, a robotic form keeping vigil over it all. Poetry - Reprints
Oxford has reissued Wildsmith's collection, first published in 1964, of over eighty of the best-loved rhymes. The bright blocks of colour used in buildings and clothing recall the sixties, and give children an early experience in design and composition while they enjoy the wit and vibrant colours of the illustrations. Jack Sprat's thin form is exaggerated by the diagonals of his robe, his wife's plumpness by the dots on her unbaked pastry-coloured dress that make her look a bit like a fruit pudding. The ship a-sailing is manned by hordes of striped-shirted mice, the captain a duck in an admiral's hat, telescope to his eye. A plump cow jumps over a very apprehensive moon, and a sleepy-eyed wise owl stands out from the dark foliage behind him in a bold juxtaposition of dark and light. All the favourites are here to be enjoyed in a colourful and witty setting. Non-Fiction
This book is an updated and newly illustrated edition of Diane Swanson's book first published in 2001. I mention it again because it is one of the best books I have seen that helps young people to separate science facts from science fiction. It is stimulating and inviting to read and Ms. Swanson uses humour to great effect in her persuasive plea to look at the facts and learn how to judge information given. For example, what is the basis of a graph? What is it measuring and how is it done. Quoting Robert Pollack, a biologist, a headline states "Science is essentially a structure for asking questions..." which also implies that the reader of reports must ask questions too, and Ms. Swanson offers a series of stepping stones, facts, theories, more research, conclusions, revised theories, more research, cross-checks, more facts, to indicate the thoroughness of enquiry. She emphasizes the need for skepticism and encourages the development of critical thinking so that young people learn how to assess given information. Help is given as each chapter ends with a checklist of key information. A "Where to Get Help" section lists sources of further information. The book is generously illustrated with amusing, but telling, illustrations and its text is lively, to the point, and engaging. AwardsBlue Peter Awards 2009
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