Starbird by Sharon King-Chai. A mythical style tale which which starts of with the Moon King capturing the fabled and only ‘Starbird’ as a gift for his daughter. The Starbid’s signing delights and enchants, however a caged environment is no place for it and the daughter soon let’s the bird fly free. An enraged Moon King sets about to capture …
Monthly Archives: January 2020
The Ups and Downs of the Castle Mice by Michael Bond and Emily Sutton. The creator of Paddington has brought another heartwarming tale to us with this, the second in his Castle Mice stories. It’s a rather old fashioned set up in many ways. A family of mice all dressed up in victorian finery reside in a dolls house, which …
Journey by Arron Becker. This book that first came out in 2014 has gone onto claim many accolades and awards as well as spawn two sequel book ‘Quest’ and ‘Return’. Looking through it is quite an extraordinary experience as there are no words for a start, but then there doesn’t need to be any. The stunning illustrations carry the viewer …
The Moonlight Zoo by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Karl James Mountford. In many ways this a simple story of a girl, Eva, looking for her lost cat who finds a magical world under her bed, however it has been so beautifully realised that it is elevated above many other books I have seen. The illustrations are really lovely and draw from …
Imagine by John Lennon and Jean Jullien. This is an Amnesty International book that takes the lyrics from John Lennon’s classic song (you know them) and puts some simple illustrations to them to create this children’s picture book. The words of course are highly symbolic and conjure up ones own imagery. Here they have been paired up with a hero …
All you need is Love by Emma Chichester Clark. No not Lennon and McCartney but a dog named Plum who loves nothing better than to chase her best friends around in the park. Plum is not so sure however when other dogs want to join in and excludes them from the game. It’s a direct translation of playground goings on …
There’s a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom by James Sellick and Frann Preston-Gannon. This story has been given an extra lease of life as a children’s picture book, having first been created as a short animation for Greenpeace about the issue of palm oil production. It’s on YouTube if you want to see it. The book is the same story about …
How to be Famous by Michal Shalev. Given the title of this book, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I opened it up. It follows a rather self obsessed pigeon in a zoo who revels in having his photo taken next to all the animals. The story packed with irony of course and a stark warning to pretentious …
Cornelia and the Jungle Machine by Nora Brech. This is the debut picture book by the Norwegian and very talented author/illustrator. Cornelia is not settling into her new house as it’s rather old and gloomy, so her parents suggest she goes to explore outside. Moving into a new house is a familiar theme for a children’s book and there is …
Don’t Worry Little Crab by Chris Haughton. This is a nice parent and child story capturing the ‘little crab’s’ first tentative look at and venture into water. As you might expect some initial nervousness gives way to the joy after the initial plunge has been taken. Illustrated in the same style as the author’s other works, this appeals to the …