story time books

I loved Amy & Louis, a picture book by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood, and this picture book has these two teamed again to great effect. Clancy has moved house.His mother lkoves her new house, his father thinks it “a very fine dwelling,” but Clancy thinks it’s too big. Feeling rather disconcerted, (and we’re shown that, not told it)  he goes outside and discovers the packing boxes. Soon he’s palying with them, and Millie from next door climbs over the fence to help. They build towers and trains, little pigs’ houses which they blow down, and then one they can’t, and when Millie says “It’s the best house,” Clancy responds with, “It’s a very fine dwelling,” and they go inside. Beautifully understated, lovely clouds, and a rare cooperation between writer and illustrator that means  things that are shown by the pictures aren’t repeated in the text. I love this one too.

A sumptuous visual and verbal feast, this hardback picture book by Wallace Edwards  is as much for adults as children. The first page gives a definition of idiom: “a group of words whose meaning cannot be understood from the meaning of the individual words; an expression, peculiar to a specific language, that cannot be translated literally.” The pages which follow illustrate this with amazing colourful animal portraits of literal translations of idioms we normally take for granted. The first shows Mr Katz ( a mouse), suspended by his tail from a button, sewing on a lower button, with the caption, ” The more Mr Katz sewed, the more he got the hang of it.”  There are further visual puns in each picture, and an artfully concealed cat also on each page.  For instance, one page has Sir William, a goat, showing Anita (an anteater) his new painting (of a guitar-playing ant) holding her tongue (literally) with the caption, “The sight of Sir William’s new painting made Anita hold her tongue.” There’s a huge amount to be discovered within each painting (apart from the hidden cat), with hours of pleasure here for an observant person, child or adult. A wonderful gift book, showcasing the artist’s talent and our terrifically tricky language. The last page, called “Letting the Cat out of the Bag” explains each idiom, so this would also be a great resource in the classroom for illustrating the concept.

Jane Smiley’s writing for adults has been much admired, with a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics’ Circle Award for A Thousand Acres, but this is, as far as I know, her first foray into writing for younger readers. With recommendations on the cover from Meg Rosoff: “Passion for horses shines out of every page,” and Hilary McKay: “Wonderful storytelling,” it was almost guaranteed to be a great read, but as I’ve mentioned before, books can evoke very different responses in different readers. In this case I’m happy to concur with their enthusiasm. There are lots of books which feel as if they are almost exploiting the love of horses that exists in many a young reader, but this has a lot more to it.  Abby has troubles at school, and her father, a horse-trading / farming born-again Christian who is very loving, but can be rather dogmatic, as her older brother has found. Danny now lives elsewhere. Abby loves the horse work on the farm, and is very good with horses, but there’s one gelding who won’t let her be friends and bucks her off as often as he can. Then Jem Jarrow turns up, a man who has a different way of looking at horses from Abby’s Dad, or her uncle, who makes things worse by attempting to dominate the horse. This book has the best horse scenes I’ve read since Silverhorse and its sequel, beautifully drawn characters and the “wonderful storytelling” Hilary McKay identified. Suitable for anyone who can read it, probably nine or ten up.

Adam, like his mother Jem in the first Numbers book by Rachel Ward, sees numbers in people’s eyes, and knows it is the date of their death. When his grandmother moves them to London, he realises that most people around him have the same date, 112027, and he knows something huge is going to happen. But then we get another story, where Sarah is suffering from nightmares as she tries to escape from an abusive father. But her nightmares aren’t to do with her past, they are showing her future, and it shows a huge catastrophic event too. When she meets Adam and recognises him as the boy in her dream, and he sees her as having a death date 50 years in the future, there’s a huge amount of tension created, which Rachel Ward handles skillfully.  Believable characters and a dystopian future which the author renders all too believable make this a stunning read, like the earlier book. Yet another terrific book from the Chicken House.

By “Pittacus Lore,” which appears to be a pseudonym for a couple of American writers, this is science fiction. Some reviewers have seen it as a cynical attempt to be the next big thing, and it seems to divide reviewers dramatically, but everyone I’ve lent my advance reading copy to has liked it. Number Four is one of nine youngsters taken from the planet Lorien in the face of an attack from those from another planet, the Mogadorians. Some Mogadorian assassins have followed. Those from Lorien are being protected until they acquire their “powers”, and a Loric charm has been placed on the nine, so that they can only be killed in order, and so that each knows when others are killed. So the end of Chapter One goes like this: ” In the beginning we were a group of nine. / Three are gone, dead. / There are six of us left.. /  I am Number Four. / I know that I am next.”  So the Lorien narrator in human form as John Smith, is always threatened, always wondering when the attack will come. Nevertheless, in defiance of the odds, he creates friendships, and even the beginning of a love affair. And the rest is the story of the book.  Great tension, realistic characters, and elements of the plot unfold slowly and organically. A good read for those who like a bit of mystery with their serving of plot-driven story. There seems to be a suggestion that there will be a series of six books, and a movie is already under way.

This book is another in the wonderful DK series that includes Who’s in Charge?  Show Me the Money and Mathmagicians, among others, and it shares many of the aspects that make the others so informative and appealing. This one is by Robert Winston, and the cover tells us that it is about: “How your brain works and why you do what you do.” As with the other books in the series, the information is presented in visually appealing ways, and there are interactive exercises in some places so that the reader can perform experiments which teach more about the wonderful workings of our brains. Nearly all sections cover a two page spread, but the history of what we know about this amazing organ needs twice that.  As with some of the others, a listing of some of the topics is probably as good a way as any to give an idea of the scope of the book. There’s  “Introducing the Brain,” “Brain and Body,” “I Think Therefore I am,” The Feeling Mind” and “Brain Power,” and that’s just the major sections, within which there are anything from six to eleven of the smaller sections. Fascinating for adults as well as children, again, like the other books in the series. This is non-fiction for children that is as good as it gets, and I thoroughly recommend this book along with the others. The reader will learn why some of us are morning people and others like to stay up late, why teenager’s brains make them seem a separate species at times, how memory works, about dreams and humour, emotion, creativity, and much more.

This is a novel by Canadian-born but New Zealander resident since the age of two, Elizabeth Pulford. I’ve admired her writing before and this is a lovely story. Kate’s father is missing, possibly the victim of a plane crash and Kate, 13, and her younger sister Madeline are keeping their hopes alive in different ways. For Kate, lighting a lamp at the old tin hut in the tussock is an important ritual, and the light may help guide her father home. Madeline puts her hope in building a Stone Man, a connection to a local legend, the Stone Man having reputedly saved people who would otherwise have drowned. But at the hut they also meet Troy, a boy who seems almost as lost as her father, and who also resembles Madeline’s  Stone Man. One of the things I like most about the story is the way in which much is left unexplained. Young and new writers often feel they have to tie up every loose end, but Elizabeth Pulford is confident enough to leave some things unresolved. The characterisation is lovely, from Kate, though her mother to Old Jonesy, the farmhand; the landscape is beautifully evoked; and the way the characters deal with the uncertainty of whether grief or worry or anger is appropriate is confidently complex. I like this book a lot and recommend it for confident readers over ten, though secondary students will get even more from it. I also really like the cover, with its tussock and snow palette and a face superimposed, though such things are very much a matter of individual taste.

This book by Paul Adam has a subtitle: a Max Cassidy Adventure, which suggests that there may be more to come, and the non-resolution at the end makes that almost certain. I hope so, because it’s a very good exciting read which will capture readers (boys in particular) who are perfectly competent readers but who tend to avoid reading. This is exciting stuff which should grab them from the first page. The first chapter is a real attention grabber as a young escapologist tries a trick which he has never performed in public before, and it nearly goes wrong. From there on the pace scarcely falters. The back cover blurb says: “They tell me two things are true: My mother is in prison for killing my father. My father’s body was never found.  But I know two things for sure: Mum didn’t do it. And Dad’s still alive. I’m going to prove it.” Not much more can be said about the plot without spoiling the suspense, but there’s plenty of that, Max is an interestingly complex character, there’s villainy aplenty, good dialogue, and the ending is certainly suggesting a sequel or more, as I mentioned. Great action read for upper primary, intermediate or lower secondary students.

This is the first in a great new series of first novels for the 6-8-year-olds by Chris d’Lacey. The blurb describes the dragons as “charming and friendly, magical and mysterious” and that description could just as easily refer to the books, which have illustrations by Adam Stower. Great for reading to a younger child who can’t read them for her/himself yet, or for the new reader growing in confidence. Any new addition at this level is welcome, and one as good as this even more so. Three other books in the series also available, so this is a good new series for school libraries.

Kath Bee sings songs, interacts with kids, and signs CDs, here in the shop, this Saturday, 1-2 pm. Chances are you or your children sing some of her songs, possibly without realising whose they are: Individuality, Dad I wanna be a camel, Dragons Under my Bed and others are well known and have appeared on compilations of Kiwi songs. Those who’ve been here when she’s performed before will want to come back, those who haven’t should come and find out why her video of Individuality was voted Kids Choice this year. Suitable for all age children and parents: Kath decides which songs to sing and what to do depending on the ages present. She’s a great performer who has wonderful rapport with kids, but she’s keen to concentrate on her songwriting, so may not be performing as frequently in the future. Take the chance to pop in between 1 and 2 on Saturday for some fun and music. With more space in the shop and the warmth of our heatpump it should be great, whatever the weather is throwing at us.