story time books

This picture book by Susannah Corbett with illustrations by Lynne Chapman is a variation on the theme of small and cunning beating big and ferocious. Dragon wakes in his cave and goes looking for food, terrifying a bear, a fox and a cat, who run frantically away. But when he tries to turn a mouse into a barbecue treat he meets his match. The mouse climbs aboard, jumps into the dragon’s ear and begins squeaking, until the dragon runs away. Then when the cat sneers about how puny the mouse is, the mouse whispers, “Squeak,” the others run away too. Then the mouse settles down and writes us the story. Rhyming text and vibrant illustrations make this a great read for children who like a bit of excitement with a happy ending.

The original Six Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore, was published ten years ago, so Sid must be getting into middle age at the very least. but in this sequel he’s still as agile as ever, leaping and climbing around Pythagorus Place. One year all Sid’s six families go on holiday at the same time, so they decide to go together and to take Sid with them.  They rent cabins in the Scottish highlands, and once Sid has established his presence there, he goes off exploring.  In the forest he meets Jock, a Scottish wildcat who tells him he can have as many meals as he likes there, but he has to catch them. After encounters with a fish, a lobster and rabbits,  Sid has established himself as a bit of a city cat, but then in an encounter with an eagle he proves himself to Jock. Then it’s home for six dinners, and at the end Sid is eyeing up a seventh, his exploits having created an even bigger appetite than usual. Sid has always been one of my favourite picture book felines, so it’s nice to have another of his stories.

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.

Every now and then, when a bookseller is feeling a little jaded,  sick of vampires and books which provide lousy role models for teenagers, sometimes in the same covers, along comes something wonderful, beautiful and life-affirming, like this book by Jeannie Baker. If you haven’t seen some of her earlier books, e.g Belonging and Window, they use carefully constructed collage illustrations, and are completely wordless. This one is like that, but adds another dimension. When the reader (or should that be viewer) opens the covers, two books are revealed, one on each side, and a note explains that they should be looked at side by side, turning the pages together. One story is set in Sydney, Australia, the other in Morocco, North Africa. What the book illustrates, beautifully, is that while lives in the two places are hugely different, they are also hugely similar. And for the careful watcher, there’s a rug, or carpet, made in Morocco, which ends up (or another which looks very similar does) in the Sydney family, and the Arab family who take the rug to market come home with a computer which connects them to the digital world. I’ve only just opened it for the first time, and I’m sure I’ll see more and more as I look again and again, but it is a beautiful idea, superbly executed. A note at the end of the book, in English and Arabic (I think) explains that while political poisoning of attitudes to foreigners was happening in Australia, Jeannie Baker travelled alone in remote parts of Morocco and was met with much friendliness and generosity. Whatever wonders appear between now and December, this will be one of my favourite  books of the year. Hardback at $45 and worth every cent, a wonderful antidote to xenophobia and stereotyping.

This is a new addition to the “picture books about fathers” list. By Margaret Allum, illustrated by Jonathan Bentley, it’s a recitation by a small girl of all the types of kisses she likes, from big and small kisses , through petal kisses and frosty kisses, sorry and friendly kisses,  on to family kisses from smelly-yelly brothers, rosy-cosy grannies and snuggly-cuddly mummy, “But the kiss I love most is a great, big bristly-growly-daddy-kiss.” Brand new in hardback only.

This is a lovely imaginative book by Rachel Bright, about coming to terms with a new sister. Alfie has favourite things: aliens, rockets, and the moon, “in exactly that order.” He also has a mother, a father and a “brand-new sister, called Ruby.” The parents are forever talking about the new baby, but Alfie hears only words to do with space, and quickly comes to the conclusion  that his sister is an alien, based on appearance, sounds and smells, and the fact that she often cries for home. So he helps her into his rocket, counts them down to takeoff and blasts off for the moon, where the aliens are friendly. But when Alfie gets tired and decides it’s time to go home, he climbs into his rocket, but suddenly feels very sad and decides to take Ruby back to earth for a while longer. And at the end, Alfie’s favourite things are: Ruby, aliens, rockets and the moon, “in exactly that order.” Wonderful illustrations, and this is a lovely oblique way to approach the sibling rivalry issue. I love it, and recommend it. A great book to give to an older sibling as a gift when the new baby arrives.

This is another lovely New Zealand picture book, by June Peka, illustrated by Jo Thapa. It’s  a story narrated by Dino, about his grandfather, a keen gardener whose gardening becomes a little difficult when he accepts a pet magpie from his friend the vet. Pop won’t hear of the magpie being caged, just clips a wing so it can’t fly away, but the bird creates havoc in all sorts of ways until he is forced to respond.  Still refusing to cage the magpie, Pop builds a cage around the garden, with his beloved vegetables,  the pohutukawa tree and his armchair inside, and won’t share it with the magpie.  Also available in a te reo Maori version: Manu Haututu, retold by Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira. Lovely illustrations which complement the story perfectly.

Sometimes we underestimate children, as adults and sometimes as writers,  to their detriment as well as ours, and provide them with answers instead of helping them to ask questions. This picture book, new in paperback is by Joyce Dunbar, with illustrations by Patrick Benson, and it doesn’t make that mistake. As you might expect from the title, it’s a little odd, but many kids love odd. Three strange creatures appear: the Lostlet, who doesn’t know where he is or what he dreams of; the Strangelet, who doesn’t know what he is or what he dreams of; and the Oddlet, who doesn’t know who he is or what he wishes for. A little boy runs down the road and echoes each of their questions, but then speaks of home and Mum and love, concepts they don’t understand, gives the Oddlet a hug, the Strangelet a cuddle, and the Lostlet a hand, they dance and sing together, and suddenly they are home “… just in time for supper,” with Mum and love in the background. Beautiful and sure to stimulate the imagination and the emotions.

Sometimes the illustrations in a picture book are the main thing, rather than an adjunct to the words. This book by Kylie Dunstan is  a perfect example. The pictures are done with collage with handmade Nepalese Lotka paper, and they give the book a warm fuzzy feel before a word is written. The story is told by the voice of a little girl, and it is about all the things she can do because her father is with her, which otherwise might be beyond her courage or abilities. It is a very special and beautiful book, a lovely gift for a girl or her father, as a celebration of the relationship between them.